Pesticides can be a substantial source of trifluoroacetate (TFA) to water resources
Through the application of C-CF<sub>3</sub>-containing plant protection products (PPP) in agriculture, a substantial quantity of trifluoroacetate (TFA) can be formed and emitted. We here present estimations of TFA formation potentials from PPP across three important economical regions, namely Europe, the United States of America and China. PPP with TFA formation potential vary in type and use profile across those regions, but can be found throughout, with the estimated maximum TFA emissions ranging from 0 to 83 kg/km<sup>2</sup> per year. Therein, some PPP are only used for specific crops in specific regions, while others are used more widely. The importance of PPP as a TFA source is supported by the field data from a region in Germany, which revealed a significant increase in TFA groundwater concentrations with agriculture compared to other land uses. Substance-specific TFA formation rates and field studies are necessary to characterize the formation of TFA from precursors under environmental conditions and to rank and prioritize PPP of concern for potential (regulatory) action.
Authors
- S.P.J. van Leeuwen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4847-0768)
- Daniel W. Zahn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3038-9371)
- Gabriel Sigmund (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2068-0878)
- Karsten Nödler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-5037)
- Hanna Joerss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-1940)
- Bochi Yu
- Juliane Hollender (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4660-274X)
- Finnian Freeling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7767-9643)
- Zhanyun Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9914-7659)
- Xingang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3694-2895)
Institutions
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- Institute of Plant Protection (CN)
- DVGW - Technologiezentrum Wasser (DE)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (DE)
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (CH)
- Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (CH)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Environment International
- Published
- 2024-10-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.109061
- Citations
- 47
- Primary Topic
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.77
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung