EPA released new PFAS analysis tools
Provides information on PFAS sources throughout the US
Washington – The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a new interactive website,PFAS analysis tools” which provides information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the country. This information will help the public, researchers, and other stakeholders better understand potential sources of PFAS in their communities. The PFAS Analytic Tools bring together multiple data sources in one place with mapping, charting and filtering functionality, allowing the public to see where testing has been done and what level of testing has been measured.
“EPA’s PFAS Analytic Tools website brings together data from multiple sources in an easy-to-use format for the first time”. said John Dombrowski, director of the EPA’s Office of Compliance.. “This website will help communities gain a better understanding of local sources of PFAS.”
EPA’s PFAS Analytic Tools consolidates data from multiple national databases and reports into one web page. PFAS Analytic Tools includes data on Clean Water Act PFAS releases from permitted sources, discharges containing PFAS components, reported historical production or importation of PFAS, federally owned sites where PFAS is tested, transfer of waste containing PFAS, and detection of PFAS in natural resources. such as fish or surface water, and drinking water test results. The tools cover a broad list of PFAS and represent EPA’s ongoing efforts to provide the public with growing testing data.
As the regulatory framework for PFAS chemicals is emerging, data users should pay attention to caveats found at the site to fully understand the completeness of the data sets. Rather than waiting for complete national data to become available, EPA is publishing current data as the data continues to fill out, informing users that some databases are complete nationally and others are not. For example, EPA has included a national inventory for drinking water testing at large public water utilities. The data is provided between 2013-2016. To include more recent data, EPA has developed other drinking water data available online in selected states. For the subset of states and tribes that publish PFAS test results on drinking water, the percentage of public water supplies tested varies greatly from state to state. Because of differences in testing and reporting across the country, the data should not be used for comparisons across cities, counties, or states.
To improve the availability of data, EPA published the Clean Drinking Water Act’s fifth non-regulated contaminant monitoring rule to expand on the original drinking water data reporting conducted in 2013-2016. Beginning in 2023, this expansion will bring the number of drinking water PFAS samples collected by regulatory agencies to millions. The EPA has expanded its Toxics Release Inventory reporting requirements to more than 175 PFAS substances in recent years — and additional data must be received by 2023. In addition, EPA’s proposal to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances would also improve data on reported incidents of spills or releases. To the emergency response notification system. These report improvements will be included in future versions of the interactive website. EPA will continue to work to expand the datasets in the PFAS Analytic Tools to improve the collective knowledge of PFAS incidence.
Check out the new PFAS analysis tools.
EPA plans to unveil the tool on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 1pm EST. Register for the webinar.
Learn more about EPA’s work to address PFAS.
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