Perfluorinated chemicals in surface waters and sediments from northwest Georgia, USA, and their bioaccumulation in Lumbriculus variegatus

Abstract

Concentrations of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) were measured in surface waters and sediments from the Coosa River watershed in northwest Georgia, USA, to examine their distribution downstream of a suspected source. Samples from eight sites were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Sediments were also used in 28-d exposures with the aquatic oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus, to assess PFC bioaccumulation. Concentrations of PFCs in surface waters and sediments increased significantly below a land-application site (LAS) of municipal/industrial wastewater and were further elevated by unknown sources downstream. Perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with eight or fewer carbons were the most prominent in surface waters. Those with 10 or more carbons predominated sediment and tissue samples. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the major homolog in contaminated sediments and tissues. This pattern among sediment PFC concentrations was consistent among sites and reflected homolog concentrations emanating from the LAS. Concentrations of PFCs in oligochaete tissues revealed patterns similar to those observed in the respective sediments. The tendency to bioaccumulate increased with PFCA chain length and the presence of the sulfonate moiety. Biota-sediment accumulation factors indicated that short-chain PFCAs with fewer than seven carbons may be environmentally benign alternatives in aquatic ecosystems; however, sulfonates with four to seven carbons may be as likely to bioaccumulate as PFOS.

What is the effect of phasing out long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on the concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids and their precursors in the environment? A systematic review

“…Although properties vary with chain-length, the environmental fate and bioaccumulation behavior of PFSAs is broadly similar to that of PFCAs. PFSAs are fully dissociated anions in environmental media [53] and tend to accumulate in surface waters [31], they are persistent, bind weakly to organic phases [54] compared to other persistent organic substances, bioaccumulate in laboratory studies [55,56] and biomagnify in food webs [57,58]. In 2000 the major manufacturer of PFOS in the US (3M) announced they would cease the production of C6, C8 and C10 perfluoroalkane sulfonyl fluoride (PASF)-based products and completed the phase out in 2002 [59].…”

Influence of groundwater conditions and co‐contaminants on sorption of perfluoroalkyl compounds on granular activated carbon

“…Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a stable synthetic class of chemicals ubiquitously spread in environmental media (i.e., air, soil, biota, surface water, and groundwater). They are used as polymers in a large number of products including aqueous film forming foams (AFFF; Fujii, Polprasert, Tanaka, Lien, & Qiu, 2007;Houde, Martin, Letcher, Solomon, & Muir, 2006;Lasier, Washington, Hassan, & Jenkins, 2011;Liu, Gin, Chang, Goh, & Reinhard, 2011). The substances' polar carbon-fluorine bonds and their high thermal and chemical stability make them resistant to biological, chemical, and physical degradation.…”

Microfluidics-generated graphene oxide microspheres and their application to removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate from polluted water

“…The disappearance of the C-OH peak at 285.9 eV might indicate transformation of these species to C-O-C groups with a binding energy of 287. 5 groups to the GO surface, thereby playing a bridging role in neutralizing the negative surface charge. The -SO 3 -Mg + groups on the molecules then undergo attractive interactions with the negatively charged GO surface and can be adsorbed on the GO surface.…”