Organohalogen compounds of emerging concern in Baltic Sea biota: Levels, biomagnification potential and comparisons with legacy contaminants

Wit, Cynthia A. de; Bossi, Rossana; Dietz, Runé; Dreyer, Annekatrin; Faxneld, Suzanne; Garbus, Svend Erik; Hellström, Peter; Koschorreck, Jan; Lohmann, Nina; Roos, Anna; Sellström, Ulla; Sonne, Christian; Treu, Gabriele; Vorkamp, Katrin; Yuan, Bo; Eulaers, Igor

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106037

Cited by 69 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…PFECHS was also recently found at low concentrations in human serum samples from Uppsala (Sweden). 37 While this compound has been detected in various environmental samples before (biota, 69 surface water, 70 and sediment 71 ), this is the first time that its widespread occurrence in the general population has been found. Initially, it was suggested that one of the possible sources of PFECHS could be the aviation industry, where it is used as an erosion inhibitor, 70 but additional uses have been identified.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Organofluorine Mass Balance Analysis of Whole Blood Samples in Relation to Gender and Age

Aro

Eriksson

Kärrman

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Studies have highlighted the increasing fraction of unidentified organofluorine (UOF) compounds in human blood, whose health effects are not known. In this study, 130 whole blood samples from the Swedish general population were analyzed for extractable organofluorine (EOF) and selected per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Organofluorine mass balance analysis revealed that 60% (0−99%) of the EOF in female samples could not be explained by the 63 monitored PFAS; in males, 41% (0−93%) of the EOF was of unidentified origin. Significant differences between both age groups and gender were seen, with the highest fraction of UOF in young females (70% UOF, aged 18−44), which is contrary to what has been reported in the literature for commonly monitored compounds (e.g., perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, PFOS). Increasing the number of monitored PFAS did not lead to a large decrease of the UOF fraction; the seven highest PFAS (C8−C11 PFCAs, C6−C8 PFSAs) accounted for 98% of sum 63 PFAS. The high fraction of UOF in human samples is of concern, as the chemical species of these organofluorine compounds remain unknown and thus their potential health risks cannot be assessed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Organofluorine Mass Balance Analysis of Whole Blood Samples in Relation to Gender and Age

Aro

Eriksson

Kärrman

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…However, these studies measured OHCs in plasma, and how comparable these results are to the egg concentrations in the present study is unknown. A recent study from the Baltic Proper found that in eggs of marine birds PCBs and DDTs concentrations were orders of magnitude higher than those of PFASs (De Wit et al, 2020), whereas in eggs of terrestrial arctic barnacle goose ( Branta leucopsis ) mean ∑PFAS equalled ∑PCBs (Hitchcock et al, 2019). Thus it remains difficult to draw firm conclusions about the expected proportional relationship between OCs and PFASs in bird eggs because so few studies have compared these in the same samples and none, to our knowledge, on a long‐term temporal scale.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Trends of Organochlorine and Perfluorinated Contaminants in a Terrestrial Raptor in Northern Europe Over 34 years (1986–2019)

Bustnes

Bårdsen

Herzke

et al. 2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Fourteen legacy organochlorine (OC) contaminants and 12 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were measured in eggs of tawny owls (Strix alueco) in central Norway (1986Norway ( -2019. We expected OCs to have reached stable equilibrium levels due to bans, and that recent phase-out of some PFASs would have slowed the increase of these compounds. ∑OC comprised on average approximately 92% of the measured compounds, whereas ∑PFAS accounted for approximately 8%. However, whereas the ∑OC to ∑PFAS ratio was approximately 60 in the first 5 years of the study, it was only approximately 11 in the last 5 years. Both OC pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) showed substantial declines over the study period (~85%-98%): hexachlorocyclohexanes and chlordanes seemed to be levelling off, whereas p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) and hexachlororbenzene (HCB), and most PCB congeners still seemed to decline at a more or less constant rate. While the concentration of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), the dominating PFAS, was reduced by approximately 43%, other perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs) showed only minor changes. Moreover, the median concentrations of seven perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) increased approximately five-fold over the study period. Perfluorononanoic acid and perfluoroundecanoate acid, however, seemed to be levelling off in recent years. In contrast, perfluorododecanoic acid, perfluorodecanoate acid, perfluorotridecanoic acid, and perfluorotetradecanoic acid seemed to increase more or less linearily. Finally, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was increasingly likely to be detected over the study period. Hence, most legacy OCs and PFOS have not reached a lower threshold with stable background levels, and voluntary elimination of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates still has not resulted in declining levels in tawny owls in central Norway.

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“…Legacy pollutants still dominate the burden of some groups of persistent organic pollutants analyzed in Baltic Sea marine mammals and birds, due to their persistence and exceptional bioaccumulation potential. However, analysis of less well-studied 2000 organic contaminants, often replacements for the legacy pollutants, indicate that levels in fish and mussels are now similar or exceeding their predecessors (de Wit et al, 2020). The lacking control of identity and amount of emitted substances hampers characterization and quantification of combined toxic effects in the Baltic Sea (Lethonen et al, 2017;van den Brink et al, 2018).…”

Section: Chemical Contaminants (With An Emphasis On Organic Contaminants)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Human impacts and their interactions in the Baltic Sea region

Reckermann

Omstedt

Soomere

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Coastal environments, in particular heavily populated semi-enclosed marginal seas and coasts like the Baltic Sea region, are stongly affected by human activities. A multitude of human impacts, including climate change, affects the different compartments of the environment, and these effects interact with each other. As part of the Baltic Earth Assessment Reports (BEAR), we present an inventory and discussion of different human-induced factors and processes affecting the environment of the Baltic Sea region, and their interrelations. Some are naturally occurring and modified by human activities (i.e. climate change, coastal processes, hypoxia, acidification, submarine groundwater discharges, marine ecosystems, non-indigenous species, land use and land cover), some are completely human-induced (i.e. agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, river regulations, offshore wind farms, shipping, chemical contamination, dumped warfare agents, marine litter and microplastics, tourism, coastal management), and they are all interrelated to different degrees. We present a general description and analysis of the state of knowledge on these interrelations. Our main insight is that climate change has an overarching, integrating impact on all of the other factors and can be interpreted as a background effect, which has different implications for the other factors. Impacts on the environment and the human sphere can be roughly allocated to anthropogenic drivers such as food production, energy production, transport, industry and economy. We conclude that a sound management and regulation of human activities must be implemented in order to use and keep the environments and ecosystems of the Baltic Sea region sustainably in a good shape. This must balance the human needs, which exert tremendous pressures on the systems, as humans are the overwhelming driving force for almost all changes we see. The findings from this inventory of available information and analysis of the different factors and their interactions in the Baltic Sea region can largely be transferred to other comparable marginal and coastal seas in the world.

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Organohalogen compounds of emerging concern in Baltic Sea biota: Levels, biomagnification potential and comparisons with legacy contaminants

Cited by 69 publications

References 81 publications

Organofluorine Mass Balance Analysis of Whole Blood Samples in Relation to Gender and Age

Organofluorine Mass Balance Analysis of Whole Blood Samples in Relation to Gender and Age

Temporal Trends of Organochlorine and Perfluorinated Contaminants in a Terrestrial Raptor in Northern Europe Over 34 years (1986–2019)

Human impacts and their interactions in the Baltic Sea region

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