3.05.P-Th223 Environmental and multisource monitoring of PFAS in a pan-European perspective

stablishing a process for environmental and multisource monitoring is a key component in the Horizon Europe Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC), with the purpose of supporting the chemical risk assessment of the European Union (EU). A pilot project was launched in this task to develop and validate a workflow which could become the model for future monitoring campaigns in PARC. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are one of the compound groups selected for this pilot project. It intends to establish a PFAS baseline for Europe to reflect the current environmental levels of PFAS resultmg from decades ofPFAS production and use. Using available monitormg data, PFAS baseline levels will be derived for different regions, matrices and land uses which can serve as a benchmark for future comparisons. Besides this baseline, a set of case studies will address PFAS pathways from source to aquatic recipients. The case studies will focus on European sites with a confirmed PFAS contamination (e.g., firefightmg training sites, wastewater-impacted areas, fluoropolymer production facilities). Using a combination of advanced methodological approaches (target analysis, suspect and non-target screening, and sum parameters such as TOF and TOP assays), the case studies will determine the role ofPFAS precursors in the environmental fate ofPFAS (transport and transformation pathways), and explore the possibility of using PFAS fingerprinting to improve the understanding ofPFAS pathways and source identification. Followmg the actual monitormg work, the pilot study will be concluded with an analysis of lessons learned and potential adjustments in future environmental monitoring projects under PARC.