Understanding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
AlexRenew leads the way in protecting our community and environment by effectively managing what we receive, recover, and return to our waterways. We work closely with our community, listening to their concerns and work diligently in taking appropriate actions.
Across the United States, water and wastewater utilities are actively working on solutions to address the issue of PFAS in our environment. Addressing this challenge requires a united effort from everyone — producers, users, and receivers of PFAS. Together, we can reduce PFAS use, promote sustainable alternatives, and protect public health and our environment.
PFAS are a group of thousands of human-made compounds produced for use in everyday products for their stain-resistant, fire-retardant, and non-stick properties. PFAS do not break down naturally due to their molecular structure, which makes them difficult to treat. Because PFAS are used in many everyday products, they often enter our environment through local waterways and soil and can even be found in humans.
Technologies to treat PFAS are rapidly evolving and being deployed at small system scales, while innovation towards larger scale systems to completely remove and destroy PFAS are underway. AlexRenew’s multi-level approach collaboratively monitors and minimizes PFAS entering our system. AlexRenew is also evaluating effectiveness of removing PFAS for larger scale systems.
AlexRenew's Approach to Managing PFAS
AlexRenew’s approach to identifying and minimizing PFAS entering our system involves extensive PFAS monitoring, sampling, significant capital investments, and collaboration with industry partners.
Source identification/minimization
The best way to minimize PFAS from wastewater and biosolids is to prevent it from entering the waste stream. AlexRenew’s customer base is primarily residential in nature, with only three industrial pretreatment permits. Our best line of defense is to reduce PFAS in our wastewater influent through pretreatment and residential customer education. This work is important because traditional wastewater treatment technology does not remove or destroy PFAS.
Sampling
Sampling allows AlexRenew to collect the data needed to understand PFAS entering our wastewater treatment plant and provide us with a baseline. This data helps guide our decision making as we take actions that will require additional customer rates to fund the infrastructure needed to help minimize PFAS.
AlexRenew is voluntarily monitoring for PFAS in our influent, effluent, and biosolids on a quarterly basis. While not required, monitoring and data sharing is important to increase our understanding of PFAS so we can more quickly and holistically address this issue (data is presented in the section below).
Capital Investments
AlexRenew is investing $300 million in advanced biosolids treatment with goals of reducing the volume of biosolids and producing bioenergy for sustainable long-term community and environmental benefits.
In conjunction with industry experts, AlexRenew is conducting bench-scale testing (small-scale experiments performed in a lab) for thermal technologies to determine their efficacy in destroying PFAS in biosolids.
Partnerships
AlexRenew is committed to better understanding PFAS in all facets of our wastewater treatment processes — working to fill gaps in current PFAS knowledge and minimizing PFAS in our environment.
In collaboration with other localities and wastewater authorities in Northern Virginia, AlexRenew is working to identify effective biosolids recycling options that will address PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
AlexRenew participates in PFAS-focused workgroups and panels organized through Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, Virginia Biosolids Council, and other important industry organizations.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of human-made compounds that have been in use for more than 70 years and are widespread in our environment. Thousands of these human-made compounds, which are resistant to heat, water, and oil, are used to make numerous everyday products, including rainwear, shampoo, non-stick cookware, personal care products, stain-resistance products, paints, pesticides, food packaging, firefighting foams, electrical wiring insulation, and coating, etc.
Two of the most common types of PFAS: PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) were phased out of production in the United States in 2002 and 2015, respectively, but are still present in some imported products. The same properties that initially made PFAS desirable — their resistance to heat, oil, grease, and water — also make them very difficult to remove from the water cycle. Despite the fact many of the substances have been phased out of production, they are still found in our environment today.
PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are the primary PFAS compounds currently tested due to their widespread historical use, persistence in the environment, and potential health risks. Due to these factors, regulatory agencies and researchers focus on PFOS and PFOA to assess environmental and public health impacts, often serving as markers for broader PFAS contamination.
AlexRenew PFAS Compound Concentrations Compared to Michigan Levels
Notes:
- PFAS levels are in the parts per billion (ppb) range. Here is an example in terms of everyday items to help understand the concentration: 1 ppb = 1 second in 31.5 years or 1 drop of water in an Olympic size swimming pool
- Michigan is recognized as having a long-standing and comprehensive PFAS testing program and education as well as outreach to help reduce and mitigate PFAS levels across the state. Therefore, their data is frequently used to characterize PFAS concentrations: Evaluation of PFAS in Influent, Effluent, and Residuals of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in Michigan
As long as PFAS compounds are used in the production of many common household products, we will continue to see them in our wastewater. Working together, we can reduce PFAS in the environment by purchasing and using PFAS-free products for non-essential uses.
Here are some helpful tips:
- Review the annual water quality report to see whether Virginia American Water reports PFAS and if so, what are the levels of PFAS being reported.
- Watch certain food packaging. Fast-food packaging and microwave popcorn bags often contain PFAS chemicals. Avoid ordering or heating up food that is wrapped in grease-resistant packaging.
- Avoid or minimize buying items that are "waterproof", "water-resistant" or "stain-resistant" unless absolutely necessary. Some clothing makers have removed PFAS from their products and note that they are "PFAS free" in their product descriptions. PFAS Central, a project of the Green Science Policy Institute, offers a helpful list of PFAS-free outdoor gear, apparel, and other products. Note: many products that say ‘PFOA free’ are not free of other types of PFAS. Products that claim to be ‘PFAS free’ or free of fluorocarbons or fluorinated chemicals are safer choices.
- Minimize PFAS exposure by avoiding carpets and upholstery that were treated to be stain or water-resistant.
- Replace non-stick cookware with stainless steel, cast iron, glass, or ceramic alternatives.
- For businesses – ask your suppliers if they can offer PFAS-free products; conduct an inventory of products and review any safety data sheets (SDS) for PFAS; properly dispose of any PFAS-containing products no longer being used – DO NOT flush them or dump them down the drain.
- Our understanding of PFAS chemicals evolves constantly. Keeping current about PFAS research and updates from reputable sources is key to collaborative solutions that work best for our communities. Links to references:
Every day, AlexRenew treats millions of gallons of wastewater for Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County. There are two biproducts produced as part of this treatment process: clean water discharged to the Potomac River, and solids, which are organic and inorganic materials that settle out of the wastewater.
AlexRenew solids go through an extensive process for treatment. They are thickened to reduce water content, pasteurized to kill harmful pathogens, digested to reduce volume and odors, and then spun in centrifuges to remove additional water before the final product is hauled away.
