Researchers from North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass. Two of those compounds – perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct 2 – are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.
Scott Belcher, associate professor of biology and corresponding author of a paper describing the research, led a team that included NC State colleagues Detlef Knappe, Ben Reading and postdoctoral researcher Theresa Guillette as well as partners from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The team isolated serum from the blood of 58 wild caught Cape Fear River striped bass ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. In collaboration with EPA researchers Mark Stryner and James McCord, they determined the concentrations of 23 different PFAS chemicals present in the serum using a combination of liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.
Read more at North Carolina State University
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