Bioaccumulation and ecotoxicity study of perfluorinated chemicals

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are newly emerged group of environmental contaminants. Knowledge on the bioaccumulation and ecotoxicological behaviors of PFCs remains scarce. In the present study, the bioaccumulation process and environmental toxicity of four common PFCs, namely perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluoroocanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and perfluorodecanoic acid were investigated in a sentinel organism, green mussel Perna viridis. Bioaccumulation of PFCs was found to be exposure concentration dependent. A new kinetic model based on the adsorption mechanism was developed. The environmental toxicity was assessed through biomarker-based study. The results demonstrated that PFCs could induce toxic responses across different biological levels and also through various toxic modes of actions. Mathematical models were established to simulate the toxic behavior of the compounds. The integrated biomarker assessment and structure-activity analysis also reveal the overall toxicity potential and diverse toxicity patterns of the compounds.ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERIN