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Carryover of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) from Soil to Plants

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Abstract

Within the scope of a joint project to study soil-to-plant carryover of polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs), five cultivated plants (spring wheat, oats, potatoes, maize, and perennial ryegrass) were sown or planted in Mitscherlich pots. Six variants per species were used, each with a different concentration level of PFOA and PFOS (from 0.25 to 50 mg/kg as aqueous solution) to detect possible concentration dependence in the transfer of these two PFCs from soil to plant. PFOA and PFOS were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after appropriate sample preparation (partial drying, mincing, homogenizing, extraction). Since PFOA and PFOS presently represent the most widely studied PFCs, they are classified as “leading compounds.” The results show that concentrations of PFOA/PFOS in the plants vary greatly, depending on the concentrations applied to the soil. PFOA values were higher than PFOS values in all plants except potatoes, in which these differences could be quite substantial. From the results presented here it can be seen that uptake and storage are much more intensive in the vegetative portion of the plant than relocation in the storage organs. This is particularly evident from the the comparison of concentrations found in the grain and ear and those in the straw or rest of the plant in spring wheat, oats, and maize. Transfer from “soil to crops” provides a possible explanation for the presence of PFCs in foodstuffs and in human body fluids such as blood, plasma, serum, or breast milk. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a statistically significant, concentration-dependent carryover of PFOA and PFOS in crop plants can take place, which would provide a potential entrance point for these substances into the food chain.

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Notes

  1. The Mitscherlich pots were constantly moving, thus the potato leaves that hung over the edge of the pots were mostly lost and could not be matched with the rest of the plant.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to express our gratitude to the Hessen Ministry for the Environment, Countryside and Consumer Protection for financial support. We are also indebted to the Director of the Hessian State Institution of Agriculture, Andreas Sandhäger, for his help with culturing of the plants. Special thanks go to our technical staff, Rosermarie Sobel, Carmen Bernhard, and Vanessa Gellrich, for their efforts in sample preparation and analysis. We also wish to thank Dr. Roy Ackmann and Ms. Barbara Gamb for their assistance in the extensive literature search.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hessian State Laboratory, Glarusstr. 6, 65203, Wiesbaden, Germany

    T. Stahl, H. Thiele & S. Georgii

  2. Hessian State Institution of Agriculture, Am Versuchsfeld 11-13, 34128, Kassel, Germany

    J. Heyn

  3. Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Countryside and Consumer Protection, Mainzer Str. 80, 65189, Wiesbaden, Germany

    J. Hüther

  4. Unit for Biomathematics and Data Processing, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 95, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    K. Failing

  5. Hessian State Laboratory, Schuberstr. 60, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    H. Brunn

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  1. T. Stahl
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Correspondence to T. Stahl.

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Stahl, T., Heyn, J., Thiele, H. et al. Carryover of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) from Soil to Plants. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 57, 289–298 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9272-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9272-9

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