Environmental Industry Updates
The Latest News on Scientific and Regulatory Updates from Merit Laboratories
The Michigan EGLE recently added Harbor Island in Grand Haven to their list of PFAS sites. The Grand Haven site is a natural marshland at the mouth of the Grand River as it flows into Lake Michigan. The site was first used as a landing point for logging operations. During the 1950s and 1960s the site was used as a dump. The coal-fired J.B. Sims Generating Station began operating in the early 1960s by the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power (GHBLP). Coal ash wastes were disposed of in unlined lagoons and the adjacent wetlands. In the early 1980s, clay lined lagoons were constructed for coal ash management.
The number of PFAS-contaminated sites in Wisconsin continues to grow at a rapid rate. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) released a PFAS Action Plan to address growing public health and environmental concerns regarding PFAS in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin PFAS Action Council (WisPAC), a group of nearly 20 state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System, developed the plan, as part of a statewide initiative to ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe drinking water.
In what many scientists believe will be a significant advancement in analytical testing methodology, ASTM is planning to release a new Standard Test Method for PFAS in aqueous sample matrices. This new method, ASTMD8421-21, utilizes Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with Isotope Dilution (ID). It is anticipated to be the first published ASTM method for PFAS that incorporates isotope dilution in the actual method and not simply a footnote.
Merit Laboratories has added laboratory accreditation through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). The laboratory accreditation includes analytical testing for PFAS in drinking water by EPA 537.1 and PFAS in aqueous and solid matrices by LC/MS. Accredited under Wisconsin NR 149, Merit Laboratories is approved to perform environmental sample analysis in support of covered environmental programs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency’s comprehensive Strategic Roadmap to address PFAS contamination nationwide. The EPA’s Roadmap focuses on three main strategies: Increase investments in research, Leverage authorities to take action now to restrict PFAS chemicals from being released into the environment, and
The number of military sites with confirmed PFAS contamination continues to grow. An additional 59 Department of Defense (DoD) military installations with PFAS contaminated soil, groundwater, and surface water is now confirmed and added to a rapidly expanding list. The addition of these DoD installations brings the number of U.S. military bases and facilities with confirmed PFAS contamination to 385, according to a recent report published by the Environmental Working Group. In addition to these 385 installations with confirmed PFAS contamination, there are another 294 DoD installations that are suspected to have PFAS groundwater contamination.
Oil and gas companies used PFAS in hydraulic fracturing operations in over 1,200 wells in six states, according to a report published by the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). The report, Fracking with Forever Chemicals, links oil and gas operations in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming, with using PFAS as part of fracking operations, between 2012 and 2020.
The EPA recently announced changes in policy to new PFAS before it can enter the market. The current administration has made a commitment to focus on PFAS pollution and protect human health and the environment. Previously, some new PFAS were allowed to enter the market through low volume exemptions (LVEs).
