Please join Colorado School of Mines Faculty Senate as they welcome Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Christopher Higgins presenting Chasing Forever Chemicals Forever? The Imminent Challenges of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in the Environment on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 in Golden, CO.

Growing concerns about human exposure to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), two members of the broad family of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), have recently led to significant public and regulatory interest. However, society’s path forward is not immediately evident for these chemicals, particularly if they are broadly defined. Even when narrowly defined, significant challenges are evident for developing PFAS treatment technologies, mainly due to both their recalcitrance and their chemical complexity. Finally, the complexity of the routes of human exposure to PFASs ensure that PFASs are likely to be a dominant environmental and public health challenge for years to come. In this overview, these challenges will be discussed in the context of characterizing PFASs in the environment, evaluating human exposures to PFASs, and developing treatment technologies. Further, the need for a broader societal conversation on PFASs will be discussed.

Christopher P. Higgins is an environmental chemist at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Higgins’ received his A.B. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and graduate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. He joined Mines in 2009, attaining the title of University Distinguished Professor in 2022. He was the recipient of the 2019 Huber Prize in Civil Engineering Research awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was the lead Principal Investigator for the 2020 Environmental Restoration Project of the Year for the U.S. DoD’s Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program. His research focuses on the movement of contaminants in the environment. In particular, he studies chemical fate and transport in natural and engineered systems, with a focus on poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Dr. Higgins has authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications. His research has been supported by NSF, NIH, EPA, USDA, and the DoD.