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Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a huge class of Contaminants of Emerging Concern, well-known to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. They have been detected in different environmental matrices, in wildlife and even in humans, with drinking water being considered as the main exposure route. Therefore, the present study focused on the estimation of PFAS in the Metropolitan Area of Turin, where SMAT (Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A.) is in charge of the management of the water cycle and the development of a tool for supporting “smart” water quality monitoring programs to address emerging pollutants’ assessments using multivariate spatial and statistical analysis tools. A new “green” analytical method was developed and validated in order to determine 16 different PFAS in drinking water with a direct injection to the Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) system and without any pretreatment step. The validation of this analytical method resulted in really low Quantification Limits (5 ng L−1), in satisfying recoveries (70%–102%) and in a good linearity (R2 = 0.99) for every compound. Among the results, only 4 compounds and only 6% of the samples showed a pollution level higher than the limits of and Quantification (LOQ). Finally, the correlation study between the assessment findings and the industrial sites which serve as potential sources of pollution in the monitored area was carried out.

With more than 2 million migrant workers finding food processing jobs in rural America, their struggle to find adequate health care remains elusive.

Lower Eastern Shore residents live among tens of millions of chickens being raised for poultry companies like Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods and Mountaire Farms. As they urge state and local lawmakers to curb the growing billion-dollar industry, they face stiff opposition.They've pressed elected officials to study how those chickens — and all that manure — affect the air they breath. Studies suggest the chickens' dust, dander, and ammonia can affect neighbors' health. But as they urged the Maryland General Assembly to fund a local study, the poultry industry pushed back with more studies that show the opposite — that the chicken farms have no negative health impacts. Eventually, the poultry industry trade group, Delmarva Poultry Industry (DPI), joined forces with the Campbell Foundation and the Maryland Department of Environment, which is charged with regulating poultry farms. The group proposed their own air monitoring project to collect data at two locations on the Lower Eastern Shore. That project has yet to begin.Meanwhile, the community fighting for new legislation in Maryland’s General Assembly to create some limits for the state's chicken industry.The WYPR News series The Politics of Poultry on Maryland's Eastern Shore explores what happens when the community rasies questions about their health and the powerful industry behind the massive chicken farms next door.