Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Organofluorine in Lakes and Waterways of the Northwestern Great Basin
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Authors
DeNicola, Michael Charles
Issue Date
2023
Type
Thesis
Language
Keywords
Aqueous Film Forming Foam , Contaminant Transport , PFAS Source Tracking , Terminal Lakes , Wastewater
Alternative Title
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of thousands of anthropogenic chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment and have been linked to numerous adverse health effects in humans and aquatic organisms. Known anthropogenic sources include wastewater treatment plant effluents, aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) fire retardants, urban runoff, and atmospheric deposition. Although numerous environmental monitoring studies have been conducted, only one has evaluated surface water contamination in the Northwestern Great Basin. I sought to close that knowledge gap by evaluating the occurrence of 19 PFAS using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) and extractable organofluorine (EOF) in grab samples from 15 lakes and 10 rivers throughout the region, including headwater lakes, rivers, and endorheic lakes that are the terminus of their watersheds. In this analysis I found that the highest levels of contamination were in sites near aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) training areas, the next highest near wastewater treatment plants, and slightly elevated concentrations near urban areas. I found evidence of PFAS accumulation in endorheic lakes by comparing inflow and lake body concentrations. I also showed that fluorotelomer sulfonate (FTS) species can be used as a tracer for AFFF impacts during source and transport pathway investigations. The results of my EOF analysis indicate that total PFAS loads are likely much higher than what is indicated by LC-MS/MS analysis, however it is difficult to state how much higher due to reliability issues with EOF analysis.