Nontargeted mass-spectral detection of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates in New Jersey soils

Abstract

Perfluorocarbons' path into soils Covering carbon chains with fluorines has produced a variety of useful nonstick coatings. However, growing concern about the toxicity and extraordinary environmental persistence of the underlying compounds is spurring a search for alternatives. The precise structure of these next-generation alternatives often remains a trade secret. Washington et al. sampled soils in New Jersey and then used mass spectrometry to assign plausible structures—incorporating chlorine and ether segments into the CF 2 chain—to compounds that appear to have emanated from their manufacture (see the Policy Forum by Gold and Wagner). The data can inform in-depth studies of these compounds' environmental transport and persistence. Science , this issue p. 1103 ; see also p. 1066