Self-Reported Medical Conditions in Perfluorooctanesulfonyl Fluoride Manufacturing Workers

Objective: To evaluate whether some cancers, other conditions, and pregnancy outcomes were related to occupational perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) exposure. Methods: We surveyed current and former employees of a perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride production facility, using a self-administered questionnaire to ascertain several cancers and health conditions. Female cohort members also completed a brief pregnancy history. We requested medical records to validate reported melanoma, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. PFOS exposure was estimated based on a job exposure matrix up to the year of the diagnosis of the condition. Results: Of the 1895 eligible participants, 1400 questionnaires were returned. No association was observed between working in a PFOS-exposed job and the risk of any of the surveyed conditions. Conclusion: We observed no association between working in a PFOS-exposed job and several cancers, common health conditions, and birth weight.

[1]  C. Lau,et al.  Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate during pregnancy in rat and mouse. I: maternal and prenatal evaluations. , 2003, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[2]  M. Thun,et al.  Validity of self-reported cancers in a prospective cohort study in comparison with data from state cancer registries. , 1998, American journal of epidemiology.

[3]  Timothy R. Church,et al.  Quantitative Evaluation of Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and Other Fluorochemicals in the Serum of Children , 2004 .

[4]  P. Hartge.  Participation in population studies. , 2006, Epidemiology.

[5]  M S Christian,et al.  Rat and rabbit oral developmental toxicology studies with two perfluorinated compounds. , 2001, International journal of toxicology.

[6]  H. Gayle,et al.  Validation of maternally reported birth weights among 46,637 Tennessee WIC program participants. , 1988, Public health reports.

[7]  A. Paganini-Hill,et al.  Accuracy of recall of hip fracture, heart attack, and cancer: a comparison of postal survey data and medical records. , 1993, American journal of epidemiology.

[8]  Jeffrey H Mandel,et al.  Analysis of Episodes of Care in a Perfluorooctanesulfonyl Fluoride Production Facility , 2004, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[9]  Jeffrey H Mandel,et al.  Epidemiologic Assessment of Worker Serum Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) Concentrations and Medical Surveillance Examinations , 2003, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[10]  G. Olsen,et al.  Subchronic toxicity studies on perfluorooctanesulfonate potassium salt in cynomolgus monkeys. , 2002, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[11]  R. G. York,et al.  Neonatal mortality from in utero exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in Sprague-Dawley rats: dose-response, and biochemical and pharamacokinetic parameters. , 2005, Toxicology.

[12]  Bruce H Alexander,et al.  Bladder cancer in perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride manufacturing workers. , 2007, Annals of epidemiology.

[13]  M. Hauptmann,et al.  Cancer incidence in the U.S. radiologic technologists health study, 1983–1998 , 2003 .

[14]  R. G. York,et al.  Two-generation reproduction and cross-foster studies of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in rats. , 2005, Toxicology.

[15]  C. Elcombe,et al.  Sub-chronic dietary toxicity of potassium perfluorooctanesulfonate in rats. , 2003, Toxicology.

[16]  Jeffrey H Mandel,et al.  Serum concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonate and other fluorochemicals in an elderly population from Seattle, Washington. , 2004, Chemosphere.

[17]  M. Stanton,et al.  Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate during pregnancy in rat and mouse. II: postnatal evaluation. , 2003, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[18]  K. Helzlsouer,et al.  Historical Comparison of Perfluorooctanesulfonate, Perfluorooctanoate, and Other Fluorochemicals in Human Blood , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[19]  Harvey J Clewell,et al.  Pharmacokinetic modeling of saturable, renal resorption of perfluoroalkylacids in monkeys--probing the determinants of long plasma half-lives. , 2006, Toxicology.

[20]  A. B. Barnes,et al.  A comparison of pregnancy history recall and medical records. Implications for retrospective studies. , 1985, American journal of epidemiology.

[21]  A. Seacat,et al.  Interactions of fluorochemicals with rat liver fatty acid-binding protein. , 2002, Toxicology.

[22]  B H Alexander,et al.  Mortality of employees of a perfluorooctanesulphonyl fluoride manufacturing facility , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[23]  Jeffrey H Mandel,et al.  An occupational exposure assessment of a perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride production site: biomonitoring. , 2003, AIHA journal : a journal for the science of occupational and environmental health and safety.

[24]  K. Hansen,et al.  Compound-specific, quantitative characterization of organic fluorochemicals in biological matrices. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[25]  Nathan M. Bass,et al.  Interactions of flurochemicals with rat liver fatty acid-binding protein , 2002 .

[26]  C. Lau,et al.  The developmental toxicity of perfluoroalkyl acids and their derivatives. , 2004, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[27]  A. Calafat,et al.  Perfluorochemicals in pooled serum samples from United States residents in 2001 and 2002. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[28]  M. A. Mohd,et al.  Perfluorooctanesulfonate and related fluorochemicals in human blood from several countries. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[29]  J. Giesy,et al.  Global distribution of perfluorooctane sulfonate in wildlife. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[30]  Derek C G Muir,et al.  Biological monitoring of polyfluoroalkyl substances: A review. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.