Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals found in virtually every habitat on the planet. Some PFAS are persistent in the environment and the human body, and a few have extremely low toxicological thresholds (parts per trillion level). AECOM’s PFAS technical team works on the characterization, risk assessment and remediation of PFAS at more and more sites globally each year (over 400 to date).

One sub-discipline focuses on the transport, fate, and behavior of PFAS as they enter vegetative receptors such as agricultural crops, woodland environmental, wetlands, grasslands or constructed vegetative plots. AECOM’s thought leadership centers studying PFAS behavior in vegetation include Frankfurt, Germany; Manchester, UK; Sydney, Australia; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, US. We established our practice in response to the increasing regulatory focus on PFAS, first in Australia, across the US, and expanding in Europe.

Ongoing and prospective research work includes:

• Development of a White Paper “Plant-Assisted Remediation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (May 2017)
• Collection of over 200 different fruit and vegetable samples from properties of neighboring rural and semi-rural communities for PFAS analysis. The analytical data informed fate and transport modeling and Quantitative Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments that were conducted for multiple Australian Department of Defense facilities.
• The first and only on-site greenhouse study evaluating PFAS uptake into agricultural crop plants at an air force base in New South Wales, Australia
• On-going bench-scale plant uptake studies using fluoride-accumulating plants at our Austin, Texas, US treatability laboratory
• Two groundbreaking Master Thesis studies that assess the applicability of phyto-screening for rapid monitoring of PFAS groundwater impacts without the requirement of establishing a costly, extensive groundwater monitoring network. The project site is located in the Rastatt/Baden-Baden area of southern Germany, where land-spreading activities using pulp and papermill sludges created the potential for PFAS plant and crop uptake and hyperaccumulation, and impacts to a major aquifer supplying drinking water to thousands of people. We continue to collaborate with research connections at local academic and technical institutes in Germany and elsewhere.
• Ongoing work at an airport in the UK where AECOM is exploring vegetative uptake for the assessment of the extent of groundwater impacts, and proper disposal of future vegetation clearance.
• A program to collect and analyze food crops in a community affected by PFAS-contaminated groundwater in a rural community in Texas, US.
• Numerous professional conference proceedings on plant-assisted remediation (phytoremediation) of PFAS

All this work aligns with AECOM’s wider global objective to deliver Sustainable Legacies and efforts to emphasize Nature-Based Solutions wherever possible through improved understanding of natural capital.

For more details on these complementary efforts, including our Natural Capital Laboratory in Scotland, please see the following link: Natural Capital Laboratory (aecom.com)