… The need to find tools to address PFAS contamination in the United States was made more urgent last spring when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  announced new limits on two types of common PFAS in drinking water. Utilities required to meet these new standards are left to mostly rely on technologies that can remove PFAS from drinking water, but don’t actually destroy the compounds. But researchers say hope is on the horizon. Emerging evidence suggests that microbes, small organisms invisible to the naked eye found in soil, air, water and even the human body, may be able to assist in breaking down PFAS. Recent research shows that certain bacteria can break apart the strong carbon and fluorine bonds in PFAS compounds. This progress occurs as Fixed Earth Innovations moves forward with its own microbe-based solution that relies on organisms that already exist on or near specific contaminated sites.