Understanding PFAS bioaccumulation in the Osage Nation food-web in support of sustainable food production and sovereignty

PFAS contamination and the possible subsequent bioaccumulation fundamentally undermines the sustainability and sovereignty of the Osage Nation's food production systems by threatening the health and wellbeing of the Osage citizens. Hence, the long-term goal of this project is to safeguard the Osage Nation's nutritional security and sovereignty by removing/controlling the threat of PFAS exposure from their agricultural practices. Our goal will be achieved by realizing the following objectives:Obj. 1. Identifying and sampling potential pathways of PFAS mobility in the Osage Nation food-websTask 1.1: Scope and inventory analysis of the Osage Nation's whole food-webTask 1.2: Establishing environmental, plant and animal tissue sampling protocolsObj. 2. Characterizing PFAS bioaccumulation in Osage Nation's plant and animal productsTask 2.1: Establishing workflow for sample preparation and PFAS analysesTask 2.2: Determine the pathways of PFAS sorption and translocation in soil-water-plant interfacesTask 2.3: Determine pathways for PFAS biomagnification in plant-animal interfacesObj. 3. Developing a decision-making tool to assess and control the risk of PFAS exposure in Osage Nation's food production systems.Task 3.1: Conduct a Life Cycle Impact assessmentTask 3.2: Make management decisions needed to minimize PFAS bioaccumulationObj. 4. Train and educate Osage citizens in comprehensive environmental contaminant analyses and control.Task 4.1: Organize workshops and learning modules to identify and control environmental contaminantsTask 4.2: Synergistically develop quality control and information dissemination protocols