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Building our understanding of PFAS in air using CMAQ
Citation:
D'Ambro, E., H. Pye, J. Bash, C. Allen, K. Talgo, K. Brehme, L. Reynolds, R. Gilliam, AND B. Murphy. Building our understanding of PFAS in air using CMAQ. University of North Carolina GASP Seminar, Chapel Hill (webinar), North Carolina, April 20, 2020.
Impact/Purpose:
This research documents the first steps toward quantifying the impacts and transport extent of air emissions of PFAS compounds from likely sources in the U.S. using the Agency's flagship regional-scale air pollution model.
Description:
We have used the regional-scale transport model CMAQ to model the fate and transport of air emissions of PFAS compounds from a facility in the southeast United States. These compounds deposit from the air downwind of the plant and lead to enhanced PFAS air concentrations in the vicinity of the plant. We use self-reported emissions from the facility and compare the deposition predictions from CMAQ to measurements collected by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Overall, it appears that CMAQ reasonable predicts the deposition of the measured compounds, but there are also many more species reported by the plant that have not been looked for in the ambient atmosphere or other environmental media. Thus the total burden of PFAS contamination may be understated.
