The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on December 19 a new validated method for testing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. This new validated test method complements other actions the agency is taking under its action plan to help communities address PFAS nationwide.
“EPA’s important scientific advancement makes it possible for both government and private laboratories to effectively measure more PFAS chemicals in drinking water than ever before,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “We can now measure 29 chemicals, marking a critical step in implementing the agency’s PFAS Action Plan — the most comprehensive cross-agency plan ever to address an emerging chemical of concern.”
The EPA’s new validated Method 533 focuses on “short chain” PFAS, those PFAS with carbon chain lengths of 4 to 12. Method 533 complements EPA Method 537.1 and can be used to test for 11 additional PFAS.
Method 533 accomplishes a key milestone in the EPA PFAS Action Plan by meeting the agency’s commitment to develop new validated methods to accurately test for additional PFAS in drinking water. Method 533 also incorporates an analytical technique called isotope dilution, which can minimize sample matrix interference and improve data quality.
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