Is Fish a Major Source of Fluorinated Surfactants and Repellents in Humans Living on the Baltic Coast?

Abstract

Concentrations of 19 perfluorochemicals have been quantified in human blood and in some marine food resources from the region of the Gulf of Gdañsk at the Baltic Sea south coast in Poland. We indicate that in addition to PFOS and PFOA, a further 8 perfluorochemicals bioaccumulate in the human body. Food chain is an important route of exposure for all 10 perfluoroalkyl compounds detected in nonoccupationally exposed humans. Individuals who declared to have a high fish intake in their diet (mainly Baltic fish) on average contained the highest load of all 10 fluorochemicals when compared with the other human subpopulations. Baltic seafood has been found to highly influence human body burden of PFHxS, PFOS, PFOSA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, and PFDoDA, and to a lesser extent PFOA.