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Toxicity of Polyfluorinated and Perfluorinated Compounds to Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Green Algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata)

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Abstract

Recently, polyfluorinated and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been detected in most surface waters around the world. Because some PFCs are persistent and tend to accumulate in surface waters, their potential adverse effects to aquatic organisms have received increasing attention. Nevertheless, currently available toxicity information is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity effects of seven PFCs on root elongation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and photosynthesis of green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata). It was found that the toxicity profiles of both species tested were similar and had good relations with the fluorinated carbon-chain length of the PFCs investigated. One of the compounds tested, perfluorobutanoic acid, was found to be more toxic than expected in the algae test, which may be related with acidification of the test solution. It was concluded that because short-chained PFCs are becoming the predominant PFC pollutants in surface waters, their long-term toxicity and mixture toxicity with other PFCs should be studied in greater detail.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the FP7 project CADASTER (Grant No. FP7-ENV-2007-1-212668) and the fundamental research funds for the central universities of China (Grant No. DLMU 2011QN053).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, 116026, People’s Republic of China

    Guanghui Ding

  2. Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    Guanghui Ding, Marja Wouterse, Rob Baerselman & Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg

  3. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg

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  1. Guanghui Ding
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  2. Marja Wouterse
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  3. Rob Baerselman
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  4. Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg
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Correspondence to Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg.

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Ding, G., Wouterse, M., Baerselman, R. et al. Toxicity of Polyfluorinated and Perfluorinated Compounds to Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Green Algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 62, 49–55 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-011-9684-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-011-9684-9

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