BREAKOUT SESSIONS

The panel discussion will feature representatives from the EPA, Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) who will present their perspectives on the status of PFAS regulations as well as ongoing and future action plans.

Environmental assessments generate large volumes of data. In many cases, these datasets are generated and used in silos, even when it’s produced for public consumption. As a result, the potential power of these datasets is not fully realized due to limited data analytics skillsets, and more critically, the awareness of the tools, technology, available to delineate trends, and outcomes for environmental assessment and management decision-making. This session will introduce example tools that make environmental data more accessible and usable by all stakeholders across the environmental and human health landscape. The goal is to stimulate a discussion on critically evaluating, “do we need more data?” and how we harness already generated data to better identify the gaps and better define parameters for collecting new data.

In addition to litigation surrounding the use and disposal of AFFF, other products and processes known or suspected to have employed PFAS-containing materials are facing increasing scrutiny. This panel will present an overview of other PFAS-related litigation and topics of regulatory inquiry with respect to non-AFFF sources and products. Effective strategic management practices will also be discussed, and will include possible action items that may be undertaken to assess potential risks associated with PFAS usage prior to the execution of a sampling program.

Part 1: Remote DNAPL and Implications of Chlorine Solvent Plumes: DNAPL data show that contrary to the common assumption that persistent contamination in large chlorinated solvent plumes is always due to back diffusion of contaminants out of the solid matrix, there is the possibility of small, dispersed DNAPL far from the source release area. Instead of remedial efforts being limited by the rate of diffusion, more effective and less expensive in situ remediation is possible. Part 2: Beyond PFAS: Pharma and Personal Care Disruptors: The occurrence of endocrine and other biological disruptors in the environment from Pharma and personal care products is increasing. Suggestions of when and where to look for these disruptors, their interaction with nutrients and biota in subsurface and surface waters, and some mitigation and remediation approaches will be presented.

Part 1: The EPA consistently updates regulations both proposed and enforceable on PFAS in a wide array of sample matrices. Of note, the EPA announced a proposed rule to designate Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—also known as Superfund. The EPA also plans to use available programs to address environmental contamination from leachate and other sources, and plans to leverage ELG Preliminary Plan 15 to conduct a detailed study of PFAS in wastewater discharge from landfills. In addition, landfills are covered by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and required to report PFAS discharged into the environment under the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. Therefore, it is of the upmost importance for environmental professionals to understand the most up to date PFAS methods available to utilize at their project sites. We will cover both speciated PFAS methods such as EPA 1633 and Total Oxidizable Precursor Assay (TOPS) as non-speciated organic fluorine methods (TOF, AOF, EOF, TF). We will also compare data from the historical PFAS by Isotope Dilution Method, also know as 537M to data generated from EPA Draft 1633. This presentation will aid in analytical decision making at PFAS impacted sights for cost efficiency and time management. Part 2: While current analytical methods are capable of quantitatively measuring a number of specific PFAS, they do not provide a complete picture of the thousands of PFAS that are utilized in commercial products and potentially released into the environment. These unmeasured PFAS include many PFAS precursors, which may be converted into regulated PFAS through the course of a degradation process. The Total Oxidizable Precursor (TOP) assay offers a means of bridging this gap by oxidizing unknown PFAS precursors and intermediates and converting them into stable PFAS with established analytical standards. The application of the TOP assay to samples from PFAS-contaminated sites has generated several new insights, but it has also presented various technical challenges for laboratories. This presentation outlines the benefits and challenges of using the TOP assay for site assessments and suggests ways to address some of its limitations.