Sea Spray Aerosol (SSA) as a Source of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) to the Atmosphere : Field Evidence from Long-Term Air Monitoring

The effective enrichment of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in sea spray aerosols (SSA) demonstrated in previous laboratory studies suggests that SSA is a potential source of PFAAs to the atmosphere. In order to investigate the influence of SSA on atmospheric PFAAs in the field, 48 h aerosol samples we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Science & Technology
Main Authors: Sha, Bo, Johansson, Jana, Tunved, Peter, Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla, Cousins, Ian T., Salter, Matthew E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för miljövetenskap 2022
Subjects:
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)
sea spray aerosols (SSA)
coastal areas
long-range atmospheric transport
air monitoring
Arctic
Norway
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-191957
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04277
Description
Summary:The effective enrichment of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in sea spray aerosols (SSA) demonstrated in previous laboratory studies suggests that SSA is a potential source of PFAAs to the atmosphere. In order to investigate the influence of SSA on atmospheric PFAAs in the field, 48 h aerosol samples were collected regularly between 2018 and 2020 at two Norwegian coastal locations, Andoya and Birkenes. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) between the SSA tracer ion, Na+, and PFAA concentrations were observed in the samples from both locations, with Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) between 0.4-0.8. Such significant correlations indicate SSA to be an important source of atmospheric PFAAs to coastal areas. The correlations in the samples from Andoya were observed for more PFAA species and were generally stronger than in the samples from Birkenes, which is located further away from the coast and closer to urban areas than Andøya. Factors such as the origin of the SSA, the distance of the sampling site to open water, and the presence of other PFAA sources (e.g., volatile precursor compounds) can have influence on the contribution of SSA to PFAA in air at the sampling sites and therefore affect the observed correlations between PFAAs and Na+.

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