Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) migration from water to soil-plant systems, health risks, and implications for remediation

During the past few decades, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) gained enormous attention from the scientific community due to their ubiquitous presence and persistence in a vast array of environmental compartments. PFAS occur in aqueous film-forming forms (AFFFs) as the main component as well as in many other consumer products. Therefore, the contamination of water and land resources with PFAS is inevitable during firefighting activities and through waste management practices. PFAS uptake and bioaccumulation in plants take place when using effluents from wastewater treatment plants for irrigational purposes, when using biosolids as fertilizers, or when improperly releasing effluents, landfill leachates, and biosolids into the environment. Ultimately PFAS can reach humans via dietary and contaminated water sources generating health-related consequences. It is important to have a broad knowledge of contamination pathways, environmental fate, and remediation practices to mitigate environmental and human health-related concerns. Therefore, this chapter extensively discusses various routes for the migration of PFAS from water to soil-plant systems, as well as the implications and remediation measures that can be established to address the issues associated with environmental contamination with PFAS.