TY - JOUR
T1 - Transport of Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from an arctic glacier to downstream locations
T2 - Implications for sources
AU - Kwok, Karen Y.
AU - Yamazaki, Eriko
AU - Yamashita, Nobuyoshi
AU - Taniyasu, Sachi
AU - Murphy, Margaret B.
AU - Horii, Yuichi
AU - Petrick, Gert
AU - Kallerborn, Roland
AU - Kannan, Kurunthachalam
AU - Murano, Kentaro
AU - Lam, Paul K.S.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge the staff of University of Life Sciences (UMB), Norway for their local support of sample collection. Part of this study was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (project number B-1106). The work described in this paper was also supported by a grant from the Hong Kong Research Grants Councils (CityU160408) and a Hong Kong AoE Project (AoE/P-04/2004).
PY - 2013/3/1
Y1 - 2013/3/1
N2 - Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been globally detected in various environmental matrices, yet their fate and transport to the Arctic is still unclear, especially for the European Arctic. In this study, concentrations of 17 PFAS were quantified in two ice cores (n=26), surface snow (n=9) and surface water samples (n=14) collected along a spatial gradient in Svalbard, Norway. Concentrations of selected ions (Na+, SO42-, etc.) were also determined for tracing the origins and sources of PFAS. Perfluorobutanoate (PFBA), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) were the dominant compounds found in ice core samples. Taking PFOA, PFNA and perfluorooctane-sulfonate (PFOS) as examples, higher concentrations were detected in the middle layers of the ice cores representing the period of 1997-2000. Lower concentrations of C8-C12 perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) were detected in comparison with concentrations measured previously in an ice core from the Canadian Arctic, indicating that contamination levels in the European Arctic are lower. Average PFAS concentrations were found to be lower in surface snow and melted glacier water samples, while increased concentrations were observed in river water downstream near the coastal area. Perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) was detected in the downstream locations, but not in the glacier, suggesting existence of local sources of this compound. Long-range atmospheric transport of PFAS was the major deposition pathway for the glaciers, while local sources (e.g., skiing activities) were identified in the downstream locations.
AB - Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been globally detected in various environmental matrices, yet their fate and transport to the Arctic is still unclear, especially for the European Arctic. In this study, concentrations of 17 PFAS were quantified in two ice cores (n=26), surface snow (n=9) and surface water samples (n=14) collected along a spatial gradient in Svalbard, Norway. Concentrations of selected ions (Na+, SO42-, etc.) were also determined for tracing the origins and sources of PFAS. Perfluorobutanoate (PFBA), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) were the dominant compounds found in ice core samples. Taking PFOA, PFNA and perfluorooctane-sulfonate (PFOS) as examples, higher concentrations were detected in the middle layers of the ice cores representing the period of 1997-2000. Lower concentrations of C8-C12 perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) were detected in comparison with concentrations measured previously in an ice core from the Canadian Arctic, indicating that contamination levels in the European Arctic are lower. Average PFAS concentrations were found to be lower in surface snow and melted glacier water samples, while increased concentrations were observed in river water downstream near the coastal area. Perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) was detected in the downstream locations, but not in the glacier, suggesting existence of local sources of this compound. Long-range atmospheric transport of PFAS was the major deposition pathway for the glaciers, while local sources (e.g., skiing activities) were identified in the downstream locations.
KW - European Arctic
KW - Ice cores
KW - Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
KW - Source determination
KW - Svalbard
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84873252712&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.10.091
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.10.091
M3 - Article
C2 - 23376515
AN - SCOPUS:84873252712
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 447
SP - 46
EP - 55
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -