Trifluoroacetate in the environment. Evidence for sources other than HFC/HCFCs

The partly halogenated C-2-hydro(chloro)fluorocarbons (HFC, HCFC) 1,1,1-trifluoro-2,2-dichloroethane (HCFC-123), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoro-2-chloroethane (HCFC-124), and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) are CFC substitutes found at increasing levels in the atmosphere. Trifluoroacetate (TFA) is an atmospheric degradation product of these compounds and due to its perstistence its potential accumulation in some aquatic ecosystems is a matter of environmental concern. The present study was undertaken to determine the present-days base level of environmental TFA and whether model calculations are in line with the actual data. Average levels of about 120 ng L-1 as predicted for the year 2010 are found in rain in Germany already now, slightly higher than in rain collected in Switzerland or Nevada. In the major rivers in Germany, TFA is present at average concentrations of 140 ng L-1. In air, levels of 45-60 pg m(-3) have been found in Central Europe. Between March 1995 and September 1996, a period of substantial increase in atmospheric HFC-134a mixing ratio, the TFA concentrations in air and precipitation did not significantly increase. TFA is absent in old groundwater samples, and in river water from remote locations, concentrations are low. These data suggest that the total TFA in both compartments exceeds the formation potential of currently known sources, that TFA in atmosphere a nd ra in is regionally associated with industrial or population density, and that other unresolved sources must contribute to the present concentrations.