Capstone 1157 is a commercial reference material used in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) applications and was manufactured by DuPont. The material’s purpose in this project was to be the sole carbon source to microbes in a biodegradation study in a microcosm environment. The goal of this project was to...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic compounds that are used ubiquitously in different industrial fields. However, concerns regarding the potential health impacts of PFAS, including perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids
(PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), has raised stakeholder interest regarding continued use of PFAS. Analytical methods for PFAS...
Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are significant sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment. Current analytical methods that provide quantitative measures of individual PFAS in AFFFs, such as liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), are often complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. Methods for total fluorine analysis, though quantitative,...
The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), organic contaminants first synthesized in the 1940s, has been reported worldwide in a variety of environmental matrices and ultimately in biological systems including humans. Ongoing research into PFAS has included identifying novel PFAS, assessing their fate and transport in the environment, and...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic surfactants that have recently been identified as persistent organic pollutants. These so called “Forever Chemicals” have been detected in drinking waters, ground waters, soils, and consumer and industrial products globally; with environmental impacts stretching into the artic, far from known PFAS sources. The...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an emerging chemical class of concern. Recently in the United States, Health Advisory Limits for two PFAS in drinking water were established for perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in drinking water (set to 70 ng/L combine concentration) by the EPA. Because of PFAS mobility, persistence,...
Aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) are proprietary mixtures containing hydrocarbon surfactants and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that are used to extinguish hydrocarbon-based fuel fires. There is limited information on hydrocarbon surfactants in AFFFs and AFFF-contaminated groundwater even though they are more abundant (5-10% w/w) than PFASs (0.9-1.5% w /w) in...
Public attention and concern about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are increasing due to detection of PFASs in drinking water supplies, the environment, including remote locations, and wildlife and to the lowering of the federal health advisory levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in drinking water. Aqueous film-forming...
Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) is the most widely used anionic surfactant in
commercial detergent formulations. The environmental fate of LAS is of interest because
of its disposal to wastewater treatment facilities and subsequent occurrence as a
micropollutant in surface waters and groundwater. While LAS fate in wastewater
treatment systems and surface...
It is the responsibility of humans, as environmental stewards, to monitor our impact on the environment so that efforts can be made to remediate the effects of our actions and change behaviors. To better understand our environmental footprint, sensitive and simple analytical methods are needed to quantify the contaminants that...