PARENT SESSION

1H a/b/c - Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkylated substances, antibiotics
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Wednesday, 30 April 2003
Chair: de Voogt, P.¹, ¹
Co-chair: Purdy, R.², Pluecken, U.³, Koerdel, W.⁴, Tolls, J.⁵, Kümmerer, K.⁶, ^{2 3 4 5 6}

(WEP/16) Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related compounds in Japanese environmental samples.

Yamashita, Nobuyoshi¹, Kannan, Kurunthachalam², Taniyasu, Sachi¹, Hirii, Yuichi¹, ¹ National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan² Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA

ABSTRACT- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related perfluorinated compounds (PFCs : e.g. PFHS, PFBS, PFOA) have received world wide attention during the last four years. Japan is one of the major industrialized nations in the world and prior to this investigation occurrence of PFCs in environmental media in Japan was not known. In 2000, the first national project on PFOS and related compounds was started at AIST under the support of NEDO. An international study between AIST, Japan and Michigan State University, US was established and the first survey was made to estimate PFOS in the blood of Japanese humans, which showed the presence of measurable level in 2001. In this study, we report results of the environmental survey of PFOS and related compounds in some environmental samples (surface and deep sea water, fish, bird, domestic animal and human) collected from Japan. Of the PFCs monitored, PFOS was the most predominant fluorochemicals in all environmental samples. PFOS was found in every fish samples from the Tokyo Bay, ranging in concentrations from 30 to 558 ng/g, wet wt, in liver and from 2 to 448 ng/mL in blood. PFHS was also detected in some fish and the maximum concentration was founded 19 ng/g in the liver of Flat Fish and 558 ng/mL in the blood of Conger Eel. The situation of PFOS pollution in Japan supposes to be similar to those of PCBs or PAHs. Quantitative bioaccumulation of PFOS in fish from surface water was made clear in this study. Considering the necessity to perform comprehensive survey of PFOS and related compounds to understand the mechanisms of human exposure and environmental fate of PFOS in Japan, the second national research project "Development of comprehensive risk database for PFOS related compounds" started in 2003.

Key words: fish, PFOS, water, human