The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2024 / Mar / A Race Against “Forever”
Environmental Food, Beverage & Agriculture Chromatography Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

A Race Against “Forever”

We explore the most important timepoints in PFAS chemistry and regulation

By Markella Loi 03/11/2024 1 min read

Share

We recently spoke with three PFAS analysis experts – Jochen Mueller, Mark Strynar, Stefan van Leeuwen, and Richard Jack – to find out what analytical advances are needed for the fight against forever chemicals. You can read the full feature here.

Now, we’re looking back in time at the critical timestamps from the birth of this “forever” problem to the present day.

Images used in video sourced from Unsplash.com

1930s: PFAS chemistry is discovered (1)

1970s: Occupational studies reveal PFAS in the blood of exposed workers

Late 1980s/early 1990s: The routine application of LC-ESI-MS/MS paves the way for the detection of PFAS

Early 2000s: PFAS testing becomes widely available and documented in environmental samples

2001: Giesy and Kannan paper shows PFAS as globally distributed pollutants in wildlife (2)

2006: USEPA and eight major manufacturers launch 2010/2015 PFOA stewardship agreement and papers are published on the analytical challenges of PFAS (3)

2009: PFOS and related compounds are listed under Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on POPs

2012: Nationwide testing for drinking water supplies is introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

2015: Long-chain PFAS (formerly called PFCs) are removed from emissions and products under the PFOA stewardship agreement

2021: The OECD PFAS database is published, containing 4,730 unique PFAS (4)

2023: Maximum levels for PFAS in foods come into force in the EU, and ECHA publishes PFAS restriction proposal (5)

References

  1. ITRC, “History and Use of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) found in the Environment,” (2020). Available at: https://bit.ly/3SlHYtz  
  2. JP Giesy, K Kannan, “Global Distribution of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in Wildlife,” Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 7 (2001). DOI: doi.org/10.1021/es001834k 
  3. JW Martin et al., “Peer Reviewed: Analytical Challenges Hamper Perfluoroalkyl Research,” Environ. Sci. Technol., 38, 13 (2004). DOI: doi.org/10.1021/es0405528 
  4. OECD, “Reconciling Terminology of the Universe of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Recommendations and Practical Guidance,” OECD Series on Risk Management (2021). Available at: https://bit.ly/41ZWVo8 
  5. ECHA (2023), Available at: https://bit.ly/48Ad2eR

About the Author(s)

Markella Loi

Associate Editor, The Analytical Scientist

More Articles by Markella Loi

Recommended