Monitoring PFAS in Drinking Water with Point of Use Filtration Devices: Trusted Tap

PFAS in Focus

Welcome to the PFAS in Focus, a comprehensive and exclusive 10-parts webinar series sponsored by Shimadzu, covering the basics and beyond about the analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the environment. In these five webinars, our experts will demonstrate the suitability of various analytical techniques, such as LCMS, GCMS, CIC, and QTOF, for PFAS testing.

Join our experts, live or on-demand after the original air date, to demystify the challenges of PFAS analysis and gain the insights you need to:

• Manage PFAS contamination in your laboratory.
• Master standardized methods for PFAS testing.
• Discover new analytical workflows to maximize the performance of your instruments (LC-MS/MS, GCMS, CIC, QTOF) for PFAS analysis.

Who should attend:

• Environmental industry professionals and academics currently working on PFAS analysis or looking to establish the application in their labs.
• Representatives from drinking and wastewater utilities.
• LC–MS users from any field interested in expanding their applications to include PFAS testing.

Part 04: Monitoring PFAS in Drinking Water with Point of Use Filtration Devices: Trusted Tap

The current framework for water quality monitoring leaves millions of Americans at risk of exposure to harmful contaminants like PFAS in their drinking water. Notably, 23 million households in the U.S. rely on private wells, which are not federally required to be monitored for such contaminants. 

Our team seeks to address this gap by using commercially available point-of-use (POU) filters as passive monitoring devices. When employed for monitoring, these filters accumulate contaminants over time, which can then be extracted for analysis. This method offers several advantages over conventional grab sampling, including volume-averaged contaminant concentrations, improved detection limits, and ease of use. By utilizing POU filters in this way, we aim to provide a cost-effective, scalable solution for monitoring water quality and ensuring public health protection.

We will host a Q&A session after the presentation to address any questions or comments.

Presenter: John Scott (Director of the Emerging Contaminant CenterIllinois, Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois
Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois)

John W. Scott is the Director of the Emerging Contaminant Center at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois. His team is dedicated to research and activities related to the measurement, transport, fate, remediation, education, and outreach of environmental pollution. With over twenty-five years of experience in environmental contaminants research, John’s current focus includes emerging pollutants like microplastics and PFAS, as well as waste utilization and natural products.

Presenter: Ruth Marfil-Vega, PhD (Sr Market Manager – Environmental, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments)

Dr. Ruth Marfil-Vega has 20 years of expertise in environmental chemistry and engineering in the US and Europe. She has worked with the EPA and the utilities industry to design and execute comprehensive solutions for addressing new environmental and water quality issues, including PFAS, regulated and unregulated DBPs, and other emerging contaminants. Since Ruth joined Shimadzu five years ago, she has continued to work with environmental stakeholders to ensure that analytical instrumentation and workflows support their success. She earned a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Valladolid (Spain) and a PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.