| Abstract
| - Widespread use of perfluorooctane surfactants has led toubiquitous presence of these chemicals in biologicaltissues. While perfluorooctane surfactants have beenmeasured in blood and liver tissue samples of fish, birds,and mammals in the Great Lakes region, data for theaqueous concentrations of these compounds in the GreatLakes or other ambient waters is lacking. Sixteen GreatLakes water samples were analyzed for eight perfluorooctanesurfactants. The monitored perfluorooctane surfactantswere quantitatively determined using single quadrupole HPLC/MS and qualitatively confirmed using ion trap MS/MS.Additionally, PFOS was quantitatively confirmed using triplequadrupole LC/MS/MS. Concentrations of PFOS andPFOA in the two lakes ranged from 21−70 and 27−50ng/L, respectively. Analysis also showed the presence ofPFOS precursors, N-EtFOSAA (range of 4.2−11 ng/L) andFOSA (range of 0.6−1.3 ng/L), in all samples above theLOQ. PFOSulfinate, another precursor, was identified at sixof eight locations with a concentration range, whenpresent, of <2.2−17 ng/L. Other PFOS precursors, N-EtFOSE,PFOSAA, and N-EtFOSA were not observed at any of thesampling locations. These are the first reported concentrationsof perfluorooctane surfactants in Great Lakes water andthe first report of PFOS precursors in any water body.
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