Perfluoroalkylsulfonic and carboxylic acids in earthworms (Eisenia fetida): Accumulation and effects results from spiked soils at PFAS concentrations bracketing environmental relevance

Effects of perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in soils contaminated with these compounds at 0.1, 1, 10, 1,000, and 100,000 μg kg⁻¹ dry weight, covering concentration levels found in background, biosolid–amended, and facility–surrounding soils, were investigated. Earthworms were exposed to spiked soil for 21 days. Concentrations of these compounds in earthworms after 21-d exposure ranged from below detection to 127 mg kg⁻¹ wet weight with the rank order of PFNA > PFHxS > PFHpA > PFBS; no mortality of earthworms was observed in all treatments including controls, except PFBS at 1,000 μg kg⁻¹ and all PFASs at 100,000 μg kg⁻¹. The highest weight loss (29%) was observed for earthworms exposed to PFNA at 100,000 μg kg⁻¹, which was significantly different from all other treatments except PFHpA at 100,000 μg kg⁻¹. These results are expected to fill some data gaps in toxicity of PFASs in terrestrial environments and provide helpful information on the potential for trophic transport of PFASs from soil to higher organisms.