Risks of perfluorinated chemicals in the environment

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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.