Not everywhere, not always: 30 targeted PFAS in ambient surface waters of Queensland, Australia

Abstract

This study provides a summary of ambient concentrations of 30 commonly analysed perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at 54 sites adjacent to various land use types across the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Sites were sampled for surface water every 2 months for a year (2019–2020). The results showed higher concentrations of PFAS in surface waters adjacent to major city areas (e.g. urban, industrial, residential land use types), and the lowest in surface waters adjacent to remote and regional areas (e.g. national parks, agriculture land use types). Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was the most reported compound (in 53% of samples), ranging from < 0.1 to 0.4 ng L⁻¹ in remote areas, < 0.1 to 0.6 ng L⁻¹ in outer regional areas, < 0.1 to 4.7 ng L⁻¹ in inner regional areas, and < 0.1 to 37.0 ng L⁻¹ in major cities. No PFAS were reported at nine of the 54 sites during the six monitoring rounds, and 16 out of 30 PFAS were not reported at any of the sites sampled over the year. Although PFAS (such as PFOS) are described as ubiquitous, the results from this ambient monitoring program indicate that this assumption does not necessarily apply to all ambient surface waters in Queensland.