The distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment is well established. The persistence and mobility of these compounds lead to a truly global distribution; thus, using quantification alone to assign contributions from unique PFAS source(s) to contaminated sites is challenging. Atmospheric samples collected throughout North Carolina have illustrated varying PFAS concentrations and distributions of legacy and replacement compounds. This project is focused on improving the ability to forensically assess the source, transport, and fate of PFAS.
Development of a novel ‘chemical fingerprinting tool’ to identify the origin of PFAS contamination from specific manufacturing facilities will allow for vast improvements in the research of the transport, modification, fate, persistence, and impacts of PFAS from atmospheric contributions to water resources, including drinking water, surface water, and groundwater. Such a forensic tool will allow for more robust assessments of the spread, detection, impacts, solutions, and management of PFAS in surface and groundwater resources by improving the ability to chemically track these compounds from source to sink.
Tracking chemical compounds in environmental systems and quantifying relative contributions of end-member sources to any complex environmental mixture is challenging. However, isotopic mixing models have proven highly effective for quantifying end-member contributions to complex mixtures such as animal tissues, dissolved compounds, and sedimentary archives. Establishing isotopic fingerprints for the unique sources of PFAS compounds is a logical step in monitoring modern and legacy PFAS transport through natural systems. This forensic ability will benefit numerous stakeholders such as public utilities (e.g. CFPUA) who could identify the source of PFAS contaminants or regulatory agencies (e.g. NCDEQ and USGS) who could use the data to identify and prioritize the primary source of PFAS compounds to a specific watershed or airshed.
Check out our publications in Environmental Science & Technology Letters and Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry on our PFAS work:
Dombrowski et al. (2025) - doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00021
Wojtal et al. (2025) - doi: 10.1002/rcm.10139