Preface

Survey and environmental/health assessment of fluorinated substances in impregnated consumer products and impregnating agents

List of used acronyms

The growing environmental concern of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) derivatives and related substances is due to the fact that these potential harmful compounds now are global environmental pollutants distributed in air, water, soils and biota, including in polar bears living in remote arctic areas. In addition, in many countries PFOS, PFOA and other related substances have been observed in human blood samples of the general population.

The reasons for this widespread occurrence seem to be that perfluorinated substances are increasingly used and are environmentally persistent and bioaccumulative.

A range of polyfluorinated substances are used in numerous industrial products and consumer products because of their special chemical properties, for instance the ability to repel both water and oils.

The most studied and well-known polyfluorinated substances are the banned PFOS and PFOS related substances, which are not produced anymore, and which during the past years have been substituted with other fluorinated compounds – either perfluorinated compounds with shorter chain length or polyfluorinated compounds, such as fluorotelomer alcohols.

PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacture of polyfluoroethene polymers e.g. Teflon^®. PFOA is a well-documented impurity in such polymers and in fluorotelomers. Furthermore, PFOA and other perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) may be formed by degradation of some fluoropolymers and fluorotelomers.

This project was initiated by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the work on identifying chemical substances in consumer products. This project report contains a survey of the use of polyfluorinated compounds in consumer products in Denmark, as well as an updated environmental and health assessment of this large group of substances. The report was drafted in the period April 2007 - November 2007, and it contains references to scientific papers being published until November 2007.

Frank Jensen from the Danish EPA supervised the project.

June 2008

List of used acronyms

AcOH Acetic acid

DPPC Dipalmitoylphoshatidyl choline

EtFHpSA N-Ethyl perfluoroheptane sulfonamide

EtFOSE N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanol

EtFOSEA N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethyl acrylate

EtFOSEMA N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethyl methacrylate

EtFOSA N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide

EtFOSAA N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetate

8:2 FTMA 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorodecyl methacrylate

8:2 FTA 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorodecyl acrylate

FTCAs Fluorotelomer carboxylates

FTI Fluorotelomer iodide

FTUCAs Fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylates

FTOHs Fluorotelomer alcohols

4:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorohexanol

6:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorooctanol

8:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorodecanol

10:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorododecanol

12:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorotetradecanol

14:2 FTOH 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorohexadecanol

GJIC Gap junction intercellular communication

M570 N-Methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetate

MeFBSE N-Methyl perfluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol

MeFOSA N-Methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide

MeFOSAA N-Methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetate

MeFOSE N-Methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanol

MeFOSEA N-Methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethyl acrylate

NOAEL No observed adverse effect level

OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

PFAS Perfluoroalkylated substances or perfluoroalkyl sulfonate

PFBA Perfluorobutanoic acid/perfluorobutanoate

PFBS Perfluorobutane sulfonate/sulfonic acid

PFCs Polyfluorinated compounds/chemicals

PFCAs Perfluorocarboxylic acids/salts

PFDA Perfluorodecanoic acid

PFDoA Perfluorododecanoic acid

PFDS Perfluorodecane sulfonate

PFHpA Perfluoroheptanoic acid

PFHpS Perfluoroheptane sulfonate

PFHxA Perfluorohexanoic acid

PFHxS Perfluorohexane sulfonate

PFNA Perfluorononanoic acid

PFNS Perfluorononane sulfonate

PFOA Perfluorooctanoic acid/perfluorooctanoate

PFOS Perfluorooctane sulfonate/sulfonic acid

(P)FOSA Perfluorooctane sulfonamide

(P)FOSAA Perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetate

(P)FOSE Perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanol

PFOSF Perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride

PFPeA Perfluoropentanoic acid

PFPeS Perfluoropentane sulfonate

PFTeA Perfluorotetradecanoic acid

PFTrA Perfluorotridecanoic acid

PFUnA Perfluoroundecanoic acid

PNEC Predicted no effect concentration

POPs Persistent organic pollutants

WWTPs Waste water treatment plants

TDI Tolerable daily intake

USEPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency