Occurrence, Source Inference, and Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Effluents, River Water and Groundwater from the Lijiang River Basin, a Typical Karst Region.

Jiali Qian, Chengyou Ma, Qi Chen, Qiaoyan Wu, Litang Qin, Yanpeng Liang, Honghu Zeng

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Article in Toxics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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7 authors.

Jiali QianGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Chengyou MaCollege of Earth Sciences, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Qi ChenGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Qiaoyan WuGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Litang QinGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Yanpeng LiangGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Honghu ZengGuangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.

Funding

Guangxi Science and Technology AD25069074

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research on the river-groundwater cross-contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in karst regions is limited. We therefore investigated the PFAS occurrence, spatial distribution, sources and ecological risks in the Lijiang River basin, a typical karst area. PFAS concentrations were relatively low (0.08-74.0 ng/L, mean 4.13 ng/L). PFBA, PFHxA, PFNA and 6:2 FTS were widely detected. Short-chain PFAS concentrations (0.08-74.0, mean 4.75 ng/L) were higher than long-chain ones (0.02-3.31, mean 0.72 ng/L). Unusually, groundwater PFAS concentrations (0.08-74.0, mean 7.97 ng/L) exceeded those in rivers (0.08-11.7, mean 2.31 ng/L). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) combined with spatial distribution identified five main sources: sewage treatment plants (24.0%), gas station leaks/wastewater discharges (21.3%), untreated domestic sewage (18.1%), small-scale industrial wastewater (16.7%), and agricultural/aquaculture wastewater (20.2%). The ecological risk assessment showed that, except for PFUnDA posing a low risk to algae, the other PFASs presented no significant risk to algae, daphnia or fish. The human health risk assessment indicated minimal direct health risks. Our findings indicate that some PFASs in groundwater and river water may share common sources, highlighting the complex PFAS migration between rivers and groundwater in karst regions.

Indexed as

ecological and human health risk assessmentgroundwater–surface-water interactionkarst hydrogeologyPFASpositive matrix factorization

Identifiers

PMID42515113

DOI10.3390/toxics14070548

PMCPMC13416516

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.