Food & Drink / Compounds / 8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate)

8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate) in food: ingestion safety

Moderate risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Transforms to PFOA in the body and environment. Detected in blood of firefighters and residents near AFFF sites. Liver toxicity in precursor form.

What is 8:2 fts (8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate)?

The IUPAC name is 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctane-1-sulfonic acid.

Also known as: 1h,1h,2h,2h-perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, 1-Octanesulfonic acid, 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluoro-, 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-Tridecafluorooctanesulphonic acid, RefChem:435180.

IUPAC name
3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctane-1-sulfonic acid
CAS number
39108-34-4
Molecular formula
C8H5F13O3S
Molecular weight
428.17 g/mol
SMILES
C(CS(=O)(=O)O)C(C(C(C(C(C(F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F
PubChem CID
119688

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Transforms to PFOA in the body and environment. Detected in blood of firefighters and residents near AFFF sites. Liver toxicity in precursor form.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified 8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA——
DoD——Key analyte in DoD PFAS site investigations

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter 8:2 fts (8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate)

  • Firefighting Foam — AFFF concentrates, Fire training area runoff, Airport fire suppression systems
    Primary marker for AFFF contamination at military/airport sites
  • Drinking Water — Groundwater near AFFF sites, Municipal water near military bases
    EPA UCMR5 analyte — detected at multiple DoD installations

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to 8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate):

  • Fluorine-free firefighting foams (F3)
    Trade-offs: Functional performance and cost-effectiveness may vary by application.
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)
  • Short-chain 6:2 FTS-based foams (less bioaccumulative transformation products)
    Trade-offs: Functional performance and cost-effectiveness may vary by application.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain 8:2 fts (8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate)?

8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate) appears in: AFFF concentrates (firefighting foam); Fire training area runoff (firefighting foam); Groundwater near AFFF sites (drinking water); Municipal water near military bases (drinking water).

See 8:2 FTS (8:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate) in the food app

Look up products containing 8:2 fts (8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. — expert_curation

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →