In this webinar we were pleased to have as special guest speakers Ryan Thomas, PhD, Associate and Emerging Contaminants Practice Leader and Sophia Dore, PhD, Associate and Director of the Innovative Technology Group at GHD. Their presentation discussed emerging contaminants with a focus on treatability studies for PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane. They were joined by Kristen Thoreson, PhD, Vice President of Quality & Process Improvement at REGENESIS, who discussed the use of colloidal activated carbon in the remediation industry as a low-cost method of eliminating PFAS risk.

This free webinar will:

Emerging Contaminants consist of synthetic or naturally occurring chemicals or microorganisms that are not routinely monitored in the environment but have the potential to impact sensitive receptors such as drinking water sources and other water sources and potentially cause negative human health and/or ecological effects. These contaminants are increasingly being detected in water, soil, landfill leachate, and other media. As a result of emerging contaminants being detected in the environment, evaluations to determine the need for regulation are routinely performed that may impact many water and environmental professionals. Of the numerous potential emerging contaminants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane are consistently being evaluated for stringent regulation at the Federal and State levels.

Treatability studies model processes occurring in the environment or in treatment plants at a small scale. They are particularly well suited to emerging contaminants because procedures and doses for treatment are not well established and the ability to test multiple doses/retention times or other treatment parameters within a short period of time to determine the optimum treatment is an advantage.

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About the Presenters:

Ryan Thomas, PhD
Associate and Emerging Contaminants Practice Leader – Americas, GHD
Dr. Ryan Thomas is an Associate and Leader of Emerging Contaminants Practice for the Americas at GHD. Ryan is a Scientist within the Innovative Technology Group (ITG) at GHD based in Niagara Falls, New York. Within ITG, Ryan is leading research and development studies towards emerging contaminants treatment including PFAS and 1,4-dioxane removal and destruction technologies to support pilot- and full-scale installations. Dr. Thomas serves as a Writing Subgroup Leader for the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) PFAS team and Subcommittee Co-Chair for the National Groundwater Association (NGWA) PFAS Sampling and Analysis team. Ryan supports site characterization, sampling and analysis, and remedial technology evaluations related to Emerging Contaminants for clients in the public and private sector.

Sophia Dore, PhD
Associate and Director of the Innovative Technology Group, GHD
Dr. Sophia Dore is an Associate and leads the GHD Innovative Technology Group. She has 19 years of experience in environmental remediation. She assists project managers by providing technical expertise in the areas of biology, chemistry, and remedial design. Sophia also manages the treatability study laboratory and is responsible for designing, conducting, performing data analysis, and reporting on treatability studies including chemical and biological treatments of contaminated soils and waters. She then assists project managers with the use of the treatability study data in implementing the full-scale treatment. She also performs remedial technology assessments, which includes a review of site data in order to assess remedial options and make recommendations and develop dosing and cost estimates for in-situ treatment. Sophia also performs assessments of existing treatment systems and evaluates the data in order to make recommendations for treatment optimization.

Kristen Thoreson, PhD
Vice President of Quality and Process Improvement, REGENESIS
Dr. Thoreson serves as the Vice President of Quality and Process Improvement, where she manages and evaluates our company-wide quality processes and continuous improvement activities to ensure consistencye and reliability in product quality, performance, and service. Prior to this role, Dr. Thoreson served as the Vice President of Research of Development for REGENESIS and Land Science, where she lead the development and implementation of many numerous products and technologies. Dr. Thoreson is an inventor on several issued patents and is a frequent speaker at scientific industry events. Before joining REGENESIS, she spent time as a postdoctoral associate at Helmholtz Zentrum, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, in Münich, Germany. Dr. Thoreson is trained as a chemist and was instrumental in the development and award of a number of US patents . She earned her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Before joining REGENESIS, she spent time as a postdoctoral associate at Helmholtz Zentrum, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, in Münich, Germany.