Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Terrestrial Mammals from a Typical Chinese Agricultural Region: Non-Target Screening, Biomagnification, and Risk Assessment

Chunyou Zhu; Zenghua Qi; Beibei Hu; Yu Liu; Xiang He; Yuejie Li; Jiawen Zhang; Chenyu Yang; Yine Liu; Liangzhong Li; Haoran Yuan

doi:10.53941/ges.2026.100022

Highlights

Using non-target analysis, 11 PFAS were identified with confidence level 2.
Weasels obviously exhibited significant higher PFAS concentrations among the three terrestrial mammals.
For 15 PFAS examined except PFHxDA and PFODA, biomagnification factors were found to be greater than 1 in the food chains.
Four PFAS, including PFOA, PFPeA, PFPeS, and PFOS were flagged with high priority (risk index > 0.1).

Abstract

With perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely distributed across environmental media and prone to bioaccumulation, terrestrial mammals face ecological health risks, yet related research remains limited. This study addresses the gap by investigating the occurrence and biomagnification of PFAS in terrestrial mammals in a typical agricultural region in China. Using non-target analysis, fifteen PFAS from twelve classes were identified with confidence level 2. Total PFAS concentrations ranged from 0.121 to 0.386 ng/g wet weight (ww) in hares, 0.086 to 0.434 ng/g ww in hedgehogs, and 0.306 to 0.973 ng/g ww in weasels. For 15 PFAS examined except PFHxDA and PFODA, biomagnification factors were found to be greater than 1 in both the hare-weasel and hedgehog-weasel food chains, indicating significant biomagnification of PFAS in hare-weasel and hedgehog-weasel food chains. A risk-based prioritization approach was developed to rank the identified PFAS, flagging four as high priority (risk index > 0.1). These findings enhance understanding of PFAS behavior in terrestrial ecosystems and provide valuable insights to mitigate their environmental and ecological impacts.

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