Environment
Name a Category that uses PFAS
Pharmaceuticals
Personal Care Products
Food & Beverage Containers
Firefighting Foams
What type of filtration is LEAST effective in removing Emerging Contaminants?
Advanced Oxidation
In October 2021, what entity announced the initiation to begin educating the public about PFAS?
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
How many carbon atoms are linked together in the chain that makes up a PFOS molecule?
Eight
What company was initially responsible for the development of PFAS?
Dupont
How is land application of municipal biosolids a potential source of PFAS contamination?
Through runoff of biosolids fields to the waterways.
What type of treatment is most effective for both long-chain and short-chain PFAS?
Nanofiltration/Reverse Osmosis
PFAS is known or nicknamed what?
The Forever Chemical
What part of the PFOS molecule on the "head end" gives it a negative charge, making it able to bond to things through electrostatic attraction?
hydrogen
When was PFAS first introduced to the World
1938
How are Emerging Contaminants introduced to the Environment?
Air Dispersion
Spills
Disposal of Manufacturing Wastes and Wastewaters
Using Ion Exchange (IX) Treatment to remove Emerging Contaminants, how are the Resins dealt with post-treatment?
Resins are incinerated when they are saturated
and replaced with new ones.
A Structure Category of PFAS (Name 2 of 14)
High Molecular-Weight Polymers
Neutral, Anionic & Cationic
Solids, Liquids & Gases
Acidic & Sulfonic
Highly Reactive & Non-Reactive
Soluble & Insoluble
Volatile & Involatile
What is the difference between adsorption and absorption?
Adsorption: substances attach to another substance
Absorption: substances are taken into another substance
What was the first product called that used technology that used PFAS?
Teflon
How long have these Emerging Chemicals been being released into the environment?
Since they were first introduced.
What is the most promising option for reducing Emerging Contaminants?
Tertiary Treatment
Other than cancer, name a health concern related to PFAS
•Thyroid hormone disruption
Ulcerative colitis
Liver damage
Immune system issues
Growth, learning & behavior issues
Increase in asthma diagnosis
Pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-eclampsia
Decrease fertility
Low infant birth weights
Effects on the immune system
Name one unique physical and chemical property of PFAS that make it an extremely versatile chemical for numerous products?
Oil and Water Repellency
Temperature Resistance
Friction Reduction
In what year was PFOS added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants?
May 2009
What will be necessary to break the cycle of the effects of Emerging Contaminants?
Both Wastewater and Drinking water treatment plants must be equipped with PFAS removal systems.
What type of zone is created as a polluted water stream passes through a confined bed of activated carbon?
A Mass Transfer Zone
Is the PFOA molecule with fluorine atoms attached to ALL possible bonding sites called per-fluorinated or poly-fluorinated?
Per-florinated
What part of the PFOS molecule on the "tail end" is strong & stable, making it fat and water repellent?
fluorine
What were chemists working to develop when they first discovered an unusual coating in one of their test chambers?
Chemicals that could be used as Refrigerants.