Occurrence, spatial distribution, and sources of PFASs in the water and sediment from lakes in the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are omnipresent globally and received increasing attention recently. However, there are limited data on PFASs in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a remote high-altitude mountain region, which is regard as an important indicator region to study long-range transport behaviors of contaminants. This study investigates the occurrence, distribution, partitioning behavior, and sources of 26 PFASs in water and sediments from the four lakes of TP. The ΣPFAS concentrations ranged from 338 to 9766 pg L^-1 in water, and 12.2-414 pg g^-1 dry weight in sediments. Perfluorobutanonic acid (PFBA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were detected in all samples. Qinghai Lake had the highest ΣPFAS concentrations in both water and sediments, while the Ranwu Lake had the lowest. The functional groups and CF₂ moiety units were investigated as essential factors influencing the partition behavior. Principal component analysis (PCA) combined back-trajectory was used to infer possible sources of PFASs. The results suggested that the main source of PFASs in Yamdrok Lake, Namco Lake, and Ranwu Lake on southern TP were mainly originated from South Asia via long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT); while for the Qinghai Lake of northern TP, LRAT, local emissions, and tourism activities were the primary sources of PFASs.

Keywords: Alpine lake; Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs); Sediment; Tibetan Plateau; Water.