Polyfluorinated telomer alcohols and sulfonamides in the North American troposphere.
In 2001, a sampling campaign was conducted in six North American cities--Reno, NV; Griffin, GA; Cleves, OH; Winnipeg, MB; Long Point, ON; and Toronto, ON--to investigate the tropospheric distribution of a suite of polyfluorinated alcohols and amides. Analysis via gas chromatography-chemical ionization-mass spectrometry indicated that both polyfluorinated sulfonamides and fluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs) are widely distributed throughout the North American troposphere with mean concentrations ranging from 22 to 403 pg/m3 and from 11 to 165 pg/m3 respectively. The dominant polyfluorinated contaminant was dependent on sampling location. Large mean concentrations of N-methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanol (359 pg/m3) and N-ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanol (199 pg/m3) identified in Griffin and Reno, respectively, may indicate the release of polyfluorinated sulfonamides to the environment through paper and carpet treatment processes. The nonuniform nature of the spatial distribution of both polyfluorinated sulfonamides and FTOHs is indicative of the importance of point sources for the dissemination of these contaminants in the North American troposphere.
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
Naomi L
NL
Stock
Fiona K
FK
Lau
David A
DA
Ellis
Jonathan W
JW
Martin
Derek C G
DC
Muir
Scott A
SA
Mabury
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000438:Alcohols / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D009656:North America; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000032:analysis*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D000438:Alcohols; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013449:Sulfonamides