Contamination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in surface water and sediment collected from Nhue and Day rivers

Currently, there has been little data on contamination by perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the environment in developing countries such as Vietnam, especially for surface water systems flowing through densely populated urban areas and industrial zones. In this study, PFCs were analysed in 32 water samples and 14 sediment samples taken along Nhue and Day rivers, which flow through six high population density provinces in Northern Vietnam. PFCs were detected in 100% of water samples with an average total concentration of 7.85 ng/l (4.54-13.48 ng/l). In sediment, PFCs were found at low concentrations ranging from 0.06-2.60 ng/g d.w with a detection frequency of 40%). Perfluoro carboxylic acid with short carbon chain length (from C4 to C8) were dominant compounds observed in surface water while perfluoroalkyl sulfonates in sediment were found at low concentrations, approximately the threshold of quantitative limits.