Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking Water: Community Impacts and Interventions to Reduce Human Exposure

A Warren Distinguished Lecture with
Detlef Knappe

Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering 
North Carolina State University

ABSTRACT
The Cape Fear River basin is the largest watershed in North Carolina, and it provides drinking water for about 1.5 million North Carolinians. In this presentation, Knappe highlights advances in analytical methods to characterize sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their effects on surface water quality in the Cape Fear River basin. In addition, Knappe describes how stakeholder engagement has led to source control efforts and engineered interventions that have dramatically reduced human exposure to PFAS in communities that receive drinking water from public water systems that treat surface water. Finally, Knappe presents effects of air emission from a fluorochemical manufacturer on private well communities.

SPEAKER
Detlef Knappe is the S. James Ellen Distinguished Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State University. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he joined the NC State faculty in 1996. He is the Deputy Director of NC State’s Superfund Center “Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS” and is a member of NC State’s Center for Human Health and the Environment. Detlef’s research interests broadly encompass drinking water quality and treatment. He is a member of the North Carolina Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board and serves as Associate Editor for AWWA Water Science.