Sometimes known as the forever chemicals PFAS or Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been used in a variety of consumer products and industrial applications since the 1940’s. In the last decade scientific evidence has indicated that exposure to PFAS can have adverse impacts on human health and the environment. There is very little regulation overseeing the manufacturing, processing, distribution, and disposal of PFAS and each one of those steps creates environmental contamination and human exposure to PFAS. Our goal at the SMMRL is to provide information about PFAS in different waste streams so that regulatory agencies can make informed decisions on how to best management PFAS wastes.
Our group has ongoing projects with EPA, FDEP, and the Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste to investigate PFAS in a variety of waste streams. We have developed extraction methods for matrices such as biosolids, street sweepings, soils, MSW incinerator residuals (ash), and landfill leachate. In these matrices we can measure up to 123 different PFAS compounds with more being added to our library in the future. Below are some photos of our team in action working on our many PFAS related projects.
Lead Researchers:
Yalan Liu – yalanliu@ufl.edu
Jake Thompson – jaketthom@ufl.edu
Ashley Lin – ashleylin@ufl.edu