Graphic: Analysis of PFAS, Source UFZ

Analysis of PFAS


Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) are a large group of chemicals that are associated with high societal costs due to the difficulty of their remediation and their adverse effects on the environment and human health. Deriving effective technical, management, and regulatory actions for PFAS requires extensive knowledge on their environmental occurrence and fate. To generate this knowledge, we perform quantitative monitoring studies in the environment and biota, identify novel PFAS through screening approaches, and study the fate of PFAS in transformation experiments.

With frequently updated state-of-the-art methods we perform ultra-trace quantification of PFAS in water, soil, and biota. Through the use of polarity-extended chromatography we also monitor rarely analysed ultra-short chain PFAS.

Projects:

PU2R
Wastewater reuse will become increasingly relevant with prolonged dry periods caused by climate change. The BMBF-funded PU2R project explores the potential for a decentralized reuse of urban wastewater for agriculture and studies the potential of difficult to remove chemicals including PFAS to reach ground water or be taken up by plants.
Project link: https://bmbf-wave.de/wave/en/Joint+projects+by+topic/Municipal+Wastewater/PU2R.html

re:PM
Persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals including short chain PFAS pose a treat to drinking water supply as they can easily be transported to source waters and are difficult to remove during water treatment. In re:PM we monitor the occurrence of these chemicals in source waters for drinking water production to promote the development of efficient removal strategies.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=50165

Fluorbank
UBA funded project to monitor a wide range of PFAS in biota samples provided by the German environmental specimen bank. We investigate and assess temporal trends of legacy PFAS, precursors and substitutes in terrestrial and aquatic food webs.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=45863

PERFORCE 3 (Link: https://perforce3-itn.eu/)

In the EU-funded Innovative Training Network (ITN) PERFORCE 3 UFZ has developed and utilized state-of-the-art screening tools based on ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize human exposure to rarely studied PFAS precursors and substitutes.

PROTECT
The BMBF-funded PROTECT project investigates the fate persistent and mobile chemicals including PFAS in the water cycle, assesses their toxicity, and explores treatment options.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=46203

FluorTECH
Agricultural fields near Raststatt (Germany) were contaminated with PFAS-coated paper sludge-amended compost in the 2000s. In the FluorTECH project monitoring and screening tools are used to characterize this contamination and its impact on soil, plants and ground water.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=46659


Involved Scientists:

With over 5000 PFAS known and likely more remaining undiscovered a comprehensive understanding of PFAS contamination cannot be achieved with target analysis alone. We develop and employ suspect and nontarget screening methods to generate occurrence data for a wide range of PFAS and identify novel PFAS.

Projects

FluoroRisk
While more than 5000 PFAS are known, the risk they pose is only well understood for a tiny fraction of these chemicals. This DBU-funded project aims to identify novel PFAS and prioritize them based on their environmental occurrence, fate, and toxicity.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=51647

PMOCsGW
The DFG-funded PMOCsGW project investigates the occurrence of persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals including PFAS in ground water through suspect screening.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=47147

PERFORCE 3
In the EU-funded Innovative Training Network (ITN) PERFORCE 3 UFZ has developed and utilized state-of-the-art screening tools based on ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize human exposure to rarely studied PFAS precursors and substitutes.
Project link: https://perforce3-itn.eu/

PROTECT
The BMBF-funded PROTECT project investigated the fate persistent and mobile chemicals including PFAS in the water cycle, assesses their toxicity, and explores treatment options.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=46203

FluorTECH
Agricultural fields near Raststatt (Germany) were contaminated with PFAS-coated paper sludge-amended compost in the 2000s. In the FluorTECH project monitoring and screening tools were used to characterize this contamination and its impact on soil, plants and ground water.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=46659


Involved Scientists:

 

A large share of persistent PFAS found in the environment is likely not directly emitted but formed from fluorinated precursor chemicals in natural and artificial systems. Knowledge on these transformation processes and the dead-end products formed through them is essential to understand sources and distribution of PFAS and design effective remediation measures. We study the biotic and abiotic transformation of PFAS in lab-scale experiments and apply the knowledge gained in field studies.

Projects

FluoroRisk
While more than 5000 PFAS are known, the risk they pose is only well understood for a tiny fraction of these chemicals. This DBU-funded project aims to identify novel PFAS and prioritize them based on their environmental occurrence, fate, and toxicity.
Project link: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=51647


Involved Scientists:

 

Cioni, L., Nikiforov, V., Benskin, J.P., Coêlho, A.C.M.F., Dudášová, S., Lauria, M.Z., Lechtenfeld, O.J., Plassmann, M.M., Reemtsma, T., Sandanger, T.M., Herzke, D. (2024): Combining advanced analytical methodologies to uncover suspect PFAS and fluorinated pharmaceutical contributions to extractable organic fluorine in human serum (Tromsø Study). Environ. Sci. Technol. 58 (29), 12943 - 12953
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c03758

Joerss, H., Freeling, F., van Leeuwen, S., Hollender, J., Liu, X., Nödler, K., Wang, Z., Yu, B., Zahn, D., Sigmund, G. (2024): Pesticides can be a substantial source of trifluoroacetate (TFA) to water resources. Environ. Int. 194 , art. 109198
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.109061

Dudášová, S., Wurz, J., Berger, U., Reemtsma, T., Fu, Q., Lechtenfeld, O.J. (2024): An automated and high-throughput data processing workflow for PFAS identification in biota by direct infusion ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 416 (22), 4833 - 4848
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05426-2

Muschket, M., Neuwald, I.J., Zahn, D., Seelig, A.H., Kuckelkorn, J., Knepper, T.P., Reemtsma, T. (2024): Fate of persistent and mobile chemicals in the water cycle: From municipal wastewater discharges to river bank filtrate. Water Res. 266 , art. 122436
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122436

Seelig, A.H., Zahn, D., Reemtsma, T. (2024): Sources of persistent and mobile chemicals in municipal wastewater: a sewer perspective in Leipzig, Germany. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33259-0

Guckert, M., Rupp, J., Nürenberg, G., Nödler, K., Koschorreck, J., Berger, U., Drost, W., Siebert, U., Wibbelt, G., Reemtsma, T. (2023): Differences in the internal PFAS patterns of herbivores, omnivores and carnivores - lessons learned from target screening and the total oxidizable precursor assay. Sci. Total Environ. 875 , art. 162361
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162361

Rupp, J., Guckert, M., Berger, U., Drost, W., Mader, A., Nödler, K., Nürenberg, G., Schulze, J., Söhlmann, R., Reemtsma, T. (2023): Comprehensive target analysis and TOP assay of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wild boar livers indicate contamination hot-spots in the environment. Sci. Total Environ. 871 , art. 162028
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162028

Schumann, P., Müller, D., Eckardt, P., Muschket, M., Dittmann, D., Rabe, L., Kerst, K., Lerch, A., Reemtsma, T., Jekel, M., Ruhl, A.S. (2023): Pilot-scale removal of persistent and mobile organic substances in granular activated carbon filters and experimental predictability at lab-scale. Sci. Total Environ. 884 , art. 163738
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163738

Schumann, P., Muschket, M., Dittmann, D., Rabe, L., Reemtsma, T., Jekel, M., Ruhl, A.S. (2023): Is adsorption onto activated carbon a feasible drinking water treatment option for persistent and mobile substances? Water Res. 235 , art. 119861 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119861

Guckert, M., Scheurer, M., Schaffer, M., Reemtsma, T., Nödler, K. (2022): Combining target analysis with sum parameters—a comprehensive approach to determine sediment contamination with PFAS and further fluorinated substances. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29 (57), 85802 - 85814
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21588-x

Neuwald, I.J., Hübner, D., Wiegand, H.L., Valkov, V., Borchers, U., Nödler, K., Scheurer, M., Hale, S.E., Arp, H.P.H., Zahn, D. (2022): Ultra-short-chain PFASs in the sources of German drinking water: Prevalent, overlooked, difficult to remove, and unregulated. Environ. Sci. Technol. 56 (10), 6380 - 6390
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c07949

Arinaitwe, K., Keltsch, N., Taabu-Munyaho, A., Reemtsma, T., Berger, U. (2021): Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria: Spatial distribution, catchment release and public exposure risk via municipal water consumption. Sci. Total Environ. 783 , art. 146970
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146970

Neuwald, I., Muschket, M., Zahn, D., Berger, U., Seiwert, B., Meier, T., Kuckelkorn, J., Strobel, C., Knepper, T.P., Reemtsma, T. (2021): Filling the knowledge gap: A suspect screening study for 1310 potentially persistent and mobile chemicals with SFC- and HILIC-HRMS in two German river systems. Water Res. 204, art. 117645
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117645

I. J. Neuwald, D. Zahn, T. P. Knepper (2020): Are (fluorinated) ionic liquids relevant environmental contaminants? High-resolution mass spectrometric screening for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental water samples led to the detection of a fluorinated ionic liquid. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 412, 4881-4892
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02606-8

Muschket, M., Keltsch, N., Paschke, H., Reemtsma, T., Berger, U. (2020): Determination of transformation products of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at trace levels in agricultural plants. J. Chromatogr. A 1625, art. 461271
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461271