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Kwiatkowski CF, Andrews DQ, Birnbaum LS, Bruton TA, DeWitt JC, Knappe DRU, Maffini MV, Miller MF, Pelch KE, Reade A, Soehl A, Trier X, Venier M, Wagner CC, Wang Z, Blum A. Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS 2020; 7:532-543. [PMID: 34307722 PMCID: PMC8297807 DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
This commentary presents a scientific basis for managing as one chemical class the thousands of chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The class includes perfluoroalkyl acids, perfluoroalkylether acids, and their precursors; fluoropolymers and perfluoropolyethers; and other PFAS. The basis for the class approach is presented in relation to their physicochemical, environmental, and toxicological properties. Specifically, the high persistence, accumulation potential, and/or hazards (known and potential) of PFAS studied to date warrant treating all PFAS as a single class. Examples are provided of how some PFAS are being regulated and how some businesses are avoiding all PFAS in their products and purchasing decisions. We conclude with options for how governments and industry can apply the class-based approach, emphasizing the importance of eliminating non-essential uses of PFAS, and further developing safer alternatives and methods to remove existing PFAS from the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol F. Kwiatkowski
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - David Q. Andrews
- Environmental Working Group, Washington, D.C. 20009, United States
| | - Linda S. Birnbaum
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Thomas A. Bruton
- Green Science Policy Institute, Berkeley, California 94709, United States
| | - Jamie C. DeWitt
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27834, United States
| | - Detlef R. U. Knappe
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | | | - Mark F. Miller
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and U.S. Public Health Service, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Katherine E. Pelch
- School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76126, United States
| | - Anna Reade
- Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco, California 94104, United States
| | - Anna Soehl
- Green Science Policy Institute, Berkeley, California 94709, United States
| | - Xenia Trier
- European Environment Agency, DK-1050 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marta Venier
- O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47401, United States
| | - Charlotte C. Wagner
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Zhanyun Wang
- Chair of Ecological Systems Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Arlene Blum
- Green Science Policy Institute, Berkeley, California 94709, United States; Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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Burkholder JB, Marshall P, Bera PP, Francisco JS, Lee TJ. Climate Metrics for C1–C4 Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:4793-4800. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c02679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James B. Burkholder
- Earth System Research Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, United States
| | - Paul Marshall
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle Box 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5070, United States
| | - Partha P. Bera
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California 94035, United States
- BAER Institute, NASA Research Park, MS 18-4, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
| | - Joseph S. Francisco
- Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6316, United States
| | - Timothy J. Lee
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California 94035, United States
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Betowski D, Bevington C, Allison TC. Estimation of Radiative Efficiency of Chemicals with Potentially Significant Global Warming Potential. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:790-7. [PMID: 26647007 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b04154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Halogenated chemical substances are used in a broad array of applications, and new chemical substances are continually being developed and introduced into commerce. While recent research has considerably increased our understanding of the global warming potentials (GWPs) of multiple individual chemical substances, this research inevitably lags behind the development of new chemical substances. There are currently over 200 substances known to have high GWP. Evaluation of schemes to estimate radiative efficiency (RE) based on computational chemistry are useful where no measured IR spectrum is available. This study assesses the reliability of values of RE calculated using computational chemistry techniques for 235 chemical substances against the best available values. Computed vibrational frequency data is used to estimate RE values using several Pinnock-type models, and reasonable agreement with reported values is found. Significant improvement is obtained through scaling of both vibrational frequencies and intensities. The effect of varying the computational method and basis set used to calculate the frequency data is discussed. It is found that the vibrational intensities have a strong dependence on basis set and are largely responsible for differences in computed RE values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Don Betowski
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, P.O. Box 93478, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193-3478, United States
| | - Charles Bevington
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Risk Assessment Division, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Mail Code: 7408M, Washington, D.C. 20460, United States
| | - Thomas C Allison
- Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology , 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8320, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8320, United States
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