Cited by 185Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchPharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsToxic Organic Pollutants Impact

Occurrence and Mass Flows of Fluorochemicals in the Glatt Valley Watershed, Switzerland

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Huset, Carin A., Chiaia, Aurea C., Barofsky, Douglas F., Jonkers, Niels, Kohler, Hans-Peter E., Ort, Christoph, Giger, Walter, Field, Jennifer A.·2008·Environmental Science & Technology

Abstract

Fluorochemicals are persistent contaminants that are globally distributed in air, water, sediments, and biota. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in mitigating pollutant releases from municipalities to aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, because WWTPs are point sources of fluorochemicals, it is important to understand their contribution to fluorochemical burdens in the greater context of watersheds. To this end, over a 1 week period, the mass flows of 11 fluorochemicals from seven WWTPs that discharge effluent into the Glatt River in Switzerland were measured and compared to the measured mass flows within the Glatt River. Overall, the fluorochemicals were not removed efficiently during wastewater treatment. Effluents from WWTPs and Glatt River water were dominated by perfluorooctane sulfonate, which was detected in all samples, followed by perfluorohexane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate. The mass flows of fluorochemicals emanating from WWTPs were found to be conserved within the 35 km Glatt River, which indicates that input from the WWTPs is additive and that removal within the Glatt River is not significant. Per capita discharges of fluorochemicals were calculated from the populations served by the WWTPs studied; the values determined also account for the fluorochemical content of Lake Greifen (Greifensee), which is a lake at the headwaters of the Glatt River that also receives treated wastewater.

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  • The total discharge of PFASs varies significantly, ranging from 10 g per day to 10,000 g per day, depending on water usage and the capacity of sewage treatment plants.

    “The total discharge of PFASs varies significantly, ranging from 10 g per day [124] to 10,000 g per day mol [125], depending on water usage and the capacity of sewage treatment plants.”

    From Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS (2025) · cites this paper as [124]

    The Results and Discussion sections on mass flow and per-capita discharge (page unavailable) report fluorochemical discharges from seven wastewater treatment plants and calculate them using concentrations, plant flows, and populations served. The reported PFOS discharge of 57 μg per person per day is consistent with a discharge on the order of 10 g/day across the watershed, but our copy does not state a total PFAS discharge of exactly 10 g/day or attribute its variation to water usage and plant capacity. The citing sentence attaches this source to the lower endpoint; its 10,000 g/day endpoint has a separate citation. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [4]Huset CA Barlaz MA Barofsky DF Field JA Quantitative determination of fluorochemicals in landfill leachate Environ Sci Technol manuscript in preparation PMC4153346 21194725
  2. [8]Skutlarek D Exner M Farber H Perfluorinated surfactants in surface and drinking water Environ Sci Pollut Res 2006 13 5 299 307 17067024
  3. [37]Wang N Szostek B Buck RC Folsom PW Sulecki LM Capka V Berti WR Gannon JT Fluorotelomer alcohol biodegradation—Direct evidence that perfluorinated carbon chains break down Environ Sci Technol 2005 39 19 7516 7528 16245823
  4. [38]Rhoads KR Janssen EM-L Luthy RG Criddle CS Aerobic biotransformation and fate of N-ethyl pefluorooctane sulfanomidoethanol (N-EtFOSE) in activated sludge Environ Sci Technol 2008 42 8 2873 2878 18497137

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Authors
Huset, C. A., Chiaia, A. C., Barofsky, D. F., Jonkers, N., Kohler, H.-P. E., Ort, C., Giger, W., & Field, J. A.
Affiliations
  • Oregon State University (US)
  • Department of Chemistry and Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, and Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
Corresponding author
Field, Jennifer A.
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2008-05-20
Volume
42
Issue
17
Pages
6369-6377
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
OpenAlex
W1970172570
Cited by
185
References
35
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 19
FWCI
11.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • DORA Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Oregon State University (P30 ES00210)
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (NRP50)
  • National Institutes of Health (#ES00210)
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30ES000210, #P30-ES00210)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
Keywords
fluorochemicals, PFOS, PFHxS, perfluorooctanoic acid, wastewater treatment plants, mass flow analysis, Glatt river, persistent organic pollutants, perfluorinated compounds, wastewater effluent, Lake Greifensee
MeSH terms
Chromatography, Liquid, Environmental Pollutants, Fluorocarbons, Quality Control, Reference Standards, Switzerland, Tandem Mass Spectrometry

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