Senior Technical Specialist Sarah Mass continues her series for the journal Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation by writing a new “SERDP & ESTCP Corner” column, published in July 2025. In this column, Sarah provides updates on recent projects focused on treating a group of chemicals known as PFAS, which are persistent contaminants in soil and water.
The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), funded by the Department of Defense, support research and technology demonstrations with the potential to resolve environmental challenges at military installations. The remediation of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a current area of interest for these programs. Sarah reports on recent demonstrations of remediation technologies for soil treatment at a military base in Alaska, with one project deploying thermal conduction heating and another that used smoldering combustion. These demonstrations, she notes, reduced PFAS concentrations in thousands of cubic yards of soil and suggest viable alternatives to costly off-site soil disposal of PFAS-contaminated material.
Sarah also summarizes a separate SERDP-funded investigation into sampling bias in PFAS monitoring. This investigation showed that standard procedures such as decontaminating equipment and changing gloves effectively prevented cross-contamination so that stricter avoidance of PFAS-containing materials during sampling weren’t necessary.
“SERDP & ESTCP Corner” is available for purchase from Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation.
