Since the 1970s, the U.S. Military has utilized aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) for the purpose of fighting hydrocarbon-based fires on air force and navy bases. Even at the beginning of their development, these AFFF formulations contained per- and poly-fluorinated chemicals as part of their composition, and to date the business of AFFF manufacturing (for military use) has grown and multiple products have been developed, containing different classes of fluorochemicals. Using a combination of Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry (FAB-MS), which favorably ionizes surface-active compounds, and Liquid Chromatography paired with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) the formulas and respective structures have been determined within each of the U.S. Military-approved AFFF materials, including both historical and current-use formulations. Included in the list of AFFF-based fluorochemicals include the commonly studied perfluorinated sulfonates (e.g. perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS), as well as novel fluorinated compounds that include fluoroalkyl classes of betaines and thioamido sulfonates.

Identification of the novel fluorochemical components in U.S. military-use aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) using fast atom bombardment and high resolution mass spectrometry

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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