Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Marine Mammals from the South China Sea and Their Temporal Changes 2002–2014: Concern for Alternatives of PFOS?

Perfluorinated sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), as well as the replacement for the phase-out C8 PFSAs were determined in the liver samples of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) from the South China Sea between 2002 and 2014. Levels of total perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in samples ranged from 136–15,300 and 30.5–2,720 ng/g dw for dolphin and porpoise, respectively. Significant increasing trends of several individual PFCAs and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) were found in cetacean samples from 2002 to 2014, whereas no significant temporal trends of ∑PFASs appeared over the sampling period. This pattern may be attributed to the increasing usage of PFCAs and C4-based PFSAs following the restriction/voluntary withdrawal of the production and use of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) related products. In addition, significantly increasing temporal shifting trends of PFOS to PFBS were observed in the dolphin liver samples. This pattern may be attributed to the substitution of PFOS by its alternative, PFBS. The highest levels of PFOS were observed in the liver samples of dolphin as compared with other marine mammal studies published since 2006, indicating high contamination of PFAS in the South China region. An assessment of relatively high concentrations of C8-based PFASs in the liver samples of cetaceans predicted that concentrations of PFOS would be expected to affect some proportion of the cetacean populations studied, based on the toxicity thresholds derived.