Geographical distribution of perfluorinated compounds in human blood from Liaoning province, China

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), such as perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), have been identified widely in human. Monitoring of geographical distribution of PFCs in human blood can provide the information to better characterize the exposure source and pathway of these compounds. In this study, 13 PFCs were detected in 138 whole blood samples collected in 2008 from seven cities (Liaoning province, China) including Fuxin, Jinzhou, Shenyang, Anshan, Yingkou, Huludao, and Dalian. The highest geometric mean (GM) concentration of total PFCs was found in samples from Fuxin (17.27 ng/mL) followed by Shenyang (12.70 ng/mL) and Anshan (12.63 ng/mL). The composition profile of PFCs was varied in blood samples from seven cities. In Fuxin and Jinzhou, the percentage proportion of PFOA was significantly higher than that of perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) by about two times. By contrast, in Shenyang, Anshan, and Yingkou, the percentage proportion of PFHxS was about three times higher than that of PFOA. In Huludao and Dalian, the profile of PFCs in blood was very similar with comparable proportions of PFOA and PFHxS. The results suggested different human exposure sources and pathways of PFCs in Liaoning province, China.