title: Perfluorinated alkyl substances in water, sediment, plankton and fish from Korean rivers and lakes: a nationwide survey.
abstract: Water, sediment, plankton, and blood and liver tissues of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) and mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri) were collected from six major rivers and lakes in South Korea (including Namhan River, Bukhan River, Nakdong River, Nam River, Yeongsan River and Sangsa Lake) and analyzed for perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs). Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was consistently detected at the greatest concentrations in all media surveyed with the maximum concentration in water of 15 ng L(-1) and in biota of 234 ng mL(-1) (fish blood). A general ascending order of PFAS concentration of water<sediment<plankton<crucian carp tissues<mandarin fish tissues was found. Except for the Nakdong River and Yeongsan River, the sum PFAS concentrations in water samples were below 10 ng L(-1). The PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations in water did not exceed levels for acute and/or chronic effects in aquatic organisms. High concentrations of long chain perfluorocarboxylates (LCPFCAs) were found in sediment samples. PFOS, perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) accounted for 94-99% of the total PFASs concentration in fish tissues. The mean ratios of PFAS concentration between fish blood and fish liver were above 2 suggesting higher levels in blood than in liver. Significant positive correlations (r>0.80, p<0.001) were observed between PFOS concentration in blood and liver tissues of both crucian carp and mandarin fish. This result suggests that blood can be used for nonlethal monitoring of PFOS in fish. Overall, the rank order of mean bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of PFOS in biota was; phytoplankton (196 L/kg)<zooplankton (3,233 L/kg)<crucian carp liver (4,567 L/kg)<crucian carp blood (11,167 L/kg)<mandarin liver (24,718 L/kg)<mandarin blood (73,612 L/kg).
authors: College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Chonnam National University, Yeosu 550-749, Republic of Korea.
authors: Nguyen-Hoang
authors: NH
authors: Lam
authors: Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon 305-600, Republic of Korea.
authors: Chon-Rae
authors: CR
authors: Cho
authors: College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Chonnam National University, Yeosu 550-749, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jung-Sick
authors: JS
authors: Lee
authors: College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Chonnam National University, Yeosu 550-749, Republic of Korea.
authors: Ho-Young
authors: HY
authors: Soh
authors: National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-408, Republic of Korea.
authors: Byoung-Cheun
authors: BC
authors: Lee
authors: National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-408, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jae-An
authors: JA
authors: Lee
authors: National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
authors: Norihisa
authors: N
authors: Tatarozako
authors: Research Institute for Environmental Sciences and Public Health of Iwate Prefecture, Iwate 020-0852, Japan.
authors: Kazuaki
authors: K
authors: Sasaki
authors: Research Institute for Environmental Sciences and Public Health of Iwate Prefecture, Iwate 020-0852, Japan.
authors: Norimitsu
authors: N
authors: Saito
authors: Research Institute for Environmental Sciences and Public Health of Iwate Prefecture, Iwate 020-0852, Japan.
authors: Katsumi
authors: K
authors: Iwabuchi
authors: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, and School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, Empire State Plaza, PO Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA.
authors: Kurunthachalam
authors: K
authors: Kannan
authors: College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Chonnam National University, Yeosu 550-749, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hscho@jnu.ac.kr.
authors: Hyeon-Seo
authors: HS
authors: Cho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry; D010933:Plankton / Q000378:metabolism; D056910:Republic of Korea; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Bioconcentration factor; Fish tissues; Freshwater; Korea; Perfluorinated compounds; Perfluorooctanesulfonate