Trace Level Analysis of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances in Fish from Various Regions in Switzerland

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFASs) are persistent man-made chemicals which can end up in the food chain. In this study, the concentrations of 15 PFASs in various wild fish species from different regions in Switzerland were determined excluding hot spots of contamination. After clean-up with SPE, the samples were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS. PFASs were detected in all but 1 of the 83 fish samples (0.07 to 40.7 mu g/kg fish muscle meat). The most abundant compound in fish from subalpine lakes was perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), comprising more than 80% of the total contamination while perfluorononanoic (PFNA), -decanoic (PFDA) and -undecanoic (PFUnDA) acid dominated in high alpine fish. PFAS levels were more elevated in subalpine lakes (median PFASs 11.1-19.0 mu g/kg) than in the high alpine Lake Sils (median PFASs 0.66-2.67 mu g/kg) or streams and canals in Valais (median PFASs 0.56 mu g/kg). Our results indicate that wild fish may be one of the PFAS sources in human diet.

Automated summary

A study in Switzerland found that wild fish may be a source of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFASs) in the human diet. PFOS was the most abundant compound in subalpine lakes, while PFNA, PFDA, and PFUnDA dominated in high alpine fish.