Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are long-lived environmental contaminants of concern for human health. Because of the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond, PFAS are extremely stable. When released into the atmosphere, they can undergo long-range transport, followed by return to Earth through deposition. Here we focus on quantifying the concentrations of 15 PFAS in precipitation from six locations in the Ohio-Indiana region of the United States, with comparison to a remote site in Wyoming at approximately the same latitude. During summer 2019, PFAS concentrations in rainfall ranged from 50-850 ng/L, as measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Trifluoroacetic acid accounted for approximately 90% of all PFAS. It is notable that concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorosulfonic acid (PFOS) were comparable to levels observed over the past two decades in spite of regulatory restrictions. We also detected HFPO-DA (GenX), a replacement for legacy PFAS, at all measurement sites. Analysis by ANOVA modeling and correlation matrices indicated statistically significant differences (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) in PFAS profiles at sites separated by tens to hundreds of kilometers, highlighting the importance of local point sources on deposition of PFAS in the United States. Future work in isomer analysis could aid in identifying and tracking PFAS sources.

Occurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances in rainfall from the central U.S.

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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