Enhancing global prediction of PFAS pollutant fate in sediment

该项目将建立一个独特的全球研究伙伴关系，重点研究受全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质污染的沉积物。PFAS沉积物污染是人类活动和工业过程造成的一个广泛而持久的问题。多年来，PFAS混合物在淡水和沿海系统的细沉积物中积累，形成了一个高浓度化学混合物的储存库，这些混合物可以通过物理、化学和生物机制释放到水中。在欧洲和英国，已经确定了17，000多个PFAS高浓度的地点，这些地点通常远离其主要来源，浓度超过阈值限值的500倍。这些“永久性化学品”由于其高度持久性和抗降解性，对野生动物和水生环境极为有害。然而，人们对全氟辛烷磺酸在水生系统中的归宿和迁移的主要物理和化学过程以及全氟辛烷磺酸混合物的相互作用缺乏了解。该项目将建立一个新的国际研究伙伴关系，重点关注受污染沉积物构成的风险，通过开展定制的实验调查和预测建模，填补这一知识空白。重点将是对沉积物中PFAS动员的定量了解，水体流体动力学和地球化学过程如何影响PFAS与细沉积物结合的命运和运输。这项研究成果将提供一个多维的方法来描述污染物的行为和混合物在水体沉积物中的相互作用，这将增强现有的模型，如水质分析模拟程序（WASP 8）和污染沉积物的补救设计（CapSim 4），无论是国际上使用的利益相关者，学术界和工业界来描述污染物的行为和混合物在水体沉积物中的相互作用。

This project will establish a unique global research partnership focused on studying sediments contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS sediment pollution is a widespread and persistent issue caused by human activities and industrial processes. Over the years, PFAS mixtures have accumulated in fine sediment deposits in freshwater and coastal systems, creating a store of highly concentrated chemical mixtures that can be released into the water through physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms. In Europe and the UK, over 17,000 sites with high concentrations of PFAS have been identified, often far from their main sources, with concentrations exceeding 500 times the threshold limits. These "forever chemicals" are extremely harmful to wildlife and the aquatic environment due to their high persistence and resistance to degradation. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the primary physical and chemical processes responsible for their fate and transport in aquatic systems, as well as the mutual interaction of PFAS mixtures. This project will establish a new international research partnership focused on the risks posed by contaminated sediment to bridge this knowledge gap by conducting bespoke experimental investigations and prediction modelling. The focus will be on the quantitative understanding of the mobilisation of PFAS in sediments, how waterbody hydrodynamics and geochemical processes impact the fate and transport of PFAS bound to fine sediments. This research outcome will provide a multidimensional approach to describe pollutant behavior and mixture interactions in waterbody sediment that will enhance existing models, such as the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP8) and the Remedial Design of Contaminated Sediments (CapSim 4), both used internationally by stakeholders, academia, and industry to describe pollutant behaviour and mixture interactions in waterbody sediment.