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Transport of short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids from concentrated fluoropolymer facilities to the Daling River estuary, China

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Abstract

After global commercialization of short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) as substitutes to conventional long-chain PFAAs by the major manufacturers, two fluorine industry parks for production of short-chain PFAAs located in the Daling River Basin of northern China have developed rapidly in the last few years. This study provides a systematic assessment of sources, emissions, transportation, and potential risks of the PFAAs in this area. The C4 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) were the predominant short-chain PFAAs in river water, with maximum concentrations of 2.90 and 1.35 μg/L, respectively. Park 1 equipped with a telomerization process was identified to be the source of linear and branched mixtures of PFBS, PFBA, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), while park 2 with an electrochemical fluorination process (ECF) was identified to be the source of linear and branched mixtures of PFBS and PFOA. Partition coefficients between water and sediment were consistent for C4-C8 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) but directly proportional to C9-C11 PFCAs and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs). Analysis on the health risk of PFBS and PFBA suggested that they were not without risk since short chain PFAAs are known to be recalcitrant during water treatment.

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 41371488 and 41171394), the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. KZZD-EW-TZ-12), and the International Scientific Cooperation Program with Grant No. 2012DFA91150. Prof. Giesy was supported by the Canada Research Chair Program. We would like to thank the editors and reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Lab of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Pei Wang, Yonglong Lu, Tieyu Wang, Zhaoyun Zhu, Qifeng Li, Yueqing Zhang, Yaning Fu & Yang Xiao

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Pei Wang, Zhaoyun Zhu, Qifeng Li, Yueqing Zhang, Yaning Fu & Yang Xiao

  3. Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    John P. Giesy

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  1. Pei Wang
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  2. Yonglong Lu
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Correspondence to Yonglong Lu.

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Wang, P., Lu, Y., Wang, T. et al. Transport of short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids from concentrated fluoropolymer facilities to the Daling River estuary, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 9626–9636 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4090-x

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