Measurement Science of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Summary

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards & Technology are creating reference materials and data resources to address the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measurement needs of academic, industrial, and governmental laboratories.

Description

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) belong to a class of chemical compounds that includes a fully or partially-fluorinated carbon chain, that gives the compounds unique properties for a variety of commercial and industrial applications. PFAS have been recognized as emerging environmental contaminants and are deemed persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to humans and wildlife [https://www.epa.gov/pfas]. Due to their unique structure and properties, PFAS can be difficult to measure confidently; in addition, there are a wide range of chemical structures of PFAS and limited availability of chemical standards for these measurements. For these reasons, researchers at NIST have been developing reference materials and data resources that can be used to increase confidence in PFAS measurements, including the targeted, quantitative measurement and the nontargeted, qualitative identification of PFAS in human and environmental matrices.

Currently, NIST provides nine difference reference materials that have measured amounts of PFAS, for the list visit NIST SRM Website. Additional reference materials for unique matrices, like drinking water and technical solutions, are in development.

Objective

To create reference materials and data for the quality assurance of PFAS measurements; including quantitative and qualitative measurements.

Current Activity

• PFAS in Drinking Water Reference Material

  
  Drinking water is the largest source of PFAS exposure to humans. To address the needs of regulators and analytical laboratories measuring drinking water; NIST is developing a reference material for low levels (ng/L or parts per trillion) of PFAS in municipal drinking water.
   

• PFAS in Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Reference Material Suite

  
  AFFFs containing PFAS have been used for many years to fight fires and for training to fight fires.  As a source of PFAS in the environment, aqueous film-forming foams are known to contain a variety of PFAS with unique structures and high concentrations. Scientists at NIST are developing a suite of AFFF with PFAS of varying concentrations and structure to provide quality control materials for laboratories to use when measuring AFFF-contaminated environmental samples.

  Currently, registration is open for an interlaboratory study to evaluate the measurements of targeted PFAS in AFFF formulations; registration is closing December 31, 2019. See https://qa.nist.gov/csd_ils for more information.
   

• Reference Data for the Identification of Novel PFAS

  
  For many PFAS, there are few or no analytical standards available for the verification of chemical identity using advanced techniques like liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). There is a significant need from the community for high-quality reference data for the identification of PFAS by LC-HRMS; therefore researchers at NIST are working on new tools and databases that make PFAS reference data available and usable.

PFAS Postdoctoral Research Opportunities

In addition to reference material and data resource development, NIST has opportunities for recent graduate students to perform novel research related to PFAS through the National Research Council Research Associateship Program. NRC research opportunities include:

• Analytical Methods Development for the Determination of Anthropogenic Contaminants in the Marine Environment
• Advances in High Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Exposure Sciences and Forensic Analyses
• Advances in High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Contact

For more information, please contact pfas [at] nist.gov.

Chemistry, Analytical chemistry, Environment, Health and Standards