Occurrence characteristics and health risk assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water in residential areas around fluorine chemical industrial areas, China.

Recently, identifying the contamination status and assessing the health risk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface water and groundwater have been of great significance. Eighteen individual PFASs were analyzed in thirty-three surface/groundwater samples during one period in a fluorine chemical park (Park A) and during two periods in Park B. The mean total concentration of 18 PFASs (∑PFASs) in Park A (9104.63 ng·L −1 ) was significantly higher than that in the wet season (WS) (801.68 ng·L −1 ) or DS (714.64 ng·L −1 ) in Park B. The perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) was the predominant substance in the two parks, and the maximum concentration in groundwater exceeded 10,000 ng·L −1 . The contamination status in the wet season (WS) was higher than that in the dry season (DS) in Park B. The ∑PFASs in Park A presented an increasing tendency following the groundwater flow direction, whereas this rule was limited to all periods in Park B. Two relative source contributions (RSCs) of 20% or 100% allowed assessing the PFASs risk to different age groups, and the results revealed that some PFASs (4 ≤ C ≤ 7 or 9 ≤ C ≤ 12) were identified as having a low risk quotient (RQ), except for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and PFOA (C = 8). The RQ mix value mainly relies on PFOA and PFOS, with a larger contribution rate of 80–90%. All assessed cases (case 1, case 2, case 3, and case 4) in all age groups revealed that infants were vulnerable to PFASs influence, followed by children, teenagers, and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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