Abstract ID: 3.11779 | Accepted as Poster | Poster | TBA | TBA

PFAS receive increasing interest due to their adverse health effects, their stability and physical chemical properties, which make them long lasting in the environment. Several studies focus on PFAS in aerosol and in precipitation but not so for cloud water, or a connection between those environmental compartments. Here we snow samples from “Hoher Sonnblick” (3106 m a.s.l.) in the Austrian Alps and cloud water samples collected at this site with an active cloud water sampler (CWS) (C. Kruisz et al. 1991). During a 14 day campaign in August 2024 a total of approx. 50 samples was collected for chemical analysis. Analysis of 20 PFAS, mentioned in the EU drinking water guideline, was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Snow samples were collected manually in snow pits by Geosphere Austria. Generally, in both compartments more Per- and polyfluorinated carbonic acids (PFAAS) were found than the sulfonic derivates (PFASS), reaching levels up to 29 ng/L for “sum 20 PFAS” in cloud water and 20 ng/L for snow profiles and up to 15 ng/L for fresh snow. Also, short chained C4 to C7 PFAAS built the majority of the found PFAS. This is consistent with prior studies. Other studies showed background snow regions reach concentrations up to 27 ng/L for PFUnDA whereas snow from ski regions can reach levels up to 113 ng/L for PFBA or 61 ng/L for PFHxA. Considering that ski waxes often contain fluoro waxes which are made of PFAS or PFAS precursor and can therefore emit them directly in the snow. This study relates concentrations in cloud water and snow from backround regions with available measurements. This work is granted by Forschungs- und Förderungsgesellschaft Österreich (FFG).