PFAS Series Article 5 of 6- The Disposal Dilemma

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Water utilities around the world are installing PFAS treatment systems. Granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes — these technologies work. They can reduce PFAS concentrations in drinking water to below the most stringent limits currently in force anywhere in the world.

But there is a question that comes immediately after "how do we remove it?" and it is asked far less frequently. That question is: where does the PFAS go?

The uncomfortable answer is that most PFAS treatment systems do not destroy PFAS. They concentrate it. The contaminant moves from water into spent carbon, from treated effluent into membrane reject streams, from intake to output — but it does not disappear. And a treatment system that moves PFAS from drinking water into a landfill is not a solution. It is a deferral.

Remova l wi t hou t des t ruc t io n i s no t remedia t ion . I t i s reloca t ion . Th e ques t io n i s no t whe t he r PFA S ca n b e remove d f ro m wa t er . Th e ques t io n i s whe t he r i t ca n b e permanen t l y elimina t ed .

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Taxonomy

• Technology
• GIS & Remote Sensing Technology
• IT
• Membrane Technology
• Water from Air
• PFAS