A survey of perfluorinated compounds in surface water and biota including dolphins from the Ganges River and in other waterbodies in India
Abstract
Despite the reports of the occurrence of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in industrialized nations, information on PFCs in less industrialized countries is meager. In the present study, concentrations and profiles of PFCs were investigated in surface waters (rivers, lakes, coastal seas and untreated sewage; n=42) including the Ganges River water, and biota such as shrimp (n=2), fish (n=28), and Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica; n=15). PFOS was the dominant PFC found in most of the samples analyzed including water samples except untreated sewage (water: <0.04-3.91 ng L(-1); biota: 0.248-27.9 ng g(-1) ww). Long-chain (C11-C18) perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) were not detected in the water samples (<0.2 ng L(-1)), although PFDA (0.061-0.923 ng g(-1) ww) and PFUnDA (0.072-0.998 ng g(-1) ww) were found in biological samples The arithmetic mean PFOS concentration found in the liver of Ganges River dolphin was 27.9 ng g(-1) ww. Bioconcentration and biomagnifications factors of PFCs were estimated in the Ganges River basin food web. The highest concentration of PFOA, 23.1 ng L(-1), was found in untreated sewage samples. Overall, concentrations of PFCs of water and biological samples from India are lower than the concentrations reported for other countries so far. PFC profiles in Indian waters are dominated by PFOS, followed by PFOA, which is different from the pattern reported for other countries such as Korea, Japan and USA, where PFOA was the predominant compound in waters. The flux estimates for PFOS, PFOA and PFNA from the Ganges River in India to the Bay of Bengal were in the range of several hundreds of kilograms per year.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The Yellow River's PFAS flux is on the same order as that of the Ganges River in India, where PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA fluxes to the Bay of Bengal were several hundreds of kilograms per year.
“Compared with other major rivers in the world, the PFAS flux of the Yellow River is on the same order of the Ganges River in India, where the flux of PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA discharged to the Bay of Bengal were at the level of several hundreds of kilograms per year (Yeung et al., 2009).”
From Short- and long-chain perfluoroalkyl substances in the water, suspended particulate matter, and surface sediment of a turbid river (2016) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
PFOS concentration in untreated wastewater in India was 12.0 ng L−1.
“PFOS concentrations in the untreated wastewater were 12.0 ng L−1, and concentrations in water samples and aquatic biota ranged from 0.04–3.91 ng L−1 and 0.248–27.9 ng g−1, respectively.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
Legacy PFAS in surface waters in India were first documented by Yeung et al. (2009).
“The presence of legacy PFAS in surface waters in India was first documented by (Yeung et al., 2009).”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
The detection of PFOS in dolphins from the Ganges River indicates a bioaccumulation pathway.
“The highest concentration of PFOS in water samples (3.91 ng L−1) was recorded from the Cooum River, whereas that in animal tissue was detected in dolphins (Platanista gangetica) found in the Ganges River (27.9 ng g−1), indicating a bioaccumulation pathway.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
PFOS concentrations in Indian water samples ranged from 0.04 to 3.91 ng L−1.
“PFOS concentrations in the untreated wastewater were 12.0 ng L−1, and concentrations in water samples and aquatic biota ranged from 0.04–3.91 ng L−1 and 0.248–27.9 ng g−1, respectively.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
PFOS concentrations in Indian aquatic biota ranged from 0.248 to 27.9 ng g−1.
“PFOS concentrations in the untreated wastewater were 12.0 ng L−1, and concentrations in water samples and aquatic biota ranged from 0.04–3.91 ng L−1 and 0.248–27.9 ng g−1, respectively.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
The highest PFOS concentration in animal tissue (27.9 ng g−1) was detected in dolphins (Platanista gangetica) from the Ganges River.
“The highest concentration of PFOS in water samples (3.91 ng L−1) was recorded from the Cooum River, whereas that in animal tissue was detected in dolphins (Platanista gangetica) found in the Ganges River (27.9 ng g−1), indicating a bioaccumulation pathway.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
The highest PFOS concentration in Indian water samples (3.91 ng L−1) was recorded from the Cooum River.
“The highest concentration of PFOS in water samples (3.91 ng L−1) was recorded from the Cooum River, whereas that in animal tissue was detected in dolphins (Platanista gangetica) found in the Ganges River (27.9 ng g−1), indicating a bioaccumulation pathway.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
Yeung et al. (2009) measured PFAS levels in Indian rivers, lakes, coastal seas, wastewater, and biota.
“They measured the levels of PFAS in Indian rivers, lakes, coastal seas, wastewater, and biota, with PFOA and PFOS being the most frequently detected.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
PFOA and PFOS were the most frequently detected PFAS in Yeung et al.'s Indian samples.
“They measured the levels of PFAS in Indian rivers, lakes, coastal seas, wastewater, and biota, with PFOA and PFOS being the most frequently detected.”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
PFAS concentrations in India were relatively low compared to those in other Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan.
“The concentrations of these pollutants in India were relatively low compared to those in other Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan (Yeung et al., 2009).”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Yeung et al., 2009
The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet
References 41 · Cited by 170
- Authors
- Yeung, L. W. Y., Yamashita, N., Taniyasu, S., Lam, P. K. S., Sinha, R. K., Borole, D. V., & Kannan, K.
- Affiliations
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (JP)
- Patna University (IN)
- National Institute of Oceanography (IN)
- New York State Department of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Yamashita, Nobuyoshi
- Lam, Paul K.S.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Chemosphere
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-06
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 55-62
- ISSN
- 0045-6535 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2116591239
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 10.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemosphere (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- City University of Hong Kong
- University of Hong Kong
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- perfluorinated compounds, PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorocarboxylic acids, Ganges River dolphin, Platanista gangetica, bioaccumulation, biomagnification, food webs, raw sewage, surface water contamination, India
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Dolphins, Environmental Monitoring, Fresh Water, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, India, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Biodiversity, Rivers
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
