PFAS are a family of synthetic compounds containing thousands of chemicals formed from carbon (C) chains with fluorine (F) attached to these chains. The C-F bond is the shortest and strongest bond in nature, and is responsible for most of the unique and useful characteristics of these compounds. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are fully fluorinated organic compounds and are the most common PFAS produced in the United States. PFOS and PFOA are used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial products such as textiles, leathers, aqueous film forming foams (AFFF), metal plating, photo lithography, semi-conductors, paper and food packaging, coating additives, cleaning products and pesticides.
PFOS and PFOA are persistent in the environment and resistant to typical environmental degradation processes. As a result, they are widely distributed and are found in soil, sediments, groundwater, air and tissue across the United States. According to U.S. EPA, PFOA and PFOS pose potential adverse impacts to the environment and human health due to the bio accumulative and mobile nature of the compounds.

Primary Author / Conference Presenter:
Karla Buechler
Corporate Technical Director
Eurofins TestAmerica
West Sacramento, California, USA
TestAmericainc.com