Cited by 9Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactLandfill Environmental Impact Studies

Elaborating the Occurrence and Distribution of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Rivers and Sediment around a Typical Aging Landfill in China

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Quan, Bingxu, Tang, Jiawei, Niu, Xiameng, Su, Peidong, Zhang, Zhimin, Yang, Yitao·2023·Toxics

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are bioaccumulative and widely distributed persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Understanding the distribution of and ecological risks posed by PFASs is critical, particularly for PFAS emissions and accumulation from a common urban pollution source. The transformation characteristics and ecological risks of PFASs from a typical aging municipal landfill leachate were systematically monitored and assessed over five years in this study. The results showed that the total PFAS concentrations (ΣPFASs) in the rivers were between 26.4 and 464.3 ng/L, whereas in sediment, ΣPFASs ranged from 9.5 to 58.5 ng/g (w/w). The presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the most prominent PFAS in both water (39.4–152.3 ng/L) and sediment (1.1–56.1 ng/g). In a five-year monitoring study, the concentration of PFASs in the aging landfill decreased by 23.3%, with higher mean concentrations observed during summer (307.6 ng/L) compared to winter (250.4 ng/L). As for the pollution distribution, the suspended particulate matter–water partition coefficient (log Kd) of carboxylic acid (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs) ranged from 1.53 to 2.65, and from 1.77 to 2.82, respectively. PFSAs and long-chain PFCAs exhibited a greater propensity for sediment association compared to short-chain PFCAs. An ecological risk assessment of four typical PFASs, PFOA, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), utilizing the hazard quotient method revealed that the rivers surrounding the typical aging landfill exhibited a low contamination risk for PFOA, while no ecological risks were associated with the other three FPASs. This study contributes to an enhanced comprehension of the occurrence, distribution, and risk of PFASs in the rivers in rivers and sediment surrounding a typical aging landfill site in China, thereby providing crucial reference information for ensuring water quality safety.

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  • Most past research on PFAS has focused on sites with substantial contamination, including wastewater treatment facilities, landfills, and military and airport sites.

    “Most past research has focused on sites with substantial PFAS contamination, including wastewater treatment facilities [21,22], landfills [21], and military and airport sites [22].”

    From Land use and seasonal controls on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) distribution and partitioning from diffuse sources in subtropical urban waterways (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Introduction (page not specified) says the majority of studies have focused on natural rivers and lakes, with limited research on water bodies near typical polluted sites. Although the paper studies a landfill and discusses wastewater treatment plants, it states the opposite of the claimed pattern of past research. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Quan, B., Tang, J., Niu, X., Su, P., Zhang, Z., & Yang, Y.
Affiliations
  • China University of Mining and Technology (CN)
  • National Institute of Clean and Low-Carbon Energy (CN)
  • Tianjin University of Technology (CN)
Corresponding author
Tang, Jiawei
Venue
Toxics
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-10-11
Volume
11
Issue
10
Pages
852
ISSN
2305-6304 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4387572956
Cited by
9
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1
FWCI
0.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Toxics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Major Projects of Erdos Science and Technology (2021EEDSCXQDFZ006, 2022EEDSKJZDZX015-2, 220500524175618, 2023ZKPYHH04)
  • University-Industry Collaborative Education Program (2021EEDSCXQDFZ006, 2022EEDSKJZDZX015-2, 220500524175618, 2023ZKPYHH04)
  • Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021EEDSCXQDFZ006, 2022EEDSKJZDZX015-2, 220500524175618, 2023ZKPYHH04)
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 › Waste Management and Disposal › Landfill Environmental Impact Studies
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, landfill leachate, river pollution, river sediments, perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOS, PFBS, perfluorobutanoic acid, sediment-water partition coefficient, environmental risk assessment, hazard quotient, seasonal variation, persistent organic pollutants

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