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Air Sampling and Analytical Method Development to Measure Emissions of PFAS in the Indoor Environment
Citation:
Liu, X. AND Z. Robbins. Air Sampling and Analytical Method Development to Measure Emissions of PFAS in the Indoor Environment. ASTM October 2022 Committee Meeting, Louisiana, LA, October 16 - 19, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
US EPA is rapidly expanding the scientific foundation for understanding and managing risk from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Emissions of PFAS from consumer products and building materials are an important uncertainty in current exposure estimates. There is a pressing need for the EPA Superfund program to have certain physicochemical data to better understand PFAS vapor intrusion into indoor air from subsurface vapor sources. While there have been a few PFAS methods developed for water, soils, sediments, biosolids, biota, and outdoor air, there are currently no similar efforts for vapor-phase PFAS in indoor air. This presentation provides the status of an analytical method developed for determining fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), one category of PFAS, in air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC-MS/MS). The method will be applied for characterizing source and emissions of FTOHs in the indoor environment.
Description:
Elevated levels of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely detected in consumer products, building materials, indoor air, and house dust underscore the relevance of the indoor environment to human exposure. Another source of PFAS in the indoor environment is through vapor intrusion from PFAS contaminated subsurface vapor sources. Reliable experimental measurements for emissions of PFAS into the indoor environment are critical for understanding how PFAS move through the environment to impact people and ecosystems. Whereas there have been a few PFAS methods developed for water, soils, sediments, biosolids, biota, and outdoor air, there are currently no similar efforts for vapor-phase PFAS in indoor air. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are volatile precursors to perfluorinated carboxylic acids and other PFAS. They are widely detected in air. This presentation provides the status of an analytical method developed for determining FTOHs in air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC-MS/MS).