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Abstract
Treated wastewater effluent containing PFAS can be applied using a land application system (LAS) and may contaminate local lands or surface waters. There is minimal information about the efficacy of buffer zone soils surrounding land application systems to remove or retain PFAS. Therefore, research was conducted in a buffer zone plot study to compare influent and effluent concentrations of six PFAS chemicals (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, PFBS, PFHxS, and 6:2 FTS) after passing through buffer zone plots. To mitigate PFAS concentrations in precipitation induced runoff from a LAS, a second study was conducted to assess percent removal of six PFAS after passing through a bioretention media mix column containing mixtures of Tifton loamy sand soil and pine sawdust. Overall, concentrations of PFAS in the effluent were reduced after passing through buffer zone soils and bioretention media mixes. Results suggest that long-chain PFAS had higher removal rates than short-chain PFAS.