Determination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in solid and liquid phase river water samples in Chao Phraya River, Thailand

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), especially perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are fully fluorinated organic compounds, which have been used in many industrial applications. These chemicals have contaminated surface water all over the world even in developing countries like Thailand. The previous study showed the contamination in Chao Phraya River in 2006 and 2007. The purposes of this field study were to determine the solid and liquid phase of PFCs contamination in Chao Phraya River and to compare the changes of PFC concentration in 2008. Surveys were conducted in the lower reach of Chao Phraya River in the industrialized area. A solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS were used for the analysis for ten PFCs. Ten PFCs were analyzed to identify the contamination in both solid and liquid phases. PFCs were detected in both the solid and liquid phase in every sample. PFOA was the most dominant PFC while PFPA and PFOS were also highly detected in most samples. The average loadings of PFPA, PFOA and PFOS in Chao Phraya River were 94.3, 284.6 and 93.4 g/d, respectively. PFOS concentrations did not show differences between 2006 and 2008. However, PFOA concentrations were higher in 2008/5/26, while comparing other samplings. The ratio of solid : liquid PFPA (2.1 : 1.0) [(ng/g)/(ng/L)] was lower than PFOA (13.9 : 1.0) [(ng/g)/(ng/L)] and PFOS (17.6 : 1.0) [(ng/g)/(ng/L)]. The shorter chain (more hydrophilic) PFC was better to dissolve in water rather than adsorb onto suspended solids. PFOS also showed more potential to attach in the suspended solids than PFOA.