Reducing PFAS exposure through in-situ microbial remediation of PFAS impacted matrixes

Bluumbio Inc. received a $188,466 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Superfund Hazardous Substances Basic Research and Education program (CFDA 93.143), effective July 18, 2025, with a completion date of June 30, 2026. The project addresses widespread per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination affecting approximately 20 million acres of agricultural land nationally, with PFAS contaminating soil through biosolid fertilizer applications, contaminated irrigation sources, industrial discharge, and aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) use. The primary deliverable is the development of a product formulation that supports optimal viability of two soil-based microbes identified by Bluumbio that rapidly degrade diverse PFAS compounds, including the six PFAS currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This microbial-mediated bioremediation approach represents a scalable, cost-effective in situ alternative to existing remediation methods such as PFAS stabilization and soil removal, which do not permanently destroy PFAS and create ongoing risks to human health through groundwater contamination and food crop exposure. By developing a commercially viable microbial product for soil environments, Bluumbio aims to provide an environmentally sustainable remediation solution that addresses the limitations of current physical and chemical methods, which face challenges related to high costs, significant energy requirements, and reliance on hazardous chemicals for PFAS extraction and destruction.

Abstract

Ongoing and legacy use of highly persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has led to widespread environmental contamination across the US. Emerging insight into the adverse health impacts of PFAS exposure has resulted in intense scrutiny of PFAS contamination, stringent environmental regulations, and massive liability. PFAS in food and drinking water are major sources of human PFAS exposure. Food products from PFAS-impacted agricultural land can contain PFAS concentrations that are hazardous to human health. Nationally, an estimated 20 million acres of agricultural land are impacted with PFAS, mainly due to applications of PFAS-impacted biosolid fertilizer and the use of irrigation sources contaminated with PFAS. Discharge from industrial activity and the use of firefighting products containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) can also directly contaminate soil. Impacted soils can leach PFAS into drinking water sources, further harming human health. While several physical and/or chemical methods have shown promise for destruction of PFAS in soil, the feasibility of scaling these technologies is uncertain due to high cost, high energy use, and/or the use of hazardous chemicals for PFAS extraction and destruction. Current approaches for remediation of soil include PFAS stabilization and soil removal. Neither of these existing approaches permanently destroy PFAS, creating the potential for further harm to human health. Microbial-mediated bioremediation represents a scalable, cost-effective in situ alternative to current remediation approaches. Bluumbio has identified two soil microbes which rapidly degrade diverse PFAS, including the six PFAS currently regulated by the US environmental protection agency. This project seeks to develop a product formulation which supports optimal viability of both PFAS degrading microbes in soil environments. Our final powdered product formulation will contain dried PFAS-degrading microbes with nutrients necessary for microbial viability and bioactivity and will be mixed with water for applications on soil. We will characterize in situ PFAS degradation resulting from applications of microbial product formulations on PFAS-impacted soil samples in laboratory treatability studies. Following microbial-mediated PFAS degradation, we will characterize fluorinated breakdown products resulting from biodegradation. Our laboratory treatability studies will inform product application guidelines towards future large scale field trials. Our project will produce a scalable, microbial based solution for in situ remediation of PFAS-impacted soils. Bluumbio's novel PFAS bioremediation solution will reduce exposure to PFAS and directly improve human health.