Battelle's Chlorinated Conference: PFAS, AI, and What's Next

Battelle's Chlorinated Conference draws 1,500 environmental professionals from 23 countries, and its division manager explains why PFAS treatment is pushing the industry to its limits.Joe Tarsavage, Division Manager of Environmental Solutions at Battelle, discusses the 30-year history of the Chlorinated Conference, how PFAS contamination has reset treatment standards from two nines to five or six nines of removal, and why that gap is driving rapid innovation across the remediation sector. He also addresses how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape site investigation, data analysis, and client reporting, and why the industry is only scratching the surface of what that technology can do.Tarsavage details Battelle's expanding conference portfolio, including the upcoming Sediments Conference in Austin in January 2027 and the newly rebranded Battelle Bloom Conference in June 2027, which will broaden the traditional bioremediation platform to include critical minerals and land optimization. He also touches on emerging contaminants now appearing on EPA's CCL 6 list, including microplastics and 6PPD-quinone, and what it will take for laboratories and researchers to develop reliable analytical methods for those compounds.The conversation also covers Battelle's student mentoring program, the value of deliberate mentorship in a field where it no longer happens organically, and what Tarsavage is asking conference participants to help shape for future events.#Battelle #PFAS #EnvironmentalConsulting #remediation #technologyCHAPTERS:0:00 Introduction and Joe Tarsavage's Role at Battelle0:58 History and Growth of the Chlorinated Conference2:55 PFAS as the Dominant Industry Topic5:00 Building the Conference Platform and Steering Committee6:05 AI and Digital Technology in Environmental Work8:50 How Reporting Timelines Have Changed Over 30 Years9:45 Poster Sessions, Student Competition, and Mentoring12:45 What Has Changed Most Over the Conference's 30 Years14:45 Vapor Intrusion, PFAS, and Evolving Regulations16:30 PFAS Treatment Challenges and Innovation17:50 Where Battelle and the Conference Are Headed Next19:35 Emerging Contaminants: Microplastics and 6PPD-Quinone21:15 Battelle's Role in Methods Development22:00 Conference Venue Plans and Future Locations23:45 The Value of Networking at Industry Conferences25:30 Closing RemarksReply