Study Identifies Commercial Perfluorochemicals in Human Blood
University of Toronto scientists have reportedly identified food-wrapper chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters (diPAPs) at “low part-per-billion concentrations” in human blood. Jessica C. D’eon, et al., “Observation of a Commercial Fluorinated Material, the Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphoric Acid Diesters, in Human Sera, Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge, and Paper Fibers,” Environmental Science & Technology, April 29, 2009. Researchers examined blood samples from both male and female donors ages 19 through 70 with various blood types. They also tested paper fibers and wastewater treatment plant sludge “as a proxy for human use and potential exposure,” concluding that high diPAP concentrations in the environment “suggest diPAP materials may be prevalent in our daily lives.”
According to a concurrent news release, rat studies have shown that diPAPs “can be metabolized to PFOA [perfluorooctanoic acid] and other perfluorinated carboxylic acids” after ingestion, raising questions about “their potential toxicity in humans and wildlife.” The publication also noted several U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studies that suggest diPAPs can migrate from grease-proof wrappings into some foods “at several hundred times higher than current FDA-approved guidelines.” “This finding makes it clear that we cannot just look at one single chemical or class and understand perfluorinated chemicals in the environment and in humans,” stated co-author Laurence Libelo, a senior environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. See Environmental Science & Technology News, April 29, 2009; The Charleston Gazette, April 30, 2009; The Daily Green, May 1, 2009.
