Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Sorbent-Amended Caps for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Sediment
EPA Grant Number: SV840421Title: Sorbent-Amended Caps for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Sediment
Investigators: Lampert, David , Sandhu, Amandeep , Shapiro, Matthew
Institution: Illinois Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: November 1, 2022 through October 31, 2024
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: 17th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2022) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The widespread existence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment represents an emerging issue due to their stability, bioaccumulation potential, and risks to human and ecological well-being. Areas where PFAS have been released into the environment have contaminated soils and sediments that now pose bioaccumulation risks. One approach for risk reduction is to contain the contamination in-situ to prevent exposure. Previous research into assessment and remediation of contaminated sites has demonstrated that in-situ containment and stabilization for pollutants that are resistant to degradation is often the best strategy. Ex-situ approaches require pumping and treating large quantities of material, which is prohibitively expensive, and managing additional residuals requiring disposal and containment. Developing cost effective in-situ treatment methods for PFAS is a critical priority.
The hypothesis underlying this investigation is that sequestration of PFAS in contaminated sediments is a cost-effective approach to reduce environmental risks. The project seeks to provide new insight into the efficacy of PFAS remediation using sediment capping technologies. Capping is a proven approach for contaminated sediment management, but there have been limited efforts to assess capping in PFAS-contaminated areas. While there is existing literature on PFAS sorption to various materials, there have been few efforts to extend these data for capping and in-situ sequestration. This project is developing a framework for remediation of PFAS-contaminated sediments and providing insight into the costs and benefits of alternative materials for sediment caps. The results are expected to be of value to communities that are at risk of exposure to PFAS. The long-term goal of this project is to develop a sorbent-enhanced sand capping technology for PFAS-contaminated sediments to reduce mobilization and bioaccumulation.
Phase I of the project created the infrastructure to begin the development of capping as a technology and demonstrated the potential efficacy of sorbent-amended caps for remediation of PFAS-contaminated sediments. Phase II research builds on this research by increasing the suite of PFAS in experiments, performing studies on field-contaminated materials, assessing different approaches to implement the sorbents into sand caps, incorporating pore water upwelling into experiments, adding bioturbation processes into experiments, assessing the potential costs and benefits of sorbent-amended caps in real contaminated areas, and gathering additional information of the current policy landscape for PFAS-contaminated areas. The objectives for Phase II are to: (1) conduct laboratory-scale experiments to examine the effectiveness of sediment caps for PFAS containment that include pore water upwelling and bioturbation, (2) extend PFAS analytical methods to include a larger suite of compounds, (3) characterize PFAS migration through caps using fate and transport models, (4) perform a remedial design investigation for a PFAS-contaminated area, and (5) assess the political and economic feasibility of local and state PFAS-related regulations.
Conclusions:
The results to date described have demonstrated that capping is effective for containment, assuming enough sorption capacity is present to slow the pollution movement. The analytical methods, including peeper pore water samplers and sorbent-based passive samplers can be used to monitor the performance of sediment caps for PFAS. The results demonstrated the importance of different cleanup approaches for targeting different PFAS in sediments and organisms. The CapSim modeling platform can be used to interpret data from lab experiments and predict the effectiveness of various caps in the field. The model has been used at a field-contaminated site for a potential design to contain the PFAS physically and chemically. The student team conducted interviews with various professionals on PFAS regulations. Challenges for PFAS cleanup and regulation include industry pushback, lack of state leadership, lack of public awareness, identifying the responsible party for the burden of cleanup.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 15 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Atoufi HD, Lampert DJ. Analysis of a passive sampling device to assess the behavior of per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances in sediments. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2023;42(10):2171-2183. |
SV840421 (2023) SV840421 (Final) 68HE0D18C0017 (Final) SU840180 (Final) |
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Tekogul, I., Mohammadi, F., Sandhu, A., Shapiro, M., and Lampert, D.J. “The regulatory void in PFAS cleanup and remediation,” Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education, in press. |
SV840421 (Final) |
not available |
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Atoufi, H. and Lampert, D.J. “Analysis of a passive sampling device to assess the behavior of PFAS in sediments,” Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 42(10):2171-2183, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.5705, 2023. |
SV840421 (Final) |
not available |
Supplemental Keywords:
Sediments, soils, adsorption, chemical transport, bioavailability, remediation, cleanup, environmental chemistry, monitoringRelevant Websites:
Anna Slominski. Study of PFAS Contaminated Sediments Using Caps Amended with Sorbent Exit
EPA P3: Sorbent-amended caps for PFAS contaminated sediments Exit
IIT KeepingOur Water Clean Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Sorbent-Amended Caps for PFAS-Contaminated Sediments | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.