Read the full article by Sadie Harley (Science X)
“For communities worried about PFAS contamination, waiting for test results can mean days of uncertainty. A University of Tasmania trial has used a mobile laboratory equipped with portable liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technology to test soil and water on site and provide an early indication of PFAS contamination within six hours.
Standard laboratory testing for PFAS can take up to 10 days. In the Tasmanian trial, researchers completed sampling and analysis in a single day.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals often called ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down easily and can build up in soil, water and the human body.
Across Australia, PFAS contamination has been found near firefighting training grounds, manufacturing sites, landfills, former military bases, airports and industrial sites.
Researchers tested the mobile system at Barilla Rivulet in Cambridge, an area with a known history of PFAS contamination.
In a single field visit, the team collected and analyzed water, soil and soil pore water, or water held within soil, using the mobile laboratory. The findings were published in Journal of Chromatography A.”…