Event agenda

09.15 Welcome from Environment Analyst

09.20 Opening Remarks from the Chair

Dr Jane Thrasher, Senior Associate Director, Water & Environment and Ground Contamination and Land Quality Global Community of Practice Leader, Jacobs

09.25 Defra Perspective: A Brief Overview of Current PFAS Policy Development 

• Update on the development of the UK Chemicals Strategy
• Outlining the relevance of this for informing future policy and regulatory approaches and a future work programme for PFAS management

Edward Latter, Chemicals Policy Team Leader, Environmental Quality Directorate, DEFRA 

9.45 The Environment Agency PFAS Risk Screening Project

Overview of a project being delivered to the Environment Agency including a GIS based risk screening and source prioritisation tool and associated studies enhancing understanding of PFAS sources in England

Yolande Macklin, Senior Associate Director, Jacobs

10.00 Q&A

10.10 Laboratory Perspective on PFAS Sampling & Analysis

• Practical considerations in PFAS sampling - possible interferences, bias and cross-contamination
• Outlining current analytical methods for PFOS / PFOA: dealing with low EQS levels

Dr Ken Scally, Technical & Quality Director, SUEZ & Chair of the Environmental Industries Commission’s Laboratory Analysis Group

10.30 Environmental Forensics: Is our Standard Analytical Testing Method Telling Us the Whole Story….?

This presentation will give an overview of “non-targeted analysis” and how it may be beneficial to consider going beyond standard analytical methods when undertaking contaminated land assessments and considering human exposure to pollutants. 

David will present two examples of recent research (non-targeted PFAS analysis in UK waters and PCBs of emerging concern) that show the benefits of more inclusive analytical approaches and how the story may have been different if we had stuck to the more traditional targeted analysis.

Dr David Megson, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry and Environmental Forensics and Director of the Ecology and Environmental Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University

10.50 Q&A

11.05 1,4-Dioxane: Developing DNA-Based Tools to Explore the Bioremediation Potential of 1,4-Dioxane Contaminated Sites 

• Introduction to current understanding of bioremediation of 1,4-dioxane
• The monooxygenase family of enzymes and their relevance to bioremediation
• Developing and testing a field-deployable DNA sequencing tool for detecting the diversity of these enzymes in groundwater

Dr Simon Gregory, Geomicrobiologist, British Geological Survey

11.25 Managing the Threat of Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR) in the Water Environment

• Introduction to AMR
• Understanding the presence, sources and pathways of AMR in the water environment and assessing the risk to groundwater and soils
• Practicalities of managing AMR – application of current technologies and techniques

Lucy Bethell, Associate (Contaminated Land Specialist), Mott MacDonald

11.45 Q&A

11.55 European Perspective: Current Approaches to PFAS Investigation and Remediation 

• Outlining current regulatory guidance on the investigation and remediation of PFAS in groundwater across Europe, with a focus on Denmark, where regulation is mature, with reference to recent case examples
• Exploring the current technologies available to remediate PFAS in soil and groundwater, including their maturity, treatment efficiency, and pros and cons

Dorte Harrekilde, Chief Consultant & European PFAS Network Lead, Ramboll

12.15 Q&A

12.20 Closing Remarks from the Chair and Close of Conference

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