Target analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in surface water: Occurrence, seasonal trends, and risk-based prioritization in the Minjiang River
Abstract
Although thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used globally, most research has focused on a limited subset, potentially underestimating their environmental risks. In particular, PFAS pollution in long river systems originating in high mountains and flowing into densely populated plains remains poorly understood. Here, we developed a target analysis method to identify and (semi-)quantify 74 PFAS compounds in surface water samples from the Minjiang River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River. Fifty-seven PFAS were detected with total concentrations up to 87.5 ng/L. The ∑57 PFAS concentrations increased from the upstream to midstream and were relatively higher in summer and fall than in winter and spring. Short-chain PFAS were present at lower concentrations than long-chain PFAS, while legacy and emerging PFAS exhibited concentrations of 9.69 ± 9.24 ng/L and 14.0 ± 16.0 ng/L, respectively. Among the 57 identified PFAS, 32 (56.1 %) were classified as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances, with 6:2 diPAP exhibiting the highest hazards, followed by C6/C6 PFPiA. ToxPi scores ranged from 0.11 to 0.62, with 6:2 diPAP showing the highest score, followed by C6/C6 PFPiA, and PFBA showing the lowest score. Among the 18 attributes contributing to the ToxPi score, bioconcentration factor (BCF) was the primary contributor, followed by log K ow, Biowin1, Biowin3, and Biowin5, suggesting persistence and bioaccumulation as key drivers. Our study identified 8:2 FTCA, 8:3 FTCA, PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA as high-priority contaminants for remediation in the surface water of the Minjiang River.
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PFAS monitoring still largely depends on targeted analysis, which is limited to compounds with available analytical reference standards.
“Despite this growing regulatory attention, PFAS monitoring still largely depends on targeted analysis, which is limited to compounds with available analytical reference standards [23,24].”
From Integrated Targeted and Suspect Screening Workflow for Identifying PFAS of Concern in Urban-Impacted Serbian Rivers (2026) · cites this paper as [24]
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Antić, I., Buljovčić, M., Cochran, R. E., Živančev, J., Llorca, M., Farré, M., Rakić, D., Tautenhahn, R., & Đurišić-Mladenović, N. (2026) · Toxics · doi:10.3390/toxics14010078 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…assessment framework was applied: (1) hazard scoring based on persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT); (2) exposure evaluation combining detection frequency (DF) and concentration magnitude; and (3) integration of hazard and exposure into a composite risk index (RI) for ranking [23,24].”
Influential
- Authors
- Zhang, H., Wang, X.-Y., Zheng, Y.-H., Hu, J.-R., Li, X.-L., Yin, H.-L., Xiao, R., Zhu, X.-L., Chen, T., & Chen, H.
- Affiliations
- Chengdu University of Information Technology (CN)
- Clemson University (US)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Chen, Huan
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-07
- Volume
- 986
- Pages
- 179748
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4410850619
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5
- FWCI
- 1.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (2023NSFSC0290, 2023NSFSC0287)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, surface water contamination, Minjiang River, seasonal variation, long-chain PFAS, short-chain PFAS, legacy PFAS, emerging PFAS, PBT substances, bioconcentration factor, risk-based prioritization, perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOS, PFNA
- MeSH terms
- China, Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, Seasons, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Risk Assessment, Rivers
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