The scientific community’s understanding of the health and environmental effects of PFAS is evolving at a rapid pace. At the same time, researchers are developing new technologies to assess and remediate PFAS contamination. This section provides the latest updates on developments in PFAS-related science and technology.
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This paper addresses the issue of false positives in PFAS monitoring. It provides commentary on how to identify and eliminate analytical interference in PFAS analyses.
January 27, 2024 | Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
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
This study evaluates the presence and distribution of PFAS from the soil surface to groundwater and at various distances from the presumed source. It is the first report to quantify volatile PFAS in soil gas at a PFAS manufacturing facility.
November 19, 2023 | Journal of Hazardous Materials
In 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revised the definition of PFAS to include any chemical with at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom. As a result, PubChem, one of the largest open chemical databases used in suspect screening, now contains over 7 million PFAS.
October 23, 2023 | Environmental Science & Technology
This study provides an analysis of the types and concentrations of PFAS in consumer products as reported in the literature over the past decade based on 52 studies. It highlighted several gaps in knowledge.
September 27, 2023 | Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters