Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using LC/MS/MS and Manual / Automated Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Techniques in Ground, Surface, and Reclaimed Water.

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Environment - Session 3
Oral Presentation

Presented by L. Sanchez
Prepared by L. Sanchez, L. Yoo, P. Parmar
Orange County Water District, 18700, Ward Street, Fountain Valley, CA, 92708, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 714-378-3344


ABSTRACT

Due to the increasing safety concerns over the level of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) present in public drinking water supplies, EPA has recently added these compounds to the drinking water monitoring list. This new regulation presents a significant impact on the water industry and to the Orange County Water District (OCWD). Since the beginning of 2019, the OCWD Lab has increased the frequency of PFAS sample analysis considerably, using EPA 537rev.1.1 & 537.1 methods to analyze its monitoring and drinking water wells. Due to the significant increase in the sample load, the lab has had to overcome two major challenges:

· Continuing validation of any new PFAS compounds and methods, needed to obtain State-ELAP certification prior to testing the public drinking water system.

· Needing to meet a mandated two-week turnaround time to produce data.

An Initial Demonstration of Capability (IDC) study and a comparison of results between manual and automated SPE are presented. The data includes sample results, laboratory fortified blanks, reagent blanks, and potential system carry over. This study emphasizes the advantages of the automated SPE and how it improves the sample preparation efficiency as well as productivity and data quality.