es020519q_si_001.pdf (17.59 kB)
Perfluorooctanesulfonate and Related Fluorinated Hydrocarbons in Marine Mammals, Fishes, and Birds from Coasts of the Baltic and the Mediterranean Seas
journal contribution
posted on 2002-06-22, 00:00 authored by Kurunthachalam Kannan, Simonetta Corsolini, Jerzy Falandysz, Günter Oehme, Silvano Focardi, John P. GiesyPerfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS; C8F17SO3-), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA; C8F17SO2NH2), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS; C6F13SO3-), and perfluorooctanoate
(PFOA; C7F15CO2-) were detected in 175 samples of liver
and blood of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), swordfish (Xiphias
gladius), common cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo),
bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphins
(Stenella coeruleoalba), common dolphins (Delphinus delphi),
fin whales (Balenoptera physalus), and long-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala melas) from the Italian coast of the
Mediterranean Sea and in livers of ringed seals (Phoca
hispida), gray seals (Halichoerus grypus), white-tailed sea
eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo
salar) from coastal areas of the Baltic Sea. PFOS was detected
in all of the wildlife species analyzed. Concentrations of
PFOS in blood decreased in order of bottlenose dolphins >
bluefin tuna > swordfish. Mean PFOS concentrations (61 ng/g, wet wt) in cormorant livers collected from Sardinia
Island in the Mediterranean Sea were less than the
concentrations of PFOA (95 ng/g, wet wt). PFOS concentrations
in cormorant livers were significantly correlated with
those of PFOA. FOSA was found in 14 of 19 livers or blood
samples of marine mammals from the Mediterranean
Sea. The highest concentration of 878 ng FOSA/g, wet wt,
was found in the liver of a common dolphin. Livers of
ringed and gray seals from the Bothnian Bay in the Baltic
Sea contained PFOS concentrations ranging from 130 to
1100 ng/g, wet wt. No relationships between PFOS
concentrations and ages of ringed or gray seals were
observed. Concentrations of PFOS in livers of seals were
2.7−5.5-fold greater than those in corresponding blood. A
significant positive correlation existed between the PFOS
concentrations in liver and blood, which indicates that blood
can be used for nonlethal monitoring of PFOS. Trend
analysis of PFOS concentrations in livers of white-tailed
sea eagles collected from eastern Germany and Poland since
1979 indicated an increase in concentrations during the
1990s. Livers of Atlantic salmons did not contain quantifiable
concentrations of any of the fluorochemicals monitored.
PFOS is a widespread contaminant in wildlife from the Baltic
and the Mediterranean Seas, while FOSA and PFOA
were detected only in certain locations indicating their
sporadic spatial distribution.