Seasonal variations in the occurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances in water, sediment and fish samples from Ebro Delta (Catalonia, Spain)
Open accessAbstract
The main objective of this study was to assess the concentration levels and the seasonal variations of 13 poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in different compartments (water, sediments and fish) of the Ebro Delta (NE Spain) and surrounding coastal areas. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the most frequently detected compound in waters and sediments. Perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) were the compounds found at the highest concentrations in water samples. On the other hand, sediments were more enriched in perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) (range<1.02-22.6ng/g dw). Waters and sediments showed a different seasonal trend. While waters were characterised by a substantial constant level of PFASs over the year, sediments showed a progressive decrease from autumn to summer, revealing the great influence that environmental conditions exert on PFAS distribution in sediments. As regards fish samples, in spite of the ban of its production, PFOS was the most frequently detected compound in seawater fishes, in agreement with its high persistency, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Moreover, PFASs showed to be more distributed in the skin rather than in muscle tissues. In addition, river fishes were characterised by very high PFAS levels (∑PFAS range from 63.8ng/g ww to 938ng/g ww), with perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids being more concentrated than sulfonates. The PFASs concentrations in water, sediment, and biota revealed that one of the studied sites, Isla de Buda was the most contaminated site of the Ebro Delta. These results are consistent with its location at the final part of the estuary, where many irrigation channels are collected together.
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The maximum allowable concentration is 36 μg kg−1 for inland surface waters, and 9.1 μg kg−1 for biota; while the mean annual concentration limit is 0.65 ng L−1 for inland surface waters.
“The maximum allowable concentration is 36 μg kg−1 for inland surface waters, and 9.1 μg kg−1 for biota; while the mean annual concentration limit is 0.65 ng L−1 for inland surface waters (Pignotti et al., 2017).”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution (2022) · cites this paper as Pignotti et al., 2017
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- Authors
- Pignotti, E., Casas, G., Llorca, M., Tellbüscher, A., Almeida, D., Dinelli, E., Farré, M., & Barceló, D.
- Affiliations
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (ES)
- Universitat de Girona (ES)
- University of Bologna (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Farré, Marinella
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 607-608
- Pages
- 933-943
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2739531309
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 4.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL-2014-56530-C4-1-R)
- Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 418)
- 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, PFAS, seasonal variation, Ebro Delta, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorocarboxylic acids, PFOS, sediment contamination, fish contamination, bioaccumulation, tissue distribution, estuaries, irrigation canals
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Caprylates, Environmental Monitoring, Fishes, Fluorocarbons, Seasons, Spain, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Alkanesulfonic Acids, Geologic Sediments, Rivers, Estuaries
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