Exceptionally high serum concentrations of perfluorohexanesulfonate in a Canadian family are linked to home carpet treatment applications

Abstract

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are normally the dominant perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in human serum, but here a Canadian family of seven was identified with particularly high exposure to perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS). Disproportionately high serum PFHxS concentrations (range 27.5-423 ng/mL) and moderately high PFOS (range 15.2-108 ng/mL) and PFOA (range 2.40-9.23 ng/mL) concentrations were detected in the family members, with all three chemicals being highest in the youngest children. We therefore sought to identify the source(s) and pathway(s) of this unusual exposure, and to study the excretion of PFASs for this family. Serum, urine, and stool were sampled from family members, carpet, dust, and air were sampled in the home, and a questionnaire was administered. Over 15 years, the family's household carpets were treated 8 times with Scotchgard formulations. Elevated concentrations of PFHxS were detected in household dust (2780 ng/g dust) and in family room carpet (2880 ng/g carpet), and the primary mode of excretion for the major PFASs was through urine. The high PFHxS and moderately high PFOS concentrations in serum and household samples are consistent with the known PFAS content of certain Scotchgard formulations, and exposure was likely through dust ingestion and/or inhalation.