Human exposure to fluorotelomer alcohols, perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate via house dust in Bavaria, Germany Original Research Article

This study aimed at investigating the presence and distribution of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in house dust to evaluate human exposure to these compounds via dust ingestion. 31 house dust samples were collected from Bavaria, Germany and analyzed for 4:2, 6:2, 8:2 and 10:2 FTOH, PFOS and PFOA. PFOA was the dominant compound in 79% of the dust samples, followed by PFOS and 8:2 FTOH, while 4:2 FTOH was not detected in any samples. The total concentration of per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) varied from 32.2 to 2456 ng/g. In addition, the total ingestion rate for PFCs was 0.4–135 ng/d for adults and 5.1–246 ng/d for toddlers, and the highest 8:2 FTOH-based PFOA intake via indoor dust was 0.24 ng/d for adults and 0.44 ng/d for toddlers. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that dust ingestion is a minor pathway for human exposure to these PFCs; the PFC ingestion via indoor dust is generally low, and only under a worst scenario high intakes have to be expected for toddlers.