The Facts Of PFAS: Understanding Forever Chemicals In Groundwater

Ruadhri Deans, a concurrent environmental engineering undergraduate and master’s student, is diving into the study of “forever chemicals,” investigating contamination levels and raising awareness about their health impacts on the Ames community and beyond.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of more than 15,000 synthetic chemicals valued for their durability. Widely used in consumer products and industrial applications since the 1940s, PFAS are now under scrutiny for their potential harm to human health and the environment.

Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Joe Charbonnet, Deans and Ph.D. student-mentor Russell Brummer are using advanced analytical techniques to test groundwater samples from wells across Ames. Together, they developed a standard operating procedure to identify PFAS contamination, including purification and thermal reaction methods not previously applied to local wells.

“We’re finding contamination near fire response training sites and biosolid disposal areas,” Deans says. “The part of my research I’m most passionate about is raising awareness of the risks people are exposed to every day.”

Charbonnet and his team of graduate and undergraduate researchers are focused on advancing PFAS research.

“The PFAS work touches on very intimate topics: the water we drink and diseases like cancer and infertility are very personal,” Charbonnet says. “The idea of something toxic remaining inside us for the rest of our lives is very intrusive. Doing work at that level of personal impact amplifies the importance of what we do – the motivations and potential for good are so clear.”

Charbonnet has long been involved in the undergraduate research program, emphasizing the importance of opportunities for students to apply their learning outside the classroom.

“Undergraduate research is a really powerful means of education,” Charbonnet says. “The spark of learning something that no one has ever known before is impactful.”

For Deans, the experience reshaped his perspective on a future in research.

“Working on projects like this opened my eyes to a future in research,” he says. “The trial and error, the rush of a working experiment, and the process of understanding the data – it all comes together to be a process that I thrive in.”