PFAS in Air: Understanding Emissions, Exposure, and Emerging Research

November 13, 2025

 

Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues

Thursday, November 13, 2025

2:00pm - 3:30pm

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals that have been used in industrial processes and consumer goods for decades. PFAS have been detected in air, soil, water, and food. PFAS bioaccumulate, do not easily break down in the environment, are difficult to destroy, and have been linked to human health issues. Scientists are continuing to advance our understanding of the kinds of PFAS in the air, sources of PFAS air emissions, how PFAS move between air, water, and soil, and differences between indoor and outdoor exposure. 

Please join us on Thursday, November 13 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET to hear from experts about the air sampling they’re conducting, why their research is helping us better understand exposure pathways, how states are responding, and address your questions about this emerging scientific field. 

 

Panelists: 

  • Taryn McKnight, Vice President, PFAS Practice Leader, Eurofins Environment Testing

    Taryn McKnight has nearly 25 years of experience in the environmental testing industry. As one of the company’s subject matter experts on PFAS, Ms. McKnight contributes to multiple organization and agency workgroups to address PFAS challenges, including her effort as co-chair of the NGWA subcommittee to develop PFAS Sampling Guidance and a PFAS Forensics White Paper. With her expertise she provides technical guidance to clients in setting up programs to achieve their site-specific objectives, and to agencies with understanding their analytical options and data usability considerations.

  • Marta Veiner, Associate Professor, Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington

    Dr. Marta Venier is an Associate Professor at Indiana University's Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Indiana University. Her research focuses on the fate, transport, and behavior of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including legacy and emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and flame retardants, in both indoor and outdoor environments. Since 2019, Dr. Venier has directed the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN), a long-term program funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. IADN tracks airborne toxic chemicals across the Great Lakes region to assess spatial and temporal trends, identify pollution sources, and detect emerging threats. In 2004, she was appointed to the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission, where she advises on transboundary water quality issues between the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Venier's work has significantly advanced understanding of environmental contaminants and their impacts on ecosystems and human health.

  • Donald Ward Jr., Research Scientist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

    Dr. Don Ward has worked for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) within its Division of Air Resources (DAR) for the past almost two decades. He is in the Bureau of Air Quality Analysis and Research as part of its Air Toxics Section with the bulk of his work involving the implementation of NYS's Part 212 Air Toxics regulation. Don obtained his Cellular Biology Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate NY and holds a BS in Marine Biology from College of Charleston in SC and an AS in Environmental Studies. 

  • Matthew Ninneman, Research Scientist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

    Dr. Matt Ninneman is a research scientist in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC’s) Air Toxics Section, a position he has held since 2023. With the NYS DEC’s Air Toxics Section, Matt completes chemical reviews for substances emitted by New York State facilities and helps implement NYS’s air toxics regulation. Matt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from North Carolina State University in 2015 and a PhD in Atmospheric Science from the State University of New York at Albany in 2020. Before joining NYS DEC, Matt was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington Bothell from 2020–2023. Matt’s graduate and postdoctoral research investigated ground-level ozone formation chemistry in urban and rural environments.

 

Please direct questions to [email protected]