Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PERFORCE3 (Innovative Training Network on PER and polyfluorinated alkyl substances towards the Future Of Research and its Communication in Europe 3)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-01-01 al 2024-06-30
What is the problem/issue being addressed?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of more than 10,000 synthetic organic chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer products (e.g. textiles, non-stick cookware, food packaging, personal care products, paints, etc.). PFAS are highly persistent and often called “forever chemicals”, due to a lack of any observable degradation in the environment. PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment, wildlife, and humans. Exposure to many of the chemicals in this class has been associated with diverse health effects such as reduced vaccination efficiency in children, increased cholesterol, reduced duration of breastfeeding, and increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers. The extent of contamination and the health risks that the many substances in the PFAS class pose to humans and the environment are still being understood and just beginning to be addressed from a regulatory context. Even if all production and emissions of PFAS stopped tomorrow, these chemicals would still persist in the environment, and cause human and environmental health effects, for generations to come.
Why is it important for society?
Addressing the PFAS pollution problem is important to protect public health, preserve the environment, and reduce the economic burden on society. The costs associated with PFAS pollution are significant and include healthcare costs due to related illnesses, legal costs, monitoring costs, and the expenses involved in cleaning up the many PFAS-contaminated sites. In Europe alone, the costs are estimated to be in the tens of billions of Euros annually. PERFORCE3 provides comprehensive training for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) creating a new generation of highly skilled researchers valuable for the European market. PERFORCE3 thus contributes to the knowledge-based economy and societal sustainability by addressing well-defined research and training needs and developing new tools and technologies.
What are the overall objectives?
PERFORCE3 is a collaborative doctoral research training network involving multiple partners, aimed at educating 15 ESRs, enhancing the current understanding of PFAS, and developing innovative solutions to PFAS contamination issues. The project has six specific research objectives and five training objectives. The research objectives are: developing novel analytical techniques for human matrices and relevant exposure media, improving understanding of human exposure pathways, assessing and understanding the toxicological properties of alternative and legacy PFAS, assessing the nature and extent of human exposure to legacy and alternative PFAS and associated health effects, developing new solutions to PFAS contamination problems, and communicating the PERFORCE3 research results to the scientific community, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. The training objectives are: providing an optimum learning environment through exposure to multidisciplinary research on PFAS, fostering the individual careers of the ESRs by providing a broad scientific training, providing the ESRs opportunities for multi-partner collaboration through targeted visits and secondments, providing complementary training in transferable skills, and providing the ESRs with lifetime skills and optimum opportunities to extend their personal international collaborative network.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of more than 10,000 synthetic organic chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer products (e.g. textiles, non-stick cookware, food packaging, personal care products, paints, etc.). PFAS are highly persistent and often called “forever chemicals”, due to a lack of any observable degradation in the environment. PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment, wildlife, and humans. Exposure to many of the chemicals in this class has been associated with diverse health effects such as reduced vaccination efficiency in children, increased cholesterol, reduced duration of breastfeeding, and increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers. The extent of contamination and the health risks that the many substances in the PFAS class pose to humans and the environment are still being understood and just beginning to be addressed from a regulatory context. Even if all production and emissions of PFAS stopped tomorrow, these chemicals would still persist in the environment, and cause human and environmental health effects, for generations to come.
Why is it important for society?
Addressing the PFAS pollution problem is important to protect public health, preserve the environment, and reduce the economic burden on society. The costs associated with PFAS pollution are significant and include healthcare costs due to related illnesses, legal costs, monitoring costs, and the expenses involved in cleaning up the many PFAS-contaminated sites. In Europe alone, the costs are estimated to be in the tens of billions of Euros annually. PERFORCE3 provides comprehensive training for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) creating a new generation of highly skilled researchers valuable for the European market. PERFORCE3 thus contributes to the knowledge-based economy and societal sustainability by addressing well-defined research and training needs and developing new tools and technologies.
What are the overall objectives?
PERFORCE3 is a collaborative doctoral research training network involving multiple partners, aimed at educating 15 ESRs, enhancing the current understanding of PFAS, and developing innovative solutions to PFAS contamination issues. The project has six specific research objectives and five training objectives. The research objectives are: developing novel analytical techniques for human matrices and relevant exposure media, improving understanding of human exposure pathways, assessing and understanding the toxicological properties of alternative and legacy PFAS, assessing the nature and extent of human exposure to legacy and alternative PFAS and associated health effects, developing new solutions to PFAS contamination problems, and communicating the PERFORCE3 research results to the scientific community, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. The training objectives are: providing an optimum learning environment through exposure to multidisciplinary research on PFAS, fostering the individual careers of the ESRs by providing a broad scientific training, providing the ESRs opportunities for multi-partner collaboration through targeted visits and secondments, providing complementary training in transferable skills, and providing the ESRs with lifetime skills and optimum opportunities to extend their personal international collaborative network.
The main results are summarized as follows:
• Development of novel analytical methods: The ESRs created and applied multiple new analytical techniques to detect PFAS in environmental samples, wildlife, humans and consumer products, which ultimately led to an improved understanding of certain key human exposure pathways for PFAS.
• Novel toxicity studies: The ESRs investigated the toxicity of alternative PFAS and human-relevant PFAS mixtures at cellular and molecular levels, linking laboratory results with human epidemiological data to better understand human health concerns.
• Solutions to PFAS pollution: The solutions provided included synthesis of novel biodegradable PFAS, identification and assessment of safe and sustainable alternatives to PFAS, and developing new treatment technologies for PFAS-contaminated water, soil and infrastructure.
The key exploitable results from the PERFORCE3 project are built on open science principles, ensuring stakeholders have full access to datasets, methods, analytical workflows, and computer codes generated. The novel analytical tools and toxicity tests developed can be integrated into commercial testing laboratories or used by other practitioners in the field, leading to improved monitoring and risk assessments for multiple PFAS. The new treatment technologies are beneficial for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, which are developing and applying treatment technologies for PFAS.
The PERFORCE3 project effectively disseminated its research results to the general public and broader scientific community through the project website, international conference presentations, posters, organization of stakeholder/public outreach events, open-access peer-reviewed publications, blog posts, social media, podcasts, and open-source data repositories. A highlight was the popular “PFASology” podcast produced by the ESRs. To date 31 articles have been published in scientific journals with many more under preparation. All 15 ESRs are expected to complete their PhDs by mid-2025, with 3 already graduated. During the final project period, the project increased stakeholder interactions and awareness. Notable events included the PERFORCE3 PFAS Symposium and a panel discussion directed at the public.
• Development of novel analytical methods: The ESRs created and applied multiple new analytical techniques to detect PFAS in environmental samples, wildlife, humans and consumer products, which ultimately led to an improved understanding of certain key human exposure pathways for PFAS.
• Novel toxicity studies: The ESRs investigated the toxicity of alternative PFAS and human-relevant PFAS mixtures at cellular and molecular levels, linking laboratory results with human epidemiological data to better understand human health concerns.
• Solutions to PFAS pollution: The solutions provided included synthesis of novel biodegradable PFAS, identification and assessment of safe and sustainable alternatives to PFAS, and developing new treatment technologies for PFAS-contaminated water, soil and infrastructure.
The key exploitable results from the PERFORCE3 project are built on open science principles, ensuring stakeholders have full access to datasets, methods, analytical workflows, and computer codes generated. The novel analytical tools and toxicity tests developed can be integrated into commercial testing laboratories or used by other practitioners in the field, leading to improved monitoring and risk assessments for multiple PFAS. The new treatment technologies are beneficial for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, which are developing and applying treatment technologies for PFAS.
The PERFORCE3 project effectively disseminated its research results to the general public and broader scientific community through the project website, international conference presentations, posters, organization of stakeholder/public outreach events, open-access peer-reviewed publications, blog posts, social media, podcasts, and open-source data repositories. A highlight was the popular “PFASology” podcast produced by the ESRs. To date 31 articles have been published in scientific journals with many more under preparation. All 15 ESRs are expected to complete their PhDs by mid-2025, with 3 already graduated. During the final project period, the project increased stakeholder interactions and awareness. Notable events included the PERFORCE3 PFAS Symposium and a panel discussion directed at the public.
Within analytical chemistry, new targeted analytical methods were developed to detect a broader range of PFAS at much lower concentrations in samples than previously achievable. Some analytical methods incorporated automated data processing workflows, which will accelerate PFAS identification. The new methods are expected to be widely adopted by the scientific community, including researchers, consultants, industry professionals, and policymakers. Within toxicology, new methods were developed to investigate the toxicity of alternative PFAS and human-relevant PFAS mixtures at the cellular and molecular levels using human cell models. The study of human-relevant PFAS mixtures allowed for a critical assessment of PFAS mixture toxicity. This new information on PFAS toxicity will enable academics, regulatory agencies, and industry scientists to make improved risk assessments for multiple PFAS, ultimately enhancing public safety and reducing animal testing. With regard to solutions to the PFAS pollution problem, novel surfactants were synthesized to inspire industry to design safer, biodegradable alternatives. New methods were developed to compare the safety of potential alternatives to PFAS. Finally, multiple new treatment technologies were developed for PFAS to remove them from PFAS-contaminated infrastructure, waters, and soils. Collectively, the research activities in the project addressed important industrial and societal needs.