| dc.description.abstract | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are a family of anthropogenic pollutants that consists of approximately 1200 structurally related chemical compounds. PFAS were discovered accidentally over 70 years ago by a DuPont scientist and are found in various applications: cookware, food packaging, metal plating, leather and textile coatings, pesticides, paints, aviation hydraulic fluids, and fire-fighting (aqueous film-forming) foams. PFAS are an area of concern as their structural stability and ability to resist biodegradation enable their bioaccumulation in exposed organisms and biomagnification across food webs. The ability of PFAS to remain stable in the environment coupled with their known toxicity in invertebrate and vertebrate taxa has led to the characterization of some PFAS as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). As a result, there is concern for the health of both wildlife and human populations from direct or inadvertent exposures to PFAS. In this project, I assessed the levels of eleven select PFASs categorized as priority pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in various drinking water sources across the Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) campus and in the final effluent of the campus’ wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Of the PFASs monitored, 73% were detected above the detection limits of the LC-MS/MS used to quantify PFAS levels. The levels of select PFAS (i.e. PFOA and PFOS) obtained in the samples were found to be 172 and 826 times lower than state and federal levels. Therefore, we can conclude that the levels of PFAS detected in the drinking waters at TAMUG and in surrounding surface waters are well below state mandated regulatory levels of concern. | |
