Perfluoroalkyl substances in polar bear mother–cub pairs: A comparative study based on plasma levels from 1998 and 2008 |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, NILU — Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Fram Centre, Hjalmar Johansens Gate 14, NO-9296 Tromsø, Norway;2. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø–The Arctic University of Norway, Sykehusveien 44, NO-9037 Tromsø, Norway;3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Diagnostic Clinic, University Hospital of North Norway, Sykehusveien 38, NO-9038 Tromsø, Norway;4. Department of Applied Environmental Science, ITM, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden;5. Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;1. Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway;2. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway;3. The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway;1. ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain;2. Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain;3. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain;4. Epidemiology and Environmental Health Joint Research Unit, FISABIO–Universitat Jaume I–Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain;5. Subdirección de Salud Pública y Adicciones de Gipuzkoa, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain;6. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria BIODONOSTIA, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain;7. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain;8. Institute for Occupational Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are protein-binding blood-accumulating contaminants that may have detrimental toxicological effects on the early phases of mammalian development. To enable an evaluation of the potential health risks of PFAS exposure for polar bears (Ursus maritimus), an exposure assessment was made by examining plasma levels of PFASs in polar bear mothers in relation to their suckling cubs-of-the-year (~ 4 months old). Samples were collected at Svalbard in 1998 and 2008, and we investigated the between-year differences in levels of PFASs. Seven perfluorinated carboxylic acids (∑7PFCAs: PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, and PFTrDA) and two perfluorinated sulfonic acids (∑2PFSAs: PFHxS and PFOS) were detected in the majority of the mothers and cubs from both years. In mothers and cubs, most PFCAs were detected in higher concentrations in 2008 than in 1998. On the contrary, levels of PFOS were lower in 2008 than in 1998, while levels of PFHxS did not differ between the two sampling years. PFOS was the dominating compound in mothers and cubs both in 1998 and in 2008. Concentration of PFHpA did not differ between mothers and cubs, while concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, PFTrDA, PFHxS, and PFOS were higher in mothers than in their cubs. Except from PFHpA, all compounds correlated significantly between mothers and their cubs. The mean cub to mother ratios ranged from 0.15 for PFNA to 1.69 for PFHpA. On average (mean ± standard error of mean), the levels of ∑7PFCAs and ∑2PFSAs in cubs were 0.24 ± 0.01 and 0.22 ± 0.01 times the levels in their mothers, respectively. Although maternal transfer appears to be a substantial source of exposure for the cubs, the low cub to mother ratios indicate that maternal transfer of PFASs in polar bears is relatively low in comparison with hydrophobic contaminants (e.g. PCBs). Because the level of several PFASs in mothers and cubs from both sampling years exceeded the levels associated with health effects in humans, our findings raise concern on the potential health effects of PFASs in polar bears from Svalbard. Effort should be made to examine the potential health effects of PFASs in polar bears. |
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