Dr. Ping Wang, Ph.D.

PFAS in Wastewater and A New Way of Evaluating Environmental Data

Dr. Ping Wang, Ph.D., Hydrologist V, State of Delaware, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control - Division of Water

Fourteen wastewater treatment and disposal facilities throughout the State of Delaware were selected for this PFAS in Wastewater study.  Sources of wastewater are classified as residential, municipal, and industrial.  A total of 56 influent and 56 effluent samples from selected wastewater treatment plants, 39 soil samples from surface discharge sites, 92 groundwater samples from monitoring wells installed within the surface discharge sites, and 20 surface water samples from nearby water bodies were collected and analyzed for 40 PFAS compounds.  Preliminary laboratory analytical results will be presented and possible impacts from the discharges will be discussed.  Fingerprints of PFAS in different wastewater sources will also be shown. Established PFAS criteria, such as US EPA maximum contamination levels (MCLs) for drinking water, and Delaware’s Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) screening levels for soil and water, were used to access levels of contamination for applicable matrixes.  Power BI, a relatively new application developed by Microsoft, was used for data evaluation and visualization.  Interactive charts with multiple filters (such as by facility, by sample matrix, or by wastewater category) were utilized for data analyses.  A live demonstration will be given at the presentation.

Dr. Wang  earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Geology from Jilin University, China.  He then came to the US and obtained his Ph.D. in Geology from Virginia Tech.    Ping first worked as an Exploration Geologist for Shell Oil in Houston, TX, and then a Senior Geologist at AATA Internal Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Colorado.  He moved to Delaware and joined the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in 2018; and currently works as a hydrogeologist in Division of Water.  Ping is the Division lead of PFAS in Wastewater studies.  In his spare time, Ping plays hockey, and enjoys hiking, reading and traveling.