Risks of perfluorinated chemicals in the environment

这项研究将检查环境中普遍存在的全氟化化学品(PFC)，包括尚未确定的PFC，以便对其安全性进行评估。由于其独特的性质，全氟碳化物在制造过程和产品中的使用越来越频繁，数量也越来越多。全氟碳化物是重要和有用的产品，例如在电子工业中。全氟化碳还具有持久性、生物蓄积性；有些在与环境有关的浓度下是有毒的。2000年，我的研究团队首次在环境中发现了全氟化碳。从那时起，我们开发了测量环境中全氟碳化合物浓度的仪器方法，并确定了全氟碳化合物一些成员的一些关键毒性机制。随后，我们开发了生物检测方法来筛选全氟碳化合物的影响。我们的研究结果导致一些常见的全氟碳化物在北美停产，尽管它们仍在亚洲制造和使用。最近，我们确定，在环境中合成的有机结合氟中，只有不到2%可以被已知的全氟化合物所解释。这意味着98%的潜在危险含氟化合物尚未被识别。关键是要确定剩余的化合物，以便进行全面的风险评估。我们将开发和应用尖端分析方法来识别额外的化合物，以确定它们是否对人类或环境构成危害。我们将开发和应用新的分析方法来定量测量极低浓度的已知化合物；将开发和应用方法来测量总有机结合氟；并将识别环境中以前未描述的全氟化碳。我们还将使用分子生物学和生物测定技术来确定这两种已知全氟化碳的毒性和相对效力的机制-单独或在从环境基质中提取的全氟化碳的混合物中。最后，我们希望能够使用对这些化合物的危险和风险的新估计来评估它们对人类和环境的潜在不利影响。

The research will examine perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) that are ubiquitous in the environment, including as yet unidentified PFCs so that their safety can be assessed. Because of their unique properties PFCs are being used more often and in greater quantities in manufacturing processes and products. PFCs are important and useful products, for instance in the electronics industry. PFCs are also persistent, bioaccumulative; some are toxic at environmentally relevant concentrations. In 2000, my research team identified PFCs in the environment for the first time. Since then we have developed instrumental methods to measure concentrations of PFCs in the environment and determined some of the critical mechanisms of toxicity of some members of the PFCs. Subsequently, we have developed bioassays to screen for effects of PFCs. The results of our research led to the cessation of North American production of some of the common PFCs, though they are still manufactured and used in Asia. Recently, we determined that less than 2% of the synthetic, organically-bound fluorine in the environment can be accounted for by known PFCs. That means that 98% of the potentially hazardous fluorinated compounds have not been identified. It is critical to identify the remaining compounds so that a comprehensive risk assessment can be made. We will develop and apply cutting-edge analytical methods to identify the additional compounds are to ascertain if they present hazards to humans or to the environment. We will both develop and apply novel analytical methods for the quantitative measurement of very low concentrations of known compounds; will develop and apply methods to measure total organically bound fluorine; and will identify previously undescribed PFCs in the environment. We will also use molecular biology and bioassay techniques to determine the mechanism of toxicity and relative potencies of both known PFCs -- individually and in mixtures of PFCs extracted from environmental matrices. Finally, we expect to be able to use the new estimates of hazard and risk of the compounds to assess their potential for adverse effects on humans and the environment.