The congressional bill recently introduced that would require the U.S. Geologic Survey to monitor for PFAS received a hearing on June 13th. The PFAS Detection Act, introduced in March, authorizes the U.S. Geologic Survey and the U.S. EPA to coordinate and develop PFAS testing standards. The bill requires that the USGS monitor for PFAS nationwide in water through a five-year, $45-million program.

Steve Sliver, executive director of Michigan’s PFAS Action Response Team (MPART), testified at the congressional hearing with the Natural Resources subcommittee. During his testimony Sliver shared MPART’s activities and efforts over the last several years.

“Michigan, as well as other states, needs national leadership on standards, and any federal assistance with the sampling of surface water, groundwater, and soil, would be very much appreciated,” Sliver testified.

PFAS contamination is being discovered at sites throughout the United States. Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are fluorinated organic chemicals, which include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFAS chemicals are persistent and bioaccumulate. Persistent means they do not break down in the environment and bioaccumulate refers to the process of building up over time in the blood and organs.

“The use of PFAS is so widespread across everything from our personal care products to firefighting foams and industrial applications, that it is probably easier to list where PFAS are not used rather than where they are,” Sliver said.

The hearing was part of the bill’s path through the congressional approval process.

Merit is a national leading PFAS environmental laboratory, analyzing soil, wastewater, groundwater, drinking water, and other sample matrices. Merit is certified for the analysis of PFAS by ISO/IEC 17025. Analytical method certification for PFAS includes drinking water by EPA 537 rev. 1.1 and wastewater | groundwater | surface water by ASTM D7979 with Isotopic Dilution. Please contact Merit Laboratories for assistance on your PFAS testing needs.