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Effectiveness of household water purifiers in removing perfluoroalkyl substances from drinking water

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 28, pages 11665–11671 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Drinking water is one of the major exposure routes to Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). These chemicals are scarcely removed by the conventional process in water purification plants. In the present study, four models of pitcher-type water purifiers (A-D) were tested to evaluate their removal effect on six PFASs including PFOS and PFOA. All of the water purifiers removed PFASs, but the efficiency was dependent on the models. Model C was most effective; more than 90% of all PFASs were removed through the recommended life of the filter cartridge. Model D was least effective; its removal efficiency declined below 50% by the end of the cartridge’s life. When compared by the carbon chain length of PFASs, the removal efficiency was “C12 > C10 > C8 > C6” in all models. This study clearly demonstrates that household water purifiers are effective in decreasing the exposure to PFASs through drinking water.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Iwate Prefectural Research Institute for Environmental Sciences and Public Health, Kita-Iioka 1-11-16, Morioka, 020-0857, Japan

    Katsumi Iwabuchi

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Ueda 3-18-8, Morioka, 020-8550, Japan

    Itaru Sato

Authors
  1. Katsumi Iwabuchi
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  2. Itaru Sato
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Contributions

KI analyzed PFASs in water samples and wrote the manuscript partly. IS contributed to the study design and sample preparation and wrote the manuscript chiefly. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Itaru Sato.

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Iwabuchi, K., Sato, I. Effectiveness of household water purifiers in removing perfluoroalkyl substances from drinking water. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 11665–11671 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11757-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11757-1

Keywords

  • Perfluoroalkyl substances
  • PFOS
  • PFOA
  • Water purifier
  • Drinking water