Håkon Langberg, PhD

Håkon is a researcher and consultant investigating the potential human impact of man-made chemicals in the environment.

Håkon is a researcher and an environmental consultant at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), where he primarily works with contaminated soils, sediments and biota, with a special focus on poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). He completed his PhD in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where his research centered on PFAS in the aquatic environment.

In his role at NGI, Håkon focuses on the behavior of PFAS in the environment, including their uptake into organisms, biotransformation and how they are transferred through the food chain. His expertise includes PFAS pollution from point sources, such as airports (both on Svalbard and on the Norwegian mainland) and the paper industry, as well as pollution from diffuse sources. 

“Due to their extensive use, thousands of different PFAS are potentially emitted to the environment. However, only a few PFAS are routinely targeted by analytical methods. Thus, new approaches—such as novel analytical, statistical and sampling methods—are needed to detect a greater part of the total PFAS mixture in the environment and subsequently to get a better understanding of PFAS fate and behavior.”

Håkon Langberg