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

摘要 (环境科学及工程)研究计划3 全氟和多氟烷基物质(PFAS)是新出现的令人担忧的化学品，因为它们广泛地 释放到环境中，在那里它们往往是持久的和生物积累的。一些PFA关联 对人造成不良健康后果，并产生数量有限的有害物质(例如，全氟辛烷磺酸和全氟辛烷磺酸) 由于这些担忧，已经被逐步淘汰。然而，大约有5,000个PFA，还有 这些化合物的人体健康和环境安全存在相当大的不确定性，因为 大多数全氟辛烷磺酸从未进行过检测。因为这些化合物通常会被释放到为 作为通过食用鱼类和水生野生动物获得饮用水和营养的来源，有一个直接的 需要更好地了解它们在环境中的命运和影响。因为对环境中的全氟辛烷磺酸的担忧是 开始增长，有越来越多的报告说，在水和水生生物中存在这些化合物 但我们对它们的生物积累潜力和对水生生物的毒性的了解有限。这 该项目具体解决了对全氟辛烷磺酸在水生食物网中的生物积累和毒性的关切。 该项目的一个主要目标是比较全氟辛烷磺酸(12种不同化合物)在食物链中的积累情况。 通过比较初级生产者(围生植物)、初级消费者(蚂蚁)和 实验室中的次级消费者(斑马鱼)。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来营养地移动不同的化合物 从围藻到蚂蚁再到鱼。只有在实验室中进行对照研究，我们才能系统地了解 基于它们不同的化学结构，这些不同化合物的生物积累动力学。这个 这项工作的下一个主要目标是比较不同全氟辛烷磺酸对斑马鱼的毒性。而斑马鱼是一种 作为公认的人类健康研究模型，该项目利用了对该物种生物学的深入了解 探讨全氟辛烷磺酸暴露于鱼类的后果。该项目将比较12种不同药物的毒性 斑马鱼中的化合物使用传统的毒性方法(暴露在水中)，但将是独特的，因为它 还将评估膳食中暴露于全氟辛烷磺酸的潜在毒性，因为在自然界中，暴露于 很可能在水和饮食中都有全氟辛烷磺酸。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全氟辛烷磺酸。这项工作得到了提示 全氟辛烷磺酸制造厂对一个主要分水岭的局部污染以及与此相关的关切 真实世界的曝光。具体地说，该项目将测量有潜力的鱼类和野生动物(鳄鱼)的全氟辛烷磺酸。 这些污染物对人体的饮食暴露途径。总而言之，该项目将提供亟需的 关于全氟辛烷磺酸在水环境中的生物积累、毒性和暴露情况的信息。

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.