Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Expertise Centre on Mining Governance (CEGEMI), Université Catholique de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2021 Jul;17(4):726-732. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4404. Epub 2021 May 13.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are organic pollutants that may have adverse effects on the ecosystem. Despite the global presence of PFAS, knowledge of PFAS on the African continent is limited because monitoring of PFAS is challenging and often not feasible owing to the lack of analytical capacity and high cost. However, it is necessary to understand the environmental risks posed by these chemicals in developing countries, because increasing urbanization will likely increase PFAS contamination in the environment. Although, as far as is known, PFAS concentrations in the African aquatic environment are generally lower than in more developed countries, exceedances of ecological quality standards (EQS) were reported in a few cases, providing evidence of potential ecological risks to these ecosystems. However, the number of ecosystems at risk will likely increase as urbanization and modernization increase in African countries. Therefore, environmental regulations should be updated and implemented to reduce further contamination of the aquatic environment with these chemicals. In addition, analytical laboratories in Africa should develop their capacity to detect PFAS and related compounds regularly and routinely. Local hot spots need to be identified, the influence of these hot spots on the PFAS burden in the environment should be investigated, and environmental regulations should be implemented for these hot spots to reduce their environmental impact. Therefore, we recommend a more routine monitoring of PFAS, including new PFAS that are currently used as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) alternatives, which are not regulated and environmentally concerning. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:726-732. © 2021 SETAC.
全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是一种有机污染物，可能对生态系统产生不良影响。尽管 PFAS 存在于全球各地，但由于监测 PFAS 具有挑战性，而且由于分析能力不足和成本高昂，通常不可行，因此非洲大陆对 PFAS 的了解有限。然而，有必要了解发展中国家这些化学品所带来的环境风险，因为城市化的增加可能会增加环境中 PFAS 的污染。尽管据了解，非洲水生环境中的 PFAS 浓度通常低于较发达国家，但在少数情况下报告了超过生态质量标准（EQS）的情况，这表明这些生态系统存在潜在的生态风险。然而，随着非洲国家城市化和现代化的发展，处于风险中的生态系统数量可能会增加。因此，应更新和实施环境法规，以减少这些化学品对水生环境的进一步污染。此外，非洲的分析实验室应定期开发其检测 PFAS 及相关化合物的能力。需要确定当地的热点地区，调查这些热点地区对环境中 PFAS 负担的影响，并为这些热点地区实施环境法规，以减少其对环境的影响。因此，我们建议更常规地监测 PFAS，包括目前用作全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）替代品的新型 PFAS，这些替代品不受监管，对环境构成关注。综合环境评估与管理 2021；17:726-732. © 2021 SETAC。
