Legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Bohai Sea and its inflow rivers. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meng, Lingyi; Song, Boyu; Zhong, Huifang; Ma, Xindong; Wang, Yingjun; Ma, Donghui; Lu, Yao; Gao, Wei; Wang, Yawei; Jiang, Guibin
• Is Part Of: Environment international. Volume 156(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -- Inflow river -- Seawater -- Sea sediment -- Source identification -- Environmental risk assessment; Environmental protection -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental Monitoring -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Protection -- Périodiques; Hygiène du milieu -- Périodiques; Environnement -- Surveillance -- Périodiques; Environmental health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection; Periodicals; 333.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106735
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-4120

Abstract

Highlights: Eight-carbon PFAS were dominant in the Bohai Sea. The highest ∑PFAS were observed in the Laizhou Bay for seawater and in the Liaodong Bay for sea sediments, respectively. Six primary sources were revealed by using PMF 5.0 software. The environmental risk of PFAS was not high in the Bohai Sea. Abstract: In this study, the occurrence, distribution, sources, and risk of 29 legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in four kinds of environmental matrices in the Bohai Sea were investigated. The ∑PFAS concentrations were in the range of 0.40 ~ 61.4 ng/g dry weight (dw) in inflow river sediments, 0.48 ~ 61.4 ng/g dw in soil near river inflow, 0.37 ~ 4.18 ng/g dw in sea sediments, and 13.3 ~ 718 ng/L in seawater. PFAS with eight carbons accounted for > 62.2% by mass, in all samples. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the dominant PFAS both by mass and occurrence. Seawater from Laizhou Bay (south of the Bohai Sea) and sediments of Liaodong Bay (northeast of the Bohai Sea) had the highest levels of ∑PFAS. The sediment–water partition coefficient and organic carbon content normalized partition coefficient (log Kd and log Koc ) were calculated using measured PFAS concentrations to determine their distribution in seawater and sea sediments. The values of log Kd and log Koc values increased with the increasing CF2 units for perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs). Six primary sources were identified in this region, including aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF), metal plating, food packages, fluorine chemical industry, fluoropolymer manufacture, and domestic pollution. The risk quotient (RQ) values of PFAS were all < 1, indicating that organisms of the Bohai Sea were at low risk of PFAS exposure.