Despite the widespread presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in freshwater environments, only a few studies have addressed their bioaccumulation in macrophytes and benthic invertebrates. This study therefore aimed at investigating the presence of 40 PFAS in sediments, assessing their bioaccumulation in a rooting macrophyte (Myriophyllum spicatum) and a benthic invertebrate (Lumbriculus variegatus) and examining the effects of the presence and bioturbation activity of the invertebrate on PFAS bioaccumulation in the plants. The macrophytes were exposed to sediments originating from a reference and a PFAS-contaminated site. The worms were introduced in half of the replicates, and at the end of the experiment, PFAS were quantified in all environmental compartments. Numerous targeted PFAS were detected in both sediments and taken up by both organisms, with summed PFAS concentrations in organisms largely exceeding concentrations in the original sediments. Bioaccumulation differed between organisms and the two sediments. The presence of the worms significantly reduced the PFAS concentrations in the plant tissues, but for some compounds, root bioaccumulation increased in the presence of the worms. This effect was most prominent for the degradable PFAS precursors. It is concluded that organisms affect the environmental fate of PFAS, emphasizing that contaminant-macroinvertebrate interactions are two-sided.
Keywords: bioaccumulation factors; environmental fate; environmental occurrence; field-contaminated sediment; macrophyte; oligochaetes; plant uptake.