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Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) distribution and effect factors in the water and sediment of the Yellow River Estuary, China

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Abstract

The distribution of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was investigated in a total of 15 water and sediment samples from the Yellow River Estuary, China in April 2011. The results indicated that the concentrations of PFOS in the water and sediment samples averaged 157.5 ng/L and 198.8 ng/g and ranged from 82.30 to 261.8 ng/L and 75.48 to 457.0 ng/g, respectively. The concentrations of PFOS in the sediment column increased from 45.32 to 379.98 ng/g with the decrease of the sampling depth, which showed that the increased PFOS pollution in the sediment appeared in this region in over recent years. The distribution coefficient (K d) of PFOS between water and sediment linearly increased from 0.37 to 4.80 L/g as the salinity (S‰) increased from 0.18 to 4.47. Correlation analysis revealed that K d was significantly and positively correlated to the contents of total organic carbon and clay of the sediment, and salinity. Therefore, salinity was an important parameter in controlling the sediment–water interactions and the fate or transport of PFOS in the aquatic environment. The results of this study showed that the estuary was an important sink for PFOS and suggested that PFOS might be carried with the river water and transported for long distances before it reached to the sea and largely scavenged to the sediment in the estuaries due to the change in salinity.

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Acknowledgments

The study is supported by the Encouraging Foundation for Outstanding Youth Scientists of Shandong Province, China (BS2012HZ006) and the Program of International S&T Cooperation of Chinese MOST (2010DFA92090).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Tourism, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao, 276826, China

    Shiliang Wang

  2. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Hui Wang

  3. Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, New Territories, HKSAR

    Wenjing Deng

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  1. Shiliang Wang
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  2. Hui Wang
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Correspondence to Shiliang Wang.

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Wang, S., Wang, H. & Deng, W. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) distribution and effect factors in the water and sediment of the Yellow River Estuary, China. Environ Monit Assess 185, 8517–8524 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3192-5

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