Keynote, Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Climate Action (SDG 13)
Global distribution of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): mechanisms of transport
Cora Young York University, Canada
Aqueous systems around the world, including remote regions, experience chemical pollution. While aqueous pollutants can travel in water, that transport is typically relatively slow. In contrast, if these chemicals can enter or be formed in the atmosphere, long-range transport can occur rapidly. One chemical class for which atmospheric transport and formation is important is perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), a sub-class of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Numerous approaches to improving our understanding of atmospheric PFCA formation and transport will be discussed, including results from laboratory experiments and environmental sampling. New innovations in fast gas-phase sampling of PFCAs allows us to undertake experiments that monitor atmospheric reactions in real time. These have been applied to flow tubes to better understand how gaseous PFCAs are taken up into the condensed phase. Measurements of atmospheric PFCAs, as well as atmospheric deposition, provide us with the opportunity to examine our hypothesized mechanisms in real datasets. Our environmental samples include gas-phase measurements, as well as spatially- and temporally-resolved atmospheric deposition samples. Implications for our understanding of PFCA aqueous pollution will be discussed.
© The Author(s), 2023
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