In response to widespread contamination, the EPA and FDA have released testing methods that identify 29 PFAS compounds in water and 16 PFAS compounds in food. The EPA also released a 2020 update of its PFAS Action Plan that details the guidelines for testing PFAS in drinking water, recommendations for cleaning up contaminated groundwater, and the allocation of around 14.9 million dollars towards researching PFAS in agriculture, waste, and the environment.

Local agencies, such as the California Water Board, have created additional safety measures for PFAS in drinking water. The Board lowered the response and notification levels for PFAS, specifically PFOS and PFOA, to minimize the public’s health risk. California has further launched a multi-phase PFAS investigation that collects samples from airports, landfills, public water systems, manufacturing facilities, and WWTP.

While most government regulations address PFAS water contamination, new research has stressed the importance of PFAS testing throughout aquatic and terrestrial food chains. The biomagnification effect of some PFAS compounds remains a health risk to both animal and human life. Moreover, as short-chain PFAS, dubbed “Gen-X” chemicals, replace long-chained and precursor PFAS in industrial manufacturing, further testing of water, soil, sediment, and biota is needed to accurately assess how perfluorinated compounds impact the food chain and, ultimately, us. 

The widespread use of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as Perfluorinated Compounds (PFC), has long prompted concern from the scientific community. PFAS constitute a large group of man-made chemicals manufactured for various industrial, military, and consumer purposes since the 1940s. In high concentrations, PFAS are known to cause hormone, immunological, liver, kidney, and developmental health problems, as well as increase cholesterol levels and the risk of certain cancers. Many long-chain PFAS are non-degradable, which allows them to persist in the environment, while other, short-chain PFAS are often unregulated. Their ubiquitous environmental presence means they are in more than just the water and air; PFAS exist throughout both aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Just as worrisome, a 2019 study by Sunderland et al. recently connected the majority of chronic PFAS exposure in humans to diet. Given the role diet plays in chronic PFAS exposure, it is crucial to understand how PFAS infiltrate the food chain and how they can be contained. 

As of 2020, multiple studies have documented the presence of PFAS within the food chain. One such study from North Carolina State University discovered PFAS throughout the Yadkin-Pee Dee River, a freshwater river free from acute PFAS exposure. After testing water, sediment, biota, and organic matter for contamination, scientists discovered noticeable PFAS levels in everything except detritus. Some aquatic insects and fish contained the highest PFAS levels, which may suggest a biomagnification effect as PFAS move up the food chain. High PFAS levels are predicted to adversely affect fish populations like the endangered robust redhorse, which eats the contaminated aquatic insects. Moreover, studies have found that seafood-heavy diets are correlated with increased PFAS levels in humans.

Seafood, however, is not the only source of contamination in the human diet. Multiple studies have shown that plants will uptake PFAS from contaminated water and biosolids-amended soil. Unlike aquatic life, which preferentially bioaccumulates long-chain and non-degradable PFAS, plants tend to store short-chain PFAS. This preference may increase PFAS levels in terrestrial food chains as industries increasingly switch to short-chain perfluorinated compounds. Increased PFAS levels in meat and dairy products suggest these contaminated crops already impact animals higher up the food chain, including humans.

Given the prevalence of PFAS, it is difficult to identify all of the point and non-point sources of pollution. Leachate from landfills containing PFAS products like food wrappers or oil-and-water repellent fabrics contaminate groundwater; effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) contaminates streams; WWTP biosolids recycled as agricultural fertilizer contaminate crops and groundwater; localized PFAS hotspots such as airports, military bases, or manufacturing plants create PFAS runoff that contaminates streams, lakes, and groundwater; dry and wet atmospheric deposition can spread and transform PFAS, causing additional damage to aquatic and terrestrial environments.

As a DoD QSM and CA ELAP certified lab, Babcock employs the latest methods and technologies for testing PFAS in water, soil, sediment, and biota. For more information about PFAS testing, contact Babcock labs.