New Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure to Livestock

Dear Colleagues,

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a group of over 10,000 synthetic compounds, have become known as the “forever chemicals” due to their barely degradable structures. While the organofluorine motif provides durability to this class of substances, there are numerous structural variations that confer distinctive properties and applications for the numerous families and subfamilies. Presently, there are hundreds of documented uses, leading to their widespread environmental presence in water, air, soil, and animals worldwide. In addition, PFASs have been measured in humans, where some individual congeners are excreted very slowly and therefore bioaccumulate, causing concern and certain health issues. The main sources of human exposure (non-occupational) are drinking water and foods such as fish and livestock products sourced from contaminated environments. Currently, few countries or regions have developed or adopted maximum levels for PFASs in livestock products. Thus, it is necessary to further our understanding of the risks posed and develop management strategies to minimise human exposure to the extent practicable via this route.

The goal of this Special Issue is to advance knowledge and exchange ideas on the risk assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) exposure to livestock. Topics are related to both modelling livestock exposure scenarios or new data on key inputs into such models (excluding dose–response, as this is a topic deserving of its own issue). The proposed topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Environmental and feed production trends that influence livestock exposure;
• Exposure modelling and assessment for different livestock operation types (intensive and extensive practises) and climate zones;
• Monitoring studies to validate exposure models for livestock;
• PFASs toxicokinetics (in common livestock species including ruminants, non-ruminants, and poultry) and modelling methods to estimate livestock body burden;
• Practical mitigation strategies and cost–benefit considerations to minimise PFASs residues in livestock tissues and improve food quality, including efficacy of binders added to feed;
• Development of environmental guidelines to assist with screening level risk assessments for livestock farms;
• Developing acceptable PFASs levels in livestock food products and risk assessments for common livestock products (e.g., dairy, meat, and eggs).

Dr. Lorraine MacKenzie
Dr. Antti Mikkonen
Guest Editors

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• per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)
• PFAS risk assessment
• PFAS livestock exposure models
• PFAS toxicokinetics
• PFAS environmental guidelines