Oral Presentation Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia 2023

Bridging the Knowledge Gap on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Consumer Household Products (#51)

Pradeep Dewapriya 1 , Lachlan Chadwick 1 , Sara G Gorji 1 , Bastian Schulze 1 , Sara Valsecchi 2 , Saer Samanipour 3 , Kevin V Thomas 1 , Sarit L Kaserzon 1
  1. The University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
  2. Water Research Institute—National Research Council of Italy (IRSA-CNR), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 , Brugherio MB, Italy
  3. Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) , University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1090 GD, The Netherland

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have emerged as significant contaminants found in various environmental and biological matrices, owing to their widespread use in both industrial and consumer products. While various sources of PFAS contamination have been identified, little attention has been directed towards PFAS in consumer household products. This study aims to enhance our understanding of PFAS suspect screening and non-target analysis (NTA) in PFAS-containing products while consolidating and harmonizing suspect lists to facilitate screening and bridge the existing knowledge gap. A comprehensive literature analysis was conducted, utilizing a bottom-up approach to examine PFAS types and concentrations reported over the past decade. A total of 52 relevant studies, encompassing 107 PFAS compounds classified into 15 distinct categories, were identified across 1040 consumer products. The majority of the literature were from the United States (n=389), followed by the Czech Republic (n=111). Among the investigated product categories, household firefighting products exhibited the highest mean PFAS concentrations, closely followed by textile finishing agents and household chemicals. Textiles showed the greatest diversity of PFAS compounds, with 72 distinct PFAS identified. Notably, only two studies out of the 52 utilized High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) data analysis, indicating that most studies have focused on well-known PFAS compounds in these products. This highlights a significant data gap in the available literature. Among the classes of PFAS investigated, particular attention is warranted for fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH), polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs), perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), and perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs). Our literature review underscores the concern regarding the presence of PFAS in consumer household products and emphasizes the need for further exploration. To address the identified research gaps, we propose a collaborative interlaboratory trial for suspect screening and non-target analysis of consumer products to expand our knowledge on PFAS in these products and potential human exposure.