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Polyfluorinated substances in abiotic standard reference materials

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Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a wide range of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) which have values assigned for legacy organic pollutants and toxic elements. Existing SRMs serve as homogenous materials that can be used for method development, method validation, and measurement for contaminants that are now of concern. NIST and multiple groups have been measuring the mass fraction of a group of emerging contaminants, polyfluorinated substances (PFASs), in a variety of SRMs. Here we report levels determined in an interlaboratory comparison of up to 23 PFASs determined in five SRMs: sediment (SRMs 1941b and 1944), house dust (SRM 2585), soil (SRM 2586), and sludge (SRM 2781). Measurements presented show an array of PFASs, with perfluorooctane sulfonate being the most frequently detected. SRMs 1941b, 1944, and 2586 had relatively low concentrations of most PFASs measured while 23 PFASs were at detectable levels in SRM 2585 and most of the PFASs measured were at detectable levels in SRM 2781. The measurements made in this study were used to add values to the Certificates of Analysis for SRMs 2585 and 2781.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank N. A. Heckert of the NIST Statistical Engineering Division for statistical analysis of the results as part of the value assignment process for the SRMs.

Disclaimer

Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this paper to specify adequately the experimental procedure. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr., Mail Stop 8392, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-8392, USA

    Jessica L. Reiner

  2. Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 331 Ft. Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    Jessica L. Reiner & Jennifer M. Keller

  3. Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    Andrea C. Blaine, Christopher P. Higgins & Courtney Rich

  4. Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN, 55164-0975, USA

    Carin Huset

  5. US Environmental Protection Agency, 960 College Station Rd, Athens, GA, 30605, USA

    Thomas M. Jenkins, John W. Washington & Hoon Yoo

  6. Wageningen IMARES, Haringkade 1, 1970, Ijmuiden, The Netherlands

    Christiaan J. A. F. Kwadijk

  7. Environmental Laboratory, 3M Company, 935 Bush Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55144, USA

    Cleston C. Lange & William K. Reagen

  8. Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment Canada, Burlington, ON, Canada

    Derek C. G. Muir & Jeff M. Small

  9. US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Mark J. Strynar

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  1. Jessica L. Reiner
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  2. Andrea C. Blaine
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  3. Christopher P. Higgins
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  13. John W. Washington
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  14. Hoon Yoo
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  15. Jennifer M. Keller
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica L. Reiner.

Additional information

Published in the topical collection Reference Materials for Chemical Analysis with guest editors Hendrik Emons and Stephen A. Wise.

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Reiner, J.L., Blaine, A.C., Higgins, C.P. et al. Polyfluorinated substances in abiotic standard reference materials. Anal Bioanal Chem 407, 2975–2983 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-7330-2

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