Distribution of perfluorinated compounds in surface water from Hanjiang River in Wuhan, China

• Total PFCs ranged from 8.90 to 568 ng L−1, while PFOA and PFOS dominated.
• Concentrations of PFCs were found to be normally distributed in the river.
• Poor relationships between PFOS and PFCAs indicated an effect of multi-sources.
• The fluxes to the Yangtze River were from 16.9 to 127 kg yr−1 for the PFCs.
• Potential adverse effect of PFCs on drinking water sources should not be ignored.

This study provided the first spatial distribution of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in Hanjiang River in Wuhan, China (HR). Surface water samples, collected from 23 sites in HR were analyzed for eight PFCs. The total concentrations of PFCs ranged from 8.90 to 568 ng L−1, while perfluoropentanoic acid (PFOA,