| Perfluorooctanesulfonate and Other Fluorochemicals in the Serum
of American Red Cross Adult Blood Donors Geary W. Olsen,1 Timothy R. Church,2 John P. Miller,3 Jean M. Burris,1 Kristen J. Hansen,4 James K. Lundberg,4 John B. Armitage,5 Ross M. Herron,6 Zahra Medhdizadehkashi,7 John B. Nobiletti,8 E. Mary O'Neill,9
Jeffrey H. Mandel,1 and Larry R. Zobel 1
1Medical Department, 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; 2Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; 3American Red Cross, North Central Region, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; 4Environmental Laboratory, 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; 5American Red Cross, Carolinas Region, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; 6American Red Cross, Southern California Region, Los Angeles, California, USA; 7American Red Cross, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon, USA; 8American Red Cross, Greater Allegheny Region, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA; 9American Red Cross, New England Region, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA Abstract
Perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride-based products have included surfactants, paper and packaging treatments, and surface protectants (e.g., for carpet, upholstery, textile) . Depending on the specific functional derivatization or degree of polymerization, such products may degrade or metabolize, to an undetermined degree, to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) , a stable and persistent end product that has the potential to bioaccumulate. In this investigation, a total of 645 adult donor serum samples from six American Red Cross blood collection centers were analyzed for PFOS and six other fluorochemicals using HPLC-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. PFOS concentrations ranged from the lower limit of quantitation of 4.1 ppb to 1656.0 ppb with a geometric mean of 34.9 ppb [95% confidence interval (CI) , 33.3-36.5]. The geometric mean was higher among males (37.8 ppb ; 95% CI, 35.5-40.3) than among females (31.3 ppb ; 95% CI, 30.0-34.3) . No substantial difference was observed with age. The estimate of the 95% tolerance limit of PFOS was 88.5 ppb (upper limit of 95% CI, 100.0 ppb) . The measures of central tendency for the other fluorochemicals (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate, N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate, perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate, perfluorooctanesulfonamide, perfluorooctanoate, and perfluorohexanesulfonate) were approximately an order of magnitude lower than PFOS. Because serum PFOS concentrations correlate with cumulative human exposure, this information can be useful for risk characterization. Key words: American Red Cross, biomonitoring, blood donors, fluorochemicals, perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorooctanoate, PFOA, PFOS. Environ Health Perspect 111:1892-1901 (2003) . doi:10.1289/ehp.6316 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 15 September 2003]
Address correspondence to G. Olsen, Medical Department, 3M Company, Mail Stop 220-3W-05, St. Paul, MN 55144 USA. Telephone: (651) 737-8569. Fax (651) 733-9066. E-mail: gwolsen@mmm.com The laboratory analysis of the seven fluorochemicals was provided by a dedicated team at Tandem Labs (formerly Northwest Bioanalytical ; Salt Lake City, UT, USA) . Individuals included A. Hoffman, C. Sakashita, P. Bennett, R. Foltz, S. Newman, T. Peacock, and E. Yardimici. We also thank J. Butenhoff and K. Young for their contributions. Seven of the authors declare a competing financial interest in that the article was funded by the 3M Company. The other authors declare no competing financial interest. Received 5 March 2003 ; accepted 15 September 2003.
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