Perfluorocarbon compounds as potential environmental and human health risks: a review
V.A. Kozvonin, Т.I. Kutyavina, T.Ya. Ashikhmina
Section: Theoretical problems of ecology
The article discusses the problem of perfluorocarbon compounds (PFCs) application and their impact on the environment both globally (ozone layer destruction by freons, soil and water pollution) and narrowly (human health impact). PFCs have unique physical and chemical properties: extremely high chemical and thermal stability (do not decompose at temperatures up to 400–500 °C), resistance to acids and oxydation, non-flammability. PFCs are becoming increasingly widespread in industry, including the food industry, and even in medicine. Medical aspects of PFCs application are a highly promising research area. In clinical practice, PFCs are widely used primarily as inhalation anesthetics, preparations for diagnostics in Dopplerography, and magnetic resonance methods, as oxygen-carrying modules (in artificial blood substitutes), and as materials for implants. In scientific research, the possibility of using PFCs as components of wound coatings is being considered. The main attention of scientists is paid to the fact of long-term elimination of this type of compounds from the body and the possibility of remote effects. At the same time, the assessment of their effects is quite ambiguous – the opinions of researchers can differ quite dramatically, from “PFCs are absolutely inert and do not pose any harm” to “organofluorine are xenogenic substances with potentially high risks”. In this regard, the literature review on this issue is an up-to-date study that analyzes the current state of the problem based on articles in leading domestic and foreign publications, monographs, regulatory documents and other sources. The conducted literature review shows that the current research area is the study of PFCs toxicity for various living organisms. This research area is being developed on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach combining toxicology, medicinal chemistry and ecology.
ISSN 1995-4301
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