Fate of persistent and mobile chemicals in the water cycle: From municipal wastewater discharges to river bank filtrate.

Persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals are considered detrimental for drinking water resources as they may pass through all barriers protecting these resources against pollution. However, knowledge on the occurrence of PM chemicals in the water cycle, that make their way into drinking water resources, is still limited. The effluents of six municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs, n = 38), surface water of two rivers (n = 32) and bank filtrate of one site (n = 15) were analyzed for 127 suspected PM chemicals.

Efficacy of activated carbon filtration and ozonation to remove persistent and mobile substances - A case study in two wastewater treatment plants.

Persistent and mobile (PM) substances are able to spread quickly in the water cycle and were thus identified as potentially problematic for the environment and water quality. If also toxic (PMT) or very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) their regulation under REACH as substances of very high concern is foreseen. Yet, knowledge on the effectiveness of advanced wastewater treatment in removing PM-substances from WWTP effluents is limited to few rather well-known chemicals.

Occurrence, Distribution, and Environmental Behavior of Persistent, Mobile, and Toxic (PMT) and Very Persistent and Very Mobile (vPvM) Substances in the Sources of German Drinking Water.

Persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances have been recognized as a threat to both the aquatic environment and to drinking water resources. These substances are currently prioritized for regulatory action by the European Commission, whereby a proposal for the inclusion of hazard classes for PMT and vPvM substances has been put forward. Comprehensive monitoring data for many PMT/vPvM substances in drinking water sources are scarce.

Assessing the protection gap for mobile and persistent chemicals during advanced water treatment - A study in a drinking water production and wastewater treatment plant.

Persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals spread quickly in the water cycle and can reach drinking water. If these chemicals are also toxic (PMT) they may pose a threat to the aquatic environment and drinking water alike, and thus measures to prevent their spread are necessary. In this study, nontarget screening and cell-based toxicity tests after a polarity-based fractionation into polar and non-polar chemicals are utilized to assess and compare the effectiveness of ozonation and filtration through activated carbon in a wastewater treatment and drinking water production plant.

Ultra-Short-Chain PFASs in the Sources of German Drinking Water: Prevalent, Overlooked, Difficult to Remove, and Unregulated.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been a focal point of environmental chemistry and chemical regulation in recent years, culminating in a shift from individual PFAS regulation toward a PFAS group regulatory approach in Europe. PFASs are a highly diverse group of substances, and knowledge about this group is still scarce beyond the well-studied, legacy long-chain, and short-chain perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs). Herein, quantitative and semiquantitative data for 43 legacy short-chain and ultra-short-chain PFASs (≤2 perfluorocarbon atoms for PFCAs, ≤3 for PFSAs and other PFASs) in 46 water samples collected from 13 different sources of German drinking water are presented.

Filling the knowledge gap: A suspect screening study for 1310 potentially persistent and mobile chemicals with SFC- and HILIC-HRMS in two German river systems.

Persistent and mobile chemicals (PM chemicals) were searched for in surface waters by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), both coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). A suspect screening was performed using a newly compiled list of 1310 potential PM chemicals to the data of 11 surface water samples from two river systems. In total, 64 compounds were identified by this approach.

Are (fluorinated) ionic liquids relevant environmental contaminants? High-resolution mass spectrometric screening for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental water samples led to the detection of a fluorinated ionic liquid.

Fragmentation flagging (FF), a high-resolution mass spectrometric screening variant that utilizes intentionally produced indicative in-source fragments, was used to screen for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface waters. Besides expected legacy PFAS, FF enabled the detection of some rarely investigated representatives, such as trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA). Additionally, a novel PFAS was detected and identified as tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate (FAP) via MS/MS experiments and confirmed with a reference standard.

Analysis of mobile chemicals in the aquatic environment-current capabilities, limitations and future perspectives.

Persistent and mobile water contaminants are rapidly developing into a focal point of environmental chemistry and chemical regulation. Their defining parameter that sets them apart from the majority of regularly monitored and regulated contaminants is their mobility in the aquatic environment, which is intrinsically tied to a high polarity. This high polarity, however, may have severe implications in the analytical process and thus the most polar of these mobile contaminants may not be covered by widely utilized trace-analytical methods, and thus, alternatives are required.