Pet Safety / Compounds / PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid)

Is PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid) safe for dogs and cats?

Context-dependent for pets

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No data available.

What is pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid)?

The IUPAC name is 2,2,3,3,4,4-hexafluoro-4-(trifluoromethoxy)butanoic acid.

Also known as: Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid, RefChem:860222, 640-688-5, 863090-89-5.

IUPAC name
2,2,3,3,4,4-hexafluoro-4-(trifluoromethoxy)butanoic acid
CAS number
863090-89-5
Molecular formula
C5HF9O3
Molecular weight
280.04 g/mol
SMILES
C(=O)(C(C(C(OC(F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F)(F)F)O
PubChem CID
12498036

Risk for dogs

Context-dependent

No data available.

Risk for cats

Context-dependent

No data available.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA—UCMR5 monitoring listmonitored
NC DEQ—GenX Investigationinvestigation

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid)

  • Drinking Water — Cape Fear River downstream of Chemours, NC municipal water systems
    Co-occurs with PFMPA and GenX in Chemours contamination plume
  • Industrial Discharge — Fluoropolymer manufacturing effluent
    Byproduct of fluoropolymer production

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid):

  • Non-fluorinated manufacturing processes
    Trade-offs: Functional performance and cost-effectiveness may vary by application.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid) safe for pets?

No data available.

What products contain pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid)?

PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid) appears in: Cape Fear River downstream of Chemours (drinking water); NC municipal water systems (drinking water); Fluoropolymer manufacturing effluent (industrial discharge).

Why do regulators disagree about pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid)?

PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid) has been classified by 2 agencies including EPA, NC DEQ, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See PFMBA (Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid) in the pets app

Look up products containing pfmba (perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

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Sources (1)
  1. — expert_curation

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →