Perfluorinated Sulfonate and Carboxylate Compounds in Eggs of Seabirds Breeding in the Canadian Arctic: Temporal Trends (1975–2011) and Interspecies Comparison

Abstract

Perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs) and perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs), as well as selected precursor compounds, were measured in eggs of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) from Prince Leopold Island in the Canadian Arctic between 1975 and 2011 as well as in eggs of three additional species (black guillemot Cepphus grylle, black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus) sampled in 2008. ΣPFCA concentrations increased significantly from 1975 to 2011 in the murre and fulmar eggs at an average annual rate of 0.56 and 0.91 ng g(-1) ww, respectively, whereas perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) concentrations did not change significantly. The interspecies comparison of eggs sampled in 2008 found that black guillemots had the highest PFOS and lowest ΣPFCA levels, and northern fulmars had the highest ΣPFCA levels. PFUnA (C(11)) and PFTrA (C(13)) were the predominant PFCAs measured in eggs of all five species except for the black guillemot where PFDA (C(10)) contributed almost equally with PFTrA (C(13)) to the PFCA profile. Based on published toxicity thresholds, levels of neither perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) nor PFOS in seabird eggs from the Canadian Arctic are of toxicological concern. These are the first interspecies comparisons for PFASs in seabirds from the Canadian Arctic.