ADONA

ADONA enters drinking water primarily through industrial discharges from fluoropolymer manufacturing plants. The principal known source is Dyneon's Gendorf facility in Bavaria, Germany, where ADONA has been used since 2008; in the United States, smaller-scale use and atmospheric long-range transport account for most documented occurrence. UCMR 5 detections so far cluster in New York, California, Texas, Alabama, and the Northeast, with the highest reported level (18.8 ppt) at a small mobile-home park in Selkirk, NY. As with other perfluoroether acids, ADONA is highly mobile in groundwater, resists degradation indefinitely, and does not partition strongly into soil or sediment.

ADONA has not been formally classified as a carcinogen by IARC or NTP, and its toxicological dataset is smaller than that of PFOA or PFOS. Animal studies have nonetheless reported hepatotoxicity, thyroid effects, and developmental impacts at oral doses in the same range as other PFAS of concern. Manufacturer-funded biomonitoring of workers at Dyneon's Gendorf plant reported a human serum elimination half-life on the order of weeks-to-months — much shorter than PFOA (~2.4 years) — but independent verification is limited, and the underlying environmental persistence is unchanged. ADONA is monitored under UCMR 5 but is not currently subject to a federal MCL.

ADONA is removed effectively by granular activated carbon (GAC), anion exchange resin, and high-pressure membranes including reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. Because ADONA is a shorter-chain perfluoroether acid, it adsorbs less strongly to GAC than long-chain PFAS such as PFOA — GAC breakthrough occurs sooner, so treatment plants must monitor and replace media more frequently. Conventional treatment processes — coagulation, sand filtration, disinfection, UV, and ozonation — do not remove it. Boiling concentrates rather than removes it. NSF/ANSI 53 and NSF P473 certify point-of-use filters for PFAS reduction; NSF/ANSI 58 covers RO systems.