Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in the aquatic food web of a temperate urban lake in East China: Bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and probabilistic human health risk*

The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in temperate urban lacustrine ecosystems is poorly understood. We investigated the occurrence and trophic transfer of and probabilistic health risk from 15 PFAAs in the food web of Luoma Lake, a temperate urban lake in East China. The target PFAAs were widely distributed in the water ( n-ary sumation PFAA: 77.09 +/- 9.07 ng/L), suspended particulate matter (SPM) ( n-ary sumation PFAA: 284.07 +/- 118.05 ng/g dw), and sediment samples ( n-ary sumation PFAA: 67.77 +/- 17.96 ng/g dw) and occurred in all biotic samples ( n-ary sumation PFAA: 443.27 +/- 124.89 ng/g dw for aquatic plants; 294.99 +/- 90.82 for aquatic animals). PFBA was predominant in water and SPM, with 40.11% and 21.35% of the total PFAAs, respectively, while PFOS was the most abundant in sediments (14.11% of the total PFAAs) and organisms (14.33% of the total PFAAs). Sediment exposure may be the major route of biological uptake of PFAAs. The PFAA accumulation capacity was the highest in submerged plants, followed by emergent plants > bivalves > crustaceans > fish > floating plants. Long-chain PFAAs were biomagnified, and short-chain PFAAs were biodiluted across the entire lacustrine food web. PFOS exhibited the greatest bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential among the target PFAAs. However, biomagnification of short-chain PFAAs was also observed within the low trophic-level part of the food web. Human health risk assessment indicated that perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) posed health risks to all age groups, while the other PFAAs were unlikely to cause immediate harm to consumers in the region. This study fills a gap in the knowledge of the transfer of PFAAs in the food webs of temperate urban lakes.

Automated summary

This study investigated the occurrence, trophic transfer, and health risks of 15 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in Luoma Lake, a temperate urban lake in East China. The results showed that PFAAs were widely distributed in water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), sediment, and biotic samples. Sediment exposure was found to be the major route of PFAA uptake. Long-chain PFAAs exhibited bioaccumulation, while short-chain PFAAs showed biodilution across the entire food web. PFOS had the highest bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential among the target PFAAs. Human health risk assessment indicated that PFOS and PFOA posed risks to all age groups.