Assessment of the Variability in the Occurrence of PFAS in Fish Tissues from Selected Fisheries in the Baltic Sea

Molecules. 2024 Dec 20;29(24):6029. doi: 10.3390/molecules29246029.

Abstract

In this study, the results of a comprehensive assessment of the variability in the occurrence of ten perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) in fish tissues originating from 2014 to 2019 from six fisheries in the Baltic Sea are presented. A total of 360 fish samples of three species (perch, herring and flatfish) were analysed. For the determination of PFAS, both linear and branched stereoisomers, LC-ESI-MS/MS technique preceded by simultaneous SPE isolation was validated and applied. The total concentration of all determined PFAS compounds shows that the highest levels were observed in the Szczecin Lagoon (4.8 ± 0.7 µg/kg) and the lowest in the Pomeranian Bay (1.9 ± 0.1 µg/kg). In most samples, the dominant compound was perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). The present research enabled the assessment of the variability in the occurrence of PFAS stereoisomers in marine fish.

Keywords: Baltic Sea monitoring; LC–ESI–MS/MS; PFAS; bioaccumulation; persistent organic pollutants; xenobiotics.

MeSH terms

  • Alkanesulfonic Acids / analysis
  • Animals
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods
  • Fisheries*
  • Fishes* / metabolism
  • Fluorocarbons* / analysis
  • Fluorocarbons* / chemistry
  • Oceans and Seas
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

  • Fluorocarbons
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
  • Alkanesulfonic Acids

Grants and funding

Fish samples and data on PFOS concentrations come from studies conducted as part of the State Environmental Monitoring, which is coordinated in Poland by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection and financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.