Subsurface PFAS Distribution at Two Contaminated Sites
An EPA study found that four PFAS substances have sufficient vapor pressure to be designated as vapor-forming chemicals. Vapor-forming chemicals warrant investigation for vapor intrusion when they occur as subsurface contaminants at sites subject to federal statutes for land cleanup, such as CERCLA and RCRA. This report represents the EPA’s initial research into whether the vapor intrusion exposure pathway is pertinent to PFAS chemicals with a focus on fluorotelomer alcohols, which are common chemical intermediaries and byproducts in some PFAS manufacturing operations. According to the EPA, “the research will provide regulators information that will help them decide whether [vapor intrusion] should be evaluated at the hundreds of sites where PFAS are reasonably expected to have been released to the subsurface.”
November 2023 | EPA Office of Research and Development