Perfluoroalkyl substances in Baltic fish – the risk to consumers

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were investigated in five Baltic fish species (sprat, herring, salmon, trout, and cod). Eachspecies’ median lower bound (LB) concentration of ∑14 PFASs was as follows: in sprat it was 3.54 μg/kg wet weight (w.w.),in cod 2.15 μg/kg w.w., in salmon 2.10 μg/kg w.w., in trout 2.03 μg/kg w.w. and in herring 1.74 μg/kg w.w.. Regarding thespecies’ median LB of ∑4 PFASs (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoicacid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)), sprat was the most contaminated with 2.90 μg/kg w.w. and herringwas the least with 1.17 μg/kg w.w.. Among all PFASs, PFOS was found in the highest concentrations (range 0.04–9.16 μg/kg w.w.) and the percentage share in the total concentration of ∑14 PFASs was between 56 and 73%. The average propor-tion of linear PFOS (L-PFOS) in the total PFOS (branched and linear) was the highest in salmon at 89% and trout at 87%,and in the other three species it ranged from 75 to 80%. Different consumption scenarios were assumed and the intake ofPFASs was calculated for children and adults. Dietary intake via fish consumption was 3.20–25.13 ng/kg of body weight(b.w.) for children and 1.68–8.30 ng/kg b.w. for adults. Baltic fish caught along Polish coastal areas are a significant sourceof PFASs, especially for children.