PFCs and Related Fluorochemicals in Albatrosses, Elephant Seals, Penguins and Polar Skua from the Southern Ocean

This dataset investigates the presence of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in Adelie
penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) blood, unhatched Adelie penguin eggs and whole blood of
South Polar skua collected during 1995-2005. PFCs have been used as surfactants in
industrial and commercial products for over 50 years. PFCs are incredibly resistant to
breakdown and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) are
being considered for inclusion in the Stockholm Convention. PFOS was found in the blood
of elephant seals from Antarctica at concentrations ranging from <0.08 to 3.52 ng/ml. PFOS
was found in eggs (2.1-3.1 ng/g) and blood (<0.24-1.4 ng/ml) of polar skuas but was not
detected in penguins from Antarctica indicating distribution of these compounds on a global
scale even if contamination levels in the Antarctic is still low.