PFAS Test (1633)

Overview

EPA Method 1633 is the multi-laboratory validated method for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, covering roughly 40 compounds including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, GenX, and the fluorotelomer and sulfonamide precursors. This kit applies it to surface water. Each compound is reported individually with its own detection and reporting limit.

PFAS are the contaminant class where the method designation matters most. 1633 is the method state agencies, consultants, and litigators expect to see, which is why a result from it can be used in a conversation that a screening test could not survive.

What problem does this solve for our lake?

PFAS behave unlike every other contaminant in the Toolbox. They do not degrade — that is the entire meaning of the nickname. They do not settle out of the water column the way hydrocarbons do. They are mobile in groundwater, they move through wastewater systems largely intact, and they concentrate in fish tissue by factors of thousands. The sources worth knowing about, because they determine whether this test is worth $799 to you: • Aqueous film-forming foam, used at airports, military installations, refineries, and fire training grounds. This is the single most common source of a serious lake PFAS problem. • Landfill leachate, which carries decades of consumer products • Wastewater treatment effluent, and biosolids applied to agricultural land in the watershed • Industrial discharge, particularly metal plating, textiles, and paper coating • Atmospheric deposition, which produces low-level background almost everywhere For a lake community the exposure route that matters is usually fish consumption and any drinking water intake, not swimming. Dermal uptake from recreational contact is a minor pathway relative to ingestion. On thresholds: the federal drinking water maximum contaminant levels finalized in 2024 set PFOA and PFOS at 4.0 parts per trillion, with separate limits for PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX. Two cautions. Those are drinking water standards applied to treated water, and there is no federal recreational standard for a lake, so the comparison is indicative rather than regulatory. And the federal PFAS rule has been subject to ongoing revision and litigation — confirm the current numbers with your state before quoting them.

What's included?

• A complete PFAS (EPA 1633) kit shipped directly to you
• All materials required for clean, contamination-free sample collection
• Step-by-step collection and preservation instructions
• Prepaid 2-day return shipping to our certified partner laboratory
• Analysis by EPA-approved methods at an accredited partner laboratory, with full chain of custody
• Results loaded automatically into your lake's account

What's not included

• Sample collection. You collect the sample; we supply everything you need to do it correctly.
• Boat, dock, or shoreline access to your sampling site
• Depth-profile sampling. This is a single grab sample unless you order multiple kits.
• Ice or a cooler for shipping, which you supply
• Treatment, remediation, or applicator services
• A written management plan. The Boathouse can help you interpret results and decide next steps.
• Sediment or fish tissue. Method 1633 covers both matrices, but this kit is surface water only. Contact the Boathouse if tissue is what you need — for most lakes with a confirmed source, it is.
• Total organic fluorine or the TOP assay, which capture precursor compounds this panel does not
• Drinking water compliance testing, which is EPA 537.1 on treated water at the tap
• Source identification or fingerprinting to attribute contamination to a responsible party
• Health risk assessment. This reports concentrations.

Requirements

• READ THIS FIRST — PFAS sampling is contaminated more easily than any other test in the Toolbox, and the contaminants are ordinary clothing and personal products. No waterproof or stain-resistant outerwear, no PTFE or Teflon-coated anything, no fast-food wrappers, no sunscreen, cosmetics, or hand lotion on the hands of whoever collects the sample. A ruined $799 sample usually looks like a clean sample.
• A field blank collected alongside the sample if the result may ever be used in a dispute. Contact the Boathouse to add one before you order.
• A sample collected in the container provided, which must not be rinsed
• Same-day shipment after collection, kept cold
• A site chosen for the suspected source — an outfall, a tributary from an airport or landfill, or a drinking water intake
• A Plus, Lake Admin, or PRO subscription to have results loaded into your Lake Pulse account
• Questions about site selection, timing, or which test fits your lake? Contact the Lake Pulse Boathouse before you order.