Client: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Location: Various Locations, Nebraska
EA conducted a statewide per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) inventory of facilities that potentially used or produced PFAS for the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE). This inventory included facilities that used aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) and facilities in industries that used PFAS, such as fabric and leather treatment, metal plating, food container production, paints and special coating, etc. Facilities were identified by reviewing:
- Standard Industrial Classification codes and North American Industry Classification System codes specific to the types of business activities, industry, and/or manufacturing related to PFAS use and/or production
- Department of Defense data on fire/crash training area sites’ data
- Nebraska State Fire Marshal data to identify municipal and/or rural fire/crash training sites
- The Directory of Nebraska Manufacturers and their Products
Example GIS geodatabase entry from similar statewide PFAS inventory
EA developed and prioritized a geographic information system (GIS) geodatabase of identified facilities based on the estimated probability of PFAS use in each industry. Based on the prioritization, NDEE identified multiple communities from the statewide inventory for site investigations.
As part of the PFAS Inventory, EA was contracted by NDEE to perform 16 site investigations. Each included researching existing private wells within a pre-determined area around potential sources; obtaining site access; and sampling groundwater, soil, surface water, and sediment for PFAS analysis. The private wells were identified based on whether they were located crossgradient and downgradient of the general groundwater flow direction and determined to be currently in use or potentially used for drinking water. Field sampling activities were recorded in logbooks and a photographic log and a detailed report for each site was prepared with summary and analytical results.
Among the sites, 5 investigations were at airports where AFFF was utilized. Each airport was asked to complete a site-specific survey that identified fire training areas and areas where AFFF was stored. A sampling plan was developed that focused on training/storage areas at and downgradient of these facilities. EA utilized direct-push technology to collect soil and groundwater samples as well as surface water and sediment samples in low areas downgradient of the sites. Samples were analyzed for PFAS and volatile organic compounds.
