UC Irvine

Summary

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent environmental contaminant that has been detected in >100 public water systems in the United States alone. A variety of epidemiological investigations of PFOA have been published, mostly using measured or modeled serum PFOA concentrations as the exposure metric. Comparison of drinking water PFOA concentrations to those study findings or to typical serum concentrations requires pharmacokinetic modeling. This brief communication describes an online Javascript calculator that easily plots the expected serum PFOA concentration over time and at steady state for adults after starting or stopping consumption of PFOA-contaminated water. Two examples of usage are provided, including increasing serum PFOA after ongoing consumption of contaminated water at the federal limit, and decreasing serum PFOA after carbon filtration began in a contaminated water system. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2820.