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Where Are PFAS Found?

Thousands of PFAS chemicals are found in a wide variety of consumer, commercial, and industrial products.

Cooking pansDue to their unique molecular structure, which makes them difficult to degrade naturally, many PFAS are found in the environment, food products and the blood of humans and animals worldwide.

In North Carolina, PFAS have been detected in a number of locations, such as the Cape Fear River, the Haw River and Jordan Lake.

However, as explained by the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS can be found in many places throughout the environment, including water, air and soil, as well as in workplaces and homes, such as:

  • Drinking water, including public drinking water systems and private drinking water wells.
  • Firefighting foams known as aqueous film-forming foams (aka AFFFs), which deployed at places such as airports, military bases and chemical plans to extinguish flammable liquid-based fires.
  • Household products such as non-stick cookware, stain and water-repellent chemicals used on carpets and upholstery, as well as varnishes and paints.
  • Air emissions, soil and water at or near manufacturing or chemical production facilities, landfills, disposal sites and hazardous waste sites.
  • Food such as fish from PFAS-contaminated water and dairy products from animals that have been exposed to PFAS.
  • Food packaging such as fast food containers/wrappers, pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags.
  • Personal care products such as cosmetics and dental floss.
Drinking water is one of the largest sources of PFAS exposure to humans, so we have developed our technology to selectively capture PFAS and efficiently remove them from water.

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