Purdue's Institute for a Sustainable Future Publishes First Look at PFAS Statewide

West Lafayette- April 8, 2025

Long recognized for excellence in the area of PFAS research, ISF’s strategic research team in PFAS has recently completed the first Indiana Statewide PFAS Assessment. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS, also commonly known as “Forever Chemicals”) are increasingly recognized as a widespread hazard to human and environmental health, including in Indiana.  This collaborative report, written with contributions by PFAS experts from multiple universities, was led by Ty Hoskins, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and part-time Research Scientist for ISF. The report brings together the collective knowledge and research pulled from scientists from numerous state universities, including Purdue, IU-Bloomington and Notre Dame, as well as from state agencies.

It serves as a comprehensive state-of-the science review of what is known about PFAS in general and also provides an analysis relevant to Indiana more specifically. It is written to be useful for audiences ranging from members of the public with no prior PFAS knowledge, to legislators, government employees, and scientists. In addition to describing what PFAS are, where they come from, how they move through the environment, and what is known about potential health impacts, the report also includes recommendations for how consumers, legislative and regulatory agencies, and the PFAS research community could advance our understanding of this widespread class of chemicals and how we might begin to implement strategies to mitigate PFAS exposure and effects.

The report is free for download here.

Complete citation: 

Hoskins, Tyler; Foley, Carolyn; Hoverman, Jason Dr.; Kohli, Amanpreet; Lee, Linda S.; de Almeida Miranda, Daniele; Peaslee, Graham; Sepúlveda, Marisol; Venier, Marta; Xia, Chunjie; Zack, Sarah; Zhou, Zhi; and Dahmen, Lynne, "Indiana Statewide PFAS Assessment" (2025). Institute for a Sustainable Future Documents. Paper 2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284317856 

About ISF: Purdue's Institute for a Sustainable Future, located on the West Lafayette campus in the Discovery Park District, fosters and promotes research, partnerships, and engagement in areas including food-energy-water security, environmental stressors, risk & resilience and sustainability.  The Institute supports the research and development needed to provide viable solutions to grand challenges in these areas by connecting faculty and researchers with one another and by forging linkages between disciplines, and communities within Purdue and beyond.  

Questions? Contact Lynne Dahmen, ldahmen@purdue.edu