Exploring Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Microestuaries: Occurrence, Distribution, and Risks

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00882
• Publication Date: 2024-01-23T08:54:00Z
• Authors: Tom Topaz; Noam Gridish; Tal Sade; Hadar Zedaka; Yair Suari; Antigoni Konomi; Georgios Gkotsis; Eleni Aleiferi; Maria-Christina Nika; Nikolaos S. Thoma...; Benny Chefetz

Microestuaries have a crucial role in supporting biodiversity and human life quality heavily populated areas. They are also the last barrier controlling fluxes of pollutants from land to sea. Here, we report occurrence distribution per- polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during dry season three microestuaries. The total PFAS concentration (n = 12) at studied estuaries was very high global perspective with maximum median concentrations 17.4 3.4 μg L–1, respectively. These significantly exceed recommended benchmarks for recreational activity. Our analysis reveals that major fraction originated wastewater effluents, whereas point source pollution dominated when estuary met an industrial zone containing refinery facilities. In case limited dilution by natural riverine water, suggest using carbamazepine as steady indicator identification originating wastewater. Although microestuaries exhibit similar characteristics (morphology, precipitation, watershed size, water volume, etc.), changes input connectivity sea, along local anthropogenic activity, dramatically alter occurrence, concentrations, PFAS. This study suggests subjected ecological risk due intensive