Skip to main content
PFAS Study → Interactive

Remediation Decision Tool

Adjust site conditions and planning assumptions. Watch the recommended remedy — and its cost — change in real time.

Sorption (Kd) 1.5L/kg

How strongly PFAS sticks to soil. Higher Kd = slower migration but harder cleanup.

0.30.51.02.05.015
Hydraulic Conductivity (K) 95m/d

How fast water flows through the aquifer. Higher K = faster plume migration.

510205095150
Planning Horizon
MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level)

Current EPA standard: 4 ppt. Proposed: 2 ppt.

Years Until PFOS Exceeds MCL at Well Field
--
years
50 yr
--
Screening estimate (Domenico analytical). Our Monte Carlo ensemble shifts arrival significantly earlier at P5 — screening says 96 years, Monte Carlo P5 is 19. That difference reverses the remedy recommendation. See full analysis →
Net Present Value Comparison
Pump & Treat (P&T) --
Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) --
Monitoring Only --
P&T Cleanup Time
P50
--
years
P95
--
years
P&T may not finish within planning horizon
P95 cost: $127M — exceeds typical budget
$100M
Why This Matters

The Hidden Multipliers

At Cape Cod defaults (Kd=1.5, K=95), P&T wins at the 100-year horizon by roughly $22M ($77M vs $99M for PRB). Drag Kd below 0.5 — sandy aquifer, weak sorption — and the gap widens because P&T cleanup is faster. Now try the MCL buttons: drop from 4 ppt to 1 ppt and watch cleanup times nearly double. That regulatory uncertainty dwarfs the geological uncertainty.

This tool uses the Domenico analytical screening model (Model A from the study). It gives you the right intuition about parameter sensitivity, but it assumes a homogeneous aquifer. Our full Monte Carlo analysis shows that when you add heterogeneity and parameter uncertainty, P&T contains the plume in 100% of realizations at $32M flat NPV — while PRB runs $81-99M. The screening intuition pointed the wrong way; the Monte Carlo settled it.

The Fidelity Lesson
This screening tool gets the direction of parameter sensitivity right but misses the decision. The full Monte Carlo confirms P&T is the right remedy — and rejects the conventional “buy more data” reflex (VOI on Kd ≈ $0M). Sometimes the honest answer is to stop spending on uncertainty that doesn’t change the decision.