Characterization and distribution of heavy metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and perfluoroalkyl substances in surface sediment from the Dayan River, South China.

In this study, surface sediment samples were collected from 11 sites in the Dayan River near an electronic waste site in Qingyuan. Heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PBDEs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were detected. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd ranged from 12.1 to 641, 47.1 to 891, 39.2 to 641, 0.12 to 2.07 mg/kg dw, respectively. Total PBDEs ranged between 0.052 and 126.64 ng/g dw. BDE-47 and BDE-99 were the predominant PBDEs. The concentrations of PFASs in sediments ranged between 0.01 and 3.72 ng/g dw. The perfluorooctane sulfonate was predominantly PFASs. The strong positive correlations among Cu, Zn, perfluorooctanoic acid and PBDEs indicate that these contaminants were associated with each other and may share a common anthropogenic source in the sediments of the Dayan River.