BioLargo Answers Administration's Urgent Call for Mitigation of PFAS Forever Chemicals
Highlights:
- Federal enforcement of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water regulations is imminent
- The water treatment sector is desperate for effective, economical solutions to remove PFAS from drinking water
- BioLargo (OTCQB: BLGO) is rolling out its BioLargo AEC PFAS water treatment technology, which takes a novel and economical approach to removing these chemicals from water
- The BioLargo solution produces far less PFAS-laden waste than traditional carbon-based technologies, leading to cost savings and a dramatically reduced carbon footprint
- BioLargo's PFAS solution will serve a multi-billion-dollar market while also aligning with the new administration's focus on environmental issues such as water contamination
WESTMINSTER, Calif., Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Biden administration has wasted no time enacting new environmental policies since taking office last month. Our company, BioLargo (OTCQB: BLGO), is stepping up with exciting new technologies to take advantage of the opportunities created by President Biden's far-reaching environmental agenda.
One of the new administration's first moves was to announce final regulatory determinations on the safe levels of the widespread and toxic water contaminants called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. This means the Federal Government has decided to create a national standard for what concentration of these chemicals will meet the threshold for regulatory action when found in drinking water supplies, and will now start the process of regulating the chemicals through the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The administration also gave advance notice that they may designate PFAS as federally regulated hazardous substances and/or regulated hazardous waste. These actions set off a long-anticipated race for municipalities around the country to identify and adopt water treatment systems that effectively and affordably remove the hard-to-treat chemicals from drinking water.
PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals found in countless household items like electronics, cleaning supplies, non-stick cookware and more. While many of these items are not known to be dangerous by virtue of containing PFAS, their ubiquitous manufacturing throughout the latter half of the 20th century led to widespread contamination of lakes, rivers, wells and groundwater throughout the U.S. In recent decades, there has been mounting evidence of the damage to human health caused by these chemicals, including cancer and hormone disorders.
Todd Haynes's 2019 film Dark Waters told the story of how lawyer Robert Bilott (played by Mark Ruffalo) pursued DuPont in the late 1990s for contaminating Midwest communities with then-unregulated PFAS chemicals. While the issue of PFAS water contamination was well-documented by scientists at the time of the movie's release, Dark Waters helped thrust the issue into the public eye.
In some areas such as Southern California, municipalities are already actively installing PFAS treatment systems, and as federal regulations go into effect, the adoption of PFAS treatment systems is expected to expand dramatically across the country. Drinking water utilities have struggled to find economical treatment technologies that can efficiently remove PFAS from water without stretching their budgets and generating mountains of toxic waste as a by-product of treatment. In Orange County, 11 water districts have launched a lawsuit against major PFAS polluters, including DuPont and 3M, to seek compensation for mandated well closures and water treatment system retrofitting needed to remove PFAS from their drinking water supplies.
At present, carbon filtration is the most common PFAS removal technology, but it comes with a serious downside – it generates huge volumes of PFAS-laden carbon waste that requires disposal. Usually, municipalities have to foot the bill for the costly transport and disposal of that PFAS-laden waste, which is normally done by incineration. Not only is PFAS carbon incineration costly, but a growing body of evidence suggests that it generates toxic volatile air contaminants (in addition to greenhouse gases) as a result of incomplete combustion of the PFAS chemicals. Disposal of PFAS-laden waste therefore remains a contentious issue (one that regulators are starting to look at) and municipalities would be wise to consider technologies that produce less PFAS-laden waste.
Our company, BioLargo, an environmental technologies innovator (OTCQB: BLGO), has invented and is pilot-testing an innovative technology that removes PFAS chemicals from water faster and more cheaply than carbon filtration. Our technology, called the BioLargo AEC, uses electrolysis to extract PFAS molecules from water and deposit them onto proprietary membranes while using little electricity and no input chemistry. Proven to be more than 99.9% effective in removing PFAS from contaminated water, it produces only a fraction of the PFAS-laden waste that carbon filtration treatment creates, resulting in substantially lower waste disposal costs and better environmental outcomes.
How big is the market to solve this PFAS problem?
Experts have estimated that over the next decade, municipalities in the United States alone will spend billions of dollars a year on PFAS treatment systems. We at BioLargo aim to address this rapidly growing market by targeting municipalities interested in lower operating costs, decreased carbon footprints, increased constituent well-being and diminished regulatory risks associated with PFAS waste disposal.
The BioLargo AEC is rolling out in pilots and commercial trials at municipalities in Southern California and the Midwest over the next year as more public officials and advocacy groups ratchet up the pressure to clean up the country's PFAS contamination mess.
We at BioLargo are focused on creating a positive impact around the world with our innovative clean water, clean air and infection control solutions. Our company presents a scalable business model that targets high-impact CleanTech market opportunities like PFAS treatment while staying true to our mission statement to "make life better."
About BioLargo, Inc.
BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB: BLGO) invents, develops, and commercializes innovative platform technologies to solve challenging environmental problems like PFAS contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and VOC control, air quality control, and infection control. With over 13 years of extensive R&D, BLGO holds a wide array of issued patents, maintains a robust pipeline of products, and provides full-service environmental engineering. Our peer-reviewed scientific approach allows us to invent or acquire novel technologies and develop them to maturity through our operating subsidiaries. With a keen emphasis on collaborations with academic, municipal, and commercial organizations and associations, BLGO has proven itself with over 80 awarded grants and numerous pilot projects. We monetize through direct sales, recurring service contracts, licensing agreements, strategic joint venture formation and/or the sale of the IP. Several of our technologies are commercially available and are advancing as disrupters in their respective markets. See our website at www.BioLargo.com.
Contact Information
Dennis P. Calvert
President and CEO, BioLargo, Inc.
888-400-2863
Safe Harbor Act – caution regarding forward looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about BioLargo's (the "Company") expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; anticipated revenue; and plans for future operations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price; the effect of regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent introductions and transitions of products and services, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's filings with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
SOURCE BioLargo, Inc.
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