The scale of America's PFAS problem is staggering. The EPA has identified approximately 120,000 U.S. facilities that may have handled or released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and PFAS contamination likely affects more than 57,000 locations across all 50 states. As many as 95 million people may rely on groundwater containing detectable PFAS concentrations for their drinking water, and a recent analysis found PFAS in 98% of sampled U.S. waterways across 19 states. These are not projections — they are today's reality, representing a growing liability for any organization with legacy assets near historical sources of PFAS release.

The central problem has never been awareness. It has been measurement. Lab sampling can confirm PFAS is present at a specific coordinate. It cannot tell you how far the contamination has traveled, what shape the plume has taken, or where the leading edge of those forever chemicals is heading next. That gap between point-in-time sample data and true spatial understanding of contamination extent is exactly where Satelytics is advancing the science.

From Algorithm to Field

Satelytics developed its first PFAS identification algorithm in 2020. Two early partners with contaminated sites in Michigan engaged Satelytics to apply these algorithms alongside active field sampling programs, testing whether spectral analytics could corroborate their developing theories on the fate and transport of these persistent chemicals. Fate and transport of PFAS are notoriously complex. Unlike petroleum hydrocarbons, different PFAS compounds migrate at different rates, with shorter-chain species typically appearing at the leading edge of a groundwater plume. Understanding that spatial differentiation requires more than a grid of sample wells: it requires a view of the entire landscape.

Satelytics' spectral platform provides exactly that. By identifying unique spectral fingerprints for multiple PFAS compounds (detectable across multispectral and hyperspectral imagery gathered from satellites and ground-based spectrometers), Satelytics correlates those signatures to ground samples verified by independent laboratory analysis. The result is not merely detection but quantification across both soil and water environments.

The Australia Campaign: True Plume Extent

Satelytics is now preparing a third ground-truthing campaign in Australia with another committed early adopter. The campaign will combine extensive lab sampling with broad deployment of a backpack spectrometer across wide-area terrain, calibrating spectral signatures from both ground-level and overhead satellite sensors against lab-verified ground truth.

The most significant outcome of this campaign, however, may be what no lab program can accomplish alone: the true extent and shape of the contamination plume. Satelytics' satellite platform processes every pixel across the area of interest, revealing plume boundaries, migration direction, and concentration variation across land and water. That spatial intelligence transforms reactive remediation into proactive management, and it is something discrete sampling grids cannot economically provide.

The Stakes Are Enormous

The regulatory and financial pressure on organizations with PFAS exposure has never been greater. In 2024, the EPA finalized Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion and designated both as hazardous substances under CERCLA (Superfund). Superfund designation carries retroactive, strict, and potentially joint-and-several liability, meaning that a company can bear full cleanup responsibility even as a partial contributor. Annualized private-sector cleanup costs at Superfund sites alone are estimated between $700 million and $800 million. Removing PFAS from water and biosolids in just one state, Minnesota, could cost between $14 billion and $28 billion over 20 years. National projections from some liability analysts exceed $400 billion.

The ability to precisely characterize what contamination exists near your assets and what it has not yet reached is not a scientific curiosity. It is a risk management imperative. Knowing the exact plume boundary and migration path could mean the difference between targeted remediation and catastrophic, open-ended liability.

Many Solutions From One Set of Data

What makes Satelytics' PFAS capability uniquely compelling is its platform context. The same multispectral and hyperspectral data powering PFAS measurements are already being used to detect crude oil pipeline leaks, produced water releases, changes in water quality, soil chemistry, and methane emissions, across more than 40 commercially deployed algorithms. For energy operators, utilities, and industrial organizations already working with Satelytics, PFAS measurement is not a new investment in new infrastructure. It is an extension of an analytical engine already deployed on their assets.

Every one of those 40+ algorithms followed the same development path: a committed early adopter willing to share ground-truth data that calibrates and refines the algorithm in real-world conditions. The Michigan partners advanced PFAS measurement from concept to demonstrated capability. The Australian partner will extend accuracy further and gain something rare in return: a spatially complete picture of their contamination problem.

Organizations with known or suspected PFAS exposure face a clear choice. Continue characterizing contamination through point-by-point sampling that can never reveal the full extent of a plume, or engage with a platform actively advancing satellite-based PFAS measurement toward commercial deployment. The regulatory clock is running. PFAS are not degrading. The technology to see what lab sampling alone cannot is advancing now.