articleEnvironmental Science & TechnologyJul 25, 2013Closed access

Persistence of Perfluoroalkyl Acid Precursors in AFFF-Impacted Groundwater and Soil

EHErika HoutzCPChristopher P. HigginsJAJennifer A. FieldDLDavid L. Sedlak

University of California, Berkeley

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Several classes of polyfluorinated chemicals that are potential precursors to the perfluorinated carboxylates and sulfonates are present in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF). To assess the persistence of these AFFF-derived precursors, groundwater, soil, and aquifer solids were obtained in 2011 from an unlined firefighter training area at a U.S. Air Force Base where AFFF was regularly used between 1970 and 1990. To measure the total concentration of perfluorinated carboxylate and sulfonate precursors in archived AFFF formulations and AFFF-impacted environmental samples, a previously developed assay that uses hydroxyl radical to oxidize precursors to perfluorinated carboxylates was adapted for these media. This…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Persistence (discontinuity)
  • Groundwater
  • Environmental science
  • Environmental chemistry
  • Chemistry
  • Geology
  • Geotechnical engineering
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Clean water and sanitation
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