Perfluoroalkyl substances frontier article (original) (raw)
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Water
The current article reviews the state of art of the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) compounds and provides an overview of PFASs occurrence in the environment, wildlife, and humans. This study reviews the issues concerning PFASs exposure and potential risks generated with a focus on PFAS occurrence and transformation in various media, discusses their physicochemical characterization and treatment technologies, before discussing the potential human exposure routes. The various toxicological impacts to human health are also discussed. The article pays particular attention to the complexity and challenging issue of regulating PFAS compounds due to the arising uncertainty and lack of epidemiological evidence encountered. The variation in PFAS regulatory values across the globe can be easily addressed due to the influence of multiple scientific, technical, and social factors. The varied toxicology and the insufficient definition of PFAS exposure rate are among the ma...
5 July, 2024
PFAS stands for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are a group of chemicals that are commonly used in industrial and commercial production. These chemicals have been found to have significant toxicological effects on both humans and wildlife, meaning they can cause harm to living organisms. The toxicity of PFAS mixtures, which are the combinations of different PFAS chemicals that can be found in the environment, is not yet fully understood. In recent decades, there has been an increasing amount of information discovered about chemical organic pollution, which includes thousands of human-made substances that are widely used in various aspects of daily life and are emitted from many industrial processes. The purpose of the article is to review the toxicity of PFAS chemicals, their behavior and existence in the environment, their tendency to accumulate in living organisms, and the potential negative health effects they can have on the biota, which refers to all living organisms in a particular area or ecosystem.
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): an emerging contaminant
Global NEST International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
PFAS compounds are ubiquitous in the environment and in consumer products. Unlike other emergent contaminants this is a family of compounds with, literally, thousands of compounds. Our knowledge of toxicological and environmental fate and transport properties is an evolving field. On the other hand, regulatory limits (when they exist) are extremely low and address only a limited handful of compounds. Regulatory standards are limited to drinking water or groundwater, but investigators are required, and need to address the entire pathway from source to receptor. In addition, because of their physical-chemical properties there are unconventional migration pathways, such as sewer exfiltration and biosolids residuals, that complicate site assessment and site closure. Surveys to date in Greece are fragmented and very limited in scope and focus. The objective of this study is to discuss how professional judgement should be used to collect appropriate data to both define the nature and exte...
Screening of PFASs in groundwater and surface water
2016
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, and bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 26 PFASs were screened in 502 water samples originating from Swedish groundwater, surface water, sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents and landfill leachates. The objectives were to establish baseline concentrations of PFASs in the aquatic environment, to screen for potential sources, and to compare PFAS concentrations with guideline values for estimation of potential effects on the ecosystem and human health. In drinking water source areas, the average ∑26PFAS concentration was 8.4 ng L-1 with a median value of 0.6 ng L-1 (n = 172). The drinking water guideline value of 90 ng L-1 for ∑7PFASs (PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) established by the Swedish National Food Agency was exceeded in 4 samples (2% of the total number of samples in this category). In water not used for drinking water, ∑26PFASs con...
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in consumable species and food products
Journal of Food Science and Technology , 2022
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of thousands of manmade chemicals widely used in consumer products and industrial processes. Toxicological studies have suggested that exposure to PFASs may lead to several adverse effects, including infertility and cancer development. In light of their widespread use, the contamination of food products has created health concerns in sites directly influenced by industrial and anthropogenic activity. In the present contribution, the current knowledge of PFAS contamination was systematically reviewed in order to provide with the knowledge gaps and main sources of contamination, as well as critically evaluate estimated dietary intake and relative risk values of the consulted studies. Legacy PFASs remain the most abundant despite their production restrictions. Edible species from freshwater bodies exhibit higher PFAS concentrations than marine species, probably due to low hydrodynamics and dilution in lentic ecosystems. Studies in food products from multiple sources, including aquatic, livestock, and agricultural, agree that the proximity to factories and fluorochemical industries rendered significantly higher and potentially hazardous PFAS contamination. Short-chain PFAS are suggested as chemicals of emerging concern to food security. However, the environmental and toxicological implications of short-chain congeners are not fully understood and, thus, much research is needed in this sense.