Field intercomparison on the determination of volatile and semivolatile polyfluorinated compounds in air
Annekatrin Dreyer A F , Mahiba Shoeib B , Stefan Fiedler C , Jon Barber D E , Tom Harner B , Karl-Werner Schramm C , Kevin C. Jones D and Ralf Ebinghaus AA GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Max Planck Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany.
B Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada.
C Helmholz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
D Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
E Cefas, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
F Corresponding author. Email: annekatrin.dreyer@gkss.de
Environmental Chemistry 7(4) 350-358 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN10053
Submitted: 17 May 2010 Accepted: 29 June 2010 Published: 20 August 2010
Environmental context. Polyfluorinated compounds are an emerging group of organic pollutants that are globally distributed in urban and natural environments. Reliable air monitoring methods are crucial to our understanding of how these pollutants are released to, and transported in, the atmosphere. This intercomparison study, involving laboratories that investigate polyfluorinated compounds in air, uncovers inconsistencies in the reported data, and highlights necessary analytical improvements for future research projects.
Abstract. Fluorotelomer alcohols, perfluorinated sulfonamides or sulfonamido ethanols are volatile precursors of persistent perfluorinated acids. Published air-sampling strategies and analytical methods to determine these compounds differ. To assess performance on the determination of airborne polyfluorinated compounds, an intercomparison comprising four international research groups was established. Instrumental and analytical comparability between laboratories varied depending on the compound class. Variability in different sampling strategies was assessed for active (high-volume) v. passive samplers consisting of either semipermeable membrane devices or sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam disks. Results from passive samplers were typically within an order of magnitude of air concentrations from averaged continuous high-volume samples. Smallest deviations (passive v. active) were observed for sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam disk samplers with best agreement for fluorotelomer alcohols. This study reveals that it is important to be aware of several types of uncertainty or error for the determination of airborne polyfluorinated compounds and report data in this context or to take steps to minimise their impact.
Additional keywords: air sampling, fluorotelomer alcohol, interlaboratory comparison, PFAS, PFC.
Acknowledgements
We thank Uwe Eckermann from the Environmental Agency (Staatliches Umweltamt Itzehoe) for his support concerning the Barsbüttel site and Vera Langer, Sabine Struwe, and Ingo Weinberg for their helping hands throughout the sampling. Partial funding for Environment Canada was provided by the Chemicals Management Plan.
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