Private drinking water wells as a source of exposure to perfuorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in communities surrounding a fluoropolymer production facility

Abstract

Background: Te C8 Health Project was established in 2005 to collect data on perfuorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) and human health in Ohio and West Virginia communities contaminated by a fuoropolymer production facility. oB je c t iv e: We assessed PFOA exposure via contaminated drinking water in a subset of C8 Health Project participants who drank water from private wells. Methods: Participants provided demographic information and residential, occupational, and medical histories. Laboratory analyses were conducted to determine serum-PFOA concentrations. PFOA data were collected from 2001 through 2005 from 62 private drinking water wells. We examined the relationship between drinking water and PFOA levels in serum using robust regression methods. As a comparison with regression models, we used a frst-order, single-compartment pharmaco-kinetic model to estimate the serum:drinking-water concentration ratio at steady state. re su l t s: Te median serum PFOA concentration in 108 study participants who used private wells was 75.7 μg/L, approximately 20 times greater than the levels in the U.S. general population but similar to those of local residents who drank public water. Each 1 μg/L increase in PFOA levels in drinking water was associated with an increase in serum concentrations of 141.5 μg/L (95% con-fdence interval, 134.9-148.1). Te serum:drinking-water concentration ratio for the steady-state pharmacokinetic model was 114. co n c l u sio n s: PFOA-contaminated drinking water is a signifcant contributor to PFOA levels in serum in the study population. Regression methods and pharmacokinetic modeling produced similar estimates of the relationship.