Analysis of PFOA, PFHxS, and PFOS in Tap Water Using Triple Quadrupole LC/MS/MS

User Benefits

- In addition to PFOA and PFOS included in the Complementary Items to Set the Targets for Water Quality Management, PFHxS, newly added as an Item for Further Study, can be quantified down to a concentration of 5 ng/L, less than 1/10 of the target value. - All of the above components can be quantified in tap water with good recovery rates.

Introduction

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are organofluorine compounds which are chemically stable, and there are concerns about health hazards due to their persistence in the body. For water supply in Japan, the 1st Study Group on the FY 2020 Sequential Revision of Water Quality Standards held in January, 2021 has decided to designate PFHxS as an Item for Further Study as of April, 2021, in addition to PFOA and PFOS already specified as the Complementary Items to Set the Targets for Water Quality Management. This article introduces the results of analyzing 1000-fold concentrated tap water samples with the LCMS-8050 liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer, according to the test method for the Complementary Items to Set the Targets for Water Quality Management (Target 31). (1) The results confirmed that all three components, PFOA, PFHxS, and PFOS, can be accurately analyzed at a concentration (5 ng/L) less than 1/10 of 0.00005 mg/L (50 ng/L), the target value for PFOS and PFOA.

July 16, 2021 GMT