Target Analysis and Suspect Screening of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Tap Water Samples throughout Chinese Cities †
School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
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Presented at the 1st International Electronic Conference on Toxics, 20–22 March 2024; Available online: https://sciforum.net/event/IECTO2024.
Proceedings 2024, 102(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102020
Published: 3 April 2024
1. Introduction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of anthropogenic chemicals ubiquitously found in various water bodies around the world. The consumption of drinking water is an important pathway of human exposure to PFASs. The aim of this study was to investigate the contamination of legacy and novel PFASs in tap water samples throughout China.
2. Materials and Methods: Tap water samples were collected from 18 cities of China in 2022. Solid phase extraction was applied for the sample pretreatment. A target analysis of water extracts was carried out using a UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS, and a nontarget analysis of water extracts was implemented through a HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS.
3. Results: Overall, the recoveries of all the target PFAS analytes ranged between 80% and 110%. LODs were between 0.01 and 0.05 ng/mL, while LOQs were between 0.05 and 0.20 ng/mL. ∑PFASs in tap water were in the range of 90.2 to 473.1 ng/L (median: 193.3 ng/L). Moreover, ∑10legacy PFASs ranged between 30.1 and 131.5 ng/L (median: 64.0 ng/L). Previous studies related to Chinese tap water showed that ∑10legacy PFASs ranged from 1.4 to 175 ng/L (median: 13.5 ng/L) in 2017 and ∑17PFAA ranged from 4.49 to 174.93 ng/L (median: 22.12 ng/L) in 2019. Furthermore, 51 emerging PFASs, representing 11 distinct classes, were identified. Particularly, H-PFCAs, Cl-PFCAs, UPFCAs, FTAs, Et-PFSAs, Ke-PFSAs, and UPFAs were discovered in Chinese tap water for the first time. None of PFAS levels in the tap water samples of China exceeded the regulatory limits for PFOS (40 ng/L) and PFOA (80 ng/L) issued nationally.
4. Conclusions: In China, the PFAS levels of tap water were higher than those overseas. ∑PFASs in tap water ranged between 90.2 and 473.1 ng/L, with a median of 193.3 ng/L. Legacy PFASs in tap water were no longer dominated by long-chain PFASs, whereas short-chain and novel PFASs alternatives were extensively determined.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, J.B.; methodology, J.B.; software, T.Y.; validation, J.B.; formal analysis, T.Y.; investigation, T.Y.; resources, J.B.; data curation, T.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, T.Y.; writing—review and editing, J.B.; visualization, T.Y.; supervision, J.B.; project administration, J.B.; funding acquisition, J.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21976124 and No. 21507092) and Applied Basic Research Plan of Liaoning Province (No. 2023JH2/101300059).
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
Data are contained within the article.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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MDPI and ACS Style
You, T.; Bao, J. Target Analysis and Suspect Screening of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Tap Water Samples throughout Chinese Cities. Proceedings 2024, 102, 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102020
AMA Style
You T, Bao J. Target Analysis and Suspect Screening of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Tap Water Samples throughout Chinese Cities. Proceedings. 2024; 102(1):20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102020
Chicago/Turabian StyleYou, Tieqing, and Jia Bao. 2024. "Target Analysis and Suspect Screening of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Tap Water Samples throughout Chinese Cities" Proceedings 102, no. 1: 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102020
