PFAS Research Projects at UMaine

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono.

Emergency services responded promptly to the scene and the student has been transported to a local hospital. The student’s family has been informed.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 or you may call the Dean of Students Office at 207-581-1406.

An investigation is underway and more details will be released when they become available. Our thoughts are with the student and their family.

Long Road has been cleared and is now accessible. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lieutenant Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

PFAS competitive uptake in food crops. A greenhouse-based research trial will assess where in the plant PFAS (short and long chain) accumulate in tomatoes and lettuce. Intercropping distance will vary to determine whether companion planting can minimize PFAS accumulation in edible portions of crops. Project PI(s): Alex Scearce (MS student) working with Rachel Schattman (SFA). Funded by Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Release from Spent Granular Activated Carbons in Solid Waste Management Facilities. We investigate the release of PFAS from spent activated carbon surfaces under landfill-relevant conditions. Project PI(s): Onur Apul. Funded by Environmental Research and Education Foundation.
Thermal Regeneration of PFAS-laden Granular Activated Carbon presents an Opportunity to Break the Forever PFAS Cycle. Spent activated carbons have been showing superior performance to thermalize PFAS. We will systematically investigate if we can destroy PFAS during GAC regeneration. Project PI(s): Onur Apul. Funded by National Science Foundation.
Developing and Deploying a Risk framework for PFAS management in rural America: Connecting predictive models of PFAS contamination with risk perceptions to guide management decisions. PFAS risk framework development for rural America by connecting PFAS contamination models and risk perception. Project PI(s): David Hart, Caroline Noblet, Onur Apul, Dianne Kopec, Jean MacRae. Funded by the United States Geological Survey.
Integrated assessment of alternative management strategies for PFAS-contaminated wastewater residuals. Evaluation of PFAS management options. Project PI(s): Dianne Kopec (60%), Onur Apul (25%), Caroline Noblet (10%), Jean MacRae (5%). Funded by the United States Geological Survey.
Development of a rapid and less expensive method for analysis of PFAS using NMR. Development of an NMR method that would be fast and likely less expensive than current methods used for PFAS analysis. Project PI(s): Barbara Cole, Sara Biel.
Contamination in food waste (past project). Looked at contaminants (heavy metals, EOX, PFAS, pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes in food waste (different regulatory environments). 60% of samples tested for PFAS had PFBA at up to 1 ng/g. Almost all had antibiotic resistance genes, some at high levels. Also surveyed waste managers on perceived risk associated with food waste. Project PI(s): Jean MacRae. Funded by Environmental Research and Education Foundation.
Screening the capacity of adsorbents to bind perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) across simulated ruminal, abomasal, and intestinal conditions. Our goal is to screen the effectiveness of several PFAS-adsorbents developed for non-livestock applications using in vitro techniques so we can gather robust results for future field studies. Project PI(s): JJ Romero (90%) and G. Pereira (10%). Funded by Maine Food and Agriculture Center.
The effect of cutting height and rake type on PFAS levels of grass hay produced from contaminated sites across key production stages. We hypothesize that management decision involving cutting height and raking influence PFAS levels in hay bales used for animal feeding. Project PI(s): JJ Romero (90%) and G. Pereira (10%). Funded by Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.
PFAS Uptake by Pasture Species: Linking Greenhouse and Field Measures. Assess how well PFAS uptake results from greenhouse pot studies reflect those from field studies to determine the potential for addressing some of Maine’s research needs with greenhouse studies. Project results will also contribute to developing transfer rates for four pasture species in Maine and methods for conducting further greenhouse studies. Project PI(s): Ellen Mallory. Funded by Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.