A pilot study on unidentified poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in sewage in Sweden

Sewage treatment plants have been suggested to be one of the major sources of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to the aquatic environment. Recent studies have shown more unidentified PFAS were being used and released yearly. The information regarding the release of these unidentified PFAS and the mass balance of unidentified PFAS before and after receiving different sewage treatment processes is lacking. In view of this, the present investigation aims to analyze domestic sewage samples (influent, effluent, sludge) for all quantifiable (known) PFAS and total organofluorine (TOF) using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and combustion ion chromatography (CIC) techniques, respectively. The results from influent may indicate how much unidentified PFAS humans are using, whereas the results from effluent may provide an estimate how much unidentified PFAS are released into the environment.