Target and Nontarget Screening of PFAS in Biosolids, Composts,and Other Organic Waste Products for Land Application in France

Zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are increasingly reported interrestrial and aquatic environments, but their inputs to agriculturallands are not fully understood. Here, we characterized PFAS in 47organic waste products (OWP) applied in agriculturalfields ofFrance, including historical and recent materials. Overall, 160 PFASfrom 42 classes were detected from target screening andhomologue-based nontarget screening. Target PFAS were low inagriculture-derived wastes such as pig slurry, poultry manure, ordairy cattle manure (median n-ary sumation 46PFAS: 0.66 mu g/kg dry matter).Higher PFAS levels were reported in urban and industrial wastes,paper mill sludge, sewage sludge, or residual household wastecomposts (median n-ary sumation 46PFAS: 220 mu g/kg). Historical municipal biosolids and composts (1976-1998) were dominated byperfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS),N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido acetic acid (EtFOSAA), and cationic and zwitterionicelectrochemicalfluorination precursors to PFOS. Contemporaneous urban OWP (2009-2017) were rather dominated byzwitterionicfluorotelomers, which represented on average 55% of n-ary sumation 160PFAS (max: 97%). Thefluorotelomer sulfonamidopropylbetaines (X:2 FTSA-PrB, median: 110 mu g/kg, max: 1300 mu g/kg) were the emerging class with the highest occurrence and prevalencein contemporary urban OWP. They were also detected as early as 1985. The study informs for thefirst time that urban sludges andcomposts can be a significant repository of zwitterionic and cationic PFAS.

Automated summary

This study characterized the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in organic waste products used in agricultural fields in France. The results showed that PFAS levels were lower in agriculture-derived wastes compared to urban and industrial wastes. Historical municipal biosolids and composts were dominated by specific PFAS, while contemporary urban waste products were dominated by zwitterionic PFAS.