Hot-spot identification

PFC concentrations in the Central and Southern European rivers, such as in Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, and UK, generally seem to be higher than in Northern Europe. This is well illustrated when levels reported for the Scandinavian countries and Northern Poland. However, this conclusion might also be an artifact due to the situation that in some countries more analyses were carried out than in others, and thus the possibility of hot spot identification is higher. The rivers Po, Rhine and Seine appear to be the major rivers in Europe discharging PFCs into the oceans [3]. The reports generally focus on the presence of PFOA and PFOS in the environment. However, as a result of substitution of C8 compounds by C4 perfluorinated and polyfluorinated telomer compounds, respectively, it is expected that concentrations of the substitutes or their metabolites will increase in the environment. Unfortunately, PFBA and PFBS have been monitored only scarcely thus far. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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