The Concentration Levels of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in Qiantang River Waters of China

To characterize the concentration levels of PFOS and PFOA in the Qiantang River waters of China, 12 water samples were collected in May 2013 and analyzed. The concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were from n.d to 0.798 ng/L and from 65.9 to 102.4 ng/L, respectively. PFOS has been observed at a low concentration in these samples, while PFOA was detected in 100% of the samples with higher PFOA concentrations. PFOA concentrations were far higher than those of PFOS in all the samples, which subjected to be influenced by the inflows of the chemicals from a lot of the textile dyeing industry along the south bank of the river. Although the PFOS and PFOA concentration in Qiantang River water samples did not exceeded this provisional health advisory level (limit) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for PFOS and PFOA in drinking waters of 200 ng/L and 400 ng/L respectively, continued exposure to even relatively low PFOS and PFOA concentrations in drinking water may increase the risk of health effects.