Perfluorinated compounds in soil, surface water, and groundwater from rural areas in eastern China

Little research on perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) has been conducted in rural areas, although rural PFC sources are less complicated than in urban and industrial areas. To determine the levels and geographical distribution of 17 PFC compounds, samples of soil, surface water, and groundwater were collected from eight rural areas in eastern China. The total PFC concentrations (Sigma PFC5) in soils ranged from 034 to 65.8 ngig Sigma PFC5 in surface waters ranged from 7.0 to 489 ng/L and Sigma PFC5 in groundwater ranged from 53 to 615 ng/L. Ratios of perfluorononanoic acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFNA/PFOA), perfluoro-n-butyric acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFBA/PFOA), and perfluoroheptanoic acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFHpA/PFOA) in rainwater increased due to the fluorine chemical plants in the surrounding rural and urban areas, suggesting that atmospheric precipitation may carry PFCs and their precursors from the fluorochemical industrial area to the adjacent rural areas. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.