Cited by 40Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactSynthesis and properties of polymers

Linking Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in House Dust and Biomonitoring Data in Eight Impacted Communities

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Minucci, Jeffrey M., DeLuca, Nicole M., Durant, James T., Goodwin, Bradley, Kowalski, Peter, Scruton, Karen, Thomas, Kent, Cohen Hubal, Elaine A.·2024·Environment International

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used in industry and have been linked to various adverse health effects. Communities adjacent to sites where PFAS are manufactured, stored, or used may be at elevated risk. In these impacted communities, significant exposure often occurs through contaminated drinking water, yet less is known about the role of other pathways such as residential exposure through house dust. We analyzed a paired serum and house dust dataset from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's PFAS Exposure Assessments, which sampled eight United States communities with a history of drinking water contamination due to aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) use at nearby military bases. We found that serum PFAS levels of residents were significantly positively associated with the dust PFAS levels in their homes, for three of seven PFAS analyzed, when accounting for site and participant age. We also found that increased dust PFAS levels were associated with a shift in the relative abundance of PFAS in serum towards those chemicals not strongly linked to AFFF contamination, which may suggest household sources. Additionally, we analyzed participant responses to exposure questionnaires to identify factors associated with dust PFAS levels. Dust PFAS levels for some analytes were significantly elevated in households where participants were older and had lived at the home longer, cleaned less frequently, used stain resistant products, and had carpeted living rooms. Our results suggest that residential exposure to PFAS via dust or other indoor pathways may contribute to overall exposure and body burden, even in communities impacted by AFFF contamination of drinking water, and the magnitude of this exposure may also be influenced by demographic, behavioral, and housing factors.

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  • Biomonitoring data show that young children frequently have higher serum PFAS concentrations than adults, particularly in environmentally contaminated areas.

    “Biomonitoring data show that young children frequently have higher serum PFAS concentrations than adults, particularly in environmentally contaminated areas [5,42,43,60].”

    From Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Healthcare: Environmental and Clinical Insights (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Results section (‘Relationship between PFAS levels in serum and house dust’; page unavailable) reports the opposite age pattern: older participants had higher overall serum PFAS levels in the eight impacted communities. The Methods section (‘Statistical analysis’; page unavailable) also notes that older individuals have been found to have higher serum PFAS in several populations. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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  • Children are particularly vulnerable to PFAS exposure due to their developing organs, higher metabolic rates, greater intake of air, food, and water per unit body weight, and behaviors such as hand-to-mouth contact that increase exposure risk.

    “Children are particularly vulnerable to PFAS exposure due to their developing organs, higher metabolic rates, greater intake of air, food, and water per unit body weight, and behaviors such as hand-to-mouth contact that increase exposure risk.”

    From Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Healthcare: Environmental and Clinical Insights (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

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Authors
Minucci, J. M., DeLuca, N. M., Durant, J. T., Goodwin, B., Kowalski, P., Scruton, K., Thomas, K., & Cohen Hubal, E. A.
Affiliations
  • Environmental Protection Agency (US)
  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US)
Corresponding author
Minucci, Jeffrey M.
Venue
Environment International
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-06
Volume
188
Pages
108756
ISSN
0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4397023983
Cited by
40
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 6
FWCI
4.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environment International (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • National Institutes of Health (CC999999)
  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Synthesis and properties of polymers
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, house dust, residential exposure, serum PFAS levels, biomonitoring, aqueous film-forming foam, military base contamination, drinking water contamination, carpets, exposure pathways
MeSH terms
Biological Monitoring, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Dust, Environmental Exposure, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Pollutants, Female, Fluorocarbons, Housing, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, United States, Young Adult, Drinking Water

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