Regulatory Standards for PFAS Cleanup
PFAS cleanup standards are determined by the end-use of treated media and applicable exposure scenarios. For drinking water, the EPA’s 2024 MCLs provide cleanup targets for groundwater that serves drinking water supplies. For soil, EPA has issued interim guidance based on risk calculations, with final soil screening levels expected following the hazardous substance designations.
Superfund remedial action objectives for PFAS sites must achieve concentrations protective of human health in groundwater, soil, and surface water. At sites where groundwater is used for drinking water, cleanup goals align with drinking water MCLs. At sites with ecological receptors, environmental quality criteria for aquatic organisms — which may require lower concentrations than human health criteria — may govern.
Federal Funding Programs
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 provided $10 billion for emerging contaminant treatment at public water systems and an additional $21 billion for clean water and drinking water state revolving funds, much of which can address PFAS. EPA’s Brownfields program provides grants for assessing and cleaning up contaminated properties, increasingly relevant for PFAS-affected sites.
CERCLA response authority allows EPA to recover cleanup costs from responsible parties through the Superfund liability framework. The 2024 PFOA/PFOS hazardous substance designation enables cost recovery actions that will fund additional remediation. Defense Environmental Restoration Program funds address PFAS remediation at military installations.
Emerging Remediation Technologies
Conventional PFAS remediation focuses on pump-and-treat — extracting contaminated groundwater and treating it above ground with GAC or ion exchange. This approach addresses the dissolved PFAS plume but does not destroy PFAS or remove residual contamination from the source zone. Emerging technologies aim to achieve more complete PFAS removal and destruction.
Thermally enhanced extraction, electrochemical oxidation, supercritical water oxidation, and photocatalytic degradation are among the destruction technologies under EPA research and field evaluation. In-situ treatment approaches — injecting reactants into the subsurface — would reduce the need for extracted water management. Several pilot-scale demonstrations are providing data on cost, effectiveness, and scalability.