Are forever chemicals possible to defeat?
According to a recent study, groundwater movement has allowed a plume of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from an industrial source to enter Green Bay, Lake Michigan.
Because they do not easily degrade in the environment, PFAS are frequently referred to as “forever chemicals.”
They are also included in firefighting foams, which are a significant source of PFAS contamination in the environment.
They have been employed to make a variety of items resistant to water, grease, oil, and stains. It has been established that the chemical substances are harmful to human health.
PFAS fingerprint fluctuations
Recent research by Sarah Balgooyen, a postdoctoral co-investigator, and Christy Remucal, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program provided funding for it.
“We used a forensics approach to investigate how the PFAS fingerprint from an industrial source changes after undergoing environmental and engineered processes,” Remucal says.
30 million people in US are threatened by forever chemicals’ effects
The movement of PFAS in groundwater, surface water flow, and bio-solids on land were all monitored by researchers. Sadly, a sizable PFAS plume has moved into Green Bay, Lake Michigan, according to sample analysis.
Thirty million people in the United States and Canada receive their drinking water from Green Bay, one of the Great Lakes’ major bays. Because of this, it is even more crucial for researchers to comprehend what pollutants are present and their potential origins.
who is responsible ?
Tyco Fire Products was the cause of the Great Lakes’ poisoning. Groundwater and private drinking water wells in the region have been found to be contaminated with PFAS because of the company’s fire-training facilities in Marinette and Peshtigo.
The study also found that PFAS associated with the industrial facility are present in streams near some agricultural fields.
The researchers believe this PFAS contamination may have come from the treated bio-solids many farmers use to fertilize their fields.
PFAS fingerprinting, a method that employs ratios of different PFAS compounds to pinpoint specific PFAS pollutants and their sources, was the forensic methodology employed in this investigation.
In this instance, the PFAS fingerprint in Green Bay contains PFAS that are known to be active components in firefighting foams and is substantially comparable to the PFAS linked to Tyco.
According to the researchers, this fingerprinting technique might be used to hold polluting firms accountable for tainted water.
Bio-solids are a byproduct of wastewater treatment and are rich in nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.
“Treated bio-solids are commonly spread on fields all across Wisconsin,” Balgooyen says. “This information may impact how municipalities across Wisconsin and other states approach the use of bio-solids as an agricultural fertilizer.”
PFAS in wastewater undergo extensive processing and some PFAS tend to concentrate in bio-solids during treatment.
Remucal and Balgooyen determined that PFAS from bio-solids can still mobilize after being spread on land.
So, when farmers spread bio-solids on their fields, PFAS can eventually make their way to adjacent streams.
Source: University of Wisconsin System
