PFAS Investigations

PFAS Sampling in Porewater, Groundwater & Surface Water

PFAS is one of CMA's core specialties. Using the patented Trident Probe, we've successfully conducted PFAS sampling efforts ranging from ambient background surveys to sites with known, significant contamination. Our field and equipment blanks are reliably PFAS-free — a critical distinction in an analyte class where sampling gear itself is a common contamination source — and our field methods are built specifically for the groundwater-surface water interface, where PFAS fate and transport is hardest to characterize with conventional monitoring wells alone.

Why It's Different

Porewater PFAS Isn't the Same Problem as Well-Water PFAS

PFAS behaves differently at a discharge zone than it does in a static monitoring well. Concentrations can shift across a tidal cycle, dilute unevenly as fresh groundwater mixes with surface water, and vary sharply over short horizontal distances near the point of discharge — patterns a handful of fixed wells can miss entirely.

PFAS sampling also has a contamination problem unlike almost any other analyte class: PFAS is in waterproof gear, some sampling tubing, and countless consumer products, so field protocol matters as much as the lab method. Our field team follows PFAS-specific sampling protocols, and the Trident Probe's small-volume, targeted sampling approach reduces the equipment and exposure pathways that create false positives.

View the Full PFAS Analyte Panel
PFAS porewater sampling with the Trident Probe

Where PFAS Investigations Happen

  • Military bases & airports (AFFF firefighting foam)
  • Chemical & PFAS manufacturing plants
  • Chrome plating & metal finishing shops
  • Landfills & leachate collection systems
  • Textile, paper & carpet mills
  • Wastewater treatment plants & biosolids

Guidance & Programs

  • EPA Method 1633A (40-analyte panel)
  • EPA Methods 537.1 & 533 (drinking water)
  • DoD/DoN PFAS investigation & QSM guidance
  • State PFAS guidance (NY, NJ, and others)

Why CMA

  • Patented Trident Probe — small-volume, targeted porewater sampling
  • Field experience at ambient and known-contamination sites
  • Built for the groundwater-surface water interface specifically
  • Superfund & federal agency monitoring program experience
The Full Panel

PFAS Analytes We Sample For

EPA Method 1633A is the current standard for PFAS in water, soil, sediment, and porewater/tissue matrices — 40 analytes across five chemical classes.

All 40 PFAS analytes (EPA Method 1633A)

Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs)

PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA, PFTrDA, PFTeDA

Perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs)

PFBS, PFPeS, PFHxS, PFHpS, PFOS, PFNS, PFDS, PFDoS

Fluorotelomer sulfonates & carboxylic acids

4:2 FTS, 6:2 FTS, 8:2 FTS, 3:3 FTCA, 5:3 FTCA, 7:3 FTCA

Sulfonamides & related precursors

FOSA, N-MeFOSAA, N-EtFOSAA, N-MeFOSA, N-EtFOSA, N-MeFOSE, N-EtFOSE

Replacement / next-generation PFAS

HFPO-DA (GenX), ADONA, 9Cl-PF3ONS, 11Cl-PF3OUdS, NFDHA, PFMPA, PFMBA, PFEESA

Need PFOA, PFOS, or GenX in a matrix we haven't listed, or a state-specific short list instead of the full 40? Contact us — or see our full analyte index covering PAHs, PCBs, metals, VOCs, and every other panel we sample for.

Scoping a PFAS investigation?

Whether you're mapping an AFFF-impacted discharge zone or need ambient porewater PFAS data for a baseline study, we can help you design a sampling program that gets you defensible data the first time.

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