Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina
Nadine Kotlarz, James McCord, David N. Collier, C. Suzanne Lea, Mark J. Strynar, Andrew B. Lindstrom, Adrien A. Wilkie, Jessica Y. Islam, Katelyn Matney, Phillip Tarte, M.E. Polera, Kemp Burdette, Jamie C. DeWitt, Katlyn May, Robert C. Smart, Detlef R.U. Knappe, Jane A. Hoppin
Abstract
BACKGROUND: From 1980 to 2017, a fluorochemical manufacturing facility discharged wastewater containing poorly understood per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Cape Fear River, the primary drinking water source for Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Those PFAS included several fluoroethers including HFPO-DA also known as GenX. Little is known about the bioaccumulation potential of these fluoroethers. OBJECTIVE: We determined levels of fluoroethers and legacy PFAS in serum samples from Wilmington residents. METHODS: of age into the GenX Exposure Study and collected blood samples. Repeated blood samples were collected from 44 participants 6 months after enrollment. We analyzed serum for 10 fluoroethers and 10 legacy PFAS using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. RESULTS: ). CONCLUSION: Poorly understood fluoroethers released into the Cape Fear River by a fluorochemical manufacturing facility were detected in blood samples from Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Health implications of exposure to these novel PFAS have not been well characterized. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6837.