PFAS National Datasets now Available

As part of EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the organization recently published a large collection of PFAS datasets. These datasets pull publicly reported information from states and local jurisdictions that have their own regulatory sampling programs and combine it with data collected by the EPA. Because each jurisdiction may follow different sampling guidance, collection methodologies, or may have different regulations with regard to PFAS, the datasets should be used as a tool, but not an exhaustive resource. The data is current as of January and February 2022 and includes the following information:

• Water Quality Portal information, which includes PFAS sampling results for over 80,000 samples of water, soil, sediment, and biota (tissue) uploaded by federal, state, tribal, and local governments, academic and non-governmental organizations, and individuals
• PFAS drinking water testing data collected during UCMR 3 between 2012 and 2016 (dataset will be updated again once UCMR 5 sampling begins in 2023)
• PFAS drinking water testing data provided by multiple states
• Chemical data reporting (CDR) as required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for production and importation of manufactured goods
• A list of superfund sites with PFAS detections
• PFAS data related to sampling under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit
• A list of federal sites with known or suspected PFAS impacts
• A list of industry sectors potentially handling or releasing PFAS
• A list of fire training sites where PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) may have been handled or released
• A list of historical and current records from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport data
• A list of PFAS waste transfers as determined from waste manifest information
• A list of AFFF releases as reported to the National Response Center going back to 1990
• Lists of toxics release inventory (TRI) PFAS releases, transfers, and waste management

As noted, this data is not complete, as most of the data included are not required to be reported. Therefore, the data may be biased towards locations where more testing and reporting is being conducted and may not be fully accurate. However, as part of EPA’s Strategic Roadmap, EPA plans on continuing to compile data and information regarding PFAS testing and releases to support future decision-making by government agencies, companies, and the public. Many of the datasets will be updated at regular intervals as data continues to be provided, so stay tuned!