1887

Abstract

Summary

This study presents preliminary results from in-situ borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (bNMR) surveys conducted at a per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)-contaminated site in North Zealand, Denmark, as part of the Capital Region’s project “Risk assessment of PFAS in soil and groundwater.” The site has a history of aqueous film-forming foam use, and PFAS contamination is known to affect both vadose and saturated zones. Two bNMR campaigns were conducted in November 2024 and March 2025 to measure the volumetric water content across different soil types. Water content logs from three closely spaced boreholes showed consistent profiles and revealed reductions in capillarybound and clay-bound water over time. While detection of PFAS with bNMR is challenging, the technique may still capture PFAS-related effects indirectly—such as changes in relaxation behavior due to sorption at air-water interfaces or shifts in moisture retention properties. PFOA concentrations from December 2024 were included for comparison. The results suggest that NMR can serve as a complementary method in PFAS site characterization by capturing dynamic hydrogeological conditions. Integrating NMR, chemical analysis, and climatic data is expected to further clarify PFAS behavior in the subsurface as well as the potential of NMR in PFAS-related studies.

© EAGE Publications BV
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
2025-09-07
2026-02-11

  • From This Site

    /content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Almpanis, A., Slater, L. and Power, C. [2024] Monitoring carbon-based remediation of DNAPL-contaminated groundwater via spectral induced polarization. Journal of Environmental Management, 368, 122111.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Brusseau, M.L. [2023] Determining air-water interfacial areas for the retention and transport of PFAS and other interfacially active solutes in unsaturated porous media. Science of The Total Environment, 884, 163730.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Brusseau, M.L. and Guo, B. [2022] PFAS concentrations in soil versus soil porewater: Mass distributions and the impact of adsorption at air-water interfaces. Chemosphere, 302, 134938.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Crow, H., Paradis, D., Grunewald, E., Liang, X.X. and Russell, H.A. [2021] Hydraulic Conductivity from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Logs in Sediments with Elevated Magnetic Susceptibilities. Groundwater, 60(3), 377392.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Crow, H.L., Enkin, R.J., Percival, J.B. and Russell, H.A. [2020] Downhole nuclear magnetic resonance logging in glaciomarine sediments near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Near Surface Geophysics, 18(6), 591–607.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Falzone, S., Slater, L., Keating, K., Caro, C., Rodriguez, K. and Schaefer, C. [2020] Characterizing PFAS contamination from bench-top assessment of complex resistivity (CR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. 1994–1998.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Kass, M., Irons, T., Minsley, B., Pastick, N., Brown, D. and Wylie, B. [2017] In situ nuclear magnetic resonance response of permafrost and active layer soil in boreal and tundra ecosystems. The Cryosphere Discussions, 1–21.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Lyu, Y., Brusseau, M.L., Chen, W., Yan, N., Fu, X. and Lin, X. [2018] Adsorption of PFOA at the Air-Water Interface during Transport in Unsaturated Porous Media. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(14).
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Mashhadi, S.R., Grombacher, D., Zak, D., Lurke, P.E., Andersen, H.E., Hoffmann, C.C. and Petersen, R.J. [2024] Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance as a promising 3D mapping tool in peatland studies. Geoderma, 443, 116814.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Vang, M.Ø., Grombacher, D., Larsen, J.J. and Wilson, S. [2025] Efficient mapping of complex ground-water systems associated with braided rivers using small coil surface nuclear magnetic resonance. GEOPHYSICS, 90(3), J1–J12.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Walsh, D.O., Grunewald, E.D., Turner, P., Hinnell, A. and Ferre, T.P. [2014] Surface NMR instrumentation and methods for detecting and characterizing water in the vadose zone. Near Surface Geophysics, 12(2), 271–284.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
Loading
In-Situ bNMR Testing for PFAS Contamination: A Promising Approach
Conference Proceedings 2025, 1 (2025); https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202520127
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error