Distribution of select per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at a chemical manufacturing plant.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in various industrial products; however, they pose serious health risks. In this study, soil, soil gas, and groundwater samples were collected at a PFAS manufacturing facility in New Jersey, USA, to determine the presence and distribution of PFASs from the soil surface to groundwater and at various distances from the presumed source. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) were detected in soil (< 0.

An alternative generic groundwater-to-indoor air attenuation factor for application in commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential settings.

The default groundwater-to-indoor air attenuation factor (AF) of 10 (0.001) to assess the vapor intrusion (VI) pathway and generate VI screening levels for groundwater was developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on chlorinated volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air and groundwater data collected in residential buildings and compiled in EPA's 2012 VI database. In their VI guidance published in 2015, EPA recognized that this default AF may be overly conservative for nonresidential buildings.

Neutral Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Butyl Carbitol, and Organic Corrosion Inhibitors in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams: Implications for Vapor Intrusion and the Environment.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), butyl carbitol, and corrosion inhibitors are components of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs). Volatile (neutral) fluorotelomerization (FT)- and electrochemical fluorination (ECF)-based PFAS, butyl carbitol, and organic corrosion inhibitors were quantified in 39 military specification (MilSpec), non-MilSpec, and alcohol resistant-AFFF concentrates (undiluted) from 1974 to 2010. Fluorotelomer alcohols were found only in FT-based AFFFs and -methyl- and -ethyl-perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides, and sulfonamido ethanols were found only in ECF-based AFFFs.

An alternative generic subslab soil gas-to-indoor air attenuation factor for application in commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential settings.

The default subslab soil gas (SSSG)-to-indoor air attenuation factor (AF) of 0.03 to assess the vapor intrusion (VI) pathway and generate VI screening levels for SSSG was developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on chlorinated volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air and SSSG data collected in residential buildings and compiled in EPA's 2012 VI database. In their VI guidance published in 2015, EPA recognized that this default AF may be overly conservative for nonresidential buildings.

Key Design Elements of Building Pressure Cycling for Evaluating Vapor Intrusion-A Literature Review.

Building pressure cycling (BPC) is becoming an increasingly important tool for studying vapor intrusion. BPC has been used to distinguish subslab and indoor sources of vapor intrusion as well as to define reasonable worst case volatile organic compound mass discharge into a structure. Analyses have been performed both semi-quantitatively with concentration trends and quantitatively with more rigorous flux calculation and source attribution methods.

Variables affecting emissions of PCDD/Fs from uncontrolled combustion of household waste in barrels.

The uncontrolled burning of household waste in barrels has recently been implicated as a major source of airborne emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). A detailed, systematic study to understand the variables affecting emissions of PCDD/Fs from burn barrels was performed. The waste composition, fullness of the barrel, and the combustion conditions within the barrel all contribute significantly to determining the emissions of PCDD/Fs from burn barrels.

Aquatic ecological risks due to cyanide releases from biomass burning.

Aquatic toxicity due to the creation and mobilization of chemical constituents by fire has been little studied, despite reports of post-fire fish kills attributed to unspecified pyrogenic toxicants. We examined releases of cyanides from biomass burning and their effect on surface runoff water. In laboratory test burns, available cyanide concentrations in leachate from residual ash were much higher than in leachate from partially burned and unburned fuel and were similar to or higher than the 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) for rainbow trout (45 microg/l).