Calculating Hazard Indices for PFAS in California's Drinking Water

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals widely used for their water- and grease-resistant properties. PFAS compounds have strong chemical bonds, consisting of fluorine, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, which vary in chain lengths. Their persistence and potential adverse health effects have made them significant environmental pollutants. This data investigates the extent and impact of PFAS contamination across California by calculating the Hazard Index from Geotracker, California State Water Resources Control Board's data management system. The dataset was processed to generate an extensive dataset with latitude and hazard index within California consisting of 1) data sorting, 2) splitting data, 3) Location Specific Manipulations, 4) Hazard Index Calculations, and 5) Aggregated Hazard Index Calculations. Python was used with the Pandas library to analyze, manipulate, and process the data. The open source library in Python, xlswriter was then utilized to read and write the data into Excel files.