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Standards for Tracking PFAS Contaminants
Reference Materials 8690 to 8693 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF)
Aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) containing PFAS have been used since the 1960s for fire control and training for aviation crash and jet fuel spills at military/civilian sites. Due to limited containment of AFFF release in past events, groundwater and drinking water have been contaminated with PFAS.
The Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program supported the effort by NIST to develop AFFF reference materials (RMs) containing PFAS representative of the AFFFs which were historically used. These RMs were made as four formulations, consisting of different legacy commercial AFFF products, and include modifications to the formulations to achieve specific PFAS levels. PFAS were identified and quantified in each RM using mass spectrometry. These RMs will aid the development and validation of analytical methods for laboratories monitoring PFAS in complex matrices.
A unit of each RM (8690 to 8693, Formulations I to IV, respectively) consists of four ampoules containing approximately 1.2 mL of solution.
Learn more:
Reiner JL, Place BJ, Heckert NA, Peter KT, Rodowa AE (2023) Characterization of Reference Materials 8690 to 8693 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Four Formulations of Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF). (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD), NIST Special Publication (SP) 260-234. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-234