Since the discovery of GenX in the Cape Fear River in 2017, Lee Ferguson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University, has been a leading figure in sussing out other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds in water supplies across North Carolina and the nation.
Since the discovery of GenX in the Cape Fear River in 2017, Lee Ferguson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University, has been a leading figure in sussing out other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds in water supplies across North Carolina and the nation.
In a study published July 8 in Nature Communications, Ferguson and colleagues have identified the production and disposal of lithium-ion batteries as an increasing source of a troubling sub-class of PFAS contamination. Called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs), these chemicals show environmental persistence and ecotoxicity comparable to older notorious compounds like PFOA and GenX.
“We’ve discovered that an understudied type of PFAS or “forever chemicals” called bis-FASIs, such as those used in lithium-ion battery production, are an emerging issue not only for communities near manufacturing sites, but also anywhere these batteries are thrown away,” said Ferguson. “In North Carolina specifically, we’ve found these chemicals seeping from landfills into leachates, which highlights the need for more studies to assess the sources and spreading of these compounds here and across the country.”
Read more at: Duke University
Lee Ferguson and Jennifer Guelfo retrieve water samples from a very cold Mississippi River (Photo Credit: Duke University)
