Identifying and attributing true sources of PFAS

Historical contamination question of liability

The prior owner and operator of a property [location] in the USA now owned by Ramboll’s client was deemed responsible for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at the property by a regulatory agency. However, the prior owner sought to attribute some of the responsibility to the new owner, who, in [Time] 2022, came to Ramboll for assistance.

Searching for PFAS sources

Ramboll evaluated the potential for PFAS use by our client, who operates a newspaper printing facility, by reviewing historical material safety data sheets (MSDS) for chemical products used in their operations.

Ramboll developed an automated approach for searching a set of PFAS-related keywords, such as chemical names, trade names, manufacturers and functional uses associated with PFAS, and manually reviewed all hits.

We then reviewed and commented on the prior owner’s sampling and analysis plan to identify PFAS sources and evaluated technical bases for claims that would implicate our client. We also evaluated existing data and information to determine whether they supported or refuted the prior property owner’s claims that our client was responsible for the PFAS impacts.

Using data to identify likely sources

During the review of our client’s MSDSs, we did not identify products that would have been associated with PFAS. We did identify locations associated with former PFAS use, including aqueous firefighting foam storage and operations at an adjacent property that involved the handling and use of Teflon powders and dispersions.

Ramboll’s evaluation of existing data, specifically data on branched and linear PFAS compounds, indicated that the data were consistent with the types of PFAS-containing products used by the former property owner and consistent with the ratios present at the known source areas only used by the prior owner.