Lucas Katherine, Gaines Linda G T, Paris-Davila Tamara, Nylander-French Leena A
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 2023 May;66(5):379-392. doi: 10.1002/ajim.23454. Epub 2022 Dec 27.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of chemicals used in nearly all sectors of industry and many consumer products. Their resistance to degradation, however, means that PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment and bioaccumulate. PFAS exposure has also been linked to a variety of adverse health effects. Occupational PFAS exposure is of particular concern as research on PFAS exposure in worker populations has historically been limited and generally restricted to fluorochemical plant workers involved in PFAS production.
A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed scientific literature was conducted to investigate which worker populations may experience occupational exposure to PFAS. Serum PFAS levels reported in various occupations were analyzed and compared to serum PFAS levels published on the general public exposed to PFAS-contaminated drinking water and the study population of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Our analysis indicates that professional ski waxers and firefighters may be exposed to several different PFAS at levels often similar to or higher than levels among fluorochemical plant workers and individuals in communities with PFAS-contaminated drinking water, and higher than levels in the general public. PFAS serum level data on other occupations were largely absent.
Results highlight a need for additional research on occupational PFAS exposures and concomitant environmental exposures in these populations. Research on exposure levels in occupations and industries known or suspected to utilize PFAS is critically needed to foster informed recommendations for exposure mitigation measures to protect workers from adverse health effects of PFAS exposure.
全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是一类几乎应用于所有工业领域和许多消费品中的化学物质。然而，它们难以降解，这意味着PFAS在环境中无处不在且会生物累积。PFAS暴露还与多种不良健康影响有关。职业性PFAS暴露尤其令人担忧，因为以往针对工人群体中PFAS暴露的研究一直有限，且通常仅限于参与PFAS生产的氟化工厂工人。
对同行评审的科学文献进行了全面综述，以调查哪些工人群体可能会职业性接触PFAS。分析了不同职业中报告的血清PFAS水平，并与接触受PFAS污染饮用水的普通公众以及国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）研究人群中公布的血清PFAS水平进行了比较。
我们的分析表明，专业滑雪蜡工和消防员可能接触几种不同的PFAS，其接触水平通常与氟化工厂工人以及生活在受PFAS污染饮用水社区的个体相似或更高，且高于普通公众。其他职业的PFAS血清水平数据大多缺失。
研究结果凸显了对这些人群的职业性PFAS暴露及相关环境暴露进行更多研究的必要性。迫切需要对已知或疑似使用PFAS的职业和行业中的暴露水平进行研究，以便为制定减轻暴露的措施提供明智建议，从而保护工人免受PFAS暴露的不良健康影响。
