Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Background Information with Focus on Modeling of Fate and Transport of Per- and Polyfluroalkyl Substances in Air Media

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a particularly challenging issue as the widespread contamination of PFAS in the environment and its subsequent effects on both the environment and public health have gained increasing attention in recent years. Commendable research has been conducted to better understand the role of PFAS and the extent of its environmental and public health effects. However, most of these studies have focused on PFAS contamination in surface water and groundwater sources. This paper provides an overview of PFAS contamination in various environmental media with an in-depth analysis of atmospheric contamination and the modeling of fate and transport of PFAS in air. The mechanism and modeling of atmospheric PFAS are presented as well as their suitability, limitations, and areas necessitating additional research. The fate and transport models reviewed in this paper are incorporated for dry deposition, wet deposition, or combined dry and wet deposition. Each study concluded that deposition is a substantial removal mechanism of atmospheric PFAS, and further research must be conducted to assess the particle size distributions of PFAS as well as to account for the degradation of PFAS in the atmosphere prior to deposition.