Managing Aqueous Film-Forming Foam-Derived Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances at Department of Defense Sites.

Recognition of the widespread environmental occurrence of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a result of the use of aqueous film‐forming foam (AFFF), and the corresponding extensive response of government and other sectors, have resulted in a flurry of research activity. This series of articles describes research projects initiated by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) in an effort to promote additional collaborations and knowledge sharing. In the first article, Leeson et al. (2020) provide a brief summary of the overarching issues specifically as they pertain to the US Department of Defense's response efforts related to the historic use of AFFF and a general overview of all SERDP and ESTCP investments in PFAS research to date. The 2 subsequent papers summarize in more technical detail the issues and funded projects associated with the fate and transport of PFAS at AFFF‐impacted sites (Anderson et al. 2020) and with environmental remediation (Coyle et al. 2020). Collectively, we hope that these articles will provide the reader with a sense of the Department of Defense's commitment to addressing the environmental liabilities associated with historic AFFF use through the application of rigorous scientific investment to foster effective and efficient remedial technologies and state of the art characterization techniques.