The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA).

ABSTRACT: Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is a persistent and mobile substance that has been increasing in concentration within diverse environmental media, including rain, soils, human serum, plants, plant-based foods, and drinking water. Currently, TFA concentrations are orders of magnitude higher than those of other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This accumulation is due to many PFAS having TFA as a transformation product, including several fluorinated gases (F-gases), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, in addition to direct release of industrially produced TFA. Due to TFA's extreme persistence and ongoing emissions, concentrations are increasing irreversibly. What remains less clear are the thresholds where irreversible effects on local or global scales occur. There a

SUBMITTER: Arp HPH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11562725 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature