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Novel per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have become a key issue in global environmental studies. Although several novel PFASs have been discovered in atmospheric particulate matter through nontarget analysis, information on the environmental occurrence of novel PFASs in atmospheric gaseous phases and conventional sampling techniques is somewhat deficient. Therefore, this Article describes a new type of air sampler, the cryogenic air sampler (CAS), which was used to collect all atmospheric components simultaneously. Nontarget analysis then was performed through PFASs homologue analysis. A total of 117 PFAS homologues (38 classes) were discovered, 48 of which (13 classes) were identified with confidence Level 4 or above. Eleven chlorinated perfluoropolyether alcohols (3 classes) and four chlorinated perfluoropolyether carboxylic acids (2 classes) have been reported for the first time in this Article. This Article is also the first report of 12 hydrosubstituted perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (H-PFCAs) in the atmosphere. H-PFCAs and chlorinated perfluoropolyether carboxylic acids were mainly distributed in the particular phase. These results are evidence that novel chlorinated polyether PFASs should be the focus of future study.

Water samples collected along the Japanese coast and in the open Pacific Ocean in 2010, 2011, and 2012 were analyzed for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to evaluate the effect of Great East Japan Earthquake (EQ 3.11), which occurred on March 11, 2011, on the dispersion of chemical pollutants. Ultratrace analysis of PFASs in water, a super computer simulation, and an inventory analysis from industrial records revealed the sources and dynamics of PFASs during the EQ 3.11 disaster. In this respect, EQ 3.11 destroyed solid infrastructure on land, and within minutes, PFASs stocked therein were released into the open environment. The historically significant tsunami backwash swept them away from their origin to the coastal water within several hours. It was estimated that from 0.8 to 1.0 tons of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and 4.8 to 5.1 tons of PFOA were discharged into the coastal waters after EQ 3.11 and the tsunami that followed. The reconstruction of EQ 3.11 also traced the influence of this pollution in open ocean water until March 2012, and a statistical and finger printing analysis revealed that there were different distribution mechanisms in coastal regions than in the open ocean for PFOS, other shorter chain perfluorinated sulfonic acids and perfluorinated carboxylic acids.