Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to represent a pervasive challenge. These synthetic chemicals, commonly found in industrial, commercial, and consumer products, have earned the ominous label of "forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment. Across the globe, concerns over PFAS contamination in water sources, soil, and air have spurred urgent calls for action to understand their impacts on human health and the environment.
In North Carolina, a pioneering effort is underway to confront the complexities of PFAS contamination. Fueled by a $3 million investment enabling the acquisition of cutting-edge mass spectrometry instruments from Thermo Fisher Scientific, the North Carolina PFAS Testing Network is poised to lead the charge in PFAS research. These instruments represent a technological leap forward and signify the power of collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies.
Dr. Ralph Mead, professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC-Wilmington), plays a pivotal role within the PFAST Network. We spoke with Mead and Rachylle Hart, the North Carolina PFAS Testing Network program coordinator, to learn about the significance of these instruments, their tailored applications, and the broader implications for environmental and public health.
Aimee Cichocki (AM): Please provide some background information about the North Carolina PFAS Testing Network.
Rachylle Hart (RH): In 2016, researchers from NC State and the Environmental Protection Agency were testing the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Cape Fear River is a drinking water source for about 300,000 people in the New Hanover County region. The researchers detected elevated levels of PFAS in the river, and in response, the North Carolina General Assembly appropriated funding in the 2018 Water Safety Act provision to an organization called the North Carolina Collaboratory. This group helps fund research that informs our policymakers. They used appropriations to establish the North Carolina PFAS Testing Network (PFAST Network) in 2018. Since then, our network has grown to more than 20 researchers, all located within higher education institutes in North Carolina.
The purpose of the network is to help leverage the PFAS expertise that already exists within our higher education institutions, connect that expertise, and use it to help address the impacts of PFAS on our state. More recently, there have been two additional appropriations to help continue funding the network. The most recent of those came in 2024 and secured funding for research into forever chemicals. Recurring appropriations will continue to sponsor our research going forward.
Within the network, researchers are divided into five major areas of expertise — air, water, fate assessment, applied research, and a combined category of health, exposure, and toxicology.
Ralph Mead (RM): I can't reiterate enough what Rachylle said regarding the significance of having these instruments available to the researchers within the state to address the impacts of PFAS within our area and also within the United States. And of course, the research that's done here can be applied on a global scale. The caliber of instrumentation will propel us into that next step.
Could you discuss the instruments that have been acquired and their intended applications?
RM: The first instrument will be the Astral Orbitrap. This is a revolutionary instrument in terms of the sensitivity and ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry it provides. It will be in Professor Lee Ferguson's lab at Duke University, allowing for the discovery of new PFAS compounds that we don't even know about yet—those truly unknown unknowns. He's going to be applying that research across a variety of environmental matrices.
The second instrument will be another Orbitrap, but this one will be coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC). It will be housed in Professor Detlef Knappe's lab at North Carolina State University. He will try to characterize the more neutral and relatively more volatile PFAS compounds, more specifically, trying to understand the thermal decomposition processes that PFAS undergo. The third instrument is a second GC Orbitrap, which will be in Professor Heather Stapleton's lab at Duke University. She is an exposure toxicologist and will use the instrument to understand human exposure to the more neutral, volatile PFAS within an indoor environment.
That brings me to the next instrument, an Orbitrap Exploris 240 Isotope Solutions system, which my colleague, Chad Lane, and I will use here at UNC-Wilmington. We are very excited about using this instrument not just for non-targeted analysis but also for analyzing the stable isotopic composition of organic compounds. More specifically, we will use the instrument to help us build a forensic model to trace PFAS in the environment. This instrument is truly unique in that it will allow us to analyze multiple components within the same compound. We can uncover the stable isotopic composition of, for example, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur, all within the same intra-molecular approach. Until now, that would not be possible in one run and would take multiple efforts.
Lastly, Professor Pingping Meng at East Carolina University has the iCAP-TQ inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and will focus on developing new techniques to quantify fluoride, specifically closing the organofluorine mass balance. Her work is critical because current quantification methods only target a certain number of PFAS compounds, but we know that there are thousands of them.
What happens to the resulting data from all of this in-depth research?
RM: Some of the data is housed on our PFAS website. For example, we have an interactive map of the state of North Carolina, which shows all of the major matrices that the network sampled during the first round of funding. This information can be curated by compound or sample type. We are currently in phase three, and the network members are processing their samples and beginning new sampling campaigns. Within the next 18 months or so, we will update this map with the new results. That said, a core goal of the PFAST network is to work closely with state regulators, so even if the data does not appear on a public-facing website, researchers within the network still share their information with North Carolina state regulators, including the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Department of Human Health Services. That's one of the strengths of our network—the academics work very closely with state agencies.
RH: We also have a physical mechanism in place to support this. The Collaboratory sponsors a DEQ fellowship for researchers within the network (and PFAS researchers in general) to spend a semester as a fellow at the DEQ. They help purchase the researchers' teaching hours so they have the time and space to physically go to the DEQ and work on projects with people within the department. This enables them to donate their expertise to specific projects while also fostering relationships with personnel at the regulatory agency.
RM: I recently spent the summer in the North Carolina DEQ and worked very closely with the Division of Air Quality. It was a really enlightening experience because I was able to see firsthand how the regulators interact with the scientists and how they gather information and translate it into regulatory action and policy. Most academics aren't exposed to that world. One of the nice things is that these relationships continue well past the end date of the fellowships.
Ultimately, it's essential to take a team approach to PFAS response efforts. Collaboration between key parties such as instrument manufacturers, researchers, and policymakers is a critical component of that.
Dr. Ralph Mead and Rachylle Hart were speaking to Aimee Cichocki, Managing Editor for Separation Science.
Author
Aimee Cichocki is the Managing Editor at Separation Science and Chromatography Forum. Aimee brings a broad range of experience in creating, editing, and formatting scientific content. With a degree in medicinal chemistry, a 10-year background in formulation chemistry, an MBA, and a diverse background in publishing, Aimee guides editorial initiatives at Separation Science and Chromatography Forum. Aimee is dedicated to ensuring the delivery of informative, reliable, and practical content to our audience of analytical scientists.
Interviewees
Dr. Ralph Mead is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the department of Earth and Ocean Sciences. His interests are in natural and anthropologically derived organic compounds in the environment at the land-ocean continuum. His adventurous spirit inspires him to pursue challenging research questions pertaining to the occurrence, transport and fate of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in a variety of environmental compartments such as the atmosphere and marine sediments. Dr. Mead’s newest project is the development of a novel PFAS forensic model.
Rachylle Hart is the program specialist for the NC PFAS Testing Network. She is passionate about environmental and human health issues stemming from anthropogenic chemicals. Rachylle first learned about PFAS as an undergraduate student at UNC Wilmington, where she earned a dual Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Environmental Science. In her current position, she maintains operations and coordinates events for the Network.
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