Perfluoroalkylated substances – an endocrine disruptor with reprotoxic effects

This Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are persistent organic pollutants. They are subject to restriction to specific production and uses according to the Stockholm Convention 2009, implemented also by the Romanian Government in 2012. The main concerns related to PFAS are the effects on the reproductive system, affecting fertility and the development of the fetus. PFAS can pass through the placenta and in the breast milk and can affect the development of the newborns. Therefore, the possible occupational exposures need to be assessed for couples who want to become parents and before the decision to return to work of a breastfeeding mother is taken. It is also important to identify this exposure, as PFAS and they have other negative effects on health, such as the carcinogenic and the endocrine disrupting ones.

This article reviews the main sources of exposure to PFAS, the means of regulating their use in the European Union and the effects on the reproductive system in people exposed to PFAS. It also describes the occupations in which this exposure exists and the studies on the effects of this exposure in workers.