Analytical testing of per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) and their transformation products in electrical and electronic waste

Objective

"Phones, tablets, and flat screens have ever-shorter innovation cycles and become swiftly obsolete, thus, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is currently the fastest-growing solid waste stream worldwide. Hence, e-waste is associated with numerous pressing challenges e.g., the release of pollutants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their transformation products (TPs). Given the growing concern over PFAS, also known as ""forever chemicals"" due to their high persistence in the environment, this research addresses critical questions about the contribution of e-waste toward the PFAS pollution. The goal of E-PFAStest is the development of analytical methods based on non-target screening (NTS) for comprehensively analysing e-waste samples for PFAS and their TPs. The E-PFAStest project has three parts: 1) Development of NTS analytical methods for the determination of PFAS in e-waste samples; 2) Development of testing procedures to simulate the formation of TPs from PFAS in e-waste samples; and 3) Analysis of PFAS and their TPs in environmental samples in the vicinity of e-waste facilities. As such, E-PFAStest will be the first study to comprehensively assess the PFAS contamination originating from e-waste as it identifies parent PFAS and TPs in e-waste and in the surrounding environment of e-waste facilities. In E-PFAStest, I will combine my skills in NTS of PFAS and method development at the interface materials-environment with the host lab’s analytical equipment and expertise, multi-disciplinary research, and network. Further, two secondments are foreseen, that will ensure the implementation of the electrochemistry approach for the simulation of TPs and the sampling in and around e-waste facilities. Thus, E-PFAStest will ensure my development as an independent researcher to establish my own research group on the topic of analytical development for emerging contaminants at the interface materials-environment. "