Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS; C8F17SO3-), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA; C8F17SO2NH2),
perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS; C6F13SO3-), and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; C7F15CO2-)
were detected in 175 samples of liver and blood of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus),
swordfish (Xiphias gladius), common cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo), bottlenose dolphins
(Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), common dolphins (Delphinus
delphi), fin whales (Balenoptera physalus), and long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala
melas) from the Italian coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in livers of ringed seals
(Phoca hispida), gray seals (Halichoerus grypus), white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus
albicilla), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from coastal areas of the Baltic Sea.
PFOS was detected in all of the wildlife species analyzed. Concentrations of PFOS
in blood decreased in order of bottlenose dolphins > bluefin tuna > swordfish. Mean
PFOS concentrations (61 ng/ g, wet wt) in cormorant livers collected from Sardinia
Island in the Mediterranean Sea were less than the concentrations of PFOA (95 ng/g,
wetwt). PFOS concentrations in cormorant livers were significantly correlated with
those of PFOA. FOSA was found in 14 of 19 livers or blood samples of marine mammals
from the Mediterranean Sea. The highest concentration of 878 ng FOSA/g, wet wt, was
found in the liver of a common dolphin. Livers of ringed and gray seals from the Bothnian
Bay in the Baltic Sea contained PFOS concentrations ranging from 130 to 1,100 ng/g,
wet wt. No relationships between PFOS concentrations and ages of ringed or gray seals
were observed. Concentrations of PFOS in livers of seals were 5.5-fold greater than
those in corresponding blood. A significant positive correlation existed between the
PFOS concentrations in liver and blood, which indicates that blood can be used for
nonlethal monitoring of PFOS. Trend analysis of PFOS concentrations in livers of white-tailed
sea eagles collected from eastern Germany and Poland since 1979 indicated an increase
in concentrations during the 1990s. Livers of Atlantic salmons did not contain quantifiable
concentrations of any of the fluorochemicals monitored. PFOS is a widespread contaminant
in wildlife from the Baltic and the Mediterranean Seas, while FOSA and PFOA were detected
only in certain locations indicating their sporadic spatial distribution.