ECOSPHERE, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Oct 15;311:119907. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119907. Epub 2022 Aug 16.
Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent chemicals, which pose a potential risk for aquatic wildlife due to their bioaccumulative behaviour and toxicological effects. Although the distribution of PFAS in marine environments has been studied worldwide, little is known on the contamination of PFAS in the southern North Sea. In the present study, the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) was studied in liver and muscle tissue of seven fish species and in whole-body tissue of two crustacean species, collected at 10 sites in the Belgian North Sea. Furthermore, the human and ecological health risks were examined. Overall, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was predominant in all matrices and other long-chain PFAS were frequently detected. Mean PFOS concentrations ranged from <LOQ to 107 ng/g (ww) in fish liver, from <LOQ to 24 ng/g ww in fish muscle and from 0.29 to 5.6 ng/g ww in crustaceans. Elevated perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) concentrations were detected in fish liver from the estuarine and coastal region (<LOQ-116 ng/g ww), indicating a specific point source of this compound. Based on stable isotope analysis, no distinctive trophic transfer patterns of PFAS could be identified which implies that the bioconcentration of PFAS from the surrounding abiotic environment is most likely dominating over the biomagnification in the studied biota. The consumption of commercially important species such as the brown shrimp (Crangon crangon), plaice (Pleuronecta platessa), sole (Solea solea) and whiting (Merlangus merlangus) might pose potential health risks if it exceeds 17 g/day, 18 g/day, 26 g/day and 43 g/day respectively. Most PFOS measurements did not exceed the QS of 9.1 ng/g ww, however, the benchmark of 33 ng/g ww targeting the protection of wildlife from secondary poisoning was exceeded for 43% and 28% of the samples in plaice and sole.
全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是高度持久的化学物质，由于其生物累积行为和毒理学效应，它们对水生野生动物构成潜在风险。尽管 PFAS 在全球海洋环境中的分布已得到研究，但对于南北海的 PFAS 污染情况知之甚少。在本研究中，在 10 个比利时北海地点采集的 7 种鱼类的肝脏和肌肉组织以及 2 种甲壳类动物的整体组织中研究了全氟烷基酸（PFAAs）的生物积累和营养转移，并检查了人类和生态健康风险。总体而言，所有基质中都以全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）为主，并且经常检测到其他长链 PFAS。鱼类肝脏中的 PFOS 浓度范围为<LOQ 至 107 ng/g（ww），鱼类肌肉中的浓度范围为<LOQ 至 24 ng/g ww，甲壳类动物中的浓度范围为 0.29 至 5.6 ng/g ww。在河口和沿海地区的鱼类肝脏中检测到高浓度的全氟十三酸（PFTrDA）（<LOQ-116 ng/g ww），表明该化合物存在特定的点源。基于稳定同位素分析，无法确定 PFAS 的明显营养转移模式，这意味着 PFAS 从周围非生物环境中的生物浓缩可能比研究生物群中的生物放大更为重要。如果褐虾（Crangon crangon）、欧鲽（Pleuronecta platessa）、欧鳎（Solea solea）和牙鳕（Merlangus merlangus）等商业重要物种的食用量超过 17 克/天、18 克/天、26 克/天和 43 克/天，则可能存在潜在的健康风险。大多数 PFOS 测量值未超过 9.1 ng/g ww 的 QS，但在欧鳎和欧鳎中，超过了 33 ng/g ww 的基准，以保护野生动物免受二次中毒的影响，分别有 43%和 28%的样本超标。
