Researchers and faculty at Stony Brook University gathered on October 31 to discuss strategies for addressing PFAS, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants in Long Island’s environment. The workshop brought together dozens of participants from various academic disciplines to share knowledge and develop collaborative research proposals.
Luis Medina Faull, assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and event organizer, said, “The objective of the workshop was to connect people here at Stony Brook. We have resources here, but sometimes making a connection is more than that. The idea of this was to be there, connect with people, hear about what other people are doing and potentially, from those connections, we write some proposals and have some projects and do some research.”
The event was organized with support from Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth (C4E) and funded by the Office of Research and Innovation.
Thirteen presenters participated in the day-long workshop. Keynote speakers included Ching-Hua Huang from Georgia Institute of Technology and Mohamed Ateia from Rice University. They discussed their ongoing research on chemicals known as emerging contaminants—substances that can enter waterways or human bodies through products like pharmaceuticals or crop treatments.
PFAS chemicals represent a significant group among these contaminants. There are over 14,000 types used in products such as firefighting foam, non-stick cookware coatings, and paint. These substances break down slowly in the environment, polluting water sources as well as dust and air. Researchers at Stony Brook are studying how PFAS spread through wastewater treatment plants or healthcare settings—and how they might be removed or treated.
Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tests for 40 types of PFAS under federal drinking water standards. Some regulations may change soon as new information becomes available.
Huang studies how certain wastewater treatments can increase PFAS levels: “This is not great news because we want to encourage wastewater reuse because that is necessary for the future,” Huang said. “We need to come up with strategies in terms of how we can operate this treatment better in a way to minimize this reaction from happening, or we have to have a way to remediate PFAS afterwards.”
State Assembly members Tommy John Schiavoni (Southampton) and Rebecca Kassay (Stony Brook) also spoke at the event about local implications for clean water access on Long Island—a region dependent on its sole-source aquifer.
“Our regional environment is defined by water,” Schiavoni said, noting PFAS and microplastics “threaten the health of our communities and ecosystem.”
“Especially here on Long Island, we get it,” Kassay added. “We get the importance of clean water because we know it is a finite source.” She noted progress both in research efforts at institutions like Stony Brook University as well as recent state laws addressing PFAS contamination: “We are, by all means, at the forefront of PFAS-related legislation,” she said.
Schiavoni sponsors Assembly Bill A6095—which would provide tax credits for New York State residents who test their well or septic system water for pollutants—as part of ongoing legislative efforts targeting sources of contamination.
Across campus departments at Stony Brook University researchers continue work aimed at protecting Long Island’s drinking water supply:
“What we know is big pieces of plastic make small pieces of plastic,” Faull explained regarding microplastic pollution prevention efforts such as beach cleanups: “So I think if you can take part in a clean beach effort then you’re taking big pieces from the ocean…that’s going to prevent all these millions of microplastics from going into the ocean.”
— Hadar Pepperstone