Grantee Research Project Results
2024 Progress Report: Characterizing Residential PFAS Exposure Pathways among Children and Adults using Multimedia Measurements and Questionnaires
EPA Grant Number: CR840430Title: Characterizing Residential PFAS Exposure Pathways among Children and Adults using Multimedia Measurements and Questionnaires
Investigators: Dodson, Robin , Knappe, Detlef , Schaider, Laurel , Salamova, Amina
Institution: Silent Spring Institute , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , North Carolina State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: July 1, 2022 through May 12, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 1, 2023 through June 30,2024
Project Amount: $250,000
RFA: COLLECTION OF CONCORDANT MULTIMEDIA MEASUREMENTS TO EVALUATE PFAS HUMAN EXPOSURE PATHWAYS (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Urban Air Toxics , Endocrine Disruptors , Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil/Water , Human Health , Air , Safer Chemicals , PFAS Treatment
Objective:
The first objective is to characterize residential exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by measuring volatile and semivolatile PFAS in air and dust and total fluorine (TF) and extractable organofluorine (EOF) in dust in homes with children and adults. The second objective is to evaluate associations between PFAS concentrations in air and dust and home characteristics, including flooring type and reported consumer product use. The overarching goal of this study is to better characterize important PFAS exposure pathways among vulnerable groups (especially children) in communities with drinking water contamination and in the general population. Our long-term goal is to evaluate the association between PFAS levels in the home and PFAS blood levels among children and adults living in these homes.
Progress Summary:
In this second year, we extended our study to include participants in both Ayer and Hyannis, MA, and successfully met our target of enrolling and completing data collection in 52 homes. We launched data collection in mid-May 2023. Our study design included two home visits per household, approximately four weeks apart. During Visit #1, we obtained informed consent, administered a questionnaire about their home and behaviors in the home, and set up a passive air sampler. During Visit #2, we took down the air sampler, collected a house dust sample, and administered a follow-up questionnaire. We completed sample and data collection in August 2024 with a total of 104 home visits to 52 households.
Future Activities:
All samples have been shipped to Dr. Salamova’s laboratory at Emory University for targeted PFAS analysis. Analysis of dust samples has begun. Additional aliquots of dust will be shipped to Dr. Knappe’s laboratory at NC State University for TF and EOF analysis once targeted analyses are complete. Silent Spring Institute researchers will assess the precision, bias, sensitivity, representativeness, completeness, and comparability of all data reported by the laboratories prior to any data analysis. Study participants will also receive a report containing their individual results and a summary of the overall study findings. Reports will be generated using Silent Spring’s NIH-funded Digital Exposure Report-back Interface (DERBI). Data analysis will include data collected from this study as well as data collected through the MA PFAS and Your Health Study. This comprehensive dataset will allow us to achieve the following aims:
1) Evaluate associations between PFAS levels in indoor air and house dust for a broader range of PFAS than has been studied previously in order to characterize the extent of PFAS exposures from inhalation and ingestion of dust among adults and children;
2) Determine the fraction of total PFAS in dust that is captured by current targeted PFAS analytical methods by combining targeted analysis with TF and EOF analysis and estimate the fraction of total PFAS in dust that is missing from current methods;
3) Characterize sources of PFAS to indoor environments by correlating measured PFAS levels in indoor air and dust with reported consumer product usage and information about building materials;
4) Evaluate major sources of PFAS exposure among adults and children by combining questionnaire results, measurements of air and dust, and PFAS blood levels in participants; and
5) Enhance interpretation of PFAS blood test results among participants by identifying important predictors of exposure from individual household measurements and questionnaire data.
Supplemental Keywords:
exposure, risk assessment, children's health, Massachusetts, PFASRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.