Poly- and perfluoalkyl substances in contaminated groundwater, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2014-2016

Drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), were issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 in response to growing evidence associated with negative human health effects. PFOA and PFOS are often associated with other poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). There has been increasing concern for groundwater quality owing to PFAS contamination from multiple sources, as groundwater is a major source of drinking water. An investigation of the geochemical and hydrological processes governing the subsurface transport of PFAS at a site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts was conducted in 2014 and 2015, when 149 groundwater samples and 4 sediment cores were collected and analyzed for PFAS content using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.