TP8 Perfluorochemical Monitoring
Tuesday, 15 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 6:30 PM in Exhibit Hall

(KOC-1117-823298) Environmental Exposure Assessment of Fluorotelomer-based Substances using a Multispecies Approach.

Koch, V¹, Russell, M², ¹ Clariant GmbH, Sulzbach, Germany² DuPont, Newark, DE, USA

ABSTRACT- Fluorotelomer-based substances like 2-Perfluorooctylethanol are speciality chemicals being used to synthesize e.g. high molecular weight Fluorotelomer-based acrylate polymers (FBAPs). FBAPs are used for coating of textiles, paper and carpet to achieve oil, stain and water repellency properties. Concerns that fluorotelomer-based polymers may be a source for low molecular Fluorotelomer-based substances which could be transformed to perfluorinated carboxylic acids like PFOA have triggered investigations on the fate and distribution of such chemicals in different environmental compartments. These data are pre-requisites for an environmental exposure assessment for Fluorotelomer-based substances which takes into account the releases across the whole life cycle. Single species exposure models cannot be used to estimate environmental concentrations for multiple kinetic transformations of the different species involved. Recently the approach of the environmental exposure assessment described in the European Union Technical Guidance Document on Risk Assessment of Substances, 2003 (http://ecb.jrc.it) was implemented in an EXCEL TM Spreadsheet allowing a transparent continental, regional and local assessment (van de Meent, D and Huijbregts M, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands) for the 15 Member States of the EU as of 2003. This Spreadsheet model has provided an ideal starting point to incorporate the necessary multi-species component which addresses the mass loadings and degradation kinetics of each chemical species. In addition, the geographic parameter database for the spreadsheet model has been expanded to permit simulation of other continental settings in addition to Europe. The application of this globally scalable multispecies environmental exposure model will be shown for the fluorotelomer-based substances described above. In addition the applicability of the underlying scientific concepts and algorithms used in the model for the exposure assessment of fluorochemicals will be addressed as well.

Key words: Fluorotelomer, Perfluorinated compounds, Multispecies, Environmental Exposure Assessment