American alligators and South African crocodiles populate waterways a third of the globe apart, and yet both have detectable levels of long-lived industrial and household compounds for nonstick coatings in their blood, according to two studies from researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, and its affiliated institutions, which include the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Production of some compounds in this family of environmentally persistent chemicals–associated with liver toxicity, reduced fertility and a variety of other health problems in studies of people and animals–has been phased out in the United States and many other nations. Yet all blood plasma samples drawn from 125 American alligators across 12 sites in Florida and South Carolina contained at least six of the 15 perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) that were tracked in the alligator study.
The two studies are first-of-their-kind examinations of PFAA levels in “sentinel” reptile species, especially useful for investigating the impacts of long-lived chemicals in the environment. PFAAs have been used in products that include water-repellent clothes, stain repellents, waxes, nonstick pans and fire-suppressing foams.
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