Polyfluoroalkyl compounds in the Canadian Arctic atmosphere

Abstract

Environmental contextPerfluoroalkyl compounds are of rising environmental concern because of their ubiquitous distribution in remote regions like the Arctic. The present study quantifies these contaminants in the gas and particle phases of the Canadian Arctic atmosphere. The results demonstrate the important role played by gas–particle partitioning in the transport and fate of perfluoroalkyl compounds in the atmosphere. AbstractPolyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) were determined in high-volume air samples during a ship cruise onboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen crossing the Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea of the Canadian Arctic. Five PFC classes (i.e. perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs), polyfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), fluorinated sulfonamides (FOSAs), and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs)) were analysed separately in the gas phase collected on PUF/XAD-2 sandwiches and in the particle phase on glass-fibre filters (GFFs). The method performance of sampling, extraction and instrumental analysis were compared between two research groups. The FTOHs were the dominant PFCs in the gas phase (20–138 pg m–3), followed by the FOSEs (0.4–23 pg m–3) and FOSAs (0.5–4.7 pg m–3). The PFCAs could only be quantified in the particle phase with low levels (<0.04–0.18 pg m–3). In the particle phase, the dominant PFC class was the FOSEs (0.3–8.6 pg m–3). The particle-associated fraction followed the general trend of: FOSEs (~25 %) > FOSAs (~9 %) > FTOHs (~1 %). Significant positive correlation between ∑FOSA concentrations in the gas phase and ambient air temperature indicate that cold Arctic surfaces, such as the sea-ice snowpack and surface seawater could be influencing FOSAs in the atmosphere.