Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Chinese drinking water: risk assessment and geographical distribution

Abstract

Background In recent years, the widespread presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the environment and the related exposures and adverse health effects has received increasing attention. However, PFASs are not routinely monitored in drinking water in many parts of the world, including China. PFAS data are mainly generated by research studies. This paper provides an overview of the available research studies on PFASs in Chinese drinking water to better understand the current status of PFAS contamination and the potential for exposure. Results The available studies provided PFAS data from 526 drinking water samples across 66 cities in China with a total of approximately 452 million inhabitants. We mapped the risk distribution associated with PFAS-contaminated drinking water in China by comparing the measured levels with recent international guidelines. The PFAS concentrations reported in more than 20% of the studied cities, likely affecting 98.5 million people, were above the maximum contaminant level issued by Vermont in 2019. Furthermore, we also investigated the human exposure to PFASs in drinking water by estimating total daily intakes based on Exposure Factors Handbook of Chinese Population. This study revealed that East China and the Southwest regions posed a relatively higher risk to the Chinese population and some cities in the Yangtze River basin such as Zigong, Jiujiang, Lianyungang and a considerable share of other cities have exceeded the health-based guidelines issued by EU and US agencies. Conclusion Drinking water in many cities and regions in China is contaminated with PFASs at levels of concern. PFAS elimination of PFASs from drinking water in contaminated cities and affected regions in China is urgently needed. PFAS releases from industries and other sources need better control and reduction. Further monitoring in remote Chinese regions is needed to overcome the knowledge gaps for a more comprehensive understanding of population exposure. The current risk assessment of PFASs in China should be re-evaluated considering the most recent toxicological studies, to clarify if the guidelines need to be lowered as recently done in Europe and the United States. This is necessary to have the best national base for risk assessment and a science-based driver for countermeasures.

Facet Engineering of Bismuth Molybdate via Confined Growth in a Nanoscale Template toward Water Remediation

“…A pressing global problem on par with anthropogenic climate change is anthropogenic contamination of soil and water. , A consequence of our reliance on fossil fuel-powered facilities to manufacture products at scale is the emission of greenhouse gases along with the release of toxic byproducts into the environment. , These pollutants include simple atomic entities like heavy metal ions of As, Cd, Cs, Hg, and Pb , as well as molecules such as per- and polyfluoroalkyls . Moreover, pollutants composed of complex molecules like plastics, synthetic dyes, pesticides, and pharmaceutical waste also contribute toward contaminating the environment. − An account of how these chemicals interact and cause harm to the human body can be found elsewhere. , One of the primary contributors in this vein is the highly visible wastewater effluents from textile, printing, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. , Dye-contaminated water reduces or in extreme cases completely blocks sunlight being transmitted through water, which in turn adversely affects underwater ecosystems .…”

“…3,4 These pollutants include simple atomic entities like heavy metal ions of As, Cd, Cs, Hg, and Pb 5,6 as well as molecules such as per-and polyfluoroalkyls. 7 Moreover, pollutants composed of complex molecules like plastics, synthetic dyes, pesticides, and pharmaceutical waste also contribute toward contaminating the environment. 8−10 An account of how these chemicals interact and cause harm to the human body can be found elsewhere.…”

Occurrence and Risk Assessment of per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water Source Protection Area of Southeastern China

“…Similarly, the results of Chen (Chen et al, 2017) et al researched on PFASs in seawater in the Bohai Sea showed that the average concentration of PFOA was as high as 4.97 ng L −1 , which was the main PFASs pollutant. Liu (Liu et al, 2021) et al found a survey of different enterprises in China in 2018 that extremely high concentrations of PFOA were mainly concentrated in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-producing provinces, such as Sichuan (3,165 ng L −1 ), Zhejiang (115.4 ng L −1 ), Shanghai (78 ng L −1 ), Jiangsu (61.4 ng L −1 ), and Guangdong (53.4 ng L −1 ). The patterns and concentrations of PFASs in drinking water can be affected due to the emission sources, especially fluorination plants, major local industrial users of PFASs, use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams (Hu et al, 2016;Mumtaz et al, 2019b;Li et al, 2019), the quality of drinking water treatment processes, and their precursor conversions.…”

“…PFASs can enter the human body through drinking water, which is considered to be one of the main exposure pathways for PFASs in the general population (Jian et al, 2018). High contamination (>100 ng L −1 ) of PFASs in source water and drinking water has been found in many countries (Gebbink et al, 2017;Guelfo et al, 2018;Kaboré et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2021). It has been shown that different PFASs show different toxicological profiles, including hepatotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immune system toxicity, thyroid toxicity, neurotoxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, and endocrine toxicity (DeWitt, 2015).…”

Distributions and sources of traditional and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances among multiple environmental media in the Qiantang River watershed, China

“…Studies have shown that the concentrations of SPFASs in surface water, drinking water, soil, and sediment in China range from 7.0 to 489 ng L À1 , 4.49 to 174.93 ng L À1 , 244 to 13 564 pg g À1 , and 0.086 to 5.79 ng g À1 , respectively. 29,[32][33][34] The concentration level of SPFASs in the environment of the Qiantang River watershed is comparable to the overall level of SPFASs in China.…”