Concentrations and patterns of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a river and three drinking water treatment plants near and far from a major production source

Boiteux, Virginie; Dauchy, Xavier; Bach, Cristina; Colin, Adeline; Hémard, Jessica; Sagres, Véronique; Rosin, Christophe; Munoz, Jean-François

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.079

Cited by 114 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Estimates of the physicochemical properties are available (PFBS, PFBA and PFHxA [ 42 , 43 ]: log K ow (neutral form) = 2.82–4.6, water solubility > 20 g/L, log K oa = 6–6.7, pK a < 1, log K oc : 2.7–3.6), showing that short-chain PFAAs are very mobile, which is also confirmed by their environmental distribution [ 44 , 45 ]. Due to this mobility short-chain PFAAs effectively reach water bodies which is of special concern regarding human exposure: Drinking water resources are highly sensitive to contamination with short-chain PFAAs [ 19 , 46 ]. Due to the low adsorption potential, short-chain PFAAs will not bind to particles and stay mainly dissolved in the water phase.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this is not as effective for short-chain PFAAs due to the low adsorption potential [ 47 ]. Hence, at a large scale short-chain PFAAs can only hardly, if at all, be removed from the environment with the main methods available today [ 46 , 48 , 49 ]. Some promising methods are very costly and just applied at a laboratory scale [ 50 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH

et al. 2018

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BackgroundShort-chain PFASs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are widely used as alternatives to long-chain PFASs. Long-chain PFASs become gradually regulated under REACH (EC No. 1907/2006) and other international regulations, due to having persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties and/or being toxic for reproduction. The increasingly used short-chain PFASs are assumed to have a lower bioaccumulation potential. Nonetheless, they have other properties of concern and are already widely distributed in the environment, also in remote regions. The REACH Regulation does not directly address these emerging properties of concern, complicating the implementation of regulatory measures. Therefore, this study illustrates these environmental concerns and provides a strategy for a regulation of short-chain PFASs within REACH.ResultsShort-chain PFASs have a high mobility in soil and water, and final degradation products are extremely persistent. This results in a fast distribution to water resources, and consequently, also to a contamination of drinking water resources. Once emitted, short-chain PFASs remain in the environment. A lack of appropriate water treatment technologies results in everlasting background concentrations in the environment, and thus, organisms are permanently and poorly reversibly exposed. Considering such permanent exposure, it is very difficult to estimate long-term adverse effects in organisms. Short-chain PFASs enrich in edible parts of plants and the accumulation in food chains is unknown. Regarding these concerns and uncertainties, especially with respect to the precautionary principle, short-chain PFASs are of equivalent concern to PBT substances. Therefore, they should be identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH. The SVHC identification should be followed by a restriction under REACH, which is the most efficient way to minimize the environmental and human exposure of short-chain PFASs in the European Union.ConclusionDue to an increasing use of short-chain PFASs, an effective regulation is urgently needed. The concerns of short-chain PFASs do not match the “classical” concerns as defined under REACH, but are not of minor concern. Therefore, it is of advantage to clearly define the concerns of short-chain PFASs. This might facilitate the following restriction process under REACH.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH

et al. 2018

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“…There are several works evaluating the ability of conventional filtration (sand, activated carbon, and anthracite) on the removal of different ECs 92,97,100,101 . Sand filtration is not effective in the removal of ECs 93,95,100,101 , but may have important effects on the reduction of ARGs abundance in DW 98 . On the other hand, activated carbon have a more variable performance, as represented in Table 1, since it only removes dissolved ECs able to adsorb on its surface.…”

Section: Filtration Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, ECs can only be removed if they are able to adsorb on the flocs formed 92 . Boiteux et al 93 and Sun et al 94 evaluated conventional DW treatments on the removal of PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and observed that coagulation followed by sedimentation did not cause PFAS removal. Flocculation using iron (II) chloride was unable to eliminate bezafibrate, clofibric acid, carbamazepine, and diclofenac 95 .…”

Section: Technical Approaches To Reduce the Emission Of Ecs And Theirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging contaminants affect the microbiome of water systems—strategies for their mitigation

et al. 2020

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The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment has been consistently recognized as a worldwide concern. ECs may be defined as chemicals or materials found in the environment at trace concentrations with potential, perceived, or real risk to the “One Health” trilogy (environment, human, and animal health). The main concern regarding pharmaceuticals and in particular antibiotics is the widespread dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, non-antimicrobials also interact with microorganisms in both bulk phase and in biofilms. In fact, drugs not developed for antimicrobial chemotherapy can exert an antimicrobial action and, therefore, a selective pressure on microorganisms. This review aims to provide answers to questions typically ignored in epidemiological and environmental monitoring studies with a focus on water systems, particularly drinking water (DW): Do ECs exposure changes the behavior of environmental microorganisms? May non-antibiotic ECs affect tolerance to antimicrobials? Do ECs interfere with biofilm function? Are ECs-induced changes in microbial behavior of public health concern? Nowadays, the answers to these questions are still very limited. However, this study demonstrates that some ECs have significant effects in microbial behavior. The most studied ECs are pharmaceuticals, particularly antibiotics, carbamazepine and diclofenac. The pressure caused by antibiotic and other antimicrobial agents on the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance seems to be unquestionable. However, regarding the effects of ECs on the development and behavior of biofilms, the conclusions of different studies are still controversial. The dissimilar findings propose that standardized tests are needed for an accurate assessment on the effects of ECs in the microbiome of water systems. The variability of experimental conditions, combined with the presence of mixtures of ECs as well as the lack of information about the effects of non-pharmaceutical ECs constitute the main challenge to be overcome in order to improve ECs prioritization.

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“…For the purposes of human risk assessment, three major types of exposure to PFAAs have been distinguished: general human exposure, occupational exposure, and prenatal and neonatal exposure. General human exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances encompasses inhalation of outdoor [86][87][88] and indoor air including suspended household dust [89,90], as well as drinking of water [91][92][93] and food consumption [41,86,94,95]. Nevertheless, the exposure pattern varies according to the nature of PFAAs and the location of their source, the type of consumed food, and eating habits.…”

Section: Sources Of Pfaas Distribution Channels and Human Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in terms of Sources, Applications, Human Exposure, Dietary Intake, Toxicity, Legal Regulation, and Methods of Determination

Sznajder‐Katarzyńska

Surma

Cieślik

2019

Journal of Chemistry

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely distributed across the world and are expected to be of concern to human health and the environment. The review focuses on perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and, in particular, on the most frequently discussed perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs). In this study, some basic information concerning PFASs is reviewed, focusing mainly on PFAAs (perfluoroalkyl acids). We have made efforts to systemize their division into groups according to chemical structure, describe their basic physicochemical properties, characterize production technologies, and determine potential human exposure routes with particular reference to oral exposure. A variety of possible toxicological effects to human health are also discussed. In response to increasing public concern about the toxicity of PFAAs, an evaluation of dietary intake has been undertaken for two of the most commonly known PFAAs: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). As summarized in this study, PFAAs levels need further assessment due to the science-based TWI standards laid down by the EFSA’s CONTAM Panel regarding the risk to human health posed by the presence of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid in food (tolerable weekly intakes of PFOA and PFOS set up to 6 ng·kg−1·bw·week−1 and 13 ng·kg−1·bw·week−1, respectively). Current legislation, relevant legislation on PFAAs levels in food, and the most popular methods of analysis in food matrices are described.

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Concentrations and patterns of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a river and three drinking water treatment plants near and far from a major production source

Cited by 114 publications

References 46 publications

Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH

Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH

Emerging contaminants affect the microbiome of water systems—strategies for their mitigation

A Review of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in terms of Sources, Applications, Human Exposure, Dietary Intake, Toxicity, Legal Regulation, and Methods of Determination

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