The primary aim of this article is to provide an overview of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) detected in the environment, wildlife, and humans, and recommend clear, specific, and descriptive terminology, names, and acronyms for PFASs. The overarching objective is to unify and harmonize communication on PFASs by offering terminology for use by the global scientific, regulatory, and industrial communities. A particular emphasis is placed on long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, substances related to the long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, and substances intended as alternatives to the use of the long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids or their precursors. First, we define PFASs, classify them into various families, and recommend a pragmatic set of common names and acronyms for both the families and their individual members. Terminology related to fluorinated polymers is an important aspect of our classification. Second, we provide a brief description of the 2 main production processes, electrochemical fluorination and telomerization, used for introducing perfluoroalkyl moieties into organic compounds, and we specify the types of byproducts (isomers and homologues) likely to arise in these processes. Third, we show how the principal families of PFASs are interrelated as industrial, environmental, or metabolic precursors or transformation products of one another. We pay particular attention to those PFASs that have the potential to be converted, by abiotic or biotic environmental processes or by human metabolism, into long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic or sulfonic acids, which are currently the focus of regulatory action. The Supplemental Data lists 42 families and subfamilies of PFASs and 268 selected individual compounds, providing recommended names and acronyms, and structural formulas, as well as Chemical Abstracts Service registry numbers. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2011;7:513–541. © 2011 SETAC

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Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the environment: Terminology, classification, and origins

http://www.beauty-review.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Perfluoroalkyl-acids-a-review-of-monitoring-and-toxicological-findings.pdf

Perfluoroalkyl Acids: A Review of Monitoring and Toxicological Findings

This review describes the sources, fate, and transport of perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) in the environment, with a specific focus on perfluorooctanoate (PFO). The global historical industry-wide emissions of total PFCAs from direct (manufacture, use, consumer products) and indirect (PFCA impurities and/or precursors) sources were estimated to be 3200−7300 tonnes. It was estimated that the majority (∼80%) of PFCAs have been released to the environment from fluoropolymer manufacture and use. Although indirect sources were estimated to be much less important than direct sources, there were larger uncertainties associated with the calculations for indirect sources. The physical−chemical properties of PFO (negligible vapor pressure, high solubility in water, and moderate sorption to solids) suggested that PFO would accumulate in surface waters. Estimated mass inventories of PFO in various environmental compartments confirmed that surface waters, especially oceans, contain the majority of PFO. The only environm...

Sources, fate and transport of perfluorocarboxylates.

This paper presents a review of catalytic ozonation and methods of enhancing molecular ozone reactions in water treatment. It is also an attempt to propose general ideas about mechanisms governing catalytic ozone reactions. Catalytic ozonation is a new means of contaminants removal from drinking water and wastewater. Its application is mainly limited to laboratory use. However, due to successful results further investigation is to be carried out. The majority of models proposed represent more of a speculative approach to the problem than a hypothesis based on experimental data. It is therefore useful to provide a summary of the accomplishments concerning catalytic ozonation and methods of enhancing molecular ozone reactions that were published so far. A survey of the application of several homo- and heterogeneous catalysts, their activity and the parameters influencing the efficiency of catalytic systems is presented here as a short overview, the aim of which is to raise awareness of possible new approaches to water purification.

Catalytic ozonation and methods of enhancing molecular ozone reactions in water treatment

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFSs) are used in industrial and commercial products and can degrade to persistent perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs). Temporal trend st...

Biological Monitoring of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Review

Perfluorinated surfactants have emerged as priority environmental contaminants due to recent reports of their detection in environmental and biological matrices as well as concerns regarding their persistence and toxicity. In June 2000, 22000 L of fire retardant foam containing perfluorinated surfactants was accidentally released at L. B. Pearson International Airport, Toronto, ON, and subsequently entered into Etobicoke Creek, a tributary to Lake Ontario. A suite of analytical tools that include liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and 19F NMR were employed to characterize fish (common shiner, Notropus cornutus) and surface water samples collected following the discharge of the perfluorinated material. Total perfluoroalkanesulfonate (4, 6, and 8 carbons) concentrations in fish liver samples ranged from 2.00 to 72.9 microg/g, and total perfluorocarboxylate (5-14 carbons) concentrations ranged from 0.07 to 1.02 microg/g. In addition to fish samples, total perfluoroalkanesulfonate (6 and 8 carbons) concentrations were detected in creek water samples by LC/MS/MS over a 153 day sampling period with concentrations ranging from <0.017 to 2260 microg/L; perfluorooctanoate concentrations (<0.009-11.3 microg/L) were lower than those observed for the perfluoroalkane-sulfonates. By 19F NMR, the total perfluorinated surfactant concentrations in surface water samples ranged from < 10 to 17000 microg/L. A bioaccumulation factor range of 6300-125000 was calculated for perfluorooctanesulfonate, based on concentrations in fish liver and surface water. The residence time of perfluorooctanesulfonate in Etobicoke Creek as well as the high bioaccumulation in fish liver suggests that perfluorinated surfactants will persist and bioaccumulate following release into the aquatic environment.

Monitoring Perfluorinated Surfactants in Biota and Surface Water Samples Following an Accidental Release of Fire-Fighting Foam into Etobicoke Creek

The ubiquitous detection of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in humans and animals has produced a need for sensitive and compound-specific analytical methods to determine the environmental distribu...

Collection of airborne fluorinated organics and analysis by gas chromatography/chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

Perfluorinated surfactants are an important class of specialty chemicals that have received recent attention as a result of their persistence in the environment. Two analytical methods for the determination of perfluorinated surfactants in aqueous samples were developed in order to investigate a spill of 22 000 L of fire retardant foam containing perfluorinated surfactants into Etobicoke Creek (Toronto, Ontario). With the first method, aliquots of surface water (0.2−200 mL) were preconcentrated using solid-phase extraction. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry was employed for identification and quantification of each perfluorinated surfactant. Total perfluorinated surfactant concentrations in surface water samples ranged from 0.011 to 2270 μg/L, and perfluorooctanesulfonate was the predominant surfactant observed. Interestingly, perfluorooctanoate was detected in surface water sampled upstream of the spill. A second method employing 19F NMR was developed for the determination of total perfluori...

Determination of perfluorinated surfactants in surface water samples by two independent analytical techniques: liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and 19F NMR.

Wai Chi Kwan

Papers

Monitoring Perfluorinated Surfactants in Biota and Surface Water Samples Following an Accidental Release of Fire-Fighting Foam into Etobicoke Creek

Collection of airborne fluorinated organics and analysis by gas chromatography/chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

Determination of perfluorinated surfactants in surface water samples by two independent analytical techniques: liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and 19F NMR.