Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent contaminants that pose risks to human health and the environment. PFASs can spread far from their sources, which include, but are not limited to, fire training areas, manufacturing sites, and landfills. PFAS regulation includes recently adopted federal mandates and a patchwork of state-level measures. This study analyzes state department of transportation (DOT) practices for identifying and mitigating PFAS contamination in highway construction and maintenance. We captured the state of the practice through a practitioner survey and case interviews. While 39% of responding states have formal or informal PFAS-related policies within state agencies, only 23% have such measures within their DOTs. In addition, 27% of responding states have PFAS action plans, but fewer than half of those were developed with DOT involvement. Most interviewees articulated concern about the cost of disposing PFAS-contaminated soil in landfills. Landfill restrictions would add transportation and disposal costs to many projects with unclear benefits for the environment. This study highlights the need for comprehensive guidance to aid DOTs in developing policies for PFAS impact mitigation. It identified states that have already adopted standard practices that could serve as models for such guidance. The results also highlight the need for interagency collaboration to address challenges in identifying and mitigating PFAS contamination. With recent (April 2024) designation of PFASs as hazardous substances, this paper uses state of the practice data and findings to inform concerns with respect to the potential impacts of this designation to DOT construction and maintenance operations.

Keywords

toxic contamination hazardous waste environment perfluorooctanoic acid perfluorooctane sulfonic acid

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council. PFAS Technical and Regulatory Guidance Document and Fact Sheets. Report No.: PFAS-2. The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council, PFAS Team, Washington, D.C., April 2020. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org.

Buck

R. C.

Franklin

Berger

Conder

J. M.

Cousins

I. T.

de Voogt

Jensen

A. A.

Kannan

Mabury

S. A.

Leeuwen

S. P.Van

. Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment: Terminology, Classification, and Origins. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, 2011, pp. 513–541.

Leung

S. C. E.

Wanninayake

Chen

Nguyen

N. T.

Physicochemical Properties and Interactions of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) - Challenges and Opportunities in Sensing and Remediation. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 905, 2023, p. 166764.

Cousins

I. T.

DeWitt

J. C.

Glüge

Goldenman

Herzke

Lohmann

Miller

, et al. Strategies for Grouping Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to Protect Human and Environmental Health. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, Vol. 22, 2020, pp. 1444–1460. http://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=D0EM00147C. Accessed June 4, 2020.

Cheng

Gunjal

S. J.

Zhang

Advancing PFAS Sorbent Design: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Perspectives. ACS Mater Au, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2024, pp. 108–114.

US Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS Explained. 2016. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained. Accessed October 21, 2022.

Poothong

Papadopoulou

Padilla-Sánchez

J. A.

Thomsen

Haug

L. S.

Multiple Pathways of Human Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs): From External Exposure to Human Blood. Environment International, Vol. 134, 2020, p. 105244.

Fischer

F. C.

Ludtke

Thackray

Pickard

H. M.

Haque

Dassuncao

Endo

Schaider

Sunderland

E. M.

Binding of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to Serum Proteins: Implications for Toxicokinetics in Humans. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 58, No. 2, 2024, pp. 1055–1063.

Fedorenko

Alesio

Fedorenko

Slitt

Bothun

G. D.

Dominant Entropic Binding of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) to Albumin Protein Revealed by 19F NMR. Chemosphere, Vol. 263, 2021, p. 128083.

10.

Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2024. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas

11.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet. National Biomonitoring Program. 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFAS_FactSheet.html. Accessed November 10, 2022.

12.

Cousins

Johansson

Salter

Sha

Scheringer

Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 56, No. 16, 2022, pp. 11172–11179.

13.

Dauchy

Boiteux

Colin

Bach

Rosin

Munoz

J. F.

Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Runoff Water and Wastewater Sampled at a Firefighter Training Area. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 76, No. 2, 2019, pp. 206–215.

14.

Charbonnet

J. A.

Rodowa

A. E.

Joseph

N. T.

Guelfo

J. L.

Field

J. A..

Jones

G. D.

Higgins

C. P.

Helbling

D. E.

Houtz

E. F.

Environmental Source Tracking of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Within a Forensic Context: Current and Future Techniques. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 55, No. 11, 2021, pp. 7237–7245.

15.

Washington

J. W.

Yoo

Ellington

J. J.

Jenkins

T. M.

Libelo

E. L.

Concentrations, Distribution, and Persistence of Perfluoroalkylates in Sludge-Applied Soils Near Decatur, Alabama, USA. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 44, No. 22, 2010, pp. 8390–8396.

16.

Joseph

N. T.

Schwichtenberg

Cao

Jones

G. D.

Rodowa

A. E.

Barlaz

M. A.

Charbonnet

J. A.

Higgins

C. P.

Field

J. A.

Helbling

D. E.

Target and Suspect Screening Integrated with Machine Learning to Discover Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Source Fingerprints. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 57, No. 38, 2023, pp. 14351–14362.

17.

Washington

J. W.

Rosal

C. G.

McCord

J. P.

Strynar

M. J.

Lindstrom

A. B.

Bergman

E. L.

Goodrow

S. M.

, et al. Nontargeted Mass-Spectral Detection of Chloroperfluoropolyether Carboxylates in New Jersey Soils. Science, Vol. 368, No. 6495, 2020, pp. 1103–1107.

18.

Brusseau

M. L.

Anderson

R. H.

Guo

PFAS Concentrations in Soils: Background Levels Versus Contaminated Sites. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 740, 2020, p. 140017.

19.

Guelfo

J. L.

Adamson

D. T.

Evaluation of a National Data Set for Insights into Sources, Composition, and Concentrations of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in U.S. Drinking Water. Environmental Pollution, Vol. 236, 2018, pp. 505–513.

20.

US Environmental Protection Agency. PFOA Stewardship Program. Report No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2006-0621. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 2006. https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OPPT-2006-0621.

21.

US Environmental Protection Agency. Safe Drinking Water Act: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation. 2024. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas. Accessed July 8, 2024.

22.

US Environmental Protection Agency. Designation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) as CERCLA Hazardous Substances. 2024. https://www.epa.gov/superfund/designation-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa-and-perfluorooctanesulfonic-acid-pfos-cercla. Accessed July 8, 2024.

23.

US Environmental Protection Agency. Questions and Answers About Designation of PFOA and PFOS as Hazardous Substances Under CERCLA. 2024. https://www.epa.gov/superfund/questions-and-answers-about-designation-pfoa-and-pfos-hazardous-substances-under-cercla. Accessed July 8, 2024.

24.

US Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS Enforcement Discretion and Settlement Policy Under CERCLA. 2024. https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/pfas-enforcement-discretion-and-settlement-policy-under-cercla. Accessed July 8, 2024.

25.

Barr & Prevost, Inc. Draft Report of Contaminated Soil Disposal Cost Estimate Parcel 128 (500 Associates/former Vermont American Site). Kentucky Transportation Associates (KTA), Louisville, KY, August 2010. https://transportation.ky.gov/Construction-Procurement/Ohio%20River%20Bridges%20Documents/2010-08-30%20%20Draft%20-%20Parcel%20128%20Contaminated%20Soils%20Disposal%20Cost%20Estimate%20Report.pdf.

26.

Noel, S. Dirt Removal Cost. HomeGuide. December 2023. https://homeguide.com/costs/dirt-removal-cost. Accessed July 26, 2024.

27.

Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). https://www.maine.gov/dep/spills/topics/pfas/. Accessed July 7, 2023.

28.

Washington State Department of Health. PFAS. 2022. https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/contaminants/pfas. Accessed November 3, 2022.

29.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Safe Drinking Water. PFAS Sampling Plan. April 2019. https://files.dep.state.pa.us/water/DrinkingWater/Perfluorinated%20Chemicals/BSDW%20PFAS%20Sampling%20Plan_Phase%201_April%202019.pdf

30.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources. PFAS Action Plan. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, January 2020. https://iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/PFAS.

31.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. https://dnr.mo.gov/pollutants-emerging-concern/perfluoroalkyl-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas. Accessed November 3, 2022.

32.

NR 809 Safe Drinking Water Standards Update. Wisconsin DNR. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/DrinkingWater/NR809.html. Accessed December 7, 2022.

33.

Alaska PFAS Information. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. State of Alaska. https://dot.alaska.gov/airportwater/. Accessed November 3, 2022.

34.

Montana PFAS Working Group. Montana PFAS Action Plan. 2020. https://deq.mt.gov/files/DEQAdmin/PFAS/2020_06_30_PFAS_ActionPlan.pdf. Accessed July 8, 2023.

35.

Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). 2022. https://www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse. Accessed October 28, 2022.

36.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation. PFAS: Emerging Contaminant Impacts on New Hampshire DOT. 2019. https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Geological/Documents/2B-2_19026_NHDOT%20GeoT3T2%20April%202019%20SJM%20PFAS_Stephanie%20Monette.pdf. Accessed July 8, 2023.

37.

Colorado Department of Transportation. Colorado Division of Aeronautics Completes Statewide Initiative to Minimize Environmental Impacts of Toxic Chemicals in Firefighting Foam at Colorado Airports. https://www.codot.gov/news/2021/december/aeronautics-environmental-initiative. Accessed November 3, 2022.

38.

Harris

K. J.

Macniven

M. C.

Expediting Implementation of FFFS in Road Tunnels. Proc., Eighth International Symposium on Tunnel Safety and Security, Borås, Sweden, March 14–16, 2018.

39.

Douglas

G. B.

Vanderzalm

J. L.

Kirby

J. K.

Williams

Bastow

T. P.

Bauer

Bowles

K. C.

Skuse

Kookana

R. S.

Davis

G. B.

Sealants and Other Management Strategies for PFAS-Contaminated Concrete and Asphalt. Current Pollution Reports, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2023, pp. 603–622.

40.

Douglas

G. B.

Vanderzalm

J. L.

Williams

Kirby

J. K.

Kookana

R. S.

Bastow

T. P.

Bauer

Bowles

K. C.

Skuse

Davis

G. B.

PFAS Contaminated Asphalt and Concrete - Knowledge Gaps for Future Research and Management. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 887, 2023, p. 164025.

41.

Charbonnet

J. A.

Sturgill

Practices to Identify and Mitigate PFAS Impacts on Highway Construction Projects and Maintenance Operations. National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis. Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2024. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27843/practices-to-identify-and-mitigate-pfas-impacts-on-highway-construction-projects-and-maintenance-operations.

42.

US Environmental Protection Agency. Method 1633 Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS. Washington, D.C., January 2024.

43.

Rosenblum

Wendelken

S. C.

Method 533: Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution Anion Exchange Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, US EPA, Cincinnati, OH, November 2019. https://epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-12/documents/method-533-815b19020.pdf.

44.

Shoemaker

J. A.

Tettenhorst

D. R.

Method 537.1: Determination of Selected Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Report No.: EPA/600/R-20/006. Center for Environmental Solutions & Emergency Response, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, April 2020. https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?dirEntryId=348508&Lab=CESER&simpleSearch=0&showCriteria=2&searchAll=537.1&TIMSType=&dateBeginPublishedPresented=03%2F24%2F2018.

45.

Chen

Zhang

Liu

Bowden

J. A.

Tolaymat

T. M.

Townsend

T. G.

Solo-Gabriele

H. M.

Evaluation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Leachate, Gas Condensate, Stormwater and Groundwater At Landfills. Chemosphere, Vol. 318, 2023, p. 137903.

46.

Knutsen

Mæhlum

Haarstad

Slinde

G. A.

Arp

H. P. H.

Leachate Emissions of Short- and Long-Chain Per- and Polyfluoralkyl Substances (PFASs) from Various Norwegian Landfills. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, Vol. 21, No. 11, 2019, pp. 1970–1979.

47.

Solo-Gabriele

H. M.

Jones

A. S.

Lindstrom

A. B.

Lang

J. R.

Waste Type, Incineration, and Aeration Are Associated with Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Levels in Landfill Leachates. Waste Management, Vol. 107, 2020, pp. 191–200.

48.

Oliver

D. P.

Kookana

R. S.

A Critical Analysis of Published Data to Discern the Role of Soil and Sediment Properties in Determining Sorption of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs). Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 628–629, 2018, pp. 110–120.

49.

Campos-Pereira

Makselon

Kleja

D. B.

Prater

Kögel-Knabner

Ahrens

Gustafsson

J. P.

Binding of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) by Organic Soil Materials with Different Structural Composition – Charge- and Concentration-Dependent Sorption Behavior. Chemosphere, Vol. 297, 2022, p. 134167.

50.

Sima

M. W.

Jaffé

P. R.

A Critical Review of Modeling Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Soil-Water Environment. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 757, 2021, p. 143793.

Identification and Mitigation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Contamination in Highway Construction: Current and Future Practices

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References