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Toxics
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Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and...
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Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Emerging Contaminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 9959

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jamie DeWitt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA
Interests: environmental science; immunotoxicology; neurotoxicology; developmental toxicology; emerging contaminants; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carla Ng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Secondary Appointment in Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, 203 Benedum Hall, 3700 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15262, USA
Interests: environmental engineering; toxicokinetics; molecular modeling; bioaccumulation; emerging contaminants; hazard assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large class of synthetic compounds used to produce industrial and consumer goods, notably as surfactants, and to produce surface coatings that confer stain, water, and oil repellency. The vast majority of PFASs are extremely stable, but some are very mobile in the environment, and some can accumulate in living organisms and produce adverse health effects. These characteristics of persistence, bioaccumulation, mobility, and toxicity, combined with the large number of individual PFASs, create numerous challenges for assessing the risks of PFAS exposure. Additionally, a variety of the PFASs being identified in environmental media, including living organisms, are understudied with respect to their sources, environmental fate, and toxicity, creating even greater challenges for PFAS risk assessments.

For this Special Issue, we invite high-quality original research papers, short communications, and reviews focusing on all aspects of source identification and exposure assessment, environmental fate, toxicity, and risk assessment of PFASs. Studies may be in vivo, in vitro, or in silico and may include epidemiological studies, experimental models, and wildlife investigations. Research on a single PFAS, PFAS mixtures, and complex environmental samples are welcome. We also welcome computational or predictive studies.

Dr. Jamie DeWitt
Dr. Carla Ng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PFAS
  • exposure assessment
  • fate and transport
  • toxicity
  • risk assessment
  • PFAS sources

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 3078 KiB  
Article
Non-Targeted PFAS Suspect Screening and Quantification of Drinking Water Samples Collected through Community Engaged Research in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Basin
by Rebecca A. Weed, Grace Campbell, Lacey Brown, Katlyn May, Dana Sargent, Emily Sutton, Kemp Burdette, Wayne Rider, Erin S. Baker and Jeffrey R. Enders
Toxics 2024, 12(6), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12060403 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1980
Abstract
A community engaged research (CER) approach was used to provide an exposure assessment of poly- and perfluorinated (PFAS) compounds in North Carolina residential drinking water. Working in concert with community partners, who acted as liaisons to local residents, samples were collected by North [...] Read more.
A community engaged research (CER) approach was used to provide an exposure assessment of poly- and perfluorinated (PFAS) compounds in North Carolina residential drinking water. Working in concert with community partners, who acted as liaisons to local residents, samples were collected by North Carolina residents from three different locations along the Cape Fear River basin: upper, middle, and lower areas of the river. Residents collected either drinking water samples from their homes or recreational water samples from near their residence that were then submitted by the community partners for PFAS analysis. All samples were processed using weak anion exchange (WAX) solid phase extraction and analyzed using a non-targeted suspect screening approach as well as a quantitative approach that included a panel of 45 PFAS analytes, several of which are specific to chemical industries near the collection site locations. The non-targeted approach, which utilized a suspect screening list (obtained from EPA CompTox database) identified several PFAS compounds at a level two confidence rating (Schymanski scale); compounds identified included a fluorinated insecticide, a fluorinated herbicide, a PFAS used in polymer chemistry, and another that is used in battery production. Notably, at several locations, PFOA (39.8 ng/L) and PFOS (205.3 ng/L) were at levels that exceeded the mandatory EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 4 ng/L. Additionally, several sites had detectable levels of PFAS that are unique to a local chemical manufacturer. These findings were communicated back to the community partners who then disseminated this information to the local residents to help empower and aid in making decisions for reducing their PFAS exposure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments)
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17 pages, 2023 KiB  
Article
Exploring Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Aquatic Fauna of Lake Trasimeno (Italy): Insights from a Low-Anthropized Area
by Tommaso Stecconi, Arianna Stramenga, Tamara Tavoloni, Simone Bacchiocchi, Martina Ciriaci, Francesco Griffoni, Paolo Palombo, Gianni Sagratini, Melania Siracusa and Arianna Piersanti
Toxics 2024, 12(3), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12030196 - 1 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1511
Abstract
This study investigated the concentrations and profiles of 19 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the muscle and liver of four freshwater species from Lake Trasimeno (Italy): Anguilla anguilla (European eel), Carassius auratus (goldfish), Perca fluviatilis (European perch), and Procambarus clarkii (red swamp crayfish). In [...] Read more.
This study investigated the concentrations and profiles of 19 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the muscle and liver of four freshwater species from Lake Trasimeno (Italy): Anguilla anguilla (European eel), Carassius auratus (goldfish), Perca fluviatilis (European perch), and Procambarus clarkii (red swamp crayfish). In livers, the amount of PFASs ranged from 3.1 to 10 µg kg−1, significantly higher than that in muscle (0.032–1.7 µg kg−1). The predominant PFASs were perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and long-chain carboxylic acids (C8–C14). Short-chain compounds (C4–C5), as well as the long-chain sulfonic acids (C9–C12), were not quantified. The contamination patterns were similar among species with few differences, suggesting the influence of species-specific accumulation. The PFAS concentrations in livers were comparable among species, while in muscle, the higher values were measured in European eel, followed by goldfish, European perch, and red swamp crayfish. The levels were generally lower than those reported for fish from Northern Italian lakes and rivers. The concentrations of regulated PFASs were lower than the maximum limits set by Regulation EU 2023/915 and did not exceed the Environmental Quality Standards (PFOS in biota). This study provides the first valuable insights on PFASs in freshwater species from Lake Trasimeno. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments)
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14 pages, 3229 KiB  
Article
PFAS Modulate Osmotic Signaling Independent of Gravimetric Changes in the Rat Uterus
by Aaron Dixon, Evelyn G. Rowan, Allison N. Yackley and Erin P. Hines
Toxics 2024, 12(3), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12030170 - 23 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1732
Abstract
Various PFAS have been identified as potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals due to estrogen receptor activation, impacts on puberty timing, or impacts on hormonally sensitive endpoints in fish. This study screened multiple PFAS in the rat uterotrophic assay to determine potential estrogenic effects on the [...] Read more.
Various PFAS have been identified as potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals due to estrogen receptor activation, impacts on puberty timing, or impacts on hormonally sensitive endpoints in fish. This study screened multiple PFAS in the rat uterotrophic assay to determine potential estrogenic effects on the uterus with PFAS exposure. This study also explored PFAS-dependent uterine signaling with an osmotic stress mRNA gene expression array. Briefly, Sprague–Dawley rats (26–39 days old) were ovariectomized, and uterine tissue was allowed to regress for a 3-week period of recovery. Animals were then exposed daily via oral gavage to PFAS for 4 days, and then uterine weight was determined. In contrast to the positive control estrogens, the PFAS tested (4:2, 6:2, and 8:2FTOH; perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), nafion byproduct 2 (NBP2), 1H,1H,8H,8H-perfluorooctane-1,8-diol (FC8-diol) and 1H,1H,10H,10H-perfluorodecane-1,10-diol (FC10-diol)) caused no significant changes in the uterine weight. Hormonally active compounds can act as carcinogens, and because earlier rodent work has demonstrated that chronic PFOA exposure is associated with increased risk of uterine cancer, uterine mRNA gene expression was explored with an osmotic stress RT-qPCR array. PFAS exposure significantly upregulated multiple genes across the array, with PFOSA being the compound most similar to the reference estrogens (estradiol benzoate and ethinyl estradiol) in its expression pattern. Also, across all PFAS, pathway analysis revealed that the paxillin pathway, a pathway important in tumor suppressor gene SHP-2 signaling, was significantly upregulated with PFAS exposure. These results demonstrate that in vitro estrogen screens or impacts in fish may show different responses from direct impacts on mammalian uterine weight as assessed with the uterotrophic assay. This study also builds out new mechanisms that may contribute to understanding of carcinogenic changes seen in the uterus after PFAS exposure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments)
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25 pages, 9542 KiB  
Article
Hepatic Transcriptome Comparative In Silico Analysis Reveals Similar Pathways and Targets Altered by Legacy and Alternative Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Mice
by Dakota R. Robarts, Jiayin Dai, Christopher Lau, Udayan Apte and J. Christopher Corton
Toxics 2023, 11(12), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11120963 - 28 Nov 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2547
Abstract
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of fluorinated carbon chains that include legacy PFAS, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS). These compounds induce adverse health effects, including hepatotoxicity. Potential alternatives to [...] Read more.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of fluorinated carbon chains that include legacy PFAS, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS). These compounds induce adverse health effects, including hepatotoxicity. Potential alternatives to the legacy PFAS (HFPO-DA (GenX), HFPO4, HFPO-TA, F-53B, 6:2 FTSA, and 6:2 FTCA), as well as a byproduct of PFAS manufacturing (Nafion BP2), are increasingly being found in the environment. The potential hazards of these new alternatives are less well known. To better understand the diversity of molecular targets of the PFAS, we performed a comparative toxicogenomics analysis of the gene expression changes in the livers of mice exposed to these PFAS, and compared these to five activators of PPARα, a common target of many PFAS. Using hierarchical clustering, pathway analysis, and predictive biomarkers, we found that most of the alternative PFAS modulate molecular targets that overlap with legacy PFAS. Only three of the 11 PFAS tested did not appreciably activate PPARα (Nafion BP2, 6:2 FTSA, and 6:2 FTCA). Predictive biomarkers showed that most PFAS (PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, HFPO-TA, F-53B, HFPO4, Nafion BP2) activated CAR. PFNA, PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, HFPO4, HFPO-TA, F-53B, Nafion BP2, and 6:2 FTSA suppressed STAT5b, activated NRF2, and activated SREBP. There was no apparent relationship between the length of the carbon chain, type of head group, or number of ether linkages and the transcriptomic changes. This work highlights the similarities in molecular targets between the legacy and alternative PFAS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments)
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Review

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29 pages, 867 KiB  
Review
Effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkylated Substances on Female Reproduction
by María Estefanía González-Alvarez, Collins Antwi-Boasiako and Aileen F. Keating
Toxics 2024, 12(7), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12070455 - 25 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1307
Abstract
Per- and poly-fluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are a large group of chemicals that persist both in the environment and in the body. Legacy PFAS, e.g., perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, are implicated as endocrine disruptors and reproductive and developmental toxicants in epidemiological and [...] Read more.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are a large group of chemicals that persist both in the environment and in the body. Legacy PFAS, e.g., perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, are implicated as endocrine disruptors and reproductive and developmental toxicants in epidemiological and animal model studies. This review describes female reproductive outcomes of reported studies and includes where associative relationships between PFAS exposures and female reproductive outcomes have been observed as well as where those are absent. In animal models, studies in which PFAS are documented to cause toxicity and where effects are lacking are described. Discrepancies exist in both human and animal studies and are likely attributable to human geographical contamination, developmental status, duration of exposure, and PFAS chemical identity. Similarly, in animal investigations, the model used, exposure paradigm, and developmental status of the female are important and vary widely in documented studies. Taken together, support for PFAS as reproductive and developmental toxicants exists, although the disparity in study conditions and human exposures contribute to the variation in effects noted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Sources, Fate and Risk Assessments)
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