Join us for this Free Webinar that will be of interest of every person in your municipality from Mayor & Council, Senior Managers, Engineers and Operations Staff wanting to learn more about the sources of PFAS and the science behind their detection.

Per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 4,700 human-made substances that are used in a wide range of products such as lubricants, cosmetics, surfactants, firefighting foams, non-stick cookware, food packaging materials, repellents (for dirt, water, and grease), and textiles (carpets, furniture, and clothing).  PFAS are also toxic at extremely low levels (i.e. parts per quadrillion), posing significant risks to our health. And if you’re wondering why they’re called “forever chemicals,” it’s because they are nearly indestructible.

This webinar will focus on a number of important topics:

• Sources of PFAS from industry, and how they make their way through all aspects of the environment.
• Health Canada drinking water draft guidelines and the Environment Canada Draft State of PFAS report.
• An overview of PFAS measurement and the various techniques available.
• PFAS reference methods, status and use cases.
• Best practices for sampling of PFAS, hold times, preservation and more.
• What’s new? Looking ahead on measurement.

Host:

Cheryl Beam
OMWA Director, Program Manager, Water Distribution Operations, City of Ottawa
Cheryl graduated from McMaster University with a bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Society and has been on the OMWA Board of Directors since March 2020. Cheryl began her career at Vale on a variety of projects involving industrial water and wastewater treatment, as well as modeling water chemistry as it moved through the tailings area. Cheryl began working for the City of Greater Sudbury in 2009 as the Manager of Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection. In 2019 she began leading a new team focusing on water distribution and wastewater collection asset management programs including improvements to business processes around data collection and analytics for GIS, condition assessment, leak reduction, transients, and inflow and infiltration reduction. In 2023 Cheryl moved to the City of Ottawa where she is currently the Program Manager for Water Distribution Operations.

Speakers:

Brad Halvorson
Senior Chemist & Head of R&S, Testmark Laboratories Ltd
Brad Halvorson has been with Testmark Laboratories for over 15 years, working across all our laboratory sections in the capacity of Senior Chemist and Head of R&D. Brad plays an integral role in the development and implementation of analytical methods, including our PFAS testing program. Brad received his BSc in Chemistry from University of Victoria, and prior to joining Testmark his professional experience includes providing Quality Control verification for pesticide formulations for a chemical manufacturer, as well as several years experience conducting process and analysis verification for several wastewater treatment plants in Victoria, BC.

Bharat Chandromouli, PhD
Product Director, SGS Canada, North America
Bharat Chandramouli, Ph. D is a senior scientist with 20+ years of experience in the occurrence, fate and transport of organic contaminants. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on atmospheric chemistry, PFAS measurement, emerging contaminants occurrence, semivolatiles fate and transport and more. At SGS, Bharat manages the development of new products and services in North America and provides technical leadership on PFAS and other emerging contaminant issues. Bharat completed his Ph. D in environmental science and atmospheric chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.