Bioconcentration of perfluorinated compounds in blackrock fish, Sebastes schlegeli, at different salinity levels

Abstract

Bioconcentration of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) was studied in a biphasic (uptake and elimination) study with blackrock fish, Sebastes schlegeli. The blackrock fish was acclimated to varying salinities over a two-week period before the present study. Among the four selected PFCs: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), PFUnDA accumulated significantly in serum, followed by PFDA, PFOS, and PFOA, in that order, while the accumulation profile in liver was PFOS > PFUnDA > PFDA > PFOA. Total PFC levels in plasma were approximately four times greater than those found in liver. The uptake and elimination rate constants (K(u) and K(e)) of PFCs decreased as salinity decreased, suggesting delayed diffusion of PFCs between water and fish, possibly associated with the osmolality gradient. A significant correlation was found between bioconcentration factors (BCF) of PFCs and salinity, except for PFOA, possibly resulting from the effects of salinity on biological responses and chemical activity of PFCs. Even though salinity did not affect the kinetics of PFC accumulation in serum and liver, the results provide useful information on the toxicokinetics of PFCs for saltwater fish.

Bioaccumulation of perfluoroalkyl compounds in midge (Chironomus riparius) larvae exposed to sediment

“…2006; Nania et al, 2009), for FOSA in clams and lugworms (Nakata et al, 2006), and for PFTeDA in Nereidae worms (Loi et al, 2011). However, comparisons between freshwater and marine organisms should be interpreted with caution because salt may affect the chemical activity (Jeon et al, 2010a;Jeon et al, 2010b).…”

Ecological risk assessment of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in marine environment using Isochrysis galbana, Paracentrotus lividus, Siriella armata and Psetta maxima

“…15 The toxicity of PFAS has been extensively studied on freshwater species but the data for saltwater species is scarce. 13,[16][17][18] Few standard test methods for saltwater species have been developed and the available data for marine organisms is in general less abundant. To fill this gap, toxicity tests have been developed for saltwater organisms of ecological relevance: a primary producer (the microalga Isochrysis galbana), 19 a primary consumer (the echinoderm Paracentrotus lividus) 20 and two secondary consumers (the crustacean Siriella armata and the fish Psetta maxima).…”

Size and age–concentration relationships for perfluoroalkyl substances in stingray livers from eastern Australia

“…However, known elimination half-lives for PFAs in fish are in the order of days and months (Jeon et al, 2010;Martin et al, 2003) whereas our data originated from rays that were several years old. Hence it is unlikely that maternal transfer provides a good explanation for the observed age to concentration trend.…”

“…If the environmental measurements are made prior to the steady state, a higher hepatic concentration will be observed in smaller individuals. The half-time for PFAS elimination has been estimated in the range of 4-22 days for juvenile rainbow trout (10 g body weight), and in the range of 35-69 days for blackrock fish (200 g body weight) (Jeon et al, 2010;Martin et al, 2003). This means that 90% of the steady state is reached in a maximum of 74 days and 230 days for the rainbow trout and the blackrock fish, respectively (assuming that the concentration in the environment remains constant as in Fig.…”