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Questions? ✉ pfas2026@newmoa.org

The Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA), in collaboration with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), is excited to announce our third biennial science conference on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This three-day event will take place from April 14-16, 2026, at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The conference aims to:
The program will feature a plenary session, concurrent breakout sessions, poster presentations, and an exhibit area. Networking opportunities will be abundant during scheduled breaks, and a reception will be held on the evening of the first day to encourage collaboration and dialogue.
We expect 600 – 700 attendees, including:
Attendee:
3 Days: $700
Tuesday Only: $400
Wednesday Only: $350
Thursday Only: $350
Presenter/Moderator:
3 Days: $500
Tuesday Only: $300
Wednesday Only: $250
Thursday Only: $250
Attendee:
3 Days: $300
Tuesday Only: $200
Wednesday Only: $150
Thursday Only: $150
Presenter/Moderator:
3 Days: $200
Tuesday Only: $125
Wednesday Only: $75
Thursday Only: $75
Please join us for a light breakfast and refreshments from 8-9 AM (provided).
Denny Schell
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Laurene Allen
Cofounder, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water and the National PFAS Contamination Coalition
Cofounder, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water and the National PFAS Contamination Coalition
Teresa Booeshaghi
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. EPA
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. EPA
Shaina Cohen
NEWMOA
NEWMOA
Julia Varshavsky
Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Northeastern University
Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Northeastern University
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Please join us for a light breakfast and refreshments from 8-8:30 AM (provided).
Denny Schell
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Please join us for a light breakfast and refreshments from 8-8:30 AM (provided).
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Breakout session with three concurrent tracks. See track listings for details.
Aaron Birchfield
Hamilton College
Hamilton College
Alanna O’Neil
Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Yuting Wang
Silent Spring Institute
Silent Spring Institute
John Fay
Program Manager, NEWMOA
Program Manager, NEWMOA
Jennifer Harfmann
NH DES, Water Division
NH DES, Water Division
Dan Rearick
NYS DEC, Bureau of Water Assessment & Management
NYS DEC, Bureau of Water Assessment & Management
Cofounder, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water and the National PFAS Contamination Coalition
Hamilton College
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. EPA
NEWMOA
Program Manager, NEWMOA
NH DES, Water Division
Rutgers University
NYS DEC, Bureau of Water Assessment & Management
Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Northeastern University
Silent Spring Institute
| Day 1 - Tuesday, April 14, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Conference Check-In (No On-Site Registration) | ||
| 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | Light Breakfast and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Welcome Remarks & Opening Plenary Teresa Booeshaghi, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. EPA | ||
| 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM | Networking Break and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | Session 1A How PFAS Interact with the Body Aaron Birchfield, Hamilton College "PFAS recognition by lipid transport proteins" Yuting Wang, Silent Spring Institute "Associations among PFAS, diet, and blood pressure" Alanna O'Neil, Rutgers University "Plasma Chloroperfluoropolyether Carboxylates... in a Small Town in NJ" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 1B Mitigating PFAS Uptake in Crops Jiahui Hu, UC Riverside "Pilot Study on Mitigation of PFAS Bioavailability to Plants Using Biochar" Andrew Carpenter, Northern Tilth "Using Biochar and High Carbon Ash Soil Amendments" Swikar Karki, University of Maine "Reducing PFAS Uptake in Vegetable Crops Using Biochar" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 1C Statewide PFAS Wastewater Assessments Rachel Tenney, Tighe & Bond "Massachusetts Statewide Assessment of PFAS in Wastewater" Jennifer Savoie, USGS "Investigating Occurrence of PFAS in Rivers and WWTPs in MA" Paula Mouser, University of New Hampshire "PFAS Testing at NPDES Permitted POTWs in Vermont" Moderator: Johnsie Lang, Arcadis |
| 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch (Provided) | ||
| 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Session 2A Advancing PFAS Treatment Kushal Biswas, UMASS Lowell "PFAS in Surgical Cancer Specimens of Firefighters" Anila Bello, UMASS Lowell "PFAS in urine samples of construction workers" Katherine Lubina, Rutgers "Associations between serum lipids and PFAS among volunteer firefighters" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 2B PFAS Trends at Legacy Sites Kayleigh Knight, TRS Group "Applying Thermal Conduction Heating for PFAS-Impacted Soil" Baxter Miatke, Arcadis "PFAS Water Treatment and Destruction Technologies" Josephine Adu-Gyamfi, UMaine "Optimizing PFAS Treatment Decisions: Balancing Cost, Energy, Trade-Offs" Moderator: Madeline Bruno, MEDEP | Session 2C PFAS in the Workforce Rajib Hassan Mozumder, Ramboll "Assessing the Timeline of Impacts... at a Chemical Manufacturing Site" Kate Emma Schlosser, NH DES "10 Years of PFAS Assessment at New Hampshire's Contaminated Sites" Andrew Fuller, NH DES "Marking 10 Years of Investigation... Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics" Moderator: Sandra Goodrow, NJ DEP |
| 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM | Networking Break and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM | Session 3A PFAS in Products & Policy Susan Day & Mark Petruzzi, ERG "The ABCs of PFAS in Products... State Solutions" John Fay, NEWMOA "PFAS in Packaging: Policy and Enforcement" Andria Kurbondski, Minnesota PCA "Introduction to PRISM" Moderator: Nick Nigro, Pace Analytical | Session 3B Characterization and Remediation of AFFF Sites Katrina Mattice, Stone Environmental "AFFF-Derived PFAS Contamination... Rutland-Southern VT Airport (Part 1)" Jon Kim, Vermont Geological Survey "Rutland-Southern VT Airport (Part 2): Fractured Rock Aquifer" Paul Ruszala, Barnstable County, MA "Case History - Barnstable Municipal Fire Training Facility (Part 1)" John Paquin, GZA "Barnstable Municipal Fire Training Facility (Part 2)" Moderator: Alana Miller, REGENESIS | Session 3C PFAS Fate and Transport Gulsun Akdemir Evrendilek, UMaine "Spatiotemporal Dynamics... Harpswell Cove, Maine" Nefeli Bompoti, UMASS Dartmouth "PFAS Reactive Transport in New England" Allen Martin, North Carolina DEQ "Advancing PFAS Characterization: Surface Water Foam Partitioning" Moderator: Sandra Goodrow, NJ DEP |
| 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM | Reception - Sponsored by [Sponsor Names] | ||
| Day 2 - Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Conference Check-In (No On-Site Registration) | ||
| 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM | Continental Breakfast (Provided) | ||
| 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM | Session 4A PFAS in Products: Challenges and Safer Solutions Christopher Hudalla, ProVerde Environmental "PFAS Contaminants in Feminine Hygiene Products" Gabriel Salierno, Toxics Use Reduction Institute "Beyond Regrettable Substitutions: Replacing PFAS with Informed Design" Dhimiter Bello, UMass Lowell "Fluorine-Free Firefighting Foams (F3) in the Marketplace" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 4B Emerging Methods Susan Genualdi, FDA Human Foods Program "Development of a rapid method for PFAS in priority food matrices" Jessica Bulova, Sanborn Head & Associates "Application and modification of COREDFN investigation and analysis methods" Tom Simones, Maine CDC "Evaluation of the Cyclopure home test kit for PFAS in drinking water" Moderator: Madeline Bruno, MEDEP | Session 4C PFAS in Residential Water Systems Nathan Stevens, Kleinfelder "DNREC Piedmont PFAS - Initial Results and Lessons Learned" Natalie Johnson, MassDEP "Residential wastewater as a source of PFAS to Massachusetts water supplies" Michael Haggerty, New York State DEC "Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program" Moderator: Jennifer Willemsen, New Jersey DEP |
| 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Networking Break and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Session 5A PFAS Biomonitoring in Communities Emily Pennoyer, Maine CDC "Electronic PFAS blood test reporting in Maine" Ray Holberger, South Carolina DES "Risk in an Uncertain Environment: SCDES PFAS Assessment Risk Communication Strategy" Erica Knight, WSP USA "Is this water safe for irrigating my garden?" Moderator: Dustin Leoypoldt, SCDES | Session 5B PFAS in Wastewater Jennifer Hardmann, New Hampshire DES "PFAS in residential wastewater: Occurrence, transformations, and impacts" Sarah Jakositz, CDM Smith, Inc. "Guided by Data: A Road Map Approach to PFAS Monitoring and Source Identification" Simba Washaya, Axine Water Technologies "From Pilot to Practice: Full-Scale PFAS Destruction Using Foam Fractionation" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 5C Sampling Methodologies Yixian Zhang, US Army Corps of Engineers "PFAS Groundwater Sampling and Analysis at Two Sites" Matt McCormick, U.S. EPA "A Comparative Analysis of Purge and No-Purge Groundwater Sampling Methods" Grant Carey, Porewater Solutions "Methods for Validating Porewater Samples for Remedial Decision-Making" Moderator: Nick Nigro, Pace Analytical Services |
| 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Lunch (Independent) | ||
| 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Session 6A PFAS in Seafood and Game Phoebe Oehmig, Dartmouth College "Claws for Concern? A PFAS and coastal land use analysis for Maine lobsters" Tom Danielson, Maine DEP "PFAS in fish and water after a large AFFF spill in Brunswick, Maine" Matt Dunn, Tetra Tech "Assessing PFAS Contamination in Freshwater Resources... Fish Tissue Survey" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 6B Advancing PFAS Characterization Zoom Nguyen, Weston Solutions "Novel Insights from Multivariate Analysis of Metadata" Jonathan Thorn, Eurofins "PFAS Characterization in Biosolids Using an Expanded EPA 1633A Method" Dan Bryant, Woodard & Curran "Updating PFAS Soil Leaching Criteria: Scientific Advances and Policy Implications" Moderator: Johnsie Lang, Arcadis | Session 6C Atmospheric PFAS Monitoring Jesse Rocha, Alliance Technical Group "PFAS Air Testing for Stationary Sources" Andrew Smith, Maine DEP "Ambient air monitoring for PFAS at a large AFFF spill site" Sandra Goodrow, New Jersey DEP "PFAS in Precipitation and Ambient Air in New Jersey" Moderator: Barbara Morin, NESCAUM |
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Networking Break and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Session 7A Data Foundations for PFAS Standards Courtney Davis, New York State DOH "PFAS Occurrence in New York State Public Water Systems" Abigail Bline, Maine CDC "Estimating food consumption rates for the purpose of setting maximum levels" Chris Evans, Maine DEP "Evaluating for the variability of PFAS from eleven low PFAS level residential drinking water supply wells" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 7B Analytical Developments Johanna Ganglbauer, URI "Interpreting PFAS Analysis Results Through the Lens of EPA Method 1633" Jamie Fox, SGS North America "Beyond 40: Extending Targeted PFAS Measurement Past EPA 1633A" Sarah Choyke, Eurofins "Mastering the Mysteries of Emerging Contaminants using Non-Targeted Analysis" Moderator: Taryn McKnight, Eurofins | Session 7C PFAS in Agriculture and the Food Supply Margot Lee, Waters "PFAS in the Food Chain: Analysis of Eggs, Meats, and Produce using LC-MS/MS" Ellen Mallory, UMaine "Management strategies to reduce PFOS uptake by forages" Barbara Astmann, Maine CDC "An Update to Maine's Soil Screening Levels for the PFOS Soil to Feed to Cow's Milk Exposure Pathway" Moderator: Name, Affiliation |
| Day 3 - Thursday, April 16, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Conference Check-In (No On-Site Registration) | ||
| 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM | Continental Breakfast (Provided) | ||
| 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM | Session 8A PFAS in Freshwater Ecosystems Katherine Neilsen, Hamilton College "Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and oxidative stress in snapping turtles in New York, USA" Tom Danielson, Maine DEP "Bioaccumulation of PFAS in stocked brook trout" Jesse Becker, New York State DEC "PFAS in Commonly Hunted Waterfowl from Great Lakes Waters of NY and PA" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 8B PFAS Exposure Pathways in Food Systems Ethan Sontarp, Harvard University "Understanding PFAS in the Food System: Exposures through Agricultural Contamination" Barbara Morrissey, Washington DOH "Food Safety Evaluation of PFAS in Home-Raised Livestock at Two Contaminated sites in Washington State" Sara Lupton, USDA "Tissue distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in layer hen plasma and tissues..." Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 8C Verifying PFAS Destruction Nancy Collins, Clean Harbors "PFAS Destruction Testing Results - OTM 45, OTM 50, 0010 - Clean Harbors Aragonite UT Permitted Haz Waste Combustor" Dora Chiang, Jacobs "PFAS Destruction Verification Strategies" Nicole Moody, MassDEP "Accounting for Fluorine Mass from PFAS Destruction Technologies: A Regulatory Perspective" Moderator: Wendy Heiger-Bernays, MassDEP |
| 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Networking Break and Refreshments (Provided) | ||
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Session 9A From Tap to Blood Emma Ryan, Silent Spring Institute "Children's serum PFAS levels years after exposure to PFAS-contaminated drinking water" Laurel Schaider, Silent Spring Institute "Evaluation of Historically Reconstructed PFAS Serum Levels in Communities Exposed to PFAS" Greylin Nielsen, MassDEP "Development and Use of a Population PFAS Toxicokinetic Model" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 9B PFAS Behavior in Terrestrial Environments Madhav Kharel, University at Albany SUNY "PFAS Distribution, Fractionation, and Impact on Soil Microbial Communities" Louise Roy, Maine DEP "Screening-Level PFAS Fingerprints Near Septage Land-Application Areas" Maxwell Meadows, USGS "Geological and Hydrological Effects on PFAS Concentrations in Groundwater Near Areas of Historical Land Applications of Biosolids" Moderator: Jen Lichtensteiger, NEIWPCC | Session 9C Innovative PFAS Treatment Approaches Ryan Moore, REGENESIS "A Field Demonstration Study: Activated Carbon-Based Amendment Used to Remediate PFAS" Erika Houtz, ECT2 "Demonstration of a Mobile Prototype for Regenerable Ion Exchange Treatment" Andrew Punsoni, Allonia "PFAS Removal by Foam Fractionation in Varying Water Types" Moderator: Alana Miller, REGENESIS |
| 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Lunch (Independent) | ||
| 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Session 10A Understanding PFAS Occurrence Steph Tatum, Eastern Research Group "Comparison of PFAS in Production to Analytical Methods and Detections" Gwendolyn Wynkoop, New York State DEC "NYSDEC Update on Wastewater PFAS Monitoring" Todd Dresser, Chubb Risk Engineering "Tips for Reducing the Use/Release of PFAS" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 10B PFAS Occurrence in Soil Matrices Christoph Aeppli, Bigelow Laboratory "Fractional Loading and Occurrence of Airborne Transfer of PFAS (FLOAT)" Fábio Iwashita, New York State DEC "A Statistical and Forensic Framework for Assessing Background PFAS Concentrations" Jennifer Willemsen, New Jersey DEP "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in New Jersey Soils: A Statewide Investigation" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 10C Understanding PFAS Inputs to WWTPs Amanda Berger, Arcadis "Forensic Tools for Compliance: Preparing Wastewater Utilities for PFAS Regulations" Katie Henderson, E2METRIX "Demonstrating an Onsite, Closed-loop PFAS Pre-Treatment Solution for Hauled-in Landfill Leachate" Lingke Zeng, Sanborn Head & Associates "PFAS Transport and Mass Balance Between a Wastewater Treatment Plant and a Landfill" Moderator: Jen Lichtensteiger, NEIWPCC |
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Networking Break and Refreshments | ||
| 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Session 11A Tools and Frameworks for PFAS Decision-Making Steph Tatum, Eastern Research Group "EPA's PFAS Analytic Tools: Where and What's Next for PFAS in Water" Caroline Emery, Texas CEQ "PFAS in Texas: TCEQ's Toxicological Approach and Drinking Water Monitoring Updates" Meghan Lynch, Abt Global "Upgrades to a Suite of One-Compartment Pharmacokinetic Models" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 11B Regional PFAS Surface Water Studies Rama Pulicharla, MassDEP "PFAS Concentrations in Surface Water and Biota Across Selected Freshwater and Coastal Systems in Massachusetts" Dan Rearick, New York State DEC "Monitoring Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New York State Lakes and Streams" Hannah Sterling, Bigelow Laboratory "PFAS Distributions in Surface Waters of Maine's Casco Bay Estuary" Moderator: Name, Affiliation | Session 11C PFAS Detection and Control Elizabeth Denly, TRC "Analyses for PFAS in Consumer Products: What Do You Need to Know?" Scott Grieco, Kleinfelder "PFAS media evaluations: Understanding performance... Rapid Small-Scale Column Testing" Ian Ross, CDM Smith "Mitigating the Risks of Incomplete Decontamination Using a Novel Surface Testing Method" Moderator: Taryn McKnight, Eurofins |
| 5:00 PM | Adjourn | ||
Porewater Solutions (PWS) provides industry-leading services for PFAS, modeling, visualization, DNAPL, and litigation forensics. PWS develops PFAS modeling, visualization and e-learning products including Visual PFAS (www.VisualPFAS.com). PWS is currently involved in a number of SERDP and ESTCP projects related to PFAS remediation and training.
Waters is a leader in developing analytical solutions using chromatography and mass spectrometry technologies. Waters workflow solutions integrate sample preparation, consumables, analytical instrumentation and data management software to enable laboratories to identify and quantify diverse chemical compounds to help ensure public safety.
Eurofins brings 25 yrs of unmatched technical expertise, providing high-quality and innovative solutions to PFAS testing. As the only lab reporting >100 PFAS, we deliver the nation's most comprehensive capabilities with unparalleled capacity. Eurofins is your trusted partner for navigating complex PFAS regulations and delivering defensible data.
Weston Solutions, Inc. is a mid-size, 100% employee-owned national environmental and infrastructure services firm serving government, industrial, and commercial clients. Our team is committed to providing ultimate safety and value for our clients and driven to be the most effective, efficient service provider in our target markets.
GeoEngineers Inc. is an employee-owned engineering and earth science consulting firm that cares about the important stuff. GeoEngineers was founded with a passion for building community, caring for people and personal ownership. We offer cutting-edge services in a down-to-earth package that will always put people first.
Pace® Analytical Services is a nationwide network of environmental laboratory analytical facilities with testing expertise in PFAS, Sediment & Tissue, Air, Petroleum, and regulatory compliance and site remediation services for testing of soil, groundwater, surface water, drinking water, wastewater, and air sample media.
REGENESIS is an expert provider of cost-effective in-situ soil and groundwater remediation products. Offering the only patented, proven in-situ PFAS groundwater treatment at the lowest total cost-to-closure. REGENESIS leads the industry in effective groundwater and source treatment to eliminate PFAS compounds and other emerging contaminants.
Aclarity is a pioneer in PFAS destruction featuring electrochemical oxidation technology. Launching from UMass Amherst in 2017, Aclarity has destroyed PFAS in concentrated landfill leachate, groundwater, and industrial effluents. We are applications specialists, project managers, and site operators.
Arcadis is a leading global partner, delivering transformative projects with businesses, cities and industries. With 36,000 people in more than 30 countries, we bring together the best minds from around the world to deliver intelligent products and solutions across the environment, energy, water, buildings, transport and infrastructure sectors.
Alliance is a premier environmental services & solutions company dedicated to helping our clients achieve their environmental goals and mitigate the risks associated with regulatory changes. Alliance specializes in Environmental Compliance, On-site Testing & Monitoring, and Laboratory Testing & Analysis.
CEM Corporation has manufactured analytical instrumentation since 1978, bringing innovative solutions to major corporations and research centers. Their sample preparation solutions, including solvent extraction for PFAS, deliver speed, simplicity, and automation, adapting to changing laboratory needs. CEM’s global network supports labs worldwide.
Founded in 1985, Fluid Management Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and supports analytical instruments used by scientists to perform extraction, cleanup, fractionation and concentration of samples prior to chemical analysis.
MACHEREY-NAGEL provides optimal and reliable solutions for your lab work in sample preparation, method development, and routine analysis. Our chromatography product line ranges include SPE, sample filtration, vials & caps, Flash, TLC, GC, and HPLC/UHPLC. Our HPLC brands include the long established NUCLEOSIL, and the next-gen NUCLEODUR phases.
PFAS Laboratories specializes in testing for PFAS Contamination in all matrixes including soil, water, landfill leachates, sludges, effluents, agricultural samples, plant and animal tissues and products such as plastics, textiles, paper, and food wrapping.
PromoChrom Technologies delivers automated SPE solutions engineered for efficiency, reliability, and PFAS-intensive workflows. Our patented multi-channel valve enables true parallel processing of up to 8 samples without complex solenoid assemblies, offering compact, dependable automation backed by strong service and support.
Stone Environmental, Inc. (Stone) is a small, 100% employee-owned environmental science and engineering firm located in Montpelier, Vermont. Founded in 1992, our mission is to provide tools, information, and analyses to help our clients solve complex environmental challenges with integrity, expertise, and innovation.
U.S. Environmental Rental Corp is a leader in our industry for providing Rentals, Sales, and Service of Environmental Equipment for monitoring the air water and soil along with providing safety supplies and consumables. Our tag line is “The Best Rental Experience Possible.”
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