Temporal Shifts in Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in North Atlantic Pilot Whales Indicate Large Contribution of Atmospheric Precursors

Dassuncao, Clifton; Hu, Xindi C.; Zhang, Xianming; Bossi, Rossana; Dam, Maria; Mikkelsen, Bjarni; Sunderland, Elsie M.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00293

Cited by 67 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Variable lag times and vertical differences in seawater concentrations (Table 1 and Figure 5) help to explain mixed temporal trends in biological PFOS concentrations measured in the North Atlantic and Subarctic [Bossi et al, 2005;Butt et al, 2010;Dassuncao et al, 2017]. Our results imply declining PFOS exposures since 2011 for fish and marine mammals that predominantly forage in the ocean surface mixed layer.…”

Section: Temporal Changes In Pfos Concentrations and Mass Budgets Forsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Temporal changes are expected to be more variable for complex food webs with mixed prey items and biota that forage from deeper seawater such as North Atlantic pilot whales (Globicephala melas) that mainly consume squid between 400 and 700 m depth [Hoydal and Lastein, 1993;Li et al, 2015]. A reported increase in PFOS concentrations in pilot whale muscle between 1987 and the present is consistent with trends in middepth to thermocline waters shown in Figure 5 [Dassuncao et al, 2017]. Circulation of PFOS transported beyond 60°N that returns south in deep water inflows (>1000 m depth, blue colors in Figure 7) cumulatively totaled 4.1 × 10 2 Mg between 1958 and 2015 ( Figure 7).…”

Section: 1002/2017gb005624supporting

confidence: 53%

“…Our results imply declining PFOS exposures since 2011 for fish and marine mammals that predominantly forage in the ocean surface mixed layer. A reported increase in PFOS concentrations in pilot whale muscle between 1987 and the present is consistent with trends in middepth to thermocline waters shown in Figure 5 [Dassuncao et al, 2017]. A reported increase in PFOS concentrations in pilot whale muscle between 1987 and the present is consistent with trends in middepth to thermocline waters shown in Figure 5 [Dassuncao et al, 2017].…”

Section: Temporal Changes In Pfos Concentrations and Mass Budgets Formentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been transported in wastewater and rivers to the global oceans as a terminal sink after use in furniture and carpet coatings, food packaging, nonstick cookware, outdoor clothing/gear, and industrial applications since the 1950s [Wang et al, 2017]. Biomonitoring studies have revealed high PFOS concentrations in many marine food webs and exposures pose risks to both human and ecological health [Tomy et al, 2004;Dassuncao et al, 2017]. PFOS does not appreciably degrade under environmental conditions due to the strength of carbon-fluorine bonds [Wang et al, 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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North Atlantic Deep Water formation inhibits high Arctic contamination by continental perfluorooctane sulfonate discharges

Zhang

Dassuncao

Lohmann

et al. 2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an aliphatic fluorinated compound with eight carbon atoms that is extremely persistent in the environment and can adversely affect human and ecological health. The stability, low reactivity, and high water solubility of PFOS combined with the North American phaseout in production around the year 2000 make it a potentially useful new tracer for ocean circulation. Here we characterize processes affecting the lifetime and accumulation of PFOS in the North Atlantic Ocean and transport to sensitive Arctic regions by developing a 3‐D simulation within the MITgcm. The model captures variability in measurements across biogeographical provinces (R2 = 0.90, p = 0.01). In 2015, the North Atlantic PFOS reservoir was equivalent to 60% of cumulative inputs from the North American and European continents (1400 Mg). Cumulative inputs to the Arctic accounted for 30% of continental discharges, while the remaining 10% was transported to the tropical Atlantic and other regions. PFOS concentrations declined rapidly after 2002 in the surface mixed layer (half‐life: 1–2 years) but are still increasing below 1000 m depth. During peak production years (1980–2000), plumes of PFOS‐enriched seawater were transported to the sub‐Arctic in energetic surface ocean currents. However, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and deep ocean transport returned a substantial fraction of this northward transport (20%, 530 Mg) to southern latitudes and reduced cumulative inputs to the Arctic (730 Mg) by 70%. Weakened AMOC due to climate change is thus likely to increase the magnitude of persistent bioaccumulative pollutants entering the Arctic Ocean.

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Section: Temporal Changes In Pfos Concentrations and Mass Budgets Forsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: 1002/2017gb005624supporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Temporal Changes In Pfos Concentrations and Mass Budgets Formentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

North Atlantic Deep Water formation inhibits high Arctic contamination by continental perfluorooctane sulfonate discharges

Zhang

Dassuncao

Lohmann

et al. 2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…3b). This was similarly observed in samples collected from Devon Ice Cap in 2008(MacInnis et al, 2017, in North Atlantic pilot 10 whales harvested between 1986 and 2013 (Dassuncao et al, 2017), and in Arctic air at Alert (Hung et al, 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 59%

Continuous Non-Marine Inputs of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to the High Arctic: A Multi-Decadal Temporal Record

Pickard¹,

Criscitiello²,

Spencer³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Abstract. Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent, bioaccumulative compounds found ubiquitously within the 10 environment. They can be formed from the atmospheric oxidation of volatile precursor compounds and undergo long-range transport through the atmosphere and ocean to remote locations. Ice caps preserve a temporal record of PFAA deposition making them useful in studying the atmospheric trends in LRT of PFAAs as well as understanding major pollutant sources and production changes over time. A 15 m ice core representing 38 years of deposition was collected from the Devon Ice Cap in Nunavut, providing us with the first multi-decadal temporal ice record in PFAA deposition to the Arctic. 15Ice core samples were concentrated using solid phase extraction and analyzed by liquid and ion chromatography methods. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi

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PFAS Exposure Pathways for Humans and Wildlife: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Key Gaps in Understanding

Silva

Armitage

Bruton

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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390

225

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We synthesize current understanding of the magnitudes and methods for assessing human and wildlife exposures to poly‐ and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Most human exposure assessments have focused on 2 to 5 legacy PFAS, and wildlife assessments are typically limited to targeted PFAS (up to ~30 substances). However, shifts in chemical production are occurring rapidly, and targeted methods for detecting PFAS have not kept pace with these changes. Total fluorine measurements complemented by suspect screening using high‐resolution mass spectrometry are thus emerging as essential tools for PFAS exposure assessment. Such methods enable researchers to better understand contributions from precursor compounds that degrade into terminal perfluoroalkyl acids. Available data suggest that diet is the major human exposure pathway for some PFAS, but there is large variability across populations and PFAS compounds. Additional data on total fluorine in exposure media and the fraction of unidentified organofluorine are needed. Drinking water has been established as the major exposure source in contaminated communities. As water supplies are remediated, for the general population, exposures from dust, personal care products, indoor environments, and other sources may be more important. A major challenge for exposure assessments is the lack of statistically representative population surveys. For wildlife, bioaccumulation processes differ substantially between PFAS and neutral lipophilic organic compounds, prompting a reevaluation of traditional bioaccumulation metrics. There is evidence that both phospholipids and proteins are important for the tissue partitioning and accumulation of PFAS. New mechanistic models for PFAS bioaccumulation are being developed that will assist in wildlife risk evaluations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:631–657. © 2020 SETAC

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Temporal Shifts in Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in North Atlantic Pilot Whales Indicate Large Contribution of Atmospheric Precursors

Cited by 67 publications

References 87 publications

North Atlantic Deep Water formation inhibits high Arctic contamination by continental perfluorooctane sulfonate discharges

North Atlantic Deep Water formation inhibits high Arctic contamination by continental perfluorooctane sulfonate discharges

Continuous Non-Marine Inputs of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to the High Arctic: A Multi-Decadal Temporal Record

PFAS Exposure Pathways for Humans and Wildlife: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge and Key Gaps in Understanding

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