Suspect and Nontarget Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater Underlying Different Land-Use Areas

Abstract

Groundwater can be contaminated by PFAS emissions, yet research on the presence and associated risks of PFAS in groundwater underlying different land-use areas remains limited. Herein, high-resolution mass spectrometry-based suspect and nontarget analyses were performed to determine PFAS occurrence in groundwater samples obtained from a rural area, a planting region, and the vicinities of a pharmaceutical park, an airport, and an industrial park in Datong City, China. A total of 31 PFAS (16 emerging and 15 legacy PFAS) were identified, and the ΣPFAS concentrations ranged from 0.775 (rural area) to 80.7 ng/L (pharmaceutical park). In terms of the average concentration of ΣPFAS, legacy PFAS were predominant in rural groundwater, whereas emerging PFAS were predominant in the other four land-use areas. PFOA, PFDA, PFUnDA, and 6:2 FTS were detected in all groundwater samples. To further prioritize the risk of identified PFAS in groundwater, the detection frequency; concentration; and persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity attributes were adopted, which showed that high-risk compounds varied across different land-use areas. Our results further reveal the ubiquitous contamination of PFAS in groundwater environments, even in areas with limited human activity, and highlight the necessity of suspect and nontarget analysis for assessing PFAS exposure through groundwater.