Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 23-0886 Dixit

Novel Oxidation Surrogate for Improved Total Oxidizable Precursor (TOP) Assay

Institute: Tennessee
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-08-01 End Date: 2029-07-31
Total Federal Funds: $309,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $309,000

Principal Investigators: Fuhar Dixit

Project Summary: This project will improve detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a class of highly toxic pollutants. More than 50,000 sites across the US are known or suspected to be contaminated, yet standard EPA methods detect only 50 of over 10,000 known PFASs. Many of these unmonitored compounds can transmute to even more harmful perfluoroalkyl acids, which pose severe long-term risks to the environment and public health. This research will upgrade and standardize the Total Oxidizable Precursor assay, which converts PFASs into detectable, measurable end products. The new method will use newly available compounds to enhance reproducibility across varied sample types. This work will result in a novel, validated PFASs detection method, uniform standard operating procedures, publications and presentations to increase awareness, and collaborations to encourage broader adoption by environmental monitoring practitioners. If successful, the project will lead to tools that improve environmental remediation and better protect public health.