Surma, M; Giménez-Bastida, JA; Zieliński, H
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a group of organofluorine, aliphatic hydrocarbons, which all or almost all hydrogen atoms are replaced with fluorine. They have a wide range of industrial and consumer applications such as stain, paints, hydraulic fluids, firefighting foams, production of fluoropolimers, cosmetics, insecticide formulations, textile treatments, surface coatings for carpets and furniture, cookware and water- and oil- resistant coatings for food contact materials. PFCs are extremely resistant towards thermal, chemical and biological degradation processes. There is now no evidence for their degradability and they decompose only at very high temperatures using a specially prepared furnaces. PFCs tend to accumulate in food chain and animal and human target organs. They have been detected globally as pollutants in water, plants, sediments, foodstuffs, and in animals such as fish, birds, mammals, as well as in human breast milk and blood. Currently, human are on the increased risk as PFCs are resistant to hydrolysis, photolysis, microbial degradation or metabolism. The two most frequently studied PFCs are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), generally considered as reference substances. Their estimated elimination half-life is about 3.8 years for PFOA and 5.4 years for PFOS. It is fully justified, because all of the perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluorine (POSF)-based compounds biologically break down or become metabolised to PFOS. PFOA, in addition to its production and use as a surfactant, is also formed as a degradation product of several fluoropolymers and fluorotelomer alcohol. There is currently no legislation for perfluorinated organic substances such as PFOA and PFOS in food or feed within the EU. There is a number of pathways by which PFCs contamination of humans can take place including diet, food contact materials, non-food personal items, and indoor and outdoor air pollution. Perfluorinated compounds bind to serum albumin and other cytosolic proteins and accumulate mainly in liver and kidney. An important number of studies show that PFCs cause a wide range of negative effects, including hepatic diseases, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. An in vitro and in vivo studies have started to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which PFOA and PFOS exert their adverse effects. However, the specific mechanisms related to these adverse effects is far from being clear. This chapter summarizes the recent information on the occurrence, exposure and health effects caused by PFOA and PFOS - the two main representatives of the perfluorinated compounds. © 2016 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
