Abstract

Major point sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) cause ubiquitous spread of PFASs in the environment. In this study, surface water and aquatic invertebrates at three Swedish sites impacted by PFAS point sources were characterized, using homologue, isomer and extractable organofluorine (EOF) profiling as well as estimation of bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) and mass discharge. Two sites were impacted by fire training (sites A and R) and the third by industrial runoff (site K). Mean sigma(25)PFASs concentration in water was 1920 ng L-1 at site R (n = 3), which was more than 20- and 10-fold higher than those from sites A and K, respectively. PFOS was the most predominant PFAS in all waters samples, constituting 29-79% of sigma(25)PFAS concentrations. Several branched isomers were detected and they substantially contributed to concentrations in surface water (e.g. 49-78% of sigma PFOS) and aquatic invertebrates (e.g. 15-28% of sigma PFOS). BAFs in the aquatic invertebrates indicated higher bioaccumulation for long chain PFASs and lower bioaccumulation for branched PFOS isomers compared to linear PFOS. EOF mass balance showed that sigma(25)target PFASs in water could explain up to 55% of EOF at site R. However, larger proportions of EOF (>92%) remained unknown in water from sites A and K. Mass discharges were for the first time estimated for EOF and revealed that high amounts of EOF (e.g. 8.2 g F day(-1) at site A) could be transported by water to recipient water bodies relative to sigma(25)PFASs (e.g. 0.15 g day(-1) at site A). Overall, we showed that composition profiling, BAFs and EOF mass balance can improve the characterization of PFASs around point sources.

Published in

Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts
2019, Volume: 21, number: 11, pages: 1887-1898
Publisher: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

SLU Authors

• Ahrens, Lutz

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c9em00281b

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103052