Sierra Leads Team Working to Make Drinking Water Safer

A $1.2 million grant from U.S. Department of Defense will allow a team of researchers – led by CHEE professor Reyes Sierra – to advance groundwater purification methods.

For decades, manmade chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, were used in everything from carpets to frying pans to firefighting chemicals for their ability to repel water and oil, until a wide array of negative health effects were linked to exposure to some kinds of PFAS.

"Not only are the chemicals everywhere, and bad, but the advisory level established by the EPA is so extremely low that it makes it even more challenging to treat them," said Sierra, who is affiliated with the UA's Institute of the Environment. "The University of Arizona is doing something about it."

Learn more about the project in the Arizona Daily Star.