The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA)
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Abstract
Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is a persistent and mobile substance that has been increasing in concentration within diverse environmental media, including rain, soils, human serum, plants, plant-based foods, and drinking water. Currently, TFA concentrations are orders of magnitude higher than those of other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This accumulation is due to many PFAS having TFA as a transformation product, including several fluorinated gases (F-gases), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, in addition to direct release of industrially produced TFA. Due to TFA's extreme persistence and ongoing emissions, concentrations are increasing irreversibly. What remains less clear are the thresholds where irreversible effects on local or global scales occur. There are indications from mammalian toxicity studies that TFA is toxic to reproduction and that it exhibits liver toxicity. Ecotoxicity data are scarce, with most data being for aquatic systems; fewer data are available for terrestrial plants, where TFA bioaccumulates most readily. Collectively, these trends imply that TFA meets the criteria of a planetary boundary threat for novel entities because of increasing planetary-scale exposure, where potential irreversible disruptive impacts on vital earth system processes could occur. The rational response to this is to instigate binding actions to reduce the emissions of TFA and its many precursors.
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- Authors
- Arp, H. P. H., Gredelj, A., Glüge, J., Scheringer, M., & Cousins, I. T.
- Affiliations
- Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NO)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Arp, Hans Peter H.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2024-10-30
- Volume
- 58
- Issue
- 45
- Pages
- 19925-19935
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- PMC
- PMC11562725
- OpenAlex
- W4403922499
- Cited by
- 283
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 178 · 2025: 102 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 9.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- ChemRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- HORIZON EUROPE Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (101112723)
- European Commission (101036756)
- RECETOX Research Infrastructure (LM2023069)
- 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
- trifluoroacetic acid, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, fluorinated gases, persistent mobile toxic substances, environmental accumulation, planetary boundaries, novel entities, reproductive toxicity, hepatotoxicity, plant bioaccumulation, ecotoxicity, emission reduction policy
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Pollutants, Humans, Trifluoroacetic Acid
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