ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) AND MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN PFAS-CONTAMINATED ARID SOILS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are substances with at least one perfluorinated methyl or methylene group which make them highly stable in many environmental conditions. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals with hundreds of applications including, but not limited to, firefighting foams, climbing ropes, and nonstick coatings. Humans are exposed to PFAS though drinking water, food, air pollution, and other pathways, and these exposures have been linked to health effects. Due to the abundance of PFAS and the potential impacts, it is important to study their fate in the environment and develop remediation strategies.

Activities at Cannon Air Force Base (CAFB) in southeastern New Mexico has led to groundwater contamination with PFAS, as well as other contaminants like nitrate, pesticides, and industrial compounds. The semi-arid location has limited rain, high evaporation rates, artificial recharge of groundwater from wastewater effluent, and thick vadose zone. This location provides a unique opportunity to understand the role of microorganisms on the fate and transport of PFAS. In this study, we are assessing the relationships between PFAS, soil microbial communities, and contaminant transport. Soil cores were collected at 7 locations on CAFB then subsampled for analysis of soil geochemistry and microbial community composition. The microbial data will consist of the occurrence of different populations and communities for the soil core locations and depths. This will be compared to the geochemistry data for each sample that consists of PFAS and other contaminant concentrations and soil physiochemical data. This analysis will be used to answer questions relating to the role of microorganisms in the transport of PFAS through the vadose zone.