Research on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the New England Water Science Center
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of over 4,000 different compounds. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been manufactured and used around the globe, including in the United States. PFAS are resistant to chemical and thermal breakdown and impart stain and water-resistance properties, making them useful for a variety of commercial applications, but also persistent in the environment. Many PFAS are surfactants and can be a constituent of aqueous film-forming foams used to fight hydrocarbon fires. PFAS have been used in nonstick coatings for consumer products (water-repellent fabrics, food packaging, nonstick cooking surfaces) and in industrial activities including metal plating and fluoropolymer and plastic production, among others. PFAS are very persistent in the environment, and some PFAS are known to accumulate over time in the human body and in the food chain. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked to adverse human and ecosystem health effects.
Activities in the New England Water Science Center (WSC) span research on fate, transport, exposure, and effects of PFAS. On Cape Cod, the New England WSC has a long-term research site where ongoing activities investigate the persistence and transport of PFAS and PFAS precursors, temporal trends, diverse contaminant mixtures, groundwater discharge ecosystem buffers, surface-water/groundwater interactions, sewage effects, fish impacts, and human exposure implications.
Several studies have also been undertaken to investigate PFAS in streams and soils with cooperators including the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The New England WSC has contributed to several regional and national USGS efforts related to PFAS, including co-authoring a publication on the USGS strategic science vision for PFAS, and large scale sampling and analysis of PFAS in groundwater.
USGS Laboratory for the Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
What factors predict PFAS contamination in groundwater?
Chemical and Engineering News article about the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Project study in the eastern part of the country.
Access all USGS publications in the Publications Warehouse
The Pubs Warehouse provides access to over 170,000 publications written by USGS scientists over the century-plus history of the bureau.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of over 4,000 different compounds. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been manufactured and used around the globe, including in the United States. PFAS are resistant to chemical and thermal breakdown and impart stain and water-resistance properties, making them useful for a variety of commercial applications, but also persistent in the environment. Many PFAS are surfactants and can be a constituent of aqueous film-forming foams used to fight hydrocarbon fires. PFAS have been used in nonstick coatings for consumer products (water-repellent fabrics, food packaging, nonstick cooking surfaces) and in industrial activities including metal plating and fluoropolymer and plastic production, among others. PFAS are very persistent in the environment, and some PFAS are known to accumulate over time in the human body and in the food chain. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked to adverse human and ecosystem health effects.
Activities in the New England Water Science Center (WSC) span research on fate, transport, exposure, and effects of PFAS. On Cape Cod, the New England WSC has a long-term research site where ongoing activities investigate the persistence and transport of PFAS and PFAS precursors, temporal trends, diverse contaminant mixtures, groundwater discharge ecosystem buffers, surface-water/groundwater interactions, sewage effects, fish impacts, and human exposure implications.
Several studies have also been undertaken to investigate PFAS in streams and soils with cooperators including the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The New England WSC has contributed to several regional and national USGS efforts related to PFAS, including co-authoring a publication on the USGS strategic science vision for PFAS, and large scale sampling and analysis of PFAS in groundwater.
USGS Laboratory for the Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
What factors predict PFAS contamination in groundwater?
Chemical and Engineering News article about the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Project study in the eastern part of the country.
Access all USGS publications in the Publications Warehouse
The Pubs Warehouse provides access to over 170,000 publications written by USGS scientists over the century-plus history of the bureau.