Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) profile in sludge biosolid fertiliser intended for agricultural use in Japan.

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The last straw: Characterization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercially-available plant-based drinking straws

Nationwide occurrence and discharge mass load of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in effluent and biosolids: A snapshot from 75 wastewater treatment plants across Australia

Distribution, partitioning behavior and potential source of legacy and alternative per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in water and sediments from a subtropical Gulf, South China Sea

The occurrence and distributions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater after a PFAS leakage incident in 2018.

Survey of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface water collected in Pensacola, FL

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are extensively used in urban environments and are, thus, found in urban stormwater. However, the relevance of stormwater as a pathway for PFAS to urban streams is largely unknown. This study evaluated the impact of urban stormwater runoff on PFAS concentrations and spatial distribution in three urban streams affected by stormwater discharges from separate sewer systems. River water was sampled during dry (DW) and wet weather (WW) upstream, immediately downstream, and further downstream of three urbanized areas with separate sewer systems and with and without point sources (i.e. waste water treatment plant, airports). Water samples were analyzed for 34 targeted PFAS compounds and sediment samples for 35 targeted PFAS and 30 PFAS compounds using a total oxidizable precursor assay. The sum of the quantified PFAS concentrations ranged from the reporting limit (RL) to 84.7 ng/L during DW and increased as the streams were affected by WW discharges (0.87 to 102.3 ng/L). The highest PFAS concentrations were found downstream of urban areas and/or point sources (i.e. airports) during WW, indicating a clear contribution from stormwater discharges. A consistent PFAS contribution from the WWTP was observed under both DW and WW conditions. During WW events, concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and total PFAS (PFOA equivalents) exceeded the annual average environmental quality standards, which are an established limit of 0.65 ng/L for PFOS and a proposed limit of 4.4 ng/L for total PFAS. Notably, except for the legacy PFAS, PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the most frequently quantified PFAS during DW were short-chain. For WW, long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and a precursor, 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS), were more frequently quantified, suggesting stormwater is a source of these longer-chain and particle-associated PFAS. The detection of unregulated fluorotelomer sulfonates (FTSs) such as 6:2 and 8:2 FTS during WW suggests a need for regulatory action, as these compounds can degrade into more stable PFAS. In sediment, higher concentrations, and a greater variety of PFAS were found at sites with known point sources i.e. airports. Long-chain PFCAs (C7-C13), perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) (C6), and precursors (i.e. N-Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetic acid), were more prevalent in sediments than in the water. Notably, PFOS concentrations in sediment exceeded the lowest Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) across sites, posing a potential long-term environmental risk, though current PNECs for other PFAS may underestimate such risks. The findings of the study highlight urban stormwater as a source of PFAS to urban streams indicating the need to minimize PFAS sources in the urban environment and to effectively treat stormwater to protect receiving water bodies.

In recent years, due to the production and use of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), the research on the pollution characteristics and sources of PFASs in surface water and precipitation in China has attracted increasing attention. In this study, the related published articles with sampling years from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed, and the concentration levels, composition characteristics and possible sources of PFASs in surface water (rivers and lakes) and precipitation in China were summarized, including those in the Tibetan Plateau region. The results show that the concentrations of PFASs in surface water in different areas of China vary greatly, ranging from 0.775 to 1.06 × 106 ng/L. The production processes of fluorinated manufacturing facilities (FMFs) and sewage discharge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPS) were the main sources of PFASs in surface water in China, and the concentrations of PFASs in water flowing through cities with high urbanization increased significantly compared with those before water flowed through cities with high urbanization. The compositions of PFASs in surface water gradually changed from long-chain PFASs, such as per-fluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA) and per-fluoro-octanesulfonic acid (PFOS) to short-chain PFASs, such as per-fluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), per-fluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and per-fluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA). The concentrations of PFASs in precipitation in China ranged from 4.2 to 191 ng/L, which were lower than those of surface water. The precipitation concentrations were relatively high around a fluorination factory and in areas with high urbanization levels. PFASs were detected in the surface water and precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which is the global “roof of the world”, but the concentrations were low (0.115–6.34 ng/L and 0.115–1.24 ng/L, respectively). Local human activities and surface runoff were the main sources of PFASs in the surface water of the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, under the influence of the Southeast Asian monsoon in summers, marine aerosols from the Indian Ocean and air pollutants from human activities in Southeast Asia and South Asia will also enter the water bodies through dry and wet depositions. With the melting of glaciers caused by global warming, the concentration of PFASs in the surface water of the TP was higher than that before the melting of glaciers flowed into the surface water of the TP. Generally, this study summarized the existing research progress of PFAS studies on surface water and precipitation in China and identified the research gaps, which deepened the researchers’ understanding of this field and provided scientific support for related research in the future. The concentrations of PFASs in the water bodies after flowing through FMFs were significantly higher than those before water flowed through FMFs, so the discharge of the FMF production process was one of the main sources of PFASs in surface water.

Occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in wastewater of major cities across China in 2014 and 2016

Emerging and legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fluorochemical wastewater along full-scale treatment processes: Source, fate, and ecological risk

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could be conduits of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminants in the environment. This study investigated the fate of 40 PFAS compounds across nine municipal WWTPs with varying treatment capacity and processes. High concentrations of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) were detected in wastewater, with the ratio of their total concentrations (∑PFCAs/∑PFSAs) always greater than one. Transformation of precursors by activated sludge processes significantly increased the concentrations of short-chain PFCAs (e.g., perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)), while further advanced treatment processes offered minimal removal of perfluoroalkyl acids. Treatment capacity and PFAS removal efficiency showed no apparent correlation. The maximum possible PFAS loads discharged from WWTPs were 340-9645 g·year-1, similar to those entering the WWTPs. Among six regulated PFAS compounds, detection frequency was 100% for five (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)) and 67% for hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (Gen-X). Concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in WWTP discharges consistently exceeded 4 ng·L-1. The hazard index (HI) for mixtures containing two or more of the four PFAS (PFNA, PFBS, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA) ranged from 0.2 to 6.1. These findings indicate that wastewater discharges may pose a risk, emphasizing the need for enhanced PFAS removal strategies in wastewater treatment processes.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are anthropogenic compounds that exhibit ecotoxicity when discharged into the environment, causing increasing concern. An indoor experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and PFSAs on soil respiration, sucrase activity, and urease activity at 0, 7, 14, and 28 d for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), and perfluorobutyric acid (PFBA), and at 14 and 28 d for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexanoic sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorobutyric sulfonic acid (PFBS). PFCAs significantly inhibited soil respiration, with a significant negative correlation between respiration and PFBA (P < 0.05) at 28 d. Sucrase activities were initially inhibited by PFCAs, and then recovered. Urease activities were inhibited by PFOA at 14 d and by PFHxA at 14 and 28 d, but not by PFBA. PFOS and PFBS briefly enhanced soil respiration. PFOS inhibited sucrase activity. PFSAs significantly decreased urease activity in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The chain-length dependence of the ecotoxicity of PFASs varied depending on concentration and time. Toxicity demonstrated a trend of initial decrease followed by increase with carbon chain length. Our results first revealed that the chain-length dependences of PFASs were also related to concentrations and exposure time.

Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified by many regulatory agencies as emerging contaminants of concern in a variety of media including groundwater. Currently, there are limited technologies available to treat PFAS in groundwater with the most frequently applied approach being extraction (i.e., pump and treat). While this approach can be effective in containing PFAS plumes, previous studies of pump and treat programs have met with limited remedial success. In situ treatment studies of PFAS have been limited to laboratory and a few field studies. Six pilot‐scale field studies were conducted in an unconfined sand aquifer coimpacted by petroleum hydrocarbon along with PFAS to determine if a variety of reagents could be used to attenuate dissolved phase PFAS in the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons. The six reagents consisted of two chemical oxidants, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8), and four adsorbents, powdered activated carbon (PAC), colloidal activated carbon (CAC), ion‐exchange resin (IER), and biochar. The reagents were injected using direct push technology in six permeable reactive zone (PRZ) configurations. Groundwater concentrations of various PFAS entering the PRZs ranged up to 24,000 µg/L perfluoropentanoic acid, up to 6,200 µg/L pentafluorobenzoic acid, up to 16,100 µg/L perfluorohexanoic acid, up to 6,080 µg/L perfluoroheptanoic acid, up to 450 µg/L perfluorooctanoic acid, and up to 140 µg/L perfluorononanoic acid. Performance groundwater sampling within and downgradient of the PRZs occurred for up to 18 months using single and multilevel monitoring wells. Results of groundwater sampling indicated that the PFAS were not treated by either the persulfate nor the peroxide and, in some cases, the PFAS increased in concentration immediately following the injection of peroxide and persulfate. Concentrations of PFAS in groundwater sampled within the PAC, CAC, IER, and biochar PRZs immediately after the injection were determined to be less than the method detection limits. Analyses of groundwater samples over the 18‐month monitoring period, indicated that all the PRZs exhibited partial or complete breakthrough of the PFAS over the 18‐month monitoring period, except for the CAC PRZ which showed no PFAS breakthrough. Analysis of cores for the CAC, PAC, and biochar PRZs suggested that the CAC was uniformly distributed within the target injection zone, whereas the PAC and biochar showed preferential injection into a thin coarse‐sand seam. Similarly, analysis of the sand packs of monitoring wells installed before the injection of the CAC, PAC, and biochar indicated that the sand packs of the PAC and biochar preferentially accumulated the reagents compared with the reagent concentrations within the surrounding aquifer by up to 18 times.

Perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may affect adolescent health, yet factors related to PFAS concentrations in serum are poorly understood. We studied demographic, life-style and physiological determinants of serum PFAS concentrations in Swedish adolescents from a nation-wide survey, Riksmaten Adolescents 2016–17 (RMA, age 10–21 years, n = 1098). Serum samples were analyzed for 42 PFAS, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The cumulative probability model was used to estimate associations between serum PFAS and determinants, using ordinal logistic regression. Legacy linear (lin-) perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononaoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), lin-perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and lin-/branched (br-) perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were quantifiable in ≥70% of the samples. The emerging PFAS 9-chlorohexanedecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS) was quantified in 5.4% of the samples, suggesting initiation of long-range transport far from production sites. Median concentrations of all legacy PFAS were <2 ng/g serum, with a few participants having very high (>100 ng/g serum) lin-PFHxS and lin-/br-PFOS concentrations due to previous high exposure from PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Legacy PFAS exposure was strongly associated with birth country of the participants and their mothers. 2-fold higher estimated adjusted mean (EAM) concentrations were seen among high income country participants with mothers from high income countries than among low/lower-middle income country participants with mothers from the same category. Menstruating females had lower br-PFOS EAM concentrations than those who were not. Iron status (plasma ferritin) among females may be a marker of intensity of menstrual bleeding, but it was not significantly associated with legacy PFAS concentrations among females. Further studies are needed to determine how physiological changes occurring around menstruation affect the toxicokinetics of PFAS in females. In conclusion, PFAS are pollutants of the industrialized world and some of the identified determinants may be overlooked confounders/effect modifiers that should be included in future PFAS/health studies among adolescents.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of widespread, environmentally persistent compounds that pose a potential threat to wildlife and human health. Despite recent efforts to reduce the use of long-chain PFAS in industrial practices and commercial/consumer products, the persistence and solubility of PFAS have led to their detection in wildlife on a global scale. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) have long been used as a sentinel species with an extensive history of serving as an effective bioindicator of contamination. Here we report on a large-scale evaluation of PFAS and potential health effects in osprey from the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, USA. In 2011 and 2015, we collected plasma samples from osprey nestlings throughout the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay watersheds. We quantified 40 PFAS congeners in osprey plasma via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and analyzed plasma for indicators of immune and thyroid function, and plasma biochemistry. In all birds, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was the most commonly detected PFAS, followed by perfluoroundecanoic acid, (PFUnA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). In nestling plasma from Chesapeake Bay, PFOS tended to be a higher average contributor to PFAS profiles compared to samples from Delaware Bay. In contrast, long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) such as PFUnA and PFDA comprised larger percentages of total PFAS in osprey plasma from Delaware Bay relative to Chesapeake Bay. While some PFAS concentrations were associated with plasma health indicators, the proportion of variation explained was low. Overall, our study provides a more thorough understanding of PFAS presence in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and is one of the first to examine whether PFAS exposure is associated with adverse health effects in wildlife.