title: Helsingør statement on poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs).
abstract: In this discussion paper, the transition from long-chain poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) to fluorinated alternatives is addressed. Long-chain PFASs include perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with 7 or more perfluorinated carbons, perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) with 6 or more perfluorinated carbons, and their precursors. Because long-chain PFASs have been found to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, they are being replaced by a wide range of fluorinated alternatives. We summarize key concerns about the potential impacts of fluorinated alternatives on human health and the environment in order to provide concise information for different stakeholders and the public. These concerns include, amongst others, the likelihood of fluorinated alternatives or their transformation products becoming ubiquitously present in the global environment; the need for more information on uses, properties and effects of fluorinated alternatives; the formation of persistent terminal transformation products including PFCAs and PFSAs; increasing environmental and human exposure and potential of adverse effects as a consequence of the high ultimate persistence and increasing usage of fluorinated alternatives; the high societal costs that would be caused if the uses, environmental fate, and adverse effects of fluorinated alternatives had to be investigated by publicly funded research; and the lack of consideration of non-persistent alternatives to long-chain PFASs.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland. Electronic address: scheringer@chem.ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheringer
authors.affiliation: Technical University of Denmark, Division of Food Chemistry, 2860 Søborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Xenia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Trier
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM), Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ian T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Cousins
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Voogt
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Zhanyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D004777:Environment; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D011108:Polymers / Q000032:analysis; D013451:Sulfonic Acids / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D011108:Polymers; D013451:Sulfonic Acids
keywords: Fluorinated polymers; Fluorinated surfactants; PBT chemicals; PFOA; PFOS