Certain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Associated with Aqueous Film Forming Foam Are Widespread in Canadian Surface Waters

Abstract

The presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) commonly associated with aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) at sites without known AFFF contamination is a largely unexplored area, which may reveal widespread environmental contaminants requiring further investigation. Sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) screening for 23 classes of PFASs, followed by quantitative analysis was used to investigate surface waters from rural, urban, and AFFF-impacted sites in Canada. The PFASs detected included perfluorohexane sulfonamide (FHxSA), 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide (FTSAm), fluorotelomer sulfonamide alkylbetaines (FTABs), fluorotelomer betaines (FTBs), 6:2 fluorotelomer mercaptoalkylamido sulfonate sulfone (FTSAS-SO), 6:2 fluorotelomerthiohydroxyl ammonium sulfoxide (FTSHA-SO), 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide alkylamine (FTAA) and C3 to C6 perfluoroalkane sulfonamido amphoterics. Detection of FHxSA in all urban and AFFF-impacted sites (0.04-19 ng/L) indicates the widespread presence of rarely considered perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) precursors in Canadian waters. FTABs and FTBs were especially abundant with up to 16-33 ng/L of 6:2 FTAB in urban and AFFF-impacted water suggesting it may have additional applications, while FTBs were only in AFFF-impacted sites (qualitative; ∑FTBs 80 ng/L). The distributions of PFASs moving downstream along the AFFF-impacted Welland River and between water and sediment suggested differences in the persistence of various AFFF components and enhanced sorption of long-chain fluorotelomer betaines. Total organofluorine combustion-ion chromatography (TOF-CIC) revealed that fluorotelomer betaines were a substantial portion of the organofluorine in some waters and 36-99.7% of the total organofluorine was not measured in the targeted analysis.

Reduction of a Tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile‐β‐Cyclodextrin Polymer to Remove Anionic Micropollutants and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances from Water

“…Anionic PFASs present a particular environmental problem because of their resistance to biodegradation or chemical transformation and association with negative health effects . PFASs have been used in the formulations of thousands of consumer goods and are present in aqueous film‐forming foam formulations used to suppress aviation fires in training scenarios . As a result, they have contaminated surface and ground waters near thousands of airports and military installations .…”

Temporal variations of perfluoroalkyl substances partitioning between surface water, suspended sediment, and biota in a macrotidal estuary

“…In contrast, 6:2 FTSA was related in a negative fashion to ΣPFASs, suggesting particular sources and/or different environmental fate. The presence of 6:2 FTSA has been linked with industrial locations and firefighting foam impacted sites, for instance via the degradation of precursors to 6:2 FTSA present in aqueous film-forming foam formulations (D'Agostino and Mabury, 2017;Dauchy et al, 2017;Field and Seow, 2017). In addition, 6:2 FTSA itself could be biotransformed to fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylates and…”

Nitrile Reduction Reverses the Micropollutant Uptake Selectivity of a Tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile-β-Cyclodextrin Polymer

“…6 PFASs have been used in the formulations of thousands of consumer goods 19 and are present in aqueous film-forming foam formulations used to suppress aviation fires in training scenarios. 20,21 As a result, they have contaminated surface and ground waters near thousands of airports and military installations. 22,23 In 2018, the Environmental Working Group reported that over 110 million people in the United States were exposed to drinking water with PFAS concentrations above 2.5 ng L -1 .…”