It’s time to talk about the F-word

Concerns have been growing globally as reports come in of high quantities of forever chemicals being found in drinking water, household dust, food, and even in human blood. 

The forever chemicals in question are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). There are thousands of kinds of PFAS, including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), considered an ultrashort-chain example of PFAS due to its carbon-fluorine bond. Scientists have linked the increasing levels of TFA to the fluorinated gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems. 

PFAS chemicals are resistant to heat, stains, grease and water. They were developed for use in products such as carpet, makeup, cleaning products, bedding, non-stick cookware, oil- and grease-resistant food packaging, and firefighting foams. Unfortunately, what makes them so effective in industrial uses is also what makes them so persistent in the environment. 

The “F” is the problem 

There are many PFAS, but the one of particular interest to the HVAC&R industry is TFA. 

Principal at Veridien Refrigerant Management Adrian Bukmanis, Affil.AIRAH, says that although TFA occurs naturally in the environment, it also comes from man-made sources. 

“The general consensus is that there’s a little bit there (in nature), but it’s not enough to explain all the TFA that’s being discovered,” he says.  

Bukmanis explains that fluorinated gases are the biggest cause of TFA, which is mainly found in things like refrigerants, pesticides, biocides, pharmaceuticals and foam blowing agents. 

“An interesting thing to keep in mind is that a bit of the culprit here is the ‘F’ – it’s the F between PFAS, and that’s the F between fluorinated gases. It’s the fluorination of these chemicals which is the common factor.” 

Bukmanis goes on to explain that fluorinated gases such as HFOs have different yields of TFA. 

“For example, R1234yf, which is commonly used in vehicles, has 100 per cent degradation into TFA, whereas some other HFOs maybe have 10 or 20 per cent degradation. 

“So different refrigerants have different yields of TFA, and even some of the older refrigerants like R134a – which is commonly used in vehicles today, or you might find it in refrigerators or some of the chillers – that also has a TFA yield as well.” 

Back to the source 

A report published in 2021 by Umweltbundesamt (Germany’s environment agency) investigated all the sources of TFA(1). The report calculated the potential maximum emissions across Germany from the data and sales figures collected on the use of the respective chemicals. 

The majority of data collected showed that the main sources of TFA in Germany included refrigerants, blowing agents and plant protection agents. 

The report classes TFA as “very mobile and very persistent in the environment” – entering the environment as the chemical agents degrade into the atmosphere. 

Bukmanis says PFAS chemicals have three primary classifications: mobility, persistence and toxicity. 

“Some of the PFAS chemicals are classed as very mobile or very persistent,” he says. 

“You can have a chemical that’s persistent and mobile, but not toxic; or you can have one that’s mobile and toxic and not persistent – so you can have combinations of those.” 

According to a study published in October 2024 in ChemRxiv titled The global threat from the irreversible accumulation of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)(2), TFA is a persistent and mobile substance that has been increasing in concentrations within diverse environmental media, including rain, soils, human serum, plants, plant-based foods, and drinking water. 

In other words, once TFA enters the atmosphere, it doesn’t break down. This becomes an issue once it starts entering soil, rainfall and waterways, because it then pollutes drinking water and food crops – ultimately entering the human body. 

Australia’s PFAS inquiry 

The Senate appointed a select committee on August 22, 2024, called the Select Committee on PFAS, to “inquire into the extent, regulation and management of PFAS”. The committee is welcoming submissions on the extent, regulation and management of PFAS until December 19, 2024. Email PFAS.sen@aph.gov.au or visit the Parliament of Australia website for more information.  

A growing problem 

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency and the Danish Groundwater Monitoring Program also published a study in September 2024, titled A 60-Year Increase in the Ultrashort-Chain PFAS Trifluoroacetate and Its Suitability as a Tracer for Groundwater Age(3). 

The report tested the concentrations of TFA in 113 Danish groundwater-monitoring wells during different time periods. It found that the levels increased from 0.06mcg/L on average between 1960–80 to 0.6mcg/L on average between 2000 and the 2020s – a tenfold increase. 

The abstract suggests “oxidation of certain fluorinated gases in the atmosphere is considered the primary source of TFA in the terrestrial environment, and the combined change in gas type and increased usage would therefore expectedly lead to an increased TFA burden over the last few decades”. 

The ChemRxiv study mentioned above notes that TFA concentrations are currently orders of magnitude higher than those of other PFAS and are already threatening planetary boundaries. 

What impact does TFA have? 

The ongoing effects from increased TFA levels in the atmosphere are still being discovered. 

A study in 2020 showed TFA caused health impacts in rats, and further studies are being done to see if the same is applicable for humans. 

Earlier this year, the German Federal Office for Chemicals (Bundesstelle für Chemikalien or BfC) submitted a proposal to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) linking reproductive toxicity to TFA. The proposal claims that exposure to small quantities of TFA can cause harmful health effects, including reproductive toxicity and developmental toxicity in offspring. 

However, researchers are still working on the long-term answers as to just how toxic any exposure to TFA is to humans. 

“Chemical companies are saying the levels today are not a problem,” says Bukmanis. “The counter argument to that is because it’s persistent, by the time we work out that they’re a problem, it’s kind of too late. 

“And I think the precedent for that is when you look at … the same kind of arguments 60 years ago, that these chemicals aren’t a problem. 

“The first HFC in the atmosphere wasn’t a problem. The second one in the atmosphere wasn’t a problem. But when you stick millions in the atmosphere, you have a problem. So it’s a cumulative issue.” 

Christine Lützkendorf is a policy advisor on fluorinated greenhouse gases at German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH). She frames our current situation as a triple emergency that consists of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and the chemical pollution crisis. 

“In the EU, from a climate perspective, I welcome the revised EU F-Gas Regulation from this year,” she says. 

“However, this is not addressing the environmental consequences of F-gases belonging to the PFAS group, which are therefore currently proposed to be restricted in the PFAS restriction process under the EU’s REACH chemical regulation.” 

An alternative perspective 

Multiple research papers have explored TFA and its effects, but not all the findings have been so alarming. 

A 2016 report titled Sources, Fates, Toxicity, and Risks of Trifluoroacetic Acid and Its Salts: Relevance to Substances Regulated Under the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols, stated “the formation of TFA from the degradation of HCFCs, HFCs, and HFOs warrants continued attention, in part because of its very long environmental lifetime”(4). 

However, the paper predicted that the risk of TFA exposure to plants and mammals is “de minimis”. 

According to Trifluoroacetic Acid in the Environment: Consensus, Gaps, and Next Steps published in July 30, 2024, “TFA has no obvious or significant pathway of degradation and will be deprotonated as its freely dissolved salt that will move with flowing water and accumulate in terminal (endorheic) water bodies”(5). 

The paper predicts depositions of TFA in the ocean will increase significantly from the atmospheric degradation of CFC replacement gases. It is unknown how this will affect marine organisms. 

Given the ambiguity in the literature, there is not yet scientific consensus on the current and predicted concentrations of TFA in the environment, or the risks it poses to human health. 

Safer limits 

For other types of PFAS, the evidence is clearer, leading authorities around the world to call for new measures to be actioned to limit the use of PFAS chemicals in products. 

In 2023, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway submitted a proposal for major restrictions on PFAS. Although only a few PFAS are banned at the EU level, the European Union did ban the use of a subgroup of PFAS earlier this year for some uses (such as textiles and food packaging). 

Closer to home, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released draft guidance on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as part of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. The guidelines form part of the National Water Quality Management Strategy and provide a reference for Australians on the water regulators and suppliers in each state and territory. 

The updated guideline values indicate the amount of PFAS that a person can consume in drinking water daily over a lifetime without any appreciable risk to health. 

Futureproofing 

Although there are still questions about TFA, many within the industry are pushing for a transition from fluorinated to non-fluorinated refrigerants. 

Lützkendorf stresses it should always be top priority to avoid or minimise emissions in the first place. 

“While there are limited methods available to clean up some PFAS chemicals, these approaches are prohibitively expensive – and even they fall short of removing TFA,” she says. 

“There is only one process called reverse osmosis that could potentially remove TFA. But that is an extremely costly process where very specific technology is needed, and it is in no way possible or economically feasible that normal water treating facilities could use reverse osmosis. 

“Moreover, reverse osmosis has further downsides: the end-product water needs to be re-mineralised, toxic residues remain that need to be handled properly, it is very energy intensive, and more water is needed in the process. This is not a solution in times of water shortages and the climate crisis. 

“Therefore, it must be highest priority to stop TFA emissions in the first place.” 

A paper published in 2024 in Science of The Total Environment(6) estimates that the current costs to remove and destroy the total PFAS mass released annually into the environment would likely exceed the global GDP of US$106 trillion. While not technically unachievable, the paper highlights the “unaffordability of using environmental remediation alone to manage environmental PFAS stocks”. 

Alexander Cohr Pachai, AM.AIRAH, from Global Consultancy ApS in Denmark, believes the main challenges for the refrigeration and heat pump industry are sealing materials and similar components, many of which are difficult to replace. In fact, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has just announced it will consider the impact of PFAS bans on the use of fluoropolymers in the manufacture of vital HVAC&R components like seals and gaskets. 

But Pachai – who was recently confirmed as the international keynote speaker at AIRAH’s 2025 Refrigeration Conference, which will be held in Melbourne on Monday, March 24, 2025 – notes that there are alternative options for refrigerants. 

“The PFAS/TFA debate has come and accelerates the push for elimination of this group of chemical compounds,” he says. 

“The refrigerants are the low-hanging fruits – at least in Europe where education systems are in place. Some of them will have to upgrade to handle flammable gases, but that is easily done.” 

Pachai also identifies the need to revise standards to encourage the wider transition to natural refrigerants. 

Policy push 

Bukmanis also believes that industry-wide change begins with policy and regulation. Since many of the major players within the industry produce both their own chemicals and equipment, he says it can be difficult to make a sudden move away from a specific chemical. 

“If you’ve spent billions of dollars building a chemical plant to produce this type of chemical, then you’ve got a duty to your shareholders and everybody else to produce,” he says. “You can’t just turn it off or switch products that easily. 

“Ultimately, it’s going to require a lot of pressure from consumers, the end-buyers, and the contractors to say, ‘this is too big a risk for us. We need you to come up with another solution.’” 

He adds that, as a whole, the industry is quite conservative. He believes industry will face challenges such as a lack of skilled people, lack of knowledge in design, and availability of product. 

“Where there’s a will or there’s the ability, the frameworks to do it and the support, you can make it happen; but it needs a concerted effort,” he says. 

Lützkendorf also says there is a general deficit in numbers and training for skilled workers that hinders the implementation of natural alternatives. 

“The natural alternatives have properties – like flammability, toxicity, and higher pressures – that need to be managed well with proper training and respective safety measures,” she says. 

“However, I want to point out that countless companies have successfully used natural alternatives in countless applications over decades. This shows that switching to natural refrigerants is absolutely possible, while being beneficial in all other regards: climate, environment, energy efficiency, and even the fact that these refrigerants can’t be patented – just to name a few.” 

“There’s enough technology to solve pretty much the majority of cooling applications, heat pump applications and refrigeration applications without using fluorinated refrigerants,” says Bukmanis. 

“It just needs some real champions within the policymaking environment to stick their necks out and say, ‘right, okay, this is what we need to do’.” 

Reports referenced 

1. “Reducing the input of chemicals into waters: trifluoroacetate (TFA) as a persistent and mobile substance with many sources” by Umweltbundesamt (2022) 
2.  “The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA)” in Environmental science & technology vol. 58,45 (2024) 
3. “A 60-Year Increase in the Ultrashort-Chain PFAS Trifluoroacetate and Its Suitability as a Tracer for Groundwater Age” by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and the Danish Groundwater Monitoring Program (2024) 
4. “Sources, fates, toxicity, and risks of trifluoroacetic acid and its salts: Relevance to substances regulated under the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols” in Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews vol. 19,7 (2016) 
5. “Trifluoroacetic Acid in the Environment: Consensus, Gaps, and Next Steps” in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 
6. “Estimated scale of costs to remove PFAS from the environment at current emission rates” in Science of The Total Environment.