Drs. Li and Mallory receive funding for PFAS research from Maine’s DACF
Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) have awarded Dr. Ling Li and Dr. Ellen Mallory polyfluoroalkyl substances (e.g., PFAS, PFOA, etc.) research grants. The intent of the DACF’s research grant program is to fund research that helps farmers determine their best options for maintaining and enhancing viability despite the presence of PFAS on their property.
Dr Li’s work aims to investigate whether biochar can be used as a soil amendment to immobilize PFAS in the soil and reduce its bioaccumulation in the edible parts of vegetable crops, such as lettuce and tomatoes. The study will address several key questions: the optimal application rate of biochar in the soil, the frequency with which additional biochar should be applied after the initial amendment, and low-cost modification techniques to enhance biochar’s ability to adsorb short-chain PFAS from the soil. This research will involve both laboratory and field studies. The findings will contribute to developing practical guidelines for farmers on the use of biochar in PFAS-affected soils.
Dr. Mallory’s research explores the roots of how plant uptake from contaminated soils is a major way PFAS compounds enter our food systems. In the case of milk and meat, there is particular concern about uptake of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) by forage crops due to the prevalence and toxicity of PFOS. Being able to accurately predict how much PFOS moves from soil to plants to animals is critical for assessing risk and developing mitigation strategies, but one major factor complicating those predictions is that PFOS, like some other PFAS compounds, can be created through the transformation of “precursor” compounds. Concentrations of these PFOS precursors can vary widely from field to field and could be contributing to the high variability of plant PFOS uptake rates that have been observed. Her research group will conduct paired greenhouse and field studies to assess whether PFOS precursor compounds in soil influence PFOS uptake rates from soil to grass, and to what extent.
Three other University of Maine research received DACF awards to study PFAS including Dr. Sharmila Mukhopadhyay to study rapid detection and monitoring of PFAS in water and solids, Dr. Glenda Pereira to evaluate PFAS bioaccumulation and depuration in dairy sheep and lambs using insights from pharmacokinetic modeling to develop mitigation strategies, and Dr. Xiaoxiao Zhao to explore energy-efficient PFAS immobilization and degradation in soil using non-thermal plasma electrodes coated with activated carbon.