Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and related chemical and physical data at and near surface-water/groundwater boundaries on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-19

March 8, 2022

Groundwater, surface-water, sediment, and associated quality-control samples were collected downgradient from a former fire training area and wastewater infiltration beds on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and analyzed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Samples were collected between July 2016 and February 2019 following U.S. Geological Survey protocols. Field parameters reported include temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen. Samples were analyzed for chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, and dissolved organic carbon. PFAS samples were extracted using offline solid phase extraction and were analyzed for 24 PFAS at Harvard University using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursor concentrations in aqueous samples were estimated from PFAA formation following application of the total oxidizable precursor assay. Methods for sample collection and chemical analysis are described in Savoie and others (2012) and Tokranov and others (2021).

Savoie, J.G., LeBlanc, D.R., Fairchild, G.M., Smith, R.L., Kent, D.B., Barber, L.B., Repert, D.A., Hart, C.P., Keefe, S.H., and Parsons, L.A., 2012, Groundwater-quality data for a treated-wastewater plume near the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Ashumet Valley, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2006-08: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 648, 11 p., 1 CD-ROM, http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/648/.

Tokranov, A.K., LeBlanc, D.R., Pickard, H.M., Ruyle, B.J., Barber, L.B., Hull, R.B., Sunderland, E.M., and Vecitis, C.D., submitted, Surface-water/groundwater boundary effects on seasonal PFAS concentrations and PFAA precursor transformations: Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, submitted to journal and USGS BAO.

Publication Year 2022
Title Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and related chemical and physical data at and near surface-water/groundwater boundaries on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-19
DOI 10.5066/P9HPBFRT
Authors Andrea K Tokranov, Heidi M. Pickard, Denis R LeBlanc, Bridger J. Ruyle, Larry B Barber, Elsie M. Sunderland, Chad D. Vecitis
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Asset Identifier Service (AIS)
USGS Organization New England Water Science Center
Rights This work is marked with CC0 1.0 Universal
Was this page helpful?