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Perfluorinated compounds in a coastal industrial area of Tianjin, China

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Abstract

Perfluorinated compounds (PFC) in water, sediment, soil, and biota from the coastal industrial area of Tianjin, China, were measured to provide baseline information and to determine possible sources and potential risk to wildlife. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) was the predominant PFC with maximum concentrations of 10 ng/L in water, and 4.3, 9.4, and 240 ng/g dw in sediment, soil, and fish, respectively. Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) concentration in water ranged from 3.0 to 12 ng/L. Perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnA) and Perfluorododecanoate (PFDoA) were detected in solid matrices, respectively, at concentrations of <LOQ to 1.2 ng/g dw and 0.27–0.81 ng/g dw in sediments, and <LOQ to 1.0 ng/g dw and 0.26–0.61 ng/g dw in soils. Concentrations of PFOS, PFUnA, and PFDoA in sediment and soil from this industrialized and urbanized area were greater than those previously reported, while PFOS and PFOA in water and biota were both less than reported threshold concentrations for adverse effects in wildlife.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41071355), the Environmental Protection Welfare Program (No. 201009032), the National S&T Support Program (No. 2008BAC32B07), and the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2007CB407307). The research was partly supported by a Discovery Grant from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (No. 326415-07) and also from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea Grants funded by the Korean government (MEST) (Nos. 2009-0067768 & 2010-0015275). Prof. Giesy was supported by the Canada Research Chair Program, an at large Chair Professorship at the Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, the Einstein Professor Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Visiting Professor Program of King Saud University.

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Correspondence to Yonglong Lu.

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Wang, T., Lu, Y., Chen, C. et al. Perfluorinated compounds in a coastal industrial area of Tianjin, China. Environ Geochem Health 34, 301–311 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-011-9422-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-011-9422-2

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