In a new study appearing in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers found high levels of ultrashort-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood samples taken from Wilmington, N.C. residents between 2010 and 2016. Two ultrashort-chain PFAS—perfluoromethoxyacetic acid (PFMOAA) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)—were detected at high levels in almost every sample.
In contrast, GenX—the chemical that jumpstarted public concern about PFAS in the Cape Fear River Basin—was detected in 20% of the samples. The work adds to the body of evidence that short-chain PFAS can accumulate in the human body.
Ultrashort-chain PFAS such as PFMOAA and TFA have not been well-studied in people for two reasons: they were not thought to bioaccumulate due to their chemical structure, and until recently there were no analytical methods that allowed scientists to reliably detect them in blood…