Per- and polyfluorinated compounds in saleswomen's urine linked to indoor dust in clothing shops.

This study aims to investigate the characteristics of typical per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in indoor dust from clothing shops and urine sampled from saleswomen. A total of 58 indoor dust samples and 73 urine samples from saleswomen were collected from clothing shops in Shanghai, China. All samples were analyzed for PFCs using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The mean PFC concentrations in indoor dust ranged from 0.42 (PFDA) to 5.04 ng g-1 (PFDoA). PFDoA and PFHxS were the most prominent PFCs, with median concentrations of 2.95 ng g-1 and 1.49 ng g-1, respectively. The median PFC concentrations in urine ranged from 10.15 (PFDS) to 666.1 ng l-1 (PFOA) and PFOA was the most abundant chemical with concentrations ranging from 207 to 907 ng l-1. A significant positive correlation was obtained between long-chain PFCs in dust and in urine (p < 0.01). Daily intake values of PFCs via dust ingestion were also calculated, and even under high-end exposure scenarios, the intake of PFOA (36.5 pg day-1) and PFOS (56.7 pg day-1) were well within the tolerable daily intake values. These results are important to both characterize PFC levels and estimate the saleswomen's exposure to PFCs from indoor dust.