Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater
Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in aquatic environments, making their identification and priority rank crucial for risk control. Wastewater samples were collected from 148 municipal WWTPs in China to determine the o...
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001357 |
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| author | Hongxin Mu Ling Chen Rong Zhou Luyao Gu Yue Yu Jin Tang Houhu Zhang Hongqiang Ren Bing Wu Yuanqing Bu |
| author_facet | Hongxin Mu Ling Chen Rong Zhou Luyao Gu Yue Yu Jin Tang Houhu Zhang Hongqiang Ren Bing Wu Yuanqing Bu |
| author_sort | Hongxin Mu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in aquatic environments, making their identification and priority rank crucial for risk control. Wastewater samples were collected from 148 municipal WWTPs in China to determine the occurrence and risk prioritization of PFASs. A total of 61 PFASs were identified, including 14 legacy and 47 emerging PFASs, using machine learning prediction-enhanced suspect and nontarget screening techniques. PFASs were detected in all wastewater samples, with perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA), perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA), fluoromeric sulfonic acid (FTSA), and perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide-like (PFSM) substances being the predominant classes. The exposure loads of legacy and emerging PFASs to the Chinese population were 71.8 and 52.9 μg·day−1·people−1, respectively, and textile and clothing products might be the primary PFAS exposure pathways. Through a risk prioritization method integrating toxicity and exposure data, ten legacy and five emerging PFASs were flagged as high-priority substances requiring additional attention. As the PFAS risk removal efficiency by conventional biological treatment processes was only 0.7 %, the PFAS risk priority patterns in influent and effluent were similar (r = 0.86, p < 0.01). In addition, there were significant regional differences in the PFAS risk distribution, and the PFAS risk in eastern China was higher than that in other regions. This study offers novel insights for the identification and priority control assessment of PFASs and other emerging environmental contaminants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c8f4c1fc87994cabaac8d62bd8faafc8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj-art-c8f4c1fc87994cabaac8d62bd8faafc82025-08-20T02:24:57ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-04-0119810938410.1016/j.envint.2025.109384Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewaterHongxin Mu0Ling Chen1Rong Zhou2Luyao Gu3Yue Yu4Jin Tang5Houhu Zhang6Hongqiang Ren7Bing Wu8Yuanqing Bu9Research Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR ChinaResearch Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR ChinaResearch Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR ChinaResearch Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR ChinaResearch Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR ChinaResearch Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China; Corresponding authors at: Research Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR China (Y. Bu). State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China (B. Wu).Research Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, PR China; Corresponding authors at: Research Center of Solid Waste Pollution and Prevention, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, PR China (Y. Bu). State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China (B. Wu).Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in aquatic environments, making their identification and priority rank crucial for risk control. Wastewater samples were collected from 148 municipal WWTPs in China to determine the occurrence and risk prioritization of PFASs. A total of 61 PFASs were identified, including 14 legacy and 47 emerging PFASs, using machine learning prediction-enhanced suspect and nontarget screening techniques. PFASs were detected in all wastewater samples, with perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA), perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA), fluoromeric sulfonic acid (FTSA), and perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide-like (PFSM) substances being the predominant classes. The exposure loads of legacy and emerging PFASs to the Chinese population were 71.8 and 52.9 μg·day−1·people−1, respectively, and textile and clothing products might be the primary PFAS exposure pathways. Through a risk prioritization method integrating toxicity and exposure data, ten legacy and five emerging PFASs were flagged as high-priority substances requiring additional attention. As the PFAS risk removal efficiency by conventional biological treatment processes was only 0.7 %, the PFAS risk priority patterns in influent and effluent were similar (r = 0.86, p < 0.01). In addition, there were significant regional differences in the PFAS risk distribution, and the PFAS risk in eastern China was higher than that in other regions. This study offers novel insights for the identification and priority control assessment of PFASs and other emerging environmental contaminants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001357Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substancesWastewaterNontarget screeningExposure estimationRisk prioritization |
| spellingShingle | Hongxin Mu Ling Chen Rong Zhou Luyao Gu Yue Yu Jin Tang Houhu Zhang Hongqiang Ren Bing Wu Yuanqing Bu Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater Environment International Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances Wastewater Nontarget screening Exposure estimation Risk prioritization |
| title | Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater |
| title_full | Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater |
| title_fullStr | Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater |
| title_short | Combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in Chinese municipal wastewater |
| title_sort | combination of suspect and nontarget screening with exposure assessment for per and polyfluoroalkyl substance prioritization in chinese municipal wastewater |
| topic | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances Wastewater Nontarget screening Exposure estimation Risk prioritization |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001357 |
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