Strategic resources for assessing PFAS ecological risks at AFFF sites

Conder, Jason M.; Zodrow, Jeanmarie; Arblaster, Jennifer A.; Kelly, Barry C.; Gobas, Frank A.P.C.; Suski, Jamie G.; Osborn, Erin; Frenchmeyer, Meredith; Divine, Craig; Leeson, Andrea

doi:10.1002/ieam.4405

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The LC50 for PFOS in the present study, 2.49 µg/L, is in the range of previously published 5% hazard concentrations (HC5s) for PFOS including those by Giesy et al (2010; 5.1 µg/L); Qi et al (2011; 6.66 µg/L), Environment and Climate Change Canada (2018; 6.8 µg/L), and Conder et al (2020; 6 µg/L). Our LC50 of 2.49 µg/L is even closer to the HC5 of Salice et al (2018; 1.12 µg/L).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Because of their widespread occurrence and relatively high concentrations compared to other PFAS (East et al 2020), PFOS, followed by PFOA, has been the primary focus of toxicity studies (Conder et al 2020; Divine et al 2020). Also, PFOS has been shown to be the most toxic to the broadest range of species compared to other PFAS, including PFOA (see Li 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toxicological Response ofChironomus dilutusin Single‐Chemical and Binary Mixture Exposure Experiments with 6 Perfluoralkyl Substances

McCarthy

Roark

Wright

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Few studies have determined the toxicity of perfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) to aquatic invertebrates. We exposed Chironomus dilutus to 6 different PFAS to assess single-chemical toxicity and relative or proportional toxicity among substances. A 10-d range-finding test was conducted to inform 20-d assays for the following PFAS: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA). A 20-d binary mixture study of PFOS+PFHxS followed the single-chemical tests. Measurement endpoints for 20-d tests included larval survival and biomass. Log-logistic concentration response models were used to estimate 10, 20, and 50% effect concentrations (EC20, EC50) for PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA. Survival EC50s for PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA were 2.49, 3860, and 192 000 µg/L, respectively, whereas survival EC20s were 1.70, 913, and 119 000 µg/L for PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA, respectively. Biomass as a combined survival and growth endpoint resulted in EC20s of 1.89, 896, and 137 000 µg/L for PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA, respectively. Maximum concentrations tested (no-observed-effect concentrations) for PFNA, PFBS, and PFHpA were 2 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than the PFOS EC50s and showed no toxicity to C. dilutus, even at exposure concentrations well above what would be considered environmentally relevant. The binary mixture of 2.5 µg/L PFOS+1000 µg/L PFHxS showed reduced survival compared to controls and some indication of potential additive or synergistic interaction between PFOS and PFHxS. Overall, the present study supports previous studies showing PFOS to be the most toxic PFAS to aquatic life and suggests that PFOS could be more toxic to the freshwater midge than previously reported.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicological Response ofChironomus dilutusin Single‐Chemical and Binary Mixture Exposure Experiments with 6 Perfluoralkyl Substances

McCarthy

Roark

Wright

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Different PFAS partition into and are enriched in abiotic environmental matrices based on chemical‐, media‐, and site‐specific attributes. For example, some PFAS are highly mobile in water, with most mass transported in the aqueous phase including leaching from soil to groundwater and surface water (Ahrens and Bundschuh 2014; Conder et al 2019; Interstate Technology Regulatory Council 2020b). Others are insoluble in water, thus limiting any exposure via this route.…”

Section: Current Knowledge About Ecological Exposures To Pfasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Ecological Risks of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Current State‐of‐the Science and a Proposed Path Forward

Ankley

Cureton

Hoke

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

214

166

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Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic. However, data suitable for determining risks in either prospective or retrospective assessments are lacking for the majority of PFAS. In August 2019, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry sponsored a workshop that focused on the state-of-the-science supporting risk assessment of PFAS. This paper summarizes discussions concerning ecotoxicology and ecological risks of PFAS. First, we summarize currently available information relevant to problem formulation/prioritization, exposure, and hazard/effects of PFAS in the context of regulatory and ecological risk assessment activities from around the world. We then describe critical gaps and uncertainties relative to ecological risk assessments for PFAS and propose approaches to address these needs. Recommendations include the development of more comprehensive monitoring programs to support exposure assessment, an emphasis on research to support the formulation of predictive models for bioaccumulation, and the development of in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methods to efficiently assess biological effects for potentially sensitive species/endpoints. Addressing needs associated with assessing the ecological risk of PFAS will require cross-disciplinary approaches that employ both conventional and new methods in an integrated, resource-effective manner.

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“…Many monitoring programs, such as those downstream of AFFF sites at US Air Force bases, include 18 or fewer PFAS (Anderson et al, 2016). Although two common PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been studied more than other PFAS, the understanding of the environmental toxicology of PFAS also remains underdeveloped (Conder et al, 2020; Divine et al, 2020). Further, most PFAS toxicity studies have been conducted with single‐chemical exposures or constructed mixtures that reflect just a portion of the mixtures present in the environment (Table S6.1 of Ankley et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considerations for toxicity experiments and risk assessments with PFAS mixtures

McCarthy

Roark

Middleton³

2021

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been around for decades and have been the subject of laboratory and field research studies for nearly as long. Although attention to PFAS has grown in recent years, many unanswered questions remain. Accordingly, the number of research projects designed to improve our understanding of PFAS toxicity, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification, and to improve our ability to predict the interactions of PFAS mixtures, is also increasing. The growing number of ongoing and future research projects focusing on these chemicals will benefit from lessons learned in previous studies. This perspectives article discusses available approaches to mixture risk assessment with specific focus on application to PFAS mixtures. We discuss ongoing research as well as lessons learned from approaches to handling mixtures of other groups of chemicals. Many of these approaches require some detailed understanding of a manageable number of representative chemicals, yet only limited toxicological data are available for most PFAS. With the limited amount of published data currently available, the need for single‐chemical and binary‐mixture studies persists. Based on our previous work with single‐chemical exposures for understudied PFAS, we explored some of the challenges of trying to design and interpret an aquatic concentration–response experiment for a binary mixture of two commonly detected PFAS: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). Based on our findings, we propose that addressing risk from PFAS mixtures will likely require combinations of approaches incorporating findings from traditional whole‐organism toxicity studies and novel methods relying on in vitro assays, read‐across, or quantitative structure activity relationships. Complicating a limited understanding of PFAS mixture toxicity is that relative concentrations of PFAS mixtures vary across sites and time, even at one site. Thus, reliance on empirical data, such as site‐specific toxicity sampling or community structure studies, may be needed to fully understand potential impacts of mixtures. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:697–704. © 2021 SETAC

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Strategic resources for assessing PFAS ecological risks at AFFF sites

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

Toxicological Response ofChironomus dilutusin Single‐Chemical and Binary Mixture Exposure Experiments with 6 Perfluoralkyl Substances

Toxicological Response ofChironomus dilutusin Single‐Chemical and Binary Mixture Exposure Experiments with 6 Perfluoralkyl Substances

Assessing the Ecological Risks of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Current State‐of‐the Science and a Proposed Path Forward

Considerations for toxicity experiments and risk assessments with PFAS mixtures

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