Toxicology of perfluorinated compounds

Perfluorinated compounds [PFCs] have found a wide use in industrial products and processes and in a vast array of consumer products. PFCs are molecules made up of carbon chains to which fluorine atoms are bound. Due to the strength of the carbon/fluorine bond, the molecules are chemically very stable and are highly resistant to biological degradation; therefore, they belong to a class of compounds that tend to persist in the environment. These compounds can bioaccumulate and also undergo biomagnification. Within the class of PFC chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorosulphonic acid are generally considered reference substances. Meanwhile, PFCs can be detected almost ubiquitously, e.g., in water, plants, different kinds of foodstuffs, in animals such as fish, birds, in mammals, as well as in human breast milk and blood. PFCs are proposed as a new class of 'persistent organic pollutants'. Numerous publications allude to the negative effects of PFCs on human health. The following review describes both external and internal exposures to PFCs, the toxicokinetics (uptake, distribution, metabolism, excretion), and the toxicodynamics (acute toxicity, subacute and subchronic toxicities, chronic toxicity including carcinogenesis, genotoxicity and epigenetic effects, reproductive and developmental toxicities, neurotoxicity, effects on the endocrine system, immunotoxicity and potential modes of action, combinational effects, and epidemiological studies on perfluorinated compounds). © 2011 Stahl et al.