Brominated and Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and PFAS in Sentinel Fish on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Submitter: Beth Meschewski

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/103984 Copy

Description

Title

Brominated and Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and PFAS in Sentinel Fish on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Issue Date

2019-05-21

Keyword(s)

• flame retardants
• PFAS
• per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
• Alaska
• indigenous people

Abstract

The Arctic contains thousands of contaminated formerly used defense (FUD) sites dating from the Cold War, many of which are significant sources of organic contaminants. Here, we have established a community-based participatory research project in collaboration with the communities of St. Lawrence Island in Alaska to address multiple exposure routes to contaminants, including those originating locally at FUD sites. We collected a sentinel fish species, the ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), from Troutman Lake adjacent to the village of Gambell and both FUD and solid waste disposal sites. We measured the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stickleback, and found that BDE-47 and -99, tri(n-butyl) phosphate (TNBP), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), were the most abundant contaminants. Median concentrations were 204 ng/g lw, 187 ng/g lw, and 156 ng/g lw for ∑PBDEs, ∑OPEs, and ∑PFAS, respectively. These concentrations were higher than those in fish from other lakes and comparable to several high trophic level fish species and marine mammals in Alaska, indicating higher contamination levels in Troutman Lake.

Series/Report Name or Number

2019 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC19)

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/103984

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