What's New in PFAS This Week
Matthew Von Hendy
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Peer Reviewed Articles
In a typical week more than 200 peer reviewed PFAS related articles are published--below is a small sample of recent articles.
PFAS covers many different subject areas--ranging from wastewater treatment to law to fashion.
If you need to find PFAS related research, get in touch with us at: matt@greenheroninfo.net
Anderson, R. H. and M. Modiri (2024). "Application of Gaussian mixture models to quantify the upper background threshold for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in US surface soil." Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 196(3).
Studies on the occurrence and environmental distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have clearly demonstrated their ubiquity in surface soil as a result of historic and ongoing emissions from various manufacturing and industrial activities worldwide. Given global efforts to characterize and mitigate risk from point source-impacted sites, there is, thus, an urgent need to quantify nonpoint source threshold concentrations (i.e., background) to support site management decisions particularly for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) as a top priority. Accordingly, this study evaluated the application of Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) fitted to log-transformed PFOS concentrations using nation-wide metadata consisting of thousands of surface soil samples representative of both background and aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) impacts with unknown proportion.
Link to article: Application of Gaussian mixture models to quantify the upper background threshold for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in U.S. surface soil | Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (springer.com)
Biek, S. K., et al. (2024). "Assessing the impact of immobilisation on the bioavailability of PFAS to plants in contaminated Australian soils." Environ Sci Pollut Res Int.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become a key concern to both environmental and human health due to their extreme persistence in the environment and their ability to bioaccumulate in plants, animals, and humans. In this mesocosm study, Australian PFAS-contaminated soil with a mean total concentration of 8.05 mg/kg and a mean combined PFHxS + PFOS concentration of 7.89 mg/kg was treated with an immobilisation sorbent (RemBind®) at different application rates (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5% w/w). To assess the efficacy of this immobilisation treatment, PFAS leachability, PFAS plant uptake, and ecotoxicity tests were conducted.
Calvert, L., et al. (2024). "Assessment of the impact of direct in vitro PFAS treatment on mouse spermatozoa." Reprod Fertil.
Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic environmentally persistent chemicals. Despite the phase out of specific PFAS, their inherent stability has resulted in persistent and ubiquitous environmental contamination. PFAS bioaccumulation has been reported globally with omnipresence in most populations wherein they have been associated with a range of negative health effects; with some PFAS chemicals exhibiting strong associations with increased instances of testicular cancer and reductions in overall semen quality. To elucidate the biological basis of such effects, we employed an acute in vitro exposure model in which the spermatozoa of adult male mice were exposed to a cocktail of PFAS chemicals at environmentally relevant concentrations.
Link to article: Assessment of the impact of direct in vitro PFAS treatment on mouse spermatozoa in: Reproduction and Fertility - Ahead of print (bioscientifica.com)
Cerlanek, A., et al. (2024). "Assessing construction and demolition wood-derived biochar for in-situ per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) removal from landfill leachate." Waste Management 174: 382-389.
With regulations for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) impending, the abundance of these chemicals of emerging concern in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate increasingly challenges landfill operators to seek on-site leachate pre-treatment options. This two-staged study explores the potential reuse of biochar derived from construction and demolition debris (CDD) wood as an in-situ PFAS sorbent for application within MSW landfill leachate collection systems. Batch leaching tests were first used to examine the feasibility of capturing PFAS from landfill leachate using two sources of CDD-wood-derived biochar.
Degitz, S. J., et al. (2024).”In vitro screening of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) for interference with seven thyroid hormone system targets across nine assays." Toxicology in Vitro 95.
The US Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating the ecological and toxicological effects of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals. A number of perfluorinated chemicals have been shown to impact the thyroid axis in vivo suggesting that the thyroid hormone system is a target of these chemicals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of 136 perfluorinated chemicals at seven key molecular initiating events (MIE) within the thyroid axis using nine in vitro assays. The potential MIE targets investigated are Human Iodothyronine Deiodinase 1 (hDIO1), Human Iodothyronine Deiodinase 2 (hDIO2), Human Iodothyronine Deiodinase 3 (hDIO3), Xenopus Iodothyronine Deiodinase (xDIO3); Human Iodotyrosine Deiodinase (hIYD), Xenopus Iodotyrosine Deiodinase (xIYD), Human Thyroid Peroxidase (hTPO); and the serum binding proteins Human Transthyretin (hTTR) and Human Thyroxine Binding Globulin (hTBG).
Ehsan, M. N., et al. (2024). "PFAS contamination in soil and sediment: Contribution of sources and environmental impacts on soil biota." Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 9 C7 - 100643.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in soils worldwide, suggesting that soil serves as a substantial reservoir for these compounds. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the origin of PFAS contamination in soil and sediment, as well as the environmental impacts associated with the distribution of PFAS in these mediums. In this review, we also discuss the effects of PFAS on soil microbes, plants, the terrestrial food web, sediment microbes, and benthic microorganisms. The highest concentration of PFAS was found in soils exposed to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), the PFAS manufacturing plants, and biosolids, compared to landfills, atmospheric deposition, and industrial discharge, which are the other three sources. © 2024 The Authors
Link to article: PFAS contamination in soil and sediment: Contribution of sources and environmental impacts on soil biota - ScienceDirect
Faquih, T. O., et al. (2024). "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Concentrations are Associated with an Unfavorable Cardio-Metabolic Risk Profile: Findings from Two Population-Based Cohort Studies." Exposure and Health.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used and persistent chemicals, leading to ubiquitous exposure. Although high PFAS levels have been associated with an adverse cardiovascular risk profile, the distribution of levels and relations with cardio-metabolic risk markers in the general population have not been fully characterized. We assessed the association between blood levels of perfluorooctaneic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and a range of lipoproteins and metabolites as well as clinical lipid measurements. We used data from participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study (NEO) (n = 584) and the Rhineland Study (n = 1962), jointly spanning an age range of 30 to 89 years.
Link to article: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Concentrations are Associated with an Unfavorable Cardio-Metabolic Risk Profile: Findings from Two Population-Based Cohort Studies | Exposure and Health (springer.com)
Folkerson, A. P. and S. A. Mabury (2024). "A Comparative Biodegradation Study to Assess the Ultimate Fate of Novel Highly Functionalized Hydrofluoroether Alcohols in Wastewater Treatment Plant Microcosms and Surface Waters." Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals present in a wide range of commercial and consumer products due to their water-repellency, nonstick, or surfactant properties, resulting from their chemical and thermal stability. This stability, however, often leads to persistence in the environment when they are inevitability released. We utilized microbial microcosms from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge to determine how employing different functional groups such as heteroatom linkages, varying chain lengths, and hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) will impact the ultimate fate of these novel PFAS structures. (c) 2023 The Authors.
Hedayati, M. S., et al. (2024). "Removal of perfluoroalkyl acids from aqueous media by surfactant-modified clinoptilolites." Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are environmentally persistent, bioaccumulating, and toxic compounds that have attracted global attention. It is challenging to reduce the residual concentrations of these compounds to safe discharge limits. In this study, batch experiments were performed to evaluate natural clinoptilolite and clinoptilolites modified (MC) with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC-MC), didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB-MC), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-MC), and tetramethylammonium chloride (TMA-MC) as cost-effective aqueous PFAS adsorbents.
Link to article: Removal of perfluoroalkyl acids from aqueous media by surfactant-modified clinoptilolites | Environmental Science and Pollution Research (springer.com)
PFAS Federal Register/Federal Government
National Nuclear Security Commission (2/20)
New NIST Database of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Will Help Scientists Monitor Environmental Pollution | NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology (2/15)
US EPA (2/15)
Recommended by LinkedIn
US EPA (2/15)
PFAS Weekly US State News
If you are tracking PFAS news, happenings and business development opportunities in a particular area, contact us to find out about PFAS Local Service -- contact us at matt@greenheroninfo.net
Minnesota is going PFAS-free. It won't be easy to say goodbye to the 'forever chemicals.' (startribune.com)
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 2/15
Iowa Capital Dispatch (Des Moines, IA) 2/15
Casella sues Town of Thurston to kill local law banning the spread of sewage sludge on fields | Fingerlakes1.com
Fingerslakes1 (Ithaca, NY) 2/19
13newsnow (Virginia Beach, VA) 2/19
SpectrumNews1 (Columbus, OH) 2/19
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) 2/20
Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD) 2/15 (Subscription Required)
Wisconsin Public Radio (Madison, WI) 2/20
PFAS Reports -- Other Sources
Inc 2/16
PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are getting into ocean ecosystems, where dolphins, fish and manatees dine – we traced their origins (greenwichtime.com)
Greenwichtime 2/15
Natural Resources Defense Council 2/20
North Carolina Health News 2/20
American Bar Association 2/14
The chemical industry’s key argument against the PFAS ban relies on a non-existent OECD statement (chemsec.org)
ChemSec 2/20
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Global PFAS Technical Lead at AECOM
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