You are here:
Current Status of Method Development for Determination of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Citation:
Liu, X. Current Status of Method Development for Determination of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry. ASTM Workshop on PFAS in Atmosphere ¿ Sources, Sampling, and Standards, Washington DC, DC, November 01 - 02, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. The scientific foundation for understanding exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and associated concerns about their potential health effects is rapidly expanding. ASTM D22.05 Indoor Air Subcommittee in D22 Air Quality Committee is organizing an ASTM Workshop on PFAS in Atmosphere – Sources, Sampling, and Standards on November 1- 2, 2023, in Washington DC. This abstract/presentation provides a status update of an ASTM method entitled Standard Test Method for Determination of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry under ASTM D22.05 Indoor Air Subcommittee. The standard method is based on a research effort conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling.
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 limited efforts devoted to developing analytical methods to measure vapor-phase PFAS in indoor air. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are volatile precursors to perfluorinated carboxylic acids and are used in the synthesis of various surfactants and as intermediates in the manufacture for a variety of products. It is imperative to develop sampling and analytical methods for trace level analysis of FTOHs in indoor air to characterize FTOHs and understand an important uncertainty in current exposure estimates. An ASTM work item (WK83516) entitled Standard Test Method for Determination of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Air by Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry has been created under ASTM D22.05 Indoor Air Subcommittee. The standard method is based on a research effort conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling. The target analytes were 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexan-1-ol (4:2 FTOH; CAS No. 2043-47-2), 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctan-1-ol (6:2 FTOH; CAS No. 647-42-7), 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecan-1-ol (8:2 FTOH; CAS No. 678-39-7), and 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorododecan-1-ol (10:2 FTOH; CAS No. 865-86-1). Compared to other air sampling media, the thermal desorption tube method minimizes sample loss during analysis. The gas chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry improves sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability of determining PFAS in air samples because of its ability to obtain precursor-to-product mass fragmentation spectra via multiple reaction monitoring. This presentation provides a status update of the standard’s development and tasks to be completed before it is submitted for the ASTM balloting process.