Historical usage of aqueous film forming foam: a case study of the widespread distribution of perfluoroalkyl acids from a military airport to groundwater, lakes, soils and fish.

Historical usage of aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) at military airports is a potential source of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) to the nearby environment. In this study, the distribution of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in soil, groundwater, surface water, tap water well, and fish muscle was investigated at a closed down military airfield (F18) and its surroundings in Stockholm, Sweden. The presence of PFOS at AFFF training sites was inventoried. One major finding of the study is that a former airfield, abandoned since 1994, may still be a point source of PFAAs to nearby recipients. PFOS and PFOA were ubiquitous in the soil samples at former AFFF training sites with concentrations ranging from 2.18 to 8520ngg(-1) dry weight and <0.12-287ngg(-1) dry weight respectively. The sum of PFAAs in the groundwater and surface waters ranged from 738 to 51000ngL(-1) and <MDL to 79.0ngL(-1), respectively. PFOS in European perch ranged from 76.5 to 370ngg(-1)wet weight muscle tissue which is among the highest previously reported worldwide. Our results provide evidence that the historical use of AFFF at the site have contaminated an aquifer (7500 m(3)d(-1)), that will require constant PFAA purification before being used for drinking water production. Despite the fact that the water turnover time in the investigated recipients (of 4-6months) suggest a depletion of PFAA-contaminants over a quarter of a decade, abandoned airfields may still pose an environmental and human health concern.