The Future of PFAS Testing: Regulations, Innovation, and Contamination Mitigation
As regulatory scrutiny around PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) continues to intensify, laboratories face growing challenges in achieving accurate, low-level detection. Analytical methods have become more sensitive and complex, while regulators demand consistent, defensible data to guide environmental and public health policies. This expert-led roundtable explores the historical evolution of PFAS methods—from early protocols to current EPA 1633 and ASTM standards—and their impact on today’s testing environment.
We examine the regulatory trends shaping method adoption, the technical barriers labs must overcome (such as background contamination and instrument sensitivity), and how purpose-designed solutions—PFAS low background consumables—are essential for ensuring data integrity. As PFAS contamination can originate from the very materials used in sample collection and analysis, using certified low-background consumables has become a critical step in achieving reliable results.
The discussion also highlights real-world laboratory solutions, including platforms from SCIEX and others, and explores future innovations in sample preparation—for example, solid phase extraction (SPE)—and MS platform enhancements. Whether you're responsible for PFAS method development, compliance, or lab operations, this session will provide the practical and strategic insights needed to stay ahead in a rapidly shifting regulatory and analytical landscape.
Key Learning Points
- Understand the evolution of PFAS analytical methods.
- Navigate the current regulatory landscape.
- Solve real-world analytical challenges.
Who Should Attend
- Analysts from environmental testing laboratories facing PFAS method validation or implementation.
- Regulatory stakeholders seeking to understand lab capabilities and constraints.
- Chemical analyst and researchers interested in designing sampling and treatment protocols.
- Academics and researchers working on PFAS analysis or environmental toxicology.
Speaker: Sam Lodge (Environmental Senior Business Development Manager, Phenomenex)
Sam Lodge is the Phenomenex Senior Business Development Manager for the Environmental industry. He has been at Phenomenex for over 30 years in various positions, including Key Account Manager and Senior International Sales Manager, and is a product expert in SPE and HPLC chemistries. Over the past 8 years, he has worked extensively with commercial and government labs in the development and support of PFAS analytical methods, including the validation of EPA 533, the MLV for DM 1633, and many internal (MOD) methods. Sam was instrumental in the collaborations that led to the development of several new SPE formats for PFAS, including several different stacked tubes and pass-through GCB cartridges that can help commercial labs to increase productivity and reduce costs. In his spare time, Sam enjoys fishing and surfing (but not at the same time!)
Speaker: Dr. Karl Oetjen (Market Development Manager for Environmental, Industrial, Food & Beverage, SCIEX)
Karl Oetjen is a Market Development Manager for Environmental, Industrial, Food & Beverage at SCIEX and has over 10 years of mass spectrometry experience. Before joining SCIEX, he completed his PhD at Colorado School of Mines (Golden, Colorado) in Hydrologic Science and Engineering. Karl’s dissertation research focused on nontarget characterization of complex surfactant mixtures, including aqueous film-forming foams. This work led to the discovery of several novel per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) that have since been found in a variety of environmental samples and industrial chemicals. Since joining SCIEX, Karl has worked with numerous labs creating and implementing both regulated and unregulated quantitative and qualitative screening methods.
Speaker: Simon Roberts (Staff Scientist, SCIEX)
Simon Roberts is a Staff Scientist at SCIEX and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Colorado School of Mines, where he worked with Dr. Christopher Higgins and Dr. Jennifer Field to identify novel classes of PFAS chemicals in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs). At SCIEX, Simon specializes in method optimization and data reporting, helping labs across the country set up PFAS and other environmental analytical methods.
