Progetti di ricerca

The overarching objective of LIFE CAPTURE is to develop sustainable management methods for dealing with of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and groundwater. This targets concrete issues and challenges that are currently encountered when dealing with PFAS-contamination. These… Leggi tutto relate to characterisation, assessment and mitigation of the contamination. We propose to develop a robust protocol for the analysis of PFAS, which is currently lacking. The intention is to enlarge the spectrum of the PFAS family that can be analysed. LIFE CAPTURE proposes a robust protocol that follows a staggered approach to: quantify whether any kind of PFAS is present; quantify the concentrations of a set group of well researched PFAS; determine if there are significant concentrations of other PFAS present; quantify and qualify those other PFAS. During site investigation it is currently considered best practice to only look at concentrations. The use of flux-measurements would be a valuable addition, allowing more direct measurement of exposure and risks. It can also be used to drastically enhance the efficiency of mitigation measures such as remediation. Within this project, passive flux samplers that can be integrated in the new analytical protocol will be demonstrated. Due to PFAS’s chemical properties most existing remediation technologies don’t provide adequate sustainable treatment solutions. We proposes a toolkit of promising innovative remediation technologies for PFAS. Technology trains will be identified and tested to optimize the remediation approaches in order to eliminate the contaminants from the environment. The assessment whether a certain PFAS-contamination is harmful is typically governed by a regulatory framework. We propose to develop a pragmatic risk and effect assessment approach. This will be based on existing standardised ecotoxicity tests. Special attention will be given to risk assessment for mixtures of different known or unknown PFAS.

PFAS are a family of man-made chemicals that have been widely used since the 1950s. Their specific chemical characteristics have made them valuable in a range of applications but also mean they are mobile and extremely stable. This causes PFAS… Leggi tutto to be present in the environment to an extraordinary extent, including soil and groundwater contamination. Currently, there are significant challenges related to the management of PFAS-contamination in soil and groundwater, specifically when it comes to identifying, assessing and mitigating PFAS-issues. Moreover, the extent to which PFAS is present in these mediums, often in relatively low concentrations but over large volumes, represents an additional threat. STOPFAS aims to overcome the most pressing PFAS related challenges and enable workable, sustainable methods for dealing with this type of persistent contaminants in the environment. The overarching objective of the project is 'Development of sustainable management and treatment methods for PFAS-contamination in soil and groundwater'. This includes: 1) Developing a robust protocol for screening and analysing PFAS. 2) Development of methods to monitor, model and predict the transport of PFAS from soil, through groundwater, to receptors. 3) Development of methods for risk assessment of PFAScontamination, based on exposure modelling and biomonitoring data. 4) Development of new integrated technologies for mitigating the risk of PFAS contamination, especially focused on remediation of diffuse contamination of soil and groundwater. 5) Developing a decision support system to evaluate the most sustainable remediation approach for a given PFAS-contamination. The project results of STOPFAS will provide increased knowledge as well as new technologies and methods. Combined they will form a framework for the management of PFAS-contamination is soil and groundwater that will be applied throughout Europe and can be adopted into official legislation, guidelines and procedures. The consortium consists of 20 partners with complementary areas of expertise regarding the management of PFAS contamination in the environment. The consortium comprises partners who are more research oriented (8 universities and research centres) as well as partners who have a commercial aspect (12 companies). This combination is highly valuable because on the one hand it insures the quality and robustness of the research, while on the other hand it guarantees usefulness and applicability of the project results.