Human and animal tissues collected in urban and remote global locations contain persistent and bioaccumulative perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs). The source of PFCAs was previously unknown. Here we present smog chamber studies that indicate fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) can degrade in the atmosphere to yield a homologous series of PFCAs. Atmospheric degradation of FTOHs is likely to contribute to the widespread dissemination of PFCAs. After their bioaccumulation potential is accounted for, the pattern of PFCAs yielded from FTOHs could account for the distinct contamination profile of PFCAs observed in arctic animals. Furthermore, polar bear liver was shown to contain predominately linear isomers (>99%) of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), while both branched and linear isomers were observed for perfluorooctanoic acid, strongly suggesting a sole input of PFNA from "telomer"-based products. The significance of the gas-phase peroxy radical cross reactions that produce PFCAs has not been recognized previously. Such reactions are expected to occur during the atmospheric degradation of all polyfluorinated materials, necessitating a reexamination of the environmental fate and impact of this important class of industrial chemicals.

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFSs) are used in industrial and commercial products and can degrade to persistent perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs). Temporal trend studies using human, fish, bird, and marine mammal samples indicate that exposure to PFSs has increased significantly over the past 15-25 years. This review summarizes the biological monitoring of PFCAs, PFSAs, and related PFSs in wildlife and humans, compares concentrations and contamination profiles among species and locations, evaluatesthe bioaccumulation/biomagnification in the environment, discusses possible sources, and identifies knowledge gaps. PFSs can reach elevated concentrations in humans and wildlife inhabiting industrialized areas of North America, Europe, and Asia (2-30,000 ng/ mL or ng/g of wet weight (ww)). PFSs have also been detected in organisms from the Arctic and mid-ocean islands (< or = 3000 ng/g ww). In humans, PFSAs and PFCAs have been shown to vary among ethnic groups and PFCA/PFSA profiles differ from those in wildlife with high proportions of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate. The pattern of contamination in wildlife varied among species and locations suggesting multiple emission sources. Food web analyses have shown that PFCAs and PFSAs can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Knowledge gaps with respect to the transport, accumulation, biodegradation, temporal/spatial trends and PFS precursors have been identified. Continuous monitoring with key sentinel species and standardization of analytical methods are recommended.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed simultaneously to a homologous series of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates in a flow-through system to determine compound-specific tissue distribution and bioconcentration parameters for perfluorinated acids (PFAs). In general, PFAs accumulated to the greatest extent in blood > kidney > liver > gall bladder. Carboxylates and sulfonates with perfluoroalkyl chain lengths shorter than seven and six carbons, respectively, could not be detected in most tissues and were considered to have insignificant bioconcentration factors (BCFs). For detectable PFAs, carcass BCFs increased with increasing length of the perfluoroalkyl chain, ranging from 4.0 to 23,000, based on wet weight concentrations. Carboxylate carcass BCFs increased by a factor of eight for each additional carbon in the perfluoroalkyl chain between 8 and 12 carbons, but this relationship deviated from linearity for the longest PFA tested, possibly because of decreased gill permeability. In general, half-lives (3.9-28 d) and uptake rates (0.053-1.700 L/kg/d) also increased with increasing length of the perfluoroalkyl chain in all tissues. Sulfonates had greater BCFs, half-lives, and rates of uptake than the corresponding carboxylate of equal perfluoroalkyl chain length, indicating that hydrophobicity, as predicted by the critical micelle concentration, is not the only determinant of PFA bioaccumulation potential and that the acid function must be considered.

Recently it was discovered that humans and animals from various urban and remote global locations contained a novel class of persistent fluorinated contaminants, the most pervasive of which was perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Lower concentrations of perfluorooctanoate, perfluorohexane sulfonate, and heptadecafluorooctane sulfonamide have also been detected in various samples. Although longer perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) are used in industry and have been detected in fish following a spill of aqueous film forming foam, no studies have been conducted to examine the widespread occurrence of long-chain PFCAs (e.g., CF3(CF2)xCOO-, where x > 6). To provide a preliminary assessment of fluorinated contaminants, including PFCAs, in the Canadian Arctic, polar bears, ringed seals, arctic fox, mink, common loons, northern fulmars, black guillemots, and fish were collected at various locations in the circumpolar region. PFOS was the major contaminant detected in most samples and in polar bear liver was the most prominent organohalogen (mean PFOS = 3.1 microg/g wet weight) compared to individual polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, chlordane, or hexachlorocyclohexane-related chemicals in fat. Using two independent mass spectral techniques, it was confirmed that all samples also contained ng/g concentrations of a homologous series of PFCAs, ranging in length from 9 to 15 carbons. Sum concentrations of PFCAs (sum(PFCAs)) were lower than total PFOS equivalents (sum(PFOS)) in all samples except for mink. In mink, perfluorononanoate (PFNA) concentrations exceeded PFOS concentrations, indicating that PFNA and other PFCAs should be considered in future risk assessments. Mammals feeding at higher trophic levels had greater concentrations of PFOS and PFCAs than mammals feeding at lower trophic positions. In general, odd-length PFCAs exceeded the concentration of even-length PFCAs, and concentrations decreased with increasing chain length in mammals. PFOS and PFCA concentrations were much lower for animals living in the Canadian Arctic than for the same species living in mid-latitude regions of the United States. Future studies should continue to monitor all fluorinated contaminants and examine the absolute and relative toxicities for this novel suite of PFCAs.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent and bioaccumulative perfluorinated acid detectable in humans and wildlife worldwide that has alerted scientists to examine the environmental fate of other fluorinated organic contaminants. Recently a homologous series of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) was detected in the Arctic, yet little is known about their sources, breadth of contamination, or environmental distribution. In this study we analyzed for PFOS, the homologous series of PFCAs ranging from 8 to 15 carbons in chain length, and the PFOS-precursor heptadecafluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA) in various organisms from a food web of Lake Ontario. The sampled organisms included a top predator fish, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), three forage fish species including rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus), and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and two invertebrates Diporeia (Diporeia hoyi) and Mysis (Mysis relicta). A striking finding was that the highest mean concentration for each fluorinated contaminantwas detected in the benthic macroinvertebrate Diporeia, which occupies the lowest trophic level of all organisms analyzed. Perfluorinated acid concentrations in Diporeia were often 10-fold higher than in Mysis, a predominantly pelagic feeder, suggesting that a major source of perfluoroalkyl contaminants to this food web was the sediment, not the water. PFOS was the dominant acid in all samples, but long-chain PFCAs, ranging in length from 8 to 15 carbons, were also detected in most samples between <0.5 and 90 ng/ g. Among Mysis and the more pelagic fish species (e.g. excluding Diporeia and sculpin) there was evidence for biomagnification, but the influence of foraging on highly contaminated Diporeia and sculpin by these fish may have overestimated trophic magnification factors (TMFs), which ranged from 0.51 for FOSA to 5.88 for PFOS. By accounting for the known diet composition of lake trout, it was shown that bioaccumulation was indeed occurring at the top of the food web for all perfluoroalkyl compounds except PFOA. Future monitoring at other locations in Lake Ontario, and in other aquatic environments, is necessary to determine if these food web dynamics are widespread. Archived lake trout samples collected between 1980 and 2001 showed that mean whole body PFOS concentrations increased from 43 to 180 ng/g over this period, but not linearly, and may have been indirectly influenced by the invasion and proliferation of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) through effects on the population and ecology of forage fishes.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed simultaneously to a homologous series of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates in a flow-through system to determine compound-specific tissue distribution and bioconcentration parameters for perfluorinated acids (PFAs). In general, PFAs accumulated to the greatest extent in blood > kidney > liver > gall bladder. Carboxylates and sulfonates with perfluoroalkyl chain lengths shorter than seven and six carbons, respectively, could not be detected in most tissues and were considered to have insignificant bioconcentration factors (BCFs). For detectable PFAs, carcass BCFs increased with increasing length of the perfluoroalkyl chain, ranging from 4.0 to 23,000, based on wet weight concentrations. Carboxylate carcass BCFs increased by a factor of eight for each additional carbon in the perfluoroalkyl chain between 8 and 12 carbons, but this relationship deviated from linearity for the longest PFA tested, possibly because of decreased gill permeability. In general, half-lives (3.9-28 d) and uptake rates (0.053-1.700 L/kg/d) also increased with increasing length of the perfluoroalkyl chain in all tissues. Sulfonates had greater BCFs, half-lives, and rates of uptake than the corresponding carboxylate of equal perfluoroalkyl chain length, indicating that hydrophobicity, as predicted by the critical micelle concentration, is not the only determinant of PFA bioaccumulation potential and that the acid function must be considered.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent and bioaccumulative compounds that have been associated with adverse health outcomes. In human blood, PFAAs exist as both linear and branched isomers, yet for most linear homologues, and for all branched isomers, elimination rates are unknown. Paired blood and urine samples (n = 86) were collected from adults in China. They were analyzed by a sensitive isomer-specific method that permitted the detection of many PFAAs in human urine for the first time. For all PFAAs except perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnA), levels in urine correlated positively with levels in blood. Perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) were excreted more efficiently than perfluoroalkane sulfonates (PFSAs) of the same carbon chain-length. In general, shorter PFCAs were excreted more efficiently than longer ones, but for PFSAs, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS, a C8 compound) was excreted more efficiently than perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS, a C6 compound). Among PFOS and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) isomers, major branched isomers were more efficiently excreted than the corresponding linear isomer. A one-compartment model was used to estimate the biological elimination half-lives of PFAAs. Among all PFAAs, the estimated arithmetic mean elimination half-lives ranged from 0.5 ± 0.1 years (for one branched PFOA isomer, 5m-PFOA) to 90 ± 11 years (for one branched PFOS isomer, 1m-PFOS). Urinary excretion was the major elimination route for short PFCAs (C ≤ 8), but for longer PFCAs, PFOS and PFHxS, other routes of excretion likely contribute to overall elimination. Urinary concentrations are good biomarkers of the internal dose, and this less invasive strategy can therefore be used in future epidemiological and biomonitoring studies. The very long half-lives of long-chain PFCAs, PFHxS, and PFOS isomers in humans stress the importance of global and domestic exposure mitigation strategies.

Perfluorinated surfactants have emerged as priority environmental contaminants due to recent reports of their detection in environmental and biological matrices as well as concerns regarding their persistence and toxicity. In June 2000, 22000 L of fire retardant foam containing perfluorinated surfactants was accidentally released at L. B. Pearson International Airport, Toronto, ON, and subsequently entered into Etobicoke Creek, a tributary to Lake Ontario. A suite of analytical tools that include liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and 19F NMR were employed to characterize fish (common shiner, Notropus cornutus) and surface water samples collected following the discharge of the perfluorinated material. Total perfluoroalkanesulfonate (4, 6, and 8 carbons) concentrations in fish liver samples ranged from 2.00 to 72.9 microg/g, and total perfluorocarboxylate (5-14 carbons) concentrations ranged from 0.07 to 1.02 microg/g. In addition to fish samples, total perfluoroalkanesulfonate (6 and 8 carbons) concentrations were detected in creek water samples by LC/MS/MS over a 153 day sampling period with concentrations ranging from <0.017 to 2260 microg/L; perfluorooctanoate concentrations (<0.009-11.3 microg/L) were lower than those observed for the perfluoroalkane-sulfonates. By 19F NMR, the total perfluorinated surfactant concentrations in surface water samples ranged from < 10 to 17000 microg/L. A bioaccumulation factor range of 6300-125000 was calculated for perfluorooctanesulfonate, based on concentrations in fish liver and surface water. The residence time of perfluorooctanesulfonate in Etobicoke Creek as well as the high bioaccumulation in fish liver suggests that perfluorinated surfactants will persist and bioaccumulate following release into the aquatic environment.