The environmental behavior of perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAA)
and their precursors was investigated in lake Tyrifjorden, downstream
a factory producing paper products coated with per- and polyfluorinated
alkyl substances (PFAS). Low water concentrations (max 0.18 ng L–1 linear perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, L-PFOS) compared
to biota (mean 149 μg kg–1 L-PFOS in perch
livers) resulted in high bioaccumulation factors (L-PFOS BAFPerch liver: 8.05 × 105–5.14 × 106).
Sediment concentrations were high, particularly for the PFOS precursor
SAmPAP diester (max 1 872 μg kg–1). Biota-sediment
accumulation factors (L-PFOS BSAFPerch liver: 22–559)
were comparable to elsewhere, and concentrations of PFAA precursors
and long chained PFAA in biota were positively correlated to the ratio
of carbon isotopes (13C/12C), indicating positive
correlations to dietary intake of benthic organisms. The sum fluorine
from targeted analyses accounted for 54% of the extractable organic
fluorine in sediment, and 9–108% in biota. This, and high trophic
magnification factors (TMF, 3.7–9.3 for L-PFOS), suggests that
hydrophobic precursors in sediments undergo transformation and are
a main source of PFAA accumulation in top predator fish. Due to the
combination of water exchange and dilution, transformation of larger
hydrophobic precursors in sediments can be a source to PFAA, some
of which are normally associated with uptake from water.
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