Home 9 Services 9 PFAS Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) testing

PFAS Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) testing

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) industrial and commercial use began as early as the 1940’s, however, the discovery of their negative impacts on humans and our ecosystems has been a relatively recent development leading to the need to control their manufacture and use.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) industrial and commercial use began as early as the 1940’s, however, the discovery of their negative impacts on humans and our ecosystems has been a relatively recent development leading to the need to control their manufacture and use.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) TOF testing

Due to the harmful effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), legislation is now in force globally to restrict their manufacture and use, with a view to their gradual phase out.

Global regulations range from the banning of certain individual substances to restricting PFAS overall presence in samples.

Total Fluorine and Total Organic Fluorine Testing

PFAS is a group of over 10,000 individual chemicals, making them difficult to test for. Traditionally regulations restrict the use of a list of specific PFAS chemicals, but more recently both testing and some legislations require verification of the level of all PFAS present.

This need to measure total PFAS in a sample has led to the development of tests for Total Fluorine (TF) and Absorbable Organic Fluorine (AOF) or the Extractable Organic Fluorine (EOF), which in turn are used to indicate PFAS levels within a sample.

Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) test for consumer products including textiles, apparel and footwear

Eurofins offers Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) testing, a method providing an accurate and precise measurement of total PFAS levels present within consumer products including textiles, apparel and footwear, and environmental sample matrices.

As PFAS chemicals contain organic fluorine, if the detected level of TOF is greater than the regulated limit of PFAS in your matrix (e.g. > 50ppm, or >100ppm for many consumer products), further analysis such as targeted PFAS testing, can be used to determine which PFAS is present to help you cleanse your supply chain.

As TOF testing looks at total PFAS rather than individual PFAS chemicals in a matrix, it can help you gain compliance with both current and future regulations.

How can PFAS TOF testing help

TOF testing can accurately determine PFAS content within samples and can be used to achieve compliance, assuring customer and worker safety, and help to create a more sustainable and responsible supply chain.

Eurofins offers TOF testing on a wide variety of matrices which includes consumer products and environmental samples. Contact us to day to find out more or visit our PFAS testing page to understand the matrices Eurofins global network of laboratories can test for PFAS contamination.

PFAS training

Want to know more? Contact us to enquire about PFAS corporate training to get expert advise tailored to your PFAS issue and supply chain, or watch our on-demand webinar.

Eurofins PFAS and supply chain chemical management services