Practices to Identify and Mitigate PFAS Impacts on Highway Construction Projects and Maintenance Operations (2024)

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N AT I O N A L C O O P E R AT I V E H I G H W AY R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP SYNTHESIS 630 Practices to Identify and Mitigate PFAS Impacts on Highway Construction Projects and Maintenance Operations A Synthesis of Highway Practice Joseph A. Charbonnet Roy E. Sturgill, Jr. Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Iowa State University Ames, IA Subscriber Categories Construction • Environment • Maintenance and Preservation Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration 2024 

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY NCHRP SYNTHESIS 630 RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most Project 20-05, Topic 54-01 effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of ISSN 0547-5570 transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway ISBN 978-0-309-70976-7 problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by Library of Congress Control Number 2024937259 state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities © 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transporta- Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trade- tion results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to high- marks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. way authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- COPYRIGHT INFORMATION tiated an objective national highway research program using modern Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by published or copyrighted material used herein. funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. 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TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- NOTICE mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the directly to those in a position to use them. FHWA; or the program sponsors. The program is developed on the basis of research needs iden- The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or spec- tified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and ifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year procedures, or specifications. R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and tors and the National Academies. 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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org. 

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP SYNTHESIS 630 Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Jo Allen Gause, Senior Program Officer Emi Carbray, Program Coordinator Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications NCHRP PROJECT 20-05 PANEL Joyce N. Taylor, Maine Department of Transportation, Augusta, ME (Chair) Anita K. Bush, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson City, NV Joseph D. Crabtree, Kentucky Transportation Center (retired), Lexington, KY Mostafa Jamshidi, Nebraska Department of Transportation, Lincoln, NE Jessie X. Jones, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Little Rock, AR Raymond J. Khoury, Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, VA Brenda Moore, North Carolina Department of Transportation (retired), Cary, NC Jesus Alberto Sandoval-Gil, Arizona Department of Transportation, Phoenix, AZ Cynthia J. Smith, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Jackson, MS Jack D. Jernigan, FHWA Liaison Jim T. McDonnell, AASHTO Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison TOPIC 54-01 PANEL Stephanie Carbone Bolyard, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Raleigh, NC Bhaskar Joshi, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA Harrison Roakes, Sanborn Head & Associates, Concord, NH Shawn D. Schmelzer, Maryland State Highway Administration, Hanover, MD David L. Wilson, Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, VA Harold Zweng, Michigan Department of Transportation, Lansing, MI Susan Cheung Jones, FHWA Liaison Christine L. Gerencher, TRB Liaison 

ABOUT THE NCHRP SYNTHESIS PROGRAM Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This infor- mation may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem. There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day- to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evalu­ating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway community, the American Association of State High- way and Transportation Officials—through the mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program—authorized the Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Project 20-05, “Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices,” searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series, Synthesis of Highway Practice. This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems. FOREWORD By Jo Allen Gause Staff Officer Transportation Research Board Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of contaminants of emerging concern that can harm both ecosystems and human health. These anthropogenic compounds contain carbon-fluorine bonds, which make them stable and persistent in the environment, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” PFAS regularly migrate from sources of contamination, including fire training areas at military sites and airports, PFAS manufacturing sites, land-applied wastewater biosolids, and landfills. PFAS can be found at low levels in soils and water far from any likely source. There are currently no binding federal regulations for PFAS. However, the EPA has begun the pro- cess of designating several PFAS as hazardous substances. This designation would likely restrict the ways in which state departments of transportation (DOTs) handle and dispose of impacted materials. The objective of this synthesis was to document current state DOT practices for identifying locations of potential PFAS contamination and for mitigating the impacts of PFAS related to highway construc- tion and maintenance operations. Information for this study was gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs. Case examples of eight state DOTs provide additional infor- mation on identifying and mitigating PFAS impacts on highway construction projects and maintenance operations. Joseph A. Charbonnet and Roy E. Sturgill, Jr., of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environ- mental Engineering at Iowa State University, collected and synthesized the information and wrote the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on page iv. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand. 



CONTENTS 1 Summary 3 Chapter 1 Introduction 4 Synthesis Objective 5 Study Approach 7 Chapter 2  Literature Review 7 Overview of PFAS 8 Typical Sites of PFAS Contamination 9 Federal Regulations 10 State Regulations 11 Testing Procedures 11 Action Plans 12 Literature Review Summary 13 Chapter 3  State of the Practice 13 PFAS Policy, Guidance, and Action Plans 18 PFAS Remediation and Mitigation 20 PFAS Screening and Testing 21 Inventorying and Monitoring PFAS Substances 23 Summary 25 Chapter 4  Case Examples 25 Colorado DOT 28 Illinois DOT 29 Maine DOT 31 Michigan DOT 32 Minnesota DOT 34 New Hampshire DOT 36 Pennsylvania DOT 38 Tennessee DOT 40 Chapter 5  Summary of Findings 40 PFAS Impacts and Challenges 41 PFAS Contamination Identification and Mitigation 42 Sampling, Testing, and Screening Approaches 42 Knowledge Gaps and Further Suggested Study 43 References 46 Appendix A  Survey Questionnaire 68 Appendix B  State DOT Survey Questionnaire Responses 88 Appendix C  Case Example Interview Topics