Enzyme Activities in Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)-Polluted Soils

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a popular additive of the chemical industry; its effect on activities of important soil enzymes is not well understood. A laboratory incubation experiment was carried out to analyze the PFOA-induced changes in soil urease, catalase, and phosphatase activities. During the entire incubation period, the activities of the three soil enzymes generally declined with increasing PFOA concentration, following certain dose-response relationships. The values of EC10, the contaminant concentration at which the biological activity is inhibited by 10%, of PFOA for the soil enzyme activity calculated from the modeling equation of the respective dose-response curve suggested a sensitivity order of phosphatase > catalase > urease. The effect of PFOA on soil enzyme activities provided a basic understanding of the eco-toxicological effect of PFOA in the environment. Results of this study supported using soil phosphatase as a convenient biomarker for ecological risk assessment of PFOA-polluted soils.