About

Elsie Sunderland is the Fred Kavli Professor of Environmental Chemistry and a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Her research focuses on characterizing the relationship between anthropogenic releases of contaminants, changes in ambient environmental concentrations at various scales, and human exposure. She is involved in the Environmental Science and Public Policy Concentration at Harvard, contributing to academic and research activities related to environmental chemistry and public policy.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental science
• Organic chemistry
• Meteorology
• Atmospheric sciences
• Environmental protection
• Inorganic chemistry
• Biology
• Engineering
• Photochemistry
• Environmental resource management

Selected publications

• A Liquid–Liquid Extraction Method for Measuring Ultrashort PFCAs and Longer-Chain PFAS in Water

  Analytical Chemistry · 2026-05-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Natural waters can contain diverse per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with contrasting chemistries, presenting challenges for using a single extraction for analysis. Prior work has reported large increases in environmental concentrations of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a highly polar ultrashort-chain perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA). However, standard solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods often have poor recoveries for ultrashort-chain PFAS. Here we present a novel two-stage liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) that facilitates analysis of long-chain PFAS and ultrashort PFCAs such as TFA in a single analytic workflow. The method leverages acidic extraction into methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) followed by basified back-transfer (pH-programmed partitioning) and evaporative transfer of MTBE-retained PFAS to the aqueous residue. Recoveries are facilitated by pH-programmed partitioning for ultrashort PFCAs and evaporative transfer for longer-chain targets. Ultrashort perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids have low pKa, which restricts their extraction using the LLE method and some neutral precursors experience matrix-induced ionization suppression. Overall, absolute recoveries for 53/61 targeted PFAS analyzed fell within ±30% and concentration recoveries were within ±13% for all analytes with matched extracted internal standard (EIS). Method detection limits (MDLs) were 6.67 ng L–1 for TFA, approximately an order of magnitude lower than concentrations reported in most natural waters, and 0.03–0.22 ng L–1 for the six federally regulated PFAS in the United States. Overall, the LLE method enables sensitive, reproducible quantification for ultrashort PFCAs and diverse longer-chain PFAS.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Arctic permafrost soil mercury-carbon synthesis dataset, 2004  – 2025

  Bolin Centre Database · 2026-04-24

  datasetOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Characteristics of ‘early adopters’ of water treatment capacity needed to remove PFAS and other emerging contaminants in the United States

  Environmental Science Processes & Impacts · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  system sizes, and source water types. The proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Native residents was also inversely associated with adoption of the treatment technologies for certain groups of CWS. These results suggest managerial and financial barriers to removal of high levels of emerging contaminants in drinking water may be most pronounced for some small CWS and those serving selected historically marginalized communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author response for "Characteristics of ‘Early Adopters' of Water Treatment Capacity Needed to Remove PFAS and other Emerging Contaminants in the United States"

  2026-01-22

  peer-reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Water Quality after the 2025 Los Angeles Fires: Number of VOCs as a Robust Fire Indicator and Effective Remediation through Multiple System Flushes

  ACS ES&T Water · 2026-04-13

  article

  The 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles caused widespread destruction and public health concerns across diverse environmental matrices, including hazardous levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water. We investigated postfire drinking water quality at point-of-use in 52 standing homes to evaluate exposure to fire contaminants and the efficacy of district-led remediation efforts. Benzene, a common postfire VOC of concern, was detected in 17% of all samples, with one maximum contaminant level (MCL) exceedance (1.62 ppb). 26 VOCs (out of 52 VOCs tested) were detected at least once. Unregulated VOCs were detected 14% more frequently than expected from a Gaussian distribution and comprised the majority of VOC detections (53%). We found that the number of VOCs detected per sample was a more robust indicator of fire impacts than benzene alone, with the highest numbers of VOCs in zones adjacent but outside of the burned areas. District-led flushing and testing decreased VOC levels below detection, with hydrophobic compounds persisting longer than hydrophilic compounds. Future fire response may benefit from an assessment of exposure limits for currently unregulated fire-related VOCs and from review of emergency response protocols in zones of impacted systems that are outside of burned areas.

  PublisherDOI

• Presence of Legacy and Emerging PFAS in Human Liver Specimens Banked in the United States from 2000 to 2024

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2026-04-07

  articleOpen access

  Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent, bioaccumulative chemicals linked to liver toxicity and metabolic disease. 54 PFAS were measured in 211 adult human livers collected between 2000 and 2024 to reveal temporal trends, relative PFAS abundance, and demographic predictors of hepatic burden. PFAS were detected in 210 individuals, with 15 compounds found in ≥30 livers. Total summed PFAS concentrations decreased by 94% over the 24-year period in weighted linear regression, and by 68% after adjusting for age, sex, and liver health in multivariate models. Since 2019, a ∼950-fold variability in concentration was observed, and the PFAS profile in the liver shifted from sulfonates and carboxylates to proportionally more sulfonamides and fluorotelomers. Sampling year was the strongest predictor of hepatic PFAS concentration in multivariate models. Age was positively associated with several long-chain PFAS, which is consistent with years-long elimination half-lives. Males had higher perfluoroundecanoic acid, perfluorododecanoic acid, and 9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonic acid concentrations, whereas females had higher 8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid concentrations. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was associated with lower concentrations of seven PFAS. While legacy PFAS declined following phaseouts, other PFAS increasingly drive liver burdens, with our data showing targeted PFAS comprise <10% of extractable organofluorine, highlighting the inadequacy of substance-by-substance regulatory approaches.

  PublisherDOI

• Large declines in organofluorine contamination indicated by subarctic marine mammal tissues

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2026-01-26

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The ocean is thought to be the terminal sink for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), persistent organofluorine chemicals used widely in modern commerce for decades. Industry and stewardship programs phased out the most abundantly produced legacy PFAS in the early 2000s due to toxicity concerns. However, they have since been replaced by shorter carbon chain and "novel" chemistries, and past work hypothesized likely increases in these replacement PFAS that were not previously quantifiable. To address this gap, we measured bulk extractable organofluorine (EOF) in archived liver and muscle tissues from pelagic Subarctic pilot whales over the last several decades. Results show EOF concentrations peaked in 2011 and declined by over 60% by 2023. Among a broad suite of targeted and suspect PFAS measured using high-resolution mass spectrometry, only one was consistently increasing through 2023. Tissue concentrations of four main legacy PFAS that accounted for over 75% of EOF were all decreasing by 2023. The timing of peak concentrations depended primarily on whether they were transported to the subarctic by ocean circulation or atmospheric deposition, with the latter declining much faster. Oceanic transport and bioaccumulation modeling suggests that decadal-scale lags between production and food web bioaccumulation are primarily driven by marine transport processes. Large declines in tissue concentrations in this study reinforce the effectiveness of phase-outs in chemical production. However, other work showing stable or increasing EOF in human serum suggests many emerging PFAS with more neutral physicochemical properties may be preferentially accumulating in terrestrial and nearshore environments compared to legacy PFAS.

  PublisherDOI

• Replication Data for: Characteristics of 'Early Adopters' of Water Treatment Capacity Needed to Remove PFAS and other Emerging Contaminants in the United States

  Open MIND · 2026-02-19

  datasetSenior author

  This repository holds replication datasets for the study titled, "Characteristics of 'Early Adopters' of Water Treatment Capacity Needed to Remove PFAS and other Emerging Contaminants in the United States." Additional information is available in the readme file for download.

  DOI

• High organofluorine concentrations in municipal wastewater affect downstream drinking water supplies for millions of Americans

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-01-06 · 40 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Wastewater receives per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from diverse consumer and industrial sources, and discharges are known to be a concern for drinking water quality. The PFAS family includes thousands of potential chemical structures containing organofluorine moieties. Exposures to a few well-studied PFAS, mainly perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA), have been associated with increased risk of many adverse health outcomes, prompting federal drinking water regulations for six compounds in 2024. Here, we find that the six regulated PFAS (mean = 7 to 8%) and 18 measured PFAA (mean = 11 to 21%) make up only a small fraction of the extractable organofluorine (EOF) in influent and effluent from eight large municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Most of the EOF in influent (75%) and effluent (62%) consists of mono- and polyfluorinated pharmaceuticals. The treatment technology and sizes of the treatment facilities in this study are similar to those serving 70% of the US population. Despite advanced treatment technologies, the maximum EOF removal efficiency among facilities in this work was &lt;25%. Extrapolating our measurements to other large facilities across the United States results in a nationwide EOF discharge estimate of 1.0 to 2.8 million moles F y −1 . Using a national model that simulates connections between wastewater discharges and downstream drinking water intakes, we estimate that the sources of drinking water for up to 23 million Americans could be contaminated above regulatory thresholds by wastewater-derived PFAS alone. These results emphasize the importance of further curbing ongoing PFAS sources and additional evaluations of the fate and toxicity of fluorinated pharmaceuticals.

  PublisherDOI

• Insights into the fate of precursors and novel PFAS using organofluorine mass budgets across diverse media

  2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• DISES: Environmental tipping points of cultural identity extinction in integrated human-ecological systems represented by small fishing nations

  NSF · $1.5M · 2021–2025

• Collaborative Research: Interwoven biogeochemical cycles and biological transformations of mercury and selenium in the upper ocean

  NSF · $178k · 2011–2015

• Collaborative Research: Methylmercury Interactions with Marine Plankton

  NSF · $80k · 2013–2016

• Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC)

  NIH · $13.4M · 2017–2027

• Collaborative Research: Evaluating the Competing Impacts of Global Emissions Reductions and Climate Change on the Distribution and Retention of selected POPs in the Arctic Ocean

  NSF · $225k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Philippe Grandjean

  Harvard University

  44 shared

• Pál Weihe

  University of the Faroe Islands

  31 shared

• Charlotte C. Wagner

  Harvard University

  31 shared

• Robert P. Mason

  University of Connecticut

  31 shared

• Helen M. Amos

  Science Systems and Applications (United States)

  31 shared

• Colin P. Thackray

  Harvard University

  30 shared

• Daniel J. Jacob

  Harvard University

  29 shared

• Daniel Jacob

  Harvard University

  28 shared