PFAS Week: A 3-day digital conference

• Groundwater Resources Association of California
• Online

PFAS are a group of more than 3000 chemicals containing fluorinated compounds.  PFAS are found in consumer products, non-stick cookware, food packaging, and some types of fire-fighting foam.  PFAS have been dubbed the “forever chemicals” in the media because they currently aren’t readily degraded by native microbial communities. PFAS are of particular concern in California.

Because of their mobility and resistance to degradation, they may not be completely removed in standard wastewater treatment plants and may become “recycled” in the environment.  The possible occurrence of PFAS in surface water being used to recharge California’s depleted aquifers — a priority water management strategy under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) — is particularly concerning.

Not surprisingly, California has emerged as a leader in the investigation and evaluation of possible impacts to groundwater resources from PFAS.  In March 2019, California EPA, led by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), began an aggressive program of phased investigations of drinking water supplies and various businesses throughout the state that are thought to have the highest likelihood of releasing PFAS to the environment.  Phase 1 investigations are currently underway at dozens of airports, landfills, and drinking water wells near those sites.  Phase 2 investigations, targeting chrome plating facilities throughout the state, have also recently begun. In June 2018, SWRCB published interim Notification Levels and Response Level for two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfonate (PFOS). In August 2019, SWRCB lowered the Notification Levels for PFOA and PFOS

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