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Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hoffman, K; Webster, TF; Bartell, SM; Weisskopf, MG; Fletcher, T; Vieira, VM
Published in: Environmental health perspectives
January 2011

The C8 Health Project was established in 2005 to collect data on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) and human health in Ohio and West Virginia communities contaminated by a fluoropolymer production facility.We assessed PFOA exposure via contaminated drinking water in a subset of C8 Health Project participants who drank water from private wells.Participants provided demographic information and residential, occupational, and medical histories. Laboratory analyses were conducted to determine serum-PFOA concentrations. PFOA data were collected from 2001 through 2005 from 62 private drinking water wells. We examined the relationship between drinking water and PFOA levels in serum using robust regression methods. As a comparison with regression models, we used a first-order, single-compartment pharmacokinetic model to estimate the serum:drinking-water concentration ratio at steady state.The median serum PFOA concentration in 108 study participants who used private wells was 75.7 μg/L, approximately 20 times greater than the levels in the U.S. general population but similar to those of local residents who drank public water. Each 1 μg/L increase in PFOA levels in drinking water was associated with an increase in serum concentrations of 141.5 μg/L (95% confidence interval, 134.9-148.1). The serum:drinking-water concentration ratio for the steady-state pharmacokinetic model was 114.PFOA-contaminated drinking water is a significant contributor to PFOA levels in serum in the study population. Regression methods and pharmacokinetic modeling produced similar estimates of the relationship.

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Published In

Environmental health perspectives

DOI

EISSN

1552-9924

ISSN

0091-6765

Publication Date

January 2011

Volume

119

Issue

1

Start / End Page

92 / 97

Related Subject Headings

  • West Virginia
  • Water Supply
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Toxicology
  • Regression Analysis
  • Polymers
  • Ohio
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Industrial Waste
 

Citation

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Hoffman, K., Webster, T. F., Bartell, S. M., Weisskopf, M. G., Fletcher, T., & Vieira, V. M. (2011). Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(1), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002503
Hoffman, Kate, Thomas F. Webster, Scott M. Bartell, Marc G. Weisskopf, Tony Fletcher, and Verónica M. Vieira. “Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility.Environmental Health Perspectives 119, no. 1 (January 2011): 92–97. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002503.
Hoffman K, Webster TF, Bartell SM, Weisskopf MG, Fletcher T, Vieira VM. Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility. Environmental health perspectives. 2011 Jan;119(1):92–7.
Hoffman, Kate, et al. “Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility.Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 119, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 92–97. Epmc, doi:10.1289/ehp.1002503.
Hoffman K, Webster TF, Bartell SM, Weisskopf MG, Fletcher T, Vieira VM. Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility. Environmental health perspectives. 2011 Jan;119(1):92–97.

Published In

Environmental health perspectives

DOI

EISSN

1552-9924

ISSN

0091-6765

Publication Date

January 2011

Volume

119

Issue

1

Start / End Page

92 / 97

Related Subject Headings

  • West Virginia
  • Water Supply
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Toxicology
  • Regression Analysis
  • Polymers
  • Ohio
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Industrial Waste