Sampling & Analysis to Address Per- & Polyfluoroalkyl Contaminants at NM Dairies

1. Principle Investigators (PIs): Kenneth C. Carroll (Plant & Environmental Sciences; kccarr@nmsu.edu); Shanna Ivey (Animal Science Faculty & Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources; sivey@ad.nmsu.edu); Robert Hagevoort (Clovis AES-Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources; dairydoc@nmsu.edu); Jacqueline Jarvis (Plant & Environmental Sciences; jmjarvis@nmsu.edu); Rajan Ghimire (Clovis AES-Plant & Environmental Sciences; rghimire@nmsu.edu)

2. Research Project Summary: Per/polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFASs) contaminants have been discovered in groundwater at many Air Force installations across the U.S. including Cannon AFB, Clovis NM. This contamination is likely associated with the long-term use of fire-fighting flame retardant foams. City water wells seem not directly impacted. Agriculture adjacent to the contamination site has been impacted and one local dairy has not been able to ship products due to presence of contaminants in well water. Little is known about the specific behavior of these contaminants. We propose to develop and validate chemical analysis methods to quantify PFAS compound mixtures present in well water, forage crops and other products to be able assess contamination.