Superfund Research Program

December 2023

Paper of the Month

A study funded by SRP, at the University of California, Riverside, revealed important mechanistic information about how some microbes break down PFAS in the environment. The findings may inspire more cost-effective bioremediation approaches.

The team focused on chlorinated PFAS (Cl-PFAS), which are increasingly prevalent and not well studied. Cl-PFAS have the characteristic strong carbon-fluorine bonds that are challenging to break, as well as weaker carbon-chlorine bonds, which may be more vulnerable to microbial breakdown — a process called dechlorination.

To learn more, see the NIEHS Extramural Paper of the Month.