This study performed the first environmental and dietary exposure assessment to explore plant uptake of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) from agricultural soil and irrigation water in the Nakdong River delta, South Korea. Annual average concentrations of total PFOA and PFOS ranged from 0.026 to 0.112 µg L⁻¹ (irrigation water), and from 0.818 to 1.364 µg kg⁻¹ (soil), respectively. PFOA and PFOS hotspots were identified downstream of the Nakdong River and were influenced by seasonal climatic variations. The observed average biennial concentration of the sum of PFOA and PFOS decreased in irrigation water, from 0.112 µg L⁻¹ in 2013 to 0.026 µg L⁻¹ in 2015, suggests that the 2013 Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act may have helped to reduce levels of PFAS at this location. This study calculated some of the highest plant uptake factors reported to date, with values ranging from 0.962 in green onions to < 0.004 in plums. Leafy vegetables and rice are important components of the Korean diet; these groups had the largest contribution to the estimated dietary intake of PFOA and PFOS, which was calculated at 0.449 and 0.140 ng kg ⁻¹_bw day⁻¹, respectively. This corresponded to 66.4% for PFOA and 7.9% for PFOS of the EFSA reference dose (RfD). The dietary intake of PFOA and PFOS from crops alone did not exceed the RfD. However, when the estimated daily intake (EDI) from other sources such as tap water, meat, fish, dairy, and beverages was included in the exposure risk assessment, both of the EDIs to PFOA and PFOS exceeded the RfDs, indicating that there may be a risk to human health. This study concludes that consumption of crops might, therefore, be a significant and underappreciated pathway for human exposure to PFAS.

这项研究进行了首次环境和饮食暴露评估，以探索韩国那东河三角洲农业土壤和灌溉水中植物对全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）的吸收。全氟辛烷磺酸和全氟辛烷磺酸的年平均浓度分别为0.026至0.112 µg L ^-1（灌溉水）和0.818至1.364 µg kg ^-1（土壤）。在那洞河下游发现了全氟辛烷磺酸和全氟辛烷磺酸热点，并受季节气候变化的影响。灌溉水中观察到的PFOA和PFOS总和的平均两年浓度从2013年的0.112 µg L ^-1降至0.026 µg L ^-1于2015年提出，《 2013年持久性有机污染物控制法》可能有助于降低该地区的PFAS含量。这项研究计算了迄今为止报道的一些最高的植物吸收因子，其值从大葱中的0.962到李子中的<0.004。叶类蔬菜和大米是韩国饮食的重要组成部分；这些人群对全氟辛烷磺酸和全氟辛烷磺酸估计膳食摄入量的贡献最大，计算得出的日摄入量为0.449和0.140 ng kg ^-1 _bw day ^-1 ， 分别。这相当于EFSA参考剂量（RfD）的PFOA的66.4％和PFOS的7.9％。单从农作物的饮食中摄取PFOA和PFOS的摄入量不超过RfD。但是，当暴露风险评估中包括来自自来水，肉，鱼，乳制品和饮料等其他来源的估计每日摄入量（EDI）时，PFOA和PFOS的EDI均超过RfD，表明可能对人类健康构成威胁。这项研究得出的结论是，因此，农作物的消费可能是人类暴露于PFAS的重要且未被重视的途径。