Cited by 76Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchGroundwater flow and contamination studiesChemical Analysis and Environmental Impact

Fate and Transport of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Discharge Sites: A Review

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McGarr, Jeffery Tyler, Mbonimpa, Eric Gentil, McAvoy, Drew Clifton, Soltanian, Mohamad Reza·2023·Soil Systems

Abstract

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are an environmentally persistent group of chemicals that can pose an imminent threat to human health through groundwater and surface water contamination. In this review, we evaluate the subsurface behavior of a variety of PFAS chemicals with a focus on aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) discharge sites. AFFF is the primary PFAS contamination risk at sites such as airports and military bases due to use as a fire extinguisher. Understanding the fate and transport of PFAS in the subsurface environment is a multifaceted issue. This review focuses on the role of adsorbent, adsorbate, and aqueous solution in the fate and transport of PFAS chemicals. Additionally, other hydrogeological, geochemical, ecological factors such as accumulation at air–water interfaces, subsurface heterogeneity, polyfluorinated PFAS degradation pathways, and plant interactions are discussed. This review also examines several case studies at AFFF discharge sites in order to examine if the findings are consistent with the broader PFAS literature. We present the most crucial future research directions and trends regarding PFAS and provide valuable insights into understanding PFAS fate and transport at AFFF discharge sites. We suggest a more comprehensive approach to PFAS research endeavors that accounts for the wide variety of environmental variables that have been shown to impact PFAS fate and transport.

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Crossref · 10.3390/soilsystems7020053

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  • Longer-chain PFASs tend to sorb more strongly to soils, leading to prolonged residence times and potential for slow leaching to groundwater, while shorter-chain PFASs are more mobile and can migrate more readily to water bodies or be taken up by plants.

    “Longer-chain PFASs tend to sorb more strongly to soils, leading to prolonged residence times and potential for slow leaching to groundwater, while shorter-chain PFASs are more mobile and can migrate more readily to water bodies or be taken up by plants [75,169,170].”

    From Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS (2025) · cites this paper as [169]

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Authors
McGarr, J. T., Mbonimpa, E. G., McAvoy, D. C., & Soltanian, M. R.
Affiliations
  • University of Cincinnati (US)
  • U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author
McGarr, Jeffery Tyler
Venue
Soil Systems
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-05-26
Volume
7
Issue
2
Pages
53
ISSN
2571-8789 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4378377192
Cited by
75
References
149
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 2
FWCI
1.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Soil Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT-2021-0073)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Groundwater flow and contamination studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Chemical Analysis and Environmental Impact
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, aqueous film-forming foam, groundwater contamination, fate and transport, fire extinguishers, adsorption, subsurface heterogeneity, air-water interface, PFAS degradation, plant uptake, military installations, airports

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