IWRA 2023 Online Conference - Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment
Theme 2: Emerging pollutants and groundwater
Author(s): Jane Thrasher
Jane Thrasher, Jacobs, Water & Environment Director; Ground Contamination and Land Quality Global Community of Practice Leader
Oral: PDFAbstract
BACKGROUND: Surveillance monitoring shows widespread PFAS occurrence
-
Surveillance monitoring shows the ubiquitous presence of PFOS in surface water, often above EQS.
-
PFAS also widespread in groundwater mainly at low levels; locally present in raw waters that drinking water supplies are taken from.
-
Identified need for further research and investigative work to evaluate the sources contributing to widespread PFAS in the environment.
-
A better understanding of the sources of PFAS and pathways to surface waters and groundwater will help ensure effective actions can be implemented.
THE PROBLEM: How to prioritise the large number of potential PFAS source sites
-
PFAS have applications in a wide variety of consumer products and industrial applications because of their unique chemical and physical properties
-
They have been in use since the 1950s
-
There are thousands of potential source sites where PFAS may have been lost to the environment
-
Where PFAS-containing Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam has been used in firefighting training, and fire protection and prevention
-
Industrial applications of PFAS e.g. mist suppression, specialist coatings
-
Disposal of materials containing PFAS – waste water effluent, landfill, run-off
-
How do you prioritise these sites for further assessment and effective regulation in a consistent and systematic manner, rather than simply focusing on the known and high-profile sites ?
Wednesday, January 18th, 2023; 11:35 CET