Perfluorinated Compounds in Greenhouse and Open Agricultural Producing Areas of Three Provinces of China: Levels, Sources and Risk Assessment.

Yanwei Zhang,Lu Wang,Yaping Xu,Dongfei Tan,Yi Peng,Yue Geng,Xiaowei Liu,Zeying He

doi:10.3390/ijerph13121224

Abstract

Field investigations on perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) levels in various environmental matrixes were reported, but there is still a lack of PFAA level data for agricultural environments, especially agricultural producing areas, so we collected soil, irrigation water and agricultural product samples from agricultural producing areas in the provinces of Liaoning, Shandong and Sichuan in China. The background pollution from instruments was removed and C4–C18 PFAAs were detected by LC-MS/MS. The concentrations of PFAAs in the top and deep layers of soil were compared, and the levels of PFAAs in different agricultural environments (greenhouses and open agriculture) were analyzed. We found the order of PFAA levels by province was Shandong > Liaoning > Sichuan. A descending trend of PFAA levels from top to deep soil and open to greenhouse agriculture was shown and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was considered as a marker for source analysis. Bean vegetables contribute highly to the overall PFAA load in vegetables. A significant correlation was shown between irrigation water and agricultural products. The EDI (estimated daily intake) from vegetables should be of concern in China.

Highlights

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) have been widely used in industrial processes and as additives in diverse products, such as clothes and furniture coatings, firefighting foams, paints, metal plating, aviation hydraulic fluids, lubricants and pesticides, due to their unique properties, including surface activity, heat and acid resistance, and water and oil repellency due to their stable carbon-fluorine chains [1,2,3]
The PTFE tubing was changed to stainless steel tubing, and the pollution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was obviously decreased
These results provided a conclusive insight that the concentration of ∑PFAAs in agricultural soils showed a higher level compared with the soils from non-point sources, and lower than the levels near point sources

Summary

Introduction

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) have been widely used in industrial processes and as additives in diverse products, such as clothes and furniture coatings, firefighting foams, paints, metal plating, aviation hydraulic fluids, lubricants and pesticides, due to their unique properties, including surface activity, heat and acid resistance, and water and oil repellency due to their stable carbon-fluorine chains [1,2,3]. While production of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)-based products was voluntarily halted by North America’s largest producer, The 3M Company, in 2000 [4], large scale production of PFAAs in China began in 2003 [5]. With the shift of manufacturing plants from more industrialized countries to China, the occurrence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the environment has attracted more attention. PFAAs are extremely persistent in the environment, since they are not affected by biodegradation or photodegradation [6,7]. Some studies have reported that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and PFOS are not significantly removed during wastewater treatment and higher levels was found after treatment, presumably because of incomplete biodegradation of their precursors [8,9]. Unlike most other persistent organic pollutants, PFOA is water soluble and found in animals in serum rather than

Objectives

Results

Conclusion