Natural fluorinated organics in fluorite and rocks

Results of measurements of fluorinated compounds in gasses extracted from i gneous and metamorphic rocks are reported. A new extraction method analogou s to a pepper mill for geological samples is described. It permits extracti on at low temperatures and ensures a rapid transfer of extracted gases from active surfaces to cryogenic pre-concentration loop. Values for CF4, CF3Cl , CF2Cl2, CFCl3, CHF3, SF6 and NF3 in fluorites, granites, basalts and othe r igneous and metamorphic rocks are reported. It is proposed that trifluoro acetic acid (TFA) that was recently discovered in various environmental arc hives could also origin from similar geogenic sources.