Ahrens, Lutz
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Background: In 2012, drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), foremost perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) at levels over 20 ng/L and 40 ng/L, respectively, was confirmed in Uppsala, Sweden.Objectives: We assessed how a longitudinally sampled cohort's temporal trend in PFAS plasma concentration was influenced by their residential location and determined the plausible association or disparity between the PFASs detected in the drinking water and the trend in the study cohort.Methods: The Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) cohort provided plasma samples three times from 2001 to 2014. Individuals maintaining the same zip code throughout the study (n = 399) were divided into a reference (no known PFAS exposure), low, intermediate and high exposure area depending on the proportion of contaminated drinking water received. Eight PFASs detected in the majority (75%) of the cohort's plasma samples were evaluated for significant changes in temporal PFAS concentrations using a random effects (mixed) model.Results: PFHxS plasma concentrations continued to significantly increase in individuals living in areas receiving the largest percentage of contaminated drinking water (p < 0.0001), while PFOS showed an overall decrease. The temporal trend of other PFAS plasma concentrations did not show an association to the quality of drinking water received.Conclusions: The distribution of contaminated drinking water had a direct effect on the trend in PFHxS plasma levels among the different exposure groups, resulting in increased concentrations over time, especially in the intermediate and high exposure areas. PFOS and the remaining PFASs did not show the same relationship, suggesting other sources of exposure influenced these PFAS plasma trends.
Keywords
Perfluoroalkyl substances; Drinking water; Longitudinal trend; PIVUS cohort; Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid
Published in
Environmental Research
2017, volume: 159, pages: 95-102
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
SDG3 Good health and well-being
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
UKÄ Subject classification
Analytical Chemistry
Other Chemistry Topics
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.07.050
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/87071