Polyfluorinated compounds in the atmosphere along a cruise pathway from the Japan Sea to the Arctic Ocean

Abstract

Neutral polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) were measured in high-volume air samples collected on board the research vessel Snow Dragon during the 4th Chinese National Arctic Expedition from the Japan Sea to the Arctic Ocean in 2010. Four volatile and semi-volatile PFASs (fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), fluorotelomer acids (FTAs), perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (FASAs), and sulfonamidoethanols (FASEs)) were analyzed respectively in the gas and particle phases. FTOHs were the dominant PFASs in the gas phase (61-358pgm(-3)), followed by FTAs (5.2-47.9pgm(-3)), FASEs (1.9-15.0pgm(-3)), and FASAs (0.5-2.1pgm(-3)). In the particle phase, the dominant PFAS class was FTOHs (1.0-9.9pgm(-3)). The particle-associated fraction followed the general trend of FASEs>FASAs>FTOHs. Compared with other atmospheric PFAS measurements, the ranges of concentrations of ∑FTOH in this study were similar to those reported from Toronto, north America (urban), the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and northern Germany. Significant correlations between FASEs in the gas phase and ambient air temperature indicate that cold surfaces such as sea-ice, snowpack, and surface seawater influence atmospheric FASEs.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the lower atmosphere and surface waters of the Chinese Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and Yangtze River estuary

“…The predominant compound was 8:2 FTOH, given that it exhibited concentrations ranging from 55 to 430 pg/m 3 , which accounted for 92% to 99% of the ∑PFASs. The concentrations of the other FTOH homologues declined in the following order: 10:2 FTOH N 12:2 FTOH N 6:2 FTOH, which were consistent with those in the atmosphere above the Japan Sea and Bering Sea (Cai et al, 2012a). The ratios of the 6:2 to 8:2 and 10:2 to 8:2 FTOHs ranged from 0.01 to 0.04 and 0.08 to 0.33, respectively.…”

“…As for FASA/Es, concentrations in air from the Bohai and Yellow Seas were comparable to those reported at Büsum on the German coast (0.4 to 13 pg/m 3 , and 0.5 to 3.6 pg/m 3 , respectively) for samples collected in 2011-2012 (Z. . In most of the northern hemisphere, including the Arctic region , North Atlantic Ocean coast of Europe (Jahnke et al, 2007), Japan Sea to the Arctic Ocean (Cai et al, 2012a), and east coast of the USA (Shoeib et al, 2010), higher FASE concentrations were observed as compared to those in the air of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. Conversely, the FASA concentrations exhibited an inverse pattern.…”

“…Neutral PFASs, for instance, 8:2 FTOH had a low affinity to particles, and exhibited a partitioning coefficient varying between 1% and 3%. The air filters were not analyzed in this study Cai et al, 2012a;Labadie and Chevreuil, 2011;Zhou et al, 2013). The WAX cartridges were first washed with 15 mL Millipore water to remove the salt, and then dried using a vacuum pump.…”

“…Air masses from the Korea Peninsula coast and the Japan Sea (A9-A11) exhibited lower ∑PFAS concentrations (170 to 220 pg/m 3 ) than those from the south Yellow Sea (A1-A8, 192 to 511 pg/m 3 ). Cai et al (2012a) reported a neutral gas phase ∑ PFAS concentration of 346 pg/m 3 in the Japan Sea, and -: no data.…”

Wet Deposition and Photodegradation of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates and Fluorotelomer Alcohols: Distribution Pathways from Air to Water Environment

“…fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), were suggested as an indirect source of PFCAs in remote areas . Fluorotelomer alcohols were widely detected in the air of several countries in North America, Europe and Asia (Stock et al, 2004;Barber et al, 2007;Oono et al, 2008;Kim et al, 2012) and also along the Arctic, Atlantic and Southern Oceans (Shoeib et al, 2006;Shoeib et al, 2010;Cai et al, 2012), which showed evidences of global atmospheric distribution. In addition, PFCAs were also detected in the air, bound onto particulate matter (Barber et al, 2007;Shoeib et al, 2011;Vierke et al, 2011).…”