Cited by 144Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactEnvironmental Chemistry and Analysis

Spatial distribution and partitioning behavior of selected poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in freshwater ecosystems: A French nationwide survey

Munoz, Gabriel, Giraudel, Jean-Luc, Botta, Fabrizio, Lestremau, François, Dévier, Marie-Hélène, Budzinski, Hélène, Labadie, Pierre·2015·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

The spatial distribution and partitioning of 22 poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in 133 selected rivers and lakes were investigated at a nationwide scale in mainland France. ΣPFASs was in the range<LOD-725 ng L(-1) in the dissolved phase (median: 7.9 ng L(-1)) and <LOD-25 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw) in the sediment (median: 0.48 ng g(-1) dw); dissolved PFAS levels were significantly lower at "reference" sites than at urban, rural or industrial sites. Although perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was found to be the prevalent compound on average, a multivariate analysis based on neural networks revealed noteworthy trends for other compounds at specific locations and, in some cases, at watershed scale. For instance, several sites along the Rhône River displayed a peculiar PFAS signature, perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) often dominating the PFAS profile (e.g., PFCAs>99% of ΣPFASs in the sediment, likely as a consequence of industrial point source discharge). Several treatments for data below detection limits (non-detects) were used to compute descriptive statistics, differences among groups, and correlations between congeners, as well as log Kd and log Koc partition coefficients; in that respect, the Regression on Order Statistics (robust ROS) method was preferred for descriptive statistics computation while the Akritas-Theil-Sen estimator was used for regression and correlation analyses. Multiple regression results suggest that PFAS levels in the dissolved phase and sediment characteristics (organic carbon fraction and grain size) may be significant controlling factors of PFAS levels in the sediment.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.02.043

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  • The high PFOS/PFHxS levels indicate strong localized contamination likely linked to historical industrial emissions and legacy uses of PFOS-containing products, including firefighting foams.

    “indicating strong localized contamination likely linked to historical industrial emissions and legacy uses of PFOS-containing products, including firefighting foams [32,33,34,35].”
  • Exceptionally high PFOS concentrations were reported in Spain (2709 ng/L) and France (197 ng/L branched-PFOS and 173 ng/L linear-PFOS), with elevated PFHxS levels (217 ng/L) in France.

    “Exceptionally high PFOS concentrations were reported in Spain (2709 ng/L) [32] and France (197 ng/L of branched-PFOS and 173 ng/L of linear-PFOS) [33], with the latter accompanied by elevated PFHxS levels (217 ng/L) [33]”
  • Maximum ΣPFASN values range from 35.02 ng/L in Malta (N = 7) and 42 ng/L in Finland (N = 23) to 725 ng/L in France (N = 22) and 2878 ng/L in Spain (N = 21).

    “Maximum ΣPFASN values range from 35.02 ng/L in Malta (N = 7) [37] and 42 ng/L in Finland (N = 23) [36] to substantially higher maxima in France (ΣPFASN = 725 ng/L; N = 22) [33] and Spain (ΣPFASN = 2878 ng/L; N = 21) [32].”
  • The comparative overview of maximum concentrations of targeted PFAS in European surface waters reveals pronounced spatial differences among freshwater systems across Europe.

    “The comparative overview of maximum concentrations of targeted PFAS in European surface waters (Table S7) reveals pronounced spatial differences among freshwater systems across Europe”
  • Major pollution pathways or identifiable emission points include industrial facilities, wastewater treatment plants, sludge application, AFFF use, and landfills.

    “Major pollution pathways or identifiable emission points include certain industrial facilities, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the use of sludge generated from PFAS-contaminated WWTPs, the application of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for firefighting-related activities, and landfills [8,16,41,85,100].”

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Authors
Munoz, G., Giraudel, J.-L., Botta, F., Lestremau, F., Dévier, M.-H., Budzinski, H., & Labadie, P.
Affiliations
  • Université de Bordeaux (FR)
  • Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques (FR)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Labadie, Pierre
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-06
Volume
517
Pages
48-56
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2029729679
Cited by
144
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 3
FWCI
11.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • Oskar-Bordeaux (Universite de Bordeaux) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • French Ministry of Ecology
  • French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (ONEMA)
  • River Basin agencies
  • French National Research Agency (ANR) (ANR-10-LABX-45, ANR-10-IDEX-03-02)
  • INTERREG ORQUE SUDOE (SOE3/P2/F591)
  • Aquitaine Regional Council and the European Union (CPER A2E)
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 › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, spatial distribution, sediment-water partitioning, freshwater ecosystems, rivers, lakes, sediment organic carbon, grain size, non-detects, France
MeSH terms
Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, France, Fresh Water, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Ecosystem

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