One-year follow-up of perfluorinated compounds in plasma of German residents from Arnsberg formerly exposed to PFOA-contaminated drinking water.

In Arnsberg, Sauerland area Germany, 40000 residents were exposed to PFOA-contaminated drinking water (500-640ng PFOA/l; May 2006). In July 2006, the PFOA-concentrations in drinking water were lowered significantly by activated charcoal filtering in the waterworks, mostly below the limit of detection (10ng/l). A first human biomonitoring study performed in autumn 2006 revealed that PFOA-concentrations in blood plasma of residents living in Arnsberg were 4.

Biomonitoring of perfluorinated compounds in children and adults exposed to perfluorooctanoate-contaminated drinking water.

Objective: 40,000 residents in Arnsberg, Germany, had been exposed to drinking water contaminated with perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Internal exposure of the residents of Arnsberg to six PFCs was assessed in comparison with reference areas.

Design And Participants: One hundred seventy children (5-6 years of age), 317 mothers (23-49 years), and 204 men (18-69 years) took part in the cross-sectional study.