PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a diverse group of chemicals that include PFCAs, PFOA, PFSAs, PFHxS, and thousands of others. These chemicals have been in commercial production since the 1950s and are now widely used in consumer and industrial applications. One characteristic of PFAS is their persistence in the environment, as they are extremely resistant to degradation. PFAS have emerged as contaminants of global concern because of their potential to accumulate in the human body and food chains. On 12-13 February 2024, a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, industry, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and academics came together to discuss various topics related to PFAS. These topics covered areas such as country risk management approaches, innovation challenges for finding safer alternatives, effective risk communication strategies, monitoring techniques, waste management, and approaches to managing contamination.

1. For our Environment
Main advances for the
management of PFAS
contamination and remaining
challenges
OECD Global Forum on PFAS 2024
Dr. Annegret Biegel-Engler
Head of Section – Measures of Soil Protection
German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

2. Our Mandate: What are our Tasks?
2
German Environment Agency – Institutional Setup
Conducting
Research
Providing
Policy advice
Implementing
Legislation
Dialogue with
the public
German Environment Agency
International Cooperation
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

3. PFAS Hotspots in Germany
• Airports
• (former) Military sites
• Fluorochemical industry
• Agricultural areas
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/what-matters-1-2020-pfas-came-to-stay
3
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

4. The Rastatt Case in Germany
• Water provider detected PFAS in drinking
water in 2012
• 1105 ha contaminated agricultural area
(ca 1500 soccer pitches);
• 58 km2 contaminated groundwater (180
Mio m3)
Source: most probably compost mixed with
paper sludge from 2006 on
Concern: Human exposure via drinking
water, feed and/or food
4
PFC-Karten Online - Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (baden-wuerttemberg.de)
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

5. Management Solutions
5
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

6. Solutions
For farmers
• Pre-harvest-monitoring and cultivation
recommendations for farmers
• Activated carbon filters for irrigation
water
• Strictly controlled wells and agricultural
products
Water provider
• Closed wells and installation of new
wells
• Water purification (i.e. with activated
carbon filters)
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024 6
PFC-Karten Online - Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (baden-wuerttemberg.de)

7. National Harmonized Guidance in Germany
• Guidance for the analysis of PFAS in soil, including
precursors (target-analysis, AOF, EOF, TOP-Assay)
• Use significant thresholds for assessing the
groundwater contamination and soil eluates
• Pre-harvest monitoring may be considered, when
agricultural land is affected
• Guidance on handling soil material containing
PFAS;
• Unrestricted open storage
• Restricted open emplacement in areas with
elevated PFAS concentrations
• Restricted integration into technical structures
with defined security measures
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024 7
Guidelines for PFAS assessment | Download | BMUV
Conference of
German
Environment
Ministers calls
for the
development of
uniform
national
guidelines
INTERNATIONAL CLEANUP CONFERENCE 2022, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA

8. Guidance for the Remediation Management for Local and Wide-
spread PFAS Contaminations
• Review and assessment of the technical feasibility and proportionality of
possible procedural approaches for the remediation management of local and
large-scale PFAS contamination
• Enforceable guidance for the competent authorities
• Evaluation and decision-making on suitable and proportionate remediation
solutions, management and waste disposal concepts
8
Frauenstein, Umweltbundesamt
Frauenstein, Umweltbundesamt
Remediation management for local and wide-spread PFAS contaminations | Umweltbundesamt
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

9. Challenges
9
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

10. Challenge 1: Systematic Identifikation of Contaminated Sites
10
'Forever pollution': Explore
the map of Europe's PFAS
contamination (lemonde.fr)
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

11. Challenge 2: Determining the Dimension of a PFAS Contamination
11
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024
Wellmitz, Bandow, Koschorreck (2023) ); Science of The Total
Environment, 893 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164586
- Soil top layers from samples the
German Environmental Specimen
Bank were analysed for 24 PFAS
(11 PFCA, 7 PFSA, and 6 precursors),
including the total oxidizable
precursor (TOP) assay.
- Median ΣPFAS ranged from 0.31 to
19.7 μg/kg (dw)

12. Challenge 2: Determining the Dimension of a PFAS Contamination
12
Kotthoff et al. (2020); Science of The Total Environment, 740
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140116
Background vs Hotspots
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
PFAS
contamination
in
soil
[ng/g]
PFCA PFOS Polyfluorierte Vorläufer
Environmental
Specimen Bank
Rastatt
Precursors
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024
Wellmitz, Bandow, Koschorreck (2023) ); Science of The Total
Environment, 893 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164586
Göckener et al. Environmental Sciences Europe (2022) 34:52
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-022-00631-1

13. Challenge 3: Limited Management and Remediation Options
Development of innovative remediation techniques required, such as:
- Destruction of PFAS
- Sustainable in-situ methods
13
Frauenstein, Umweltbundesamt
Frauenstein, Umweltbundesamt
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

14. Challenge 4: Limit Human PFAS Uptake from Contaminated Soil
14
PFAS source
Setup
Reference of
data
Contaminated water;
sewage sludge
Green
house
Bao et al.,
2020; Lechner
& Knapp, 2011
y = 0.64x0.5254
R² = 0.9562
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
0.1 1 10 100 1000
PFOA
in
Cucumber
[µg/kg]
PFOA in Soil [µg/kg]
Fruits & Vegetables
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024
Lesmeister et al., (2021), Science of the Total Environment,
746 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142640

15. Challenge 4: Limit Human PFAS Uptake from Contaminated Soil
15
PFAS source
Setup
Reference of
data
Contaminated water;
sewage sludge
Green
house
Bao et al.,
2020; Lechner
& Knapp, 2011 Rupp et al., (2023) Science of the Total Environment, 871
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162028
https://www.lgl.bayern.de/lebensmittel/chemie/kontaminanten/pfas/
ue_2010_pft_lebensmittel_wild_sonstigesbayern.htm
y = 0.64x0.5254
R² = 0.9562
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
0.1 1 10 100 1000
PFOA
in
Cucumber
[µg/kg]
PFOA in Soil [µg/kg]
Fruits & Vegetables
Engler 2023
Terrestrial Food Chain
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024
Authorities advise not to consume wild
boar liver in order to reduce personal PFAS
intake.

16. Ideas for International Collaboration at OECD
• Knowledge hub for contaminated sites management
• Collection of best practice examples for site management
• Standardization of methods for soil investigation
• e.g. OECD guidelines
• Discussion on how PFAS manufacturers and users can take responsibility for
clean-up
16
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024

17. 17
Current status: Data being collected
from 18 partners from 11 countries
Developing a European PFAS baseline
Project aim
Deriving baseline levels in the environment, resulting from decades of PFAS production and use
Baseline definition
PFAS concentrations in environmental matrices, covering urban, agricultural and industrial areas, excluding
those with known significant PFAS sources
Collection of existing PFAS data
• Media: Surface water, groundwater, sediment, soil, air, biota (incl. eggs)
• Coverage: Europe
• Time range: ≤ 5 years old (to consider recent bans of legacy PFAS)
• Compounds: All PFAS data with concentration information
We are interested in collaborating, please contact:
Valeria Dulio: Valeria.DULIO@ineris.fr
Katrin Vorkamp: kvo@envs.au.dk
www.eu-parc.eu

18. 18
Thank you!
Dr. Annegret Biegel-Engler
Head of Section - Measures of Soil Protection
Telephone: +49-340-2103-2074
Annegret.Biegel-Engler@uba.de
www.uba.de
Special thanks to Jörg Frauenstein,
Lennart Gehrenkemper & Tobias Frische
OECD Global PFAS Forum - 13 February 2024