LGC AXIO Proficiency Testing | Emerging Pollutants of Environmental Concern: PFAS
Why are PFAS a concern?
Within the past decade or so, several long-chain PFAS have been recognized as extremely persistent, bio accumulative and toxic. The distribution of individual PFAS between different environments, depends on the physicochemical properties of each chemical. Short-chain PFAS are more likely to be present in groundwater, whereas Long- chain substances have a higher potential to accumulate as they are more frequently detected in seabirds and other aquatic animals. [6]
Figure 3 PFAS effects on health
The European Environment Agency (EEA) warned that, due to the large number of PFAS, it is a difficult and time-consuming task to assess and manage risks for these substances individually. Although some efforts are being made. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH) in the United States, is working with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on PFAS-related food safety, and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on monitoring PFAS exposure levels. Although it has been reported that over 95% of adults in the USA, have some amount of PFAS in their blood serum. [7], [8]. This is alarming, as exposure to such persistent and accumulative chemical compounds can be dangerous to our health, demonstrated by Figure 3 . [9] The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, HBM4EU, was a Horizon 2020 project that identified 9 priority substance groups and work ed to harmonize procedures for human biomonitoring across the 28 participating countries. [2]. According to the HBM4EU Policy brief, around 14% of the teenagers tested across Europe, exceed the internal serum level of 6.9 µg/l PFASs, which equals to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) guideline value for a tolerable weekly intake of 4.4 ng/kg. Data related to PFAS compounds from 17 Human Biomonitoring-studies can be found on the online European HBM dashboard. [3] According to the “Cost of inaction” report by the Nordic Council of Ministers (2019) PFAS exposure is estimated to cause EUR 52-84 billion across Europe, for annual health related costs in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries. [10] Recent biomonitoring data has shown that people across the globe are substantially exposed to a range of PFAS. [2]
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