Novel Tools for PFAS Site Characterization

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used for many commercial and industrial applications. Most PFAS-containing products use a proprietary, technical grade mixture of PFAS designed to impart specific performance-based characteristics to the products (e.g., heat resistance, surfactant properties). PFAS ground water and soil contamination at aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) impacted sites often cover large areas and may include multiple source areas. As the number of PFAS contaminated sites are on the rise. There is a need for novel site characterization tools to quantify PFAS near contaminated sites and investigate the sources of contamination. There are more than 3000 PFAS chemicals in the global market, the known quantifiable PFAS account for very small fraction and only limited number of analytes can be quantified using the known analytical procedures. Battelle is developing novel site characterization tools to measure the total PFAS and identify the sources of PFAS contamination. The presentation will discuss the results of the following techniques: (a) a PFAS passive sampler to obtain time-integrated concentrations and provide better long-term site characterization by capturing a realistic understanding of how hydrological conditions influence concentrations at the point of discharge, (b) a rapid potentiometric method to measure the free fluoride generated by the quick reductive defluorination of PFAS in the environmental samples, and (c) a forensic approach for better understanding of PFAS profiles in differentiating sources of contamination at PFAS contaminated sites.