Abstract
(By comparison with other well-known chemical pollutants, there are just 75 known dioxins and 209 polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.) Not all PFASs are cause for concern, says Eeva Leinala, principal administrator in the Environment, Health and Safety Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, which commissioned Wang's study. Studies in rodents exposed to PFOA for long periods of time, for instance, show that this can result in activation of a receptor called PPAR-α, a protein that regulates lipid metabolism in the liver and elsewhere, and so can lead to liver tumours. Christine Gardiner, a master's student at the University of Rhode Island in Kingstown, quickly e-mailed staff at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, who maintain a network of buoys in Narragansett Bay during the summer to monitor water quality. Sunderland hopes that researchers could help people with high PFAS levels in their blood to trace the source of their exposure - perhaps to fish consumption, their drinking water or house dust.