The DOI matches its Crossref record; 34 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Historical usage of aqueous film forming foam: A case study of the widespread distribution of perfluoroalkyl acids from a military airport to groundwater, lakes, soils and fish
Abstract
Historical usage of aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) at military airports is a potential source of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) to the nearby environment. In this study, the distribution of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in soil, groundwater, surface water, tap water well, and fish muscle was investigated at a closed down military airfield (F18) and its surroundings in Stockholm, Sweden. The presence of PFOS at AFFF training sites was inventoried. One major finding of the study is that a former airfield, abandoned since 1994, may still be a point source of PFAAs to nearby recipients. PFOS and PFOA were ubiquitous in the soil samples at former AFFF training sites with concentrations ranging from 2.18 to 8520ngg(-1) dry weight and <0.12-287ngg(-1) dry weight respectively. The sum of PFAAs in the groundwater and surface waters ranged from 738 to 51000ngL(-1) and <MDL to 79.0ngL(-1), respectively. PFOS in European perch ranged from 76.5 to 370ngg(-1)wet weight muscle tissue which is among the highest previously reported worldwide. Our results provide evidence that the historical use of AFFF at the site have contaminated an aquifer (7500 m(3)d(-1)), that will require constant PFAA purification before being used for drinking water production. Despite the fact that the water turnover time in the investigated recipients (of 4-6months) suggest a depletion of PFAA-contaminants over a quarter of a decade, abandoned airfields may still pose an environmental and human health concern.
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In the citing paper
“The elevated levels of PFAAs in both sites might be explained by the historical release of AFFF as observed in several studies.44,45”
From Sources and Pathways of PFAS Occurrence in Water Sources: Relative Contribution of Land-Applied Biosolids in an Agricultural Dominated Watershed (2025) · cites this paper as [44]
In the citing paper
“Prior work indicates uses of AFFF in modern airports release diverse PFASs to downstream aquatic environments, including the compounds identified as part of the first PCA/cluster.4,29-31”
From Source Attribution of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Surface Waters from Rhode Island and the New York Metropolitan Area (2016) · cites this paper as [31]
Citations
Cites
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Sources, fate and transport of perfluorocarboxylates
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Persistence of Perfluoroalkyl Acid Precursors in AFFF-Impacted Groundwater and Soil
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Perfluorinated Surfactants and the Environmental Implications of Their Use in Fire-Fighting Foams
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Oxidative Conversion as a Means of Detecting Precursors to Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Urban Runoff
Houtz, E. F., & Sedlak, D. L. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es302274g · Cited by 681 · cited 2×
“respectively (Houtz and Sedlak, 2012).”
ResultZareitalabad, P., Siemens, J., Hamer, M., & Amelung, W. (2013) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.02.024 · Cited by 642
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Perfluorinated compounds in aquatic organisms at various trophic levels in a Great Lakes food chain
Kannan, K., Tao, L., Sinclair, E., Pastva, S. D., Jude, D. J., & Giesy, J. P. (2005) · Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology · doi:10.1007/s00244-004-0133-x · Cited by 530
Cited by
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PFAS concentrations in soils: Background levels versus contaminated sites
Brusseau, M. L., Anderson, R. H., & Guo, B. (2020) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140017 · Cited by 817
Accumulation of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in agricultural plants: A review
Ghisi, R., Vamerali, T., & Manzetti, S. (2019) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2018.10.023 · Cited by 705
Xiao, F. (2017) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2017.07.024 · Cited by 634
Water Analysis: Emerging Contaminants and Current Issues
Richardson, S. D., & Kimura, S. Y. (2015) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.5b04493 · Cited by 433
Anderson, R. H., Long, G. C., Porter, R. C., & Anderson, J. K. (2016) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.01.014 · Cited by 394
Metadata
- Authors
- Filipovic, M., Woldegiorgis, A., Norström, K., Bibi, M., Lindberg, M., & Österås, A.-H.
- Affiliations
- Stockholm University (SE)
- WSP Sverige (Sweden) (SE)
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Filipovic, Marko
- Venue
- Chemosphere
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 129
- Pages
- 39-45
- ISSN
- 0045-6535 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2003616463
- Semantic Scholar
- 19316d98a621563de03e681c6bffb83fecac4fb1
- Cited by
- 284
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 6
- FWCI
- 9.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemosphere (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Chemical Analysis and Environmental Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
- Keywords
- aqueous film-forming foam, perfluoroalkyl acids, PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorohexanoic acid, PFHxS, military airfields, groundwater contamination, soil contamination, surface water contamination, fish muscle
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Fishes, Fluorocarbons, Humans, Soil Pollutants, Surface Properties, Sweden, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Water Supply, Muscle, Skeletal, Military Facilities, Airports, Lakes, Groundwater, Drinking Water
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