Preliminary screening of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and other fluorochemicals in fish, birds and marine mammals from Greenland and the Faroe Islands Rossana Bossi a, * , Frank F. Riget a , Rune Dietz a , Christian Sonne a , Patrik Fauser a , Maria Dam b , Katrin Vorkamp a a National Environmental Research Institute, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000-Roskilde, Denmark b Food and Environmental Agency, Thorshavn, Faroe Islands Received 9 April 2004; accepted 14 December 2004 Perfluorinated acids were detected in livers of fish, birds and marine mammals from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Abstract Extensive screening analyses of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related perfluorinated compounds in biota samples from all over the world have identified PFOS as a global pollutant and have shown its bioaccumulation into higher trophic levels in the food chain. Perfluorinated compounds have been found in remote areas as the Arctic. In this study a preliminary screening of PFOS and related compounds has been performed in liver samples of fish, birds and marine mammals from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. PFOS was the predominant fluorochemical in the biota analyzed, followed by perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA). PFOS was found at concentrations above LOQ (10 ng/g wet weight) in 13 out of 16 samples from Greenland and in all samples from the Faroe Islands. The results from Greenland showed a biomagnification of PFOS along the marine food chain (shorthorn sculpin!ringed seal!polar bear). The greatest concentration of PFOS was found in liver of polar bear from east Greenland (mean: 1285 ng/g wet weight, nZ2). The geographical distribution of perfluorinated compounds in Greenland was similar to that of persistent organohalogenated compounds (OHCs), with the highest concentrations in east Greenland, indicating a similar geographical distribution to that of OHCs, with higher concentrations in east Greenland than in west Greenland. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: PFOS; Perfluorinated compounds; Marine environment; Greenland; The Faroe Islands 1. Introduction Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is the stable end product of the degradation of various sulfonated fluorochemicals. Sulfonyl-based fluorinated compounds have been produced and used for over 40 years as surfactants and polymers in textiles, upholstery, carpet- ing and in particular fire-fighting foams. In 2000, the production of sulfonyl-based fluorochemicals was esti- mated to be 2.9 million kg (Kannan et al., 2002a). Because of the high-energy carbon-fluorine bond, PFOS and related fluorochemicals are stable in the environment and resist hydrolysis, photolysis and biodegradation (Kissa, 2001). They are nonvolatile, have high molecular weights and can repel both water and oils (Kannan et al., 2001b). A major manufacturer of these compounds announced a phase-out of their production from December 2000, due to concerns about their environ- mental persistence and their potential biological effects (Taniyasu et al., 2003). The toxicity of perfluorinated * Corresponding author. Fax: C45 46301114. E-mail address: rbo@dmu.dk (R. Bossi). 0269-7491/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2004.12.020 Environmental Pollution 136 (2005) 323e329 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol