Special Interest Group - Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

What are Special Interest Groups?

A special interest group (SIG) is a community with shared interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to affect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet and organise conferences.

Special interest group - PFAS

The PFAS SIG is led by Dr Sara Ghorbani Gorji.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of chemicals commonly used in a range of consumer and industrial applications. Due to their properties and widespread use, PFAS are frequently found in the environment and detected in humans worldwide. More than 4,700 PFAS are in use globally, most of these have been identified as potential precursors to specific PFASs that bioaccumulate in humans (e.g. perfluoroalkyl acids, PFAAs). Transformation of PFAS precursors in the environment, or their metabolism in humans, leads to indirect exposure pathways for the same bioaccumulative PFAS. This Special Interest Group will explore the use of targeted and non-target techniques for the detection and monitoring of PFAS in a range of programs including but not limited to biomonitoring programs and wastewater surveillance.