Fluorinated Precursor Compounds in Sediments as a Source of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acids (PFAA) to Biota
Håkon A. Langberg, Gijs D. Breedveld, Gøril Aa. Slinde, Hege M. Grønning, Åse Høisæter, Morten Jartun, Thomas Rundberget, Bjørn Munro Jenssen, Sarah E. Hale
Abstract
C), indicating positive correlations to dietary intake of benthic organisms. The sum fluorine from targeted analyses accounted for 54% of the extractable organic fluorine in sediment, and 9-108% in biota. This, and high trophic magnification factors (TMF, 3.7-9.3 for L-PFOS), suggests that hydrophobic precursors in sediments undergo transformation and are a main source of PFAA accumulation in top predator fish. Due to the combination of water exchange and dilution, transformation of larger hydrophobic precursors in sediments can be a source to PFAA, some of which are normally associated with uptake from water.