Occurrence of PFASs and its effect on soil bacteria at a fire-training area using PFOS-restricted aqueous film-forming foams
Lifeng Cao,
Wenxin Xu,
Ziren Wan,
Guanghe Li,
Fang Zhang
Affiliations
Lifeng Cao
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, State Environment Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Wenxin Xu
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, State Environment Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Ziren Wan
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, State Environment Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Guanghe Li
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, State Environment Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Fang Zhang
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, State Environment Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Fire-training areas (FTAs) are an important source of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) pollution. However, the effect of PFASs on soil bacterial communities remains limited. Here, we detected the PFASs in soils ranging from 3.4 to 531.7 μg kg−1 dry weight in seven plots at an FTA where PFOS-restricted aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) have been used for 6 years. PFOS was still the dominant homologue despite the restriction by Stockholm Convention, but it was almost three orders of magnitude lower than that in previous studies. PFASs played an important role in shaping the bacterial community, and high levels of PFASs (>100 μg kg−1 dw) reduced the biodiversity and connectivity of soil bacteria. The extreme condition-tolerant bacteria were identified as biomarkers at the FTA. Our study provides valuable insights into the effect of PFOS-restricted AFFFs on soil bacterial communities at the FTA.
