Nonlethal detection of PFAS bioaccumulation and biomagnification within fishes in an urban- and wastewater-dominant Great Lakes watershed

Serena E George; Tracie R Baker; Bridget B Baker

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121123

Nonlethal detection of PFAS bioaccumulation and biomagnification within fishes in an urban- and wastewater-dominant Great Lakes watershed

Environ Pollut. 2023 Mar 15:321:121123. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121123. Epub 2023 Jan 19.

Authors

Serena E George¹, Tracie R Baker², Bridget B Baker³

Affiliations

¹ School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2015 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
² Department of Environmental and Global Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University, 6135 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI, 48202, USA. Electronic address: tracie.baker@ufl.edu.
³ Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.

PMID: 36681373
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121123

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic endocrine disruptors that are particularly stable and pervasive due to strong carbon-fluorine bonds. They are known to bioaccumulate in protein-rich tissues of fish, and most cannot be eliminated with cooking. Despite studies linking PFAS to adverse health outcomes, there is a lack of international regulations of PFAS as a hazardous material. To investigate PFAS in an aquatic food web and the potential human health implications, we analyzed the concentrations of 40 PFAS from muscle biopsy and serum samples of fish representing different trophic levels along the Lake Huron - Lake Erie Corridor. In Summer (2021), walleye (Sander vitreus; WAE), yellow perch (Perca flavescens; YEP) and round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus; ROG) were collected for analysis from the Detroit River (contaminated site) and St. Clair River (reference site). Eight PFAS congeners were detected in muscle and 15 congeners in serum, leading to the novel detection in Great Lakes fish of 7:3 FTCA in muscle and PFHpS, PFNS, MeFOSAA, and EtFOSAA in serum. PFOS was detected in 100% of muscle and serum pools across all species at concentrations lower than those associated with fish toxicity. Muscle PFOS concentration in DR WAE fell under the 8 meals per month (>13 ng-19 ng) fish consumption advisory according to the State of Michigan. Log bioaccumulation factor was significantly different (p = 0.01) among species in DR, driven by higher log BAF for WAE (3.8 ± 0.1) compared to ROG (3.2± 0.02). Biomagnification factor greater than 1 for all species in both rivers indicates that PFOS is biomagnifying in SCR and DR food webs. Successful detection and quantification of PFAS in the muscle and serum of three fish species demonstrates the potential for using this nonlethal sampling method to monitor PFAS and better understand ecological and human health impacts of PFAS exposure.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Biomagnification; Fish; Great Lakes; Nonlethal sampling; PFAS.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bioaccumulation
Environmental Monitoring
Fishes
Fluorocarbons* / analysis
Humans
Lakes / chemistry
Perches*
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Fluorocarbons