Determination of perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) in drinking water from the Netherlands and Greece

Abstract

In the present study 11 perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) were analysed in drinking tap water samples from the Netherlands (n = 37) and from Greece (n = 43) by applying LC-MS/MS and isotope dilution. PFASs concentrations above the limit of quantification, LOQ (0.6 ng/l) were detected in 20.9% of the samples from Greece. Total PFAS concentrations ranged between <LOQ and 5.9 ng/l, with the highest concentrations noted for the three Aegean islands Mykonos, Kalymnos and Syros and for the town Tripoli in the Peloponnese. In the Dutch situation, total PFASs concentrations above the LOQ were detected in 48.6% of the samples, varying from <LOQ to 54 ng/l. The highest concentrations were detected around Amsterdam (including Schiphol airport) and more generally, PFASs were detected in the drinking water from the western part of the Netherlands. This seems attributable to the source, which is purified surface water in this area. Short-chain PFASs and especially perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) were detected most frequently, whereas long-chain PFASs (C > 8) were only rarely detected. In the drinking water samples from the eastern part of the Netherlands, where drinking water is sourced from groundwater reservoirs, no PFASs were detected. This demonstrates that exposure to PFASs through drinking water in the Netherlands is dependent on the source. Additionally, five samples of bottled water from each country were analysed in the current study, with all of them originating from ground wells. In these samples, all PFASs were below the LOQ.

Keywords:

• drinking tap water
• PFASs
• Netherlands
• Greece
• surface water
• bottled water

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the funding support to E. Zafeiraki by the European Union (EU) student exchange, Erasmus programme (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students). Moreover, all the people who helped us to carry out this study by providing water samples from different sampling points in both countries are thankfully acknowledged for their important contribution.

ORCID

Ron L.A.P. Hoogenboom http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8913-5328