Southern Ontario Pub Night - November 26, 2026
Updated: Oct 30
Our next pub night will take place on Thursday November 26 at The Bullring at the University of Guelph. Join us for a talk from Dr. Keith Solomon (University of Guelph) about the impacts of trifluoroacetic acid. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
Title: Between heaven and the deep blue sea: Potential human health and environmental impacts of trifluoroacetic acid, the ultimate transformation product of some refrigerant gases and many other fluorinated chemicals
Location: The Bullring (University of Guelph), 107 Trent Ln, Guelph, ON N1G 2W2
Date and Time: Thursday November 26, 2026 | Doors open at 7:30 PM, Talk begins at 8 PM
Speaker: Keith Solomon (University of Guelph)
Cost: Pay what you can - help support our AGM student awards! Make a donation here: https://www.laurentiansetac.ca/support-pubnights
Abstract: Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is the shortest chain-length perfluorinated chemical and is classified as a PFAS in some jurisdictions. TFA is used in industry as a precursor for synthesis and as a reagent in chemistry. It is also a terminal residue of some Montreal Protocol-related refrigerant gases, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals containing the -CF3 group. The -CF3 group, a pseudohalogen, confers beneficial properties to these chemicals, but they could degrade to TFA. Molar yields of TFA for many of these potential sources have yet to be measured and would vary with the chemistry and biology of the environment (soil and water, etc.). TFA accumulates as neutral salts in terminal sinks like the oceans and lakes with no outflows. It is globally distributed with recent inputs from human activities; however, there may be natural sources as well. The physical and chemical properties of TFA are different from longer chain PFASs, some of which are hazardous to organisms in the environment and are bioaccumulative in food-webs. Exposure assessment is complex because of release of TFA in effluents from manufacture of fluorinated chemicals, and the increasing use of pesticides and pharmaceuticals containing the -CF3 moiety. TFA-salts are inert and rapidly excreted by animals, so do not bioaccumulate in food webs. This talk we will address current concentrations of TFA, and those predicted through 2100 from the degradation of compounds related to the Montreal Protocol and the overall risks to humans and the environment.
Biography: Keith Solomon is Professor Emeritus in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, and of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). His research areas are the fate and effects of pesticides and other substances in the environment, exposure of humans to pesticides and industrial chemicals, and risk assessment of chemicals. He has received awards for teaching, research, and outreach from SETAC, the American Chemical Society, the Canadian Ecotoxicity Workshop, and IUPAC. He has served on advisory committees on matters related to environmental toxicology, pesticides, and other chemicals in Canada, the USA, and internationally. He is a co-author on the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the Ozone Secretariat of the United Nations Environmental Programme and has contributed to more than 517 scientific publications and reports in the fields of pesticides, environmental toxicology, and risk assessment.
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