Temporal Trends and Pattern of Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds in Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) Eggs from Norway, 1986−2009

Abstract

Temporal trends of polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) were examined in tawny owl (Strix aluco) eggs collected in Central Norway over a period of 24 years (1986-2009). Concentrations of 12 PFCs, including C(6)-C(8), C(10) perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA), and C(8)-C(14) perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs), were measured, whereas saturated and unsaturated fluorotelomer carboxylates and shorter chain PFSAs and PFCAs were not detected. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the predominant compound (geometric mean 10.1 ng/g wet weight (ww)), followed by perfluorotridecanoate (PFTriDA) (0.36 ng/g ww) and perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) (0.19 ng/g ww). Significant decreasing concentrations were found for PFOS with an annual decrease of 1.6% (1986-2009), while, conversely, the C(10)-C(13) PFCA concentrations increase significantly with an annual increase of 4.2-12% (1986-2009). Consequently, the contribution of PFOS to the ∑PFCs decreased, whereas the contribution of the ∑PFCAs increased over the time. Toxicological implications for tawny owls are limited, but the maximal PFOS concentration found in this stu0dy is about 20 times lower than the predicted avian no effect concentration (PNEC) which suggest adverse effects caused by PFOS are unlikely. However, tawny owls are exposed to a mixture of various PFCs, and PFCA concentrations still increase.

What is the effect of phasing out long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on the concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids and their precursors in the environment? A systematic review

“…PFCAs in water are relatively bioavailable and have been detected in various living organisms [10][11][12][13][14], including humans [15,16]. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the PFCA manufactured in the largest quantity.…”

“…Redundant studies are listed in Additional file 3, together with a reference to the article that finally was used in this review. After critical appraisal and removal of redundant articles, 92 articles [11,12,37,38,40,42,62, remained for full data extraction. More details on the outcome of the critical appraisal are given in the next section.…”

“…One study was available from Japan, otherwise no other studies from Asia nor from the southern hemisphere were available. As there were only three data sets with truly terrestrial organisms (roe deer [79], peregrine falcon [12], tawny owl [11]), it was not possible to make any comparisons of temporal trends for any PFASs between terrestrial and aquatic/marine species.…”

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances: current and future perspectives

“…Nevertheless, recent studies suggest an increase in the prevalence of long-chain PFCAs, such as PFUnDA, in the livers of seabirds and marine mammals from the Arctic. [16,37,42] In the livers of skipjack tuna from the Pacific coast of Japan and the East China Sea, PFUnDA concentrations rivalled those of PFOS, although PFUnDA was not detected in seawater samples. The importance of monitoring for long-chain PFCAs is demonstrated in several recent studies by the fact that these compounds typically dominate PFCA profiles.…”

“…[41] Tawny owl eggs collected from Norway between 1986 and 2009 showed significant reduction in the concentrations of PFOS, whereas PFDA, PFUnDA and PFDoDA concentrations increased by 4.2-12 % per year during that period. [42] These temporal increases in the concentrations of PFCAs are suggestive of a rise in the production and usage of these compounds or their precursors. In fact, concentrations of several long-chain PFCAs, especially PFUnDA, were similar to those of PFOS in the livers of skipjack tuna collected from the Pacific coast of Japan and the East China Sea.…”