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Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) in Surface Water of China: National Exposure Distributions and Probabilistic Risk Assessment

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Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive application of the probabilistic risk assessment methodology for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which are two types of perfluoroalkyl acids frequently studied in recent years. The exposure characteristics of PFOA and PFOS in Chinese surface water on a nationwide scale were summarized. Individual predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) and the sensitivities for taxonomic groups of primary producers, invertebrates, and vertebrates were derived by the species sensitivity distributions method. Both hazard quotients (HQs) and joint probability curves were calculated to assess the risks to aquatic organisms. Among seven Chinese river basins, the mean concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in the Yangtze River Basin were the highest (58 ng/L and 22 ng/L, respectively), while the lowest concentrations (< 1 ng/L) were in the Songhua River Basin. The acute PNEC value was 2.43 mg/L for PFOA and 0.96 mg/L for PFOS, and the chronic PNEC value was 0.0067 mg/L for PFOA and 0.0012 mg/L for PFOS, respectively. The sensitivities of different taxonomic groups revealed higher sensitivity of primary producers for PFOA and higher sensitivity of invertebrates for PFOS. The acute HQs of PFOA and PFOS were less than 1. The probabilities of exposure concentrations exceeding 5th percentile toxicity value of the chronic data for all aquatic organisms were 1.65% for PFOA and 1.23% for PFOS, respectively, suggesting a low probability of effects to aquatic organisms. Compared with the risk scenarios worldwide, the ecological risks for chronic effects decreased in the order of PFOS (worldwide) > PFOA (China) > PFOS (China) > PFOA (worldwide).

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Acknowledgements

This research was jointly supported by the National Key Plan for Research and Development of China (2016YFC0502203), the National Science Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (No. 51421006), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the World-Class Universities (Disciplines), the Characteristics Development Guidance Funds for the Central Universities, and the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 91647206).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Qiang Li, Peifang Wang, Bin Hu, Chao Wang & Dandan Li

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  1. Qiang Li
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QL: methodology, formal analysis, writing-original draft. PW: writing-review and editing. BH: data curation. CW: project administration, funding acquisition. DL: investigation.

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Correspondence to Peifang Wang.

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Li, Q., Wang, P., Hu, B. et al. Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) in Surface Water of China: National Exposure Distributions and Probabilistic Risk Assessment. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 81, 470–481 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-021-00837-z

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