Thirty years of medical surveillance in perfluooctanoic acid production workers

Objective: To report health outcomes of 30 years (1978-2007) of medical surveillance of workers engaged in a perfluooctanoic acid (PFOA) production plant. Methods: Fifty-three males workers (20 to 63 years) were submitted every year to medical examination and blood chemical chemistry tests, and serum PFOA dosage. Results: In the latest survey PFOA serum levels ranged from 0.20 to 47.04 μg/mL in currently exposed workers, and from 0.53 to 18.66 μg/mL in those formerly exposed. No clinical evidence of any specific trouble or disease has been recorded over the 30 years, and all the biochemical parameters, including liver, kidney and hormonal functions, turned out to be within the reference ranges, but a significant association of total cholesterol and uric acid with and PFOA serum level was evidenced. Conclusions: A probable interference of PFOA on intermediate metabolism deserves further investigations.