Occurrence of perfluoroalkyl acids in precipitation from Shenyang, China

Perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs) and perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) in precipitation collected from Shenyang, China were determined. Snow samples were collected in the snow event on March 4, 2007 from 34 sites involving both the urban and suburban areas in Shenyang. The snowmelt was preconcentrated by solid phase extraction and analyzed using LC-MS method. Measurable amounts of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) were found in precipitation samples from Shenyang, demonstrating that wet deposition is one possible pathway for the removing of the selected PFAS chemicals from atmosphere. Major PFAS detected were PFOS (<0.38–51 ng/L), PFOA (0.82–13 ng/L) and PFHpA (0.76–11 ng/L), with their mean concentration of 5.4, 3.3 and 2.9 ng/L, respectively. Other PFSAs and PFCAs were detected at much lower frequency or below the limit of detection in all the samples. The work presented here offers some basis for the investigation on the environmental behavior and the evaluation of human exposure to PFAS. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20837004)