Reactivity, disposition and fate of fluorinated chemicals

全氟酸（PFCA和PFOS）在全球环境中广泛传播，在人类和北极哺乳动物体内的浓度很高。 氟代醇的前体很容易在大气中发现，并已被证明经历大气传输和OH驱动的转化反应，以产生全氟化酸。 我们已经开发了“前体酒精大气反应和传输”或PAART理论来解释这些观察结果。 残留的氟代醇在氟化聚合物中是重要的，并且可能对全球负担有重大贡献，尽管我们对氟化材料内的键合化学的稳定性知之甚少。 人类污染暗示了通过氟化醇代谢的间接暴露源，这表明应谨慎关注活性中间体。 重要的研究问题集中在确定人类接触的主要途径。 一个特别的假设是，氟化表面活性剂，氟化烷基磷酸盐，从食品包装中浸出，并最终代谢产生氟化酸，如全氟辛酸和全氟辛烷磺酸。 我们的工作将进一步了解这些材料如何导致全氟酸污染，并确定解决这一问题的步骤。 我们还在积极开发方法，以确定使用普通检测技术时遗漏的其他氟化化学品。 氟化材料的实用性带来了显著的社会效益，对其化学反应性和归宿的充分认识将直接有助于开发提供所需质量且负面影响较少的材料。

Perfluorinated acids (PFCAs and PFOS) are widely disseminated in the global environment and appear at high concentrations in humans and in Arctic mammals. Precursor fluoro-alcohols are readily found in the atmosphere and have been shown to undergo atmospheric transport and OH driven transformation reactions to yield the perfluorinated acids. We have developed the 'precursor alcohol atmospheric reaction and transport' or PAART theory to potentially explain these observations. Residual fluoro-alcohols are significant in fluorinated polymers and may contribute significantly to the global burden, though we know little about the stability of the linkage chemistry within the fluorinated materials. Human contamination is suggestive of an indirect source of exposure through metabolism of the fluorinated alcohols, which would indicate attention to the reactive intermediates is prudent. Significant research questions are focused on identifying the dominant routes of human exposure. One particular hypothesis is that fluorinated surfactants, the fluorinated alkylphosphates, leach from food packaging and are ultimately metabolized to yield the fluorinated acids such as PFOA and PFOS. Our work will further our understanding on how these materials cause perfluorinated acid pollution and identify the steps to addressing this problem. We are also actively developing methods in order to identify additional fluorinated chemicals that have been missed used common detection techniques. The utility of fluorinated materials results in significant societal benefits and a full appreciation for their chemical reactivity and fate will directly contribute to developing materials that deliver the desired qualities with fewer negative consequences.