Common perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been found in canine and feline feces. What does that mean for the future use of PFAS?

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of consumer products, from pizza boxes to carpets to non-stick cookware. These chemicals are consequently ubiquitous in the environment; in fact, researchers have discovered that cats and dogs excrete PFAS in their feces at levels that suggest exposure above minimum risk levels.

Reported in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the research was carried out by Kurunthachalam Kannan and his colleagues, who measured 15 different PFAS in 78 samples of cat and dog feces. Using high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry, the researchers detected 13 different PFAS in the samples. The most abundant compounds in both cats and dogs were longer-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids. The team found that for three specific compounds (perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA; perfluorononanoic acid, PFNA; and perfluorooctanesulfonicacid, PFOS), as well as for total PFAS, estimated exposure levels were above the minimal risk levels set by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.