NC Innovation Grant Project helps UNCC professor bring PFAS filter to public [Video]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A UNCC chemistry professor is working to solve a problem that touches everyone.

For eight years, Jordan Poler, Ph.d has worked to develop new technology to help strip PFAS or forever chemicals and other contaminants from our drinking water with zeolite, a method Poler calls green chemistry.

said Poler.

PFAS or forever chemicals have been linked to health problems – including an increased risk for cancer. They can be found in non-stick cookware that contains Teflon, firefighting foam and some makeup.

“They bioaccumulate in your body until they reach a toxic level,” said Poler. “Then you have health concerns including cancer, fetal early childbirth and things like that.”

A 2023 study found nearly half the country’s tap water was laced with PFAS. In North Carolina, the drinking water for an estimated 2.5 million people is affected.

Poler’s technology could help make those forever chemicals disappear.

Last fall, the chemistry professor received one of eight inaugural grants from …