PFAS: The Dirty Truth About These Stain-Resistant Toxic Chemicals
INTRO
You may have heard PFAS referred to as a toxic “forever chemical.” In 2023, a group of researchers published a study revealing PFAS in breastmilk and in infant formula.[1] It is a near certainty that you have PFAS circulating in your bloodstream. So, what are these “forever chemicals,” why are we feeding them to our children, and at what concentrations? And, how are environmental engineering consultants, like ZUVIC, able to detect PFAS in our soil and drinking water and eliminate the risk to human health?
IN THIS ARTICLE, ZUVIC WILL ANSWER:
WHAT IS PFAS?
WHY IS PFAS CALLED A “FOREVER CHEMICAL”?
HAS PFAS BEEN FOUND IN CONNECTICUT’S SOIL AND DRINKING WATER?
HOW DO OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS TEST FOR PFAS?
WHAT IS PFAS?
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are manufactured chemicals that industries, particularly consumer products, have used since the 1940s.[2] PFAS repel water and resist stains and grease, and they are stable at high temperatures. For this reason, manufacturers use PFAS to create food packaging (microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, fast food containers, candy wrappers), household products (non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets), personal care products (dental floss, contact lens cleaner), and more (fire-extinguishing foam, additives to pesticides, etc.).[3] We know now that chemical companies, as early as the 1960s and 70s, understood that PFAS are “highly toxic” and dangerous when ingested—with one company removing from its production lines all women employees “of childbearing potential.” Nevertheless, companies continue to produce products with PFAS today.
Connecticut has banned “intentionally added” PFAS in food packaging since 2023, and Governor Ned Lamont recently signed an unanimously passed bill that will phase out by 2028 the manufacture, sale, and distribution of PFAS in virtually all consumer products.
More widely, in the United States, two types of particularly harmful PFAS have been phased out of production: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Of course, that does not mean that U.S. residents are no longer exposed to PFOS and PFOA. Companies outside the United States can manufacture consumer goods with PFOA and PFOS and import them here, and, because of historical contamination, these toxic chemicals have ended up at thousands of sites throughout the United States.
WHY IS PFAS CALLED A “FOREVER CHEMICAL”?
Given that PFAS are in so many products and packaging, it is no surprise that all this makes its way into landfills and wastewater treatment plants. And once it is in the soil, these areas then serve as a contamination source for surface water and groundwater.[4] In Connecticut, contamination to private wells, rivers, and town water supplies also has been attributed to the foam that firefighters use, at training facilities and airports.[5] And here’s the “forever” part: PFAS do not break down in our bodies or in the environment.
PFAS molecules have a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms. Carbon is a chemical element that is the base of all life on earth. Fluorine is the most electronegative element in the periodic table. Together, the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest bonds ever created, and it is relatively short because of its partial ionic character (i.e., chemical bonding due to atoms with different electronegativities). PFAS molecules have a particularly strong bond because of fluorine’s electronegativity (i.e., ability to pull electrons away from another atom) and fluorine’s attraction to positively-charged carbon.
Seems like a match made in Heaven? Not really. Despite the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond, Mother Nature hesitated to pair these two up. Only about 30 naturally-occurring items have a carbon-fluorine bond. One of those is found in the gifblaar—a South African shrub that is so poisonous that ingesting only half a single leaf is enough to kill a cow.[6]
HAS PFAS BEEN FOUND IN CONNECTICUT’S SOIL AND DRINKING WATER?
In humans, PFAS have been found to “cause severe adverse human health effects, including increased risk of kidney, breast, pancreas, prostate, and testicular cancers, liver damage, decreased birth weight and birth defects, decreased vaccine response, high cholesterol, infertility, and diabetes.”[7] The potential for adverse health effects from PFAS begins at concentrations between 2 and 20 nanograms per milliliter (2,000 and 20,000 parts per trillion),[8] although this does not take into consideration chronic exposure.
With limited exceptions, Connecticut has no requirement for testing PFAS in our soil or drinking water. Last October, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) amended its Environmental Condition Assessment Form (ECAF) to require disclosure of historical activities that could indicate a site has PFAS and similar contaminants (e.g., 1,4-dioxane). This is part of the Transfer Act—which the legislature is doing away with soon. Currently, when ZUVIC’s clients are selling certain types of properties, particularly manufacturing, dry-cleaning, and auto-repair sites, the Transfer Act requires us to test for the presence of PFAS and other contaminants in the soil. If we find it, ZUVIC must then help our clients remediate the site.
With respect to water, last April (2024), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first-ever national drinking water standard for PFAS. For PFOA and PFOS, the EPA set an enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) at 4.0 parts per trillion.[9] For other types of PFAS (PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA), the EPA set the MCL at 10 parts per trillion. Any public water utility with more than 3,000 customers must test 29 individual PFAS chemicals. Recently, the Connecticut Department of Public Health established drinking water action levels for ten types of PFAS that have been identified as most harmful. These are recommendations to test, however, and are not requirements.
PFAS has been detected in several water systems in Connecticut. In 2019, PFAS were detected in fish caught in the Farmington River, after firefighting foam from Bradley Airport was released into the river. Since 2019, Aquarian Water Company has voluntary tested its drinking water sources and detected PFOS and PFOA in several towns’ water supplies (including, Bridgeport, Danbury, New Fairfield, Newtown, and Woodbury, at concentrations exceeding the current EPA’s MCLs).[10] According to the Environmental Working Group, PFAS in concentrations above the proposed limits have been detected in the drinking water of over a dozen towns across Connecticut, including the Manchester Water Department, Norwalk First Taxing District, Meridien Water Division, University of Connecticut Main Campus, and others.[11]
HOW ZUVIC’s ENGINEERS TEST FOR PFAS AND OTHER TOXIC “FOREVER” CHEMICALS
Okay, now that we understand what PFAS are, how PFAS enter our soil and drinking water, and why these chemicals do not break down, let’s talk about what environmental engineering consultants like ZUVIC do to identify PFAS at our clients’ sites.
Testing for PFAS is possible. Out of the 5,000+ different PFAS compounds, there are currently commercial available standards to test for 70 types of PFAS. These tests are very sensitive and are capable of detecting concentrations below 1 part per trillion. But the downside is that they detect only the specific compound they are designed to find; meaning, a slight change in the PFAS compound would mean that the test would come back negative for that type of PFAS (and not indicate that other types are present). Before testing, you must know what you are testing for, which is often possible to determine by analyzing the historical activities at the site. In addition, the sensitivity of these tests means there are other considerations, too, that ZUVIC’s environmental engineers and scientists think about when testing for PFAS—such as having to take precautions to avoid cross-contamination.
In the coming weeks, we will share more information about how ZUVIC’s environmental engineers and scientists test for PFAS in Connecticut and Greater New England’s soil and drinking water. We will also share information about PFAS remediation. If you have questions about a particular issue, feel free to reach out to Tory Man, our Director of Environmental Engineering.
[1] LaKind JS, Naiman J, Verner MA, Lévêque L, Fenton S. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in breast milk and infant formula: A global issue. Environ Res. 2023 Feb 15;219:115042. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.115042. Epub 2022 Dec 16. PMID: 36529330; PMCID: PMC9872587.
[2] Environmental Protection Agency, “PFAS Explained,” available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-10/final-virtual-pfas-explainer-508.pdf.
[3] Id.; see also Linda G. T. Gaines PhD, PE, Historical and current usage of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A literature review, Environmental Protection Agency, 25 May 2022, available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.23362.
[4] Brusseau ML, Anderson RH, Guo B. PFAS concentrations in soils: Background levels versus contaminated sites. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Oct 20;740:140017. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140017. Epub 2020 Jun 6. PMID: 32927568; PMCID: PMC7654437.
[5] Press Release, Attorney General Tong sues 28 chemical manufacturers for knowingly contaminating Connecticut water and natural resources, and harming public health with toxic PFAS “Forever Chemicals,” January 25, 2024, https://portal.ct.gov/dph/newsroom/press-releases---2024/pfas-lawsuit.
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichapetalum_cymosum
[7] Press Release, Attorney General Tong sues 28 chemical manufacturers for knowingly contaminating Connecticut water and natural resources, and harming public health with toxic PFAS “Forever Chemicals,” January 25, 2024, https://portal.ct.gov/dph/newsroom/press-releases---2024/pfas-lawsuit.
[8] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Division on Earth and Life Studies; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology; Committee on the Guidance on PFAS Testing and Health Outcomes. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2022 Jul 28.
[9] Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/pfas-npdwr-presentation_4.9.24_overview.pdf.
[10] https://www.aquarionwater.com/water-quality/learn-about-pfas/ct-pfas-faqs
[11] PFAS contamination in the U.S. (May 21, 2024), Environmental Working Group, https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/map/.
