Temporal and spatial analysis of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances in surface waters of Houston ship channel following a large-scale industrial fire incident
Open accessAbstract
Firefighting foams contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - a class of compounds widely used as surfactants. PFAS are persistent organic pollutants that have been reported in waterways and drinking water systems across the United States. These substances are of interest to both regulatory agencies and the general public because of their persistence in the environment and association with adverse health effects. PFAS can be released in large quantities during industrial incidents because they are present in most firefighting foams used to suppress chemical fires; however, little is known about persistence of PFAS in public waterways after such events. In response to large-scale fires at Intercontinental Terminal Company (ITC) in Houston, Texas in March 2019, almost 5 million liters of class B firefighting foams were used. Much of this material flowed into the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay (HSC/GB) and concerns were raised about the levels of PFAS in these water bodies that have commercial and recreational uses. To evaluate the impact of the ITC incident response on PFAS levels in HSC/GB, we collected 52 surface water samples from 12 locations over a 6-month period after the incident. Samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to evaluate 27 PFAS, including perfluorocarboxylic acids, perfluorosulfonates and fluorotelomers. Among PFAS that were evaluated, 6:2 FTS and PFOS were detected at highest concentrations. Temporal and spatial profiles of PFAS were established; we found a major peak in the level of many PFAS in the days and weeks after the incident and a gradual decline over several months with patterns consistent with the tide- and wave-associated water movements. This work documents the impact of a large-scale industrial fire, on the environmental levels of PFAS, establishes a baseline concentration of PFAS in HSC/GB, and highlights the critical need for development of PFAS water quality standards.
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Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) products are major sources of PFAA compounds in the environment.
“In addition, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) products were identified as major sources of PFAA compounds in the environment (Langberg et al., 2019; Mejia-Avendane; o et al., 2017; Aly et al., 2020).”
From Biotransformation of perfluoroalkyl acid precursors from various environmental systems: advances and perspectives (2021) · cites this paper as Aly et al., 2020
The Introduction says many AFFFs contain PFAS, and the Discussion (‘ITC Fire Response Resulted in a Release of PFAS into the Houston Ship Channel’; page unavailable) links AFFF use to PFOS and other PFAS detected after the fire. This supports AFFF as an environmental source, but the paper does not establish that AFFF products are major sources of PFAA compounds in the environment generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTotal PFAS concentrations at N23, N60, and N62 are lower than those previously reported in surface water linked to primary sources including AFFF, landfill leachates, and industrial discharges.
“Also, the total concentrations are lower than those previously reported in surface water linked to primary sources including AFFF,37,38 landfill leachates,35 and industrial discharges.39”
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 [38]
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References 58 · Cited by 52
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Dean RG, Dalrymple RA, 1991 Water Wave Mechanics for Engineers and Scientists. World Scientific, Singapore.
- DSHS, 2015 ADV-55 Fish and Shellfish Consumption Advisory for Galveston Bay Estuary, in: Department of State Health Services (Ed.). Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX Accessed on: February 01, 2020
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- Thomas A, 2019 ITC Fire Response Causes Toxic Contamination of Houston Ship Channel. Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/09/itc-fire-response-causes-toxic-contamination-houston-ship-channel. Accessed on: January 28, 2020
- Authors
- Aly, N. A., Luo, Y.-S., Liu, Y., Casillas, G., McDonald, T. J., Kaihatu, J. M., Jun, M., Ellis, N., Gossett, S., Dodds, J. N., Baker, E. S., Bhandari, S., Chiu, W. A., & Rusyn, I.
- Affiliations
- Texas A&M University (US)
- North Carolina State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rusyn, Ivan
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environmental Pollution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-10
- Volume
- 265
- Issue
- Pt B
- Pages
- 115009
- ISSN
- 0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7857671
- OpenAlex
- W3035240321
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 2.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (T32 ES026568)
- 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 › Pollution › Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, firefighting foam, Houston Ship Channel, Galveston Bay, surface water contamination, spatiotemporal variation, PFOS, fluorotelomers, perfluorocarboxylic acids, water quality standards, persistent organic pollutants
- MeSH terms
- Fires, Fluorocarbons, Texas, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Drinking Water
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