Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Mar;53(3):324-8.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e31820d1314.

Perfluoroalkyl acids including perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorohexane sulfonate in firefighters

ChuanFang Jin  1 , YingHua Sun, Ahmed Islam, Yong Qian, Alan Ducatman
Affiliations

Perfluoroalkyl acids including perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorohexane sulfonate in firefighters

ChuanFang Jin et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Firefighters were likely exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate since it was a component of extinguishing foams and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), a surfactant coating carpet and other building materials, during firefighting. The objective of the study is to evaluate serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in firefighters.

Methods: A total of 8826 male adults, including 37 firefighters, were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was conducted by using a general linear model. The least square mean of serum PFAAs was obtained after adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic variables.

Results: Serum concentration of PFHxS was statistically higher in firefighters both before and after adjustment. Perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorononanoic acid were also found higher in firefighters, though not statistically significant.

Conclusions: The study suggests that fighting fire can be a risk of exposure to PFAAs, specifically PFHxS.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources