Fluorotelomer

[1] Some fluorotelomers and fluorotelomer-based compounds are a source of environmentally persistent perfluorinated carboxylic acids such as PFOA and PFNA, while others are under extended investigation.

[5] Fluorotelomers are used in fire-fighting foams, grease-resistant food packaging, leather protectants and stain-resistant carpeting, textiles, anti-fogging sprays and wipes.

[15] After more than a year of negotiating with "telomer makers Asahi Glass, Clariant, Daikin America, and DuPont to perform degradation studies on 13 of their products", the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and companies were not able to agree on terms.

[19] Given this discrepancy, the USEPA undertook an extensive effort to develop methods for testing the degradation rate of commercial fluorotelomer-based polymers.

These new studies reported half-life ranges for these commercial fluorotelomer-based polymers of 33 to 112 years, roughly consistent with EPA's 2009 estimate.