Perfluorooctanoic Acid

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8 and perfluorooctanoate, is a synthetic perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant. One industrial application is as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of fluoropolymers. It has been used in the manufacture of such prominent consumer goods as Teflon and Gore-Tex. PFOA has been manufactured since the 1940s in industrial quantities. It is also formed by the degradation of precursors such as some fluorotelomers.

PFOA persists indefinitely in the environment. It is a toxicant and carcinogen in animals. PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population in the low and sub-parts per billion range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. Exposure has been associated with increased cholesterol and uric acid levels, and recently higher serum levels of PFOA were found to be associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease in the general United States population, consistent with earlier animal studies. "This association was independent of confounders such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, and serum cholesterol level."

As a result of a class-action lawsuit and community settlement with DuPont, three epidemiologists are conducting studies on the population surrounding a chemical plant that was exposed to PFOA at levels greater than in the general population. If PFOA exposure is found to be likely to lead to an increased risk of disease, future liabilities for DuPont will be triggered. The first of these studies has reported that workers at this high-PFOA plant are at greatly increased risk of death from mesothelioma, diabetes mellitus, and chronic renal disease. Full results from the studies are expected in 2012.

How general populations are exposed to PFOA is not completely understood. PFOA has been detected in industrial waste, stain resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids, house dust, microwave popcorn bags, water, food, some cookware and PTFE such as Teflon.

Read more about Perfluorooctanoic Acid:  History, Synthesis, Applications, Properties, Global Occurrence and Sources