Temporal and spatial trends of perfluoroalkyl substances in liver of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)
Falk, Sandy; Brunn, Hubertus; Schröter-Kermani, Christa; Failing, Klaus; Georgii, Sebastian; Tarricone, Kathrin; Stahl, Thorsten
Environmental Pollution 171 (2012), 1-8
Abstract
For more than 50 years perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have found worldwide industrial and household uses. Some PFASs are presumed to be persistent and bioaccumulative. Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are thought to be a suitable bioindicator for the accumulation of organic xenobiotics. Due to the ubiquitous nature of PFASs in the environment a retrospective study on temporal trends was carried out. A total of 110 deer liver pools collected from 1989 to 2010 in Germany were analyzed for their levels of PFASs. The highest concentrations were measured for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (median 6.3 µg/kg). Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) were detected with median concentrations of 0.5 µg/kg, 1.2 µg/kg and 0.3 µg/kg, respectively, while concentrations of the other PFASs were below the limit of quantification. PFOS concentrations decreased significantly (rs = −0.741; p = <0.0001) from 9.2 μg/kg in 2000 to 1.8 μg/kg in 2010.