Uptake, accumulation, and toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Allium cepa grown in soils amended with biosolids

Anithadevi Kenday Sivaram; Elliot Lee; Amy Curnow; Aravind Surapaneni; Kurunthachalam Kannan; Mallavarapu Megharaj

Environmental Challenges (Jan 2023)

Uptake, accumulation, and toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Allium cepa grown in soils amended with biosolids

Anithadevi Kenday Sivaram,
Elliot Lee,
Amy Curnow,
Aravind Surapaneni,
Kurunthachalam Kannan,
Mallavarapu Megharaj

Affiliations

Anithadevi Kenday Sivaram: Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, The University of Newcastle (UoN), University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environments, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Elliot Lee: Water Corporation, 629 Newcastle Street, Leederville, WA 6007, Australia
Amy Curnow: Water Corporation, 629 Newcastle Street, Leederville, WA 6007, Australia
Aravind Surapaneni: South East Water, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia; ARC Training Centre for Transformation of Australia's Biosolids Resource, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia
Kurunthachalam Kannan: Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
Mallavarapu Megharaj: Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, The University of Newcastle (UoN), University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environments, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia; Corresponding author at Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10
p. 100670

Abstract

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Uptake and accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Allium cepa from soils amended with biosolids were investigated. The Ʃ38 PFAS concentrations in soils amended with biosolids ranged from 10.4 to 104 ng g−1 (dry-weight). Among PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) concentration was the highest in soils, with a maximum of 48.1 ng g−1, followed by N-ethylperfluoro-1-octanesulfonamidoacetic acid (N-Et-FOSAA) with the maximum of 10.9 ng g−1. The concentration of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was higher (0.55–1.82 ng g−1) in roots of A. cepa than that of PFOS (0.03–0.13 ng g−1). The accumulation of PFAS in A. cepa shoots depended on the carbon chain length, with a more significant accumulation of shorter C-chain PFAS than the longer C-chain derivatives. The concentration of PFAS in shoots correlated positively with corresponding root concentration, suggesting a significant translocation of PFAS from root to shoots. A. cepa showed no considerable cyto-genotoxicity in the meristem root tip cells exposed to soils amended with biosolids. The oxidative stress parameters such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and lipid peroxidation (LP) showed no significant change over control in A. cepa root cells exposed to soils amended with biosolids. The estimated dietary intake for PFOA and PFOS did not exceed the recommended tolerable daily intake (TDI) even after assuming that onion accounted for 100% of vegetable consumption. This study provides evidence of accumulation and translocation of PFAS from soil to roots and shoots of A. cepa. Also, we assessed the potential risk of PFAS accumulated in A. cepa to humans via the food chain to be insignificant.

Published in Environmental Challenges

ISSN: 2667-0100 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-challenges/

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