Perfluoroalkyl Substance Assessment in Turin Metropolitan Area and Correlation with Potential Sources of Pollution according to the Water Safety Plan Risk Management Approach

Abstract

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a huge class of Contaminants of Emerging Concern, well-known to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. They have been detected in different environmental matrices, in wildlife and even in humans, with drinking water being considered as the main exposure route. Therefore, the present study focused on the estimation of PFAS in the Metropolitan Area of Turin, where SMAT (Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A.) is in charge of the management of the water cycle and the development of a tool for supporting “smart” water quality monitoring programs to address emerging pollutants’ assessments using multivariate spatial and statistical analysis tools. A new “green” analytical method was developed and validated in order to determine 16 different PFAS in drinking water with a direct injection to the Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) system and without any pretreatment step. The validation of this analytical method resulted in really low Quantification Limits (5 ng L−1), in satisfying recoveries (70%–102%) and in a good linearity (R2 = 0.99) for every compound. Among the results, only 4 compounds and only 6% of the samples showed a pollution level higher than the limits of and Quantification (LOQ). Finally, the correlation study between the assessment findings and the industrial sites which serve as potential sources of pollution in the monitored area was carried out.