Comparison of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure levels in neonatal cord blood be-tween an e-waste recycling area and a general exposure area
[Background]Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS)are a class of persistent organic pollu-tants.Industrial production and consumer use of PFAS are the primary sources of exposure in urban areas.E-waste recycling activities are also a significant source of environmental PFAS exposure.[Objective]To compare exposure profiles between traditional and emerging PFAS in neonatal cord blood collected from an e-waste recy-cling area and a general exposure area characterized by modern economic development(hereafter referred to as general exposure area).[Methods]Based on a birth cohort study conducted in 2018,85 pregnant women were recruited(36 participants from an e-waste recycling area and 49 participants from a general exposure area).Neonatal cord blood was collected at delivery.Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS)was used to detect 28 common PFAS in the blood.A structured questionnaire was used to gather sociodemographic characteristics of the pregnant women.Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare PFAS exposure levels in neonatal cord blood between the e-waste recycling area and the general exposure area.Multiple linear regression models were used to explore the influence of residing in the e-waste recycling area on neonatal PFAS exposure,with area as the independent variable and the natural logarithm of PFAS exposure levels as the dependent variable.[Results]A total of 22 PFAS were positive in neonatal cord blood,of which 13 congeners were 100%detectable in the samples from both areas.The median ∑PFAS exposure levels in neonatal cord blood were 14.19 ng·mL-1 and 14.02 ng·mL-1 for the e-waste recycling area and the general exposure area,respectively,with linear perfluorooctanoic acid(L-PFOA)showing the highest median concentration(5.49 ng·mL-1 and 6.39 ng·mL-1,respectively).The results of Mann-Whitney U tests showed that the median exposure levels of long-chain perfluorodecanoic acid(PFDA),perfluoroundecanoic acid(PFUnDA),perfluorododecanoic acid(PFDoDA),and perfluorotridecanoic acid(PFTrDA),as well as emerging alternatives 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate(6:2 Cl-PFESA)and 8:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate(8:2 Cl-PFESA),were higher in the e-waste recycling area than in the general exposure area.In contrast,the median exposure levels of short-chain perfluoropentanoic acid(PFPeA)and perfluorohexanoic acid(PFHxA),as well as perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA)branched isomers,including perfluoro-6-methylheptanoic acid(iso-PFOA),perfluoro-5-methylheptanoic acid(5m-PFOA),and perfluoro-4-methylheptanoic acid(4m-PFOA),were lower in the e-waste recycling area than in the general exposure area(P<0.05).The multiple linear regression models showed that,compared to the general exposure area,neonatal cord blood in the e-waste recycling area had significantly higher exposure levels of long-chain PFDA,PFUnDA,PFDoDA,PFTrDA,and emerging alternatives 6:2 Cl-PFESA and 8:2 Cl-PFESA,with odds ratios of 1.95(95%CI:1.39-2.75),2.10(95%CI:1.58-2.75),2.12(95%CI:1.39-3.25),2.64(95%CI:1.63-4.22),3.46(95%CI:2.34-5.10),and 3.25(95%CI:2.01-5.26),respectively.Conversely,the exposure levels of short-chain PFPeA,PFHxA,and branched PFOA(br-PFOA)were significantly lower,with odds ratios of 0.44(95%CI:0.38-0.52),0.30(95%CI:0.16-0.57),and 0.50(95%CI:0.38-0.67),respectively.[Conclusion]PFAS are widely present in neonatal cord blood in both the e-waste recycling area and the general exposure area.Compared to the general exposure area,the neonatal cord blood samples in the e-waste recycling area show higher exposure levels of certain long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids(PFCA)and emerging PFAS alternatives,while the neonatal cord blood samples in the general exposure area show higher exposure levels of some short-chain PFCA and PFOA branched isomers.
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