Detlef Knappe appears in Sourcing Journal feature about PFAS

CCEE Professor Detlef Knappe was featured in a Sourcing Journal article focused on the negative effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds and why many chemists and academics are saying companies need to wind down their use. 

Knappe, a S. James Ellen Distinguished Professor whose research focuses on source water protection by identifying contaminants through targeted and non-targeted analyses and on the development of treatment approaches for the removal of unregulated contaminants, led the CCEE research team that discovered and traced GenX, a man-made chemical compound, and other PFAS in the Cape Fear River basin in eastern North Carolina.

“The impacts on the lifestyle of this community are dramatic,” Detlef said in the article. “They can no longer drink their water without additional treatment, they no longer feel safe eating food they grow in their garden, they can no longer fish in their lakes. If you must use PFAS, I implore you to use pollution control equipment so that it doesn’t go into the environment.”

Read the full story here.