Carryover of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) from Soil to Plant and Distribution to the Different Plant Compartments Studied in Cultures of Carrots (Daucus carota ssp. Sativus), Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), and Cucumbers (Cucumis Sativus)

Abstract

A vegetation study was carried out to investigate the carryover of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) from soil mixed with contaminated sewage sludge to potato, carrot, and cucumber plants. Analysis was done by liquid-extraction using acetonitrile with dispersive SPE cleanup and subsequent HPLC-MS/MS. In order to assess the transfer potential from soil, transfer factors (TF) were calculated for the different plant compartments: TF = [PFC](plant (wet substance))/[PFC](soil (dry weight)). The highest TF were found for the vegetative plant compartments with average values for PFOS below those for PFOA: cucumber, 0.17 (PFOS), 0.88 (PFOA); potato, 0.36 (PFOS), 0.40 (PFOA); carrot, 0.38 (PFOS), 0.53 (PFOA). Transfer of PFOA and PFOS into potato peelings (average values of TF: PFOA 0.03, PFOS 0.04) exceeded the carryover to the peeled tubers (PFOA 0.01, PFOS < 0.01). In carrots, this difference did not occur (average values of TF: PFOA 0.04, PFOS 0.04). Transfer of PFOS into the unpeeled cucumbers was low and comparable to that of peeled potatoes (TF < 0.01). For PFOA, it was higher (TF: 0.03).

Mechanistic studies of perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid uptake by maize (Zea mays L. cv. TY2)

“…They found that PFOA was the dominant PFCs in floating plants, while PFOS was the dominant PFCs in fish. Results obtained by Lechner and Knapp (2011) showed that PFOA concentrations in carrots and potatoes were higher than those of PFOS. However, PFOS concentrations in maize ears were higher than PFOA (Stahl et al 2009).…”

“…The migration of PFCs from soil to plants and their subsequent consumption by animals or human is a likely pathway for PFCs to enter the food chain (Stahl et al 2009;Lechner and Knapp 2011;Yoo et al 2011). Thus it is important to understand how PFCs are transported into the plant root system.…”

“…Thus it is important to understand how PFCs are transported into the plant root system. Carryover of PFCs from soils to agricultural crops was reported to be dose dependent (Stahl et al 2009) and varied with the plant species and with the substance (Lechner and Knapp 2011). Accumulation of PFCs by grass decreased with PFC increasing chain length (Yoo et al 2011).…”

Field study on the uptake and translocation of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in biosolids-amended soils

“…The method-detection limits (MDLs) were defined as the lowest concentration that could be distinguished from a sample containing no analyte and calculated with the mean peak area plus three standard deviations, MDLs ¼ y 0 þ 3s(y 0 , average of measured values for the blank matrix; s, standard deviation of the measured values for the blank matrix). The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was calculated with the formula LOQ ¼ y 0 þ 10s (Lechner and Knapp, 2011). MDLs and LOQs were measured for each matrix on replicate analyses (n ¼ 6) of blank samples (Table S1).…”

“…So far very few studies have dealt with this issue in the soil-plant system. Pot studies by Zhao et al (2013), Felizeter et al (2012, Lechner and Knapp (2011) and Stahl et al (2009) showed that PFAAs could be taken up, for example, by maize, oats, wheat, potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and carrots. Plant accumulation of PFAAs was dosedependent and varied with plant species.…”