Webinar title: Environmental Risks of Short-Chain Fluorinated Compounds
Speaker: Prof. Hu Jianxin
Time: April 30, 2025 (Wednesday) 9:30
Venue: Room 231, New Environmental Building
Inviter: Yitao Pan, Jiayin Dai
Abstract:
As a critical class of industrial synthetic chemicals, short-chain fluorinated compounds (SCFCs) exhibit multidimensional ecological impacts amid evolving environmental regulations. Initially regulated under the Montreal Protocol and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change due to their ozone-depleting potential (ODP) and potent greenhouse gas effects (with global warming potentials thousands of times higher than CO₂), these compounds have drawn renewed scrutiny as understanding of persistent pollutants deepens. With escalating global controls on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), certain SCFCs—serving as precursors to environmentally persistent trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), trifluoromethane, and other recalcitrant compounds—have emerged as focal points for international treaty amendments, scientific risk assessments, and industrial substitution efforts. This study synthesizes three decades of scientific findings, risk assessment advances, and regulatory developments to construct a life-cycle framework ("production–application–emission") for SCFCs, elucidating historical shifts in environmental risks. Focusing on priority-regulated short-chain fluorochemicals (e.g., HFCs, HFOs) in current global agendas, we analyze their environmental persistence and hazard profiles. Integrating China’s industrial structure, we propose a risk assessment framework and identify critical research gaps. The findings aim to support evidence-based global environmental governance and China’s compliance with international treaties.
About the speaker:
Prof. Hu Jianxin, the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Peking University, has long-standing expertise in the environmental management of chemicals and compliance strategies. He has led dozens of national research projects, including key R&D programs funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, public interest projects of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and science and technology support programs. Professor Hu has spearheaded the development of numerous national and sectoral strategic and action plans, such as the Updated National Programme for the Phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances in China, the Preliminary Study on Issues and Strategic Countermeasures of Chemical Environmental Management in China, and the National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. He currently serves as: (1) a member of the National Expert Committee on Ecological and Environmental Protection; (2) Deputy Director of the National Expert Committee for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention and the Minamata Convention; and (3) a member of the National Expert Committee on New Pollutants Control. Internationally, he is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee for the 2026 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as well as a member of UNEP’s Chemicals Selection Committee. He has also served as a member of the IPCC Working Group and the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee. Professor Hu received the Special Gold Award of the Second National “Ozone Layer Protection Contribution Award” in 2004, the UNEP Ozone Layer Protection Contribution Award on the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations in 2006, shared the honor of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with fellow IPCC scientists for contributions to climate change work and received the Outstanding Contribution Award for the Elimination of Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2015.