National inventory of perfluoroalkyl substances in archived U.S. biosolids from the 2001 EPA National Sewage Sludge Survey

Abstract

Using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, we determined the first nationwide inventories of 13 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in U.S. biosolids via analysis of samples collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 2001 National Sewage Sludge Survey. Perfluorooctane sulfonate [PFOS; 403 ± 127 ng/g dry weight (dw)] was the most abundant PFAS detected in biosolids composites representing 32 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, followed by perfluorooctanoate [PFOA; 34 ± 22 ng/g dw] and perfluorodecanoate [PFDA; 26 ± 20 ng/g dw]. Mean concentrations in U.S. biosolids of the remaining ten PFASs ranged between 2 and 21 ng/g dw. Interestingly, concentrations of PFOS determined here in biosolids collected prior to the phase-out period (2002) were similar to levels reported in the literature for recent years. The mean load of ΣPFASs in U.S. biosolids was estimated at 2749–3450 kg/year, of which about 1375–2070 kg is applied on agricultural land and 467–587 kg goes to landfills as an alternative disposal route. This study informs the risk assessment of PFASs by furnishing national inventories of PFASs occurrence and environmental release via biosolids application on land.

Occurrence and distribution of brominated flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances in Australian landfill leachate and biosolids

“…Levels of HBCDD detected in this study (<LOD-129 ng/g) are similar to those detected recently in Spain (<LOD-97.5 ng/g) [84], China (0.09-66 ng/g) [86,87] and the USA (19.8 ng/g) [36]. Levels of PFOS detected in the current study are lower than maximums detected in Switzerland (2440 ng/g) [38], Spain (1790 ng/g) [88] and the USA (403 ng/ g) [89] and similar to levels detected in Finland (16-110 ng/g) [90]. Mean levels of BDE-209, BDE-47and BDE-99 (490, 47 and 43 ng/g respectively) detected in this study are lower than those detected in 2009 in the USA (2180, 716 and 709 ng/g), and similar to those in Germany (442, 169 and 160 ng/g) [24].…”

Occurrence and estrogenic potency of eight bisphenol analogs in sewage sludge from the U.S. EPA targeted national sewage sludge survey

“…The proportion of SS applied on land was approximately 50-60% per year [29]. Therefore, approximately 1695 to 2034 kg bisphenols were released every year, and 88% (i.e., 1490-1790 kg) of which was BPA.…”

“…Land-application of SS is an inexpensive option for disposal and can provide valuable nutrients to the soil, which may enhance soil properties and plant yield [28]. In 2004, approximately 50-60% of 6.5 million tons (dry weight) of municipal SS produced in the U.S. was land-applied [29]. While land-applied SS offers a source of rich nutrients, they can also release pollutants that become sequestered into the terrestrial food chain or leached into groundwater [30,31].…”

“…In that study, SS samples were collected from 74 POTWs that employ secondary treatment or better in 2006/2007 [35]. Several pollutants have been analyzed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 5 in these samples and the results have been published [29,[36][37][38][39]. However, no earlier study has reported the occurrence of bisphenols in SS from nationally representative samples.…”

United States National Sewage Sludge Repository at Arizona State University—a new resource and research tool for environmental scientists, engineers, and epidemiologists

“…Although the production of the major PFC, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related products was phased out in the U.S. between 2000 and 2002, continued environmental contamination of PFCs results from the use of precursor compounds such as fluorotelomer alcohols and polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (Houde et al 2011). We reported the first nationwide inventories of 13 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in MSS samples from the 2001 NSSS (Venkatesan and Halden 2013b). PFOS was the most abundant compound detected at 403 ± 127 μg/kg dw, followed by perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) at 34 ± 22 and 26 ± 20 μg/kg dw, respectively (Fig.…”