Managing Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances (PFAS)
June 2021
Disclosures
Safe Harbor
All statements in this communication other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives for future operations, profitability, strategic value creation, coronavirus impacts, risk profile and investment strategies, and any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and the expected financial and operational results of AECOM.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: our business is cyclical and vulnerable to economic downturns and client spending reductions; impacts caused by the coronavirus and the related economic instability and market volatility, including the reaction of governments to the coronavirus, including any prolonged period of travel, commercial or other similar restrictions, the delay in commencement, or temporary or permanent halting of construction, infrastructure or other projects, requirements that we remove our employees or personnel from the field for their protection, and delays or reductions in planned initiatives by our governmental or commercial clients or potential clients; losses under fixed-price contracts; limited control over operations run through our joint venture entities; liability for misconduct by our employees or consultants; failure to comply with laws or regulations applicable to our business; maintaining adequate surety and financial capacity; high leverage and potential inability to service our debt and guarantees; exposure to Brexit; exposure to political and economic risks in different countries; currency exchange rate fluctuations; retaining and recruiting key technical and management personnel; legal claims; inadequate insurance coverage; environmental law compliance and adequate nuclear indemnification; unexpected adjustments and cancellations related to our backlog; partners and third parties who may fail to satisfy their legal obligations; AECOM Capital real estate development projects; managing pension cost; cybersecurity issues, IT outages and data privacy; risks associated with the benefits and costs of the Management Services transaction, including the risk that the expected benefits of the Management Services transaction or any contingent purchase price will not be realized within the expected time frame, in full or at all; the risk that costs of restructuring transactions and other costs incurred in connection with the Management Services transaction will exceed our estimates or otherwise adversely affect our business or operations; as well as other additional risks and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements set forth in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.
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We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm
OUR INHERENT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
- Unrivalled technical expertise and scale
- Established history of delivering on our clients' most complex projects
- Proven agility to perform through periods of uncertainty
- Substantial backlog and visibility
- Highly cash generative business model
SIMPLIFYING OUR STRATEGY TO CAPITALIZE ON OUR STRENGTHS:
- Restructured the business and changed leadership positions to strengthen accountability, collaboration and our focus on clients
- Removed costly bureaucracy that limited our potential
- Investing in growth through our improved margins
- Broadening our focus to advise on strategy and program management to drive efficiency in the future of design
UNPARALLELED TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Environment Firm | Green Design Firm |
Transportation | Commercial Offices |
Design Firm | & Government |
Facilities Design | Offices |
Firm | Bridges |
Mixed-Used | Mass Transit & Rail |
Buildings | Water Supply |
Education Buildings | Hazardous Waste |
Aviation | Wastewater |
Highways | Treatment |
Remediation | Dams & Reservoirs |
Source: 2020 and 2021 ENR Rankings, reflecting global revenue.
Site Assessment
Clean Air Compliance
Desalination Plants
Solar Power
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What are Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)?
PFAS ARE UNIQUELY DIFFICULT TO REMEDIATE: | PFAS ARE "EVERYWHERE": |
•Class of >4,000 synthetic compounds, including PFOS and PFOA
•Carbon chains with fluorine replacing hydrogen
•Carbon-Fluorine one of the strongest chemical bonds
•Many resist thermal, chemical, and biological degradation
•Many act as surfactants
NRDC, PFAS in Drinking Water, 2019
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PFAS in the environment
Persistent, | Significantly | Regulations | Toxicity studies | Compounds | Regulatory | Remediation |
bioaccumulative, | mobile in water | vary, tend to be | are open to | occur widely in | drivers - | estimated at |
and toxic1 | - impacting | very | interpretation - | everyday | Federal Health | $160 billion2 |
substances | many | conservative to | more | applications | Advisories; state | |
stakeholders | address their | compounds | drinking water | |||
persistence and | being studied | limits; fish and | ||||
bioaccumulation | tissue limits | |||||
- Human Toxicity:
- Bioaccumulative in tissue, present in blood serum
- Linked with autoimmune and endocrine disorders
- Concerns with development during fetal development or breastfeeding
- Believed to be human carcinogens: testicular, kidney and liver cancer
- Environmental Business Journal estimates over 40k PFAS sites and $160B in environmental restoration, system upgrade and lifecycle costs
- Estimates from EPA, ITRC, US Canus, US DOT FAA, water and solid waste industry associations, and a consensus of expert respondents
- Environmental Business Journal, Volume 32, 5/6, 2019
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AECOM published this content on 15 June 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 15 June 2021 21:31:05 UTC.