Contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the water source from a typical agricultural area in North China

Abstract

There is limited information on contaminations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the water source affected by agricultural activities. The contamination of PFASs was investigated in the sources of agricultural groundwater and nearby surface water from an important vegetable production base supply for Beijing and Tianjin, located in North China. Σ13PFAS concentrations ranged from 0.321 to 8.285 ng/L, with an average concentration of 2.022 ng/L in the groundwater and 19.673 ng/L in the surface water. With the increase in the carbon chain length, the mean concentrations of PFASs in groundwater generally showed a decreasing trend. The dominated congeners of short-chain perfluorobutanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoate acid (PFOA) were detected in all groundwater samples, with mean concentrations of 0.944 and 0.654 ng/L. The difference was that PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) were the dominant congeners in nearby surface water, with concentrations of 7.585 and 3.421 ng/L. Thus, the concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in the surface water were about 8.5 times higher than those in the groundwater, indicating that Σ13PFAS concentrations might decrease with the water migration from the overground to the underground. In addition, significant correlations were observed between PFASs and DOC/TN related to agricultural activities, suggesting a certain relationship existed between PFAS conger distributions and organic carbon/nutrients in water. Health risk assessment indicated that the PFAS exposure caused insignificantly immediate harm to residents in the studied area. This survey provided information on the sources, spatial distribution, and potential migration characteristics of PFASs in a typical agricultural area of North China.

A review of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in biosolids: geographical distribution and regulations

“…The upper limit of total PFAS in drinking water in Canada has been proposed to be 30 ng/L for 30 PFAS (Sauvé et al, 2023), while the European Union placed the upper limit at 100 ng/L for 20 PFAS and 500 ng/L for total PFAS in drinking water (EU, 2022), China established limits only for PFOS and PFOA at 40 and 80 ng/L, respectively, in drinking water (Wang et al, 2023). However, the upper limit for PFAS in biosolids suitable for application on agricultural land has hardly been addressed.…”

Modification of activated carbon for enhanced treatment of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances: A focused review

“…The most dangerous PFAS include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Their extensive use in industry, consumer goods, and firefighting foams has resulted in their widespread presence in water sources globally (Chen et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2023). The potential adverse health effects associated with PFAS exposure, coupled with their environmental persistence, necessitate effective strategies for PFAS removal from water.…”