Human exposure to perfluorinated chemicals through the diet: intake of perfluorinated compounds in foods from the Catalan (Spain) market.
The aim of this study was to determine the dietary intake of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) by the population of Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain). PFC levels were determined in 36 composite samples of foodstuffs randomly purchased in various locations. Exposure to PFCs through the diet was estimated for various age/gender groups. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorocarboxylate perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) were the only detected PFCs in foodstuffs. On average, for a standard adult man (70 kg of body weight), the dietary intake of PFOS was estimated to be 62.5 or 74.2 ng/day (assuming ND=0 or ND=1/2 LOD, respectively). Fish, followed by dairy products and meats, were the main contributors to PFOS intake. For an adult man, the intake of PFOS (1.07 ng/kg/day) and those of PFOA and PFHpA were lower than that recently reported for Canada (4.0 ng/kg/day), and considerably lower than that previously found in the United Kingdom, the only two countries where, to date, results concerning this issue have been reported. A correlation between dietary intake and blood levels of PFOS is suggested. However, the current results do not justify dietary intake as the main route of exposure governing blood concentrations of other PFCs.
Ericson
Ingrid
I
Man-Technology-Environment (MTM) Research Center, Orebro University, Orebro 70182 Sweden.
Martí-Cid
Roser
R
Nadal
Martí
M
Van Bavel
Bert
B
Lindström
Gunilla
G
Domingo
José L
JL
D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002208:Caproates / Q000032:analysis; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis; D013030:Spain
D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D002208:Caproates; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D005466:Fluorocarbons; C076994:perfluorooctane sulfonic acid; C479228:perfluorohexanoic acid