Perfluorinated Compounds in the Environment and the Blood of Residents Living near Fluorochemical Plants in Fuxin, China

Abstract

A fluorochemical industrial park was built in 2004 in Fuxin, China, for the production of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS). Yet little is known about the distribution of fluorochemicals in the environment and in people living in and around the park. In this study, environmental samples were collected from 22 sites in Fuxin to investigate the extent of perfluorinated compound (PFC) contamination in the environment around the park, and in drinking water from the public water supply system and groundwater in shallow aquifers from private wells near the park. Serum samples were also collected from nonoccupationally exposed residents living in Fuxin to determine the PFC load of local residents. As the dominant contaminant of eight target PFCs, the maximum concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in sediment and river water of the River Xi along the industrial park were 48 ng/g dry weight and 668 ng/L, respectively; the highest PFOA concentration in groundwater beneath the park was 524 ng/L; and the PFOA levels in drinking water from the public water supply system ranged between 1.3 and 2.7 ng/L. In human serum, PFOA had the geometric mean at 4.3 ng/mL, ranging from 0.02 to 93 ng/mL. This study serves to document what should be the beginning of a long-term surveillance effort to minimize potential exposure of residents living in Fuxin.

Perfluoroalkyl substances in the Daling River with concentrated fluorine industries in China: seasonal variation, mass flow, and risk assessment

“…In recent years, Fuxin City has been taking steps to develop the fluorochemical industry by establishing some fluorine chemical parks due to the local abundance of mineral fluorite (CaF 2 ), and it has become the main fluorochemical industry center in North China . Studies have reported the effect of PFAS emissions into the environment, which are absorbed by residents living near the parks (Bao et al 2011;Liu et al 2009;Wang et al 2013). Therefore, it is essential to further assess the seasonal variations, source emissions, and transporting behavior of PFASs in this area.…”

“…PFBS was the dominant homologue of PFAS in samples from zone B and zone C. Bao et al (2011) reported that one of the industrial parks specializes in the manufacture of potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate (KPFBS) and fluoropolymers in zone B. Wang et al (2013) also found that KPFBS and perfluorobutanesulfonyl fluoride (PFBSF) are produced by electrochemical fluorination (ECF) process of the two parks.…”

“…PFBS and PFBA have been introduced as substitute compounds for C-8 PFASs due to the phase-out of PFOS- (Möller et al 2010;Eschauzier et al 2012;Dreyer et al 2009). Several years ago, studies in the Daling River area showed that PFOA and PFOS were predominantly detected compounds (Bao et al 2011;Wang et al 2011), but PFBA and PFBS are the predominate ones nowadays. Relevant studies also found high concentrations of short-chained PFASs in some wastewater treatment plants in China ).…”

“…The fluorine chemical facilities along the Daling River are the major manufacture centers in North China. Previous studies in this area have reported the occurrence and wide distribution of PFASs in surface water, sediment, soil, and human serum (Bao et al 2011;Chen et al 2011;Wang et al 2011Wang et al , 2013. The transportation of PFASs in river system is considered as the main environmental transport way of PFASs.…”

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the lower atmosphere and surface waters of the Chinese Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and Yangtze River estuary

“…The industrial production and use of PFASs resulted in high level detections in some hotspots. For example, the rivers upstream to the Liaodong (Fuxin City) (Bao et al, 2010) and Laizhou (Weifang City) Bays (Heydebreck et al, 2015), of which the direct release of ionic PFASs was suggested as the major source. The previous studies were mostly concentrated in the riverine and coastal region, and little is known in the open sea area.…”