Susceptibility of riparian wetland plants to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) accumulation

Int J Phytoremediation. 2014;16(7-12):926-36. doi: 10.1080/15226514.2013.810574.

Abstract

As plants have been shown to accumulate organic compounds from contaminated sediments, there is a potential for long-lasting ecological impact as a result of contaminant accumulation in riparian areas of wetlands, particularly the accumulation of non-biodegradable contaminants such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). In this study, commonly found riparian wetland plants including reeds, i.e., Xanthium strumarium, Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus corymbosus, Ruppia maritime; Populus canescens, Polygonum salicifolium, Cyperus congestus; Persicaria amphibian, Ficus carica, Artemisia schmidtiana, Eichhornia crassipes, were studied to determine their susceptibility to PFOA accumulation from PFOA contaminated riparian sediment with a known PFOA concentration, using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The bioconcentration factor (BCF) indicated that the plants affinity to PFOA accumulation was; E. crassipes, > P. sali-cifolium, > C. congestus, > P. x canescens, > P. amphibian, > F. carica, > A. schmidtiana, > X. strumarium,> P. australis, > R. maritime, > S. corymbosus. The concentration of PFOA in the plants and/or reeds was in the range 11.7 to 38 ng/g, with a BCF range of 0.05 to 0.37. The highest BCF was observed in sediment for which its core water had a high salinity, total organic carbon and a pH which was near neutral. As the studied plants had a higher affinity for PFOA, the resultant effect is that riparian plants such as E. crassipes, X. strumarium, and P. salicifolium, typified by a fibrous rooting system, which grow closer to the water edge, exacerbate the accumulation of PFOA in riparian wetlands.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biodegradation, Environmental
  • Caprylates / analysis
  • Caprylates / metabolism
  • Caprylates / toxicity*
  • Fluorocarbons / analysis
  • Fluorocarbons / metabolism
  • Fluorocarbons / toxicity*
  • Geologic Sediments / chemistry
  • Magnoliopsida / drug effects*
  • Magnoliopsida / metabolism
  • Plant Roots / drug effects
  • Plant Roots / metabolism
  • Rivers / chemistry
  • South Africa
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / metabolism
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity*
  • Wetlands

Substances

  • Caprylates
  • Fluorocarbons
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • perfluorooctanoic acid