This Roundtable Session offers a unique opportunity to interact directly with PFAS experts from around the country on three topics: Naming Conventions of PFAS, Sampling and Analytical Techniques, and History and Uses of PFAS. Participants are requested to submit questions in advance of the event to be addressed during this extended Question and Answer discussion with expert panelists. The session is intended to be tailored to the specific needs of its participants, with the expectation that the participant will have a basic understanding of these topics prior to attending the Roundtable Session.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a complex family of several thousand anthropogenic fluorinated chemicals that vary widely in their chemical and physical properties, as well as their potential risks to human health and the environment. The persistence and mobility of some PFAS, combined with decades of widespread use in industrial processes, certain types of firefighting foams, and consumer products, have resulted in their being present in most environmental media at trace levels across the globe. PFAS have only recently come to the attention of investigators and the public in large part due to the fact that until the early 2000s analytical methods to detect low levels of PFAS in the environment were available only in a few select research institutions. It was not until the past decade that these methods became widely available and had detection limits in water low enough to be commensurate with levels of potential human health effects. Toxicological studies have raised concerns regarding the bioaccumulative nature and potential health concerns of some PFAS. As a result, our understanding of PFAS and the risks they may pose is rapidly evolving. Further, the physical and chemical properties that make some PFAS persistent and mobile in the environment also make them particularly challenging to analyze and remediate.
This Roundtable Session is based on the following ITRC-produced resources:
- A series of fact sheets that synthesize key information for the following core subjects: (1) Naming Conventions and Physical and Chemical Properties, (2) Regulations, Guidance, and Advisories, (3) History and Use, (4) Environmental Fate and Transport, (5) Site Characterization Considerations, Sampling Precautions, and Laboratory Analytical Methods, and (6) Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF). The fact sheets were first published between 2017 and 2018, and updated in 2020. The Team is currently preparing abbreviated Fact Sheets to summarize information in the technical and regulatory guidance document.
- A web-based technical and regulatory guidance document published by the ITRC PFAS Team in April 2020 that presents the necessary breadth and depth not given by the fact sheets, stakeholder points of view, technical challenges and uncertainties, risk communication strategies, and provides links to pertinent scientific literature. In 2020 and 2021, ITRC plans to publish a risk communication toolkit, and update the technical and regulatory guidance document with new information and regulatory approaches that become available to address the evolving understanding of these contaminants.
- Online training materials that convey the information presented in the technical and regulatory guidance document. Ten video training modules and brief introductory videos on the topics are posted on ITRC's YouTube channel. Additionally, the Team provided in-person training workshops to approximately 2,500 attendees in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the Team plans to provide additional online training resources. More information will be available on the ITRC Training page.
The target audience for this guidance and Roundtable Session is: - state and federal environmental staff working on PFAS-contaminated sites
- Other project managers and decision makers
- Stakeholders who are involved in community engagement
As a participant in this Roundtable Session you should learn more about: - The naming conventions for PFAS compounds
- The history of the use of PFAS compounds and sources of PFAS releases to the environment
- PFAS sampling techniques and analytical procedures
Participants are highly encouraged to review the Guidance Document (specifically Chapters 2 and 11), and review the associated ITRC video training modules prior to attending the Roundtable Session:
To assist the panelists in preparing for the Roundtable Session, we request that you provide your questions for the following topics:
- The naming conventions for PFAS compounds
- The history of the use of PFAS compounds and sources of PFAS releases to the environment
- PFAS sampling techniques and analytical procedures
NOTE: Future ITRC PFAS Roundtables will be scheduled to address other topics addressed in the ITRC PFAS Technical and Regulatory Guidance Document.
Please provide your questions no later than July 6 so that the ITRC PFAS team can prepare for the Roundtable Session. If you have additional questions after registering, please email them to training@itrcweb.org |
PFAS Roundtable