Alarmingly high levels of environmental pollutants in Norwegian children

High levels in Norwegian children

Several studies have examined PFAS levels in Norwegian children (Table 1) (8, 9, 11). In 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (1) established an intake threshold of 4.4 ng/kg body weight per week for the sum of the four most common PFAS compounds mentioned in Table 1. A continuous intake at this level is associated with a serum concentration of 6.9 ng/mL in adults. Table 1 shows that the majority of Norwegian children exceed this level: 78 % of six-month-old infants, 25 % of 12-year-olds in Oslo, and 87 % of teenagers in Tromsø.

PFAS compounds are found in food and consumer products such as food packaging, impregnated textile fabrics, firefighting foam and ski wax. They are spread in the environment by water and wind currents, and the main source for humans is food and drinking water (12, 13). Several studies have reported that consumption of fish and seafood is significantly associated with higher PFAS concentrations in both children and adults (13-15). Fish intake was the strongest predictor of levels in Norwegian women of childbearing age (11). These compounds have been shown to pass from mother to fetus via the placenta, resulting in newborns having concentrations up to five times higher compared to their mothers (8). In the Fit Futures study of Norwegian teenagers, consumption of fatty fish more than once a week was associated with significantly higher PFAS concentrations in serum (14). Children from six European countries who consumed a lot of fish (≥ 3 times per week) had 37 % higher PFAS levels in their blood compared to children who ate less fish (< 1.5 times per week) (13). Intake of canned foods and fast food, such as soda, pizza and hamburgers, was also associated with higher PFAS levels in Norwegian teenagers (14). This is likely due to content of PFAS compounds in food-packaging or contamination of food products during production.

It is alarming that such a large proportion of Norwegian children have blood concentrations of PFAS exceeding the European recommended limit for adults. Norway has no industries that produce these compounds, and drinking water generally contains low concentrations (16). Therefore, the primary source of PFAS for Norwegian children must be the food they consume. It is imperative to implement measures to reduce PFAS contamination of food, and the public must be informed about PFAS levels in various food products to enable informed choices.