Increased levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) during Hurricane Dorian on the east coast of Florida
​PFAS can be transported in surface water and storm runoff in the nearshore environment. Episodic events, such as hurricanes, are projected to increase in frequency and intensity, and a critical unanswered question is: how do episodic events influence the concentrations and distributions of emerging contaminants, such as PFAS, in coastal systems? Here, we investigated the impact of the 2019 Hurricane Dorian on the Florida coast to assess how natural disasters, such as hurricanes, influence the fate and transport of PFAS in surface water. Water samples collected throughout the St. Augustine Intracoastal waterway before, during, and after the storm were analyzed and compared with baseline concentrations. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) was the compound with the highest concentration across all sampling sites. Mean PFOS levels showed the highest increase of 177% during the hurricane and returned to baseline levels after two days. Our findings highlight the need for continued research focused on understanding how large storms near all coastlines can impact the transport of environmental pollutants, such as PFOS, that can have adverse effects on human and environmental health. 
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Geographic illustration of the nine sampling sites along the Intra Coastal waterway (Matanzas River) and its tributary, Pellicer Creek alongside an outline of the United States of America showing its geographical location. Sample site names and abbreviations can be found in Supplementary Information (Table SII). (Google, 2020).
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A. Frequency of quantification of individual PFAS species across all sites, B. Mean concentrations for each quantified PFAS compound (ng/L) across all surface water samples (mean ± standard deviation).
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A. Mean concentration of total PFAS as well as selected species over the six collection dates. B. PFOS levels at individual sites (single sample replicates) and overall PFOS mean throughout the storm. Different letters (in panel A) indicate statistically significant differences following one-way analysis of variance with Tukey HSD post-hoc test, statistical significance was inferred at p < 0.05.
Full citation: Martinez B, Da Silva BF, Aristizabal-Henao JJ, Denslow ND, Osborne TZ, Morrison ES, Bianchi TS, Bowden JA. Increased levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) during Hurricane Dorian on the east coast of Florida. Environmental research. 2022 May 15;208:112635.

For more information about this study or if you would like a copy of the publication, please email Dr. Bowden at [email protected].