The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a new interactive web page called PFAS Analytic Tools, which provides information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the country.
The information is designed to help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential PFAS sources in their communities. It brings together multiple sources of information in one spot with mapping, charting, and filtering functions, allowing the public to see where testing has been done and what level of detections were measured.
EPA’s PFAS Analytic Tools draws from multiple national databases and reports to consolidate information into one place. The web page includes information on Clean Water Act PFAS discharges from permitted sources, reported spills containing PFAS, facilities historically manufacturing or importing PFAS, federally owned locations where PFAS is being investigated, transfers of PFAS-containing waste, PFAS detection in natural resources such as fish or surface water, and drinking water testing results.
Because the regulatory framework for PFAS chemicals is emerging, the EPA is encouraging data users to pay close attention to the caveats found within the site so that the completeness of the data sets is fully understood. Rather than wait for complete national data to be available, the EPA is publishing what is currently available while information continues to fill in.
NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. Learn more by visiting NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a recently updated top-10 facts sheet, a position paper, and more.
Also found there is Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which NGWA published in 2017 and is one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. The Association hosted its second conference last year in Westerville, Ohio, focused entirely on PFAS science and remediation.