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EXPLORING THE BIOTRANSFORMATION POTENTIAL OF FLUOROTELOMER ALCOHOL-BASED POLYMER FORMULATIONS DURING AEROBIC BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Citation:
BOULANGER, B., M. MILLS, C. M. ACHESON, AND T. J. HOLDSWORTH. EXPLORING THE BIOTRANSFORMATION POTENTIAL OF FLUOROTELOMER ALCOHOL-BASED POLYMER FORMULATIONS DURING AEROBIC BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT. Presented at EPA Science Forum 2006, Washington, DC, May 16, 2005 - May 18, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Fluorotelomer alcohols have been widely used over the past 50 years in surface protection products for paper, packaging, textile, and carpet goods; in industrial surfactant mixtures; in aqueous fire-fighting foams, and as processing aids during the production of fluoropolymer plastics. Because 80% of produced fluorotelomer alcohols are formulated into polymer-based products, these product formulations are hypothesized to be an important source of the observed accumulation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in environmental matrices. In response to the suggested evidence of PFOA carcinogenicity, the Soils and Sediments Management Branch of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) has initiated a multi-year research program to evaluate the fate of fluorotelomer alcohol polymer formulations from down-the-drain disposals of the ubiquitous polymer products. NRMRL's research program will investigate the fate of four fluorotelomer alcohol-based polymer products under aerobic biological wastewater treatment conditons. The two specific aims of NRMRL's research are to 1) evaluate the amount of residual fluorotelomer monomers left in polymeric product formulations, and 2) determine the biotransformation potential of the fluorotelomer alcohol polymer products during aerobic biological wastewater treatment. The amount of residual in four industrially produced polymer products will be determined through accelerated solvent extraction. The biotransformation potential of these products will then be evaluated using Sludge Sorption Isotherm tests, the Semi-Continuous Activated Sludge Test, and an Aerobic Sewage Treatment Simulation Test. NRMRL's evaluation is part of an Agency-wide effort to understand the importance of PFOA in the environment and has been undertaken at a direct request for support from the Office of Pollution, Prevention, and Toxics.