On December 12, 2016 the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a report entitled “Monograph on immunotoxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).” The U.S National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the NTP was conducting a systematic review to evaluate “the scientific evidence regarding the association between exposures to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and immunotoxicity” in the Federal Register on August 14, 2015. A draft monograph was published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2016 and a peer-review meeting took place on July 19, 2016 (FPF reported). The NTP searched and screened the scientific literature and “identified 33 human studies, 93 animal studies, and 27 in vitro/mechanistic studies relevant for addressing the objective.” The NTP concluded that “both PFOA and PFOS are presumed to be an immune hazard to humans based on a high level of evidence from animal studies that PFOA and PFOS suppressed the antibody response and a moderate level of evidence from studies in humans.”
PFOA and PFOS have been widely used “in commercial and industrial applications including fluoropolymer manufacturing, food packaging, lubricants, water-resistant coating, and fire-fighting foams,” the NTP explained. Emissions of both substances have been “dramatically reduced in the United States and Western Europe,” however, “it is not clear if global production has changed as there has been a shift in productions to Asia,” the NTP further noted.
Read more
NTP (December 12, 2016). “Immunotoxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).”
Chemical Watch (January 26, 2017). “PFOA and PFOS pose immune hazards, says NTP.”
Reference
NTP (September 2016). “Monograph on immunotoxicity associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).” (pdf)
