Partitioning behaviour of perfluorinated alkyl contaminants between water, sediment and fish in the Orge River (nearby Paris, France)

Abstract

This paper reports on the partitioning behaviour of 15 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), including C(4)-C(10) sulfonates and C(5)-C(14) carboxylic acids, between water, sediment and fish (European chub, Leuciscus cephalus) in the Orge River (nearby Paris). Total PFC levels were 73.0 ± 3.0 ng L(-1) in water and 8.4 ± 0.5 ng g(-1) in sediment. They were in the range 43.1-4997.2 ng g(-1) in fish, in which PFC tissue distribution followed the order plasma > liver > gills > gonads > muscle. Sediment-water distribution coefficients (logK(d)) and bioaccumulation factors (logBAF) were in the range 0.8-4.3 and 0.9-6.7, respectively. Both distribution coefficients positively correlated with perfluoroalkyl chain length. Field-based biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) are also reported, for the first time for PFCs other than perfluorooctane sulfonate. logBSAF ranged between -1.3 and 1.5 and was negatively correlated with the perfluoroalkyl chain length in the case of carboxylic acids.