White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Body Feathers Document Spatiotemporal Trends of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in the Northern Environment

• Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
• Main Authors: Sun, Jiachen, Bossi, Rossana, Bustnes, Jan Ove, Helander, Björn O., Boertmann, David M., Dietz, Rune, Herzke, Dorte, Jaspers, Veerle Leontina Bernard, Labansen, Aili Lage, Lepoint, Gilles, Schulz, Ralf, Sonne, Christian, Thorup, Kasper, Tøttrup, Anders P., Zubrod, Jochen P., Eens, Marcel, Eulaers, Igor
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 2019
• Subjects: Sulfur compounds; Northern environment; Perfluoroalkyl substances; Perfluorooctane sulfonamide; Perfluorooctane sulfonates; Sharp contrast; Spatial variations; Spatiotemporal trends; Temporal trends; Carboxylation; Article; Greenland; Haliaeetus albicilla; Norway; Sweden; Baltic States; Raptores; Animals; Eagles; Environmental Monitoring; Feathers; Fluorocarbons; Life sciences; Zoology; Environmental sciences & ecology; Sciences du vivant; Zoologie; Sciences de l’environnement & écologie; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/244829; https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03514

peer reviewed We reconstructed the first long-term (1968-2015) spatiotemporal trends of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using archived body feathers of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from the West Greenland (n = 31), Norwegian (n = 66), and Central Swedish Baltic coasts (n = 50). We observed significant temporal trends of perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (∑PFCAs) in all three subpopulations. Concentrations of FOSA and PFOS had started decreasing significantly since the mid-1990s to 2000 in the Greenland and Norwegian subpopulations, consistent with the 3M phase-out, though in sharp contrast to overall increasing trends observed in the Swedish subpopulation. Moreover, ∑PFCA concentrations significantly increased in all three subpopulations throughout the study periods. These temporal trends suggest on-going input of PFOS in the Baltic and of ∑PFCAs in all three regions. Considerable spatial variation in PFAS concentrations and profiles was observed: PFOS concentrations were significantly higher in Sweden, whereas FOSA and ∑PFCA concentrations were similar among the subpopulations. PFOS dominated the PFAS profiles in the Swedish and Norwegian subpopulations, in contrast to the domination of FOSA and ∑PFCAs in the Greenland one. Our spatiotemporal observations underline the usefulness of archived bird of prey feathers in monitoring spatiotemporal PFAS trends and urge for continued monitoring efforts in each of the studied subpopulations. Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society. Norges Forskningsråd: 255681; Academy of Finland: 311966; China Scholarship Council, CSC6180-00001B, 6180-00002B; Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium: 2012-077483FKZ 03F0767