PFOA and PFOS Pollution in Surface Waters and Surface Water Fish

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the synthetic chemicals employed by various industries since the 1950s and the most critical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that led to emerging concerns due to high persistency, toxicity, mobility, and environmental bioaccumulation. Although there are more than 5000 types of PFASs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorosulfonic acid (PFOS) are the two chemicals whose employment is highly restricted and banned by the Stockholm Convention. In the present study, certain water resources in the Marmara Region, the most densely populated and industrial region in Turkey, and the waters of Turkey’s two largest drinking water reserves, Beyşehir and Eğirdir lakes, were investigated. The study was carried out in two seasons, spring and autumn. The lowest and highest PFOA concentrations were determined between 1.77 ± 0.1 and 6.71 ± 2.9 ng/L in all surface waters, and the highest PFOS concentrations were between <LOQ and 3.27 ng/L. PFOA concentrations were higher when compared to PFOS concentrations in all water sources, and PFOA and PFOS concentrations were lower in spring compared to autumn. In some commercially procured fish from water resources, 7.48 ng/g PFOS was detected in Küçükçekmece Lake pike, and 2.5 ng/g PFOA was identified in Eğirdir Lake trout. PFOA and PFOS were not detected in other fish tissues.