Atmospheric concentrations and trends of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) over 7 years of sampling in the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) network
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Poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) were monitored at 21 sites in the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network. Atmospheric concentrations previously reported from 2009 were compared to concentrations measured at these sites in 2013 and 2015, to assess trends over 7 years of monitoring. Concentrations of the fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorinated sulfonamides and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSAs and FOSEs) were stable at these sites from 2009 to 2015 with no significant difference (p > 0.05) in concentrations. Elevated concentrations of all the neutral PFAS were detected at the urban sites as compared to the polar/background sites. The perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs), meanwhile, saw a significant increase (p < 0.001) in concentrations from 2009 to 2015. The perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) had elevated concentrations in 2015, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Concentrations of the PFSAs and the PFCAs were similar at all location types, showing the global reach of these persistent compounds. Concentrations of the cyclic VMS (cVMS) were at least an order of magnitude higher than the linear VMS (lVMS) and the PFAS. Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) saw a weak significant increase in concentrations from 2009 to 2013 (p < 0.05), however, hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3) had a strong significant decrease in concentrations from 2009 to 2015 (p < 0.01).
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In the 2009-2015 GAPS survey, FTOHs were detected at high concentrations ranging from <0.4 to 21 pg/m3 in the polar region, and 40-238 pg/m3 in urban sites.
“In the 2009e2015 GAPS survey, FTOHs were detected at high concentrations ranging from <0.4 to 21 pg/m 3 in the polar region, and 40e238 pg/m 3 in urban sites [26].”
From Worldwide trends in tracing poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment (2019) · cites this paper as [26]
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References 38 · Cited by 125
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Harner, T., 2017. 2017_v1_5_Template for calculating PUF and SIP disk sample air volumes_September_15. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 319764519_2017_v1_5_Template_for_calculating_Effective_Air_Sample_ Volumes_for_PUF_and_SIP_Disk_Samplers_Sept_15.
- Authors
- Rauert, C., Shoieb, M., Schuster, J. K., Eng, A., & Harner, T.
- Affiliations
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Harner, Tom
- Venue
- Environmental Pollution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-07
- Volume
- 238
- Pages
- 94-102
- ISSN
- 0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2793708033
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 5.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Chemicals Management Plan
- United Nations Environment Programme
- Northern Contaminants Program
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, volatile methylsiloxanes, atmospheric concentrations, long-term trends, fluorotelomer alcohols, fluorinated sulfonamides, perfluorosulfonic acid, perfluorocarboxylic acids, cyclic siloxanes, D3, D4, D5, D6, persistent organic pollutants
- MeSH terms
- Air Pollutants, Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbon Polymers, Fluorocarbons, Siloxanes, Volatile Organic Compounds
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