Accumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate in marine mammals

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a perfluorinated molecule that has rece ntly been identified in the sera of nonindustrially exposed humans. In this study, 247 tissue samples from 15 species of marine mammals collected from Florida, California, and Alaskan coastal waters; the northern Baltic Sea; the Arctic (Spitsbergen); and Sable I sl a nd in Canada were analyzed for P FOS. PFOS was detected in liver and blood of marine mammals from most locat ions including those from Arctic waters. The greatest concentrations of PFO S found in liver and blood were 1520 ng/g wet wt in a bottlenose dolphin fr om Sarasota Bay, FL, and 475 ng/mL in a ringed seal from the northern Balti c Sea (Bothnian Sea), respectively. Mo age-dependent increase in PFOS conce ntrations in marine mammals was observed in the samples analyzed. The occur rence of PFOS in ma rin e mamma Is from th e Arctic waters suggests widespr ead global distribution of PFOS including remote locations.