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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has issued Draft Method 1633 (“Draft Method”) titled:
Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS
The Draft Method was developed in partnership with the United States Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.
PFAS consist of a large group of man-made chemicals that include perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and GenX chemicals.
PFAS have been used in various industrial applications and in consumer products such as:
- Fabrics for furniture
- Paper packaging for food and other materials resistant to water, grease or stains
- Firefighting at airfields
- Utilization in several industrial processes
PFAS have been described as persistent in the environment and resist degradation.
EPA states that the laboratory method can identify 40 PFAS compounds in eight media. The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators notes that it is the first EPA method capable of analyzing PFAS in raw water and Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits to a low of parts per trillion level.
A link to the Draft Method can be found here.
