Occurrence of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and Other Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances in Harbor Porpoises from the Black Sea

Abstract

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and other perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) were determined in liver, kidney, muscle, brain, and blubber samples of 31 harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena relicta) of different age and sex stranded along the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea. In all individuals and in all tissues, PFOS was the predominant PFAS, accounting for on average 90% of the measured PFAS load. PFOS concentrations were the highest in liver (327+/-351 ng/g wet wt) and kidney (147 +/-262 ng/g wet wt) tissue, and lower in blubber (18+/-8 ng/g wet wt), muscle (41+/-50 ng/g wet wt), and brain (24 +/-23 ng/g wetwt). No significant differences could be determined between males and females, nor between juvenile and adult animals (p > 0.05). Perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluoroundecanoic acid, and perfluorododecanoic acid could be detected in liver tissue of approximately 25% of the individuals. Perfluorobutane sulfonate, perfluorobutanoic acid, and perfluorooctanoic acid were not detected in any of the porpoise livers. Although we investigated a potential intraspecies segregation according to the source of prey, using stable isotopes, no statistically significant correlation between PFOS concentrations and stable isotopes could be determined. It is, however, noteworthy that the contamination by PFOS in the Black Sea harbor porpoises is comparable to levels found in porpoises from the German Baltic Sea and from coastal areas near Denmark and, therefore, might pose a threat to this population.

Brain region distribution and patterns of bioaccumulative perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates in East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

“…The mean PFOS levels found in the brain regions of the present polar bears ranged from 31.9 AE 5.9 to 58.8 AE 11.8 ng/g wet weight (Table 2). These brain levels were comparable to those found in recent studies on the brain of harbor porpoises (24 ng/g wet wt) off the coast of Ukraine [21] and the brain of harbor seals from the German Bight (99 ng/g wet wt) [17]. In the brains of avian species (glaucous gulls, pelicans) [22,24], PFOS concentrations have been found to be lower (<5 and 3.5 ng/g wet wt, respectively) than those in the current polar bear brain samples (Fig.…”

“…Harbor porpoise (1997-1998) [21] Harbor seal (2007) [17] Glaucous gull (2004) [24] Brown pelican (2004) [22] Fig been reported for polar bear liver, where the major PFCA was PFNA (C 9 ) [37,38]. This is a more pronounced shift than what was found in harbor seals [17], where there was a slight shift from C 9 being dominant in the liver to C 10 being dominant in the brain.…”

“…Although concentrations of PFOS and other PFCAs and PFSAs in the liver of polar bears have been shown to be extremely high [3], no studies have investigated levels of any PFASs in other tissues or body compartments, including the brain or among brain regions [17,[19][20][21][22][23][24]. In the brain, PFOS has been detected following laboratory animal exposure [25], demonstrating its ability to cross the BBB.…”

Trends of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in marine biota and in humans

“…The PFOS precursor N-EtFOSA itself was found in dolphins and porpoises from South China, [84] in whales from the Eastern Arctic [96] and in harbour seals from the German Bight. [18] Influence of age and sex on PFCs in marine mammals In general, in marine mammals no sex related differences in PFC concentrations were found (in seals, [71,72,80,83,97] in harbour porpoises, [85] in beluga whales, [98] in polar bears [87,99,100] ). In contrast, significant differences between males and females were reported in grey seals from the Baltic Sea, males having higher concentrations of PFOS than females.…”

“…[17] In tissues of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena relicta) from the Black Sea PFOS concentrations decreased from liver 4 kidney 4 muscle 4 brain 4 blubber. [85] Another study reported tissue distribution of PFCs in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from Resolute Bay, Canadian Arctic, with highest PFOS concentrations in liver followed by lung, heart, spleen, blood, muscle and blubber. [86] An investigation of the total body burden and tissue distribution of 18 individual PFCs in harbour seals from the German Bight in 2007 resulted in decreasing PFOS concentrations in the following order: liver 4 lung 4 blood 4 thymus 4 kidney 4 heart 4 brain 4 muscle 4 thyroid 4 blubber.…”