Some of the unique physicochemical properties of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (such as water-, oil- and grease-repellence and high thermal stability) that popularised their widespread use are associated with environmental and human health concerns.
For over a decade, PFASs, in particular PFSAs and PFCAs, such as PFOS and PFOA, and their precursors have attracted the most attention among PFASs as emerging contaminants of global concern.
These substances are persistent and distributed ubiquitously in the global environment, biota and humans, and in remote areas (i.e. they have high long-range transport potential); they are bioaccumulative and can cause various adverse effects in wildlife and humans and have been detected in wildlife, as well as in the blood of neonates.
These findings are of particular concern in view of the known behaviour of these compounds, their persistency, the toxicological profile of certain PFASs, and their potential to accumulate in the body and in food chains.
As a result, PFASs are monitored worldwide, both in the environment and in organisms.