Increasing Perfluoroalkyl Contaminants in East Greenland Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus): A New Toxic Threat to the Arctic Bears

Abstract

A well-defined subsample of 128 subadult (3–5 years) polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from 19 sampling years within the period 1984–2006 was investigated for perfluoroalkyl contaminants (PFCs). Linear regression analysis of logarithmic-transformed median concentrations showed significant annual increases for PFOS (4.7%), PFNA (6.1%), PFUnA (5.9%), PFDA (4.3%), PFTrA (8.5%), PFOA (2.3%), and PFDoA (5.2%). For four of the PFCs, a LOESS smoother model provided significantly better descriptions, revealing steeper linear annual increases for PFOSA of 9.2% after 1990 and between 18.6 and 27.4% for PFOS, PFDA, and PFTrA after 2000. Concentrations of ΣPFCs, by 2006, exceeded the concentrations of all conventional OHCs (organohalogen compounds), of which several have been documented to correlate with a number of negative health effects. If the PFC concentrations in polar bears continue to increase with the steepest observed trends, then the lowest no-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) and lowest-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) detected for rats and monkeys will be exceeded in 2014–2024. In addition, the rapidly increasing concentrations of PFCs are likely to cause cumulative and combined effects on the polar bear, compounding the already detected threats from OHCs.