Abstract
Hazard assessment in connection with the establishment of Water Safety Plans (WSP) according to the WHO guidelines for drinking water includes as one important aspect the assessment of risks originating from chemical contaminations in drinking water sources. For ubiquitously occurring chemicals, like the perfluoroalkylsulfonates (PFASs) and -carboxylates (PFCAs), hazard assessment can be carried out by means of an exemplary study on a regional scale. The results can be transferred to other water treatments.
Due to their outstanding chemical stability and surfactant properties PFASs and PFCAs, such as perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), are used as performance chemicals, e.g. as mist suppressants in electroplating baths or as surfactants in fire-fighting foams. Furthermore, they are included as residual impurities in water, oil and stain repellents used for paper, leather, and textiles. PFASs and PFCAs are also final degradation products of other perfluorochemicals (PFCs). The ammonium salt of PFOA is an important process aid in fluoropolymer manufacture, e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon etc.). PFOS and PFOA are extremely persistent, bioaccumulative, and of toxicological concern. Their global occurrence of these and related compounds in the blood and liver of wildlife and humans suggests yet not completely understood long range transport mechamisms.
The objective of this project is to gather reliable data on the occurrence of PFASs and PFCAs in German drinking water sources. Analytical measurements by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) are carried out on surface waters and bank filtrates. Drinking water will also be included in the monitoring. Based on the measured concentrations and literature data human intake of the target compounds by the drinking water path will be evaluated. First analyses demonstrate that low molecular PFASs and PFCAs occur in the ng/L range in German rivers and are not removed by bank filtration.