Ground, Surface, & Wastewater

EPA Method 1633

Method 1633 – (“PFAS”) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS.  Once finalized, this method can be used to test for 40 PFAS compounds (including Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)) in wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soil, biosolids, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue.  

Draft EPA 1633 is intended to eventually eliminate the use of “modified” drinking water methods and non-standard, in-house laboratory standard operating procedures. The list of PFAS in EPA 1633 draft includes all PFAS in existing EPA drinking water methods 533, 537.1, and the screening method 8327. The list of analytes for EPA 1633 can be found here.

For whom is the 1633 method useful?

This method is useful for companies and other entities that must measure for PFAS-related compliance or monitoring obligations in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.  As discussed by EPA in its PFAS FAQs, while many laboratories use EPA Methods 537.1 and 533 to analyze for NPDES purposes, neither method is officially approved by EPA for use outside of the drinking water context.

EPA’s draft method will also be useful for organizations investigating or remediating PFOA, PFOS, or PFBS in groundwater, soil, surface water, biosolids, sediment, landfill leachate, or fish tissue.

‍

Check out our data: Four surface water samples from across Delaware by EPA draft method 1633