On February 13, 2020, Senator Winnie Brinks of the Michigan Senate and Representative Rachel Hood visited the Fraunhofer USA Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies on the campus of Michigan State University. 

The visit began with a brief overview of the Center and the research addressing the Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are contaminating water sources throughout the United States. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects. Research at CCD is advancing technologies to destroy these chemicals in both drinking and waste water. The legislators were also given a tour to see the technologies first hand and to meet the team of researchers leading the effort. 

For more information regarding PFAS research please contact ccd-info@fraunhofer.org.