Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been recognized as secondary sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) released into the environment. In this study, PFAS concentrations were measured in effluent and biosolids samples collected from 75 WWTPs across Australia during the 2016 Census period, which covers more than half of the Australian population. Twelve PFAS compounds, including six C5-C10 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), four perfluoro sulfonic acids (PFSAs) such as perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfuorohexane sulfonic (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (PFDS), and one fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS), were detected in the effluent, with concentrations up to 504 ng/L (PFHxS). Among these, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), and perfluoropentanic acid (PFPeA) exhibited the highest median concentrations. In the biosolids, a total of 21 PFAS compounds were detected, encompassing ten C4-C14 PFCAs, four PFSAs, two FTS (6:2 and 8:2 FTS), perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA), two perfluorooctane sulfonamido acetic acid (NMethyl FOSAA and NEthyl FOSAA), and two perfluorooctane sulfonamido ethanol (FOSE), with dry weight (dw) concentrations approaching 235 ng/g (PFOS). The highest median and mean concentrations were observed for perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and PFOS. An annual discharge of approximately 250 kg of the total 21 PFAS compounds was estimated through the effluent and biosolids of the participating WWTPs. Notably, PFOS and 6:2 FTS constituted the largest proportion of total PFAS in the WWTPs' output. While PFCAs were higher in effluent concentrations compared to influent levels across most WWTPs (92% of WWTPs for ∑PFCAs), the concentrations of PFSAs either decreased or remained relatively stable (in 80% of WWTPs for ∑PFSAs) throughout the wastewater treatment process.

中文翻译：

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全国范围内废水和生物固体中全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质的发生和排放质量负荷：澳大利亚 75 个废水处理厂的快照

废水处理厂 (WWTP) 已被认为是释放到环境中的全氟烷基物质和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS) 的二次来源。在这项研究中，测量了 2016 年人口普查期间澳大利亚 75 个污水处理厂收集的废水和生物固体样本中的 PFAS 浓度，该人口普查覆盖了澳大利亚一半以上的人口。 12种PFAS化合物，包括6种C5-C10全氟烷基羧酸（PFCA）、全氟丁磺酸（PFBS）、全氟己烷磺酸（PFHxS）、全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）、全氟癸烷磺酸（PFDS）等4种全氟磺酸（PFSA） ) 和一种氟调聚物磺酸 (6:2 FTS) 在流出物中检测到，浓度高达 504 ng/L (PFHxS)。其中，全氟辛酸（PFOA）、全氟己酸（PFHxA）和全氟戊酸（PFPeA）的中位浓度最高。在生物固体中，总共检测到 21 种 PFAS 化合物，包括 10 种 C4-C14 PFCA、4 种 PFSA、2 种 FTS（6:2 和 8:2 FTS）、全氟辛烷磺酰胺 (PFOSA)、2 种全氟辛烷磺酰胺乙酸 (NMmethyl FOSAA)和 NEthyl FOSAA) 和两种全氟辛烷磺酰胺乙醇 (FOSE)，干重 (dw) 浓度接近 235 ng/g (PFOS)。全氟癸酸 (PFDA) 和 PFOS 的中值和平均浓度最高。通过参与污水处理厂的废水和生物固体估计，总共 21 种 PFAS 化合物的年排放量约为 250 公斤。值得注意的是，PFOS 和 6:2 FTS 在污水处理厂产出的 PFAS 总量中所占比例最大。虽然大多数污水处理厂的出水浓度与进水浓度相比，PFCA 浓度较高（92% 的污水处理厂含有 ΣPFCA），但在整个废水处理过程中，PFSA 的浓度要么下降，要么保持相对稳定（80% 的污水处理厂含有 ΣPFSA）。