Research: PFAS from fire-fighting foams can be immobilized during pavement recycling

New research from the University of Florida (UF) indicates that when pavement materials contaminated by PFAS-containing fire-fighting foams (AFFF) are integrated into new pavement materials, a majority of PFAS chemistries are immobilized, demonstrating a promising opportunity for bound recycling as a management tool for AFFF-impacted pavements.

The research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Organics, concludes that when highly contaminated PFAS-containing pavement aggregates and millings are recycled into new pavements, 95-99 percent of total PFAS are encapsulated, as assessed using two established leaching test protocols.

UF’s research, sponsored under the Airport Asphalt Pavement Technology Program, a cooperative agreement between NAPA and the FAA, will next look at optimizing mix designs to further reduce risk when recycling airfield reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) that contains lower levels of PFAS from fire-fighting foams.