Uptake of PFAS into forages grown in contaminated soil, a key aspect of the soil-to-livestock exposure pathway
By Thomas L. Simones, Chris Evans, Caleb P. Goossen, Richard Kersbergen, Ellen B. Mallory, Susan Genualdi, Wendy Young, and Andrew E. Smith
J. Agric. Food Chem.
October 8, 2024
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02078
Models to predict perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) concentrations in livestock based on soil concentrations are essential to guide decisions surrounding food testing and farm management. A key parameter in modeling soil-to-livestock exposure pathways is the plant transfer factor (TF) from soil into forages. Uptake of PFOS and other individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were examined in perennial mixed grasses and legumes on PFAS-contaminated farm fields. In a field plot study, PFOS TFs were similar within each plot over three consecutive years but varied 10-fold among the four plots with mean TFs ranging from 0.026 to 0.27. In a multifarm field survey study, mean PFOS TFs ranged from 0.039 to 0.37. Increasing concentrations of two PFOS precursors in soil were significantly associated with increasing PFOS TFs. These data represent a substantial increase in empirical observations of PFAS TFs for grass-based forages for use in modeling soil-to-livestock exposure scenarios.
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