Technical Updates

ASTM Releases First-Ever Standard Method for Ultrashort PFAS: ASTM D8628-25 Authored by SGS 

Posted on by Leighanne Neilson
03
Feb

A significant achievement in global PFAS measurement, enabling accurate quantification of ultrashort PFAS for regulators, industry, and laboratories worldwide. 

ASTM International has released ASTM D8628-25, the first globally available ultrashort PFAS standard test method, developed and authored by our very own SGS experts including Dr Million Woudneh, marking a significant advancement in PFAS detection and environmental monitoring. Until now, ultrashort PFAS (those with carbon chains <4) have not been consistently measurable using conventional analytical methods.  

These compounds, especially Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA), often appear at the highest concentrations in water, wastewater, stormwater, and landfill leachate. Their presence is linked to multiple modern sources, including: 

  • Atmospheric transformation of refrigerants, which degrade into TFA and related ultrashorts 
  • Lithium-ion battery electrolytes, an emerging and rapidly expanding contributor 
  • Industrial processes and degradation pathways from existing PFAS chemistries 

Despite their prevalence, ultrashort PFAS have remained largely unregulated and unmeasured, leaving a critical gap in occurrence data and remediation strategies. 

Why ASTM D8628-25 Matters 

This new standard delivers: 

  • A unified approach to analyzing ultrashort PFAS across all matrices 
  • Expanded PFAS detection capabilities beyond what current standard methods achieve 
  • Better data for regulators, manufacturers, and remediation professionals 
  • Improved public health and environmental protection 

“While standardized methods exist for short- and long-chain PFAS, ultrashorts have significant measurement gaps” said Kesavalu Bagawandoss, ASTM member and SGS lead on this methods initiative. “The immediate global need for reference methods is clear. And ASTM D8628-25 fills that gap.”  

ASTM D8628-25 provides regulators, labs, and industry with the tools needed to understand the full scope of PFAS presence and advance more effective treatment technologies. Download the method directly from the ASTM website.