Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have found that a largely overlooked class of “forever chemicals” is widespread in New Jersey drinking water and commercially available bottled beverages, raising new questions about how these persistent contaminants are monitored and potentially introduced into everyday products.

In what researchers describe as the first statewide U.S. monitoring study of ultra-short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the NJIT team detected trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in more than 91% of tap-water samples collected across all 21 New Jersey counties and nearly 80% of bottled beverages tested. The study also revealed substantially higher concentrations in certain sports drinks and electrolyte waters than in plain bottled water, suggesting that ingredients or manufacturing processes may contribute to contamination beyond the original water source.

The findings, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters , highlight a significant gap in conventional PFAS monitoring. While chemicals such as PFOA and PFOS have received widespread regulatory attention by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, ultra-short-chain PFAS have largely escaped routine testing because their small molecular size and chemical properties make them difficult to detect using established methods.

“Most people have heard of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) because they have been the focus of regulations and water testing for years. TFA is different,” said Siwei Gu, a postdoctoral researcher in NJIT’s Emerging Contaminants Research Laboratory and lead author of the study. “It is much smaller in molecular size, highly soluble in water, and does not bind strongly to many filter materials that work well for capturing traditional PFAS.”

To investigate these often-overlooked compounds, researchers analyzed 113 samples, including 70 tap-water samples from across New Jersey and 43 commercially available bottled beverages. Using a specialized laboratory method, they screened for five ultra-short-chain PFAS that can be difficult to measure through conventional testing procedures.

TFA was by far the most frequently detected compound, appearing in 64 of 70 tap-water samples and 34 of 43 bottled beverages. Although concentrations varied geographically, at least one tap-water sample from every New Jersey county contained detectable TFA. The study found a median concentration of 352 nanograms per liter among tap-water samples with detectable TFA, with higher county averages observed in several northern and northeastern counties, such as Essex, Hudson and Bergen.

“We anticipated finding trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in drinking water, as previous studies in Europe had reported its widespread occurrence,” said Arjun Venkatesan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at NJIT and director of the Emerging Contaminants Research Laboratory. “However, what surprised us was how frequently it was detected, occurring in 64 of the 70 tap water samples collected across New Jersey and 34 of the 43 bottled beverages analyzed.”

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