The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has provided measurements of PFAS in different reference materials, including human serum, human plasma, fish tissue, house dust, soil, and domestic sludge. These materials are useful for the development and validation of methods; however, the concentrations in these reference materials are significantly lower compared to the concentrations in some source materials, such as aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) and AFFF-impacted soil. The first phase of this project built upon existing expertise and developed four AFFF reference materials. The second part of this project will create AFFF-impacted soil reference materials. These materials could be a tool to help evaluate the ability of laboratories to analyze various media that have been impacted by AFFF and AFFF source material itself.

NIST Reference Materials (RMs) 8690, 8691, 8692, and 8693 PFAS in AFFFs

In Phase I, four AFFF and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) reference materials were created (RMs 8690, 8691, 8692, and 8693). The four materials can be used to ensure laboratories that perform analysis of AFFF and AFFF-impacted media (high concentration samples) are able to achieve accurate quantitation of those PFAS present as well as the limit of quantitation (LOQ) possible for those not detected. The creation of AFFF reference materials can be used by the PFAS measurement community to underpin their quantitative and qualitative data. The second phase of this research aims to create two soil materials impacted by AFFF. Soil, collected from two different locations with known PFAS presence, will be dried, irradiated, homogenized, and bottled by NIST. After bottling these materials will be evaluated for PFAS. Once chemical analysis is finished, NIST will write up a special publication detailing the PFAS content in the two soils and the reference materials will be available for purchase at https://shop.nist.gov/. All the reference materials NIST creates are homogeneous, shelf‐stable, and available to academic, government, and contract laboratories. In addition, these materials support measurement needs, new remediation technologies, and the analytical laboratories. The individual unit volume and concentration would be specifically designed to be applicable for targeted environmental analysis, as well as fate, transport, and remediation studies.

Phase I Results

NIST successfully created four AFFF reference materials (RMs 8690, 8691, 8692, and 8693) that are now available for purchase at https://shop.nist.gov/. Each reference material has a Reference Material Information Sheet that contains the PFAS concentrations in that material.

These reference materials will address the current measurement needs of the PFAS analytical community. By creating the AFFF and soil reference materials, with known quantities of PFAS measurements assigned, contract laboratories and other analytical laboratories will be able to provide accurate and comparable results for PFAS measurements. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2027)

Reiner, J.L., B.J. Place, N.A. Heckert, K.T. Peter, and A.E. Rodowa. 2023. Characterization of Reference Materials 8690 to 8693 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Four Formulations of Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs). NIST Special Publication, 260-234. doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-234.