ASTSWMO PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of more than 5,000 man-made fluorinated organic chemicals. These chemicals have been used in several consumer products and industry processes due to their oil and water repellency, temperature resistance, and friction reduction. In recent years, scientists have concluded that some of these substances may pose risks to human health and the environment.

PFAS Resources

The information below contains web resources maintained by government agencies, non-profit associations, academia, and industry groups related to PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern.

For information on current government regulations, advisories, and guidance on PFAS, ASTSWMO recommends visiting ITRC's PFAS Website, which includes fact sheets and other guidance documents that are updated periodically.

ITRC Government Regulations, Advisories, Guidance - Fact Sheets and Tables

State and Territorial Government

Click on a blue state in the map below to view the resources for that state.

Environmental Information

Assessment and Sampling:

ITRC Fact Sheet: Site Characterization Considerations, Sampling Precautions, and Laboratory Analytical Methods for PFAS. Describes methods for evaluating PFAS in the environment.

EPA Technical Brief: PFAS Methods and guidance for sampling and analyzing water and other environmental media. Summarizes EPA's efforts to develop validated robust analytical methods for groundwater, surface water, wastewater, and solids, including soils, sediments, and biosolids.

DoD Guidance: Bottle Selection and other Sampling Considerations When Sampling for PFAS. This guidance applies to any sample taken for the analysis of PFAS and is applicable to any liquid, soil, sediment, and tissue matrix.

Battelle - PFAS Sampling, Characterization and Analysis: A State-of-the-Industry Report. Includes information on sampling analysis, analytical methods, site characterization.

Massachusetts DEP: Fact Sheet Interim Guidance on Sampling and Analysis for PFAS at Disposal Sites Regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, June 19, 2018. Provides guidance regarding when and how to sample and analyze for PFAS at disposal sites regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP). MassDEP recommends a specific list of target PFAS analytes and discusses appropriate quantitative and qualitative risk characterization approaches. The Fact Sheet also summarizes physical and chemical properties, potential environmental health effects, and current state and federal standards and guidelines for PFAS compounds.

ASTM D7979-17 Standard Test Method for Determination of PFAS in Water, Sludge, Influent, Effluent and Wastewater by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)

ASTM D7968-17a Standard Test Method for Determination of Polyfluorinated Compounds in Soil by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)

Association of Public Health Laboratories: The ABCs of PFAS - Mobilizing Laboratories to Protect Communities.

Treatment and Cleanup:

ITRC Fact Sheet: Remediation Technologies and Methods for PFAS. Provides an overview of remedial technologies and methods for treatment of solids (for instance, soil or sediment) and liquids (for instance, groundwater, leachate, or surface water); describes processes for the treatment of PFAS that are now in use or are under development; and describes the challenges and limitations for each treatment technology.

EPA CLU-IN: PFAS Remediation Technologies. Provides an overview of remediation technologies that have been used or are being evaluated to treat PFAS-contaminated media. Most of the available information concerns the treatment of drinking water, wastewater, and groundwater; treatment of soils and sediments has received less attention.

SERDP-ESTCP: Search results for several remediation research projects and fact sheets by DoD's Environmental Research Programs.

NAVFAC: Treatment Technologies for PFAS Site Management. Presentation with a summary of available remediation technologies.

National Ground Water Association: Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice ($). Section 8 includes information on Remediation and Treatment.

Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel: Scientific Evidence and Recommendation for Managing PFAS Contamination in Michigan. In November 2017, after finding PFAS in several locations in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder issued an Executive Directive that established the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). The purpose of MPART is to ensure a comprehensive, cohesive and timely response to the continued mitigation of PFAS across Michigan.

The Water Research Foundation: Management, Analysis, Removal, Fate and Transport of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Water

Ross I, McDonough J, Miles J, et al. A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs. Remediation. 2018;28:101-126. https://doi.org/10.1002/rem.21553

Darlington, R., Ed Barth, AND J. McKernan. The Challenges of PFAS Remediation. The Military Engineer. Society of American Military Engineers, Alexandria, VA, 110(712):58-60, (2018). This article is the result of a collaborative effort between Battelle and the U.S. EPA to review of the most promising technologies.

Health Information

Toxicological Links:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Your Health

ATSDR Toxilogical Profile for PFAs

National Toxicology Program US Department of Health and Human Services - Immunotoxicity Associated with Exposure to Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) or Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)

Health Studies:

Guidance, Fact Sheets, and Research Studies

Municipal landfill leachates: A significant source for New and Emerging Pollutants

Eggen, T., M. Moeder, and A. Arukwe.

Science of the Total Environment 408(21):5147-5157 (2010).

Qualitative and quantitative data are reported on the occurrence of new and emerging compounds with increasing environmental and public health concern in water and particle phase of landfill leachates.

Review of the Fate and Transformation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Landfills

Hanna Hamid, Loretta Y. Li, John R. Grace

Environmental Pollution 235 (2018) 74-84 (2017).

A critical review of existing publications is presented i) to summarize the occurrence of various classes of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and their sources in landfills

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Landfill Leachate: Patterns, Time Trends, and Sources

Benskin, J.P., B. Li, M.G. Ikonomou, J.R. Grace, and L.Y. Li.

Environmental Science & Technology 46(21):11532-11540 (2012).

Data from concentrations and isomer profiles for 24 PFASs monitored over 5 months in municipal landfill leachate were used to assess the role of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursor degradation on changes in PFAA concentrations over time.

National Estimate of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Release to U.S. Municipal Landfill Leachate

Lang, J.R., B.M. Allred, J.A. Field, J.W. Levis, and M.A. Barlaz.

Environmental Science & Technology (Web publication 20 Jan 2017)

In a survey of U.S. landfills of varying climates and waste ages, researchers measured concentrations of 70 PFASs in 95 samples of leachate. National release of PFASs was estimated by coupling measured concentrations for 19 PFASs (for which more than 50% of samples had quantifiable concentrations) with climate-specific estimates of annual leachate volumes.

Distribution and Fate of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Economically Developed Areas of China

Zhang, W., Y. Zhang, S. Taniyasu, et al.

Environmental Pollution 176:10-17(2013).

Researchers examined the effluent from 28 wastewater treatment plants in 11 industrial Chinese cities for PFASs.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in source and treated drinking waters of the United States

J. Scott Boone, Craig Vigo, Tripp Boone, Christian Byrne, Joseph Ferrario, Robert Bensonb, Joyce Donohue, Jane Ellen Simmons, DanaW. Kolpin, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer

Science of the Total Environment 653, 359–369 (2019).

This paper is part of a series of papers describing a comprehensive study of the presence, concentrations, and persistence associated with chemical and microbial contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in source and treated drinking waters of the United States.

Application of WWTP Biosolids and Resulting Perfluorinated and Resulting Perfluorinated Compound Contamination of Surface and Well Water in Decatur, Alabama, USA

Lindstrom, A., M. Strynar, A. Delinsky, S. Nakayama, et al.

Environmental Science & Technology 45:8015-8021 (2011).

PFC-contaminated biosolids from a local municipal wastewater treatment facility that had received waste from local fluorochemical facilities were used as a soil amendment in local agricultural fields for as many as 12 years. Ten target PFCs were measured in surface and groundwater samples.

Occurrence and Fate of Perfluorochemicals in Soil Following the Land Application of Municipal Biosolids

Sepulvado, J.G., A.C. Blaine, L.S. Hundal, and C.P. Higgins.

Environmental Science & Technology 45(19):8106-8112 (2011).

Researchers investigated the occurrence and fate of PFCs from land-applied municipal biosolids by evaluating the levels, mass balance, desorption, and transport of PFCs in soils receiving application of municipal biosolids at various loading rates.

Detection of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in U.S. Drinking Water Linked to Industrial Sites, Military Fire Training Areas, and Wastewater Treatment Plants

Hu, X.C., D.Q. Andrews, A.B. Lindstrom, T.A. Bruton, L.A. Schaider, P. Grandjean, R. Lohmann, C.C. Carignan, A. Blum, S.A. Balan, C.P. Higgins, and E.M. Sunderland.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters 3(10):344-350 (2016).

A spatial analysis of 2013-2015 national drinking water PFAS concentrations is presented from U.S. EPA's third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule program.

Synthesis Paper on Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemicals (PFCS)

OECD/UNEP Global PFC Group

Synthesis paper on per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), Environment, Health and Safety, Environment Directorate, OECD (2013).

Document provides an overview of the current understanding of PFASs, particularly long-chain PFASs, regarding their major historical and current uses, scientific information about their relevance for human health and the environment (sources to the environment, human exposure, environmental fate and potential adverse effects on humans), alternatives and regulatory approaches.

Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Contamination Status Report

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, July 2018

PFAS Contamination Status Report

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has investigated numerous sources of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using a strategic sampling strategy that is updated and adapted based on the latest scientific research. This report provides an overview of the findings of this work and provides a look into additional work needed in the future.

Crown Vantage Property (Landfill for Paper Mill), Parchment, Kalamazoo County, Michigan

State of Michigan

Updated: February 14, 2019

The Crown Vantage Property encompasses a former Type II and III landfill historically utilized for disposal of papermaking waste, a historic wastewater treatment plant, former settling lagoons, and the former mill property. The property is suspected of being a source for PFAS that was detected in the City of Parchment’s municipal water system and nearby residential water wells.

Determination of fluorotelomer alcohols in selected consumer Products and Preliminary Investigation of Their Fate in the Indoor Environment

Liu, X., Z. Guo, E. Folk, and N. Roache.

Chemosphere 129:81-86 (2015).

Scientists determined the concentrations of perfluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), which are precursors to PFCAs, in 54 consumer products collected from the U.S. open market in the years 2011 and 2013. The products included carpet, commercial carpet-care liquids, household carpet/fabric-care liquids, treated apparel, treated home textiles, treated non-woven medical garments, floor waxes, food-contact paper, membranes for apparel, and thread-sealant tapes.

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Consumer Products

Kotthoff, M., J. Mueller, H. Juerling, M, Schlummer, and D. Fiedler.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research International 22(19):14546-14559 (2015).

Perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (C4, C6-C8, C10 PFSA), carboxylic acids (C4-C14 PFCA) and fluorotelomer alcohols (4:2, 6:2; 8:2, and 10:2 FTOH) were analyzed in consumer products, including textiles (outdoor materials), carpets, cleaning and impregnating agents, leather samples, baking and sandwich papers, paper baking forms, and ski waxes.

Guidance, Fact Sheets, Papers

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Acronyms

This list is generated from ITRC's Website