亚洲AV

Mason researcher measures troubles at the tap

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Kirin Emlet Furst, an assistant professor in 亚洲AV's Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, recently received a to investigate how Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are transformed and persist in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) that bring water to our spigots.

Furst portrait
Kirin Emlet Furst. Photo provided

CAREER award funding is reserved for the nation鈥檚 most talented up-and-coming researchers. From the NSF website: 鈥淭he Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers NSF鈥檚 most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.鈥

PFAS are sinisterly known as 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥 because once created they do not break down, existing in water and soil鈥攁nd even human blood鈥攊ndefinitely. They have been used in numerous applications, including firefighting foams, metal plating, and food packaging, and spread easily through water and air.

This means, whether we like it or not, many of us are gulping down PFAS with every drink of water. To address this, the EPA recently released rules establishing limits on six PFAS in drinking water, affecting approximately 66,000 water systems, serving 90 percent of the country.

鈥淧FAS really like interfaces between water and air and water and surfaces, so they stick to all sorts of stuff,鈥 said Furst. 鈥淚n DWDS, they may stick to the surface inside pipes and tanks, especially if there is biofilm growth or flaking of the inside material, giving them more to hold on to.鈥 Furst said well-maintained DWDS typically won鈥檛 have such issues but knew of one water storage tank that had not been cleaned in 20 years, resulting in three feet of sediment on its floor. Such sediment, along with other conditions, may create conditions for PFAS accumulation and transformation.

A gloved hand is holding a test tube under a flowing tap
Furst will test tap water across Northern Virginia, including on Mason's Fairfax Campus.

The focus of regulators and utilities is removing PFAS at the treatment plant, but in communities where exposure to PFAS is prevalent鈥攏ear chemical plants, for example鈥擣urst suggests there鈥檚 a likelihood that PFAS has been building up downstream, so to speak, in the DWDS.

鈥淚n Fairfax County the amount of time water could spend in the distribution system is as long as a week,鈥 Furst said. 鈥淚n some systems it鈥檚 going through miles and miles of pipes, with a lot of places for PFAS to hang out.鈥

There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS, and in the presence of certain microbial processes, unregulated precursor compounds can be transformed to the more toxic, regulated species like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Furst worries the new EPA rule, relying on measurements at treatment plants, won鈥檛 reflect the levels in water at household taps.

Furst鈥檚 lab will get samples from distribution systems from Northern Virginia utilities and she hopes to have a larger DWDS pilot on the Mason Fairfax Campus as part of the 鈥淢ason as a Living Lab鈥 program. 聽She hopes her findings will aid in solutions to minimize and mitigate PFAS contamination.