Main description:

Due to their unparalleled effectiveness and efficiency, polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC) have become essential in numerous technical applications. However, many PFCs brought to market show limited biodegradability, and their environmental persistence combined with toxic and bioaccumulative potential have become a matter of concern in some instances. This volume highlights the synthesis of PFCs, focusing on substances with improved application and environmental properties, which are a challenge for synthetic chemists. Further, modern mass spectrometric techniques for the detection and identification of biotransformation products of PFCs are described. The sorption and leaching behavior of PFC in soil is also addressed in order to predict their fate in the environment. Several contributions discuss the monitoring of PFCs in European surface, ground and drinking waters, treatment options for PFC removal from drinking water, occurrence in food, and the human biomonitoring of PFCs.

Contents:

Chemistry, Properties and Uses of Commercial Fluorinated Surfactants

Robert C. Buck, Peter M. Murphy and Martial Pabon

Perfluorinated Compounds - Occurrence and Uses in Products

Stefan Posner

Mass Spectrometric Approaches to Reveal Biotransformation Products from Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemicals

Tobias Froemel and Thomas P. Knepper

Sorption and Leaching Behavior of Perfluorinated Compounds in Soil

Vanessa Gellrich and Thomas P. Knepper,

Polyfluorinated Chemicals in European Surface Waters, Ground- and Drinking Waters

Christian Eschauzier, Pim de Voogt, Heinz-Jurgen Brauch, Frank Thomas Lange

Treatment Options for the Removal and Degradation of Polyfluorinated Chemicals

Holger Lutze, Stefan Panglisch, Axel Bergmann, and Torsten C. Schmidt

Perfluorinated Compounds in Food

Marinella Farre, Marta Llorca, Sandra Perez, and Damia Barcelo

Human Biomonitoring of Perfluorinated Compounds

Michael Wilhelm and Jurgen Hoelzer