Researchers at URI are testing a potential solution to an ongoing problem: PFAS, manmade chemicals used in some industrial and household products, firefighting foam, and even food packaging that can contaminate soil and drinking water. According to the EPA, PFAS can be harmful to your health.
Dr. Thomas Boving, an Environmental Hydrology Professor at University of Rhode Island says, “I’m researching ways to remove these contaminants from the soil and water to make the situation better, ideally to the degree that the water can be used again.”
According to Boving, once these so-called “forever” chemicals end up in soil and groundwater, they will not break down naturally.
Boving says, “Mother Nature doesn’t have a tool in its toolbox to break down these compounds. It has to be done another way.”
He’s working with a Massachusetts company called EnChem Engineering to test a potential decontamination process.