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Purpose Numerous sites contaminated with fiber emissions from pulp and paper industries are found in coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, but there is limited knowledge about the magnitude of dispersal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)... more
Purpose Numerous sites contaminated with fiber emissions from pulp and paper industries are found in coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, but there is limited knowledge about the magnitude of dispersal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from these anthropogenic, organic-rich sediments called fiberbanks. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare different POP dispersal pathways from such fiberbanks. Dispersal mechanisms studied included abiotic and biotic routes (dissolved in water, particle-bound, and bioaccumulation). Materials and methods Contaminated fibrous sediments located in Ångermanälven River estuary in north-eastern Sweden were studied in sediment types representing different fiber content (i.e., fiberbanks, fiber-rich sediments, and less fiber impacted sediments). Sediment-to-water fluxes of dissolved contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)) were measured in situ using benthic flux chamber...
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, and bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 26 PFASs were screened in 502 water samples originating from... more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, and bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 26 PFASs were screened in 502 water samples originating from Swedish groundwater, surface water, sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents and landfill leachates. The objectives were to establish baseline concentrations of PFASs in the aquatic environment, to screen for potential sources, and to compare PFAS concentrations with guideline values for estimation of potential effects on the ecosystem and human health. In drinking water source areas, the average ∑26PFAS concentration was 8.4 ng L-1 with a median value of 0.6 ng L-1 (n = 172). The drinking water guideline value of 90 ng L-1 for ∑7PFASs (PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) established by the Swedish National Food Agency was exceeded in 4 samples (2% of the total number of samples in this category). In water not used for drinking water, ∑26PFASs con...
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Flame retardants (FRs) are used in everyday products such as furniture and electronics to provide fire protection. The intensive use of FRs has led to their wide spread in the environment. Many chemicals have been found to have... more
Flame retardants (FRs) are used in everyday products such as furniture and electronics to provide fire protection. The intensive use of FRs has led to their wide spread in the environment. Many chemicals have been found to have bioaccumulative, persistent and toxic properties which have led to a ban of some of these FR compounds based on international agreements. For example, Penta- and octa-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) have been included in the Stockholm Convention. However, most FRs are not restricted, and in many cases it is not known to which extent they are used or to which degree they are polluting the environment. The aim of this study was to provide a snapshot of the current FR pollution in Swedish rivers and streams. In total, 25 rivers and streams were sampled along the east coast of Sweden from north to south. The sampling was done in October 2013 and results from this pre-study were presented previously (Ahrens et al. 2014). Since then, the analytical method for...
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to the workshop “Understanding and modelling the regional and global scale distribution and fate of POPs”
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, and bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 26 PFASs were screened in 502 water samples originating from... more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, and bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 26 PFASs were screened in 502 water samples originating from Swedish groundwater, surface water, sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents and landfill leachates. The objectives were to establish baseline concentrations of PFASs in the aquatic environment, to screen for potential sources, and to compare PFAS concentrations with guideline values for estimation of potential effects on the ecosystem and human health. In drinking water source areas, the average ∑26PFAS concentration was 8.4 ng L-1 with a median value of 0.6 ng L-1 (n = 172). The drinking water guideline value of 90 ng L-1 for ∑7PFASs (PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) established by the Swedish National Food Agency was exceeded in 4 samples (2% of the total number of samples in this category). In water not used for drinking water, ∑26PFASs con...
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Flame retardants (FRs) are used in everyday products such as furniture and electronics to provide fire protection. The intensive use of FRs has led to their wide spread in the environment. Many chemicals have been found to have... more
Flame retardants (FRs) are used in everyday products such as furniture and electronics to provide fire protection. The intensive use of FRs has led to their wide spread in the environment. Many chemicals have been found to have bioaccumulative, persistent and toxic properties which have led to a ban of some of these FR compounds based on international agreements. For example, Penta- and octa-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) have been included in the Stockholm Convention. However, most FRs are not restricted, and in many cases it is not known to which extent they are used or to which degree they are polluting the environment. The aim of this study was to provide a snapshot of the current FR pollution in Swedish rivers and streams. In total, 25 rivers and streams were sampled along the east coast of Sweden from north to south. The sampling was done in October 2013 and results from this pre-study were presented previously (Ahrens et al. 2014). Since then, the analytical method for...
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to the workshop “Understanding and modelling the regional and global scale distribution and fate of POPs”
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Intag av dricksvatten utgor en viktig exponeringsvag for organiska miljofororeningar i svenska vattentakter for manniskor, som i vissa fall kan vara betydande for totalintaget. Narvaro av organiska miljofororeningar i vattentakter utgor... more
Intag av dricksvatten utgor en viktig exponeringsvag for organiska miljofororeningar i svenska vattentakter for manniskor, som i vissa fall kan vara betydande for totalintaget. Narvaro av organiska miljofororeningar i vattentakter utgor darmed ett hot mot svenska folkets halsa. Syftet med den har studien var att sammanstalla antropogena fororeningar som detekterats i svenska vatten-takter. De viktigaste kallorna for informationsinhamtning var Vattentaktsarkivet och en databas inom den svenska miljoovervakningen. De vattentakter som inkluderades i studien var grundvattentakter, vattentakter till infiltration samt ytvattentakter, saval enskilda som kommunala takter. Ansatsen var att inkludera en majoritet av alla miljofororeningar som rapporterats. Manga av de substanserna tillhorde nagon av amnesgrupperna bekampningsmedel, lakemedel och industrikemikalier. Substanserna sorterades efter detektionsfrekvens och geografisk spridning. Det var ett flertal substanser som bade hade hog detek...
Intag av dricksvatten utgor en viktig exponeringsvag for organiska miljofororeningar i svenska vattentakter for manniskor, som i vissa fall kan vara betydande for totalintaget. Narvaro av organiska miljofororeningar i vattentakter utgor... more
Intag av dricksvatten utgor en viktig exponeringsvag for organiska miljofororeningar i svenska vattentakter for manniskor, som i vissa fall kan vara betydande for totalintaget. Narvaro av organiska miljofororeningar i vattentakter utgor darmed ett hot mot svenska folkets halsa. Syftet med den har studien var att sammanstalla antropogena fororeningar som detekterats i svenska vatten-takter. De viktigaste kallorna for informationsinhamtning var Vattentaktsarkivet och en databas inom den svenska miljoovervakningen. De vattentakter som inkluderades i studien var grundvattentakter, vattentakter till infiltration samt ytvattentakter, saval enskilda som kommunala takter. Ansatsen var att inkludera en majoritet av alla miljofororeningar som rapporterats. Manga av de substanserna tillhorde nagon av amnesgrupperna bekampningsmedel, lakemedel och industrikemikalier. Substanserna sorterades efter detektionsfrekvens och geografisk spridning. Det var ett flertal substanser som bade hade hog detek...
This study investigated, for the first time, the occurrence and fate of 29 multiple-class pharmaceuticals (PhACs) in two source separated sanitation systems based on: (i) batch experiments for the anaerobic digestion (AD) of fecal sludge... more
This study investigated, for the first time, the occurrence and fate of 29 multiple-class pharmaceuticals (PhACs) in two source separated sanitation systems based on: (i) batch experiments for the anaerobic digestion (AD) of fecal sludge under mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (52 °C) conditions, and (ii) a full-scale blackwater treatment plant using wet composting and sanitation with urea addition. Results revealed high concentrations of PhACs in raw fecal sludge and blackwater samples, with concentrations up to hundreds of μg L-1 and μg kg-1 dry weight (dw) in liquid and solid fractions, respectively. For mesophilic and thermophilic treatments in the batch experiments, average PhACs removal rates of 31% and 45%, respectively, were observed. The average removal efficiency was slightly better for the full-scale blackwater treatment, with 49% average removal, and few compounds, such as atenolol, valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide, showed almost complete degradation. In the AD treatments, no significant differences were observed between mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. For the full-scale blackwater treatment, the aerobic wet composting step proved to be the most efficient in PhACs reduction, while urea addition had an almost negligible effect for most PhACs, except for citalopram, venlafaxine, oxazepam, valsartan and atorvastatin, for which minor reductions (on average 25%) were observed. Even though both treatment systems reduced initial PhACs loads considerably, significant PhAC concentrations remained in the treated effluents, indicating that fecal sludge and blackwater fertilizations could be a relevant vector for dissemination of PhACs into agricultural fields and thus the environment.
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... Attempts to create a PCDD/F budget for the Baltic Sea ([Assmuth and Jalonen, 2005] and [Armitage et al., 2009]) have shown that on a large scale the atmospheric deposition is the most important external source of PCDD/Fs to the Baltic... more
... Attempts to create a PCDD/F budget for the Baltic Sea ([Assmuth and Jalonen, 2005] and [Armitage et al., 2009]) have shown that on a large scale the atmospheric deposition is the most important external source of PCDD/Fs to the Baltic Sea. ...
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The “common sense” intervention by toxicology journal editors regarding proposed European Union endocrine disrupter regulations ignores scientific evidence and well-established principles of chemical risk assessment. In this commentary,... more
The “common sense” intervention by toxicology journal editors regarding proposed European Union endocrine disrupter regulations ignores scientific evidence and well-established principles of chemical risk assessment. In this commentary, endocrine disrupter experts express their concerns about a recently published, and is in our considered opinion inaccurate and factually incorrect, editorial that has appeared in several journals in toxicology. Some of the shortcomings of the editorial are discussed in detail. We call for a better founded scientific debate which may help to overcome a polarisation of views detrimental to reaching a consensus about scientific foundations for endocrine disrupter regulation in the EU.
Combined Extraction/Clean-Up Strategies for Fast Determination of PCDD/Fs and WHO-PCBs in Food and Feed Samples Using Accelerated Solvent Extraction
Background The vast occurrence of organic micropollutants in surface waters has raised concerns about drinking water safety and public health. The Tai Hu Basin region in China, a typical developing and populous area, is facing the... more
Background The vast occurrence of organic micropollutants in surface waters has raised concerns about drinking water safety and public health. The Tai Hu Basin region in China, a typical developing and populous area, is facing the challenge of water pollution. To ensure drinking water safety, the knowledge on how treatment techniques and raw water quality affect the quality of finished water must be improved. The aim of the current study was to evaluate drinking water quality in relation to source water origin and treatment strategies. Five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), using three different source waters in the Tai Hu River Basin, (i) Yangtze River, (ii) Wetland River Network, and (iii) Lake Tai Hu, were studied by analyzing 291 micropollutants in raw and finished water.Results Major differences in water characteristics were observed among the source waters. The dominating group of micropollutants in the River Network was pesticides, while Yangtze was mainly polluted by ...
Traditional swine manure treatments are not fully effective in the removal of veterinary drugs. Moreover, they are costly and entail a significant carbon footprint in many cases. Innovative biological approaches based on phototrophic... more
Traditional swine manure treatments are not fully effective in the removal of veterinary drugs. Moreover, they are costly and entail a significant carbon footprint in many cases. Innovative biological approaches based on phototrophic microorganisms have recently emerged as promising alternatives to overcome those limitations. This work evaluated the removal of 19 veterinary drugs (i.e., 16 antibiotics, 1 analgesic, 1 anti-parasitic and 1 hormone) from piggery wastewater (PWW) in two open photobioreactors (PBR) operated with a consortium of microalgae-bacteria (AB-PBR) and purple photosynthetic bacteria (PPB-PBR). Multiple hydraulic retention times (HRT), in particular 11, 8 and 4 days, were tested during stage I, II and III, respectively. Ten out of 19 target compounds were detected with inlet drug concentrations ranging from 'non-detected' (n.d.) to almost 23,000 ng L-1 for the antibiotic oxytetracycline. Moreover, three of the antibiotics (i.e., enrofloxacin, sulfadiazine and oxytetracycline) were found at concentrations above the analytical linearity range in some or all of the samples under study. AB-PBR supported higher removal efficiencies (REs) than PPB-PBR, except for danofloxacin. Overall, REs progressively decreased when decreasing the HRT. The highest REs (>90%) were observed for doxycycline (95 ± 3%) and oxytetracycline (93 ± 3%) in AB-PBR during stage I. The other drugs, except sulfadimidine that was the most recalcitrant, showed REs above 70% during stage I in the same photobioreactor. In contrast, no removal was observed for danofloxacin in AB-PBR during stage III, sulfadimidine in PPB-PBR during stage III or marbofloxacin in PPB-PBR during the entire experiment.
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Ion mobility separation (IMS) coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (IMS-HRMS) is a promising technique for (non-)target/suspect analysis of micropollutants in complex matrices. IMS separates ionized compounds based on their... more
Ion mobility separation (IMS) coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (IMS-HRMS) is a promising technique for (non-)target/suspect analysis of micropollutants in complex matrices. IMS separates ionized compounds based on their charge, shape and size facilitating the removal of co-eluting isomeric/isobaric species. Additionally, IMS data can be translated into collision cross-section (CCS) values, which can be used to increase the identification reliability. However, IMS-HRMS for the screening of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) have been scarcely explored. In this study, the role of IMS-HRMS for the identification of CECs in complex matrices is highlighted, with emphasis on when and with which purpose is of use. The utilization of IMS can result in much cleaner mass spectra, which considerably facilitates data interpretation and the obtaining of reliable identifications. Furthermore, the robustness of IMS measurements across matrices permits the use of CCS as an additional relevant parameter during the identification step even when reference standards are not available. Moreover, an effect on the number of true and false identifications could be demonstrated by including IMS restrictions within the identification workflow. Data shown in this work is of special interest for environmental researchers dealing with the detection of CECs with state-of-the-art IMS-HRMS instruments.
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Unregulated discharges of wastewater from pulp and paper factories resulted in the formation of relatively thick organic (cellulose) rich sediments in shallow waters along the Swedish coast. These deposits are known as fiberbanks and are... more
Unregulated discharges of wastewater from pulp and paper factories resulted in the formation of relatively thick organic (cellulose) rich sediments in shallow waters along the Swedish coast. These deposits are known as fiberbanks and are contaminated by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals and methylmercury, which can be dispersed by diffusion and advective processes coupled to propeller wash, high river discharges, strong wind waves and submarine landslides. Based on a case study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), one group of prevalent POPs in the fiberbanks, we present a probabilistic approach to estimate the potential risk of dispersion of fiberbank contaminants. The approach allows for estimation of the dispersal pathways that dominates the risk within a given time and provides more insight about the significance of various dispersion processes. We show that it is highly likely that chemical diffusion and advection triggered by ship-induced resuspension will disperse ...
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A combination of PCDD/F patterns and metal source markers in ambient air samples together with stable air mass back trajectories can reveal the most significant atmospheric sources of PCDD/Fs.
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On-site sewage treatment facilities, particularly septic systems combined with soil infiltration, can be an important source of emerging organic contaminants in groundwater and surface water and thus represent a significant source of... more
On-site sewage treatment facilities, particularly septic systems combined with soil infiltration, can be an important source of emerging organic contaminants in groundwater and surface water and thus represent a significant source of environmental and human exposure. Two infiltration systems in Åre municipality, Sweden, were examined to assess the occurrence of contaminants in groundwater and their fate and transport during infiltration. Groundwater samples, recipient surface water samples, and wastewater samples from septic tanks were collected from 2016 to 2017 covering all climatological seasons. These samples were analysed for a total of 103 contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, organic phosphorus flame-retardants, plasticisers, perfluoroalkyl substances, and food additives. Fourteen of 103 contaminants showed 100% detection frequency in groundwater at concentrations in the low ng L to low μg L range. Of the compounds analysed, tris(2‑butoxyethyl) phos...
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Alternative flame retardants (FRs) have now replaced legacy FRs (such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs), but little is known about their fate in the aquatic environment. In this study, a range of legacy FRs (n=10) and alternative... more
Alternative flame retardants (FRs) have now replaced legacy FRs (such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs), but little is known about their fate in the aquatic environment. In this study, a range of legacy FRs (n=10) and alternative FRs, including halogenated FRs (HFRs, n=32) and organophosphorus FRs (OPFRs, n=19), were screened in water samples collected from 23 rivers covering the whole latitudinal range of Sweden. Of the 61 targeted FRs, 26 were detected in at least one of the river samples, with ΣFR concentrations ranging up to 170ngL (mean 31±45ngL). In general, higher concentrations and a larger variety of FRs were detected in southern Sweden (ΣFR=60±56ngL) compared with the north (ΣFR=9.0±16ngL). In the south, HFRs were dominant, constituting on average 59% of ∑FRs, whereas in the north, OPFRs were dominant, constituting on average 82% of ∑FRs. This difference was best explained by higher population density in the south. The total daily flux of FRs into the Baltic Sea wa...
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This study is the first attempt to quantify environmental fluxes per capita of organic contaminants discharged from on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) in affected recipients. Five sites were monitored around the River Fyris in... more
This study is the first attempt to quantify environmental fluxes per capita of organic contaminants discharged from on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) in affected recipients. Five sites were monitored around the River Fyris in Sweden: three mainly affected by OSSFs and two mainly affected by municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine environmental concentrations of 30 anthropogenic contaminants, including organophosphorus compounds, rubber and plastic additives, UV stabilizers, fragrances, surfactant ingredients and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Uni- and multivariate statistical analysis of the most frequently detected contaminants showed that median fluxes per capita of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, and n-butylbenzene sulfonamide were similar at OSSF and STP sites, but the mass fluxes per capita of tris-(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, 2-(methy...
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Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), including 19 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 15 PAH-derivatives (oxygenated and nitrogen heterocyclic PAHs) were measured in streams in a remote headwater catchment in... more
Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), including 19 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 15 PAH-derivatives (oxygenated and nitrogen heterocyclic PAHs) were measured in streams in a remote headwater catchment in northern Europe and in more urbanized, downstream areas. Sampling was conducted during 2014 to 2016 and included the main hydrological seasons (snow-free, snow-covered and spring flood) at six sampling sites. Levels of the targeted PACs varied substantially over time and space and were up to 110-fold (on average 17-fold) and 7000-fold (on average 670-fold) higher for PAHs and PAH-derivatives, respectively, during spring flood compared with preceding snow-covered and snow-free seasons. Higher levels of ƩPACs were generally found in a headwater stream draining a mire than at an adjacent forested site, with up to 20 times and 150 times higher levels for ƩPAH and ƩPAH-derivatives, respectively. The particle-bound PAC levels were positively correlated to s...
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This study evaluated the performance of five different sorbents (granular activated carbon (GAC), GAC + Polonite(GAC + P), Xylit, lignite and sand) for a set of 83 micropollutants (MPs) (pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs),... more
This study evaluated the performance of five different sorbents (granular activated carbon (GAC), GAC + Polonite(GAC + P), Xylit, lignite and sand) for a set of 83 micropollutants (MPs) (pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), personal care products, artificial sweeteners, parabens, pesticide, stimulants), together representing a wide range of physicochemical properties. Treatment with GAC and GAC + P provided the highest removal efficiencies, with average values above 97%. Removal rates were generally lower for Xylit (on average 74%) and lignite (on average 68%), although they proved to be highly efficient for a few individual MPs. The average removal efficiency for sand was only 47%. It was observed that the MPs behaved differently depending on their physicochemical properties. The physicochemical properties of PFASs (i.e. molecular weight, topological molecular surface area, log octanol water partition coefficient (K) and distribution coefficient between octanol and w...
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The influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency was investigated for legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs; n=26) in surface water. Three different groups of FRs were analyzed:... more
The influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency was investigated for legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs; n=26) in surface water. Three different groups of FRs were analyzed: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), halogenated flame retardants (HFRs), and organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs). In addition, five sorbents (Amberlite XAD-2, Amberlite IRA-743, Oasis HLB, Chromabond HR-P, and Chromabond HR-X) were evaluated for the extraction of FRs (n=33) in water, of which Oasis HLB eluted with dichloromethane and acetone:n-hexane (1:1, v/v) provided the highest overall recoveries. In subsequent NOM experiments, where FRs were extracted from water containing different NOM concentrations, both increased and decreased extraction efficiency with increasing NOM level were observed. Physicochemical and semi-empirical quantum chemistry properties were calculated for the FRs and used for analyzing relations between FRs. Principal componen...
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Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are constantly adapting to a host of emerging threats including the removal of micro-pollutants like perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), while concurrently considering how background levels of... more
Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are constantly adapting to a host of emerging threats including the removal of micro-pollutants like perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), while concurrently considering how background levels of dissolved organic matter (DOM) influences their removal efficiency. Two adsorbents, namely anion exchange (AE) and granulated active carbon (GAC) have shown particular promise for PFAS removal, yet the influence of background levels of DOM remains poorly explored. Here we considered how the removal efficiency of 13 PFASs are influenced by two contrasting types of DOM at four concentrations, using both AE (Purolite A-600(®)) and GAC (Filtrasorb 400(®)). We placed emphasis on the pre-equilibrium conditions to gain better mechanistic insight into the dynamics between DOM, PFASs and adsorbents. We found AE to be very effective at removing both PFASs and DOM, while largely remaining resistant to even high levels of background DOM (8 mg carbon L(-1)) and surpri...
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A comprehensive screening of micropollutants was performed in wastewaters from on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) and urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Sweden. A suspect screening approach, using high resolution mass... more
A comprehensive screening of micropollutants was performed in wastewaters from on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) and urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Sweden. A suspect screening approach, using high resolution mass spectrometry, was developed and used in combination with target analysis. With this strategy, a total number of 79 micropollutants were successfully identified, which belong to the groups of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), pesticides, phosphorus-containing flame retardants (PFRs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Results from this screening indicate that concentrations of micropollutants are similar in influents and effluents of OSSFs and WWTPs, respectively. Removal efficiencies of micropollutants were assessed in the OSSFs and compared with those observed in WWTPs. In general, removal of PFASs and PFRs was higher in package treatment OSSFs, which are based on biological treatments, while removal of PPCPs was more ...
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The impact of point and diffuse sources for 26 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in northern Europe were investigated by studying Swedish rivers (n = 40) and recipient seawater (Baltic Sea and Kattegat; n = 18). Different... more
The impact of point and diffuse sources for 26 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in northern Europe were investigated by studying Swedish rivers (n = 40) and recipient seawater (Baltic Sea and Kattegat; n = 18). Different composition profiles were observed in the rivers, with ten rivers having a remarkably high fraction of perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs; 65% of the ƩPFASs) as compared to other rivers (19%) suggesting major impact of one or several source types dominated by PFSAs. Population density and low latitude (south) were strongly correlated to the widely used perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as well as to perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS). Significant relationships between several PFCAs and PFSAs (i.e. perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), PFOA, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), and PFHxS) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were detected (p < 0.05), indicating chemical binding and co-transpo...
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The restrictions on the use of legacy flame retardants (FRs) have increased the need of alternative FRs to comply with fire safety legislations. In this study, the feasibility of three different gas chromatography-mass spectrometry... more
The restrictions on the use of legacy flame retardants (FRs) have increased the need of alternative FRs to comply with fire safety legislations. In this study, the feasibility of three different gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques were investigated for the analysis of 102 legacy and alternative FRs including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, n=27), halogenated FRs (HFRs, containing bromine and/or chlorine, n=46), and organophosphorous FRs (OPFRs, n=29). The tested techniques included GC-single MS with (i) electon impact (EI) ionization and (ii) negative chemical ionization (NCI), and (iii) GC-tandem MS (MS/MS) with EI ionization. Out of the tested FRs, 90 could be detected under the used conditions on at least one of the three instrument setups. Later experiments included a selection of these FRs. For the majority of tested PBDEs (5 out of 6) and HFRs (24 out of 26), EI-MS/MS provided the highest detectability (i.e. the lowest detection limits), while for mo...
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Water concentrations of PCDD/Fs, HCB, and non-ortho, mono-ortho, and non-dioxin-like PCBs were measured four times during 1 year in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea, to investigate background levels and distribution behaviour. Sampling... more
Water concentrations of PCDD/Fs, HCB, and non-ortho, mono-ortho, and non-dioxin-like PCBs were measured four times during 1 year in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea, to investigate background levels and distribution behaviour. Sampling sites included two rivers, an estuary, and the sea. Particulate and apparently dissolved concentrations were determined using active sampling (filters+PUFs), while freely dissolved concentrations were determined using passive sampling (POM-samplers). The distribution between particulate+colloidal and freely dissolved phases, in the form of TOC-normalized distribution ratios (K(TOC)), was found to be near or at equilibrium. The observed K(TOC) were not significantly different between sampling sites or seasons. For PCDD/Fs, the concentrations were significantly correlated to suspended particulate matter (SPM), while no correlation to organic carbon (TOC) was observed. In the estuary and the sea, PCB concentrations were correlated to TOC. The sorption of various congeners to SPM and TOC appeared to be related to both hydrophobicity and 3D-structure. The PCDD/F concentration in the sea decreased to one third in May, likely connected to the increased vertical flux of particles during the spring bloom.