Analysis of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the River Po watershed in N-Italy.

C7-C11 perfluorinated carboxylates (PFACs) and perfluorooctansulfonate (PFOS) were analysed in selected stretches of the River Po and its major tributaries. Analyses were performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) with Oasis HLB cartridges and methanol elution followed by LC-MS-MS detection using 13C-labelled internal standards. High concentration levels ( approximately 1.3 microg l(-1)) of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) were detected in the Tánaro River close to the city Alessandria. After this tributary, levels between 60 and 337 ng l(-1) were measured in the Po River on several occasions. The PFOA concentration close to the river mouth in Ferrara was between 60 and 174 ng l(-1). Using the river discharge flow data in m3 s(-1) at this point (average approximately 920 m3 s(-1) for the year 2006), a mass load of approximately 0.3 kg PFOA per hour or approximately 2.6 tons per year discharged in the Adriatic Sea has been calculated. PFOS concentration levels in the Po River at Ferrara were approximately 10 ng l(-1).

Occurrence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Lake Maggiore (Italy and Switzerland).

Samples of air (gas and particulate phases), bulk deposition, aquatic settling material and sediments were collected in Lake Maggiore (LM) in order to determine their content of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Air (gas and particulate phases) concentrations were 0.5 pg m(-3), 80 pg m(-3), 13 pg m(-3) and 106 pg m(-3) for SigmaPCDD/Fs, SigmaPCBs, Sigma dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) and SigmaPBDEs, respectively. Deposition fluxes ranged from 0.7 ng m(-2) d(-1) for SigmaPCDD/Fs to 32 ng m(-2) d(-1) for SigmaPCBs. Aquatic settling material presented concentrations of 0.4 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw) for SigmaPCDD/Fs, 13 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaPCB, 3.4 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaDL-PCBs and 5.7 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaPBDEs. Mean sediment concentrations were 0.4 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaPCDD/Fs, 11 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaPCB, 3 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaDL-PCBs and 5.1 ng g(-1) dw for SigmaPBDEs. Similar PCDD/F and DL-PCB congener patterns in all the environmental compartments of LM point to an important, if not dominant, contribution of atmospheric deposition as source of these pollutants into LM. In contrast, PBDE congener distribution was not similar in the different environmental compartments. BDE 47 dominated air and settling material, while BDE 209 was the predominant congener in the bulk atmospheric deposition. Moreover, sediments showed two distinct PBDE congener profiles. Lower PBDE concentrated sediments were dominated by congeners 47 and 99, while BDE 209 dominated in higher PBDE concentrated samples. This suggests the influence of local sources as well as atmospheric input of PBDEs into LM.

Polar herbicides, pharmaceutical products, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and nonylphenol and its carboxylates and ethoxylates in surface and tap waters around Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy.

A survey of contamination of surface and drinking waters around Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy with polar anthropogenic environmental pollutants has been conducted. The target analytes were polar herbicides, pharmaceuticals (including antibiotics), steroid estrogens, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (including perfluorooctanoate PFOA), nonylphenol and its carboxylates and ethoxylates (NPEO surfactants), and triclosan, a bactericide used in personal-care products. Analysis of water samples was performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) then liquid chromatography-triple-quadrupole (tandem) mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). By extraction of 1-L water samples and concentration of the extract to 100 microL, method detection limits (MDLs) as low as 0.05-0.1 ng L(-1) were achieved for most compounds. Lake-water samples from seven different locations in the Southern part of Lake Maggiore and eleven samples from different tributary rivers and creeks were investigated. Rain water was also analyzed to investigate atmospheric input of the contaminants. Compounds regularly detected at very low concentrations in the lake water included: caffeine (max. concentration 124 ng L(-1)), the herbicides terbutylazine (7 ng L(-1)), atrazine (5 ng L(-1)), simazine (16 ng L(-1)), diuron (11 ng L(-1)), and atrazine-desethyl (11 ng L(-1)), the pharmaceuticals carbamazepine (9 ng L(-1)), sulfamethoxazole (10 ng L(-1)), gemfibrozil (1.7 ng L(-1)), and benzafibrate (1.2 ng L(-1)), the surfactant metabolite nonylphenol (15 ng L(-1)), its carboxylates (NPE(1)C 120 ng L(-1), NPE(2)C 7 ng L(-1), NPE(3)C 15 ng L(-1)) and ethoxylates (NPE( n )Os, n = 3-17; 300 ng L(-1)), perfluorinated surfactants (PFOS 9 ng L(-1), PFOA 3 ng L(-1)), and estrone (0.4 ng L(-1)). Levels of these compounds in drinking water produced from Lake Maggiore were almost identical with those found in the lake itself, revealing the poor performance of sand filtration and chlorination applied by the local waterworks.