• Due to length,
we are presenting this effect as a
separate section for PFOS and PFOA.
The study of the adverse effects of PFOS-PFOA chemicals is in
its infancy and we anticipate that more effects will be presented
and published over the next several years. Most of the animal
studies (as of early 2004) have been performed by the major producers
of PFOS-PFOA (3M and DuPont).
•
Click here to return to the same
section for fluorine & organofluorine pesticides.
•
This is not an exhaustive list. The
review of data was performed in 2003 to early 2004.
When time allows more information will be added.
•
Among the abstracts, accessible in the links below, are several
pertaining to concentrations found in wildlife and fish.
Abstracts
on PFOS and PFOA for the following years: |
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After five decades of widespread use in consumer products and
industrial goods and processes, PFOA has dispersed around the
globe, and now contaminates wildlife on three of four continents
tested. Other PFCs are even more prevalent...
Through studies conducted in the late 1980s, 3M learned that terminal
breakdown products of many PFCs - PFOA and PFOS, for example -
will not break down in the environment. These laboratory studies
covered all the basic mechanisms by which chemicals are known
to break down - in sunlight or through reactive chemicals in the
air (photolysis), by bacterial action (biodegradation), and through
chemical reaction with water (hydrolysis). 3M found that terminal
PFCs are completely resistant to all of these processes.[16-20]
...
PFOS has been detected in the most protected species and in the
most pristine environments on earth. It has been detected in Alaskan
polar bears (in 17 of 17 tested polar bears, at an average liver
concentration of 350 ppb)[10], Midwestern bald eagle nestlings
younger than 70 days old (in 33 nestlings all under 70 days old,
with an average blood plasma concentration of 330 ppb)[5], a great
egret from Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Sumner, Missouri
(liver concentration of 171 ppb)[5], bottlenose dolphins from
the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Riccione, Italy (detected in
4 of 4 bottlenose dolphins, with an average blood concentration
of 143 ppb)[7], and Laysan albatrosses from Sand Island, a wild
life refuge in Midway Atoll (detected in 6 of 6 albatrosses, average
blood concentration of 16 ppb)[5].
PFOSA, a chemical precursor of PFOS, is detected at significant
levels in species across the globe. Off of the Italian coast,
PFOSA (also known as FOSA) has been detected in a Delphinus Whale
(liver concentration was 878 ppb)[7] , and in Swordfish (detected
in 7 of 7 swordfish, average blood concentration was 7 ppb)[7]...
Ref:
Environmental Working Group:
PFCs In Animals Worldwide
-- PFOS
is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic to mammalian species...
PFOS is persistent in the environment and has been shown to bioconcentrate
in fish. It has been detected in a number of species of wildlife,
including marine mammals. Its persistence, presence in the environment
and bioaccumulation potential indicate cause for concern.
It appears to be of low to moderate toxicity to aquatic organisms
but there is evidence of high acute toxicity
to honey bees. No information is available on effects on
soil- and sediment-dwelling organisms and the equilibrium partitioning
method may not be suitable for predicting PNECs for these compartments.
PFOS has been detected in sediment downstream of a production
site and in effluents and sludge from sewage treatment plants.
Ref:
November 21, 2002 report:
Hazard Assessment of Perfluorooctane sulfonate
(PFOS) and its salts.
Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development. ENV/JM/RD(2002)17/FINAL.
http://www.fluorideaction.org/pesticides/pfos.final.report.nov.2002.pdf
/BIRDS and MAMMALS/ Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS; C8F17SO3-),
perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA; C8F17SO2NH2), perfluorohexanesulfonate
(PFHxS; C6F13SO3-), and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; C7F15CO2-) were
detected in 175 samples of liver and blood of bluefin
tuna (Thunnus thynnus), swordfish
(Xiphias gladius), common cormorants
(Phalacrocorax carbo), bottlenose dolphins
(Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphins
(Stenella coeruleoalba), common dolphins
(Delphinus delphi), fin whales
(Balenoptera physalus), and long-finned
pilot whales (Globicephala melas) from the
Italian coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in livers of
ringed seals (Phoca hispida), gray
seals (Halichoerus grypus), white-tailed
sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), and Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar) from coastal
areas of the Baltic Sea. PFOS was
detected in all of the wildlife species analyzed. Concentrations
of PFOS in blood decreased in order of bottlenose dolphins >
bluefin tuna > swordfish. Mean PFOS concentrations (61 ng/
g, wet wt) in cormorant livers collected from Sardinia Island
in the Mediterranean Sea were less than the concentrations of
PFOA (95 ng/g, wetwt). PFOS concentrations
in cormorant livers were significantly correlated with those of
PFOA. FOSA was found in 14 of 19 livers or blood samples
of marine mammals from the Mediterranean Sea. The
highest concentration of 878 ng FOSA/g, wet wt, was found in the
liver of a common dolphin. Livers of ringed and gray seals
from the Bothnian Bay in the Baltic Sea contained PFOS concentrations
ranging from 130 to 1,100 ng/g, wet wt. No relationships between
PFOS concentrations and ages of ringed or gray seals were observed.
Concentrations of PFOS in livers of seals were 5.5-fold greater
than those in corresponding blood. A significant positive
correlation existed between the PFOS concentrations in liver and
blood, which indicates that blood can be used for nonlethal monitoring
of PFOS. Trend analysis of PFOS concentrations
in livers of white-tailed sea eagles collected from eastern Germany
and Poland since 1979 indicated an increase in concentrations
during the 1990s. Livers of Atlantic salmons did not contain
quantifiable concentrations of any of the fluorochemicals monitored.
PFOS is a widespread contaminant in wildlife from the Baltic and
the Mediterranean Seas, while FOSA and PFOA were detected only
in certain locations indicating their sporadic spatial distribution.
/Perfluorooctanesulfonate/
[Kannan K, et al; Environ Sci Technol 36 (15): 3210-6 (2002) ]
Ref: Hazardous
Substances Data Bank for PERFLUORO COMPOUNDS, C5-18
CASRN: 86508-42-1. Online as of February 20, 2004.
Abstract excerpt: ...
PFOS was the major contaminant detected
in most samples and in polar bear liver was the most prominent
organohalogen (mean PFOS = 3.1 microg/g wet weight) compared
to individual polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, chlordane, or
hexachlorocyclohexane-related chemicals in fat. Using two independent
mass spectral techniques, it was confirmed that all samples also
contained ng/g concentrations of a homologous series of PFCAs,
ranging in length from 9 to 15 carbons. Sum concentrations of
PFCAs (sum(PFCAs)) were lower than total PFOS equivalents (sum(PFOS))
in all samples except for mink. In mink, perfluorononanoate (PFNA)
concentrations exceeded PFOS concentrations, indicating that PFNA
and other PFCAs should be considered in future risk assessments.
Mammals feeding at higher trophic levels
had greater concentrations of PFOS and PFCAs than mammals feeding
at lower trophic positions. In general, odd-length PFCAs exceeded
the concentration of even-length PFCAs, and concentrations decreased
with increasing chain length in mammals. PFOS and PFCA
concentrations were much lower for animals living in the Canadian
Arctic than for the same species living in mid-latitude regions
of the United States. Future studies should continue to monitor
all fluorinated contaminants and examine the absolute and relative
toxicities for this novel suite of PFCAs.
Ref:
Environ Sci Technol. 2004 Jan 15;38(2):373-80. Identification
of long-chain perfluorinated acids in biota from the Canadian
Arctic; by Martin JW, Smithwick MM, Braune BM, Hoekstra PF,
Muir DC, Mabury SA.
Sampling of several
wildlife species from a variety of sites across the United States
has shown widespread distribution of PFOS. In recent analyses,
PFOS was detected in the ppb range in the plasma of several species
of eagles, wild birds, and fish. Endogenous levels of PFOS have
also been detected in the ppb range in the livers of unexposed
rats used in toxicity studies, presumably through a dietary source
(fishmeal).
Ref: October
18, 2000. Federal Register. Perfluorooctyl
Sulfonates. Proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR).
In this study, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS; C8F17SO3-), perfluorooctanesulfonamide
(FOSA; C8F17SO2NH2), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS; C6F13SO3-),
and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; C7F15CO2-) were measured in livers
of mink and river otters collected from various locations in the
United States. PFOS was found in all mink livers analyzed.
Frequencies of occurrence of FOSA, PFHxS, and PFOA were less.
The greatest concentration of PFOS measured in liver of mink was
5140 ng/g, wet weight. Maximum concentrations of FOSA, PFHxS,
and PFOA in mink livers were 590, 39, and 27 ng/g, wet weight,
respectively. There were no significant positive relationships
between concentrations of PFOS and PFHxS or PFOA in mink livers.
Concentrations of PFOS were positively correlated with those of
FOSA in mink livers from Illinois. There was no significant correlation
between concentrations of PFOS and lipid content in mink livers.
There were no age- or sex-related differences in the concentrations
of fluorochemicals in mink livers. Greater
concentrations are associated with those individuals collected
near urbanized and/or industrialized areas.
PFOS was detected in livers of all river otters collected from
Washington and Oregon at concentrations ranging from 25
to 994 ng/g, wet weight. /Perfluoro compounds/
[Kannan K, et al; Environ Sci Technol 36 (12): 2566-71 (2002)
Ref: Hazardous
Substances Data Bank for PERFLUORO COMPOUNDS, C5-18
CASRN: 86508-42-1. Online as of February 20, 2004.