School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Shihu Campus, 215011, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
School of Public and Environmental Health, Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Science, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Chemosphere. 2020 Jul;251:126313. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126313. Epub 2020 Feb 24.
Industrial manufacture boom in the past decades had resulted in the release of new chemicals to the environment. A group of manmade chemicals called per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are among these chemicals that have gained traction in recent years which are used in myriad consumer and industrial products worldwide. Since some PFASs are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic in nature, series of programs and regulatory initiatives have been introduced to end their production; and gradually replacing them with short chain alternatives. However, concerns have been expressed in the scientific literature about the characteristics and effects of some of these short chain alternatives on environmental and living systems. Here, we suggest that professional scientific bodies should be part of the review process of alternatives short chain PFASs, owing to their immeasurable contribution to knowledge and understanding of these chemicals. Per and poly fluoroalkyl substances are understudied and poorly regulated in developing countries. Therefore, in order for these countries to contribute meaningfully to the global regulatory initiatives on PFASs, transfer of technology and capacity building must be explicitly considered, given the developed competencies, technical expertise and skills that are required for evidence-based policy development and implementation. Furthermore, the issue of transparency of the production and use of PFASs which some companies consider as confidential business information (CBI) must be closely paid attention to by regulators. Confidential business information if not properly addressed may undermine regulatory and risk reduction measures as it may limit most of the relevant information pertaining to PFASs.
在过去几十年的工业制造热潮中，新的化学物质不断被释放到环境中。在这些化学物质中，一组被称为全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFASs）的人造化学物质近年来引起了人们的关注，它们被广泛应用于全球无数的消费和工业产品中。由于一些 PFASs 具有持久性、生物累积性和毒性，因此已经出台了一系列计划和监管措施来停止它们的生产，并逐渐用短链替代品来替代它们。然而，科学界对其中一些短链替代品的特性和对环境和生命系统的影响表示担忧。在这里，我们建议专业的科学机构应该参与到短链 PFASs 替代品的审查过程中，因为它们对这些化学物质的知识和理解做出了不可估量的贡献。全氟和多氟烷基物质在发展中国家研究不足，监管不力。因此，为了使这些国家能够为全球关于 PFASs 的监管倡议做出有意义的贡献，必须明确考虑技术转让和能力建设，因为这需要具备基于证据的政策制定和实施所需的能力、技术专长和技能。此外，必须密切关注监管机构对 PFASs 生产和使用的透明度问题，一些公司将其视为商业机密信息（CBI）。如果不妥善处理商业机密信息，可能会破坏监管和减少风险措施，因为它可能会限制与 PFASs 相关的大部分相关信息。
