Paints: A Source of Volatile PFAS in Air─Potential Implications for Inhalation Exposure

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Paints are widely used in indoor settings yet there are no data for volatile per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for paints or knowledge if paints are potentially important sources of human exposure to PFAS. Different commercial paints ( n = 27) were collected from local hardware stores and analyzed for volatile PFAS by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), nonvolatile PFAS by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-qTOF), and total fluorine by 19 F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Diluted paint required clean up to remove 6:2 fluorotelomer phosphate diester (diPAP), which thermally transforms into 6:2 FTOH at 280 °C (GC inlet temperature). Only 6:2 FTOH (0.9–83 μg/g) and 6:2 diPAP (0.073–58 μg/g) were found in five exterior and nine interior paints and only accounted for a maximum of 17% of total fluorine. Upon drying, 40% of the FTOH mass was lost, and the loss was verified by measurements of the cumulative FTOH mass measured in the air of a small, confined space over a 3 h period. Based on the liquid paint results, the ConsExpo model was used for potential exposure assessment and one commercial paint exceeded the chosen reference dose (5 μg/kg-day) for children and adults, indicating the potential for human exposure during painting.