Fire training facilities and other areas suffer from serious per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination in soil, surface water, and groundwater due to regular practices with PFAS-containing aqueous firefighting foams (AFFFs). Therefore, the uptake of 26 PFASs in plants and the contamination of soil and groundwater has been investigated at a fire training site at Stockholm Arlanda airport, Stockholm (Sweden) in 2016. Elevated ∑PFAS levels were detected in soil and groundwater ranging from 16 to 160 ng g dry weight (dw) and 1200-34 000 ng L, respectively. Samples from different plant species and tissues (i.e., roots, trunk/cores, twigs, leaves/needles) of the local plant community were taken, namely silver birch (Betula pendula), Norway spruce (Picea abies), bird cherry (Prunus padus), mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria), long beechfern (Phegopteris connectilis), and wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca). The plants showed a high variability of concentrations with highest ∑PFAS concentrations in vegetative compartments with up to 97 ng g wet weight (ww) and 94 ng g ww in birch leaves and spruce needles, respectively. Annual ground cover plants such as long beechfern and ground elder, and bushes like bird cherry showed concentrations up to 6.9, 23, and 21 ng g ww, respectively. The bioconcentration factors (BCFs; plant/soil ratios) were highest in foliage, while the total tree burden of ∑PFASs per tree was up to 11 mg for birch and 1.8 mg for spruce. Considering a shelterwood system with mixed stands of silver birch and spruce in combination with regular harvest of leaves and birch sap and an understory of ground elder, it is potentially feasible to remove 1.4 g of ∑PFASs per year and hectare from (heavily) contaminated sites. An alternative approach is the coppicing of birch trees in combination with an understory of ground elder, potentially removing 0.65 g yr ha of ∑PFASs, while a simple meadow with ground elder can remove 0.55 g yr ha ∑PFASs.

The aim of this study was to assess per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Swedish aquatic environment, identify emission sources, and compare measured concentrations with environmental quality standards (EQS) and (drinking) water guideline values. In total, 493 samples were analyzed in 2015 for 26 PFASs (∑PFASs) in surface water, groundwater, landfill leachate, sewage treatment plant effluents and reference lakes, focusing on hot spots and drinking water sources. Highest ∑PFAS concentrations were detected in surface water (13 000 ng L) and groundwater (6400 ng L). The dominating fraction of PFASs in surface water were perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs; 64% of ∑PFASs), with high contributions from C-C PFCAs (94% of ∑PFCAs), indicating high mobility of shorter chain PFCAs. In inland surface water, the annual average (AA)-EQS of the EU Water Framework Directive of 0.65 ng L for ∑PFOS (linear and branched isomers) was exceeded in 46% of the samples. The drinking water guideline value of 90 ng L for ∑PFASs recommended by the Swedish EPA was exceeded in 3% of the water samples from drinking water sources ( n = 169). The branched isomers had a noticeable fraction in surface- and groundwater for perfluorooctanesulfonamide, perfluorohexanesulfonate, and perfluorooctanesulfonate, highlighting the need to include branched isomers in future guidelines.

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