History of PFAS in New Jersey

After learning that PFOA was present in ground water including wells used for drinking water near a New Jersey industrial site, NJDEP conducted studies of the occurrence of PFAS in New Jersey public water systems in 2006 and 2009. These were the first statewide studies of the occurrence of PFAS in drinking water in the U.S. PFOA was detected above the reporting level of 4-5 ng/L in raw or finished water in about 60% of the 54 public water systems tested in these studies, and PFOS was found in about 30%. In the 2009 study, PFNA was found in a Paulsboro drinking water well at the highest level that had been reported in drinking water worldwide,  and an industrial source was later identified. These studies are reported in NJDEP reports (PFOA Study & PFC Study) and peer-reviewed publications by DSR scientists.

In 2007, DSR developed guidance for chronic (lifetime) exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water of 40 ng/L (0.04 ug/L) based on the health effects information that was then available and published the basis for this guidance in a peer-reviewed journal. This guidance value was much lower than other PFOA drinking water guidelines at the time, but it is similar to the drinking water guidelines that have since been established by USEPA and several other states.

NJDEP Drinking Water Standards

NJDEP has established drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels; MCLs) of 13 ng/L for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA; a nine carbon perfluorocarboxylate); 14 ng/L for PFOA, and 13 ng/L for PFOS. These MCLs were recommended to NJDEP by the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI), an advisory body established in the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act to recommend drinking water standards to NJDEP. It is notable that the NJDEP MCL for PFNA that was adopted in 2018 was the first drinking water MCL for any PFAS in the United States. The MCLs were established as Ground Water Quality Standards by reference.

DSR provided scientific support for the development of these standards, including contributions to the human health risk assessments, analytical Practical Quantitation Levels, and evaluation of treatment removal technologies. The human health risk assessments include detailed evaluations of the available human epidemiology and laboratory animal toxicology data for these PFAS. The PFOS risk assessment was published in a peer-reviewed journal by DSR scientists, and New Jersey’s evaluations of these PFAS have been used by other states in development of their own standards.

Recommended Inhalation Reference Concentrations

At the request of the NJDEP Division of Air Quality, DSR developed recommendations for inhalation Reference Concentrations for PFOA and PFOS in 2019 and a Screening Reference Concentration for GenX in 2022.

---

Replacement and Alternative PFAS

NJDEP continues to investigate PFAS that were previously or are currently used in New Jersey as replacements or alternatives for long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) such as PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA that have been phased out.

For example, DSR and the NJDEP Site Remediation Program, in collaboration with the USEPA Office of Research and Development, investigated the fate, transport and occurrence in multiple environmental media of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates (ClPFPECA), alternatives for long-chain PFAAs used and discharged by a New Jersey industrial facility. So far, three peer-reviewed publications on this study have reported on ClPFPECAs in soil, groundwater, including private wells, and vegetation. Some information on the alternative PFAS used at this facility, including ClPFPECAs and another type of PFAS, perfluoropolyether dicarboxylic acids, has been made publicly available by the industrial user. This information includes Safety Data Sheets for each of the materials used, toxicology studies, and information on biomonitoring and health effects in workers at a European facility where ClPFPECAs are manufactured. NJDEP used this information to establish an Interim Specific Ground Water Quality Criterion for ClPFPECAs .

---

Completed Research

Brick, NJ PFAS Study

In 2010, DSR scientists, in collaboration with the affected public water system, Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority, conducted a trackdown study that is published in a peer-reviewed journal to identify the source of PFOA in the Metedeconk River, which is used as a drinking water source. The PFOA contamination in the Metedeconk River was originally detected in the 2009 NJDEP drinking water occurrence study. The likely source was identified as a small industrial facility that used materials containing PFOA to make industrial fabrics, composites, and elastomers.

Monitoring Study and Consumption Triggers for PFAS in Fish

In 2015, DSR scientists conducted a statewide pilot study of 13 PFAS in fish, sediments, and surface water from 14 New Jersey waterbodies that were selected because they were potentially impacted by PFAS. The study was published in a peer-reviewed journal. DSR provided scientific support for the development of fish consumption triggers for PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA using the toxicity factors previously used for the drinking water standards for these three PFAS. The levels of PFOS found in fish tissue resulted in consumption advisories for almost all species at all sites, and levels of PFNA in fish tissue at a site near an industrial source exceeded the fish consumption advisory trigger level for PFNA. This study is ongoing. More recently, DSR provided scientific support for development of a toxicity factor and fish consumption triggers for perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA; the 11 carbon perfluorocarboxylate) which was frequently detected in fish in the statewide pilot study.

The 2015 PFAS in fish tissue, sediment, and surface water study provided the initial PFAS concentration in three environmental media that supports early partitioning assessments. As a follow up, a Phase II study was implemented to evaluate a different set of potential sources, provide additional data to support the calculation of partitioning coefficients, and to assess other waterbodies for the application of additional fish consumption advisories, if warranted.

PFAS Occurrence, Biotransformation, and Transport through Vegetation

Full Report | Fact Sheet

DSR collaborated with investigators at NJIT to develop a sensitive analytical method that detects unknown PFAS in environmental media and to apply this analytical method to determine how PFAS may be degraded in the environment.  Samples of water, soil, and plant tissue were collected at key sites across New Jersey. The researchers considered different factors that might affect how PFAS moves through the plants. Overall, the chemical’s molecular weight had the largest impact on how much PFAS was in the soil and available to plants whereas the amount of organic carbon in the soil did not have much of an effect.

---

Current DSR Research

PFAS Occurrence at Targeted Sites (Phase II)

Scientists in the DSR are currently exploring varied sites around the state that are considered potential PFAS release sites. This study is incorporating the collection of multiple media (surface water, sediment, and fish tissue) from sites such as areas around AFFF releases, car washes, downstream from wastewater treatment plants, and other potential PFAS sources.  This study is intended to not only identify and quantify the impact of these potential sources, but to study how PFAS partition between the media collected.

Project Start: Aug 2021                Duration: 3 Years

Development of a PFAS Bioaccumulation Factor in Fish

To further understand the partitioning between water and the fish tissue, DSR and the Division of Water Monitoring, Standards & Pesticide Control has contracted with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium to collect additional fish tissue and water samples in fresh waters and saline waters. The data collected through this project is intended to be used to calculate a New Jersey specific bioaccumulation factor that can help to understand surface water PFAS levels that are protective of human health and the environment. These NJ specific bioaccumulation factors are expected to be available to NJDEP by the end of 2024 and are expected to play a role in determining protective water quality standards in the near future.

Project Start: Feb 2022                Duration: 2.5 Years

Novel Treatment of Water Contaminants Using Electrochemical Treatment Technologies

This project is in collaboration with the NJIT Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science and aims to advance the fundamental understanding of the degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-Dioxane to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective process for their removal in water using novel electrochemical treatment technologies. NJIT’s BiOSMART Center has synthesized a new class of bimetallic alloy nanocatalyst materials (NcM) that show promising results for the degradation of various PFAS. The best performing NcMs identified during this study will be further characterized and tested for groundwater, drinking water, and wastewater applications. It is hoped that, if successful, such materials can be equipped with a filtration device to create a point-of-use, electrochemical treatment technology for removal of PFAS and 1,4 dioxane from drinking water.

Project Start: Jul 2022                  Duration: 2 Years

Novel Treatment of Water Contaminants Using a Plasma-Based Technology

The project with Purafide, LLC was started in August 2022. The project assesses the ability of Purafide’s Plasma Water Reactor (PWR) to treat PFAS and 1,4-dioxane in various water matrices. The PWR uses close-packed water streams to amplify plasma propagation and contact with contaminated water using the least amount of power necessary for efficient destruction. Plasma interacting with water generates radicals that facilitate reduction/oxidation and destruction of PFAS compounds. Matrices of interest include drinking water, groundwater, leachate, and wastewater influent and effluent. The treatment effectiveness is being evaluated by comparing the PFAS and 1,4-dioxane concentrations of treated samples against the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for each contaminant. Different PWR operating conditions for each matrix using several power and flow configurations are being evaluated to determine an optimal configuration to be used as a point of entry treatment (POET) system.

Project Start: Aug 2022                 Duration: 2 Years

PFAS in Precipitation and Ambient Air

DSR is currently working with the Bureau of Air Monitoring to investigate PFAS in precipitation across the state.  During the first year of the study, precipitation samples were collected at four sites and two additional sites will be added in the second year of the study.  In addition to the collection of wet deposition, samples of ambient air will be collected for one year at two designated locations.  This work will allow scientists to understand the role that precipitation and ambient air play in the fate and transport of PFAS, and how this PFAS may ultimately impact the state’s resources.

Project Start: June 2023              Duration:2 Years

Statewide Survey of PFAS in New Jersey Soils

This project was started in July 2023 and is co-led by the NJDEP Contaminated Site Remediation and Redevelopment (CSRR) and the Division of Science and Research (DSR). The main goal of the project is to complete a State-wide survey of PFAS in soils to determine the distribution of contamination in New Jersey and as appropriate, quantify a statewide or regional-specific value(s). A total of 157 sampling locations statewide were selected from all counties with the intent of sampling locations with no known PFAS discharges or proximity to a PFAS-contaminated site. Collected soil samples were analyzed for different PFAS compounds. Other analyses included a SPLP analysis to determine PFAS leachability, and other various soil properties including total organic carbon (TOC), particle size, metals, pH, and cation exchange capacity. Soil property information will help better understand the geochemical processes influencing PFAS adsorption by soils.

Project Start: Jul 2023                  Duration: 1 year.

PFAS Precursors Through Wastewater Treatment Plants

This project is in collaboration with Stevens Institute of Technology and aims to monitor and to understand the fate of PFAS precursors and other PFAS compounds in wastewater and sludge. Four wastewater treatment plants were sampled three times at different locations throughout the treatment train. Samples were analyzed using Draft USEPA 1633 method coupled with Total Oxidable Precursors (TOP) assay. Moreover, in order to assess the impact of the wastewater treatment plant on the receiving water, upstream and downstream locations of the receiving water were sampled.

Project Start: July 2023                Duration: 1.5 years.

Incorporation of PFAS Data into Fish Consumption Advisories

DSR is responsible for the development of fish consumption advisories for the State of New Jersey. PFAS are present at concentrations in fish that may pose a risk for recreational anglers targeting these waters for consumption of wild caught fish. Staff from DSR are working with staff from the Division of Water Monitoring, Standards & Pesticide Control to sample fish as part of the routine fish tissue monitoring program (5 regions, rotating annually). As we continue to understand which fish contain the highest concentrations of PFAS we will continue to update our advisories to reflect the most recent risk and contaminant data.

Project Duration: Ongoing

Data collected under the Private Well Testing Act (PWTA)

The Division of Science and Research periodically updates the online interactive maps that display summarized NJ Private Well Testing Act (PWTA) data. The PWTA is a consumer information law that requires sellers (or buyers) of property with potable wells in New Jersey to test the untreated groundwater for up to 43 parameters, including PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA. Those test results must be reviewed by both parties prior to the closing the of title. Landlords are also required to test their well water once every five years and to provide each tenant with a copy of the test results. The test results are submitted by the certified laboratory to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The results are also sent by the DEP to the local health authorities. The PWTA went into effect in September 2002, however PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA were not added as statewide required testing parameters until December 2021.  Information can be found here.

Project Duration: Ongoing

---

NJDEP Comments on Draft World Health Organization (WHO) Drinking Water Quality Guidelines for PFOA and PFOS

The Division of Science and Research coordinated development of NJDEP comments on draft WHO drinking water quality guidelines for PFOA and PFOS that were posted for public comment in October 2022.

• NJDEP comments submitted to WHO on November 11, 2022
• Summary of NJDEP comments on the draft WHO document