Discovery of 40 Classes of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Historical Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs) and AFFF-Impacted Groundwater. 2017

Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University , 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.

Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs), containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), are released into the environment during response to fire-related emergencies. Repeated historical applications of AFFF at military sites were a result of fire-fighter training exercises and equipment testing. Recent data on AFFF-impacted groundwater indicates that ∼25% of the PFASs remain unidentified. In an attempt to close the mass balance, a systematic evaluation of 3M and fluorotelomer-based AFFFs, commercial products, and AFFF-impacted groundwaters from 15 U.S. military bases was conducted to identify the remaining PFASs. Liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for compound discovery. Nontarget analysis utilized Kendrick mass defect plots and a "nontarget" R script. Suspect screening compared masses with those of previously reported PFASs. Forty classes of novel anionic, zwitterionic, and cationic PFASs were discovered, and an additional 17 previously reported classes were observed for the first time in AFFF and/or AFFF-impacted groundwater. All 57 classes received an acronym and IUPAC-like name derived from collective author knowledge. Thirty-four of the 40 newly identified PFAS classes derive from electrochemical fluorination (ECF) processes, most of which have the same base structure. Of the newly discovered PFASs found only in AFFF-impacted groundwater, 11 of the 13 classes are ECF-derived, and the remaining two classes are fluorotelomer-derived, which suggests that both ECF- and fluorotelomer-based PFASs are persistent in the environment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002853 Chromatography, Liquid Chromatographic techniques in which the mobile phase is a liquid. Liquid Chromatography
D005466 Fluorocarbons Liquid perfluorinated carbon compounds which may or may not contain a hetero atom such as nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur, but do not contain another halogen or hydrogen atom. This concept includes fluorocarbon emulsions, and fluorocarbon blood substitutes. Perfluorinated and related polyfluorinated chemicals are referred to as PFAS and are defined as chemicals with at least two adjacent carbon atoms, where one carbon is fully fluorinated and the other is at least partially fluorinated. Fluorocarbon,Fluorocarbon Emulsion,Fluorocarbon Emulsions,Fluorotelomer Phosphate Esters,N-Alkyl Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamido Carboxylates,PFAS Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,PFC Perfluorinated Chemicals,PFECAs Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic Acids,Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Perfluoroalkane Sulfonamides,Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates,Perfluoroalkyl Ether Carboxylates,Perfluoroalkyl Polyether Carboxylates,Perfluorocarbon,Perfluorocarbons,Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic Acids,Polyfluorocarbons,Fluorinated Telomer Alcohols,Fluoro-Telomer Alcohols,Polyfluorinated Telomer Alcohols,Telomer Fluorocarbons,Acids, Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic,Alcohols, Fluorinated Telomer,Alcohols, Fluoro-Telomer,Alcohols, Polyfluorinated Telomer,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl Ether,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl Polyether,Carboxylic Acids, Perfluoropolyether,Chemicals, PFC Perfluorinated,Emulsion, Fluorocarbon,Emulsions, Fluorocarbon,Esters, Fluorotelomer Phosphate,Ether Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Fluoro Telomer Alcohols,Fluorocarbons, Telomer,N Alkyl Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamido Carboxylates,PFAS Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Perfluorinated Chemicals, PFC,Phosphate Esters, Fluorotelomer,Polyether Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Sulfonamides, Perfluoroalkane,Telomer Alcohols, Fluorinated,Telomer Alcohols, Polyfluorinated
D014867 Water A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Hydrogen Oxide
D014874 Water Pollutants, Chemical Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water. Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water
D060587 Groundwater Liquid water present beneath the surface of the earth. Aquifers,Ground Water,Ground-Water,Subterranean Lakes,Underground Lakes,Underground Streams,Underground Water,Water Table,Aquifer,Ground Waters,Ground-Waters,Groundwaters,Lake, Subterranean,Lake, Underground,Lakes, Subterranean,Lakes, Underground,Stream, Underground,Streams, Underground,Subterranean Lake,Table, Water,Tables, Water,Underground Lake,Underground Stream,Underground Waters,Water Tables,Water, Underground,Waters, Underground

Related Publications

Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
January 2023, Frontiers in chemistry,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
September 2023, Environmental science & technology,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
March 2023, The Science of the total environment,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
January 2021, Environmental science & technology letters,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
November 2021, Environmental science & technology,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
February 2024, Journal of hazardous materials,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
June 2024, The Science of the total environment,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
July 2023, Environmental science. Advances,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
May 2024, Chemosphere,
Krista A Barzen-Hanson, and Simon C Roberts, and Sarah Choyke, and Karl Oetjen, and Alan McAlees, and Nicole Riddell, and Robert McCrindle, and P Lee Ferguson, and Christopher P Higgins, and Jennifer A Field
October 2022, Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987),
Copied contents to your clipboard!