Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plasma of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)

Kady Palmer; Jacqueline T Bangma; Jessica L Reiner; Robert K Bonde; Jeffrey E Korte; Ashley S P Boggs; John A Bowden

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.02.010

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plasma of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)

Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Mar:140:610-615. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.02.010. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Authors

Kady Palmer¹, Jacqueline T Bangma², Jessica L Reiner³, Robert K Bonde⁴, Jeffrey E Korte⁵, Ashley S P Boggs⁶, John A Bowden⁷

Affiliations

¹ Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, 205 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, United States. Electronic address: kmpalmer@eckerd.edu.
² Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 221 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, United States.
³ National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, United States. Electronic address: jessica.reiner@nist.gov.
⁴ U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, 7920 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL 32653, United States. Electronic address: rbonde@usgs.gov.
⁵ Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 135 Cannon Street, Suite 303, Charleston, SC 29425, United States. Electronic address: korte@musc.edu.
⁶ National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, United States.
⁷ National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, United States; University of Florida, Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32601, United States. Electronic address: john.bowden@ufl.edu.

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous, synthetic anthropogenic chemicals known to infiltrate and persist in biological systems as a result of their stability and bioaccumulation potential. This study investigated 15 PFAS, including short-chain carboxylic and sulfonic acids, and their presence in a threatened herbivore, the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Seven of the 15 PFAS examined were detected in manatee plasma. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) (ranging from 0.13 to 166 ng/g ww) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (ranging from 0.038 to 3.52 ng/g ww) were detected in every manatee plasma sample examined (n = 69), with differing medians across sampling sites in Florida, Crystal River (n = 39), Brevard County (n = 18), Everglades National Park (n = 8), and four samples (n = 4) from Puerto Rico. With an herbivorous diet and long life-span, the manatee provides a new perspective to monitoring PFAS contamination.

Keywords: Florida; Health parameters; PFAS; PFOS; Puerto Rico; West Indian manatee.

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids / blood*
Animals
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Fatty Acids
Florida
Fluorocarbons / blood*
Puerto Rico
Rivers / chemistry*
Trichechus manatus / blood*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / blood*

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Fatty Acids
Fluorocarbons
Water Pollutants, Chemical
perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid

Grants and funding

9999-NIST/Intramural NIST DOC/United States