Integrating experimental and field studies to understand PFAS bioaccumulation and impact in aquatic food webs

摘要 （环境科学与工程）研究项目3 全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是新出现的令人担忧的化学品，因为它们广泛存在于 释放到环境中，往往具有持久性和生物累积性。一些PFAS与 对人的健康有不利影响，并且产生的数量有限（例如，PFOA和PFOS） 由于这些问题，已经逐步淘汰。然而，大约有5,000个PFAS， 关于这些化合物的人类健康和环境安全性存在相当大的不确定性， 大多数PFAS从未经过测试。因为这些化合物通常会被释放到 作为饮用水和营养的来源，通过食用鱼类和水生野生动物， 需要更好地了解它们的环境命运和影响。由于对PFAS在环境中的担忧， 开始增长，有越来越多的报告，这些化合物存在于水和水生 这些化合物对水生生物具有毒性，但我们对它们的生物累积潜力和对水生生物的毒性的了解有限。这 该项目专门解决对全氟辛烷磺酸在水生食物网中的生物累积性和毒性的关切。 该项目的一个主要目标是比较PFAS（12种不同化合物）在食物网中的积累 通过比较初级生产者（附着生物），初级消费者（蜉蝣）和 第二消费者（斑马鱼）在实验室。第二个主要目标是了解 通过测量不同化合物在食物网中的运动， 附着生物到蜉蝣到鱼类。只有在实验室里做对照研究，我们才能系统地了解 这些不同化合物的生物累积动力学基于其不同的化学结构。的 这项工作的下一个主要目标是比较不同PFAS对斑马鱼的毒性。虽然斑马鱼是一种 作为人类健康研究的公认模型，该项目利用了对该物种生物学的深刻理解 探索PFAS暴露于鱼类的后果。该项目将比较12种不同的 使用传统的毒性方法（从水中暴露）在斑马鱼中的化合物，但其独特之处在于， 还将评估膳食PFAS暴露导致毒性的可能性，因为在自然界中， 可能在水和饮食中都有PFAS。最后，这些实验室研究将得到实地研究的补充。 调查当地水道以及水生鱼类和野生动物组织中的PFAS。这项工作促使 一家PFAS制造厂对一个主要流域的当地污染以及相关的担忧， 真实世界的曝光具体来说，该项目将测量鱼类和野生动物（短吻鳄）中的PFAS， 这些污染物的饮食暴露途径。总之，该项目将提供急需的 关于全氟辛烷磺酸在水生环境中的生物累积性、毒性和接触情况的信息。

ABSTRACT (Environmental Science and Engineering) Research Project 3 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals that are of emerging concern because they are widely released into the environment where they tend to be persistent and bioaccumulative. Some PFAS are associated with adverse health outcomes in people, and production of a limited number of them (e.g., PFOA and PFOS) has been phased out due to these concerns. However, there are approximately 5,000 PFAS, and there is considerable uncertainty regarding the human health and environmental safety of these compounds because most PFAS have never been tested. Because these compounds are routinely released into waterways that serve as sources of drinking water and nutrition via consumption of fish and aquatic wildlife, there is an immediate need to better understand their environmental fate and effects. As concerns about PFAS in the environment are beginning to grow, there are increasing reports of the presence of these compounds in water and in aquatic organisms, but our understanding of their bioaccumulation potential and toxicity to aquatic life is limited. This project specifically addresses concerns about the bioaccumulation and toxicity of PFAS in aquatic food webs. One major goal of this project is to compare the accumulation of PFAS (12 different compounds) in a food web context by comparing aqueous uptake in primary producers (periphyton), primary consumers (mayflies), and secondary consumers (zebrafish) in the laboratory. A second major goal is to understand the potential for different compounds to move trophically in food webs by measuring the movement of different compounds from periphyton to mayflies to fish. Only by doing controlled studies in the laboratory can we systematically understand the bioaccumulation dynamics of these different compounds based on their different chemical structures. The next major goal of this work is to compare the toxicity of different PFAS to zebrafish. While zebrafish is a recognized model for human health studies, this project utilizes the deep understanding of this species' biology to explore the consequences of PFAS exposure to fish. The project will compare the toxicity of 12 different compounds in zebrafish using traditional toxicity approaches (exposures from water) but will be unique in that it will also assess the potential for dietary PFAS exposures to contribute to toxicity because in nature, exposures are likely to both PFAS in water and in the diet. Finally, these laboratory studies will be complemented by field investigations of PFAS in local waterways and in the tissues of aquatic fish and wildlife. This work is prompted by local contamination of a major watershed by a PFAS manufacturing plant and associated concerns about real-world exposures. Specifically, the project will measure PFAS in fish and wildlife (alligators) that are potential dietary exposure routes of these contaminants to people. Together, the project will provide much needed information about the bioaccumulation, toxicity, and exposure profiles of PFAS in the aquatic environment.