Occurrence and abundance of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) on microplastics (MPs) in Pearl River Estuary (PRE) region: Spatial and temporal variations

Yao Cheng; Lei Mai; Xingwen Lu; Zhe Li; Ying Guo; Da Chen; Fei Wang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117025

Occurrence and abundance of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) on microplastics (MPs) in Pearl River Estuary (PRE) region: Spatial and temporal variations

Environ Pollut. 2021 Jul 15:281:117025. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117025. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

Authors

Yao Cheng¹, Lei Mai¹, Xingwen Lu², Zhe Li³, Ying Guo¹, Da Chen¹, Fei Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering and Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
³ School of Engineering and Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK.
⁴ School of Environment, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China. Electronic address: wf1984@jnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33813193
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117025

Abstract

Although the occurrence and distribution of various chemicals on microplastics (MPs) has been widely studied, little was known about the concentrations of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) on MPs. In this study, MPs from eight rivers draining into Pearl River Estuary (PRE) region were collected and analyzed. Higher concentrations of PFASs on MPs (105-9.07 × 10³ ng g^-1) were found in the drain outlets receiving wastewater from most urbanized cities with large population densities. On the other hand, lower concentrations of PFASs on MPs (10.3-227.8 ng g^-1) were found in the drain outlets receiving wastewater mostly from agricultural and forested areas. Specially, 8:2 disubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (8:2 diPAP) was detected with the highest frequency, in 92.5% of the samples. Furthermore, a positive Spearman correlation was found between 6:2 disubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (6:2 diPAP) and perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA) (r_s = 0.621, p = 0.012), indicating they might share similar sources. PFASs on MPs were found to vary significantly with different seasons. Higher concentrations of PFASs on MPs were found in dry seasons, while lower concentrations were observed in wet seasons. The results of this study should be important for the understanding of PFAS occurrence and distribution on MPs and the partitioning mechanism of PFASs on MPs in estuary systems.

Keywords: Estuary region; Microplastics; PFAS; Spatial variations; Temporal variations.

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Estuaries
Fluorocarbons* / analysis
Microplastics
Plastics
Rivers
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Fluorocarbons
Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical