Lithium-ion battery recycling: a source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the environment?

27 Apr 2023 | Environ. Sci: Process. Impacts.

This review highlights the need to further study emissions of fluorinated substances during lithium-ion battery recycling and suggests that substitution or treatment of PFAS-based materials is needed.

[Opinion] What Limits Will the World Health Organization Recommend for PFOA and PFOS in Drinking Water?

26 Apr 2023 | Environ. Sci. Technol.

To support the work of public health agencies worldwide providing people with safe drinking water, the WHO guidance levels need to be updated to reflect scientific evidence.

Analytical approaches for screening of per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances in food items: A review of recent advances and improvements

26 Apr 2023 | Environ Pollut

The authors suggest improvements for PFAS analysis in foods, such as using emerging extraction methods as a fast and less labor-intensive approach, and make further suggestions regarding PFAS detection.

Impact of PFAS exposure on prevalence of immune-mediated diseases in adults in the Czech Republic

26 Apr 2023 | Environ Res.

PFAS exposure was found to have some adverse immune effects, including an association of elevated PFOS levels in men with higher rates of eczema.

Smouldering to treat PFAS in sewage sludge

25 Apr 2023 | Waste Manage.

Smoldering combustion completely removed all 4-8 carbon chain length PFAS from sewage sludge under all conditions, though extremely high temperatures and the addition of CaO were needed to mineralize the PFAS completely.

Early life exposure to low-dose perfluorooctane sulfonate disturbs gut barrier homeostasis and increases the risk of intestinal inflammation in offspring

24 Apr 2023 | Environ Pollut

Low-dose PFOS exposure disrupted the developing digestive functions in a human model species.

Association of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances with sex hormones in children and adolescents 6-19 Years of age

23 Apr 2023 | Environ Pollut

Serum concentrations of individual PFAS and mixtures were associated with changes in developmental hormone levels.

Mechanistic Middle-Out Physiologically Based Toxicokinetic Modeling of Transporter-Dependent Disposition of Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Humans

18 Apr 2023 | ES&T

A new model was developed to explain the persistence of PFOA in humans after both high-dose, acute and low-dose, chronic exposures.

Global ocean contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: A review of seabird exposure

18 Apr 2023 | Chemosphere

Seabirds had higher levels of PFOS exposure – often exceeding toxicity reference values in places like the Baltic Sea and the San Francisco Bay – in the late 1990s and early 2000s, consistent with the phase-out of PFOS-based chemicals.

70 analyte PFAS test method highlights need for expanded testing of PFAS in drinking water

17 Apr 2023 | Sci. Total Environ.

Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule will likely underreport PFAS in drinking water due to existing methods’ limited coverage and higher minimum reporting limits. The most common PFAS present was PFPrA, a poorly studied and monitored short-chain PFAS.

Pharmaceuticals Account for a Significant Proportion of the Extractable Organic Fluorine in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge

17 Apr 2023 | Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

Pharmaceutical substances and pesticides can contribute to sizable portions of the organofluorine content detected in wastewater treatment plant sludge.

Ecological characteristics impact PFAS concentrations in a US North Atlantic food web

17 Apr 2023 | Sci Total Environ

PFAS concentrations were related to species, body size, habitat, feeding guild, and location, with PFDA, PFOS, and FOSA levels being the highest in game species that live within the water column.

Weight loss relapse associated with exposure to perfluoroalkylate substances

17 Apr 2023 | Obesity

PFOA and PFHxS plasma concentrations were associated with increased weight gain, meaning obesogenic PFAS may cause weight gain and thus contribute to the obesity pandemic.

[Perspective] Avoiding the Next Silent Spring: Our Chemical Past, Present, and Future

13 Apr 2023 | ES&T

Learning from our past and present to improve a precautionary approach to persistent substances will ultimately allow humankind to avoid recurring silent springs.

Concentrations and isomer profiles of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates in house rats (Rattus norvegicus) and human blood: Implication for human exposure sources

11 Apr 2023 | Sci Total Environ

Fluorotelomer alcohol exposure and subsequent biotransformation is an important source of PFCAs in humans and rats that live nearby.