Poster Presentation Biobanking - Blue Sky Horizons (ABNA 19th Annual Conference)

Using archived serum samples to understand historical human exposure trends of Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (#7)

Sandra Nilsson 1 , Jennifer Bräunig 1 , Renee Carey 2 , Jennie Hui 3 , Kayla Smurthwaite 4 , Leisa-Maree Toms 5 , Martyn D Kirk 4 , Lin Fritschi 2 , Jochen F Mueller 1
  1. Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
  2. School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  3. School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  4. National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  5. School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Groove, Queensland, Australia

Background; Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of manmade compounds produced since the 1950s and used in a range of industrial processes and consumer products. Due to the high persistence and bioaccumulation potential of some PFASs, they have been detected in the environment, wildlife and humans globally.

PFASs were first detected in non-occupationally exposed individuals in the early 2000s. In Australia, PFAS serum concentrations have been measured in the general population since 2002. However, few have retrospectively measured PFAS concentrations in serum samples representative to a general population prior to 2000, none of which have been conducted in Australia. To understand the general population’s exposure to PFAS prior to 2002, longitudinal PFAS serum concentration measurements are required.

Method; In the current study, we accessed ‘The Busselton Health Study Data Bank’ to retrospectively analyse archived serum samples for PFASs. Repeat serum samples collected in 1975, 1981 and 1995 were obtained from 17 participants for PFAS analysis.

Results and Discussion; We detected 13 PFASs in the serum samples collected in 1975, and both the detection frequency and ∑PFAS serum concentrations increased between 1975 and 1995. Median ∑PFAS serum concentration increased over 7-fold; from 3.3 ng/mL in 1975 to 26 ng/mL in 1995. The increase in serum concentrations reflects the global production history of these PFASs during this period in time.

Conclusion; This study provides new insight on the trends of PFAS serum concentrations in individuals living in a rural Australian town with no known major point source of PFAS contamination. Using archived specimen samples to measure emerging contaminants is a practical method to understand historical exposure trends.