Development of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Ecological Risk‐Based Screening Levels
Abstract
Evaluation of chemical risks to threatened and endangered species is a requirement for Superfund ecological risk assessments; however, screening levels to evaluate the potential for toxicity associated with ecological receptor exposure to per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are lacking. Therefore, PFAS risk‐based screening levels (RBSLs) were developed. Wildlife RBSLs were developed using surrogate receptors selected to be representative of threatened and endangered species with different habitat types, feeding guilds, and trophic levels. Published uptake and toxicity data were combined with receptor exposure factors to derive RBSLs for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife for several PFAS, including perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorohexanoic acid, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid, and pentafluorobenzoic acid. Uptake information for surrogate PFAS were considered to calculate RBSLs for PFAS with toxicity data and insufficient bioaccumulation data to develop an RBSL. Both no‐observed–adverse effect level (NOAEL)– and lowest‐observed–adverse effect level–based wildlife RBSLs were calculated to allow for a range of risk estimates appropriate to individual threatened and endangered species and populations of nonlisted wildlife receptors, respectively. Recommended water quality RBSLs protective of aquatic life were developed for 23 PFAS based on published literature reviews and peer‐reviewed aquatic toxicity studies and Great Lakes Initiative methodology. For wildlife receptors, NOAEL RBSLs ranged from to 0.013 to 340 mg/kg for soil, 0.0014 to 370 mg/kg for sediment, and 0.000075 to 1600 mg/L for surface water. For aquatic life, chronic RBSLs ranged from 0.00022 to 3.4 mg/L. For terrestrial plants and soil invertebrates, the no‐observed‐effect concentration screening levels range from 0.084 to 642 mg/kg and from 1 to 50 mg/kg, respectively. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:921–936. © 2020 SETAC
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 25, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1002/etc.4975
Entities
People
- Craig Divine
- Erin Osborn
- Jeanmarie M. Zodrow
- Kaitlyn Dally
- Meredith Frenchmeyer
- Paul Anderson
Organizations
- Arcadis
- Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program