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HERO ID
5079692
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Leaching and bioavailability of selected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) from soil contaminated by firefighting activities
Author(s)
Bräunig, J; Baduel, C; Barnes, CM; Mueller, JF
Year
2019
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN:
0048-9697
EISSN:
1879-1026
Volume
646
Page Numbers
471-479
Language
English
PMID
30056234
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.231
Web of Science Id
WOS:000445164800048
Relationship(s)
is supplemented by
10328914
: Supplemental material
Abstract
Historical usage of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at firefighting training grounds (FTGs) is a potential source of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) to the surrounding environment. In this study the leaching of PFAAs from field contaminated soil and their uptake into biota was investigated. Soil was sampled from FTGs at two airports and the total as well as the leachable concentration of 12 PFAAs was determined. A greenhouse study was carried out to investigate the uptake of PFAAs from soils into earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and wheat grass (Elymus scaber). Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) were the most dominant PFAAs in all soils samples, with concentrations of PFOS reaching 13,400 ng/g. Leachable concentrations of PFOS and PFHxS reached up to 550 μg/L and 22 μg/L, respectively. In earthworms concentrations of PFOS reached 65,100 ng/g after a 28-day exposure period, while in wheat grass the highest concentration was measured for uptake of PFHxS (2,800 ng/g) after a 10-week growth-period. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) for earthworms ranged from 0.1 for perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) to 23 for perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) and initially showed a decreasing trend with increasing perfluoroalkyl chain length, followed by an increase with increasing perfluoroalkyl chain length for perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs). In wheat grass the highest BAF was found for perfluorobutanoic acid (BAF = 70), while the lowest was observed for perfluorononanoic acid (BAF = 0.06). BAFs in wheat grass decreased with increasing perfluoroalkyl chain length for both PFCAs and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs). The results show that PFAAs readily leach from impacted soils and are bioaccumulated into earthworms and plants in an analyte dependent way. This shows considerable potential for PFAAs to move away from the original source either by leaching or uptake into ecological receptors, which may be a potential entry route into the terrestrial foodweb.
Keywords
bioavailability; PFAAs; earthworm; wheat grass; leaching; contaminated soils
Tags
PFAS
•
Additional PFAS (formerly XAgency)
Literature Search November 2019
PubMed
Not prioritized for screening
Perfluorododecanoic acid
•
Expanded PFAS SEM (formerly PFAS 430)
Litsearch: September 2019
PubMed
Not prioritized for screening
Perfluorooctane
Perfluorododecanoic acid
•
PFAS 150
Literature Search Update December 2020
PubMed
Literature Search August 2019
PubMed
Not prioritized for screening
Perfluorobutanoic acid
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid
Perfluorohexanoic acid
Perfluorononanoic acid
Perfluorooctane
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
•
PFBA
Literature Search Update 5/2019
PubMed
WOS
LitSearch: May 2019 - May 2020
WoS
Scopus: April 2021
•
PFHxA
LitSearch Update: Feb 2018 - May 2019
PubMed
WoS
Literature Search
Pubmed
WOS
LitSearch Update: May 2019 - May 2020
WoS
Scopus: April 2021
HAWC
•
PFHxS
Database searches
Pubmed
WOS
Scopus
Supplemental
TiAb
Environmental fate or occurrence (including food)
Literature Search Update April 2023
Supplemental
Environmental fate or occurrence (including food)
•
PFNA
Literature Search
Pubmed
WOS
PFNA May 2019 Update
Pubmed
Web of Science
LitSearch: May 2019 - May 2020
WoS
Title and Abstract Screening
Tagged as Supplemental
Environmental occurance
Environmental fate
Other PFAS
•
PFOA (335-67-1) and PFOS (1763-23-1)
Literature Search Update (2013-2019)
PubMed
WOS
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