Occurrence characteristics, source analysis and ecological risk of PFASs in different cultivated soil at an urban scale in Yangtze River Basin

Abstract

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFASs) contaminates the arable soil through multiple paths, and poses a threat to both farmland ecosystems and human health. In this study, the potential sources and distribution characteristics of 12 legacy PFASs in the soil and rivers for irrigation purposes were investigated in farmland systems, and the risks posed by PFASs to earthworm and aquatic organisms were also assessed. Based on field investigations in Yangtze River Basin, we found long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) were the major contaminants in arable soil and rivers for irrigation purposes, with PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) being the most dominant monomer. Concentration levels of PFASs in arable soil were strongly related to land use types, the average concentration of PFASs (341.18 ± 600.19 ng/g) in the paddy fields was 100-fold higher than that of dry fields (3.79 ± 4.11 ng/g). Source apportionment revealed that PFASs detected in paddy fields were mainly associated with industrial effluents, domestic sewage, and irrigation water. In rivers for irrigation purposes, higher PFASs contamination were primarily distributed in industrial areas, such as plastic processing, paper, textile and electronics factories. The PFASs in the irrigation river water posed a low-medium risk to daphnia and fish, while the PFASs (PFOA and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA)) in soil posed a medium-high risk to earthworms. These results provided insights that sewage irrigation caused serious pollution of PFASs in the agricultural environment, should be paid more attention.