PFOS & PFOA: Air Force researchers develop new weapon to cleanse water

As the state gears up for wider testing of public water systems for potentially harmful chemicals, civilian researchers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base believe they may be closing in on a new weapon in the battle against toxic water.

Researchers at the base recently completed a two-week field demonstration of a plasma technology they say destroys potentially harmful chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid — also known as “PFOS” and “PFOA” — in groundwater.

This is the only technology that actually destroys PFAS molecules that has been demonstrated at this scale, according to the researchers involved.

And on Monday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office announced that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) will test close to 1,500 public water systems — supplying water for about 90 percent of the state’s population — for PFAS.

“ODH and Ohio EPA look forward to working with public and private water systems and local health departments to protect the health of all Ohioans,” ODH Director Amy Acton said.

The Wright-Patterson research was the first field demonstration of a device called […]

Full article: Air Force researchers develop new weapon to cleanse water

More about: forever chemicals (PFAS, etc.), pollution, and public health