Characterization of perfluoroalkyl substances in sediment cores from High and Low Arctic lakes in Canada

John J MacInnis; Igor Lehnherr; Derek C G Muir; Roberto Quinlan; Amila O De Silva

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.210

Characterization of perfluoroalkyl substances in sediment cores from High and Low Arctic lakes in Canada

Sci Total Environ. 2019 May 20:666:414-422. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.210. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Authors

John J MacInnis¹, Igor Lehnherr², Derek C G Muir³, Roberto Quinlan⁴, Amila O De Silva⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X7, Canada. Electronic address: john.macinnis@mun.ca.
² Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada. Electronic address: igor.lehnherr@utoronto.ca.
³ Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, Ontario L7S 1A1, Canada. Electronic address: derek.muir@canada.ca.
⁴ Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. Electronic address: rquinlan@yorku.ca.
⁵ Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, Ontario L7S 1A1, Canada. Electronic address: amila.desilva@canada.ca.

PMID: 30802657
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.210

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are synthetic environmentally-persistent pollutants that are amenable to long-range transport and accumulation in remote Arctic ecosystems. In this study, historical inventories of twenty-three PFASs (i.e. C₄-C₁₄, C₁₆ perfluoroalkane carboxylic acids (PFCAs); C₄, C₆-C₈, C₁₀ perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs); perfluoro-4-ethyl-cyclohexane sulfonic acid (PFECHS); dodecafluoro-3H-4,8-dioxanonanoic acid (ADONA); 8-chloro-perfluoro-1-octane sulfonic acid (8-Cl-PFOS); chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonic acids (Cl-PFESAs) including 9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonic acid (6:2 Cl-PFESA) and 11-chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (8:2 Cl-PFESA); as well as perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA)) are determined in two intact sediment cores collected from Lake Hazen, located in northern Ellesmere Island at 82° N in 2012 and Lake B35, located in central Nunavut at 64° N in 2009. In Lake Hazen, fluxes of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) increased during 1963-2011. In Lake B35, fluxes of perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), PFOA, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) increased during 1952-2009. The temporal trends for PFASs in Lake Hazen and Lake B35 sediments are consistent with the continuous annual delivery of PFASs to the Arctic of Canada. Temporal trends in sediment cores appear to follow historical market changes in PFAS manufacturing inventory. The doubling time of PFAS fluxes are faster in Lake Hazen sediments than Lake B35 sediments. In Lake Hazen, this may be attributed to the enhanced delivery of sediment and historically-archived PFASs promoted by climate-induced glacier melting in the Lake Hazen watershed post-2005. Exponentially increasing PFAS temporal trends in High and Low Arctic lakes in Canada stress the importance of developing effective global regulatory policies for PFAS manufacturing and highlights the potential for climate change-induced contaminant release from melting glaciers in the Arctic.

Keywords: Climate change; Emissions; Flux; Glacier melt; Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs); Temporal trends.