In a recent article for the journal Nature Water, Principal Consultant John Xiong, Ph.D., P.E., and his co-authors address the growing need to improve conventional drinking water treatment methods for eliminating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Their analysis, “Cross-national challenges and strategies for PFAS regulatory compliance in water infrastructure,” tackles the gaps between current PFAS removal methods and increasing regulatory actions surrounding PFAS in drinking water.
John and his colleagues note that current water treatment technologies often fall short in PFAS removal due to the very nature of many PFAS, which enables them to resist many treatment efforts. In fact, certain disinfection attempts by water utilities may even inadvertently create perfluorinated compounds from polyfluorinated precursors.
The authors focus instead on nontechnical strategies for improving PFAS removal practices, using a detailed four-stage protocol. They emphasize and explain how water utilities and water treatment plants can create practical PFAS monitoring and treatment guidelines.
John has developed cost-effective and streamlined strategies for final remedies that have been accepted by federal and state regulatory agencies on projects that entail complex technical and policy issues. He has held primary roles in the invention of two patented technologies and has had work published in more than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific journals. The article and its recommendations draw on his expertise to meet the needs of PFAS regulations.
Read “Cross-national challenges and strategies for PFAS regulatory compliance in water infrastructure.”
