3.05.P-Th221 Detection of Legacy and Emerging PFAS in Wastewater from a Fluoropolymer Production Facility in Italy

Studying the environment near manufacturing sites of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) enables us to evaluate current, but also former PFAS releases and potential forthcoming PFAS concerns. Employing suspect screening (SS) and non-targeted analysis (NTA) using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has shown to be a suitable method for detecting a wide spectrum of PFAS, including new and potentially less-studied contaminants. This study has been chosen as a case study for the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) and is being conducted in collaboration with the USEPA. Waste water samples of a fluoropolymer manufacturing site located in Northern Italy were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to HRMS (Orbitrap) and were processed with Compound Discoverer (Thermo Fisher). State-of-the-art methodologies designed for NTA of environmental samples, such as mass defect filtering, and identification of compound series by Kendrick plots, were employed to identify unknown or suspected PFAS. The investigation showed the ongoing discharge of legacy PFAS (e.g. PFOA), despite their discontinuation in the fluoropolymer production a decade ago. Furthermore, alternative fluorosurfactants, fluorinated monomers and byproducts were identified. The findings show a chronological progression of fluorinated surfactants at this manufacturing site, i.e. a transition from C8-PFAS to short-chain PFAS, and ultimately to non-fluorosurfactant applications in the fluoropolymer production. However, the results also demonstrated the continued production or utilization of long-chain PFAS, despite increasing concerns regarding their bioaccumulative potential in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Additionally, the investigation provides insight into environmental emissions resulting from the production of novel fluorinated polymers within the context of developing new materials for energy transition.