Welcome to 310 Environmental Working Group! A Group Project That Places Students in the Role of Consultants Helping Businesses Choose the Most Climate Friendly Fluorinated Gas.

The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty that controls substances that deplete the ozone layer. Through the control of halogenated gases, it has been one of the most successful climate legislations to date. This success is driven by the interplay between chemical regulation and smart chemical design, demonstrating the positive impact chemistry can have on the world.

Cross-Platform Comparison of Amino Acid Metabolic Profiling in Three Model Organisms Used in Environmental Metabolomics.

Environmental metabolomics is a promising approach to study pollutant impacts to target organisms in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. To this end, both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)- and mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods are used to profile amino acids in different environmental metabolomic studies. However, these two methods have not been compared directly which is an important consideration for broader comparisons in the environmental metabolomics field.

In Vivo Transformation of a Novel Polyfluoroether Surfactant.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class of fluorochemicals that can degrade into perfluoroalkyl acids, which are well known to be persistent in the environment. It is thus important that novel fluorinated surfactants be designed to degrade into small, nonbioaccumulative products. We report the biotransformation and elimination kinetics of one such novel polyfluorinated surfactant, di(polyfluoroether thioether(S)-oate) sulfonate (diFESOS), and its metabolites.

(1)H NMR-based metabolomics investigation of Daphnia magna responses to sub-lethal exposure to arsenic, copper and lithium.

Metal and metalloid contamination constitutes a major concern in aquatic ecosystems. Thus it is important to find rapid and reliable indicators of metal stress to aquatic organisms. In this study, we tested the use of (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) - based metabolomics to examine the response of Daphnia magna neonates after a 48h exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of arsenic (49μgL(-1)), copper (12.

Is indirect exposure a significant contributor to the burden of perfluorinated acids observed in humans?

In comparison to other persistent organic pollutants, human fluorochemical contamination is relatively complicated. This complication arises at least in part from a disparity between the chemicals used commercially and those measured in the environment and humans. Commercial fluorochemical products are dominated by fluorinated polymers used in textile or carpet applications, or fluorosurfactants used in applications ranging from personal care products, leveling and wetting agents, to greaseproofing food-contact materials.

Exploring indirect sources of human exposure to perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs): evaluating uptake, elimination, and biotransformation of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs) in the rat.

Background: Perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are ubiquitous in human sera worldwide. Biotransformation of the polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs) is a possible source of PFCA exposure, because PAPs are used in food-contact paper packaging and have been observed in human sera.

Objectives: We determined pharmacokinetic parameters for the PAP monoesters (monoPAPs) and PAP diesters (diPAPs), as well as biotransformation yields to the PFCAs, using a rat model.

Determining the molecular interactions of perfluorinated carboxylic acids with human sera and isolated human serum albumin using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) is ubiquitous in North American human sera and has a serum half-life of 3.5 years in humans. The molecular interactions that lead to the bioaccumulation of these hydrophobic and lipophobic molecules in human blood are not well understood.

Uptake and elimination of perfluorinated phosphonic acids in the rat.

The mono- and di-substituted perfluorinated phosphonic acids (mono-PFPAs and di-PFPAs) are high production volume fluorinated surfactants. Mono-PFPAs have been observed in Canadian surface waters and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. The first observation of the di-PFPAs in the environment is reported here, with the observation of the C6/C6 and C6/C8 di-PFPAs in the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) WWTP sludge standard reference material (SRM) 2781.

Observation of a commercial fluorinated material, the polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters, in human sera, wastewater treatment plant sludge, and paper fibers.

Sources of human exposure to perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are not well-characterized. Polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acids (PAPs) are fluorinated surfactants used in human food contact paper products. PAPs can migrate into food and food simulants, and their bioavailability and biotransformation into PFCAs has been demonstrated using a rat model.

Perfluorinated phosphonic acids in Canadian surface waters and wastewater treatment plant effluent: discovery of a new class of perfluorinated acids.

The environmental prevalence of a new class of perfluorinated acids, the perfluorinated phosphonic acids (PFPAs), was determined in Canadian surface waters and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. For quality control and comparison, the C8- to C11-perfluorinated carboxylic acids and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid were included in the analysis. Water samples were extracted using weak anion-exchange solid-phase extraction cartridges.

Production of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) from the biotransformation of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate surfactants (PAPS): exploring routes of human contamination.

Perfluorinated acids are detected in human blood world-wide, with increased levels observed in industrialized areas. The origin of this contamination is not well understood. A possible route of exposure, which has received little attention experimentally, is indirect exposure to perfluorinated acids through ingestion of chemicals applied to food contact paper packaging.

Atmospheric chemistry of N-methyl perfluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol, C4F9SO2N(CH3)CH2CH2OH: kinetics and mechanism of reaction with OH.

Relative rate methods were used to measure the gas-phase reaction of N-methyl perfluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol (NMeFBSE) with OH radicals, giving k(OH + NMeFBSE) = (5.8 +/- 0.8) x 10(-12) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) in 750 Torr of air diluent at 296 K.