MP12 Organic, Metallic, Organometallic Pollutants
Monday, 14 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 6:30 PM in Exhibit Hall

(JEN-1118-359910) Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in aquatic organisms.

Jenkins, K¹, Pittinger, C², Huntley, S¹, Pawlisz, A³, Anthony, A⁴, Santoro, M⁵, ¹ BBL Sciences, Petaluma, CA, USA² BBL Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA³ BBL Sciences, Tampa, FL, USA⁴ BBL Sciences, Carpinteria, CA, USA⁵ 3M Research and Development, St. Paul, MN, USA

ABSTRACT- Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and related perfluoroalkyl compounds were used extensively as chemical intermediates and as oil- and water-resistant coatings for paper, textiles, and other products. Recently, PFOS has been detected in various wildlife species and questions have been raised regarding the potential of this compound to bioaccumulate in aquatic food chains. Estimates of bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) for PFOS from field studies vary by orders of magnitude. There are several problems with using existing field data as a basis for developing BAFs. First, this approach does not account for the additional contribution of metabolite-derived PFOS to the total PFOS tissue concentration. The failure to account for metabolite-derived PFOS in the denominator results in a systematic overestimation of the BAF. Second, field derived BAFs are often based on liver tissue or blood PFOS concentrations rather than whole body tissue concentrations. BAFs derived in this manner are not useful for understanding trophic level transfer of PFOS since predator species consume whole body tissue, not individual organs. In this paper we evaluate the bioaccumulative potential of PFOS in aquatic food chains.

Key words: pfos, perfluorooctanesulfonate, bioaccumulation, food chain