TalkingPFAS Ep 39 (PFAS in Australia) Gavin Scherer & Rachael Casson from AECOM PFAS De-Fluoro - At Clean Up Conference 2022, Adelaide, South Australia
Welcome back to Talking PFAS Podcast, and if you are joining us for the first time a very special welcome. I am a journalist and your host Kayleen Bell. Today’s episode was also recorded in September in Adelaide, South Australia at the International Clean-Up Conference.
My guests today are Gavin Scherer and Rachael Casson from AECOM and first up I will be speaking with Gavin Scherer. Following my chat with Gavin I will be speaking with Rachael Casson, and you will hear her introduction before my discussion with Rachael.
Gavin has over 23 of consulting experience in environmental and contaminated land assessment and remediation. The past 15 years has been in the service of AECOM. During his time in AECOM Gavin has led teams in both Australia and New Zealand including Australia’s largest geosciences and remediation services team, the Australian Department of Defence client account as well as Australia and New Zealand’s PFAS response teams. Currently Gavin leads AECOM’s global PFAS commercialisation strategy, which includes focusing AECOM’s global team to develop, trial and bring to market a world-first onsite cost effective PFAS destruction solution known as De-Fluoro and Gavin is going to explain what De-Fluoro is in today’s episode.
Rachael serves as a Director of AECOM’s International PFAS Program focusing on innovation and technical excellence. She has over 22 years of consulting experience in contamination, assessment and management. In 2008, Rachael recognised the emerging concern over PFAS with aviation and Defence clients positioning the AECOM team at the leading edge of the PFAS science. She has worked on over 100+ PFAS related projects across the globe. Rachael is part of the De-Fluoro Technical Development Team an electrochemical process that destroys PFAS in solution. Her other research programs include plant PFAS uptake study and evaluation of the transformation of PFAS precursors into perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) downgradient of known source zones.
AECOM’s De-Fluoro technology won the CRC Care Innovation Award at the 2022 International Clean-Up Conference in Adelaide. The CRC Innovation Award recognises researchers and environmental consultants who develop innovative ways to monitor, assess and remediate environmental contamination. The Award aims to inspire industry, businesses, communities, local government, schools and individuals to take action toward a more sustainable future. AECOM’s De-Fluoro technology is one of the first commercially available economical and environmentally sustainable on-site destruction treatment for high concentration PFAS waste. AECOM’s Global Initiative Leader, Gavin Scherer said the technology uses electrochemical oxidation to break the carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS which causes the molecules to break down.
An estimated $2-$4 billion dollars worth of work is required to treat PFAS over the next decade.
Link to Details about AECOM Award at 2022 International Clean-Up Conference presented by CRC Care
AECOM Website
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