Read the full article by Caitlin Hayes (Cornell Chronicle)
“In 2023, Professor Damian Helbling was getting a lot of calls and emails from local residents. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had just announced regulations to limit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – some of which have been linked to cancers and other negative health effects – in drinking water. Ithacans and others in the region wanted to know about levels in the ponds, lakes, streams and creeks in their proverbial backyards.
‘Anybody in the public could just search online for ‘PFAS’ and ‘Cornell,’ and they would find me,’ said Helbling, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering. ‘But I had no idea how to answer their questions. There were no data locally.’
A group of undergraduates in Helbling’s research group has since filled the gap, taking more than 500 samples across 300 bodies of water, including all 11 Finger Lakes and many tributaries, ponds and even puddles that persistently pool after rain. They’ve screened the samples for 24 common PFAS and added the data to an interactive map. The map shows PFAS hot spots but also relieves some fears: Overall the concentrations of PFAS in the Finger Lakes are relatively low.”…