FY 2020 STATEMENT OF NEED

Environmental Restoration (ER) Program Area

The objective of this Statement of Need (SON) was to develop passive sampling methods to provide repeatable and environmentally relevant measures of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Specifically, the goal was to address the following research needs:

  • Develop passive sampling media competent to quantitatively “concentrate” the wide range of PFAS of interest from water.
  • Establish physical-chemical properties, including sorbent/water partition coefficients, molecular diffusivities of PFAS in water and sorbent media.
  • Establish the range of PFAS that can be quantifiably sampled using the sorbent(s).
  • Characterize the impacts of co-contaminants and various water quality and conditions.
  • Develop a fundamental understanding of the natural solid-water sorption coefficients of PFAS as a function of sorbate properties, natural solids, and solution properties.
  • Develop passive samplers that yield representative spatial and temporal interrogation of site contaminants when deployed.
  • Develop passive sampling methods/procedures that are capable of being efficiently deployed and retrieved in widely varying field applications.

The projects listed below were selected to address the objectives of this SON. Additional information on individual projects will be available soon.


    • Lead Investigator: Upal Ghosh, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    • Lead Investigator: Rainer Lohmann, University of Rhode Island

    • Lead Investigator: Sarit Kaserzon, The University of Queensland

    • Lead Investigator: Yin Wang, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

    • Lead Investigator: Mei Sun, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

    • Lead Investigator: Lee Blaney, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    • Lead Investigator: Julian Fairey, University of Arkansas

 Research should lead to better sampling and analysis of PFAS at DoD sites. This will in turn lead to improved and more cost-effective management of FPAS sites by facilitating more accurate and precise assessments of the extent of PFAS contamination.