Assessment of Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) in Fish From U.S. Rivers and the Great Lakes

PFCs have emerged as contaminants of concern because they are broadly distributed, persistent in the environment, and linked to potential health effects. EPA’s Office of Science and Technology (OST) within the Office of Water identified the need for a comprehensive characterization of PFC contamination in U.S. fish. OST conducted a national-scale study of urban rivers and a regional-scale study of the Great Lakes to evaluate the extent of PFC contamination in freshwater fish. Both studies were conducted under the framework of EPA’s National Rivers and Streams Assessment and National Coastal Condition Assessment. Fish were collected for PFC analysis from 162 randomly selected urban river locations throughout the lower 48 states (2008 and 2009) and from 157 randomly selected nearshore locations in the five Great Lakes (2010). Fish fillet composites were analyzed for 13 PFCs including PFOA and PFOS. PFOA had a low frequency of occurrence (detected in <12% of all samples); however, PFOS was present in 73% and 100% of fish samples collected for the urban river and Great Lakes studies, respectively. Probability-based results indicated that the median concentration of PFOS is 10.7 ppb in fish from U.S. urban rivers and 14.6 ppb in fish from the Great Lakes.