WTC responders have high blood levels of perfluorinated compounds
DREAMSTIME
That led the team to test plasma, exposed to dust or smoke had about The World Trade Center (WTC) di not serum, which is considered the twice as much perfluorooctane sul saster on September 11, 2001, ex norm for such research. The com fonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic posed thousands of people to dust, plete collection contains more than acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sul dioxins, and other compounds 1000 samples, and the team hopes fonate (PFHxS), and perfluoronona kicked up and released by the fall to do additional testing. noic acid (PFNA) in their blood as ing, burning towers. Among the Further research could reveal the general U.S. population. Howev mix of chemicals were perfluorinat various markers of exposure, Kan er, studies have shown that people ed compounds used as fire retar nan says. For example, workers ex in Portland, Ore., and Boston have dants to treat computers, carpets, posed to dust had levels of PFHxS concentrations similar to those of office furniture, and coatings for that were 58% higher than wires. Workers who re those in workers who were sponded to the catastro less exposed to dust. In phe have higher levels of contrast, workers breath some of these compounds ing in more smoke had in their blood, according about 40% higher PFNA to new research published levels than the less ex in ES&T (pp 3472–3478). posed group. These differences even Keith Solomon, a toxi tually could be used as cologist at Guelph Uni markers of exposure. versity (Canada), says that The effects of per although he would be fluorinated compounds careful in drawing con on humans remain un clusions from the new known, but preliminary data, the study “raises in research with animals Workers responding to the World Trade Center disaster in 2001 were exposed to perfluorinated compounds, such as PFOS and teresting questions.” He hints at neurodevelop PFOA, along with the smoke and dust at the still-smoldering underscores that the re mental effects, low birth site (shown here years later from an observation deck). sults would be much more weights, immune system conclusive had the team suppression, liver cancer, had access to samples from both the WTC workers. This may be a and other impairments. Unknowns before and much longer after the factor of urban living. include whether perfluorinated event. Such samples do not exist, a City residents have been found compounds of different chain point the team makes in its report. to have higher levels of perfluo lengths are taken up differently in Solomon also raises the point rinated chemicals in their blood animal tissues; fish tissue studies that rescue workers are exposed compared with rural dwellers, ac indicate that they might be. to smoke and many other com cording to past research published The researchers do not use pounds “related to their jobs in by Antonia Calafat and colleagues the new data to look for effects. general, rather than the WTC di at the U.S. Centers for Disease Instead, they quantify the pres saster” alone. Control and Prevention (CDC) as ence of four perfluorinated com Those types of work-related ex well as by Kannan and co-work pounds. Led by Kurunthachalam posures could confound the new ers. The U.S. EPA and CDC denied Kannan of the State University of results, and Solomon says it would requests to comment on the new New York Albany’s department of be helpful to be able to segregate research. A control group of New environmental health and toxicol those populations for comparison York City residents not directly ex ogy, the team analyzed 457 sam in future research. posed to the WTC site would have ples of plasma collected from New Overall, says Shelley Harris of been useful for the larger context, York State personnel and National Cancer Care Ontario (Canada) and other outside researchers note. Guardsmen who worked in the vi the University of Toronto, the new “At the beginning, nobody knew cinity of the WTC site for several research is a well-done pilot study this kind of research would be nec months after the disaster. The re that establishes a quantitative essary,” Kannan says, and research searchers grouped the samples ac baseline of exposures to perfluori ers scrambled to collect samples cording to estimates of smoke and nated compounds in WTC workers. that would be suitable for the anal dust exposure. —NAOMI LUBICK ysis of several different compounds. The analyses show that workers May 1, 2008 / Environmental Science & Technology ■ 3123
