A Passive Air Sampling Technique For Ultra-Trace Quantitation Of Gas-Phase Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids

Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are persistent chemicals distributed ubiquitously in the environmental despite their anthropogenic origin. Recent studies have shown that atmospheric transport is an important transport mechanism for PFCAs. Despite this, measuring mixing ratios of gaseous PFCAs in the atmosphere has been an analytical challenge, limiting the availability of atmospheric measurements. A new nylon-based passive air sampling (PAS) technique addresses many of these challenges by offering a cost effective, low-labour solution. These samplers were calibrated for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in an atmospheric chamber and field measurements were compared to measurements from an ambient ion monitoring ion chromatography mass spectrometer, where good agreement was found. They were also deployed in various locations in Canada for gas-phase PFCA measurements which revealed many different trends, including the wastewater treatment plant as a point source of gas-phase TFA. These measurements have enhanced our understanding of PFCAs with calibrated, cost-effective samplers capable of ultra-trace measurements.