Overview of PFAS in aquatic environments

PFAS are highly stable fluorinated compounds with unique properties and are used in a broad array of industrial processes and commercial products. PFAS are extremely recalcitrant and are widespread in the environment, with measurable concentrations in soils, sediments, groundwater, surface water, and rainwater, even at sites far removed from known sources or releases. Select PFAS (especially longer-chain perfluorinated carboxylic and sulfonic acids) are known to bioaccumulate in aquatic food webs, presenting potential risk to higher trophic species, including humans. Evidence suggests sediment serves as a repository and potential ongoing source for many of these long-chain PFAS. The global presence and persistence of PFAS pose a fundamental challenge to addressing potential effects on environmental quality and health. The public and policy-makers are increasingly concerned about the potential presence and effects of PFAS in water and sediments. This concern includes knowledge gaps for dredged material management, posing challenges to execution of the US Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works navigation program. This document provides a comprehensive review of PFAS in the aquatic environment based on published studies and includes overviews of chemical classifications, regulatory considerations, historical uses and sources, environmental distribution, fate and transport pathways, and uptake and effects in aquatic organisms.