Detection of chlorodifluoroacetic acid in precipitation: A possible product of fluorocarbon degradation

Chlorodifluoroacetic acid (CDFA) was defected in rain and snow samples from various regions of Canada. Routine quantitative analysis was performed using an in-situ derivatization technique that allowed for the determination of CDFA by GC-MS of the anilide derivative. Validation of environmental CDFA was provided by strong anionic exchange chromatography and detection by F-19 NMR. CDFA concentrations ranged from <7.1 to 170 ng L-1 among all samples analyzed. Monthly volume-weighted CDFA concentrations in rain event samples showed a seasonal trend between June and November 1998, peaking in late summer and decreasing in the fall for Guelph and Toronto sites. Preliminary toxicity tests with the aquatic macrophytes Myriophyllum sibiricum and Myriophyllum spicatum suggest that CDFA does not represent a risk of acute toxicity to these aquatic macrophytes at current environmental concentrations. A degradation study suggests that CDFA is recalcitrant to biotic and abiotic degradation relative to dichloroacetic acid (DCA) and may accumulate in the aquatic environment. On the basis of existing experimental data, we postulate that CDFA is a degradation product of CFC-113 and, to a lesser extent, HCFC-142b. If CFC-113 is a source, its ozone depletion potential may be lower than previously assumed. Further work is required to identify alternative atmospheric and terrestrial sources of CDFA.