Estimation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances mass loads in the Danube River using passive sampling
Open accessAbstract
As Europe's second longest river, the Danube is an important water source for drinking water and irrigation for many countries, before discharging into the Black Sea in the East. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been observed over the last two decades in concentrations exceeding the European Union's drinking water guidelines for total sum of 20 select PFAS of 0.1 μg L−1. Their presence is a result of current and historical use and high environmental persistence, necessitating their monitoring for human risk assessments. The aim of this study is to use recently developed passive sampling technology to calculate time-integrated water concentrations and mass loads of 11 select PFAS at 9 sites along the Danube River. Results indicate ∑11 PFAS concentrations in the range of 9.3–29.6 ng L−1 were not in exceedance of EU drinking water guidelines, but perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was in exceedance of the environmental quality standard (0.65 ng L−1) at all sampling locations. The highest ∑11 PFAS mass loads were observed at Ruse (9.5 kg day−1) and Budapest (6.3 kg day−1), believed to be driven by proximity to industrial facilities and large populations (urban runoff). Finally, we estimate 4.9 kg of total PFAS (∑11 PFAS) were delivered to the Black Sea daily over Summer 2019.
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PFAS have been widely reported in European surface water, sediment, and biota.
“Across Europe, PFAS have been widely reported in surface water, sediment, and biota [6,7,8,9].”
From Integrated Targeted and Suspect Screening Workflow for Identifying PFAS of Concern in Urban-Impacted Serbian Rivers (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
The Introduction says PFAS contamination across Europe has been widely reported and describes findings in river water and biota. It mentions removal to sediment as a possible environmental process, but does not report PFAS findings in sediment. The cited paper therefore supports the surface-water and biota portions, not the sediment portion. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPrevious studies on PFAS contamination in the Danube report average PFOS concentrations of 7 ng/L (2010), 5.9 ng/L (2017), and approximately 2.1 ng/L (2023).
“Previous studies on PFAS contamination in the Danube report average PFOS concentrations of 7 ng/L (2010) [73], 5.9 ng/L (2017) [74], and approximately 2.1 ng/L (2023) [7], while our study detects an average level of 1.8 ng/L.”
From Investigating the extent of PFAS contamination in the Upper Danube Basin across environmental compartments (2025) · cites this paper as [7]
Section 3.1 reports PFOS concentrations of 0.7–4.4 ng/L at nine Danube sites, supporting the general concentration range attributed to the 2023 paper. The passages available from our copy do not report an overall average of approximately 2.1 ng/L; the visible 2.1 ng/L value is a total for three PFAS at Galati, not its PFOS concentration. The paper also says sampling took place in summer 2019, although it was published in 2023. (LLM, conf=0.77)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe Upper Danube Basin has been the focus of micropollutant monitoring, providing opportunities to integrate external data sets into a harmonized assessment of contamination profiles.
“This region has been the focus of micropollutant monitoring [7,73,74], providing opportunities to integrate external data sets into a harmonized assessment of contamination profiles.”
From Investigating the extent of PFAS contamination in the Upper Danube Basin across environmental compartments (2025) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Beggs, C., Mackie, R., Vrana, B., Prokeš, R., Gorji, S. G., Schulze, B., Thomas, K. V., Mueller, J. F., & Kaserzon, S. L.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Corresponding author
- Beggs, Carly
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-09
- Volume
- 892
- Pages
- 164458
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4378627999
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 2.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Veřejné služby Informačního systému (Masarykiana Brunensis Universitas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Horizon 2020
- Czech Science Foundation
- 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 › Water Science and Technology › Fluoride Effects and Removal
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, Danube River, passive sampling, PFOS, drinking water guidelines, environmental quality standards, urban runoff, industrial pollution, Black Sea, river pollution
- MeSH terms
- Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, Humans, Seasons, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Alkanesulfonic Acids, Rivers, Drinking Water
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