Events

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an emerging PFAS pollutant that is considered a planetary boundary threat due to its ubiquity and pervasiveness in the environment. In previous years, the human health effects of TFA have been a contentious topic due to limited chronic toxicological data. Although the Australian Senate Select Committee on PFAS (2025) recommended a national PFAS monitoring program, TFA was notably absent from the final report. However, in early June 2026, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) officially classified TFA as “very Persistent, very Mobile” (vPvM) and concluded that it is a reproductive toxicant (Category 1B). This underlines the urgency of implementing TFA environmental forensics in Australia.

In this webinar, our speaker will discuss:

• Recent literature on the environmental effects of TFA.
• The challenges of TFA analysis and quantification.
• Overview of techniques suitable for TFA analysis, including CSIRO’s development of a sensitive LC-MS/MS method.
• Exploratory data on TFA levels in South Australian environmental waters.
• The future challenges and opportunities for TFA monitoring in Australia.

This webinar will be particularly valuable for water remediation practitioners, environmental scientists, consultants, and analytical chemists. A live Q&A will follow, and the session will be recorded.