Human Biomonitoring, Exposure Assessment and Quantitative Analysis of PFASs

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Exposome Analysis and Risk Assessment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1130

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Human Exposure to Environmental Contaminants Unit, Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Interests: environmental chemistry; human biomonitoring; human health and environment; environmental contaminants in food and feed; persistent organic pollutants in cord serum; human milk and foetus/baby; quality assurance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large class of thousands of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds used in various industrial applications. Due to their physical and chemical properties, these substances are toxic to humans and the environment. Because of their toxicological characteristics, these substances pose a threat to the environment and to human health all over the globe. Several negative effects on human health are well-known, including neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, and cardiovascular diseases. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are two of the most studied long-chain PFASs. PFOS, its salts, and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOS-F) were listed in 2009 under Annex B to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). In 2019 and then in 2022, PFOA and PFHxS, together with their salts and related compounds, were also included in Annex A. In November 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PFOA as “carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)” and PFOS as “possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)”.

In order to provide a more accurate assessment of PFASs' impact on human health, this Special Issue offers an opportunity to publish high-quality papers that focus on the characterization and assessment of human exposure through increasingly effective analytical techniques.

We will accept manuscripts from different topics, including human exposure, risk and health impact assessment, risk communication, risk management, PFASs and climate change, novel PFASs, and human health protection. This Special Issue aims to describe the state of the art and to develop intervention strategies for chronic disease prevention and population health.

Dr. Annalisa Abballe
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PFASs
  • human exposure
  • risk communication
  • risk management
  • risk assessment
  • health impact assessment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 3287 KB  
Article
From Soil to Serum: Matrix-Specific Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Accumulation and Potentially Associated Environmental Exposure Determinants in Teenagers Residing near an Industrial Hotspot
by Jodie Buytaert, Bianca Cox, Thimo Groffen, Robin Lasters, Lieven Bervoets, Elly Den Hond, Stefan Voorspoels, Liesbeth Bruckers, Nicolas Van Larebeke, Greet Schoeters, Marcel Eens, Dries Coertjens and Ann Colles
Toxics 2026, 14(5), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14050360 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 746
Abstract
The extensive production and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) over recent decades have resulted in their pervasive distribution in environmental compartments worldwide. PFAS concentrations in soil and biota near fluorochemical manufacturing facilities tend to be typically higher near hotspots, which suggests [...] Read more.
The extensive production and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) over recent decades have resulted in their pervasive distribution in environmental compartments worldwide. PFAS concentrations in soil and biota near fluorochemical manufacturing facilities tend to be typically higher near hotspots, which suggests that the consumption of home-produced foods near such hotspots most likely results in higher human exposure. One prominent European hotspot is located near the 3M fluorochemical production facility in Zwijndrecht (Belgium), where the relative contributions of different exposure pathways remain insufficiently characterised. This study therefore aimed to assess the PFAS concentrations and compositional profiles in serum, dwellings and gardens of teenagers residing near this hotspot. Serum samples from teenagers, along with multiple environmental matrices (i.e., soil, compost, vegetables/fruits/nuts, chicken eggs, rainwater and indoor house dust) were analysed for 21 selected PFAS. Additionally, potential determinants of PFAS occurrence and distribution across matrices were investigated using detailed questionnaire data. We found perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) to be the predominant compound in both soil and serum, while perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was most dominant in rainwater, compost, house dust and pods. Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) was most abundant in fruits and chicken eggs, while perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) was predominant in rooting vegetables and nuts. N-methylperfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetic acid (MePFOSAA) was the dominant compound in fruiting, stem, and leafy vegetables. These results indicate differences in accumulation pathways among the different media and/or differences in affinities of different PFAS in the matrices. Additionally, several environmental and behavioural factors were identified as determinants for PFAS in soil, compost, tree fruits, fruiting vegetables, chicken eggs and house dust, providing insight into potential drivers of exposure variability. The most important factors were related to the soil characteristics, the composting of grass and weeds, the chicken feed (i.e., bread, commercial feed), the type and frequency of ventilation and the frequency of cleaning. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop