Known as “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are some of the most pervasive pollutants in the environment. A class of synthetic organic chemicals first introduced into products in the 1940s and used widely for their exceptional repelling properties, they are linked by a hard-to-break carbon-fluorine bond. In the intervening decades, PFAS have seeped into waterways, soil, and people’s and animals’ bodies.
Exposure to PFAS is linked to health problems including increased cholesterol levels, developmental delays in children, and risk of some cancers. With thousands of individual PFAS known to exist and 600 used in products in the United States, the full scope of PFAS-associated health effects is not known. But their ubiquity is unquestioned; a 2020 study found that most US residents get their drinking water from sources containing PFAS, and a study published this July estimated PFAS are present in nearly half of all the country’s sink taps.
Around 20 US states have introduced guidelines, public notification requirements, and monitoring requirements for PFAS levels in drinking water. Some have also limited or banned their use in firefighting foam, a common source of contamination. In March this year, the White House proposed the first national standards setting upper limits for six PFAS in US drinking water. The standards state that levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), some of the most common and well-studied PFAS, cannot exceed 4.0 parts per trillion. Four others will be regulated in mixtures with each other rather than alone, to assess for the additive effects of their toxicities. The rule is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. In addition to monitoring for and notifying the public of PFAS presence, it requires public water systems to remove them if they exceed the limits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates this will cost water utilities $772 million a year.
The private sector is also paying attention to PFAS. Many companies have pledged to phase out manufacturing of the chemicals, and in June 3M settled a $10 billion lawsuit over PFAS contamination in nationwide public water systems. In all, these existing regulations, potential future rules, and increasing public attention on contamination and its effects have led to growing demand for reliable and accurate PFAS testing. TDA values the PFAS testing market, currently in its infancy, at about $200 million, with double-digit growth over the next several years, topping $400 million by 2028 driven by demand in Europe and Asia.
The EPA has developed and validated methods for testing PFAS in water, soils, and air. Broadly, these methods are divided between targeted analysis, which measures for a specific known set of PFAS chemicals, and non-targeted analysis, which seeks to identify all known and unknown PFAS in a sample. High resolution MS techniques like quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) MS and Orbitrap are used for unknown screening. Routine analysis is typically accomplished with LC-MS/MS via a triple quadrupole system, and many major companies have begun gearing their relevant instruments towards this application, including SCIEX (whose TQ system is used in many contract labs), Waters, Agilent, PerkinElmer, and Thermo Fisher. Because of PFAS’ ubiquity in everything from personal care products to lab equipment, contamination and background interference is a concern. Waters, Agilent, and Thermo Fisher also offer solid phase extraction systems and cartridges, and Agilent offers PFAS-free conversion kits for the company’s LC systems to address this issue.