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PFAS Basics
The Thursday June 20 NEOCHMM meeting was held at Stark State College in Canton. Karla Buechler, Corporate Technical Director of Eurofins TestAmerica gave a webinar presentation on PFAS Basics – An Introduction to the Chemistry, Sources, Regulation, and Analysis.
PFAS is short for perfluoroalky and polyfluoroalkyl substances and includes chemicals known as PFOS, PFOA and GenX. They are a family of potentially thousands of synthetic chemicals that are extremely persistent in the environment and in our bodies. PFAS chemicals have been highly utilized in various industries because of their ability to repel oil and water. They've been manufactured since they were first developed in 1948 and can be found in Teflon nonstick products, stains and water repellants, paints, cleaning products, furniture, carpeting, food packaging and firefighting foams. GenX and other chemicals that are used as replacements for PFOA also lead to the creation of unintended chemicals and precursors which many believe are just as harmful as the chemicals they are intended to replace.
The half-life of these chemicals, depending on the analyte, is 2 to 9 years. They persist in the environment as well as the body and can also accumulate over time. Exposure occurs mainly through ingestion and the chemicals primarily affect the blood, liver, kidneys, and spleen.
The U.S. EPA Drinking Water Health Advisory Limits of PFOA and PFOS is 70 ppt which are considered by many to be too high. Some say the limits should be lower, more in the range of 10 ppt or 1 ppt.
More information is available from fact sheets developed by the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) which can be accessed at https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/
We thank Karla for her insight on this subject and thank NEOCHMM member Nate Pietras from Eurofins TestAmerica for setting up this meeting and providing the food and beverages to the attendees.
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- Written by Super User
- Created: 26 June 2019
- Last Updated: 26 June 2019
IHMM Summer 2019 Update
As a member of the IHMM Board of Directors, I periodically update Certificants and NEOCHMM Chapter Members of developments at IHMM.
The IHMM Board of Directors held their Second Quarter 2019 meeting at IHMM’s new offices in Rockville, MD. Work continued on development and refinement of the 2019 Strategic Plan.
Based on that plan, IHMM announced six Strategic Initiatives for Improving Our Services to Certificants. IHMM has met with the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (“AHMP”) on these initiatives. The AHMP has agreed to help support the IHMM in the implementation of all six Strategic Initiatives. IHMM has begun implementation of those six Strategic Initiatives and details will be announced on the Website.
The IHMM also announced integration of safety certifications from the Institute of Health Safety Management (IHSM) into IHMM. We would like to welcome all those Certficants in the IHMM and we look forward to ISO and ANSI Accreditation for those Certifications in the future.
As always, one the most important activities the Certificants can do to enhance the value of their credential, is to mentor young professionals. Then encourage those young processionals to sit for the exam and become certified professionals.
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- Written by Mark Baumgardner, CHMM
- Created: 03 June 2019
- Last Updated: 03 June 2019
RiverSweep 2019
On May 11, 2019, a few of NEOCHMM’s, “usual suspects” gathered at a lot off of East Schaaf Road in Independence, Ohio for our annual RiverSweep event. This lot is near the confluence of West Creek and the Cuyahoga River. At one time a bar was on the site. The building was torn down and the lot restored to its riparian character to protect West Creek. The lot was then modified into a wetland to take and treat run off from East Schaaf Road. During heavy rains, West Creek will flood into this lot, thus relieving pressure on flooding further downstream on the Cuyahoga River.
With assistance from employees of Shook Construction and a Boy Scout Troop, we planted about 20 Maple and Locust trees around the perimeter of the lot, thereby enhancing the habitat for wildlife in the area. We extend our thanks toWest Creek Conservancy for supporting the event and for all those who participated in improving the habitat.
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- Written by Mark Baumgardner, CHMM
- Created: 13 May 2019
- Last Updated: 13 May 2019
