Science Inventory

Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater

Citation:

Marfil-Vega, R., B. Crone, M. Mills, AND S. Glassmeyer. Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater. Edition 1st, Chapter 15, Abhijit Mukherjee, Bridget Scanlon, Alice Aureli, Simon Langan, Huaming Guo, and Andrew McKenzie (ed.), Global Groundwater: Source, Scarcity, Sustainability, Security and Solutions. Elsevier, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, , 215-227, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818172-0.00015-3

Impact/Purpose:

This chapter gives a background on PFAS in groundwater, including sources, methods for analysis, occurrence, and treatment. It is a literature review that contains no new data.

Description:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a chemical class comprised of thousands of different compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. PFAS can enter the groundwater both through the use of PFAS-containing products (e.g. aqueous film forming foams), as well as the through disposal of these consumer and industrial products, such as in landfills and wastewater. The stability of PFAS make them persistent once they enter the environment. Treatments, such as granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, have been demonstrated to remove PFAS from groundwater during ex situ remediation and drinking water production.