United States
Environmental
Protection Agency

Ecological characteristics impact PFAS concentrations in a U.S. North Atlantic food web

Melanie L. Hedgespeth1, David L. Taylor2, Sawyer Balint3, Morgan Schwartz1, Mark G. Cantwell1

_________	1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling,

1	1	Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, Rl 02882, USA

2 ^°9er Williams University, Department of Marine Biology, One Old Ferry Road, Bristol, Rl 02809, USA
3 ORISE Research Participant at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling,

Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, Rl 02882, USA

| Roger Williams

University

Objectives

Results - Archived Samples 2006-2014

Improve understanding of PFAS bioaccumulation in
aquatic food webs

Assess concentrations of PFAS in seafood species
consumed by humans

Address data gaps to inform mechanistic models/risk
assessments, particularly for PFAS with limited
information

Background

Per- and poiyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly
persistent, fluorinated compounds that are frequently
detected in environmental and biological samples.
Many legacy PFAS accumulate in organism tissues, in
some instances resulting in biomagnification across
trophic levels. Further, some PFAS have been linked to
adverse health impacts in humans and other
organisms.

Current challenges:

•	Bioaccumulation data are limited for many
organisms, e.g., invertebrates

•	Data particularly limited for marine/estuarine species
(vs. freshwater)

•	Current bioaccumulation models do not accurately
represent PFAS behavior

WMj

Methods

Retrospective analysis of 344 archived samples, 18 species

•	Collected 2006-2014 from an urban estuary (Narragansett Bay Rhode
Island, USA) and adjoining coastal waters (Rl & Block Island Sounds)

•	Basic methanol extraction of freeze-dried tissues (filets & whole bodies)
with ENVI-Carb clean-up

•	UPLC-MS-MS (Waters Xevo TQD) targeted analysis of 24 PFAS:

•	11 per-/polyfluorocarboxylic acids (C4-C14 PFCAs); 7 per-/polyfluorosulfonic
acids (C4-C10 PFSAs); 6 precursors (4:2-, 6:2-, & 8:2-FtS; FOSA;
N-MeFOSAA; N-EtFOSAA)

PFAS Type
Precursor PFCA PFSA

Alosa sp. (shad)
Longfin inshore squid
Butterfish
Spiny dogfish
Bluefish
Striped bass
Atlantic herring
Black sea bass
Tautog
Smooth dogfish
Scup (porgy)
Blue mussel
Summer flounder
Winter flounder
Little skate
Cancer crab
Winter skate
American lobster

0.75 0.50 0.25
Proportion

¦

-----

D

M

D
!

	

Pelagic

0	5	10 15

Concentration (ng/g wet weight)

Figure 1. Average proportions and concentrations of PFAS types detected in the Rl coastal food web; n=12-30 per species. Error bars in
the concentration panel represent standard deviation for total, £PFAS concentrations.

PFAS were detected in all 18 species and 91% of all samples

19 of 24 PFAS detected across all samples: total PFAS concentrations range
20%
detection based on regression model slopes (PFAS concentration vs. trophic
level, via parametric [maximum likelihood estimation] or nonparametric
regression [Akritas-Theil-Sen line]; n=340). Results significant at a= 0.1 *
0.05**, 0.01*** indicate trophic magnification (>1) or dilution (<1).

PFAS

PFAS

%



name

type

detect



Perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA)

Precursor

49%

1.3**

Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)

PFCA (C9)

31%

1.1

Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)

PFCA (C10)

26%

1.7***

Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA)

PFCA (C11)

74%

1.1

Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA)

PFCA (C12)

38%

1.2

Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)

PFCA (C13)

82%

0.86

Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA)

PFCA (C14)

64%

0.77*

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)

PFSA (C8)

32%

1.4**

Figure 2. Locations of marine species sample collection:
Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, and Block Island
Sound.

American lobster
Striped bass

+ Pelagic piscivore + Benthic piscivore

A Pelagic planktivore A Benthic planktivore • Demersal crustacivore
V Pelagic omnivore V Benthic omnivore V Demersal oi

Cancer crab
Winter skate
Bluefish ip
Butterfish (p
Longfin inshore squid
Little

SmOOth dogfish (Cardial
Blue mussel
Tautog

Summer flounder pieu
Winter flounder (pieu
Spiny dogfish
Alosa sp.

Atlantic herring

Figure 3. Dendrogram derived from hierarchical cluster analysis that
represents PFAS-profile groupings among species. Solid circles and tt
vertical bars represent distinct PFAS groups, as determined from
similarity profiling. Taxonomic orders are presented in parentheses.

PC01 (56.7% of total variation)

Figure 4. Principal coordinates (PCO) plot representing PFAS-profile
dissimilarities among species. Data points reflect PFAS profiles per
species & collection location, and are defined by habitat use (pelagic
benthic, demersal) & feeding guild (piscivore, planktivore, omnivore,
crustacivore). PCO plot vectors of the most commonly detected PFAS
(210%o detection of analyzed samples) correspond to monotonic
relationships between a PFAS's importance and the ordination axes.

Next Steps

The views expressed in this poster are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Any mention of trade names, manufacturers or products does not imply an endorsement by the United States Government
or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA and its employees do not endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises.

Innovative Research for a Sustainable Future

This study is currently under scientific peer-review; do not disseminate
Archived dataset will inform additional analyses of contemporary samples

•	Similar selection of organisms collected from same general locations

•	Collection via trawling, dredging, seine surveys, and plankton tows
Non-targeted analysis to determine possible exposure to novel PFAS
More detail on spatial and temporal patterns related to collection
Gauge potential for human exposure via seafood consumption

www.epa.gov/research


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