Survey of perfluorinated compounds in consumer products by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Qualitative and quantitative liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methods were developed for the analysis of perfluorinated compounds in consumer products and to examine the content of perfluorinated compounds in commercial products. In this study, 11 types of perfluorinated compounds, which were divided into perfluorinated carboxylic acids, perfluorinated sulfonic acids, perfluorooctane sulfonamides, perfluorooctane sulfonamide ethanol, and fluorinated telomere alcohols, were selected. The samples were extracted ultrasonically with methanol to confirm the efficiency of various extraction solvents and to take the appropriate extraction time. Methanol extraction was conducted for 2 h, followed by filtration and analysis by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. This paper reports the determination of 11 types of perfluorinated compound in 300 products from 16 product lines placed on the market in four industrial sectors. The target materials used in this analysis were based on the products classified into four types: coated metal wares, textile products, leather products, and household products. Of a total of 300 products, 51 were detected above the detection limits, which accounted for approximately 17% of the products tested.