Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Your Environment. Your Health.

Amaratek, Inc.

Superfund Research Program

Green Remediation Sponge for Poly- and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances

Project Leader: David Dumas
Grant Number: R43ES030678
Funding Period: Phase I: March 2019 - April 2020

Summary

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) like perfluorooctane acid (PFOA) and sulfonate (PFOS) are increasingly being recognized as U.S. and global environmental concerns. Their best-known uses include providing fabrics with stain and water resistance and nonstick properties to cookware, in firefighting foams, and in the manufacture of electronic products. Qualities such as durability that have made PFASs a desirable chemical also contribute to their persistence in the environment and in the human body, where they can cause reproductive and developmental, liver, kidney, immunological effects; cancer; and thyroid hormone disruption. It has now been shown that PFAS contamination of drinking water and groundwater poses a significant and immediate health hazard that demands response and, at one contaminated site, has triggered an EPA Superfund designation. Unfortunately, there are no effective remediation methods for PFAS, and any attempt at widespread treatment plans would be prohibitively expensive. This SBIR effort will validate a solution to this problem by designing, synthesizing, and demonstrating novel custom-designed adsorbents that can be used as passive and easily regenerated PFAS sponges.

Back
to Top