Characterization of developmental toxicity and Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) for emerging PFAS – individual compounds and mixtures

No associated abstract, this is an invited presentation for the Interagency Risk Assessment Consortium (IRAC)

Impact/Purpose

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) research is an area of critical need due to issues associated with environmental persistence, widespread occurrence, biological half-life, toxicity, and nearly ubiquitous human and environmental exposure. Perfluoroalkyl ether acids (PFEAs) are a sub-class of PFAS and include the compounds hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (GenX), Nafion byproduct 2 (NBP2), and perfluromethoxyacetic acid (PFMOAA). PFEAs are currently used in the production of fluoropolymers following the phase-out of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), presumably due to more favorable fate and toxicity profiles. However, monitoring studies have detected GenX, NBP2, PFMOAA and others in a wide range of matrices including surface water, drinking water, and/or human serum. Little published research is available regarding the potential toxicity of these compounds compared to the legacy PFAS or cumulative effects of exposure to PFAS mixtures. We conducted experiments with pregnant rats to evaluate maternal, fetal, and early postnatal effects following oral exposure to GenX, NBP2, PFMOAA and a mixture study with GenX+NBP2+PFOS as a continuation of our project on the reproductive and developmental effects of in utero chemical exposure. The data from this project will be useful to state, federal, and other regulatory agencies in the development of hazard assessments for GenX, PFMOAA, and NBP2, among other PFAS and combined exposure to multiple PFAS.

Citation

Conley, J. Characterization of developmental toxicity and Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) for emerging PFAS – individual compounds and mixtures. Interagency Risk Assessment Consortium Information Sharing on PFAS, Virtual, Virtual, April 14 - 26, 2021.