Objective
The ubiquity of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment and their solubility in water has resulted in exposure of organisms, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. The exposure of benthic infauna and epifauna is also determined by the bioavailability of PFAS in sediments which varies enormously in mineral and organic matter content. Sediment organic matter is known to be positively related to chemical concentrations for both organic and metal contaminants; however, far less is known about the relationship with PFAS.
The overall goal of this multi-year project is to investigate the pattern and profiles of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) bioaccumulated in lower trophic level marine organisms and transferred to higher trophic levels in marine food webs and to determine toxicity of less studied PFAS.
Technical Approach
The approach will utilize field studies in the Great Bay estuary, a system that has been impacted with PFAS from the former Pease Air Force Base and certain municipal sources. The project team will conduct the following studyies:
- Field studies to determine PFAS concentrations in sediments and water and in lower trophic level organisms;
- Laboratory studies using the model organisms, Leptocheirus plumulosus (amphipod) and Fundulus heteroclitus (forage fish), to measure bioaccumulation of PFAS within each species from impacted sediments across different organic matter treatments; and
- Toxicity studies for legacy and emerging PFAS using three marine taxa: the marine flagellate Tisochrysis lutea, the zooplankton species Acartia tonsa, and L. plumulosus.
Benefits
This project will provide benefits to the Department of Defense and the scientific community through field and experimental data on PFAS bioaccumulation and biomagnification from marine pelagic and benthic organisms that can be used to support food web modeling. Laboratory study results will determine the relative toxicity of emerging PFAS as compared to perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid in order to enhance risk management decisions and support development of toxicity reference values for marine species in water and sediments.