phenomenon · claim-type · cross-domain-transfer · mechanism · claim-relation · replication-status · limitation — grounded in the full text| phenomenon | a class of thousands of extremely persistent substances used across almost every industry branch, whose extent cannot be established because the quantities are commercial secrets and the registers exempt whole categories— “Under the TSCA, the Chemical Data Reporting lists under “volume” the amount of a substance in a certain sector and function category or product category. However, more than 80% of the volume entries in the Chemical Data Reporting database are CBI. The certainty of the available information is therefore low, but a general statement is still… | |
| claim-type | existence— “In the present study, more than 200 uses in 64 use categories were identified for more than 1400 individual PFAS. This means that the present study encompasses five times as many uses (counted as use categories plus subcategories) than included by Kissa (2001). This shows that the present study goes much further than simply updating this… | |
| method — evidence | — “Through the patents it was possible to determine in which applications PFAS may be used. While it is not possible to determine whether licenses for a patent have been obtained, the status of the patent (e.g. active, withdrawn, expired, not yet granted) can be determined. Active patents become expensive for their owners over the years.… | |
| object of study — evidence | — “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of concern because of their very high persistence and impacts on human and environmental health. Currently, many different PFAS (on the order of several thousands) are used in a wide range of applications and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many individual substances and… | |
| research question — evidence | — “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of concern because of their very high persistence and impacts on human and environmental health. Currently, many different PFAS (on the order of several thousands) are used in a wide range of applications and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many individual substances and… | |
| contribution — evidence | — “In the present study, more than 200 uses in 64 use categories were identified for more than 1400 individual PFAS. This means that the present study encompasses five times as many uses (counted as use categories plus subcategories) than included by Kissa (2001). This shows that the present study goes much further than simply updating this… | |
| transfer | from international environmental law: the essential-use test, carried from the Montreal Protocol's ozone regime into chemicals policy, where the question becomes which uses of a persistent substance justify themselves rather than whether the substance is harmful— “However, there are specific uses that make an immediate ban of all PFAS impractical. Some specific uses of PFAS may currently be essential to health, safety or the functioning of today’s society for which alternatives so far do not exist. On the other hand, if some uses of PFAS are found to be non-essential, they could be eliminated without… | transfers[0] |
| transfer | from analytical chemistry: suspect-screening by accurate mass spectrometry, supplied here with a list of exact monoisotopic masses per use category so that a laboratory can look for substances nobody has yet measured— “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of concern because of their very high persistence and impacts on human and environmental health. Currently, many different PFAS (on the order of several thousands) are used in a wide range of applications and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many individual substances and… | transfers[1] |
| mechanism | the property that sells it is the property that keeps it PFAS are 100 to 1000 times more expensive than hydrocarbon alternatives, so they are bought only where extreme stability, wide temperature range or very low surface energy are required. The carbon-fluorine bond supplies all three - and the same bond is why the substance does not degrade after the product is discarded. Utility and persistence are not correlated here, they are the same fact— “PFAS are costly to produce (e.g. fluorosurfactants are 100–1000 times more expensive than conventional hydrocarbon surfactants per unit volume) and therefore are often used where other substances cannot deliver the required performance, or where PFAS can be used in a much smaller amount and with the same performance as a higher amount of a… | mechanisms[0] |
| mechanism | an inventory bounded by what registers agree to record every quantity in this paper comes from a register with a declared exclusion: a reporting threshold of 11.34 t at a single site, statutory exemptions for foodstuffs medicines and cosmetics, no duty to declare solid articles, and confidentiality over more than 80% of the volumes. The inventory is therefore a map of the disclosure regime, and the paper says so instead of presenting it as a map of use— “The data from the US are only partly helpful, because a large part of the reported amounts is CBI and only substances above 11.34 t at a single site have been reported. Although in some use categories large quantities of PFAS are employed, it is difficult to compare the amounts, because the unreported amounts due to CBI could be much larger… | mechanisms[1] |
| mechanism | a class boundary that moves the count PFAS membership has been defined three times, each wider or narrower in a different place, and every number in this literature - how many substances, how many uses, how much tonnage - is a number under one of them. The paper states which one it uses and exactly where it departs from the others— “In contrast to the definition by Buck et al. (2011), the present study also includes i) substances where a perfluorocarbon chain is connected with functional groups on both ends, ii) aromatic substances that have perfluoroalkyl moieties on the side chains, and iii) fluorinated cycloaliphatic substances. More specifically, the present study… | mechanisms[2] |
| mechanism | substitution without regulation two voluntary programmes removed the best-known PFAS from two manufacturers' portfolios; other companies were not prevented from taking the market, enforcement was very limited, and substances that break down into the same acids remain in medical devices, apparel and semiconductor manufacture— “However, other companies have not been prevented from taking over the market, and there has been very limited enforcement of the actual phase-out through regulation. A recent article revealed that PFAS that can break down into PFOA and PFOS are still in use in the US. Those uses include coatings for medical devices, apparel, and other… | mechanisms[3] |
| extends | Kissa (2001), the standard monograph on PFAS as surfactants and repellents, which listed 39 use categories mostly from patents and is nearly twenty years old - this study finds five times as many uses— “A good overview of the range of uses of PFAS as surfactants and repellents is provided in the monograph by Kissa (2001). It lists 39 use categories, mostly derived from patents, and describes the function of PFAS in these use categories. However, the work by Kissa (2001) was published nearly 20 years ago, focused on fluorosurfactants and… | claim_relations[0] |
| critiques | confidential business information as it operates under TSCA - it leaves even regulators without volumes, use categories or substance identities, which limits their ability to assess and prevent harm— “The TSCA reform in the US was unfortunately unsuccessful in reducing industry’s excessive use of CBI. Even though CBI may protect a specific industry’s business, it results in overall less protection for consumers, users, and workers from the chemicals. Even regulators are left in the dark about volumes, use categories, and PFAS used, which… | claim_relations[1] |
| critiques | the voluntary phase-outs of PFOS- and PFOA-related substances, which other companies were not prevented from succeeding to and which saw very limited enforcement— “However, other companies have not been prevented from taking over the market, and there has been very limited enforcement of the actual phase-out through regulation. A recent article revealed that PFAS that can break down into PFOA and PFOS are still in use in the US. Those uses include coatings for medical devices, apparel, and other… | claim_relations[2] |
| qualifies | its own inventory - not exhaustive, bounded by every register's exclusions, with 4% of functions and 21% of enabling properties undetermined— “However, as can be seen from the question marks in the Appendix it was not always possible to determine why PFAS were used or needed in a particular case. In 4% of the cases we could not clarify which function the PFAS fulfil in the use category or subcategory, and in 21% of the cases we could not clarify which property is needed to fulfil… | claim_relations[3] |
| extends | the Montreal Protocol's essential-use concept, argued here in its default-deny form: treat every use as non-essential unless a case is made, with a sunset clause on those accepted— “The approach of allowing PFAS only in “essential uses”, as suggested for example in the EU strategy paper “Elements for an EU-strategy for PFAS”, will not be easy to implement if regulators try to assess all uses individually. An alternative approach could be to deem all PFAS uses as “non-essential” unless producers or users make a convincing… | claim_relations[4] |
| sense | what counts as a PFAS - UNDER BUCK ET AL. 2011: aliphatic substances with the -CnF2n+1 moiety, n at least 1— “A first clear definition of PFAS was provided by Buck et al. (2011). They defined PFAS as aliphatic substances with the moiety -CnF2n+1 where n is at least 1. The OECD/UNEP Global PFC Group noted that many substances, containing other perfluorocarbon moieties (e.g. -CnF2n-), were not commonly recognized as PFAS according to Buck et al.… | senses[0] |
| sense | what counts as a PFAS - UNDER THE OECD/UNEP PROPOSAL: also substances containing -CnF2n-, on grounds of structural similarity— “A first clear definition of PFAS was provided by Buck et al. (2011). They defined PFAS as aliphatic substances with the moiety -CnF2n+1 where n is at least 1. The OECD/UNEP Global PFC Group noted that many substances, containing other perfluorocarbon moieties (e.g. -CnF2n-), were not commonly recognized as PFAS according to Buck et al.… | senses[1] |
| sense | what counts as a PFAS - IN THIS STUDY: the OECD position plus both-ended perfluorocarbon chains, side-chain aromatics and fluorinated cycloaliphatics, minus non-polymers carrying only -CF3 or -CF2- except the ethers. The 1400 is a count under this one— “In contrast to the definition by Buck et al. (2011), the present study also includes i) substances where a perfluorocarbon chain is connected with functional groups on both ends, ii) aromatic substances that have perfluoroalkyl moieties on the side chains, and iii) fluorinated cycloaliphatic substances. More specifically, the present study… | senses[2] |
| sense | the number of PFAS per use category - AS THE PAPER MEANS IT: what this search identified— “It should be noted that the number of PFAS reflects the number that we have identified in the present study, and not the number of substances on the market or available for a certain use. For half of the use categories, we have identified more than 20 PFAS, and for seven use categories more than 100 PFAS.” | senses[3] |
| sense | the number of PFAS per use category - AS IT WILL BE READ: the number on the market for that use, which the authors say explicitly it is not— “It should be noted that the number of PFAS reflects the number that we have identified in the present study, and not the number of substances on the market or available for a certain use. For half of the use categories, we have identified more than 20 PFAS, and for seven use categories more than 100 PFAS.” | senses[4] |
| sense | a link between a PFAS and a use - FROM A PATENT: 42% of the 2400 links, and a patent shows a substance may be used, not that it is— “Of the 2400 links between individual PFAS and assigned uses, around 42% of the links were obtained from patents, 27% from studies that detected PFAS in products and 31% from publications that reported actual uses.” | senses[5] |
| sense | a link between a PFAS and a use - FROM AN ANALYTICAL DETECTION: 27%, and a detected substance may be an impurity or a degradation product rather than an ingredient— “These studies are important because they show in which products PFAS exist. However, in most studies only a handful of substances were analysed and even for these substances it is not clear whether they were used intentionally, impurities in the actual substances or degradation products.” | senses[6] |
| control | commercial market reports excluded from the study entirely, although they cover the quantities the study most wants — held— “A variety of non-verified commercial market reports exist for PFAS. Examples are the Fluorotelomer Market Report, Fluorochemicals Market Report or the Perfluoropolyether Market Report from Global Market Insights. The information from these reports is not included in this study as these reports do not state their information sources and thus… — rules out an unverifiable figure entering the inventory - the reports do not state their sources, so a number taken from one could not be checked by anyone, including the authors— “A variety of non-verified commercial market reports exist for PFAS. Examples are the Fluorotelomer Market Report, Fluorochemicals Market Report or the Perfluoropolyether Market Report from Global Market Insights. The information from these reports is not included in this study as these reports do not state their information sources and thus… | controls[0] |
| control | REACH data excluded, despite covering more countries than the Nordic registers used, because its tonnage bands attach to substances and not to use categories — held— “Data from REACH that would have covered more countries than the data from the SPIN database are not shown, because the tonnage bands in REACH refer to the substances and not to use categories. Accordingly… — rules out a quantity reported against the wrong denominator being read as a use-category quantity - only single-use substances would have been informative and the rest would have carried invented precision Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[1] |
| control | every substance-use link labelled by the KIND of evidence behind it - P for patent, D for analytically detected, U for a reported use - and the three shares reported — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. — rules out a patented possibility and an observed use counting as the same fact; 42% of the 2400 links are patents and the reader is told which Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[2] |
| control | the study's own use categories compared against the independently built SPIN category list, to test whether whole categories had been missed — partial Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. — rules out the compilation's coverage resting on the compilers' own imagination - an external classification is asked what it has that this one does not, and it had three Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[3] |
| control | the count of substances stated as a count of what this search found, next to the figure a reader would otherwise take it for — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. — rules out the study's own reach being read as the size of the market - said before the numbers rather than after them Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[4] |
| control | two use categories reported with NO substances identified rather than dropped - ammunition and the nuclear industry — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. — rules out a category disappearing because the search failed in it; the empty result is printed where a reader can see which categories it applies to Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[5] |
| control | the 11.34 t single-site reporting threshold under TSCA, below which no substance appears in the volume data at all — absent-declared-unreported — rules out substances below the 11.34 t single-site threshold - they do not appear in the volume data at all, so the totals are a floor and not an estimate Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[6] |
| control | the statutory exemptions in the Nordic registers - foodstuffs, medicinal products, cosmetics, solid articles, and anything under 0.1 t per year — absent-declared-unreported — rules out products under the statutory exemptions - foodstuffs, medicinal products, cosmetics, solid articles and anything under 0.1 t a year are absent from the Nordic registers by law Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[7] |
| weight | Kissa (2001), the standard monograph on PFAS as surfactants and repellents, which listed 39 use categories mostly from patents and is nearly twenty years old - this study finds five times as many uses — 0.95 Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | claim_relations[0] |
| weight | confidential business information as it operates under TSCA - it leaves even regulators without volumes, use categories or substance identities, which limits their ability to assess and prevent harm — 0.95 Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | claim_relations[1] |
| weight | the voluntary phase-outs of PFOS- and PFOA-related substances, which other companies were not prevented from succeeding to and which saw very limited enforcement — 0.95 Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | claim_relations[2] |
| weight | its own inventory - not exhaustive, bounded by every register's exclusions, with 4% of functions and 21% of enabling properties undetermined — 0.95 Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | claim_relations[3] |
| weight | the Montreal Protocol's essential-use concept, argued here in its default-deny form: treat every use as non-essential unless a case is made, with a sunset clause on those accepted — 0.9 Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | claim_relations[4] |
| outcome | control — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[0] |
| outcome | control — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[1] |
| outcome | control — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[2] |
| outcome | control — partial Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[3] |
| outcome | control — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[4] |
| outcome | control — held Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[5] |
| outcome (stated by the tagger, no quotation) | control — absent-declared-unreported Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[6] |
| outcome (stated by the tagger, no quotation) | control — absent-declared-unreported Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | controls[7] |
| limitation | the searches were not exhaustive in any source, and the authors say there are many more reports, studies, patents, safety data sheets and databases than those used Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[0] |
| limitation | more than 80% of the volume entries in the US Chemical Data Reporting database are confidential, so the certainty of the quantity information is low Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[1] |
| limitation | the extent of the uncertainty introduced by confidentiality in the SPIN database cannot be estimated from the available data and could be large Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[2] |
| limitation | the Nordic data may not represent other regions - the registers exempt foodstuffs, medicines and cosmetics, and there is no PFAS or fluoropolymer production there Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[3] |
| limitation | neither database covers PFAS in finished articles, which removes most of the manufacturing done outside the EU and US Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[4] |
| limitation | seventy PFAS from the Chinese inventory are absent from this one because no information on their intended use was provided Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[5] |
| limitation | some register categories were too broad to map onto the study's use categories, and those substances and their quantities were dropped Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[6] |
| limitation | in 4% of cases the function of the PFAS could not be determined and in 21% the property needed to fulfil that function could not be determined Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[7] |
| limitation | uses may be missing entirely - PFAS were found in climbing ropes and no information was found on climbing harnesses, and no industry interviews were possible Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[8] |
| limitation | the coverage claim for the general use categories is qualitative, and subcategories are quite possibly missing Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[9] |
| limitation | industrial blends can be 80% of the registered substance, so impurities, reaction by-products and degradation products are present alongside the intended PFAS Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[10] |
| limitation | REACH data covering more countries were excluded because its tonnage bands attach to substances rather than to use categories - the wrong unit for this question Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | limitations[11] |
finding · quantity · variable · definition · key-term — grounded in the full text| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[0] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[1] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[2] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[3] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[4] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[5] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[6] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[7] |
| finding | Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.findings[8] |
| quantity | individual PFAS with an identified use - a count under this study's definition, which is wider than Buck 2011 in three ways and narrower in one Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[0] |
| value source note | quantity — THE DESCRIPTION DRAWS ON THE PAPER BEYOND THIS QUOTE: the comparison with Buck et al. (2011) is in the methods ('In contrast to the definition by Buck et al. (2011)…'). | content_tags.quantities[0] |
| quantity | of the volume entries in the US Chemical Data Reporting database are confidential business information Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[1] |
| quantity | metric tons at a single site - the TSCA reporting threshold, below which a substance does not appear at all Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[2] |
| quantity | of cases where the property enabling the PFAS function could not be determined - against 4% where the function itself could not Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[3] |
| quantity | of all PFAS quantity in the Nordic registers is two substances - PTFE and one refrigerant gas - because they are products rather than additives Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[4] |
| quantity | of the 2400 substance-use links come from patents, against 27% from analytical detection and 31% from reported uses Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.quantities[5] |
| variable | use categories Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.variables[0] |
| variable | CBI Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.variables[1] |
| definition | PFAS Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.definitions[0] |
| definition | CBI Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | content_tags.definitions[1] |
| concept | PFAS — not defined in this paper's own words; per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - a class of thousands whose boundary has moved three times, and whose membership decides every count in this paper Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[0] |
| concept | persistent — not defined in this paper's own words; the property the C-F bond confers - the same stability that makes PFAS useful at wide temperature ranges is what makes them stay in the environment Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[1] |
| concept | CBI — not defined in this paper's own words; confidential business information - the legal category covering more than 80% of the reported volume entries, and the reason the quantitatively largest uses cannot be identified Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[2] |
| concept | SPIN database — not defined in this paper's own words; the Nordic product registers - the best public source here, and one that exempts foodstuffs, medicines, cosmetics, solid articles and anything under 0.1 t per year Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[3] |
| concept | patents — not defined in this paper's own words; the only route to what many products contain, and evidence that a substance MAY be used rather than that it is - 42% of this paper's substance-use links Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[4] |
| concept | use categories — not defined in this paper's own words; the classification this study built and rebuilt through the project; some registers' categories were too broad to map onto it and their substances were dropped Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[5] |
| concept | articles — not defined in this paper's own words; finished goods as against preparations - a legal distinction that removes an entire manufacturing geography from both registers Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[6] |
| concept | essential uses — not defined in this paper's own words; the Montreal Protocol concept adapted to PFAS - the frame in which a use must justify itself, and which this paper argues should be default-deny Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[7] |
| concept | fluorosurfactants — not defined in this paper's own words; PFAS used to lower surface tension; 100 to 1000 times more expensive than hydrocarbon surfactants, which is why they appear only where nothing else works Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[8] |
| concept | PTFE — not defined in this paper's own words; polytetrafluoroethylene - with one refrigerant gas, 75% of all PFAS quantity in the Nordic registers, because it is the product rather than an additive Quotation withheld — this paper is not ours to reproduce, and the page has already quoted as much of it as the rights layer allows. The tag, its field and its confidence stand; the sentence is at the publisher. | concepts[9] |
When we have changed our mind. Some entries in the table begin with a word in capitals and the reason for it. EVIDENCE CORRECTED — the finding still stands, but we had quoted the wrong sentence from the paper, and the quotation has been replaced with the right one. RETRACTED — the entry itself was wrong; it stays on the page, marked, with the reason, rather than being deleted. WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED — the entry was wrong, and a corrected version of it appears in the entries below. Each mark carries its own reason, in brackets, because the reasons differ from one entry to the next. An entry we have WITHDRAWN is removed from this page and kept in the record, with its reason. A line reading Audit and a date is a later re-reading of the entry against its whole sentence: DOUBTFUL means it was kept, and the reason says what is loose about it. Quotation marks inside the tagger's sentence. Where a tag is the tagger's own sentence, a phrase in quotation marks inside it is borrowed from the paper — the tagger's wording around it is not. The paper's own sentence is the evidence quote for that row; on this page it is withheld with the article, and the article is at its publisher. Nothing inside quotation marks anywhere on this page is ours: if it is quoted, it is the paper's. Whose words a concept carries. A concept entry records a term the paper itself uses, so the term, the sense given for it, and its evidence are the paper's own words, quoted where the paper fixes them. This is the opposite of a sense entry in the tag table, which is the tagger's sentence about how the paper uses a term. Where a concept entry could not be grounded in the paper's words, the entry says so on its own row.
Tag layer © the Meta-Tagging Project, CC BY 4.0. The paper text is © its authors/publisher
and is linked, not reproduced. Excerpts shown are short quotations for identification and verification.
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