Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

It is hypothesized that environmental contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) defines a separate planetary boundary and that this boundary has been exceeded. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the levels of four selected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) (i.e., perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)) in various global environmental media (i.e., rainwater, soils, and surface waters) with recently proposed guideline levels. On the basis of the four PFAAs considered, it is concluded that (1) levels of PFOA and PFOS in rainwater often greatly exceed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)…

• MŠ
  Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy

  Awards: LM2018121, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_043/0009632, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000469
• SF
  Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas

  Award: 2016-00644
• V
  Vetenskapsrådet

  Award: 2016-04131
• H2
  Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

  Award: 101036756