Perfluorinated Compounds in the Asian Atmosphere

There is interest in the production, use, and environmental occurrence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) across Asia and the Asian contributions to the burden of these compounds reaching the Arctic and other remote regions via long-range transport. A spatial survey of perfluorinated compounds was therefore undertaken across China, India, and Japan in 2009 using passive air samplers. Target analytes were fluorotelomer olefins (FTOs), acrylates (FTAs), alcohols (FTOHs), sulfonamides, and sulfonamidoethanols. Wide variations in concentrations and mixtures of compounds were apparent from the study. Generally the FTOHs were the most abundant, followed by 8:2 FTO in China and Japan and by the sulfonamides in India. There was a general decline in PFC concentration from urban, rural, to remote locations. Background stations reflected regional differences in air mass composition. A site in the west Pacific Ocean exhibited a Japanese profile in which 8:2 FTO and 8:2 FTOH were predominant. In contrast, a southern Indian profile with high 4:2 FTOH concentrations was observed at a background site in southern China.