A FAIR approach for detecting and sharing PFAS hot-spot areas and water systems

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in water sources near potential PFAS users is well known. Therefore, it is useful for PFAS stakeholders to visualize hot-spot areas and bring attention to the water systems that are near to those areas. Towards this end, we extracted information about PFAS sources, drinking water information, sewer water information, and Source Water Assessment Protection Program (SWAPP) information from publicly available sources to create five different maps in ArcGIS Online that highlight PFAS contamination in relation to potential PFAS users. Following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles, we created a Figshare repository that includes all data and associated metadata with these five ArcGIS maps. Moreover, the Figshare repository includes a metadata description of the maps in JSON format that adheres to a draft Minimum Information about Geospatial Information System (MIAGIS) standard we have developed. We hope this MIAGIS draft will assist in establishing a GIS standards group that will develop the draft into a full standard for the wider GIS community. We have also developed a miagis Python package that facilitates the generation of a MIAGIS-compliant JSON metadata file.