Early-Life PFAS Exposure in Sweden: A Study of Maternal Transfer and Prevention Through Drinking Water Treatment Technologies

Sammanfattning

PFAS are persistent and environmentally hazardous substances that occur in drinkingwater and may pose adverse health effects in humans, particularly in vulnerablepopulations such as fetuses and children. Exposure can occur through drinking waterand be transferred from pregnant women to the fetus via the placenta or frommother to child via breastmilk, making early-life exposure difficult to avoid. Suchexposure has been associated with effects on immune function, including reducedvaccine response, as well as impacts on child development. This study aims to investigatethe potential health effects of PFAS exposure in fetuses and infants in Sweden,and to evaluate how current water treatment methods need to be developed to meetexisting and future regulatory requirements. The study was conducted as a literaturereview based on scientific articles, complemented by interviews with experts inthe field.The findings indicate that PFAS exposure may affect children’s health even at lowconcentrations, highlighting the importance of reducing exposure. At the sametime, the current state of knowledge is characterized by significant uncertainties,particularly regarding short-chain and ultrashort-chain PFAS, where lack of datashould not be interpreted as evidence of low risk. Current treatment methods canlargely meet existing guideline values but have notable limitations, especially in thatthey primarily remove rather than degrade PFAS. While conventional techniquesare generally effective for long-chain PFAS, they are less effective for short-chaincompounds. Emerging technologies such as electrochemical oxidation show potentialfor destructive PFAS treatment, including degradation of shorter-chain compounds,although challenges related to energy demand, operational costs, and large-scaleimplementation remain significant.Overall, the study shows that no optimal treatment method for PFAS currently exists,as the most promising techniques face high cost and large-scale implementationchallenges. Future efforts should therefore focus on the development of more costeffectivemethods to make advanced treatment technologies, such as electrochemicalwater treatment, cost-effective for widespread municipal use. Furthermore, the needfor PFAS source control is critical, given that PFAS treatment is resource-intensive,and reducing exposure is particularly important for vulnerable populations such aspregnant women and children.