Occurrence and Human Exposure of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in South Korea

抄録

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic organic compounds that have been produced for over six decades and they are used widely in industries due to their unique physicochemical characteristics like both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. Recently, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and their salts are designated as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Stockholm. In relation to the global regulation of these specific compounds, industries have changed to use of PFAS with lower persistence and bioaccumulation. These PFAS include shorter-chain PFAS like perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), as well as Gen-X (hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid; HFPO-DA), dodecafluoro-3H-4,8-dioxanonanoate (ADONA), and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate (F53B). Despite of the effort to reduce PFAS use, PFAS have been ubiquitously detected in water systems due to their wide use and low removal efficiency in water treatment processes. Accordingly, there has been increasing concern about potential human exposure via drinking water consumption. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the current PFAS contamination status of Korean environment including human samples. In addition, we estimated the daily intake of these contaminants via various exposure pathways and assessed human exposure to PFAS in South Korea. The detailed results will be presented in conference.