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PFAS and Air Emissions

An Emerging Contaminent

What Are PFAS?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in industrial applications and consumer products since the mid-20th century. They are commonly found in products designed to resist heat, water, grease, and stains, including food packaging, cookware, textiles, coatings, inks, and firefighting foams.

PFAS are characterized by chains of carbon and fluorine atoms. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest in organic chemistry, many PFAS compounds are highly resistant to degradation in the environment. Thousands of PFAS compounds exist globally, creating challenges for monitoring, risk assessment, and regulatory development.
Certain legacy PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), have been phased out of production in the United States and are subject to restrictions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). However, many other PFAS remain in commercial use.

While public discussion has traditionally focused on PFAS in drinking water, increasing attention is being given to air emissions and the role they play in transporting PFAS through the environment.

A New Challenge

Why Air Matters

PFAS behave differently from many traditional air pollutants. Many compounds within the PFAS family:

  • Are semi-volatile
  • Transform through atmospheric processes
  • Travel significant distances from their original source
  • Redeposit into soil and water

These characteristics mean that PFAS released into the atmosphere may contribute to contamination beyond the original emission source. At the same time, the PFAS family includes thousands of compounds with different toxicity profiles, volatility, atmospheric behavior, and persistence, making environmental assessment, monitoring, and regulatory development particularly complex.

PFAS Origins

Sources of PFAS Air Emissions

PFAS air emissions have been associated with a variety of industrial and commercial activities, including:

  • Industrial manufacturing operations
  • Waste and residuals management
  • Firefighting and training activities
  • Metal finishing and plating operations
  • Remediation and excavation activities

In addition to these traditional sources, increasing attention is being given to non-stack emissions, including those from:

  • Wastewater treatment facilities
  • Landfills and landfill gas systems
  • Biosolids management
  • Remediation systems
  • Evaporation ponds
  • Fugitive emissions
  • Thermal treatment and destruction processes

Many of these are not traditional stationary sources, creating unique challenges for monitoring, permitting, and regulatory oversight.

A New Challenge

Monitoring and Measurement

Monitoring PFAS air emissions remains an evolving area of research. Current challenges include:

  • Limited standardized methods for measuring PFAS in air
  • Incomplete understanding of atmospheric transformation pathways
  • Technical challenges associated with ultra-low detection levels
  • Significant variability among PFAS compounds and their environmental behavior

These limitations make permitting, emissions inventories, compliance demonstrations, and regulatory implementation more challenging. Without consistent, standardized air monitoring methods, evaluating emissions and demonstrating compliance can be difficult. Continued advances in monitoring technologies, analytical methods, and scientific understanding are expected to improve the characterization of PFAS air emissions and support future decision-making.

What Comes Next?

PFAS present a complex environmental challenge that spans air, water, soil, waste management, and remediation activities. As scientific understanding continues to advance, air emissions are expected to become an increasingly important component of PFAS management.

Continued research on atmospheric transport, monitoring methods, emissions measurement, and treatment technologies is improving understanding of PFAS air emissions and helping inform future science-based regulatory and management approaches.

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