Nicholas Albergo, P.E.

ASTM Microplastic and PFAS Standards - A Status Update

Nicholas Albergo, P.E., Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of South Florida and Senior Advisor, GHD Services Limited

ASTM Subcommittees are actively working on microplastic and PFAS assessment standards intended to define a tiered, stepwise approach for planning and conducting the assessment of microplastics and PFAS in the environment to produce defensible, comparable, and fit-to-purpose data.  These practices are intended to support environmental investigations, exposure evaluations, and risk-informed decision-making where future regulation is reasonably anticipated and is likely to be driven by human health concerns, recognizing that health-based benchmarks, toxicological understanding, and regulatory criteria remain under active development. Updates of both Standards will be provided. 

Nick Albergo is a Professional Engineer and Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of South Florida and is also Senior Advisor to GHD.  He was formerly the founder and CEO of HSA Engineers & Scientists, a Florida-based engineering consulting firm that successfully grew to more than 400 professionals.  The firm was sold to GHD in 2013.  He has had a distinguished career as an inventor and author of over 185 professional publications.  He has been working within the fields of environmental and water resources engineering for over 40 years.  More specifically, he has developed a multidisciplinary forensics and emerging contaminants (PFAS, endocrine-disrupting compounds, analgesics, antibiotics, hormones, and a range of other pharmaceutical compounds) practice with a worldwide reputation for providing insight, advocacy, and remedies to government, public and private clients.   He has shaped the rules and regulations that are now in common use throughout the United States.  Beyond his domestic efforts as a consultant to industry and to further the profession, he has worked abroad as an advisor to other foreign Governments, private sector corporations, and international lending institutions.  He has also served as a consultant and advisor to various foreign ministries on policy-making issues concerning environmental management and responsible industry practices.