Deep seepage of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances through the soil of a firefighter training site and subsequent groundwater contamination

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

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.003

Cited by 128 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Through the analysis of 324 Air Force sites across the continental United States impacted by AFFF, Anderson et al () showed that the ratio between the PFAS concentration in the soil and groundwater decreases with increasing clay content, which they hypothesized is due to the higher water saturation in the presence of higher clay content. In another field investigation, Dauchy et al () showed that PFAS were detected

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below ground despite the presence of clay layers implying that the retardation factors in clay may not be as great as what is usually thought for other contaminants. Our modeling framework and the detailed simulations can be used to test the above hypotheses at field sites, and more generally to provide fundamental insights into the primary factors controlling the transport, migration, and retention of PFAS in the vadose zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A Mathematical Model for the Release, Transport, and Retention of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Vadose Zone

Guo

Zeng

Brusseau

2020

Water Resources Research

124

119

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Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants of critical concern. As surfactants, PFAS tend to accumulate at air‐water interfaces and may stay in the vadose zone for long times before contaminating groundwater. Yet not well understood, the extent of retention in the vadose zone has critical implications for risk management and remediation strategies. We present the first mathematical model that accounts for surfactant‐induced flow and solid‐phase and air‐water interfacial adsorption. We apply the model to simulate PFOS (a PFAS compound of primary concern) transport in the vadose zone at a model fire‐training area site impacted by aqueous film‐forming foam (AFFF). Air‐water interfacial adsorption is shown to have a significant impact—amplified by the low water content due to gravity drainage—total retardation factors range from 233 to 1,355 for the sand and 146 to 792 for the soil used in the study. The simulations illustrate it can take several decades or longer for PFOS to reach groundwater. Counterintuitively, the lower water content in the sand—due to stronger drainage and weaker capillary retention—leads to retardation factors greater than for the soil. Also, most PFOS is adsorbed at air‐water interfaces with only 1–2% in the aqueous phase. The implications include (1) fine‐texture materials could have lower retardation factors than sand due to higher retained water content, (2) soil PFAS concentrations are likely to be orders of magnitude higher than those in groundwater at source zones. Both implications are consistent with recent field observations at hundreds of AFFF‐impacted sites.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A Mathematical Model for the Release, Transport, and Retention of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Vadose Zone

Guo

Zeng

Brusseau

2020

Water Resources Research

124

119

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“…Based on their structurally inherent thermal and chemical stability, PFAS persist in the environment where they are generally resistant to biodegradation, photooxidation, direct photolysis, and hydrolysis (Schultz et al 2003). As a result, they are widely detected in the environment (Dauchy et al 2019;Pan et al 2018), wildlife (Cui et al 2018;Escoruela et al 2018;Route et al 2014), drinking water (Guelfo and Adamson 2018;, and humans (Daly et al 2018;Hurley et al 2018;Jain 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Developmental Toxicity, Developmental Neurotoxicity, and Tissue Dose in Zebrafish Exposed to GenX and Other PFAS

Gaballah

Swank

Sobus

et al. 2020

Environ Health Perspect

255

149

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BACKGROUND: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of industrial chemicals with widespread environmental occurrence. Exposure to long-chain PFAS is associated with developmental toxicity, prompting their replacement with short-chain and fluoroether compounds. There is growing public concern over the safety of replacement PFAS. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to group PFAS based on shared toxicity phenotypes. METHODS: Zebrafish were developmentally exposed to 4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoate (ADONA), perfluoro-2-propoxypropanoic acid (GenX Free Acid), perfluoro-3,6-dioxa-4-methyl-7-octene-1-sulfonic acid (PFESA1), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoro-n-octanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), or 0.4% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) daily from 0-5 d post fertilization (dpf). At 6 dpf, developmental toxicity and developmental neurotoxicity assays were performed, and targeted analytical chemistry was used to measure media and tissue doses. To test whether aliphatic sulfonic acid PFAS cause the same toxicity phenotypes, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS; 4-carbon), perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS; 5-carbon), PFHxS (6-carbon), perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS; 7-carbon), and PFOS (8-carbon) were evaluated. RESULTS: PFHxS or PFOS exposure caused failed swim bladder inflation, abnormal ventroflexion of the tail, and hyperactivity at nonteratogenic concentrations. Exposure to PFHxA resulted in a unique hyperactivity signature. ADONA, PFESA1, or PFOA exposure resulted in detectable levels of parent compound in larval tissue but yielded negative toxicity results. GenX was unstable in DMSO, but stable and negative for toxicity when diluted in deionized water. Exposure to PFPeS, PFHxS, PFHpS, or PFOS resulted in a shared toxicity phenotype characterized by body axis and swim bladder defects and hyperactivity. CONCLUSIONS: All emerging fluoroether PFAS tested were negative for evaluated outcomes. Two unique toxicity signatures were identified arising from structurally dissimilar PFAS. Among sulfonic acid aliphatic PFAS, chemical potencies were correlated with increasing carbon chain length for developmental neurotoxicity, but not developmental toxicity. This study identified relationships between chemical structures and in vivo phenotypes that may arise from shared mechanisms of PFAS toxicity. These data suggest that developmental neurotoxicity is an important end point to consider for this class of widely occurring environmental chemicals.

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“…The presence of CECs in water bodies not only limits water reuse but it is also deleterious for the aquatic fauna as many CECs are toxic compounds and often endocrine disruptors [7,8]. Among CECs, perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) represent one of the most problematic class of compounds due to their resistance to conventional water treatments and persistence in the environment [9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PFAS Degradation in Ultrapure and Groundwater Using Non-Thermal Plasma

Palma

Papagiannaki²,

Lai³

et al. 2021

Molecules

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Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent one of the most recalcitrant class of compounds of emerging concern and their removal from water is a challenging goal. In this study, we investigated the removal efficiency of three selected PFAS from water, namely, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and pefluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) using a custom-built non-thermal plasma generator. A modified full factorial design (with 2 levels, 3 variables and the central point in which both quadratic terms and interactions between couple of variables were considered) was used to investigate the effect of plasma discharge frequency, distance between the electrodes and water conductivity on treatment efficiency. Then, the plasma treatment running on optimized conditions was used to degrade PFAS at ppb level both individually and in mixture, in ultrapure and groundwater matrices. PFOS 1 ppb exhibited the best degradation reaching complete removal after 30 min of treatment in both water matrices (first order rate constant 0.107 min−1 in ultrapure water and 0.0633 min−1 in groundwater), while the degradation rate of PFOA and PFHxA was slower of around 65% and 83%, respectively. During plasma treatment, the production of reactive species in the liquid phase (hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide) and in the gas phase (ozone, NOx) was investigated. Particular attention was dedicated to the nitrogen balance in solution where, following to NOx hydrolysis, total nitrogen (TN) was accumulated at the rate of up to 40 mgN L−1 h−1.

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Deep seepage of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances through the soil of a firefighter training site and subsequent groundwater contamination

Cited by 128 publications

References 48 publications

A Mathematical Model for the Release, Transport, and Retention of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Vadose Zone

A Mathematical Model for the Release, Transport, and Retention of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Vadose Zone

Evaluation of Developmental Toxicity, Developmental Neurotoxicity, and Tissue Dose in Zebrafish Exposed to GenX and Other PFAS

PFAS Degradation in Ultrapure and Groundwater Using Non-Thermal Plasma

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