What's New With PFAS

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 aren't finding the PFAS related research you need, get in touch with us at: [email protected]

Back, G. G. (2024). "Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Status and Alternatives: The Big Picture (2024 Status Update)." Fire Technology.

This article provides an update of the status of AFFF, the available alternatives and any revisions to applicable codes and standards.

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Beale, D. J., et al. (2024). "Metabolic disruptions and impaired reproductive fitness in wild-caught freshwater turtles (Emydura macquarii macquarii) exposed to elevated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)." Sci Total Environ: 171743.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a threat to organisms and ecosystems due to their persistent nature. Ecotoxicology endpoints used in regulatory guidelines may not reflect multiple, low-level but persistent stressors. This study examines the biological effects of PFAS on Eastern short-necked turtles in Queensland, Australia. In this study, blood samples were collected and analysed for PFAS, hormone levels, and functional omics endpoints. High levels of PFAS were found in turtles at the impacted site, with PFOS being the dominant constituent.

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Bos, R. (2024). "PFAS raise their ugly head in malaria control: Diverging views on risk substitution." Malariaworld J 15: 4.

?A controversy has arisen over whether or not the replacement of PFAS compounds as a binder between insecticides and nets by other compounds has affected the nets' efficacy in preventing malaria transmission. Robert Bos places this matter in a broader and historical context and concludes that now is the time to revisit earlier concepts and provide sustainable malaria prevention and control with a broader foundation aiming for truly resilient results.

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de Souza, B. B. and J. Meegoda (2024). "Insights into PFAS environmental fate through computational chemistry: A review." Sci Total Environ: 171738.

Computational chemistry methods, such as Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) offer valuable tools for studying PFAS and simulating their interactions with other molecules. This review explores how computational chemistry methods contribute to understanding and tackling PFAS in the environment. PFAS have been extensively studied using DFT and MD, each method offering unique advantages and computational limitations. MD simulates large macromolecules systems however it lacks the ability model chemical reactions, while DFT provides molecular insights however at a high computational cost. The integration of DFT with MD shows promise in predicting PFAS behavior in different environments. This work summarizes reported studies on PFAS compounds, focusing on adsorption, destruction, and bioaccumulation, highlighting contributions of computational methods while discussing the need for continued research. The findings emphasize the importance of computational chemistry in addressing PFAS contamination, guiding risk assessments, and informing future research and innovations in this field.?

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Fang, X., et al. (2024). "A data-driven analysis to discover research hotspots and trends of technologies for PFAS removal." Environ Res: 118678.

In order to reveal research hotspots and trends of technologies for PFAS removal, herein, we performed a data-driven analysis of 3975 papers and 436 patents from Web of Science Core Collection and Derwent Innovation Index databases up to 2023. The results showed that China and the USA led the way in the research of PFAS removal with outstanding contributions to publications. The progression generally transitioned from accidental discovery of decomposition, to experimentation with removal effects and mechanisms of existing methods, and finally to enhanced defluorination and mechanism-driven design approaches.

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Gleason, J. A., et al. (2024). "Twenty years of private well testing in New Jersey: a review of the United States's most comprehensive well water testing regulation." Water Policy.

Since the adoption of New Jersey (NJ) Private Well Testing Act (PWTA) over 20 years ago, approximately 134,000 wells have been tested, representing an estimated 34% of the private wells in NJ. The PWTA requires testing of raw water from residences with a private well at real estate transfer. Landlords are required to test private wells every 5 years and provide results to tenants. There are up to 43 required parameters including bacteria, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic organic compounds (SOCs), arsenic, iron, lead, mercury, nitrates, gross alpha radioactivity, uranium, three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), alongside secondary contaminants iron, manganese, and pH. Among tested wells, 15.7% had at least one or more exceedance of a primary drinking water standard.

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He, Y., et al. (2024). "Advancing PFAS Sorbent Design: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Perspectives." ACS Mater Au 4(2): 108-114.

The sorption strategy, taking advantage of intermolecular interactions for PFAS capture, provides a promising and efficient solution to the treatment of PFAS contaminated sources. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are the two commonly found in commercially available PFAS sorbents, with the fluorous interaction being the novel mechanism applied for sorbent selectivity. The main object of this Perspective is to provide a critical review on the current design criteria of PFAS sorbents, with particular focus on their sorption and interaction mechanisms as well as limitations. An outlook on future innovative design for efficient PFAS sorbents is also provided.

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Kittlaus, S., et al. (2024). "A harmonized Danube basin-wide multi-compartment concentration database to support inventories of micropollutant emissions to surface waters." Environmental Sciences Europe 36(1 C7 - 52).

In the Danube River Basin, but in general in Europe, a public data management platform with such scope and criteria is still lacking. Results: We collected and harmonized MP measurements across multiple compartments and countries together with key metadata, harmonized and combined them into a new database. The resulting tool, available for download, facilitates the assessment of current data availability, in terms of quantity and quality. ? The Author(s) 2024.

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Li, S., et al. (2024). "Association between Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Follicular Fluid and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Infertile Women." Toxics 12(2).

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrine disease that affects women of reproductive age and is a significant contributor to female infertility. A previous study suggested that PFASs play a possible role in PCOS. We conducted a clinical study investigating the relationship between PCOS and PFAS in follicular fluid. A total of 73 infertile patients with PCOS and 218 controls were recruited from the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

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Londhe, K., et al. (2024). "Application of electron beam technology to decompose per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water." Environ Pollut: 123770.

In this study, a 9?MeV electron beam accelerator was utilized to treat a suite of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl carboxylates: PFCAs, perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate: FTS) at environmentally relevant levels in water under different operating and water quality conditions increase in PFCAs, confirming that e-beam was effective in also degrading precursors. This study provides an improved understanding of the mechanism of PFAS degradation and revealed that short-chain PFAS are more resistant to defluorination and their levels and regulation in the environment will determine the operating conditions of e-beam and other PFAS treatment technologies.

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Pederick, J. L., et al. (2024). "A structural basis for the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)." Chemosphere: 141723.

PFOA exposure has been linked to many health effects including endocrine disruption and metabolic dysregulation, but our understanding of the molecular mechanisms resulting in these outcomes remains incomplete. One target affected by PFOA is the ligand regulated nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) which plays a critical role in controlling metabolic homeostasis through regulating processes such as adipogenesis, glucose homeostasis, inflammation and osteogenesis.

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Peng, S. Y., et al. (2025). "Critical new insights into the interactions of hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (GenX or HFPO-DA) with albumin at molecular and cellular levels." Journal of Environmental Sciences (China) 149: 88-98.

?A key characteristic to be elucidated, to address the harmful health risks of environmental perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), is their binding modes to serum albumin, the most abundant protein in blood. Hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (GenX or HFPO-DA) is a new industrial replacement for the widespread linear long-chain PFAS. However, the detailed interaction of new-generation short-chain PFAS with albumin is still lacking. ? 2024

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Steeves, K., et al. (2024). "Emerging perfluoroalkyl substances in environmental waters revealed by non-targeted screening." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 37.

Despite these concerns, the number of PFAS introduced to the global market has rapidly outpaced research on their health impact, and the identities of most PFAS in environmental waters are unknown. Non-targeted screening (NTS) is an innovative mass spectrometry approach that will accelerate the identification of unknown organic pollutants. This review aims to: (i) describe new techniques to identify emerging PFAS (ii), highlight new PFAS that have been identified in environmental waters, and (iii) show potential health effects from studies using novel approaches such as metabolomics and biomedical imaging in animal models.

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Tagliaro, I., et al. (2024). "PFAS-free superhydrophobic chitosan coating for fabrics." Carbohydr Polym 333: 121981.

In view of health and environmental concerns, together with the upcoming restrictive regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), less impactful materials must be explored for the hydrophobization of surfaces. Polysaccharides, and especially chitosan, are being explored for their desirable properties of film formation and ease of modification. We present a PFAS-free chitosan superhydrophobic coating for textiles deposited through a solvent-free method.

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Wang, Y., et al. (2024). "Association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure and prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The mediating role of serum albumin." Sci Total Environ: 171742.

BACKGROUND: No study has examined the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk. This study aims to explore this relationship. METHODS: This study enrolled 4541 individuals who had unavailable data on PFAS, COPD, and covariates from NHANES 2007-2018. Serum PFAS including perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were analyzed, because of high detective rates.?

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Zheng, X., et al. (2024). "Association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and hyperuricemia: sex-specific analysis." International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl(PFAS) substances are the most common environmental pollutants, which has an inconsistent association with hyperuricemia across different populations. This study explored the relationship between hyperuricemia and different gender PFAS and PFAS mixtures, using data from two cycles of the NHANES from 2015-2018. Weighted logistic regression results showed that the correlation between individual PFAS and hyperuricemia was significant only in men.

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PFAS Federal Register/Federal Government

City of Orlando Water Reclamation Division, Technology Pilot of PFAS Destruction in Biosolids (epa.gov)

US EPA (3/16/24)

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 [email protected]

CT lawmakers propose new restrictions on private industry’s use of PFAS |

Hartford Business Journal (Hartford, CT) 3/16

Colorado PFAS ban fails but effort to regulate chemicals continues (denverpost.com)

The Denver Post (Denver, CO) 3/18

North Bay, Ont., and DND move to remediate 'forever chemicals' site that contaminated drinking water | CBC News

CBC (Sudbury, ON, Canada) 3/18

Water samples reveal widespread PFAS contamination in Casco Bay (bangordailynews.com)

Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME) 3/18

Maine Opens Applications for $60M PFAS Fund | Agriculture Business & Agritourism News | lancasterfarming.com

Lancaster Farming News (Lancaster, PA) 3/18

Regulation of PFAS Chemicals in Water Supply Strains City Budgets - Bloomberg

Bloomberg News 3/13

Concord NH firefighters to get PFAS-free gear (wmur.com)

WMUR (Concord, NH) 3/12

What are PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’, and why are they in Georgia’s drinking water? (ajc.com)

Atlanta Journal Constitution (Atlanta, GA) 3/15

Lawsuit alleges Calhoun, Georgia company has been contaminating water for years (newschannel9.com)

WTVC (Calhoun, GA) 3/13

PFAS Reports -- Other Sources

How fungi and theatrical performance can tackle the problem of PFAS contamination (cosmosmagazine.com)

Farmers facing PFAS pollution struggle for solutions - The New Lede

Athletes likely to have higher levels of PFAS after play on artificial turf – study | PFAS | The Guardian

MRSC - Local Water Systems Grapple with 'Forever Chemicals'

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