title: Environmental Occurrence of Perfluoroalkyl Acids and Novel Fluorotelomer Surfactants in the Freshwater Fish Catostomus commersonii and Sediments Following Firefighting Foam Deployment at the Lac-Mégantic Railway Accident.
abstract: On July 6th 2013, an unmanned train laden with almost 8 million liters of crude oil careened off the rails downtown Lac-Mégantic (Québec, Canada). In the aftermath of the derailment accident, the emergency response entailed the deployment of 33 000 L of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) concentrate that contained proprietary fluorosurfactants. The present study examines the environmental occurrence of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and newly identified per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the benthic fish white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) and sediments from Lake Mégantic and Chaudière River. In sediments, PFAAs displayed relatively low concentrations (∑PFAAs = 0.06-0.5 ng g-1dw) while the sum of fluorotelomer-based PFASs was in the range < LOD-6.2 ng g-1dw. Notably, fluorotelomer sulfonamide betaines (8:2-FTAB and 10:2-FTAB), fluorotelomer betaines (9:3-FTB, 11:3-FTB and 9:1:2 FTB) and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2-FTSA) were ubiquitously identified in the sediment samples surveyed. Levels of PFAAs remained moderate in fish muscle (e.g.
  
  
  
  0.28-2.1 ng g-1wet-weight), with little or no differences when comparing 2013 or 2014 fish samples with 2011 archived samples. In contrast, n:2-FTSAs emerged in the immediate weeks or months that followed the accident, as did several betaine-based PFASs (8:2-FTAB, 10:2-FTAB, 9:3-FTB, 11:3-FTB, 7:1:2 FTB and 9:1:2 FTB), observed for the first time in situ. Fluorotelomer thioether amido sulfonate (10:2-FTSAS) and fluorotelomer sulfoxide amido sulfonate (10:2-FTSAS-sulfoxide) were also occasionally reported after the AFFF spill. With time, levels of betaine-based PFASs gradually decreased in fish, possibly indicating attenuation by biodegradation of the fluorine-free moiety, supported by the observation of likely metabolites such as n:3-fluorotelomer carboxylates and n:2-fluorotelomer sulfonamides.
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, UMR 5805, LPTC Research Group, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33400 Talence, France.|Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Quebec, Canada , H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.affiliation: Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec (CEAEQ), Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MDDELCC), 2700 Einstein Street, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada , G1P 3W8.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Quebec, Canada , H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Sung Vo
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Duy
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, UMR 5805, LPTC Research Group, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33400 Talence, France.|CNRS, EPOC, UMR 5805, LPTC Research Group, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33400 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Labadie
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, EPOC, UMR 5805, LPTC Research Group, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33400 Talence, France.|CNRS, EPOC, UMR 5805, LPTC Research Group, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33400 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budzinski
authors.affiliation: McGill University , Department of Civil Engineering, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada , H3A 0C3.
authors.forename: Jinxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Quebec, Canada , H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8584-1690
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sauvé
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000818:Animals; D003531:Cypriniformes; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D005618:Fresh Water; D045483:Rivers; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical