1

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Washington, DC 20460

Science and Research at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development
2

Happy 2011 everyone! Anyone made any science-related new year’s 

resolutions? 

Follow our blog, “It All Starts with Science” at: blog.epa.gov/science/ 

EPA awards $7 Million to study effects of pollution exposures and social 

stressors on communities http://bit.ly/hB8IvT

EPA Research chief Anastas about to take the stage at ICOSSE in Tucson 

to talk sustainability

“Our current reality needs to change. The leadership of today needs to 

challenge the status quo. How? The short answer is... innovation.”

“I am done with the false choice between environmental protection and 

economic growth,” We can and will have both-- Anastas quotes EPA 

Admin

Attending Science Online 2011 #scio11 in RTP this week? Sign up for 

our tour & meet EPA researchers http://bit.ly/epDAgf

EPA’s Dr Jackson gives sneak peak into collaborative prjt on value that 

natures provides us- our life support system #scio11

EPA ecologist Betsy Smith sharing how scientists are helping provide 

tools /models for proactive #green #eco decision making #scio11

Popping in to see senior analytical chemist John Turlington’s lab on EPA 

#scio11 tour

Now learning abt homeland security research for decontamination on 

EPA #scio11 tour http://bit.ly/hdsJsj

EPA’s Lemieux shares structure of the decon testing chamber, we use a 

proxy for spores, that behave the same, but not dangerous #scio11

RT @imascientist Looking at how to decontaminate after biological 

attack. There’s a cool test chamber w airlock and everything! #scio11

#EPA

EPA’s Dr. Shah explains to #scio11 tour that in virtual liver project they 

are looking at liver cancer as it changes proteins in cells

EPA’s #scio11 tour has ended, but have your own virtual tour of EPA’s 

Research Triangle Park Campus http://bit.ly/eWNF4e

RT @lisapjackson Today I visited EPA labs in Cincinnati w/SBA Administrator Mills to announce a collaboration to clean up our water http://

budurl.com/dsqa

Public utilities + researchers + innovative businesses, Cincinnati’s Water 

Techn Innovation Cluster protects health http://bit.ly/gWm30t

Can Highways Contribute to Asthma? EPA scientists & partners team up 

to examine the link: http://bit.ly/fi5Z2A

Apply for Computational Toxicology EPA grant: Develop highthroughput assays to assess reproductive/developmental tox http://bit.

ly/ePw5Zq

Interested in biofuels impact on the environment? EPA’s draft report & 

details on how to comment: http://bit.ly/ijnukq

“EPA Science Has an Attitude” in today’s #sciwed blog. The attitude? 

Risk assessor? Check out EPA’s updated “CatReg” an exposure-response analysis tool for scientists http://bit.ly/fbk5iB

EPA Submits Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan to Independent 

Scientists for Review http://bit.ly/dKjBBL

EPA’s NexGen program holding public meeting in DC nxt week to 

discuss latest advances in risk assessment http://bit.ly/dMO10c

Valentine’s Day & air pollution (both can take ur breath away - the 2nd 

not in a good way) EPA’s air research: http://bit.ly/94f2Ct

Shout out to everyone attending 2011 International Public Science 

Events Conference & #AAASmtg in DC. We’ll be there! http://bit.ly/

fQO0TR

Protecting Genetically-Modified Corn Crops w/ Proactive, High-Tech 

Monitoring in EPA’s Science Matters http://bit.ly/gT2gur

Measuring #climate change & land use impacts on water quality/ecosystems. Read/give input on EPA’s draft report http://bit.ly/icwMxw

Bolster the science of oil spills, apply for EPA research grant environmental impact & mitigation of oil spills http://bit.ly/gqsc9P

A Family’s Support Goes Far for a Passionate Woman Scientist today’s 

#sciwed blog celebrating women’s history month http://bit.ly/elUPoG

In DC? Check out the Science Advisory Board meeting tomorrow & 

Friday - topics include EPA’s 2012 research budget http://bit.ly/hGZKu2

At #SOT2011? Join EPA’s Dr Hal Zenick 10-11am at EPA’s booth 1341 

talking about effects of contaminants & environmental stressors.

Stay connected to EPA science throughout the year!

Follow us on Twitter: @EPAresearch

Catch our weekly blog: www.blog.epa.gov/science

Subscribe to Science Matters: www.epa.gov/sciencematters

Determinedly optimistic! http://bit.ly/dGwzJl
Research and Development at the U.S. EPA

About this Report

No other research organization in the world 

has the depth and breadth of science and 

engineering expertise represented by EPA’s 

workforce. 

Agency research is conducted by hundreds of 

staff scientists and engineers in laboratories 

and research facilities at 13 locations around 

the country. They are joined by a network 

of collaborators and partners from across 

the scientific community, including grantees 

and fellows supported by EPA’s Science 

to Achieve Results (STAR) extramural 

research program. In addition, EPA is one 

of 11 federal agencies that participate in the 

Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) 

program, enacted in 1982 to strengthen the 

role of small businesses in federal research 

and development, create jobs, and promote 

technological innovation. 

This report is designed to provide highlights 

of the results and impacts of that collective 

effort that were accomplished in 2011. 

Highlights were contributed from each of the 

Agency’s 13 labs, research centers and offices 

to provide an overview of research results 

and to illustrate some of the specific impacts 

that are important to partners of the Agency’s 

Office of Research and Development. It is 

these partners who rely on EPA science to 

make decisions and take action to protect 

human health and the environment. 

While this report is organized by research 

programs and partnerships, it is important 

to note that Agency scientists and engineers 

work collaboratively to produce an overall 

research program that is highly integrated 

and transdisciplinary. 

Table of Contents Science to Support Our Mission 4

Air, Climate, and Energy 7

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 25

Human Health Risk Assessment 41

Sustainable and Healthy Communities 53

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources 65

Supporting and Building Partnerships 81

Homeland Security 107

3
4

“Science must be the backbone for 

EPA programs. The public health 

and environmental laws that 

Congress has enacted depend 

on rigorous adherence to the 

best available science.”

--Lisa P. Jackson

Administrator, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency

A message from Lek Kadeli

Acting Assistant Administrator

EPA Office of Research and Development 

Science to Support Our Mission

EPA’s Office of 

Research and 

Development (ORD) 

plays a central role 

in the research and 

engineering efforts 

that are central to 

the Agency. Our 

integrated scientific 

investigations, 

conducted across 

a broad spectrum 

of disciplines, 

provide the firm, 

scientific foundation that supports the Agency’s 

mission to safeguard human health and protect 

the environment. ORD also plays a critical role 

in catalyzing innovation to provide enhanced 

solutions to these same problems.

For more than 40 years, the results of that work 

have provided timely, accessible, and usable tools 

and information to our partners across the Agency 

and throughout the nation. Our research results 

and technological solutions have led to longer 

life spans, safer communities, and cleaner air and 

water for all Americans. 

That critically important work continues today, but 

in an era of increasingly complex environmental 

challenges, and at a time when every federal 

agency must demand itself to work as efficiently as 

possible on behalf of the American people. 

As exemplified by this 2011 Annual Report from 

EPA’s Office of Research and Development, EPA’s 

community of scientists and engineers have 

embraced those challenges. 

In 2011, to improve effectiveness and efficiency, the 

Office embarked on a major effort to strategically 

align its diverse research portfolio around the 

central and unifying concept of sustainability. 

Through six highly integrated Research Programs—

Air, Climate, and Energy; Sustainable and Healthy 

Communities; Safe and Sustainable Water 

Resources; Chemical Safety for Sustainability; 

Human Health Risk Assessment; and Homeland 

Security Research—science and engineering 

solutions were delivered to protect human health 

and the environment. 

While laying the groundwork to strategically 

align EPA’s research programs in ways that 

simultaneously advance sustainability and realize 

efficiencies acros our organization, Agency 

scientists, engineers, and their partners continued 

to deliver sound, impactful research results 

throughout 2011. 

Just a few highlight from the many the science 

achievements that are presenting in this report are:

• A final study plan to help the nation better 

understand the potential impacts of the 

stimulation technique known as hydraulic 

fracturing on drinking water resources.

• Advancing the Community Mulitscale Air 
5

Quality (CMAQ) model used across 

the world to better understand the 

complex dynamics of air pollution in 

order to protect local communities.

• Leading the way to revolutionize 

toxicity testing through the use of 

innovative technologies such as 

computational toxicology, automated, 

high-throughput assays—and robots.

• Supporting EPA’s critically important 

work to protect human health through 

the completion and advancement of 

Integrated Science Assessments and 

the Agency’s widely-used Integrated 

Risk Information System.

• The launch of the Water Innovation 

Technology Cluster, an EPA-supported 

public-private partnership designed 

to bring innovative water quality 

technologies to market, leading to 

clean water and green jobs.

• Cultivating relationships with EPA 

regional and program offices to better 

understand needs at the community 

level, and deliver products that help 

them move toward a more sustainable 

future. Such efforts include a National 

Atlas for Sustainability, efforts to 

quantify sustainability, and a research 

program measuring the “ecosystem 

services” of the nation’s coral reefs. 

• Funding the nation’s top scientists, 

engineers and other innovators 

through EPA grant and award 

programs, such as the Science to 

Achieve Results Program. In 2011, EPA 

funded 137 graduate fellowships, 80 

research grants, and 37 Small Business 

Innovation Research awards. 

• Leading the Bio-Response Operational 

Testing and Evaluation Project, a 

research partnership uniting federal 

agencies in the Homeland Security 

arena to better prepare the nation 

to respond to and recover from the 

release of biological agents such as 

anthrax. 

Each and every achievement outlined 

in this report carries with it a story of 

success and commitment made by a 

team of researchers. Each team, in turn, 

is made up of individual scientists and 

engineers—dedicated researchers who 

have devoted their careers to advancing 

EPA’s mission to protect human health 

and the environment. Whether an Agency 

scientist or engineer, or one of the nation’s 

top innovators supported through an 

EPA grants or award, they are all part of 

a continuum of science achievement that 

now stretches over four decades, and 

has led to a cleaner, healthier, and more 

prosperous nation. It is only through their 

continued commitment that we will be 

able to achieve a sustainable future. 

Thank you, 

Lek Kadeli

Acting Assistant Administrator

EPA Office of Research and Development 

This report is dedicated to Paul T. Anastas for his visionary leadership serving as the Assistant 

Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) from 2009 to 2011, and to the 

ORD scientists and engineers, and their partners, for turning that vision into reality. 
6
7

American communities face serious health 

and environmental challenges from air 

pollution and the growing effects of 

climate change, both of which are linked 

intricately with current and future energy 

options. Improving air quality, reducing 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 

developing adaptation strategies to 

address climate change are central to the 

EPA’s mission to protect public health and 

the environment.

The Agency’s Air, Climate, and Energy 

research examines the interplay between 

air pollution, climate change and the 

dynamic energy landscape to develop 

innovative and sustainable solutions for 

improving air quality and addressing 

climate change. These air pollution 

research efforts support policies with farreaching health benefits across the nation.

This section highlights some of the top 

research results EPA researchers and their 

partners have achieved in 2011 in the areas 

of Air, Climate, and Energy. It illustrates 

specific impacts that are important 

to partners of the Agency’s Office of 

Research and Development. The highlights 

presented were contributed by EPA’s 

research labs, centers, and offices located 

around the country, and were performed 

by Agency scientists and engineers, as well 

as their partners, grantees, fellows, and 

collaborators from across the scientific 

community.

Air, Climate, and Energy

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development
8

Air, Climate, and Energy

Ready for Takeoff: Monitoring Air Pollution from the Sky

EPA scientists and partners from the 

National Air and Space Administration 

(NASA) took to the skies in July 2011 to 

advance air pollution monitoring and help 

protect public health in urban areas. 

The flights were part of a five-year 

collaborative project known as 

“DISCOVER-AQ”—for Deriving Information 

on Surface Conditions from COlumn and 

VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant 

to Air Quality. 

During the study, researchers made a 

series of flights aboard NASA aircraft 

equipped with scientific instruments 

to measure gaseous and particulate 

pollution. While in flight, they took a series 

of measurements that were carefully 

choreographed with simultaneous efforts 

from both satellites above, and groundbased monitoring stations below the 

planes. 

Together, the measurements were 

designed to shed light on how satellites 

can be used to monitor and understand 

pollutant concentrations and distributions 

near the earth’s surface, where the 

information can inform local communities 

and be used to protect public health.

During the July, 2011 DISCOVER-AQ data 

collection segment, two NASA airplanes 

flew in unison over urban areas and 

major interstate highways between 

Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, with 

additional flight time over small towns 

and Chesapeake Bay. One plane, flying at 

26,000 feet, employed laser technology 

to detect patterns of particulate pollution, 

and remote-sensing technology to sample 

a column of air for key gases. The other 

plane took samples at two different 

altitudes, sampling air at 1,000 feet, and 

then above ground-based air quality 

monitors in spirals from 1,000 to 5,000 

feet. 

The overall purpose of the missions was 

to sample pollutants in columns of air in 

a “vertical profile.” Later, researchers 

examined the profile to determine how 

the pollution measurements collected 

from the ground stations compared to 

the air column measurements collected in 

flight.

Research results are expected to provide a 

greater understanding of how the existing 

air monitoring network, funded by EPA 

and run by states and local agencies, could 

be improved through the use of satellite 

observations. With improved ability to 

monitor pollution from satellites, scientists 

could make better air quality forecasts, 

more accurately determine sources of 

pollutants in the air, and more closely 

determine fluctuations in emissions levels.

EPA and NASA researchers expect to 

release initial study results in early 2012.

For more information on DISCOVER-AQ, 

visit http://discover-aq.larc.nasa.gov

NASA’s 117-foot, four-engine 

turboprop P-3B research aircraft 

takes flight to collect air. Image

courtesy of NASA.

Research aircraft flow over this ground-based air 

monitoring station in Beltsville, Maryland.
9

Breathing Easier with Newest CMAQ Model

In 2011, EPA released a new version of 

the groundbreaking and widely-used 

Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling 

system. 

Versions of the state-of-the-science 

modeling system, known as “CMAQ,” have 

been used by the Agency and states for 

more than a decade to design emission 

control strategies to protect public health 

from the harmful effects of air pollution. At 

the state level, the CMAQ system shapes 

how regulators implement solutions 

to meet National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS), which have farreaching human health benefits across the 

nation. In addition, the National Weather 

Service has been using the model for years 

to produce daily U.S. forecasts for ozone 

and air quality.

The release of CMAQ version 5.0 introduced 

additional tools for studying air quality 

and its impacts on climate change. Taking 

advantage of improved computing power 

and recent developments in air chemistry 

and atmospheric science, CMAQ 5.0 

combines three individual modules—

meteorology, emissions, and chemical 

transport. Instead of running the models 

in sequence, as in previous versions, the 

meteorology and air chemistry-transport 

models in CMAQ 5.0 now operate together 

and interact in feedback loops on the fly, 

providing more accurate forecasts that 

reflect interactions between pollution and 

weather. 

With CMAQ 5.0, scientists can model 

air quality at the level of individual 

towns and cities throughout the entire 

Northern hemisphere. The framework 

combines advances in physical, chemical, 

mathematical, and computational sciences. 

These new capabilities enable scientists to 

study the global movement of air pollution 

and how it affects air quality and climate 

change. 

On a hemispheric scale, scientists apply 

CMAQ 5.0 to account more accurately for 

“background pollution” originating from 

distant locations. This upgrade allows 

policymakers to understand and use the 

data to balance local and national air 

policy standards, and integrate them with 

international solutions.

To help spread the word about CMAQ’s 

capabilities, EPA worked with the University 

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to create the 

Community Modeling and Analysis System 

(CMAS), a model development center for 

air-quality modelers and researchers around 

the world. EPA uses CMAS to distribute 

new versions of CMAQ, to facilitate CMAQ 

training, and to cultivate collaboration. 

CMAQ’s impacts reach far beyond just 

the United States, as it is used in more 

than 50 countries and by thousands of 

individuals. For example, officials in the 

United Kingdom use the model to produce 

daily air quality forecasts and to develop 

national air quality policies. To expand 

such international efforts, in 2011 EPA 

experts helped train Indian researchers 

about CMAQ, part of a National Science 

Foundation-funded project to exchange 

information and enhance the capability of 

partner researchers. 

Air-quality scientists and policy makers 

can use CMAQ 5.0 as a modeling tool for a 

wide variety of innovative and collaborative 

applications. EPA air and climate scientists 

now can apply CMAQ technology to 

cutting-edge research questions, to support 

health studies advancing the link between 

air pollution and adverse health effects, 

and to increase the abilities of domestic 

and international regulators to create 

better and more informed policies for 

the protection of human health and the 

environment.

Air, Climate, and Energy

EPA’s Community Multiscale Air 

Quality modeling system uses real 

or potential weather conditions and 

atmospheric chemistry to make air 

quality projections.

EPA scientist examens data generated by the 

Community Multiscale Air Quality model.
Air, Climate, and Energy

Emissions Testing for Clean Cookstoves

Emissions from the average “indoor” fire 

widely used throughout the developing 

world—the heating source and stove for 

about half the world’s population—leads 

directly or indirectly to millions of cases of 

respiratory illness and nearly two million 

premature deaths each year, primarily 

in women and young children. In a 2002 

report, the World Health Organization 

listed indoor smoke from solid fuels used 

in such stoves, typically wood, dung, and 

coal, as among the top 10 risks to human 

health.

Together with the U.S. Department 

of State and several other federal 

government and private sector 

partners, the Agency supports the U.N. 

Foundation’s Global Alliance for Clean 

Cookstoves (GACC), a public-private 

alliance that addresses the high prevalence 

of toxic smoke exposures worldwide from 

indoor fires and inefficient cookstoves. 

In addition, EPA researchers have been 

working with the Partnership for Clean 

Indoor Air (PCIA) to reduce smoke 

exposure resulting from household 

cooking and heating practices across the 

world. 

In 2011, EPA researchers conducted the 

most extensive round of cookstove testing 

to date. Expanding on earlier work, they 

tested 44 combinations of stoves, fuels, 

and operating conditions for fuel efficiency 

and for pollutant emissions, which 

negatively affect human health and the 

global climate. 

EPA’s objectives in conducting the 

cookstove studies include:

• Determining if certain cookstoves are 

more fuel efficient and emit fewer 

pollutants compared to traditional 

“three-stone fire” systems (three 

stones placed around a fire to hold 

up a pot); and

• Providing useful information 

on cookstove performance and 

emissions to PCIA partners and 

others who supply stove technology 

to developing countries.

Research results indicate that some stoves 

currently in use (e.g., natural-draft stoves 

using high-moisture fuel) offer increased 

fuel efficiency and lower pollutant 

emissions, as compared to traditional 

cooking methods. In addition, stoves 

made from lighter and less dense materials 

tended to reduce cooking times, thereby 

increasing fuel efficiency and lowering 

emissions. 

EPA and GACC partners are now evaluating 

the results of the tests to identify the most 

promising stoves for field trials, and to 

improve testing methods. 

With increasing greenhouse gas emissions, 

smoke from stoves in the developing 

world has escalated from a local issue to 

a worldwide one. Reduction of carbon 

dioxide and black carbon emissions 

from cooking fires represents a fast and 

inexpensive approach to mitigating global 

climate change and improving health. 

10

EPA engineer inspects a cookstove design.
11

Air, Climate, and Energy

Emissions Testing for Clean Cookstoves Cont’d.

In 2012, EPA plans to conduct a more 

comprehensive, solid-fuel cookstove 

study; researchers will test newer stove 

designs and measure a higher number of 

air pollutants.

Where there’s Smoke: Peat Fires and Emergency Room Visits 

A June, 2008 lightning strike in rural 

coastal North Carolina ignited a wildfire 

that scorched over 40,000 acres of land 

and a smoldering peat fire that was not 

declared out until some seven months 

later, in January of 2009. 

The conflagration also sparked the 

opportunity for EPA clean air scientists to 

examine the respiratory and cardiovascular 

health effects of the population living in 

the rural NC counties exposed to plumes 

of often low-hanging smoke typical of peat 

fires. 

Using satellite imagery, the investigators 

identified counties most severely affected 

by the smoke pollution. Researchers then 

collected Emergency Room (ER) records 

from the affected counties and those 

nearby for comparison. 

Results of the EPA study revealed, for the 

first time, an association between smoke 

from peat fires and an increased number 

of ER visits for symptoms of heart failure. 

They also show a significant increase in 

respiratory effects (asthma, pneumonia 

and acute chronic bronchitis) in the highsmoke areas. In addition, the research 

team discovered that certain groups of 

people—older adults and those with 

pre-existing lung and heart problems, for 

example—were more susceptible to the 

adverse affects of wildfire smoke.

The study findings could lead to further 

research on weather modeling and wind 

patterns for the prediction of wildfire 

smoke plume locations in advance of 

extreme smoke exposure. This type of 

technology would allow community 

officials to warn susceptible populations 

of hazardous air conditions, thus limiting 

exposure and decreasing adverse health 

problems and ER visits. The research 

provides health officials and the local 

population with important information 

about the local air quality in the face 

of peat fires, and promises to have real 

impact in helping inform actions to protect 

public health. 

Peat fire in rural North Carolina emits thick, 

low-lying smoke. Images courtesy of U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service.
12

Air, Climate, and Energy

Turning Waste into Fuel

EPA scientists took on the challenge of 

identifying new uses for waste glycerol, 

an abundant byproduct of the biodiesel 

production industry, which is growing in 

many and varied applications. For example, 

more and more specially-adapted engines 

in cars, trucks and tractors are relying on 

biodiesel as the primary fuel source. In 

addition, some restaurants use biodiesel 

as a cooking resource. During the biodiesel 

production process, waste glycerol results 

from the transesterification of triglycerides 

and is thus increasing with biodiesel 

production. Glycerol is used frequently in 

commercial and industrial applications and 

is considered a relatively valuable product. 

However, the current glycerol surplus 

has caused the bottom to fall out of the 

market. Alternative glycerol markets are 

needed to improve both the economics of 

the biodiesel production process and the 

disposal and recycling processes for this 

new waste stream. 

EPA is researching several new 

applications for waste glycerol in an effort 

to make the byproduct more useable and 

to reduce harmful effects associated with 

current disposal practices. The researchers 

evaluated glycerol using many chemical 

and operational tests. They determined 

that glycerol’s low energy density, high 

viscosity or thickness, and high autoignition temperature properties make 

it an unsuitable alternative for a vehicle 

fuel. In addition, the composition of waste 

glycerol changes dramatically depending 

on the biodiesel feedstock (e.g., vegetable 

oils or rendered animal fats, which must 

be processed before burning in engines), 

the catalyst used, and the degree of 

post-reaction cleanup (i.e., the length of 

time required for the chemical reaction to 

occur). 

To evaluate glycerol as a boiler fuel, 

EPA worked with North Carolina State 

University (NCSU) researchers to develop 

a commercial-scale boiler system that uses 

glycerol waste as fuel. To create realistic 

conditions under which to conduct the 

tests, the team scaled-up the system to 

commercial levels. The scientists and 

engineers tested environmental impacts 

by measuring performance, emissions 

and other process characteristics. The 

team monitored nitrogen oxides, total 

hydrocarbons and particulate matter (PM) 

for two grades of crude glycerol. Next, 

they compared their findings to data 

from other common fuels used in similar 

applications, such as No. 2 fuel oil and 

propane. 

EPA and NCSU researchers determined 

that a specially designed burner known 

as a “refractory” burner combusts 

glycerol effectively, but results in high PM 

emissions due to the presence of residual 

catalytic material. Since EPA carefully 

regulates PM emissions, these high levels 

of PM emissions present an issue that 

will need to be addressed before crude 

glycerol can be burned routinely in boilers 

at power plants and other industrial 

facilities.

Although the EPA/NCSU team determined 

that glycerol is not an ideal fuel source for 

many boiler systems, they discovered that 

the waste glycerol resulting from burning 

biodiesel may be useful in certain boiler 

systems. For example, systems configured 

to produce steam and co-generate 

electricity may be able to use the glycerol 

byproduct efficiently. This solution reduces 

harmful, costly and process-intensive 

disposal impacts. In addition, reduces 

or eliminates transportation costs and 

displaces the need for some fossil fuels in 

certain boiler units. 

These results represent important first 

steps to gaining an understanding of 

how glycerol could and could not be 

used as an alternative fuel. The findings 

illuminate practical and appropriate 

uses for waste glycerol as a boiler fuel 

in specific applications. In addition, this 

study examines key stages in the life 

cycle of biodiesel usage and the re-use 

Biodiesel fuel.
13

of waste and fuel sources. EPA places 

strong emphasis on life cycle assessments 

in its ongoing research endeavors. These 

assessments are instrumental to key 

Turning Waste into Fuel Cont’d.

sectors (e.g., energy) for identifying 

the opportunities and barriers inherent 

to various environmentally-sustainable 

actions.

Air, Climate, and Energy

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Specifying Emissions with New 

Database

EPA’s unique database, SPECIATE, houses 

valuable data on the array of air pollutants 

emitted from manufacturing and other air 

pollution sources. 

State and local agencies and the air quality 

modeling community use the SPECIATE 

database to prepare and enhance 

emission inventories and to understand 

the composition of chemicals known as 

total organic compounds (TOC) and PM 

emissions. This ensures that air pollution 

control programs target the appropriate 

sources. 

In 2011, Agency clean air researchers 

released the enhanced SPECIATE Version 

4.3, which includes an additional 405 

specifically identified (“speciated”) 

chemical profiles, bringing the total 

number to 5,592 chemicals. 

Researchers designed SPECIATE 4.3 to: 

(1) create speciated emission inventories 

for regional haze, particulate matter 

(PM), greenhouse gases and air quality 

modeling; 

(2) estimate toxic air pollutant emissions 

from PM and organic gas primary 

emissions; and 

(3) verify profiles derived from ambient 

measurements. 

The updated version includes new profiles 

for road vehicles, marine vessels, ethanol 

fuel production, and several stationary 

sources, including the pulp and paper 

industry. 

The SPECIATE Version 4.3 database 

provides additional support to multiple 

science centers and enables increased data 

accuracy for air pollution control efforts. 

Supporting the National Climate 

Assessment

EPA is one of 13 federal partners in the 

U.S. Global Change Research Program 

(USGCRP), which coordinates and 

integrates federal research on global 

environmental changes. Every four 

years, the National Climate Assessment

(NCA) is conducted under the auspices 

of the USGCRP, and a synthesis report is 

presented to the President and Congress 

as required by the Global Change 

Research Act of 1990. EPA is leading NCA 

workshops, serving on the Interagency 

NCA Working Group, and authoring 

scientific and technical inputs for the 2013 

Report.

EPA researchers led two workshops 

in December 2010 and January 2011 on 

monitoring changes in the physical climate 

system and on evaluating the impacts of 
Air, Climate, and Energy

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

climate change on ecosystems and socioeconomic systems. The first workshop 

report, Ecosystem Responses to Climate 

Change: Selecting Indicators and Integrating 

Observational Networks, outlines a process 

for selecting indicators that represent the 

impacts of climate change on the nation’s 

ecosystems. The report also identifies 

opportunities for collaboration and 

coordination among existing and potential 

future observational networks.

A second workshop report, Valuation 

Techniques and Metrics for Climate Change 

Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation 

Options, provides a snapshot of the 

capabilities, readiness, and applicability 

of methods for assigning monetary value 

to climate impacts and adaptation. EPA 

also collaborated on a third workshop 

and report titled, Uses of Vulnerability 

Assessments in the National Climate 

Assessment.

NEXUS: Along the Road

Can living near a highway make children 

more susceptible to asthma attacks? 

During 2011, EPA scientists, together with 

partners from the University of Michigan, 

began the second major data collection 

phase of a study designed to answer that 

question. 

Study scientists are conducting the 

Near Roadways Exposure to Urban Air 

Pollutants Study (“NEXUS” for short), 

a comprehensive asthma trigger study. 

Using data from more than 60 children 

living in Detroit who suffer from asthma, 

they are looking at the mixture of 

pollutants that originate from Detroit-area 

highway traffic and how that pollution 

affects children with asthma. Data 

collected from air near major highways, 

as well as in homes and schools, will shed 

more light on the mixture of air pollutants 

that affect asthma and overall health. 

Study results will provide community 

decision-makers with valuable 

information on how best to design school 

environments and residential areas to 

protect children from the effects of 

roadway-related pollution.

14 14
15

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Supporting EPA 

Research Partners

EPA awards research grants and awards 

in a diversity of environmental science 

and engineering disciplines—including 

work in Air, Climate, and Energy research—

through its Science to Achieve Results 

(STAR) program and the Small Business 

Innovation Research program (SBIR). 

The STAR program engages the nation’s 

best scientists and engineers in targeted 

research that complements EPA’s own 

outstanding intramural research program. 

Grants are awarded through a competitive 

solicitation process and independent peer 

review. 

The Agency also periodically establishes 

research centers to achieve long-term 

research goals. For example, in 2010 

the Agency announced more than a $31 

million, five-year grant to establish four 

Clean Air Research Centers (CLARC) to 

focus on the health effects of exposure 

to particulate matter (PM), ozone, and 

other air pollutants, both singly and in 

multipollutant atmospheres.

Accomplishments of EPA partners in the 

areas of Air, Climate, and Energy for 2011 

include the following highlights. 

EPA-supported Institute 

Advances Clean Air Science 

With significant EPA support, the Health 

Effects Institute (HEI)—a nonprofit 

corporation chartered in 1980 as an 

independent research organization 

to provide high-quality, impartial, and 

relevant science on the health effects of air 

pollution—continued to tackle important 

and fundamental issues for air quality 

science. 

Typically, HEI receives half of its core funds 

from the Environmental Protection Agency 

and half from the worldwide motor vehicle 

industry.

Research results included a review of 

ultrafine particle health and environmental 

effects, a new ozone program, 

international climate and air quality work, 

significant findings on the health effects of 

diesel particles and allergic inflammation 

and neurotoxicity effects, and a new 

solicitation on research assessing the 

health impacts of actions taken to control 

air pollution. In addition, HEI continued an 

Air, Climate, and Energy
16

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

important collaboration on the National 

Particle Component Toxicity Initiative 

(NPACT), and made significant progress 

on the Advanced Collaborative Emissions 

Study (ACES). 

HEI continued its distinguished record 

of delivering reports important to EPA 

efforts to protect human health from 

the adverse effects of air pollution. For 

example, in 2011, the Institute released 

studies on: air pollution “hot spots” (high 

concentration areas); concentrations of 

air toxics in motor-vehicle-dominated 

environments; the future of vehicle 

fuels and technologies and their related 

health benefits and challenges; and 

links between diesel exhaust and airway 

inflammation. 

EPA-supported MESA Air Study 

Advances Health-air Pollution Link

The EPA-supported Multi-Ethnic Study of 

Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA) 

is designed to examine the relationship 

between air pollution exposures and the 

progression of cardiovascular disease 

over time. The unprecedented, ten-year 

study involves thousands of participants, 

representing diverse areas across the 

United States. 

The central scientific hypothesis for the 

study is that long-term exposure to fine 

particles, or Particulate Matter (PM), in air 

pollution is associated with a more rapid 

progression of coronary atherosclerosis 

(hardening of the arteries) and an 

increased risk of coronary events, such as 

heart attacks.

To test this hypothesis, a host of air 

pollution and participant health measures 

are being collected and analyzed. Along 

with measuring particulate matter (PM) 

concentrations and variability at the 

neighborhood, home and individual levels, 

the MESA Air Pollution Study is using 

data from the national PM2.5 monitoring 

system. 

Study researchers are integrating such 

environmental data into computer 

models to estimate long-term PM 

exposure for all study participants. The 

cardiovascular health of each participant 

is also being tracked, with a subgroup of 

3600 participating in additional medical 

evaluations for subclinical, asymptomatic 

progression of atherosclerosis.

In 2011, MESA researchers continued 

this critically important work, advancing 

new methods for estimating air pollution 

exposure and providing innovative 

modeling techniques to fuse data 

obtained from air quality monitoring at 

the community level to health impacts at 

the personal level.

Air, Climate, and Energy
17

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

STAR Climate Change 

Research 

The core purpose of the EPA’s Global 

Change Research Program is to provide 

stakeholders and policymakers with 

the scientific information, analysis tools 

and techniques they need to effectively 

respond to risks posed by global change. 

One important area of study is exploring 

how aquatic resources, such as wetlands 

and coastal areas, will be impacted by 

climate change. (For more about that 

work, also see the stories below under the 

“Interdisciplinary Research” heading.)

To advance those efforts, the Agency 

supports top scientists through its Science 

to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program. 

Significant 2011 findings by EPA STAR 

grantees included new understandings 

of the impact of storms and flooding, 

identifying likely causes of amphibian 

declines, how Chinook salmon runs 

in California are likely to decline, and 

new modeling tools for managing 

agricultural resources. Examples of those 

accomplishments include:

Climate Change, Land Use, and 

Declining Amphibian Populations

An EPA-supported study conducted by 

a researcher at the University of South 

Florida explored the link between 

climate change, land use, and the 

spread of pathogens in amphibians 

and other “ecothermic” (commonly 

known as “cold-blooded”) hosts. 

Findings from the research include: 

pathogen introductions, coupled 

with climate change, are the likely 

explanation driving worldwide 

extinctions of amphibians; changes 

in temperature variability associated 

with climate change might be just 

as significant to disease emergence 

as temperature changes; and, out 

of 240 predictors, the presence 

of the herbicide atrazine was the 

best predictor for the abundance 

of parasitic larval trematodes in the 

declining northern leopard frog (Rana 

pipiens).

California Salmon Runs and 

Climate Change

An EPA-funded researcher at the 

University of California-Davis found 

that more aggressive steps will be 

necessary to prevent population 

declines, and even extinctions, 

in spring-run Chinook salmon 

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in 

California. 

In the research, climate data coupled 

with watershed hydrology and 

salmon population dynamics models 

predict increased salmon mortality 

and population decline in the coming 

decades. 

Air, Climate, and Energy
18

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Climate and Emissions Changes 

Impact Water Quality 

EPA-funded researchers at the 

University of Maryland worked to 

understand the impacts of global 

climate and air pollution emission 

changes from today through 2050 on 

U.S. water quality, focusing on the 

nitrogen cycle. 

The researchers applied state-of-theart, integrating modeling systems that 

included a global climate-chemical 

transport component with a climatehydrology-air quality-water quality 

component for North America. The 

grantees currently have a paper in 

press on the hydrological budget and 

crop yield predictions in the Upper 

Mississippi Basin.

Coastal Habitat in the Pacific 

Northwest

EPA-supported researchers at Western 

Washington University created a 

model and modeling technique 

with the potential to help coastal 

communities quantify the impacts of 

sea level rise on seagrass habitat and 

related ecosystem services. 

The researchers created a spatially 

explicit, relative elevation model for 

Padila Bay, WA. A publication based 

on initial results indicated that the 

unique geomorphology of the Padila 

Bay region made it possible for sea 

level rise to create new habitat faster 

than it was destroyed, and suggests 

important clues for other coastal 

areas faced with planning adaptation 

strategies to mitigate the impacts of 

global change. 

Interdisciplinary Research

Exploring the links between climate 

change and aquatic resources

As outlined above in STAR Climate Change 

Research, the core purpose of the EPA’s 

Global Change Research Program is to 

provide stakeholders and policymakers 

with the scientific information, analysis 

tools and techniques they need to 

effectively respond to risks posed by 

global change. One important area of that 

study is exploring how aquatic resources, 

Air, Climate, and Energy
19

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

such as wetlands and coastal areas, will be 

impacted by climate change. 

Highlights of EPA research advancing 

what is known about climate change and 

aquatic resources follow below. 

Vulnerability Assessments Support 

Climate Ready Estuaries Program 

Estuaries are places where freshwater 

from a river mixes with salt water from 

the ocean. Considered “nurseries of 

the sea,” these unique environments 

support thousands of species of wildlife 

and perform valuable ecological services 

such as filtering sediments and pollution 

from water. Estuaries also contribute 

economically to the population by 

providing ideal sites for tourism, fisheries, 

and recreational activities.

Estuarine ecosystems are particularly 

vulnerable to climate-related changes in 

precipitation, water flow, and sea level 

rise. The National Estuary Program (NEP) is 

a network of voluntary community-based 

programs that safeguards the health of 

important coastal ecosystems across the 

country. As part of EPA’s Climate Ready 

Estuaries Program, researchers conducted 

pilot assessments in collaboration with 

two NEP partners, the San Francisco 

Estuary Partnership (SFEP) and the 

Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) to 

consider how salt marsh and mudflat 

ecosystems may be affected by changes 

in climate drivers such as temperature, 

precipitation, and storms. 

A new methodology based on an expert 

elicitation exercise in a workshop setting 

was used in this study. In February 2012 

EPA issued a final report describing the 

results of this workshop. The report, 

Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the 

Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel 

Approach Using Expert Judgment was 

released in two volumes: Volume I: Results 

for the San Francisco Estuary Partnership 

and Volume II: Results for the Massachusetts 

Bays Program. 

Expert elicitations were held for both 

the SFEP and MBP projects. An expert 

elicitation is a process using expert 

judgment to inform decision-making 

when certain conditions exist. These 

include situations in which uncertainties 

are large, empirical data may not yet 

be available, more than one conceptual 

model can explain available data, and/or 

technical judgments are required to assess 

assumptions.

Conducted during a two-day workshop, 

the SFEP and MBP expert elicitations 

guided the experts through a series 

of questions regarding each aspect of 

the salt marsh or mudflat system. The 

experts developed ecosystem models 

to characterize: relationships among key 

physical and ecological variables that 

regulate ecosystem processes; relative 

sensitivities of these relationships under 

current and future climate change 

scenarios; degree of confidence in these 

relationship predictions; and implications 

for management. Conclusions then 

were drawn from the data derived from 

the experts’ judgments about climate 

change effects. This is the first time expert 

elicitation has been applied to ecosystems, 

and the reported results lead to valuable 

implications for coastal area management.

In an era of shrinking budgets coupled 

with increasingly complex decision-making 

needs, managing natural resources in the 

face of climate change is a challenge. In 

light of this, the Climate Ready Estuary 

Program’s assessment method took 

advantage of existing scientific expertise 

to help identify reliable adaptation 

strategies, weigh difficult trade-offs, and 

justify management action, all in a timely 

Air, Climate, and Energy
20

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

and efficient manner. 

Based on the reported results of the 

workshop, estuary managers can identify 

where major shifts in the system are likely 

to occur under future climate conditions 

and how management strategies can be 

adjusted in response. Information from 

these assessments will support climate 

change adaptation planning efforts by the 

SFEP, the MBP, other NEPs and managers 

of other climate-sensitive ecosystems.

The 20 Watersheds Project: Exploring 

Stream Water and Climate Change

Recognizing that the impacts and risks 

associated with climate change will vary 

regionally, EPA conducts research to 

identify where the greatest vulnerabilities 

lie and to develop response options for a 

wide range of plausible climate futures.

With a focus on water flow and nutrient 

and sediment levels, EPA researchers 

began an effort to fill knowledge gaps in 

the sensitivity of U.S. streams to potential 

climate change. The effort combines 

existing tools (e.g., climate, land-use and 

watershed models) and data to look at 

these scientific issues. 

A recent study models twenty large U.S. 

watersheds looking at stream water 

quality. The watersheds range across 

the country and were chosen based on 

regional variability in land-use practices, 

climate conditions and watershed 

systems, as well as to overlap with other 

EPA projects and the availability of 

existing data.

Scientists are exploring watershed 

modeling results that cover a broad range 

of sensitivity tests for a variety of climate 

change scenarios. The early results of 

this “20 watersheds project,” display key 

methods, sensitivities and uncertainties 

that are part of these watershed models. 

For example, scientists found that climate 

models are very sensitive to changes 

when taken from large-scale assessments 

and “downscaled” for smaller, regional 

assessments. Research is also focused on 

the interaction between climate change 

and other environmental factors such 

as urbanization and changes in carbon 

dioxide levels.

The results of this research will provide 

key information about adapting to new 

Air, Climate, and Energy
21

Air, Climate, and Energy

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

conditions. A paper describing this study 

titled, Investigating the Sensitivity of U.S. 

Streamflow and Water Quality to Climate 

Change: The U.S. EPA Global Change 

Research Program’s “20 Watersheds” 

Project, was published in July, 2011.

Climate and Watershed Assessment 

Tools BASINS and WEPP

The average global temperature has 

increased 1.4°F during the last century, 

one of the indicators that the climate is 

changing. Potential effects of climate 

change include increased risk of flooding 

and drought, changes in the quality and 

seasonal timing of water runoff, loss of 

aquatic habitat and harm to ecosystems.

Recently, EPA and its partners crafted 

Climate Assessment Tools (CATs) that work 

with the Agency Office of Water’s Better 

Assessment Science Integrating point and 

Nonpoint Sources climate assessment 

tool (BASINS), and USDA’s Water Erosion 

Prediction Project climate assessment 

tool (WEPP). These tools support the 

study of scenario-based assessments 

where scientists examine environmental 

situations as they play themselves out 

into the future. Using existing modeling 

systems as the platform for the CATs 

enhances the usefulness and credibility of 

analytic results, helping decision-makers 

understand the potential effects of future 

climate change on watershed systems. 

A 2011 draft report, BASINS and WEPP 

Climate Assessment Tools: Case Study 

Guide to Applications, was released in the 

fall of 2011 and presents six case studies 

that use scenarios to evaluate future 

climate change, land use and management. 

Each case study presents a real or plausible 

climate change effect in a specific location 

and shows how BASINS or WEPP can 

be used to better understand the local 

impacts of global climate change. The 

scientific approach supported by these 

tools—scenario analysis—can inform 

system behavior, identify vulnerabilities 

and evaluate management responses.

Workshops Develop a Climate Change 

Monitoring Network

In response to evidence that climate 

change and related impacts are affecting 

aquatic ecosystems, EPA began to monitor 

the effects of climate change on streams. 

The Agency organized two workshops to 

formulate monitoring goals and to collect 

input from state and regional officials 

involved in building biomonitoring data. 

The workshops were held in conjunction 

with other science meetings (New England 

Association of Environmental Biologists 

and North American Benthological Society) 

and were attended by state biologists from 

New England, New York, EPA Region 1 and 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

The monitoring network will rely upon data 

gathered by the states, EPA, USGS and 

other organizations. The resulting datasets 

will inform vulnerability assessments 

of Northeastern streams. In addition, 

local partners will benefit from more 

information on potential indicators of 

climate-related effects in these ecosystems.

Aquatic Ecosystems, Water Quality and 

Global Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change defines vulnerability as: “The 

degree to which a system is susceptible to, 

or unable to cope with, adverse effects of 

climate change, including climate variability 

and extremes.” In order to efficiently 

manage water resources and systems 

in the coming years, vulnerabilities of 

such systems to climate change must be 

recognized and better understood.

The EPA report Aquatic Ecosystems, Water 
22

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Quality, and Global Change: Challenges of 

Conducting Multi-stressor Global Change 

Vulnerability Assessments maps key 

indicators of watershed vulnerabilities 

nationwide. Released in August 2011, the 

report investigates the best practices and 

challenges associated with identifying 

indicators of relative watershed 

vulnerability to external stresses such as 

climate and land-use change across the 

United States.

EPA scientists mined scholarly journals 

to identify and analyze more than 600 

indicators of water quality and aquatic 

ecosystems. Examples of indicators 

include water chemical and nutrient levels, 

the presence of animal and plant species, 

local land use, and more. Datasets from 

EPA, other federal agencies and other 

organizations were also used to assess 

ecosystems and human system resilience 

in the face of global change and other 

current stresses. 

The report forms a building block for 

future work on global change vulnerability 

assessments. The impacts of global 

change will result from often-complex 

interactions between current stressors 

reducing overall resilience at the same 

time that broader global climate change 

comes into play. The work described in 

this report can contribute to connecting 

the needs of water quality and aquatic 

ecosystem managers to the capabilities of 

global change researchers.

Climate Change Vulnerability 

Assessments of Water Utilities

A new EPA report, Climate Change 

Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case 

Studies of Water Utility Practices, focuses 

on water resource decision-making as a 

complex process and concludes that the 

impact of climate change on decisionmaking poses challenges. The report 

illustrates the types of analyses, models 

and climate change information being 

developed and used by selected utilities 

to proactively understand and adapt to 

national climate risks.

The utilities featured in this report are 

East Bay Municipal Utility District (Contra 

Costa and Alameda Counties, CA); New 

York City Department of Environmental 

Protection (New York, NY); Seattle Public 

Utilities (Seattle, WA); and Spartanburg 

Water (Spartanburg, SC). EPA researchers 

developed case studies using published 

information about each utility and 

interviews with utility staff.

The approaches taken by each utility to 

assess their vulnerability to climate change 

ranged from environmental modeling and 

scenario analysis to reviews of available 

studies. The case studies illustrate that 

different approaches reflect specific 

local needs and conditions, existing 

vulnerabilities, local partnerships and 

available information. For example, 

the New York City Department of 

Environmental Protection recognizes 

the risk of increased flooding and sewer 

system overflows while the focus of 

East Bay Municipal Utility District is on 

decreasing annual precipitation and 

increasing demand for water resources. 

This report provides useful examples 

for utility managers, resource planners, 

climate scientists and others seeking 

recommendations on vulnerability issues.

Helping States Assess Aquatic 

Resources for a Changing Climate

In 2011, EPA researchers released for 

peer review a draft report, Implications 

of Climate Change for State Bioassessment 

Programs and Approaches to Account 

for Effects, along with the companion 

Freshwater Biological Traits Database. 

Together, the draft report and database 

Air, Climate, and Energy
23

Air, Climate, and Energy

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

present information designed to help 

the Agency’s Office of Water and other 

partners to be better prepared to monitor 

water quality and aquatic resources in the 

face of a changing climate. 

Because environmental agencies, tribes, 

and others rely on established data 

collection practices and biomonitoring 

techniques to assess water quality and 

aquatic resources, it is important for them 

to consider how traditional assessment 

practices might be affected by climate 

change. The report presents science on 

how biological indicators may be used 

to detect climate change effects, and 

encourages state bioassessment programs 

to document changes at key sites. 

The Freshwater Biological Traits Database 

contains traits such as morphology, life 

history, resource acquisition preference, 

mobility and tolerance for more than 

3,000 North American species. To increase 

transparency, the database is accessible 

online. 

Assessing Climate-Relevant Decisions: 

Application in Chesapeake Bay

Climate change is a global phenomenon 

that is affecting natural and human 

systems in all parts of the world. Some of 

the decisions and actions taken to manage 

these systems are likely to be affected 

by climate change and may likewise 

affect the vulnerability of the managed 

resource or ecosystem to climate change. 

Maintaining or improving the health of 

resources requires not only understanding 

the magnitude of potential impacts, but 

also understanding the effects of climate 

change on specific practices and their 

performance.

EPA’s 2010 report, A Method to Assess 

Climate-Relevant Decisions: Application 

in the Chesapeake Bay (External Review 

Draft), describes an approach to inventory 

and analyze management decisions in 

order to produce useful information 

targeted toward effective adaptation 

to climate change. The Chesapeake Bay 

was chosen for the pilot study because 

decision making occurs at several levels 

(e.g., state, multi-state, EPA, other federal 

agencies), management is concerned with 

both water quality and aquatic ecosystem 

decisions, and decisions that affect actions 

implemented on the ground are readily 

identifiable.

After selecting the Chesapeake Bay as an 

exemplary study area, EPA researchers 

(1) compiled a list of key decisions under 

consideration; (2) developed criteria 

for evaluating the climate-relevance of 

those decisions; (3) applied the criteria to 

determine decisions potentially sensitive 

to climate change; (4) solicited expert 

judgment regarding those selections; 

and (5) tested alternative schemes for 

prioritizing decisions most in need of 

decision support. This study revealed 

that it provides useful information on 

adaptation measures for local decision 

makers and direction for fruitful research 

endeavors that will further improve our 

provision of information.

Air, Climate, and Energy

Chesapeake Bay.
24
25

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical safety is a high priority for EPA. 

Moving toward a safer and more sustainable 

environment requires designing and 

manufacturing new and existing chemicals in 

cleaner, less toxic ways.

With tens of thousands of chemicals currently 

in use and hundreds more introduced each 

year, EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

research aims to develop information, 

methods and tools to make better informed, 

more timely decisions about these chemicals.

Many chemicals have not been thoroughly 

assessed for potential risks to human health 

and the environment, and the impacts of 

use over a chemical’s life cycle (from design 

to production to disposal) are not well

understood. EPA research is focused on 

meeting these challenges using innovative 

approaches, maintaining a life-cycle 

perspective, and embracing the principles 

of green chemistry – the design of chemical 

products and processes that reduce or 

eliminate the generation of hazardous 

substances.

Chemical Safety for Sustainability includes 

research in computational toxicology, 

nanotechnology, green chemical design, 

pesticides, industrial chemicals, endocrinedisrupting chemicals and human health risks. 

This section highlights some of the top 

research results EPA researchers and their 

partners achieved in 2011 advancing Chemical 

Safety for Sustainability. It illustrates specific 

impacts that are important to partners 

of the Agency’s Office of Research and 

Development. The highlights presented were 

contributed by EPA’s research labs, centers, 

and offices located around the country, and 

were performed by Agency scientists and 

engineers, as well as their partners, grantees, 

fellows, and collaborators from across the 

scientific community.
26

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

The Future of Toxicity Testing is Now

In March 2011, EPA leaders gathered 

with their colleagues from the National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 

of the National Institutes of Health, the 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 

and elsewhere to unveil a new high-speed 

robot screening system that will test 

10,000 different chemicals for potential 

toxicity. The celebration marked the 

beginning of a new phase of an ongoing 

collaboration—Tox21—that is working to 

protect people’s health by improving how 

chemicals are tested in this country.

That’s where the robots come in. 

The robot system, which is located at the 

National Institutes of Health Chemical 

Genomics Center (NCGC) in Gaithersburg, 

MD, was purchased as part of the Tox21 

collaboration established in 2008. Tox21 

merges existing resources, including 

research, funding and testing tools, to 

develop ways to more effectively predict 

how chemicals will affect human health 

and the environment.

The mechanized, robot-driven testing 

system greatly reduces the need for lab 

animals in toxicity testing, working instead 

with 3-by-5-inch test plates that are moved 

precisely through a series of steps by 

giant, and constantly moving robot arms. 

Each plate contains 1,536 small wells that 

can hold various living animal cells—

typically skin, liver, or brain cells of rats 

or humans—and a sample of a particular 

chemical to be screened. The robot uses a 

pin tool to dispense a precise amount of a 

chemical being tested into each well. 

Researchers have developed software 

that flags signs of biological activity in 

the exposed cells, so they can interpret 

the results and then identify chemicals 

that warrant further screening or study. 

Just because a chemical shows a reaction 

with an isolated cell (skin, liver, etc.) does 

not necessarily mean that it will have the 

same effect when interacting with a living 

person. To address this, a team of EPA 

researchers are developing algorithms 

that predict whether a person’s organs 

and body as a whole will react to chemical 

exposure the same way their individual 

cells did in the preliminary tests. 

Tox21’s new robot system significantly 

reduces the cost and duration of chemical 

testing, which will allow EPA to better 

identify potentially harmful chemicals and 

serve its core mission to safeguard human 

health and the environment. It also allows 

the FDA to better analyze unexpected 

toxicity, opening the door for better drug 

development.

Tox21: EPA and partner 

researchers are using a robotic 

system to test thousands of 

chemicals.
27

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Advancing the Science of Chemical Risk

Everyday activities, actions as simple 

as biting into an apple, house cleaning, 

or walking across a carpet, may expose 

people to a host of chemicals through a 

variety of pathways. The air we breathe, 

the food and water we consume, and the 

surfaces we touch are all the homes of 

natural and synthetic chemicals, which 

enter our bodies through skin, mouth, and 

lungs.

In most cases, there is not one single 

source for any given chemical that may 

be found in our bodies. This makes 

determining how (and how much of) 

certain chemicals enter our bodies a 

challenge for health assessors and others. 

To address this challenge, EPA scientists 

are using sophisticated computer models 

and methods to develop an innovative 

set of tools that can be used to estimate 

total exposures and risks from chemicals 

people encounter in their daily lives. 

EPA’s Stochastic Human Exposure and 

Dose Simulation (SHEDS) model can 

be used to estimate the range of total 

chemical exposures in a population 

from different exposure pathways 

(inhalation, skin contact, dietary and 

non-dietary ingestion) over different time 

periods. The estimates are calculated 

using available data, such as dietary 

consumption surveys; human activity data 

drawn from EPA’s Consolidated Human 

Activities Database (CHAD); and observed 

chemical levels in food, water, air, and on 

surfaces like floors and counters. The data 

on chemical concentrations and exposure 

factors used as inputs for SHEDS are 

based on measurements collected in 

EPA field studies and published literature 

values. 

The story of how chemicals enter 

the human body doesn’t end there, 

however. The exposure estimates that 

SHEDS generates are now being used 

as inputs for another kind of model – a 

physiologically based pharmacokinetic 

(or PBPK) model, which predicts how 

chemicals move through and concentrate 

in human tissues and body fluids.

Using PBPK models, scientists can take 

the estimates of chemical exposures 

across multiple pathways generated 

by SHEDS, and examine how exposed 

chemicals will distribute to internal organs 

and tissues in the body, and determine 

how long the chemicals will take to be 

naturally processed and eliminated from 

the body.

Together, these two models provide 

scientists with a much more accurate 

picture of the risk certain chemicals pose 

to human health—a picture they’ve 

been able to confirm by extensive 

comparisons against real-world data, 

such as duplicate diet and biometric data 

collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention in the National 

Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 

(NHANES), which collects biomarker data 

from 5,000 people each year. When EPA 

researchers have compared the SHEDSPBPK exposure and dose estimates with 

the physical NHANES data, they’ve found 

that the model’s predictions line up 

very closely with the observations in the 

survey.

SHEDS has already been used in 

developing EPA’s regulatory guidance 

on organophosphate and carbamate 

pesticides, and chromated copper 

arsenate, a chemical wood preservative 

EPA scientists are developing 

models to estimate total exposures 

from everyday activities.
28

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Advancing the Science of Chemical Risk Cont’d.

once used on children’s playground 

equipment. Now, EPA researchers are 

using the coupled SHEDS-PBPK models to 

examine a relatively new class of chemical 

pesticides called pyrethroids to determine 

whether they pose any risk to human 

health and the environment.

EPA scientists are continuing to refine the 

SHEDS and PBPK models used in these 

studies, adding functions and testing them 

against real-world data. For policy makers, 

these models will serve as invaluable tools 

in making decisions meant to protect 

human health and the environment from 

the risk of exposure to harmful chemicals.

Thinking Small: Investigating Nanotechnology

A single nanometer is one-billionth of a 

meter. Nanotechnolgy, it follows, is the 

science, engineering, and technology 

conducted at the nanoscale, manipulating 

and using compounds from about 1 to 100 

nanometers in size. Such materials often 

have unique and desirable commercial 

properties. 

Nanoparticle use has entered the 

consumer and industrial sectors and its use 

is expected to increase significantly in the 

near-future. But along with the promise 

and potential of nanotechnology is the 

need to ensure new products, processes, 

and technologies are developed in ways 

that don’t pose risks to the environment 

and human health. 

EPA researchers recently examined the 

manufacture and use of a range of nanomaterials that are components of other 

products. These experts also studied the 

effect of nanocomponents on the four 

main components of the life cycle of 

resulting products: (1) material selection; 

(2) manufacture; (3) application; and 

(4) disposal/recycling. Because some 

health effects and risks associated with 

components used on this small scale may 

emerge only during discrete life-cycle 

phases, it is important for scientists to 

identify and interpret these risks. 

EPA researchers are providing 

new methods that can be used by 

manufacturers and scientists to 

characterize the size, concentration, and 

chemical composition of nano-based 

products. Researchers are using data 

generated with these methods to develop 

models for predicting how these materials 

are released from plastic composites, 

coatings, and textiles and how they react 

once they are released in the air, water, or 

soil. These data can be used to assess the 

potential hazard of such materials. 

In September 2011, EPA published Guidance 

to Facilitate Decisions for Sustainable 

Nanotechnology, a document providing 

assistance for assessing the sustainability 

of nano-scale products. The document 

delivers up-to-date information about 

nanoproducts to help develop a decisionsupport framework, and to guide sound 

risk management efforts for workers, 

engineers, consumers, and the public. 

Researchers will update subsequent 

releases of the report to help 

stakeholders and to advance sustainable 

nanotechnology.
29

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Thinking Small: Investigating Nanotechnology Cont’d.

Exploring nanoparticle impacts on 

vehicle emissions

One nanotechnology that a team of 

EPA researchers are investigating is 

the fate and effect of nanometer-sized 

cerium particles used as fuel additives, 

particularly as they relate to air quality. The 

researchers are examining the difference 

between ordinary diesel emissions and 

those from diesel mixed with nano-cerium 

additives to better understand how 

adding nano-cerium to fuel changes the 

composition of diesel exhaust. 

EPA scientists are also conducting 

atmospheric modeling research to 

estimate how cerium-induced emissions 

would change air quality if a portion, or 

all, U.S. diesel vehicles used nano-cerium 

fuel additives. Study results are expected 

in 2012.

Effects of Nanomaterials in Natural 

Environments

EPA researchers are also investigating 

whether nanomaterials might have 

harmful effects on ecological systems 

and non-human species. One outcome 

of the work is the finding that certain 

types of nano-scale titanium dioxide, a 

material currently used in many consumer 

products, were found to become very 

toxic to small aquatic organisms in the 

presence of sunlight (when tested in 

specific laboratory conditions). 

While non-toxic in laboratory settings, the 

addition of sunlight increases the toxicity 

of the material by a factor of 100 to 10,000, 

depending on the species tested. The 

phenomenon, called “phototoxicity,” 

occurs at levels of natural sunlight that 

can be expected to occur under natural 

settings. EPA researchers have also 

developed rapid chemical assays that are 

highly predictive of these effects on whole 

organisms and are currently investigating 

these processes in terrestrial and marine 

systems. 

An additional area of focus in that realm 

is the toxicity and food chain transfer of 

single wall carbon nanotubes (a fibrous 

nanomaterial) in marine environments. 

The effort has demonstrated that these 

materials are relatively non-toxic to the 

tested marine species, and cannot be 

transferred along the marine food chain, 

from prey to predator. A key additional 

key outcome of this work has been the 

development of methods for extracting 

single wall carbon nanotubes from 

sediments and organisms and for their 

analysis using near-infrared technology. 
30

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Determining the Cumulative Risk of 

Pyrethroid Insecticides 

Chrysanthemum flowers produce a natural 

pesticide called pyrethrum. Pyrethroid 

insecticides are a similar product but can 

be found in both natural and man-made 

forms. Only a handful of the more than 

1,000 varieties of pyrethroid insecticides 

are used in the United States. These 

pyrethroids are found in products to 

control insects like household sprays, 

pet sprays and shampoos. Use of these 

insecticides has increased throughout the 

past decade, and usage of phosphatebased pesticides—which are toxic to 

humans—has been declining. 

To test the danger of pyrethroid 

insecticides to humans, EPA researchers 

collaborated with the EPA Office 

of Pesticide Programs to complete 

a cumulative risk assessment. This 

assessment looks at pyrethroids and 

their exposures in order to sum up the 

human health risks of these chemicals. 

The assessment produced data for 14 

pyrethroid insecticides using both test 

tube experiments and living models. 

Additionally, EPA researchers generated 

data that showed the effects of exposure 

to multiple pyrethroid insecticides 

simultaneously, as can occur in the real 

world. Multiple exposures are important 

to assess because the effects of individual 

chemicals can become significantly more 

alarming when combined with other 

chemicals. 

EPA published the cumulative risk 

assessment of pyrethroid insecticides in 

November 2011. It indicates that many 

of the current uses for these insecticides 

do not pose risks for children or adults. 

Additionally, the assessment concludes 

that other uses of these insecticides can 

be registered, since their cumulative risks 

raised no red flags. This assessment is 

considered highly conservative (that is, 

it overestimates exposure) because it 

assumes that all people will be exposed 

to the highest possible levels of pesticide 

residue, an event unlikely to occur in real 

life. Even with this conservative exposure 

methodology, the estimated risks to adults 

and children are well below EPA’s level of 

concern.

Making Sense of Biomonitoring Data 

for Understanding Human Exposures 

to Chemicals

When it comes to assessing the health 

of humans and the environment, more 

scientific information (data) is always 

welcome. This is especially true regarding 

chemical exposures. However, handling 

and making use of large amounts of data 

can prove difficult.

In the recent past, many more government 

agencies and other organizations have 

been reporting human biomonitoring 

data. Human biomonitoring refers to 

the process of studying the outcomes of 

chemical exposures on small amounts 

of biological samples like human tissues. 

Once data are received, the next hurdle is 

how to handle this increased amount of 

scientific information.

The National Research Council (NRC) 

of the National Academy of Sciences 

identified gaps and uncertainties in 

EPA’s ability to use and analyze these 

human biomonitoring data in EPA risk 

assessments and management decisions. 

To remedy this situation, the NRC 

concluded that peer-reviewed approaches 

are necessary. 

In response, EPA researchers have 

created a biomonitoring framework to 

guide future human exposure research 

by developing tools and methods that 

help interpret the abundance of data. 
31

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

The framework describes novel tools, 

emerging technologies and biomonitoring 

advances to ultimately improve research 

and decision making. Additionally, the 

framework provides information about 

the types and quality of available data 

to support EPA decisions. This will assist 

public health surveillance efforts and 

EPA’s ability to focus on areas of particular 

concern. 

This framework has been published 

and used by EPA’s Chemical Safety for 

Sustainability research program. The 

knowledge gained from developing and 

using this framework will help fill the 

gaps that the NRC noted, support EPA 

assessments and educate the public about 

the accumulation of chemicals in their 

bodies.

Leveraging Modern Methods: EPA’s 

ToxCast Program 

Many new chemicals are introduced 

into the market each year, adding to the 

thousands already in production and use. 

Testing the potential toxicity of each new 

chemical that people may be exposed to 

presents challenges. To help, EPA launched 

the ToxCastTM program in 2007. 

EPA’s ToxCastTM is a multi-year effort to 

develop a timely, cost-effective approach 

for prioritizing the thousands of chemicals 

that may need further toxicity testing. 

Through the program, Agency researchers 

are developing and using advanced science 

tools to better understand how processes 

within the human body are impacted by 

exposure to chemicals, and working to 

determine which exposures are most likely 

to lead to adverse health effects. 

ToxCastTM is testing more than 2,000 

chemicals under various classifications, 

including active pesticide ingredients, 

inert pesticide ingredients, consumer 

products (such as chemicals in food, 

cosmetics, sunscreens and sweeteners), 

pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial agents, 

and “green,” environmentally-friendly 

chemicals. 

During 2011, EPA scientists completed 

Phase I of ToxCast’s new mediumthroughput test methods for 

developmental neurotoxicity. These 

same chemicals were also used to test for 

developmental toxicity in a novel zebra 

fish assay. 

Through the work of EPA researchers, 13 

peer-reviewed scientific articles presenting 

ToxCast research results were published in 

2011, including PLoS ONE, Chemical Research 

in Toxicology, and Toxicological Sciences. 

Perchlorate Exposure Associated 

With Indirect Indicators of Thyroid 

Problems

Perchlorate is a chemical that occurs both 

naturally and through manufacturing. 

Manufacturers use it to make rocket fuel, 

fireworks, flares and explosives, and it 

can also be present in bleach and in some 

fertilizers.

Scientists have found low levels of 

perchlorate in drinking and groundwater 

in most states. This contaminant may have 

harmful effects on the thyroid gland, a part 

of the body essential to the production of 

hormones needed for normal growth and 

development. A recent EPA study looked 

at the association between perchlorate 

in urine samples and biological signs of 

thyroid hormone disruption.

To do this, Agency scientists used 2001 and 

2002 data from the National Health and 

Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). 

NHANES assesses the health and 

nutritional status of adults and children in 

the United States by combining interviews 

and physical examinations of 5,000 

residents every year.
32

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

This study presents an innovative 

approach to using biological signs of 

thyroid dysfunction among both men and 

women to test for low-level, significant 

exposure to perchlorate. EPA researchers 

linked certain biological signs of thyroid 

function to findings of perchorlate in 

urine. The results of this study were 

published in December, 2011 in a paper 

titled, Association Between Perchlorate and 

Indirect Indicators of Thyroid Dysfunction 

in NHANES 2001-2002, a Cross-Sectional, 

Hypothesis-Generating Study.

Improving Access to Analysis with 

ExpoCastDB

In 2011, EPA scientists released a database 

of chemical exposure studies known as 

ExpoCast DB. ExpoCastDB consolidates 

human exposure data from studies 

that have included the collection of 

chemical measurements from homes 

and childcare centers. Data include the 

amounts of chemicals found in food, 

drinking water, air, dust, indoor surfaces 

and urine. ExpoCastDB users can obtain 

summary statistics of exposure data and 

download datasets. EPA scientists will 

continue to add internal and external 

chemical exposure data and advanced user 

interface features to ExpoCastDB. 

The tool is available to both researchers 

and the public and can be found online 

at: http://actor.epa.gov/actor/faces/

ExpoCastDB/Home.jsp.

Characterizing Aquatic Exposures to 

Real-world Chemical Mixtures 

EPA scientists have developed and 

applied innovative methods for rapidly 

characterizing the impact of real-world 

exposures to mixtures of endocrine 

disrupting chemicals, pesticides, and other 

emerging chemicals of concern for aquatic 

species (fish). 

The methods developed can be used as a 

biomonitoring tool for identifying chemical 

exposures from potentially contaminated 

waters, and to demonstrate the 

effectiveness of actions taken to reduce 

such exposures. The validated methods 

will provide partners and stakeholders, 

including EPA Regions, the National 
33

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Enforcement Investigations Center, the 

Great Lakes National Program and EPA’s 

Office of Water, with a way to rapidly 

identify source waters that may result in 

unsafe exposures for both aquatic species 

and people.

Leadership in Life Cycle Assessments 

and Data Availability

EPA plays a leading role in governmentwide discussions on the adoption 

of life cycle assessments (LCAs). An 

LCA examines the total potential 

environmental impacts associated with a 

product from its creation to its disposal. 

This process of studying a product’s 

complete life cycle requires an 

examination of the raw materials used 

and the way materials are produced. 

Factors such as the product’s use, reuse 

and maintenance are also incorporated 

into an LCA. The LCA process is data 

intensive, expensive and time-consuming. 

Thus, EPA researchers have tried to make 

completed LCA data more readily available 

to industries and the public.

On a national level, EPA supports 

advancement of the Life Cycle Inventory 

Database, an LCA database for products 

within the United States. On an 

international level, EPA works with the 

United Nations Environment Programme 

and the Society of Environmental 

Toxicology and Chemistry to improve 

the way information is shared across 

databases around the world. Other 

EPA international work increases the 

credibility of existing LCA data, generates 

additional data, enhances data accessibility 

and complements other data-related 

initiatives.

Additionally, EPA scientists are 

participating in a multi-agency effort to 

create a data “commons” platform for 

easy public access to federal LCA data. 

This effort includes collaboration with the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory, National 

Institute of Standards and Technology and 

the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

One important objective is the creation 

of a “digital commons” to link federal 

LCA data with that of the private sector. 

Such connections could have a significant 

impact on the resources available to 

promote sustainable products.

Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-ion 

Batteries 

The primary goal of many of EPA’s 

LCA studies is to help companies make 

environmentally-friendly choices about 

which materials they use and how they 

manufacture products. These studies can 

also identify areas that might benefit from 

better energy efficiency. One such study 

involves the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery 

system used today in many hybrid cars.

The automobile industry’s production of 

alternative vehicles (for example, electric, 

hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric) 

has grown substantially in recent years. 

Growth in this sector supports the Obama 

Administration’s goal of reducing U.S. 

dependence on oil. 

Lead is the primary metal used for 
34

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

batteries found in conventional cars and 

trucks. Most hybrid car batteries, on the 

other hand, are made of either nickelmetal hydride or lithium-ion (Li-ion), 

both of which are more environmentally 

friendly than lead-based batteries. Li-ion 

is generally considered the least toxic 

of the battery options; however, the 

environmental impacts of the production, 

usage and disposal of Li-ion batteries are 

largely unknown. 

In conjunction with EPA’s Office of 

Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, 

EPA researchers conducted a study on 

the life cycle of the Li-ion battery energy 

system in vehicles. The study estimates the 

environmental impact of the Li-ion battery 

by examining each step of its “life,” 

from the collection of the raw materials 

to the production of the battery to its 

final disposal. Researchers are currently 

preparing a report on the Li-ion battery 

study. 

Greening the Government and 

Advancing Sustainability 

EPA scientists are leading the way in 

federal efforts to “go green.” Going green 

will allow the government to run more 

efficiently while supporting environmental 

goals. 

Working towards a green goal, EPA 

scientists support the Agency’s Sustainable 

Products Network (SPN) effort. The SPN 

promotes EPA’s leadership in green and 

sustainable product development and 

procurement for use by other agencies. 

EPA encourages the adoption of SPN’s set 

of environmental standards for certain 

products and services.

Additionally, EPA researchers continue 

to work with the General Services 

Administration (GSA) on purchasing 

environmentally-friendly products. This 

partnership also helps calculate the 

environmental impacts related to federal 

spending. On “America Recycles Day,” 

EPA and GSA worked together to highlight 

the benefits of recycling electronics, or 

“e-Cycling,” and promote sustainability 

and green solutions. 

For sustainable and green solutions 

to make an impact, the sustainability 

claims of commercial products must be 

consistent. EPA scientists and engineers 

are working with the Office of Resource 

Conservation and Recovery to ensure 

accurate claims about the sustainable 

life cycle of “green” products, including 

claims about a product’s carbon footprint. 

EPA researchers from the Sustainable 

Technologies Division co-led a study on the 

rules for such claims.
35

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Characterizing Perfluorinated 

Chemicals in Water 

EPA scientists have developed and applied 

analytical methods for characterizing the 

concentration of perfluorinated chemicals 

in surface and well water samples. 

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are 

manmade chemicals used in a wide range 

of commercial and consumer products 

(e.g., textiles, electronics, stain-protective 

coatings). EPA analytical methods have 

been used in a series of field studies to 

generate high quality environmental data. 

EPA’s Office of Water considered 

the results when establishing the 

provisional health advisory guidelines 

for drinking water for two common 

PFCs (perfluorooctane sulfonate and 

perfluorooctanoic acid). The methods 

are being used by EPA Regional Offices 

to monitor surface and drinking water 

supplies to ensure exposures to these 

PFCs from public drinking water supplies 

are safe. 

Cell Culture-based Tests Open Up New 

Field of ‘Metabolomics’

Testing the effect of chemicals on the 

metabolic processes of living cells can be 

time-consuming and expensive. This is 

especially true when multiple chemicals 

are evaluated at the same time. EPA 

scientists have sidestepped these issues 

by developing a more efficient method for 

assessing chemical risks. This innovative 

method is a novel type of cell culturebased research called metabolomics. 

Chemical processes that occur within 

cells leave behind unique chemical 

“fingerprints.” Metabolomics is the study 

of these metabolic fingerprints and the 

cellular processes that produce them. The 

fingerprints can be studied to understand 

changes that are occurring within cells that 

have been exposed to a specific chemical. 

To test chemical toxicity, cells are grown 

in a well-controlled environment. Highly 

automated processing reduces costs, the 

use of animals and time. 

Following the exposure of cells to a 

chemical, researchers perform nuclear 

magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) 

and mass spectrometry (MS) on the 

biofluids from the cell cultures. NMR and 

MS will indicate any changes to the normal 

composition of cellular metabolites. EPA 

scientists have reduced the time for these 

processing steps by more than 10-fold 

compared to traditional methods. The 

changes in cellular metabolites caused 

by chemical(s) exposure can now be 

obtained rapidly. Further analysis can 

provide knowledge about the exact nature 

of the toxicity produced by chemical(s) 

exposures.

EPA researcher shown here with nuclear 

magnetic resonance equipment used in 

metabolomics research.
36

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Computerized System for Pesticides 

EPA scientists have developed a 

computerized system to support the 

rapid evaluation of pesticide applications 

submitted to the Agency for registration 

or re-registration. The system includes a 

search engine and associated database of 

chemical metabolic maps and supporting 

data for a large number of currently 

registered pesticides. 

When a pesticide application is submitted, 

Agency risk assessors can efficiently 

evaluate the chemical against other similar 

registered compounds and efficiently 

determine the potential for the new 

chemical, its metabolites, and remnants 

left after its degradation, to result in 

harm to humans or the environment. The 

system provides risk assessors with data 

and knowledge for the rapid, inexpensive, 

and reliable prioritization of chemicals 

and supports EPA’s efforts to reduce the 

requirements for expensive animal testing.

Supporting EPA Research 

Partners

EPA awards research grants and awards in 

a diversity of environmental science and 

engineering disciplines—including work 

in Chemical Safety for Sustainability—

through its Science to Achieve Results 

(STAR) program. The Agency is also one of 

11 federal agencies that participate in the 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 

Program established by the Small Business 

Innovation Development Act of 1982. 

Together, these programs engage the 

nation’s best scientists, engineers, and 

innovative small businesses in targeted 

research that complements EPA’s own 

outstanding intramural research program. 

Accomplishments of EPA partners in the 

areas of Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

for 2011 include the following highlights. 

Cutting-Edge Science on Human Liver 

Response to Toxic Chemicals

The human liver is like a waste treatment 

plant for the body, playing a key role in 

removing harmful chemicals. However, 

if a chemical is toxic to the liver, it can 

affect how the body responds to other 

chemicals.

To advance innovative research in the 

area of chemical toxicity testing and 

the human liver, EPA awarded nearly $3 

million to researchers from four academic 

institutions: Virginia Polytechnic Institute 

and State University (VA Tech), The 

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

(UNC), Indiana University Bloomington 

(IU), and The Hamner Institutes for Health 

Sciences based in North Carolina.

Every year, manufacturers introduce 

hundreds of new chemicals into the 

marketplace, adding to the tens of 

thousands that are already in use. 

Understanding how chemicals might 

be toxic to the liver is critical to public 

health. Traditionally, chemical toxicity 

studies are conducted using animal testing 

which is expensive, time-consuming, and 
37

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

controversial. To ease the burden of animal 

testing, scientists at the four institutions 

are working to create new methods and 

tools to expand current understanding 

of the effects of certain chemicals on the 

liver.

Researchers at VA Tech hope to engineer 

a 3-dimensional tissue that will mimic liver 

behavior. By exposing this liver model 

to known toxicants, scientists will use 

genetic work and computational modeling 

to understand the biological effects 

on the liver due to each chemical and 

combinations of chemicals.

The Hamner Institutes will create a 

multicellular model of a human liver 

lobe to study the effects of a highly 

toxic environmental contaminant, 

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

IU researchers propose to craft tools 

and standards to help researchers 

share information about liver model 

characteristics and toxicology.

Scientists from UNC will gather and 

organize a biological and chemical 

information database that relates to liver 

toxicity. With this information, they plan 

to develop predictive models for chemical 

impacts on the liver.

Prenatal Exposure to Pesticides 

Linked to IQ Deficits 

Three independent investigations 

supported by the EPA-funded Children’s 

Environmental Health Research Centers

reached similar conclusions associating 

prenatal exposure to organophosphate 

(OP) pesticides with IQ deficits in schoolage children. 

All three investigations found some 

evidence of an association between OP 

exposures in utero and negative impacts 

on intelligence and mental development 

at around seven years of age, including 

memory, processing speed, verbal 

comprehension, perceptual reasoning, and 

full scale IQ.

The three studies were conducted at the 

University of California, Berkeley, School 

of Public Health; the Mailman School of 

Public Health at Columbia University; 

and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. 

All involved cohorts of women enrolled 

during pregnancy. 

The Berkeley and Mount Sinai 

investigators measured OP pesticide 

metabolites in the pregnant women’s 

urine, while the Columbia investigators 

measured the OP pesticide chlorpyrifos 

in umbilical cord blood. Intelligence tests 

were administered to children of these 

mothers between ages 6 and 9 years at 

Mount Sinai and at age 7 years at Berkeley 

and Columbia.

Although the study findings are 

not directly comparable, all three 

investigations found evidence linking 

prenatal OP pesticide exposures with 

adverse effects on cognitive function that 

continued into early childhood.

Organophosphate pesticides have been 

associated with brain and nervous system 

damage in animal and human studies. In 

2010 the U.S. EPA registered more than 

30 organophosphate pesticides, including 

several for home garden use. Chlorpyrifos, 

which figures prominently in two of 

the three EHP studies, is widely used in 

agriculture as well as in household ant and 

EPA is advancing the 

understanding of how chemicals 

might be toxic to the human liver.
38

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

roach baits in child-resistant packaging, 

although all other home uses of this 

pesticide were phased out after 2000 

due to concerns about neurotoxicity in 

humans.

(Also see Children’s Environmental Health 

and Disease Prevention Research Centers, 

page 62.)

Study Improves Understanding of 

Arsenic in Food

A study advancing the understanding of 

the dietary sources of human exposure 

to arsenic has just been published in the 

Proceedings of the National Academy 

of Sciences (PNAS) by a team of 

scientists from the EPA/NIEHS Children’s 

Environmental Health and Disease 

Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth 

College (Dartmouth Children’s Center).

The study measured the arsenic levels 

in the urine from about 230 pregnant 

women living in New Hampshire, and 

found that the level was significantly 

higher for women who had eaten rice 

within 2 days of the testing than those 

that had not eaten rice. The level of 

naturally occurring arsenic in well water 

in the area where the study is being 

conducted is higher than in many other 

parts of the U.S. Although EPA standards 

set limits for arsenic levels in drinking 

water, concerns about arsenic exposure 

are now extending beyond water to foods 

such as the rice plant, which can take up 

arsenic from the environment where it 

is grown. Researchers are investigating 

whether the combined level of arsenic 

from both water and food could affect the 

health of the developing fetus and young 

children. 

The authors note that their findings 

highlight the potential need to monitor 

arsenic content in food and reinforce the 

concern that some private well water in 

some areas of New Hampshire may be 

a potential source of arsenic exposure. 

While this study reveals the potential for 

exposure to arsenic from rice, additional 

research is needed to determine if there 

are actual health impacts from this type of 

exposure and ultimately any health risks, 

if found, would then need to be weighed 

against the nutritional benefits of rice 

consumption.

This study confirms research conducted 

by EPA scientists in 2009 that found that 

some fruits, fruit juices, rice, beer, flour, 

corn and wheat can be dietary sources of 

arsenic. The 2009 study used computer 
39

Chemical Safety for Sustainability

Chemical Safety for Sustainability 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

models to develop population-level 

estimates of exposure to arsenic from 

food. The study found estimated arsenic 

exposures from diet to be approximately 

one-fifth the level set by EPA to protect 

consumers from the effects of long-term 

exposure to arsenic in tap water. 

The Dartmouth Children’s Center is 

jointly funded by the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency and the National 

Institute for Environmental Health 

Sciences. The goal of the Children’s Center 

is to better understand the combined 

impact of arsenic both in drinking water 

and food on children’s health and to 

support community and public awareness 

to minimize those health risks and reduce 

environmental threats to children’s health.

(Also see Children’s Environmental Health 

and Disease Prevention Research Centers, 

page 62.)
40
41

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development

Human Health Risk Assessment

Every day, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) must make 

decisions about environmental pollutants 

that impact human health and the 

environment. There are currently more 

than 80,000 chemicals in commerce, and 

more are introduced each year. Only a 

small fraction of these chemicals have 

been adequately assessed for potential 

risk, often because of limits in existing 

data, tools, and resources. 

EPA’s Human Health Risk Assessment 

research helps address this problem by 

providing state-of-the-science products 

in support of risk assessment, such as 

independently peer reviewed human 

health assessments for individual 

chemicals and chemical mixtures; 

integrated science assessments for criteria 

air pollutants; rapid risk assessments and 

technical support to meet partner and 

stakeholder needs; and tools to modernize 

human health risk assessment. 

The products of this research are used 

by local, state, national and international 

authorities to guide waste site cleanups, 

protect the air, set exposure limits 

for drinking water, and determine the 

potential risk to public health from 

exposures to multiple environmental 

contaminants. EPA and its partners help 

drive the evolution of the science of risk 

assessment through original research, 

consultation with experts and by accepting 

new challenges. These include developing 

community risk assessment tools and 

tailoring risk assessments to support key 

decisions. 

This section presents highlights of EPA 

research activities and achievements 

in 2011 in the area of human health risk 

assessment.
42

Human Health Risk Assessment

Truck Loads of Science? Gathering the Best Air Science 

Years ago a member of EPA’s Science 

Advisory Board was asked in a 

Congressional hearing if EPA could provide 

Congress with the data it relied on in its 

recent plan to regulate particulate matter 

in air. He answered that this was possible, 

but you would have to back an 18 wheel 

truck up to the Longworth House Office 

Building to do it.

EPA evaluates and integrates evidence, 

often many thousands of studies, from 

across scientific disciplines—atmospheric 

sciences, dosimetry, exposure, toxicology, 

controlled human exposure, epidemiology 

and ecology—to provide the scientific 

basis for decisions to retain or revise the 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for “criteria” air pollutants. EPA 

calls them “criteria” pollutants because 

the Agency uses criteria based on human 

health and environmental effects to set 

acceptable levels. 

There are six criteria air pollutants: 

1. Ozone, 

2. Particulate matter, 

3. Carbon monoxide, 

4. Sulfur dioxide, 

5. Nitrogen oxides, and 

6. Lead 

Numerous and diverse industrial, 

commercial, residential and traffic sources 

release these pollutants into the air. 

They are considered harmful to public 

health and the environment when their 

concentration exceeds an acceptable 

level, referred to as the standard level. It 

is EPA’s job to re-evaluate the standards 

for these pollutants every five years. EPA 

then works with the states to take steps 

to comply with the standards to protect 

public health.

In the past, EPA’s scientific reviews for 

each criteria pollutant ran to thousands 

of pages. Today, the Agency summarizes 

and synthesizes the most policy-relevant 

science in Integrated Science Assessments 

(ISAs) for the criteria pollutants. All 

ISA documents are vetted through a 

rigorous peer review process. This process 

includes two reviews by the Clean Air 

Scientific Advisory Council (CASAC) and 

an opportunity for public review and 

comment. 

During the past year the Agency made 

significant progress in generating and 

reviewing ISAs. The Agency released 

the first draft of the ISA for Lead (Pb) in 

May 2011, and it was reviewed at a CASAC 

peer review meeting in July. The Agency 

also released the first draft of the ISA 

for Ozone in March 2011, and it was peer 

reviewed at a meeting of the CASAC in 

May 2011. For both pollutants, second 
43

Human Health Risk Assessment

draft ISAs were prepared for release in 

2012, incorporating revisions to respond to 

public and peer review comments.

Because people are not exposed to 

only one pollutant at a time, but rather 

a complex mixture of pollutants, the 

scientific and regulatory communities 

are studying how to evaluate the 

health and environmental impacts of 

exposure to mixtures of air pollutants. 

This is a challenging problem. In 2011, 

EPA convened a multipollutant science 

Truck Loads of Science? Gathering the Best Air Science Cont’d.

and risk analysis workshop to explore 

this topic, and to identify challenges 

and opportunities in developing a 

Multipollutant Science Assessment 

(MSA). EPA is now working to develop 

a framework for an MSA as a companion 

assessment to the ISAs whereby the 

health effects of exposure to a mixture 

of pollutants, principally the criteria 

air pollutants, may be systematically 

evaluated.

Setting air quality standards for the 

criteria pollutants has far-reaching 

health and economic benefits across the 

nation. By setting scientifically sound 

standards, EPA hopes to reduce mortality, 

hospitalizations, missed workdays, 

asthma episodes and other serious health 

effects. Across the federal government, 

economists and other experts consistently 

have found that EPA’s air quality standards 

have resulted in the greatest benefit to 

public health of any policies developed by 

any government agency.

Integrated Science Assessments (ISAs)

Criteria Pollutant (Human Health and Ecological Effects) Status of ISA

Lead (neurodevelopmental effects; effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems) Underway – 1st draft May 2011; second 

draft February 2012

Ozone (respiratory effects; reduced plant growth and visible foliar injury) Underway – 1st draft March 2011; second 

draft September 2011

Carbon Monoxide (cardiovascular effects) Completed in January 2010.
44

Human Health Risk Assessment

A Global Resource Improves: The IRIS Process and Assessments 

EPA plays an important role in providing 

timely, high-quality and accessible human 

health risk information on environmental 

contaminants that may endanger the 

health of the American public. Central 

to this aspect of EPA’s mission is the 

Integrated Risk Information System, 

commonly called the IRIS Program. 

This program provides health effects 

information on chemicals to which the 

public may be exposed from releases 

to air, water, and land and through 

the use and disposal of products. IRIS 

assessments provide a critical part of the 

scientific foundation for EPA decisions 

to protect public health across EPA’s 

programs and regions under an array of 

environmental laws. These documents 

provide federal, state, local and other 

policy makers with the latest scientific 

information to make decisions about 

cleanup and other actions to protect 

people’s health. IRIS assessments provide 

information on a chemical’s potential 

for causing adverse health effects along 

with information about the relationship 

between the dose of the substance and 

the biological response. Government 

and private entities combine IRIS values 

with information about exposure to 

characterize the public health risks of 

chemical substances. EPA and others 

use this information, along with relevant 

considerations such as statutory and 

legal requirements, economic and social 

factors, risk management options, and 

public health and cost/benefit information 

to make decisions about chemicals in the 

environment. Therefore, IRIS assessments 

provide a critical part of the science to 

support risk management decisions to 

protect public health, but they are not a 

complete risk assessment or a regulatory 

level.

IRIS contains information on more than 

560 chemicals, and the program continues 

to grow. Over the past few years, EPA has 

taken several actions to improve the IRIS 

Program. For example, in May 2009, EPA 

announced a new IRIS process designed to 

streamline and strengthen the assessment 

development process while ensuring the 

highest level of scientific quality, integrity, 

transparency, and timeliness. This new 

process reduced the number of steps in 

the assessment development process 

from 14 to 7 and improved transparency 

by clearly documenting and explaining 

changes in EPA’s scientific judgments 

during the assessment development 

process and making comments from other 

federal agencies and White House offices 

publicly available. Since the new process 

was instituted and as of the writing of 

this report, EPA has completed 24 IRIS 

assessments.

In April 2011, the National Research Council 

(NRC) made suggestions to improve the 

development of draft IRIS assessments. 

EPA welcomes those suggestions and 

is fully implementing them consistent 

with the NRC’s Roadmap for Revision, 

which viewed the full implementation 

of their recommendations as a multiyear process. Consistent with the NRC 

recommendations, draft assessments 

released in fiscal year 2012 will be shorter 

and more concise, clear, systematic, and 

visual. In addition, these assessments will 

use a new document structure, including 

an executive summary presenting major 

conclusions, a preamble describing 

methods used to develop the assessment, 

distinct sections on hazard identification 

and dose response, and more tables and 

figures to present data.

In 2011, EPA released four final IRIS 

assessments, including the long-awaited 

assessment for trichloroethylene (TCE). 
45

Human Health Risk Assessment

A Global Resource Improves: The IRIS Process and Assessments Cont’d.

a family of toxic chemicals that share a 

similar chemical structure and induce harm 

through a similar mechanism. One specific 

dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin 

(TCDD), is best known for being the active 

ingredient in Agent Orange, a widely 

used herbicide in the Vietnam War. TCDD 

has long been associated with a range 

of adverse developmental and cancercausing health effects in humans, including 

disruption of the hormone system and 

multiple tumors. While the manufacture 

of TCDD stopped in the 1970s, dioxins 

remain in the environment due to their 

longevity and the ongoing contributions 

as a by-product of incineration processes. 

The levels of dioxins in the environment 

have been falling over time thanks to a 

number of federal and state regulations 

and cleanup actions. 

EPA strives to continually improve the IRIS 

Program while developing scientifically 

rigorous chemical health assessments. 

IRIS assessments are held to the highest 

Agency standards, and the process for 

developing an IRIS assessment includes 

rigorous independent external peer 

review, internal review by EPA scientists, 

public review and comment, and 

opportunities for review by other federal 

agencies. These standards are among the 

best in the federal government and the 

scientific community.

TCE is a widely used industrial solvent 

commonly found at Superfund sites 

across the country. In the assessment, 

EPA concluded that TCE causes cancer 

in humans and also poses a non-cancer 

health hazard to the central nervous 

system, kidney, liver, immune system, male 

reproductive organs and the developing 

fetus’ cardiac system. 

In 2011, EPA also made tremendous 

progress toward completing its 

assessment of dioxin, receiving a favorable 

review by the Agency’s Science Advisory 

Board in August 2011 and advancing the 

noncancer portion of the assessment 

to the final steps of the assessment 

development process. Dioxins refer to 
46

Human Health Risk Assessment

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

EPA Improves Exposure Factors 

Handbook for Broader Use 

A thorough assessment of a person’s 

exposure to toxic chemicals is important 

to determine how to limit or avoid 

exposures to dangerous pollutants. 

Exposure factors are estimates that are 

related to human behavior patterns and 

characteristics that help determine the 

level of a person’s contact with a chemical. 

In 2011, EPA released a revision of the 1997 

Exposure Factors Handbook reference tool 

and also released a companion highlights 

document.

The purpose of the handbook is to: (1) 

summarize data on human behaviors 

and physiology that affect exposure 

to environmental pollutants; and (2) 

recommend values to use for these 

factors. To complete that goal, the 

handbook gives information and reviews 

statistical data on various physiological 

and behavioral factors that are often used 

in assessing exposure to environmental 

chemicals. Recommended values are 

given for the general population and for 

various parts of the population who may 

have characteristics different from the 

general population, such as children and 

the elderly.

The main audience for the handbook is 

exposure and risk assessors who need 

data on standard factors to determine 

people’s exposure to toxic chemicals. 

Steps for doing an exposure assessment 

include: (1) figuring out the source of the 

environmental contamination and the 

media (air, water, etc.) that moves the 

pollutant; (2) determining the contaminant 

concentration; (3) determining the ways 

people can be exposed to the toxicant; 

(4) determining the things people do 

that change their amount of exposure, 

such as time, frequency and duration 

of exposure; and (5) identifying the 

people exposed. Exposure factors to 

assess include: drinking water intake; soil 

intake; rates from breathing; skin factors, 

including skin area and soil attachment 

and penetration factors; intake of specific 

food groups (e.g., fruits and vegetables, 

fish, meats, dairy products, grain products 

and homegrown foods); total food intake; 

breast milk intake; human activity factors; 

consumer product use; and residential 

characteristics.

The data presented in the Exposure Factors 

Handbook have been combined from 

various sources, including government 

reports and information presented in 

scientific journals. Studies included in 

the handbook were chosen because 

they were seen as useful and fitting for 

estimating exposure factors based on the 

following considerations: (1) soundness 

(adequacy of approach and a small 

or defined bias); (2) applicability and 

usefulness (focus on the exposure factor 

of interest, representativeness of the 

population, currency of the information 

and adequacy of the data collection 

time span); (3) clarity and completeness 

(accessibility, reproducibility and quality 

assurance); (4) variability and uncertainty 

(variability in people and uncertainty 

in the results); and (5) evaluation and 

review (level of peer review and number 

and agreement of studies). EPA assigns 

confidence ratings of low, medium or 

high to each recommended value based 

on those considerations. The ratings are 

not supposed to be uncertainty analyses; 

rather, they should be seen as suggestions 

that EPA programs or individual exposure 

and risk assessors can think about and 

change as needed based on their own 

evaluation of a given risk assessment 

situation. The Exposure Factors Handbook

is the Agency’s main source of exposure 

factor information, and is used by 

exposure and risk assessors within and 
47

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

outside the Agency as a reference tool. 

EPA strives to include in the Handbook 

full discussions of the issues that 

assessors should think about in deciding 

how to use the exposure factors and 

recommendations.

Health and Environmental Research 

Online (HERO) Database

If you have ever wondered what science 

EPA uses in its assessments, then the 

Health and Environmental Research Online 

(HERO) database is the place for you. EPA 

is dramatically increasing the transparency 

of and public accessibility to scientific 

information identified, evaluated and 

used in EPA assessments. Introduced in 

2009, the HERO database is used by EPA 

to develop rigorous and transparent risk 

assessments and to share information with 

the public.

What is HERO? HERO is a database of 

the scientific studies considered and 

used in EPA assessments. It represents 

a transformational approach in using 

the world’s scientific literature in the 

risk assessment process. HERO is a 

comprehensive system to identify, 

compile, characterize, analyze, synthesize 

and prioritize scientific studies used in 

health assessments. HERO is an evergreen 

database, meaning that new studies are 

added continuously so that scientists 

can always keep up with new research. 

References, including peer-reviewed 

papers, technical bulletins, conference 

proceedings and other sources, are sorted, 

classified and made available through 

HERO.

HERO includes more than 300,000 

scientific papers from peer-reviewed 

work used by a variety of EPA and 

outside experts in creating Integrated 

Science Assessments (ISAs), Integrated 

Risk Information System assessments, 

and other research and assessment 

documents. For example, in the ISAs for 

Lead and Ozone currently in development, 

there are hyperlinks to bibliographic 

information in HERO for each reference 

cited. Also, HERO web pages for the 

pollutants provide information on the 

references considered and included in the 

assessments.

In addition to supporting Agency 

researchers, HERO gives the public an 

easy way to search and analyze the 

scientific literature underlying health and 

environmental risk assessments that are 

used to support EPA decision making. The 

HERO website provides tools and data to 

help the public and other stakeholders 

identify important research. Every 

American has the right to know what data 

underly key regulatory decisions and, as 

such, HERO is an important contribution to 

open government directives. 

Improvements and Innovations in 

Dose Response Assessment

Chemical health assessments are a key 

component of the science underlying 

environmental decisions at EPA, and it is 

critical that they are based on the best 

available science. In 2011, EPA made 

several improvements to three tools used 

to develop chemical health assessments, 

such as Integrated Risk Information 

System (IRIS) assessments. These 

innovations will improve the scientific 

foundation of the Agency’s chemical 

health assessments. 

Multistage Weibull Time-to-Tumor Model: 

This model estimates the time it takes 

for tumors to form after a person is 

exposed to different doses of a cancercausing chemical. The tool is an important 

component of chemical risk assessment 

for cancer causing agents since scientists 

know that there is a latency period for 

Human Health Risk Assessment
48

Human Health Risk Assessment

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

developing cancer that varies according to 

the size of the chemical dose and potency 

of the chemical. The model predicts two 

types of results from exposure to cancercausing agents: death from cancer and the 

development of cancerous lesions (which 

applies to non-lethal types of cancer). 

CatReg: CatReg is an important statistical 

tool that helps scientists use data 

from multiple studies when estimating 

doses associated with extra risk. EPA 

researchers can use CatReg to analyze 

toxicity data after they are assigned to 

severity categories for effects (e.g., no 

effect, adverse effect, severe effect). 

CatReg calculates the probabilities of the 

different severity categories over different 

exposure conditions. CatReg can be used 

to analyze data from multiple endpoints 

within a single study or a combination of 

similar studies. This important tool helps 

EPA make better use of a wide range of 

toxicity data in IRIS and other chemical 

health assessments.

Updates to Benchmark Dose Software: 

When investigators test the 

carcinogenicity of a chemical in animal 

experiments, it often causes more than 

one type of cancer. The National Research 

Council suggested that EPA develop a 

model that accounts for these results. 

The model would assume that even 

though more than one type of cancer 

could develop from exposure, the risk 

of developing one type of cancer is 

independent from all the others. More 

than a decade ago, EPA released its first 

version of Benchmark Dose Software 

(BMDS). A benchmark dose (BMD) is an 

estimate of the dose or concentration 

that can be expected to produce a 

change in the rate at which a chemical 

causes harm. An example is how much 

chemical exposure it would take to cause 

a 10 percent increase in a particular type 

of cancer compared to unexposed test 

animals. The 2011 update to the BMDS 

calculates composite risk values for 

multiple tumor types, allowing EPA to 

evaluate the health risks from exposure to 

carcinogens in a more realistic way.

Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity 

Values Help Protect Health

There are currently more than a thousand 

hazardous waste sites in the United States. 

Often, these sites are contaminated with 

multiple chemicals. EPA’s Superfund 

program conducts risk assessments to 

determine how threatening a hazardous 

waste site is to human health and the 

environment. Risk assessors seek to 

determine a safe level for each potentially 

dangerous contaminant present. For 
49

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

humans, this is a level at which adverse 

health effects are unlikely and the 

probability of cancer is very small. In 

order to conduct a robust human health 

risk assessment at a hazardous waste site, 

EPA needs information on the hazard and 

dose-response of the chemicals present, as 

well as other scientific information like the 

nature and extent of human exposure to 

the chemicals. 

Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values, 

or PPRTVs, are toxicity values derived for 

use in EPA’s Superfund program when a 

value is not available in the IRIS database. 

They provide important information 

on the hazard and dose-response of 

chemicals. This information is then used 

by the Superfund program and regional 

decision makers to conduct site-specific 

risk assessments and make site-specific 

clean-up decisions. 

PPRTVs are derived following a review of 

relevant scientific literature using the same 

methods, sources of data and guidance 

used by the IRIS Program to derive values. 

All PPRTVs receive internal review by a 

panel of EPA scientists and external peer 

review by independent scientific experts 

and are publicly available. PPRTVs provide 

hazard and dose-response information 

pertaining to chronic and subchronic 

exposures to substances of concern; 

present the major conclusions reached in 

the hazard identification and derivation 

of the PPRTVs; and characterize the 

overall confidence in these conclusions 

and toxicity values. References in PPRTV 

documents are linked to the HERO 

database to provide transparency and 

allow the user to access the literature on 

which the PPRTVs are based. Currently, 

the PPRTV database contains assessments 

for more than 300 chemicals.

The toxicity values developed through 

the PPRTV program are used by EPA and 

others to develop risk assessments that 

guide risk management decisions. These 

decisions affect the soil, air and water 

quality across the country. Through its 

PPRTV development efforts, EPA increases 

its capacity to protect public health and 

clean up contaminated communities.

New Respiratory Science Shapes 

Reference Concentration Methods

EPA has released an update of a 1994 

document on the health effects of 

breathing harmful chemicals. The 

original document was entitled Methods 

for Derivation of Inhalation Reference 

Concentrations and Applications of 

Inhalation Dosimetry (sometimes referred 

to as RfC Methods). The 1994 RfC Methods

outlined how to interpret the levels and 

Human Health Risk Assessment
50

Human Health Risk Assessment

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

impacts of airborne gases. It explained the 

components of inhalation and airflow to 

specific areas of the lung.

Since the release of RfC Methods nearly 20 

years ago, new scientific developments 

and advancements have occurred. 

Scientists now understand inhalation 

processes better and have improved ways 

to measure doses of gases. One example 

of scientific progress is the ability to use 

computational fluid dynamic models to 

estimate flow for different regions of the 

respiratory tract more accurately. 

In September 2011, EPA released 

a summary report on advances in 

inhalation and gas dose measures for the 

regions of the lower respiratory tract. It 

emphasized new data on animal-to-human 

comparisons and children’s inhalation 

patterns. EPA intends to use the report to 

support future revisions to the Agency’s 

RfC Methods document. The summary 

report will help EPA use science-based 

inhalation and dose findings to conduct 

human health risk assessments.

Training and Education on State-ofthe-Art Risk Assessment Practices

Sound environmental decision-making 

must be based on strong science. Risk 

assessment is a critical scientific tool 

used by EPA and others to inform 

decisions across the United States related 

to cleaning up the environment and 

protecting public health. 

One of the challenges that the risk 

assessment community faces is having 

sufficient, up-to-date information and 

training on state-of-the-art principles and 

practices for human health, exposure, 

and risk assessment. EPA and state 

environmental agency staff members 

need comprehensive guidance on how to 

understand and conduct risk assessments. 

This is especially true today, when 

resources are scarce and knowledge about 

risk assessment is continuously evolving. 

Well trained risk assessment professionals 

help ensure that federal, state and local 

governments are able to effectively and 

efficiently implement their duties to 

protect the environment and public health. 

In response to these needs, EPA is 

developing the Risk Assessment Training 

Experience (RATE) program. Partnering 

with the Interstate Technology and 

Regulatory Council (ITRC), affiliated with 

the Environmental Council of States, EPA 

will develop cutting-edge risk assessment 

training that can be used by federal, 

state and local governments to learn the 

principles and practices of sound human 

health risk assessment. 

RATE is a comprehensive risk assessment 

guidance and training program that 

includes information about the 

fundamentals of risk assessment; hazard 

identification; dose-response and exposure 

assessment; and risk characterization, 

communication and management. 

The program will provide instruction 

through traditional classroom settings, 

but it will also use Web-based platforms 

so the courses will be accessible to a 

geographically dispersed audience. 

This innovative program will help ensure 

that state-of-the-art methods are 

incorporated into risk assessment practice 

as they become available. It will also train 

the next generation of risk assessors and 

environmental leaders, helping to ensure 

that environmental decisions across 

the country are based on sound science 

and the most current risk assessment 

practices. 

Body Weight and Oral Dose 

References

Chemical risk assessors frequently rely 

on animal models when considering 

the evaluating toxicity. Historically, 
51

EPA Human Health Risk Assessments 

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

when chemical-specific information 

for extrapolation to equivalent human 

oral exposures is unavailable, EPA risk 

assessors have used direct, that is ratios 

of 1 to 1, body weight (BW) for noncancer 

endpoints, and an uncertainty factor, while 

either BW 3/4 or BW 2/3 has been used for 

cancer endpoints.

An updated guidance released by EPA in 

2011 recommends the use of BW 3/4 for 

both noncancer and cancer endpoints 

resulting from oral exposure, providing a 

hierarchy of approaches for interspecies 

scaling and laying out a rationale for the 

selection of 3/4 body weight. 

By adopting BW 3/4 as the default for 

interspecies scaling, EPA takes another 

step toward harmonizing risk assessment 

for cancer and noncancer effects. As 

with many EPA guidance and guideline 

documents, Recommended Use of Body 

Weight 3/4 as the Default Method in 

Derivation of the Oral Reference Dose 

provides rationale and guidance for 

federal, state, municipal and international 

organizations, and has already been 

adopted by the California EPA as their 

default method for allometric scaling in 

their risk assessments.

The guidance document is available at 

http://www.epa.gov/raf/publications/pdfs/

recommended-use-of-bw34.pdf.

Human Health Risk Assessment
52
53

Meeting the current needs of America’s 

communities without compromising those 

of future generations is a major priority of 

the EPA and its researchers. The Agency’s 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities 

research aims to help community leaders 

make decisions that meet their needs in 

ways that preserve the environment and 

enhance human health and well-being.

In response to the needs expressed by 

community stakeholders, EPA researchers 

use a holistic approach that reflects the 

three pillars of sustainability: economy, 

society and environment. This work 

provides the decision-support tools and 

information that communities need to 

develop proactive, strategic solutions for 

a prosperous, environmentally sustainable 

future. 

This section provides highlights of some of 

the top research results EPA researchers 

and their partners have achieved in 

2011 advancing Sustainable and Health 

Communities. It illustrates some of the 

specific impacts that are important to 

partners of the Agency’s Office of Research 

and Development. The highlights presented 

were contributed by EPA’s research 

labs, centers, and offices located around 

the country, and were performed by 

Agency scientists and engineers, as well 

as their partners, grantees, fellows, and 

collaborators from across the scientific 

community. 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development
Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Toward Sustainability: Understanding Ecosystem Services

How can researchers identify and evaluate 

the benefits of a productive ecosystem? 

EPA and its partners are doing just that 

in Tampa Bay, Florida. Through a major 

study of the Tampa Bay estuary and its 

surrounding wetlands, scientists are 

demonstrating the critical importance of 

ecosystem services. 

Wetlands protect communities from 

floods, and rivers and lakes provide 

food and water. Forests and beaches 

offer opportunities for recreation and 

relaxation. Bees pollinate crops. It is 

difficult to measure the economic value 

of these types of ecosystem goods and 

services. Due to this lack of scientific and 

socioeconomic knowledge about the 

benefits of nature’s services, they have not 

been considered fully by policy makers and 

planners. 

Working with the Tampa Bay Estuary 

Program, Tampa Bay Regional Planning 

Council, local governments, other research 

entities, and citizen and business groups, 

EPA’s Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services

research project aims to fill this knowledge 

gap.

Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water 

estuary. It supports one of the world’s 

most productive natural systems and it is 

home to a large and growing urban center. 

Because residents’ use of the ecosystem 

depends on its quality, it is vital that 

planners consider the value of ecosystem 

goods and services in land-use decisions.

The Tampa Bay study seeks to quantify the 

value of the goods and services currently 

provided by the Tampa Bay ecosystem. 

Scientists are working with ecological 

economists to measure their monetary 

and non-monetary values for human 

well-being. The scientists will model the 

relationships between stressors (i.e., 

factors that damage the ecosystem), 

ecosystem structure and function, and 

ecosystem services. They also will assess 

the likely change in environmental 

stressors and land-use patterns through 

2050, and use a Web-based tool to 

characterize the effects on ecosystem 

services and human well-being. 

The Tampa Bay project will ultimately 

enable decision makers to value nature’s 

benefits more accurately, promoting 

sustainable development and improving 

environmental planning. 

 54
55

Ecosystem Services of Coral Reefs

Among the most biologically diverse 

ecosystems on earth and the largest living 

structures, tropical coral reefs are portals 

for exploration. They supply food in the 

form of habitat for important fishery 

species, protect shorelines, improve water 

quality, and provide opportunities for 

sport fishing, education and recreation. 

Unfortunately, coral reefs are also one of 

the most threatened marine ecosystems. 

Coral reefs are sensitive because of 

their highly specific requirements for 

temperature, salinity, oxygen, light, and 

nutrients. Pollution, disease, climate 

change, physical contact, habitat 

destruction, and sediment buildup can all 

threaten these fragile ecosystems. 

In 2011, Agency researchers completed 

analyses of coral reef surveys conducted 

in collaboration with partners from the 

U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural 

Resources in the waters around the 

U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The surveys 

provided a regional characterization of the 

number, species, sizes and condition of 

reef-building corals in the study area.

Measurements made during the survey 

provided a baseline of coral reef condition, 

and the information can be used by USVI 

to generate water quality criteria for coral 

reef ecosystems under the Clean Water 

Act. Additionally, the data can be used 

to estimate quantities of the ecosystem 

services, or benefits, they provide 

for the people of the USVI, including 

fishing, recreation and tourism, shoreline 

protection, and potential sources for new 

pharmaceuticals. 

Developing methods that better 

characterize the benefits coral reef 

ecosystems provide will help stakeholders 

consider reef condition when making 

decisions in the coastal zone and in the 

watershed. Methods to estimate coral reef 

ecosystem services are currently under 

consideration for compensatory mitigation 

assessment of anticipated coral reef 

losses in Guam. Assessment of ecosystem 

services, instead of simple acreage 

replacement, may set an important 

precedent for future coral reef mitigation 

decisions by addressing human benefits 

and losses. 

In addition, EPA research on Caribbean 

near-shore coral reefs found strong 

correlations between landscape 

development intensity (LDI) in the 

watershed and coral reef health, as 

measured by coral colony density, 

species richness, colony size, and the 

three-dimensional total area of coral 

reef cover. The LDI index that the 

researchers used proved to be a robust 

and effective indicator of human impact 

on the reefs, and further refinement of 

this tool will help with land-use planning 

and prioritization of conservation efforts. 

Results of the work were presented in the 

Marine Ecology Progress Series (April, 2011). 

Developing methods to accurately 

quantify the ecosystem services provided 

by the coral reefs of the U.S. Virgin Islands 

and elsewhere will be a critical step in 

sustaining those benefits for current and 

future generations. Protection of coral 

reefs through water quality standards and 

the Clean Water Act will sustain the living 

organisms that provide those benefits.

Sustainable and Healthy Communities
56

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Mapping Nature’s Benefits: A National Atlas for Sustainability

Fresh air, clean water, safe food—these 

are important parts of daily life, but where 

exactly do they come from, and what 

factors limit or increase our access to 

them? The nation’s ecosystems provide 

a vast array of what scientists refer to 

as “ecosystem services,” ranging from 

clean and abundant water to recreational 

opportunities. However, these benefits 

are often taken for granted and not fully 

considered in environmental decisionmaking, at least partly because they are 

not well understood or characterized.

EPA researchers are collaborating with the 

USDA Forest Service and Natural Resource 

Conservation Service, US Geological 

Survey, National Geographic, NatureServ, 

and other partners to assemble the first 

ever National Atlas for Sustainability, a 

web-based mapping application that 

will show how environmental assets are 

distributed across the country. The easyto-use tool will allow resource managers 

to display the types of services provided 

by nature in their selected area, examine 

factors that affect their condition and 

distribution, and evaluate current and 

future societal demand. Using this tool, 

the true value of ecosystem services may 

be considered for management decisions.

The categories of ecosystem services 

included in the Atlas are:

• Clean water for drinking 

• Clean water for recreation and 

aquatic habitat 

• Adequate water supply 

• Food, fuel and fiber 

• Recreational, cultural and aesthetic 

amenities 

• Climate regulation 

• Protection from hazardous weather 

• Habitat and the maintenance of 

biodiversity 

• Clean air

Using the best available scientific data, the 

National Atlas makes it simple and intuitive 

for anyone to learn about these resources.

The Atlas will also feature more detailed 

data for 50 to 250 cities and towns across 

the country. The “Urban Atlas,” as this 

part of the tool is called, will include 

high-resolution maps and interpretive 

information on community characteristics 

such as: proximity to parks; demand for 

drinking water; the estimated health 

benefits of urban tree cover; walkability 

measures, and; “heat stress” due to 

the built environment. Using this tool, 

communities will be able to identify the 

areas in their environments that provide 

needed benefit, and develop strategies 

to preserve, restore, and expand them. 

The “Urban Atlas” is featured in the 

Administrator’s PLAN EJ 2014 for its ability 

to illustrate how and where community 

green infrastructure can benefit 

highly vulnerable, under-served, and 

disproportionately-burdened populations.

Future Atlas efforts will incorporate 

additional aspects of sustainability in 

the areas of housing, transportation and 

other urban infrastructure, and waste 

management, in collaboration with EPA’s 

Office of Sustainable Communities and 

other EPA Program Offices, and EPA 

Regional Offices.
57

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

57

Measuring Sustainability

Sustainability is a simple but powerful 

principle that recognizes that the 

natural environment is the foundation 

for human survival and well-being. 

Achieving sustainability means creating 

and maintaining the conditions with 

which people and nature can coexist in 

productive harmony—conditions that 

provide present and future generations 

with food and resources, as well as 

social, economic and other human needs. 

Developing the science and engineering 

needed to inform progress in that 

direction is the “true north” of EPA’s 

collective research and development 

efforts. 

How do we know whether the 

environmental health of a region is 

declining or improving? EPA scientists 

piloted ways to measure and monitor 

prosperity and environmental quality by 

studying a large area of south-central 

Colorado, the San Luis Basin. For this, a 

multidisciplinary team of EPA scientists 

examined how fundamental components 

of the local environmental system relate to 

key aspects of human well-being, including 

social and economic factors. The research 

team set out to develop a straightforward, 

affordable method to measure and 

monitor important sustainability 

conditions for the area. To do so, 

researchers set three primary objectives: 

(1) determine if existing historical data sets 

could be used to estimate sustainability 

at a regional scale; (2) calculate these 

sustainability metrics through time (1980–

2005); and (3) compare and contrast the 

results they found to determine if the 

region is moving toward or away from 

sustainability. 

The team used available environmental, 

economic, and social data to calculate 

sustainability across four different metrics 

(standards of measurement), with each 

providing the following select insights: 

• the “ecological footprint” metric 

linked the total area of biologicallyproductive land available with 

measurements of human 

consumption and waste generation;

• the “Green Net Regional Product” 

metric displayed how much “natural 

capital” is being used or conserved;

• the “Emergy” metric explored 

energy flows and inputs; and

• the “Fisher Information and Order” 

metric indicated the overall stability 

and order of natural systems.

Together, the four metrics provide 

information to answer some basic 

questions central to determining 

sustainability: How well can a region 

cope with change? How healthy is it 

economically? Is its energy use selfsufficient? Is its human population causing 

ecological damage?

A study on the fate of snowpack in the 

high mountains surrounding the San 

Luis Valley demonstrated how these 

Sustainability metrics can be used to 

illuminate threats to a region’s long-term 

sustainability. Water is “stored” at high 

elevations in the form of the snowpack; as 

it melts, it recharges the groundwater and 

maintains unique geological and ecological 

features of the valley, like the Great Sand 

Dunes and wetlands. One policy-relevant 

consequence of this fact is that the natural 

and agricultural systems of the region are 

vulnerable to climate changes that affect 

the snowpack. 
58

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Tradeoffs in Pursuit of Sustainability: 

Ecosystem Services and Biofuels

Mandates to produce biofuels from 

corn feedstock under the Energy and 

Independence Act of 2007 could lead to 

changes in land use and other factors. 

EPA’s Future Midwestern Landscapes

(FML) study, a place-based ecosystem 

services study covering a 12-state region 

of the upper Midwest, has completed 

development of a base-year landscape (ca. 

2002) and a future (ca. 2020) projection of 

potential land use changes. 

EPA researchers combined landuse/

landcover satellite imagery with digital 

cropland data from the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture to characterize agricultural 

management practices, including the 

use of chemical inputs, such as fertilizers 

and pesticides. This allowed them to 

assess impacts expected to occur as 

farmers increase the acreage of crops 

put in continuous corn rotation (year 

round) instead of rotating between corn 

and other crops, such as soybeans. This 

change in agricultural management is 

significant because continuous corn 

rotations require much higher levels 

of chemical inputs to maintain crop 

productivity. 

The FML study also developed an 

improved water quality model that allows 

both estimates of runoff into surface 

water at a regional scale (important to 

estimate inputs to the Gulf of Mexico) 

and at a watershed scale (important to 

understand where best management 

practices would be most effective in 

reducing runoff). The model is simpler to 

use than existing regional and watershed 

scale models, requiring fewer data inputs, 

and showing improved predictability.

A prototype interactive Webtool is 

available to collaborators and clients (e.g. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of 

Engineers, Farm Service Agency) that 

projects the implications of agricultural 

management changes on a suite of 

ecosystem services, including water 

quality, habitat for migratory bird species, 

recreational opportunities, and more. 

Additional analyses are underway to 

characterize how agricultural management 

impacts air quality and associated human 

health outcomes.

Research Applied to Community 

Clean up 

EPA researchers spent years developing 

a method to sequester lead in place by 

adding phosphate to contaminated soil. 

Lead, which is easily absorbed by children 

and leads to developmental deficits, can 

come from industrial waste, paints, and 

residues from old automotive fuel. Adding 

phosphate to the soil converts the lead 

to a less harmful form, thereby reducing 

children’s risk without expensive and 

disruptive excavation projects.

In 2011, an On-Scene Coordinator in 

EPA’s Region 9 (Pacific Southwest) 

worked collaboratively with the regional 

toxicologist and scientists from two EPA 

laboratories to successfully pilot this 

methodology. They applied the phosphate 
59

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

treatment and other sustainabilityminded practices to clean up yards in a 

poor neighborhood in Oakland, California 

known for occurrences of lead poisoning. 

The treatment, using a phosphate-rich 

fish bone waste product, was combined 

with mechanical isolation. Using a local 

business and labor center provided jobs in 

the community while investing residents in 

improving their health and environment. 

Costs for this innovative cleanup were 40% 

lower than conventional excavation and 

backfilling.

Measuring and Communicating 

Sustainability

A critical task for advancing research 

to support sustainable and healthy 

communities is the development of 

an inventory of existing sustainability 

indicators. To that end, a crossorganizational workgroup of EPA 

researchers and others reviewed indicators 

at various scales (national, regional, etc.), 

and developed a searchable database with 

linkages to EPA programs. 

Nearly 1630 indicators were organized and 

classified, providing a “lay of the land” of 

existing indicators of varying scale, scope 

and topic. (Remaining indicators will be 

synthesized, classified and incorporated 

during subsequent annual updates.) 

Future enhancement of the database will 

create an interactive, searchable webbased tool accessible to communities, 

allowing users to develop a “customized” 

list of suggested indicators and indices 

to support sustainability activities, such 

as cost-benefit analysis, monitoring and 

assessment, and community outreach. 

As part of this work, EPA researchers 

are currently developing a measure that 

estimates overall environmental quality at 

the county level across the U.S. spanning 

the years 2000 – 2005. A prototype version 

of this Environmental Quality Index (EQI) 

has been developed, taking into account 

five domains that influence exposure 

and health: air, water, land, built, and 

sociodemographic environments. 

In addition, EPA researchers have 

developed indicators and indices 

descriptive of human well-being that 

can be used in predictive models for 

evaluating the sustainability of alternative 

decisions influencing economic, social and 

environmental sectors. They have selected 

candidate metrics and indicators to 

develop a Human Well-being Index (HWBI) 

for the U.S. Current work is underway 

to modify and apply the index at various 

scales, as well as for different community 

typologies, including tribal communities 

specifically, that will be identified in other 

SHC research.

Community and Tribal-Focused Tools 

for Environmental Health Issues 

In 2011, EPA scientists continued their 

development work on two easy-to-use, 

science-based geospatial tools designed 

to help communities and tribes prioritize 

environmental issues and identify ways to 

help reduce environmental risks, the: 

1) Community-Focused Exposure and Risk 

Screening Tool (C-FERST), and 

2) Tribal-Focused Environmental Risk and 

Sustainability Tool (Tribal-FERST). 

During the year, EPA researchers 

conducted initial C-FERST pilot studies in 

collaboration with the EPA Community 

Action for Renewed Environment (CARE) 

program. Based on feedback from CARE 

community partners in Springfield, MA 

and Portland, ME, and EPA’s Region 

1(New England), C-FERST was enhanced 

for community issue identification and 

prioritization applications. 

Researchers also initiated a Tribal-FERST 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities
60

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2010 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

pilot study with the Pleasant Point 

Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine, and 

have partnered with the United South 

and Eastern Tribes (USET) to develop a 

tribally-focused guidance document and 

to connect USET’s water quality exchange 

database and data transfer network with 

Tribal-FERST. 

(For more information on C-FERST, 

see http://www.epa.gov/heasd/c-ferst; 

for more information on Tribal-FERST, 

see Tribal Science on page 98 of this 

document).

Update of the Electronic Report on 

the Environment 

EPA’s annual Report on the Environment

(ROE) summarizes measurements that 

portray environmental conditions across 

the nation. The information in the ROE 

helps community leaders make good 

decisions about environmental education, 

training, policy and implementation. The 

indicators in the ROE describe conditions 

and trends associated with air, water, land, 

human health, and ecological systems 

at the national and regional level. EPA 

determines values for the indicators from 

actual measurements gathered for specific 

areas at specific times. Cancer incidence, 

air toxic emissions and pesticide residues 

in food are some examples. 

Successful ROE indicator developments 

and updates depend on data generated 

from monitoring by multiple federal 

agencies. Each agency follows an 

independent schedule for collecting 

new data and releasing it to the public. 

Advances in measurement technology, 

sample design, quality assurance and 

topics covered have made it possible to 

create a more complete environmental 

snapshot. 

The ROE is available in electronic form 

on EPA’s website. EPA updates the ROE 

indicators every three months in March, 

June, September and December. www.

epa.gov/roe/

Help for Hypoxia

Excessive amounts of nutrient pollution—

nitrogen and phosphorus—reaching the 

northern Gulf of Mexico have sparked 

cycles of algae growth and decay that 

have, in turn, led to an area of low 

dissolved oxygen. This “hypoxic zone” 

causes serious problems for aquatic 

organisms, threatening the ecological and 

economic health of one of the nation’s 

largest and most productive fisheries. 

The highest levels of nitrogen and 

phosphorus delivered to the Gulf come 

from watersheds in the central and eastern 

portions of the Mississippi River Basin that 

are drained by large, fast flowing rivers 

where little nitrogen and phosphorus are 

removed by natural processes. 

Recently, EPA researchers have provided 

a new and more detailed understanding 

of the ecological processes that impact 

development of hypoxia in the area. The 

results significantly increase the data 

available for the region. They show that 

sediment oxygen consumption is a small 

component of total oxygen consumption 

for the system, relative to that of drifting 

organisms, including animals, plants, or 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Satellite image showing algal bloom 

in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo courtesy 

of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center 

Scientific Visualization Stuidio.
61

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2010 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

61

bacteria that live in open waters. The 

results contradict earlier well-cited studies, 

and are being used to support the waterquality simulation models that provide 

important information for managing the 

impact of nutrients from the Mississippi/

Atchafalaya River Basin on the northern 

Gulf ecosystem. 

Supporting Grizzly Bear Decision

In 1975, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS) added grizzly bears to a list of 

threatened species in the contiguous 

United States (the lower 48 states 

discounting Alaska and Hawaii). Protected 

by the Endangered Species Act, the grizzly 

bear population has slowly increased. 

However, a beetle infestation killing 

whitebark pine trees, a staple food source 

in grizzly bear country, suggests that the 

grizzly population is not yet in the clear.

EPA research recently helped settle a 

dispute over the status of these grizzly 

bears. In 2007, FWS removed grizzly bears 

from the threatened species list. This 

action prompted a court case that lasted 

four years. On November 2, 2011, the 9th 

District Court of Appeals upheld a lower 

court ruling keeping the grizzly bear on the 

threatened species list.

Support for this ruling came in the form 

of a scientific paper by EPA and partners 

that demonstrates the importance of 

whitebark pine nuts in Yellowstone 

grizzly bear diets. The court quoted the 

researchers’ conclusion that “Grizzly 

bear survival in the Greater Yellowstone 

Ecosystem is strongly linked to variation 

in pine-nut availability.” In light of the 

ongoing decline of whitebark pine, the 

court decided the grizzly population 

should remain under Endangered Species 

Act protection.

As described in the paper, scientists 

utilized the IsoSource model developed at 

EPA to estimate the importance of various 

foods in grizzly bear diets based on the 

stable isotope composition of the foods 

and grizzly bear tissue. This isotopic mixing 

model has been used widely throughout 

the world for such food web studies, 

as well as for other applications such as 

determining the proportions of various 

pollutant sources in air and water pollution 

studies. 

Supporting EPA Research 

Partners for Sustainable and 

Healthy Communities

EPA supports the nation’s leading 

scientists and engineers to facilitate 

the pursuit of high-quality research to 

build a strong scientific foundation for 

Agency actions and decisions. In addition, 

EPA researchers cultivate and maintain 

partnerships with colleagues at colleges, 

universities, research centers, sister 

federal and state agencies and other 

institutions to collaborate and advance 

sustainable and healthy communities. 

The Agency awards research grants and 

awards in a diversity of environmental 

science and engineering disciplines—

including work in Sustainable and Healthy 

Communities—through its Science 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities
62

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

to Achieve Results (STAR) program. 

Accomplishments of EPA partners in 

the areas of Sustainable and Healthy 

Communities for 2011 include the 

following. 

Mold and Childhood Asthma

Research conducted as part of the 

Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air 

Pollution study found that infants exposed 

to “high concentrations” of mold in 

homes are four times more likely to 

develop asthma by age seven. The study, 

conducted by EPA scientists, Cincinnati 

Children’s Hospital physicians, and the 

Department of Environmental Health at 

the University of Cincinnati, is the first of 

its kind to show this statistical relationship. 

The team’s physicians concluded that this 

study “provides impetus to reduce the 

mold burden in infants’ homes...”

The Cincinnati team followed the health 

of a cohort of infants and monitored 

their environment over seven years. 

They showed that the exposure to high 

“moldiness” conditions at home during 

the first year of life was critical to later 

development of physician-diagnosed 

asthma. No other exposure monitored 

was predictive of asthma development. 

The Cincinnati team published the study, 

entitled High Environmental Relative 

Moldiness Index During Infancy as a 

Predictor of Asthma at 7 Years of Age, 

in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and 

Immunology. 

Researchers defined the level of 

“moldiness” in homes using the 

Environmental Relative Moldiness 

Index (ERMI) scale. The ERMI scale was 

developed by EPA scientists as a result 

of a DNA-based analysis of 36 indicator 

molds and a random sampling and analysis 

of U.S. homes (performed in conjunction 

with HUD). The ERMI metric research tool 

is now being used in other epidemiological 

studies of mold exposure and health 

outcomes. 

Children’s Environmental Health 

and Disease Prevention Research 

Centers

EPA has partnered with the National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 

(NIEHS) to jointly support research 

centers devoted exclusively to children’s 

environmental health and disease 

prevention. 

The Centers utilize the expertise and 

resources of top universities and medical 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities
63

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

centers to focus on the important role 

that environmental toxicants play in the 

development of many childhood illnesses.

Through a multidisciplinary research 

approach including basic, applied, and 

community-based participatory research, 

the Centers translate and communicate 

their findings to clinical and public health 

professionals and policy makers to help 

protect children from environmentallyinduced diseases.

Examples of research results in 2011 are 

highlighted below.

EPA Science Supports Environmental 

Justice 

Fourteen EPA-commissioned scientific 

reviews and one summary overview 

examining the science of environmental 

justice were completed in 2011. The papers 

help explain why certain populations—

minority, low income, and Native 

American—experience disproportionate 

environmental health risks. 

The papers were published in the American 

Journal of Public Health, and were released 

during an EPA-hosted special session at 

the 139th annual meeting of the American 

Public Health Association. 

In addition, EPA developed the report, 

An Update on Ongoing and Future EPA 

Activities to Empower Communities, and 

Advance the Integration of Environmental 

Justice in Decision Making and Research. 

The report highlights ongoing and future 

Agency actions in response to needs 

raised at Strengthening Environmental 

Justice Research and Decision Making: 

A Symposium on the Science of 

Disproportionate Environmental Health 

Impacts, a scientific symposium cosponsored by the Agency in 2010. 

Also, EPA researchers are working to 

provide user-friendly, accessible tools that 

enable communities to define problems 

associated with disproportionate 

environmental exposures and health 

impacts. One such tool currently in 

development is the prototype Community 

Cumulative Assessment Tool, or CCAT, 

which guides users through the various 

steps of a cumulative risk-environmental 

justice assessment. 

With CCAT, users can define objectives, 

create a partnership database, define the 

geographic and technical scope of the 

assessment, develop conceptual models, 

gather information, rank risks, and explore 

risk mitigation options. With this kind of 

information available, communities can 

better locate the source of problems and 

improve conditions for everyone.

Advancing the Understanding of 

Arsenic and Diet

A study by a team of scientists from 

the Children’s Environmental Health 

and Disease Prevention Research 

Center at Dartmouth College advanced 

the understanding of the dietary 

sources of human exposure to arsenic. 

The study measured the arsenic levels 

in urine samples from 229 pregnant 

women living in New Hampshire, and 

found that the level was significantly 

higher for women who had eaten 

rice within two days of the testing. 

Researchers are investigating whether 

the combined level of arsenic from 

both water and food could affect the 

health of the developing fetus and 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities
64

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Sustainable and Healthy Communities

young children. 

Results were published in the 

Proceedings of the National Academy 

of Sciences. [Diane Gilbert-Diamond, 

Kathryn L. Cottingham, Joann F. 

Gruber, Tracy Punshon, Vicki Sayarath, 

A. Jay Gandolfi, Emily R. Baker, Brian P. 

Jackson, Carol L. Folt, and Margaret R. 

Karagas. Rice consumption contributes 

to arsenic exposure in US women PNAS 

2011 : 1109127108v1-201109127.]

(For more information, see Prenatal 

Exposure to Pesticides Linked to IQ 

Deficits on page 38.)

Prenatal Exposure to 

Organophosphate Pesticides and 

IQ Deficits

Three independent investigations 

on prenatal exposures to 

organophosphate (OP) pesticides, 

from three Children’s Environmental 

Health Research Centers, were 

published in 2011 in the peer-reviewed 

journal Environmental Health 

Perspectives (EHP). 

All three studies reached similar 

conclusions associating prenatal 

exposure to OP pesticides with IQ 

deficits in school-age children. All three 

found some evidence of an association 

between OP exposures in utero and 

negative impacts on intelligence 

and mental development at around 

seven years of age, including working 

memory, processing speed, verbal 

comprehension, perceptual reasoning, 

and full scale IQ.

The three studies were conducted at 

the University of California, Berkeley, 

School of Public Health; the Mailman 

School of Public Health at Columbia 

University; and Mount Sinai School of 

Medicine. All three involved cohorts of 

women enrolled during pregnancy. 

(Also see Study Improves 

Understanding of Arsenic in Food, page 

39.)

Citations for the three papers:

Engel SM, Wetmur J, Chen J, Zhu C, 

Barr DB, et al. 2011 Prenatal Exposure to 

Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and 

Cognitive Development in Childhood. 

Environ Health Perspect 119(8): doi:10.1289/

ehp.1003183

Bouchard MF, Chevrier J, Harley KG, Kogut 

K, Vedar M, et al. 2011 Prenatal Exposure 

to Organophosphate Pesticides and IQ in 

7-Year-Old Children. Environ Health Perspect

119(8): doi:10.1289/ehp.1003185

Rauh V, Arunajadai S, Horton M, Perera 

F, Hoepner L, et al. 2011 Seven-Year 

Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal 

Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common 

Agricultural Pesticide. Environ Health 

Perspect 119(8): doi:10.1289/ehp.1003160
65

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development

Increasing demands are being placed on 

the nation’s finite water resources that 

supply drinking water, provide water for 

other societal needs (including energy, 

agriculture and industry), and support 

healthy aquatic ecosystems.

EPA’s Safe and Sustainable Water 

Resources research provides the science 

and innovative technologies that the 

Agency—and the nation—need to 

maintain drinking water sources and 

systems, as well as to protect the 

chemical, physical and biological integrity 

of our waters. Scientists and engineers 

are addressing 21st century water 

infrastructure and supply challenges 

by integrating research on social, 

environmental and economic factors to 

provide lasting, sustainable solutions.

This section features 2011 research 

achievements that are advancing safe and 

sustainable water resources.

This section provides highlights of some of 

the top research results EPA researchers 

and their partners have achieved in 

2011 advancing Safe and Sustainable 

Water Resources. It illustrates some of 

the specific impacts that are important 

to partners of the Agency’s Office of 

Research and Development. The highlights 

presented were contributed by EPA’s 

research labs, centers, and offices located 

around the country, and were performed 

by Agency scientists and engineers, as well 

as their partners, grantees, fellows, and 

collaborators from across the scientific 

community.

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
66

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

EPA Releases Final Research Plan on Hydraulic Fracturing

In November 2011, EPA announced the release 

of its final research plan to provide the key 

pieces of research needed to answer questions 

about the potential impacts of hydraulic 

fracturing on drinking water resources.

The U.S. Congress identified the need for a 

focused scientific study to determine potential 

impacts, if any, of hydraulic fracturing (HF) 

on drinking water. The stimulation technique 

known as hydraulic fracturing is used to 

release natural gas and oil from underground 

reservoirs. In March 2010, it requested that EPA 

conduct such a study.

To fulfill this request, EPA researchers began 

to develop a study plan, providing extensive 

opportunities for input from across the 

scientific community, industry, stakeholders 

and partners, and other interested parties and 

individuals. A draft study plan, incorporating 

such input, was reviewed by the Science 

Advisory Board (SAB), an independent panel of 

scientists. SAB found the study approach to be 

both appropriate and comprehensive.

The final plan to study the potential impacts 

of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water 

resources, calls for EPA researchers to look at 

the full cycle of water as it is used in hydraulic 

fracturing, from acquisition, to the addition 

of chemicals and other substances, to the 

actual fracturing of subterranean rock, and 

through the post-fracturing stage, including the 

treatment and disposal of water used during 

the processes. This work includes examining 

the potential impacts of large volume water 

withdrawals from groundwater and surface 

water resources; determining the potential 

effects of surface spills of HF fluids and 

chemicals; identifying potential impacts of the 

injection and fracturing process; and looking 

at the adequacy of wastewater treatment and 

disposal.

The research will involve laboratory studies, 

scenario evaluations, reviews of existing data, 

toxicity assessments and case studies. Case 

studies are located in DeSoto Parish, LA, and 

Washington County, PA, Kildeer and Dunn 

Counties, ND, Wise and Denton Counties, TX, 

Bradford and Susquehanna Counties, PA, and 

Las Animas County, CO.

To promote transparency, an EPA website 

provides information about the study, including 

the study plan and background (http://

www.epa.gov/hfstudy). EPA has a more 

comprehensive hydraulic fracturing website 

that includes detailed hydraulic fracturing 

information, descriptions of hydraulic fracturing 

processes, and information on the regulations 

surrounding hydraulic fracturing (http://www.

epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing/). 
67

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Untapping Innovation: Water Technology Innovation Cluster

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson (at podium) and Karen Mills, Administrator for the U.S. Small 

Business Administration (seated), at the Water Technology Innovation Cluster announcement.

On January 18, 2011, EPA Administrator 

Lisa P. Jackson joined Karen Mills, 

Administrator for the U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA), to announce the 

formation of the Water Technology 

Innovation Cluster (WTIC).

A regional technology cluster such as WTIC 

is a geographic concentration of firms and 

supporting institutions that are committed 

to building a vibrant, technology-driven 

economy with a particular focus area. The 

Cincinnati region was selected for WTIC 

because it contains key ingredients for 

a successful cluster focused on water, 

including EPA’s internationally recognized 

water research laboratory, and many 

proactive water utilities, such as the 

Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW).

The new cluster will bring innovative 

water quality technologies to market and 

create jobs. During her opening remarks, 

Administrator Jackson pointed out that 

innovation is the ‘sweet spot’ where 

economic and environmental interests 

meet. 

WTIC includes venture capitalists, 

commercial developers, technology firms, 

water utilities, economic development 

forums, academia, and local governments 

from Southwestern Ohio, Northern 

Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. It 

brings together a critical mass of public 

utilities, research partners, and innovative 

businesses in the name of strengthening 

health protections for millions of 

Americans and promoting investments in 

cutting-edge water technology.

One illustrative project conducted at 

WTIC is a collaboration between EPA and 

Cincinnati’s GCWW to explore the effects 

of distribution infrastructures on water 

quality. For example, water might test 

“safe” when leaving a water treatment 

plant, but what happens to its quality as 

it flows through many miles of old pipe 

before splashing into someone’s water 

glass is not always known. To provide 

answers, EPA and GCWW partners have 

established one of the first real-time, 

system-wide monitoring systems to assess 

water as it makes it journey away from the 

treatment plant. Cincinnati serves as the 
68

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Untapping Innovation: Water Technology Innovation Cluster, Cont’d.

first test site, and the technology has now 

been extended to three other cities. 

WTIC’s initial focus is on drinking water, 

with $5 million in EPA Science to Achieve 

Results (STAR) grants dedicated to clean 

drinking water research and the formation 

of the National Center for Innovative 

Drinking Water Treatment Technology. 

The cluster also will support the 

development of green infrastructure

projects, including two currently underway 

in the Cincinnati area: rain gardens at 

Shepherd Creek, and a collaboration with 

the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District 

to redirect stormwater to create a new 

above-ground stream in the Lick Run 

Watershed. 

Many small businesses in the regional 

area are engaged in water science and 

technology development, and $1.5 million 

will be available to these companies 

through grants from EPA’s Small Business 

Innovation Research (SBIR) program to 

develop innovative technologies with 

water applications. EPA’s SBIR program 

provides incentive funding to small 

businesses to translate their inventive 

ideas into commercial products that 

address environmental problems.

for scientists at the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency. Their work was a 

major contributor to the production of the 

Agency’s National Coastal Condition Report 

IV, the fourth in a series of environmental 

assessments of U.S. coastal waters and the 

Great Lakes. 

The report presents an assessment of 

coastal water conditions based on data 

collected from 2003 to 2006, and includes 

assessments of all the nation’s estuaries 

in the contiguous 48 states and Puerto 

Rico, southeastern Alaska, Hawaii, and—

for the first time—the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

Guam, and American Samoa. Changes over 

time from 1990 to 2006 are presented 

nationally and regionally. 

EPA Issues Draft National Coastal Condition Report IV

Millions of people flock to the coast every 

year for rest, rejuvenation, and recreation. 

And beyond a day at the beach, the 

sandy shores, mangroves, bays, estuaries 

and other coastal habitats that offer so 

much enjoyment also provide a host of 

other important benefits: habitat for a 

diversity of wildlife and birds; spawning 

and “nursery grounds” for many of the 

fish and shellfish that make up the bulk of 

the nation’s 4.5-billion-dollar domestic sea 

food industry; and natural flood protection 

and water filtration, for example. 

Understanding the condition of coastal 

waters and identifying areas that are 

in need of improvement are critical for 

maintaining the health and sustainability 

of coastal ecosystems, and priorities 
69

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

EPA Issues Draft National Coastal Condition Report IV, Cont’d.

Although the overall condition of U.S. 

coastal waters is rated as fair in all four 

reports, a comparison of the condition 

scores shows that the overall condition of 

U.S. coastal waters has improved slightly 

since the 1990s. 

The National Coastal Condition Report IV 

(NCCR IV) relies on coastal monitoring data 

from EPA’s National Coastal Assessment

(NCA) to assess coastal conditions, and 

presents four main types of data obtained 

from nationally consistent monitoring 

surveys collected at more than 3,100 sites: 

1) coastal monitoring data; 2) coastal 

ocean/offshore monitoring data; 3) 

offshore fisheries data; and 4) assessment 

and advisory data—new to NCCR IV. 

The data are the result of collaborations 

between EPA, the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, and coastal state 

agencies to assess the condition of the 

nation’s coastal resources. Collaborating 

agencies strive to provide a detailed 

picture of the nation’s coastal resources 

and to communicate these findings to 

the public, coastal managers, scientists, 

Members of Congress, and other elected 

officials. 

The report concludes that the overall 

condition of the nation’s coastal waters is 

fair. Five key indices of coastal conditions 

were: 1) water quality index; 2) sediment 

quality index (including sediment toxicity, 

sediment contaminants, and sediment 

total organic carbon (TOC); 3) benthic 

index; 4) coastal habitat index; and 5) fish 

tissue contaminants index. 

For each of these five key indicators, a 

score of good, fair or poor was assigned to 

each coastal region of the United States. 

These ratings were averaged to create 

the overall regional and national scores. 

Component indicators for the water 

quality index, including dissolved oxygen, 

inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, 

chlorophyll a, and water clarity, also were 

assessed. 

The coastal habitat, sediment quality, 

and benthic indices show the poorest 

conditions throughout the United 

States. The indicators that show the best 

conditions are the individual components 

of water quality: dissolved oxygen, 

dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and sediment 

TOC. Water quality analyses indicated 

that 56 percent of assessed resources 

are in good condition, 35 percent are in 

fair condition, and 6 percent are in poor 

condition. Fourteen percent of estuarine 

waters are impaired based on the water 

clarity data presented in this report. 

Thirteen percent of estuarine waters are 

not suited for fishing, based on risk-based 

non-cancer guidelines for moderate 

consumption. 

The report provides clear, accessible 

information to support informed decisions 

concerning protection of the nation’s 

coastal environments, and its impacts will 

include increased public awareness and, it 

is hoped, actions to sustain and improve 

coastal conditions. 
70

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

Soaking it In: Green Infrastructure for 

Stormwater Management

In many U.S. cities, rainwater flows over 

impervious, man-made surfaces such as 

roofs and paved roads instead of more 

naturalistic areas such as forests or 

grasslands. The resulting runoff flows 

through traditional drainage pipes into 

what is called a combined sewer system. 

Consequently, when large rainstorms 

dump massive amounts of water, these 

sewer systems become susceptible 

to overflows and backups. Combined 

sewer overflows cause great risks to 

environmental and human health, flooding 

basements and contaminating water 

resources with human and industrial 

waste. 

EPA researchers are investigating ways 

to use green infrastructure to efficiently 

and effectively curb combined sewer 

overflow occurances. Green infrastructure 

refers to wet weather management that is 

sustainable and environmentally friendly.

An ongoing study in the Shepherd Creek 

watershed of Cincinnati used an economic 

incentive to encourage residents to adopt 

individual stormwater management 

practices of rain gardens and rain barrels. 

Rain barrels catch and store rainwater 

runoff from house roofs, and rain gardens 

help detain runoff on the ground. 

Researchers monitored the effectiveness 

of these installations in reducing overall 

stormwater runoff, measuring a small but 

significant change in water levels. Models 

predict a resulting 5–20 percent decrease 

in stormwater outflow due to the use of 

these green infrastructure practices. A 

final report on this study is currently in 

review and is planned for release in 2012.

EPA researchers are also partnering with 

municipalities to plan and implement 

stormwater management strategies 

including green infrastructure practices. 

For example, in Cleveland, OH, Agency 

scientists worked on a team to propose 

best stormwater management practices 

in response to a combined sewer overflow 

consent decree for the city. The proposal, 

currently in review, addresses stormwater 

management concerns with a variety of 

techniques such as measures to control 

the sources of runoff and thoughtful 

landscape planning of old and abandoned 

city sites.

Ideally, these projects will yield results that 

can be generalized to fit other systems and 

help lead the way to green stormwater 

management practices being adopted on 

a much larger scale throughout the United 

States and abroad.

Rain barrel installation collects water 

and reduces runoff, part of EPA’s “green 

infrastructure” study in the Shepherd 

Creek watershed of Ohio.
71

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

EPA Advances Scientific 

Understanding of Mountaintop 

Mining

Mountaintop mining is a form of surface 

coal mining in which miners remove 

plant life and the upper sections of soil 

with heavy equipment. They then use 

explosives to expose coal for extraction 

and dump the waste earth and rock 

in nearby valleys in a process called 

“valleyfill.” As a result, mining waste 

buries the streams in these valleys. To 

date, mountaintop mining has buried an 

estimated 2,000 miles of small, upper-level 

Appalachian streams.

In April 2010, EPA announced that it would 

take action to clarify the environmental 

permit requirements for Appalachian 

mountaintop removal and other surface 

coal mining projects. These permit 

requirements protect Appalachian 

ecosystems in accordance with the 

Clean Water Act. One year later, in May 

2011, EPA released two final reports that 

provide the best available science on the 

environmental impacts of mountaintop 

mining.

The first report, The Effects of Mountaintop 

Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems 

of the Central Appalachian Coalfields, 

provides a state-of-the-science assessment 

on the ecological impacts of mountaintop 

mining and valleyfill operations. The 

report describes how mountaintop mining 

causes the permanent loss of springs, 

intermittent streams and small perennial 

streams. The chemical effects include 

persistent increases in major chemical ion 

concentrations downstream, decreases 

in water quality to levels acutely lethal to 

standard laboratory test organisms and 

elevation of selenium concentrations to 

levels often toxic to fish and birds. As 

a result, mountaintop mining produces 

consistent and significant degradation of 

small aquatic animal and fish communities. 

The second report, A Field-Based Aquatic 

Life Benchmark for Conductivity in Central 

Appalachian Streams, describes the science 

behind the water quality benchmarks. 

These benchmarks are designed to 

protect the aquatic organisms that live in 

Appalachian surface waters. They were 

developed by adapting the standard 

U.S. EPA methodology for deriving 

ambient water quality criteria to develop 

a protective benchmark for a mixture of 

salts in freshwater. The benchmark was 

derived for Central Appalachian streams 

using data from West Virginia; data from 

Kentucky were used to validate it.

EPA and Army Join Forces for 

Sustainability

The EPA has agreed to provide innovative 

research and technology to support 

the U.S. Army’s Net Zero initiative for 

sustainability.

On November 28, 2011 EPA and the Army 

signed a memorandum of understanding 

to become partners in an Army initiative 

to achieve sustainable practices in military 

bases. This initiative, known as Net Zero, 

focuses on reducing the water and energy 

demands of military facilities as well as 

reducing waste produced by the facilities.

The term “net zero” refers to the ultimate 

goal of this initiative: transforming 

army installations into self-sufficient 

communities where the amount of water 

and energy and produced is equal to the 

amount consumed by the facility. The 

result would be a community whose 

overall impact on natural water and energy 

resources would balance out to zero 
72

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

impact. The concept of net zero also 

includes waste reduction to the point 

where all physical wastes of a facility 

would be reduced or recycled.

Net Zero’s water focus will limit the 

amount of freshwater drawn from natural 

resources and will ensure that water 

leaving these army bases is returned to the 

natural watershed to feed into those same 

resources. Also, EPA’s research and input 

will help the Army incorporate cuttingedge methods of recycling waste water 

and retrieving useful nutrients from waste 

waters. 

Although each military base has unique 

resource demands, both EPA and the Army 

expect that the introduction of sustainable 

features will be applicable outside of 

military instillations and will serve as 

an example for the greening of other 

communities.

Sustainable Watersheds: 

Characterization and Mitigation of 

Fecal Pollution 

At EPA’s Experimental Stream Facility

(ESF) in Milford, OH, scientists are studying 

various impacts on wadeable streams. 

Researchers used watershed sampling, 

rainfall information and high-resolution 

geographic information system (GIS) data 

to identify the origin of human waste 

(fecal) pollution in a watershed. These 

different data sources allowed watershed 

managers to understand the variety of 

sources of human fecal pollution in the 

East Fork Watershed of Southwestern 

Ohio, leading to more efficient, costeffective and focused cleanup actions.

Small stream ecosystems comprise 

over 72% of the river miles in the United 

States; yet, the role they play in managing 

watershed-level water quality remains 

uncertain. The ESF is one of very few U.S. 

research facilities designed to conduct 

small stream research. ESF studies are 

designed to collect information on both 

watershed management and the impact 

of contaminants. Researchers can study 

how pollutant loads combine with 

Tents and other temporary 

structures topped with solar 

panels are part of the Net Zero 

program.

Net Zero: EPA Assistant Administrator Paul Anastas (Office of Research and 

Development) and Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, 

Energy & Environment) sign a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a 

partnership to support sustainability.
73

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

characteristics of the stream habitat that 

may or may not change as a result of manmade stress.

With eight stream areas under study, 

the facility can provide a balanced 

perspective between the benefits of 

controlled laboratory study and field 

study. Researchers can observe and 

measure changes to stream ecosystems 

at the facility in ways that are not possible 

in traditional laboratory studies. Welldesigned and controlled experimental 

stream studies are an important tool for 

providing the understanding necessary 

to move basic research and development 

from the laboratory to the field.

Healthy Watershed Integrated 

Assessment Workshop Report 

EPA developed The Healthy Watersheds 

Initiative (HWI) in 2009 to combat the 

decline in the health of the nation’s aquatic 

ecosystems. The initiative focuses on 

maintaining healthy waters and meeting 

Clean Water Act goals using an integrated 

approach to maintain water quality and 

ecological integrity on a geographic, or 

watershed, basis.

In support of HWI, EPA released the 

Healthy Watersheds Integrated Assessments 

Workshop report in March, 2011 to reflect 

the outcomes of an experts workshop held 

the preceding winter. The report presents 

input from EPA programs and regions, 

other federal, state and local agencies, 

other organizations, national experts and 

practitioners to advance the state-of-thescience on integrated assessments of 

healthy watersheds. 

Workshop participants explored how to 

use assessment results to guide strategic 

healthy watershed protection programs 

such as Virginia’s Interactive Stream 

Assessment Resource (INSTAR) and 

Maryland’s Green/Blue Infrastructure 

Assessment. 

The workshop proceedings report explains 

that healthy watersheds can be sustained 

by diverting development pressures 

toward heavily degraded watersheds 

through smart growth, preserving open 

spaces and limiting new development 

in healthy watershed areas. Ongoing 

monitoring of the watershed’s natural 

condition and the use of tools proven 

in the field are important for detecting 

threats to a watershed’s health; these 

practices also make it possible to set 

minimum stream flow standards that are 

protective of watershed health. Education 

and outreach to all stakeholders, including 

the general public and policymakers, is also 

recommended for sustaining watershed 

health.

Research needs and data gaps were 
74

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

identified in the workshop report to guide 

the direction of future healthy watershed 

research. Some examples include studying 

climate-related effects on systems and 

indicators, determining how ecosystems 

recover and adapt to disturbances, and 

crafting guidance on how to maintain 

and protect the components of healthy 

watersheds. 

Risk of Illness Increases When BeachGoers Contact Sand

For most people, plans for a sunny day 

at the beach do not usually include 

recovery from stomach illness after 

playing in contaminated sand. However, 

past research has shown that beach 

sand can be home to organisms such as 

bacteria, viruses and fungi known as fecal 

indicators. Fecal indicator organisms are 

a sign of the possible existence of fecal 

pathogens from human or animal waste.

EPA recently concluded a study on the 

risk of intestinal illness linked to sand 

contact and the density of fecal indicator 

organisms in the sand. Researchers asked 

visitors to two recreational beaches with 

nearby waste treatment plant discharges 

about their sand contact that day. Ten to 

12 days later, researchers questioned the 

same beach visitors about their health 

symptoms. 

Using thousands of interviews and more 

than 100 sand samples, researchers found 

that fecal contamination in the sand 

was associated with intestinal illness 

among visitors who dug in the sand, most 

especially those who were buried in the 

sand.

A paper describing this study and its 

results, Fecal Indicators in Sand, Sand 

Contact, and Risk of Enteric Illness Among 

Beachgoers, was expected to be published 

in early 2012. This information will help 

regulators set recreational water criteria 

to better balance beach usage with public 

health protection.

Evaluating Water Quality from the Sky 

EPA researchers are exploring how to 

use satellite technology to monitor water 

conditions and help the Agency develop 

water quality criteria that protect the 

nation’s water resources.

A study conducted in 2011 focused on 

using such technology for Florida’s coastal 

waters. The purpose of the study was to 

evaluate the use of satellite measurements 

as a way to analyze water quality and to 

help regulators set standards for nutrient 

pollution.

Nutrient pollution, excess nitrogen and 

phosphorous carried in runoff and other 

sources from land sparks excessive algal 

growth in many water bodies, and could 

also occur in coastal waters. Researchers 

used the SeaWiFS satellite to measure 

the amount of chlorophyll-a, a pigment 

present in algae, as a way of monitoring 

nutrient pollution in coastal water.

Researchers compared thirteen year’s 

worth of data from the SeaWiFS satellite 

to measurements from field studies to see 

if the satellite’s readings could be used to 

measure water quality. 
75

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

Researchers concluded that this unique 

application of satellite data for monitoring 

water quality is effective and could be 

applied to other satellites and other 

coastal waters. A paper, An Approach to 

Developing Numeric Water Quality Criteria 

for Coastal Waters Using the SeaWiFS 

Satellite Data Record, describing the study 

and its results was published online in 

December, 2011 by Environmental Science 

and Technology. 

Advancement of Wastewater Analysis 

Studies

Protecting the environment and human 

health is the mission of EPA scientists 

and engineers. EPA’s ability to analyze 

wastewater to protect infrastructure and 

promote cost-effective treatment is critical 

to this mission. EPA continually strives to 

improve the analytical techniques it uses 

for wastewater analysis.

As part of its research efforts, EPA 

recently opened a new hub for studies 

on wastewater and pipe surfaces. The 

Advanced Materials and Solids Analysis 

Research Core (AMSARC) is located in 

Cincinnati, Ohio.

AMSARC scientists investigate the 

properties of materials ranging from 

bacteria and DNA to ceramics and manmade membranes. One of the state-ofthe-art tools at this facility is a confocal 

microscope, which produces threedimensional images. AMSARC also has a 

solids carbon analyzer. It measures the 

inorganic and organic carbon content of 

solid material.

The high-tech equipment at AMSARC 

benefits not only EPA researchers, but 

also other scientists across the nation. 

EPA scientists at AMSARC have formed 

partnerships with colleagues over a wide 

range of scientific fields and industry 

sectors. They will help EPA find new 

ways to improve water treatment and 

conveyance.

The AMSARC tools promote the flexibility 

and breadth of research at EPA by 

supporting water quality research, 

corrosion control and the characterization 

of bacteria. The EPA scientists at the 

research core are creating new analytical 

techniques for wastewater solids. In 

addition, they hone their skills to maintain 

proficiency in current state-of-the-art 

techniques.

AMSARC scientists are devoted to the 

idea of “green chemistry.” This concept 

promotes the design of chemical products 

and processes that reduce or eliminate 

the use or generation of hazardous 

substances. AMSARC also supports an 

innovative and collegial community of 

researchers doing cutting-edge research. 
76

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

This will promote continued progress 

towards global sustainability, materials 

management, pollution prevention and 

the protection of public health. 

Investigating and Preventing Pinhole 

Leaks

Imagine a tiny, pin-sized hole in one of the 

copper water pipes behind your kitchen or 

bathroom wall. Water slowly drips, drips, 

drips until the sheetrock, studs, and any 

insulation become a breeding ground for 

mold and mildew that can go undetected 

for months, leading to major damage, and 

even sickness. 

Pinhole leaks in copper water lines are a 

major concern to both homeowners and 

drinking water due to the expense of 

repairs, health implications, and loss of 

water from undetected leaks in service 

lines. 

EPA scientists are working to identify what 

waters are problematic in causing the 

corrosion of copper pipes, and to improve 

the understanding of how drinking water 

quality is related to the localized corrosion 

of copper pipes. They are focusing their 

efforts on the prevention of pinhole leaks 

and how to reverse corrosion once it has 

already occurred. 

Researchers collected water and pipe 

samples from communities experiencing 

pinhole leak problems and from nearby 

communities without such problems. 

Using the data collected, as well as the 

documentation of full-scale case studies, 

they have compiled a database of 

corrosion distribution information and the 

associated water quality.

In addition to compiling this database and 

comparing water chemistries, Agency 

researchers designed and utilized a pipeloop system to test water for its tendency 

to initiate pitting corrosion by continuously 

running water through a series of copper 

pipes. A small-scale, preliminary study 

using this pipe-loop system showed 

researchers that evidence of localized 

corrosion could be found after only 72 days 

of flowing water through the system. A 

tool like this pipe-loop system could prove 

very useful for water utilities.

The EPA-designed pipe-loop testing system 

offers the potential to provide a solution, 

giving water companies a low-cost early 

warning system for identifying water 

likely to lead to pinhole corrosion, and 

preventing homeowners from facing the 

damage and health risks that come from 

leaking pipes. Such pipe-loop testing 

systems could also help water companies 

to identify potential solutions for existing 

problems.

This on-going project is expected to 

provide assistance and guidance for 

identifying what water chemistries are 

problematic, and help utilities select and 

apply the most appropriate treatment to 

extend life of pipes. 

A Water Partnership with Australia

In an effort to expand cooperation 

between the United States and Australia 

on integrated water management 

strategies and sustainable infrastructure, 

long-term adaptation to climate change, 

including water reuse and the efficient use 

of water resources that reduce energy 

and water consumption, EPA’s Safe and 

Sustainable Water Resources program will 

work together with peers in Australia to 

explore new ways of ensuring long-term 

sustainability of water resources. 

Over the last year, scientists and engineers 

from both countries have had technical 

exchanges using video and webinars to 

share best practices looking at stormwater 

reuse, water recycling and recovery. In 

addition, they have exchanged lists of 

projects that explore answering similar 
77

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief

questions to help evaluate policy decisions 

and select more specific projects to 

collaborate on in more detail.

Over the upcoming year, EPA scientists 

and engineers will share information 

on chemical and microbial risk and the 

Australians will specifically share their 

water technology best practices.

This collaboration will build capacity and 

strengthen systems so they can deliver 

high-quality water and sanitation services 

to low- and middle-income countries. 

In addition to improving drinking water 

quality and health, the effort will help 

empower communities to implement costeffective changes to water systems.

Evaluation of Arsenic Removal 

Technology

Municipal drinking water systems and 

private wells that tap groundwater 

sometimes have higher levels of arsenic 

than do those that rely on surface water 

bodies such as lakes and streams, the 

result of source water coming into 

contact with natural occurring arsenic in 

subterranean rock formations.

In response to this challenge and to help 

municipal water systems, EPA conducted 

the Arsenic Demonstration Program 

from 2001 to 2011. During that time, 

EPA researchers tested the reliability of 

small-scale arsenic treatment technology 

systems. Researchers evaluated the ease 

of operation, maintenance requirements 

and cost-effectiveness of the systems. In 

addition, they characterized treatment 

byproducts.

The program’s three rounds of projects 

resulted in the construction of 50 small, 

full-scale arsenic removal systems across 

26 states. These systems were funded by 

Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreements (CRADAs), which are 

partnerships between EPA and private 

companies to work together on research 

and development.

The information and data provided 

through the demonstration program 

will enable water utilities, state agencies 

and consulting firms to make informed 

decisions on the selection, design and 

operation of arsenic removal systems. The 

new technologies and the information the 

research provides are expected to help 

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Small-scale arsenic removal 

technology filter system, part 

of EPA’s Arsenic Demonstration 

Program
78

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

increase the number of water systems 

that are able to comply with EPA’s revised 

arsenic drinking water standard.

Identifying PFCs in Surface and Well 

Water

EPA scientists have developed and applied 

analytical methods for characterizing the 

concentration of perfluorinated chemicals 

(PFCs) in surface and well water samples. 

PFCs are synthetic chemicals used in a 

wide range of commercial and consumer 

products such as textiles, electronics, and 

stain-protective coatings. The scientists 

conducted a series of field studies to 

generate high quality environmental data. 

EPA’s Office of Water considered the 

results of the work when establishing 

the provisional health advisory guidelines 

for drinking water for two common 

PFCs (perfluorooctane sulfonate and 

perfluorooctanoic acid). In addition, 

EPA Regional offices are now using the 

methods to monitor surface and drinking 

water supplies to ensure exposures to 

these two PFCs from public drinking water 

supplies are safe. 

Supporting EPA Research 

Partners for Safe and Sustainable 

Water Resources

EPA supports the Nation’s leading 

scientists and engineers to facilitate the 

pursuit of high-quality research to build 

a strong scientific foundation for Agency 

actions. In addition, EPA researchers 

cultivate and maintain partnerships 

with colleagues at colleges, universities, 

research centers, sister federal and 

state agencies and other institutions 

to collaborate and advance safe and 

sustainable water resources. 

The Agency awards research grants

through its Science to Achieve Results 

(STAR) program. (See more about the 

Agency’s STAR program in the Supporting 

and Building Partnerships section of this 

report.) 

Accomplishments of EPA partners in 

the areas of Safe and Sustainable Water 

Resources for 2011 include the following. 

Innovative Drinking Water Treatment 

Technologies in Small Systems

Over the past three decades, more 

than 80,000 chemicals entered the U.S. 

marketplace, posing potential risks to 

public health through drinking water 

systems. To manage public health risks 

posed by water contaminants and to 

advance sustainable drinking water 

protection, new technologies and 

approaches are needed that can remove 

chemical contaminants from drinking 

water sources without introducing 

unintended risks.

In July of 2011, EPA’s Science to Achieve 

Results (STAR) grant program requested 

proposals to develop new technologies 

aimed at removing contaminants found 

in drinking water. EPA is particularly 

interested in technologies that address 

mixtures of contaminants and on 

approaches designed for small and 

disadvantaged systems. These are often 

the least able to afford or sustain water 

treatment technologies but are subject to 

the same regulations as larger systems.

Eight of the proposed research projects 

were awarded grants in December of 2011. 

Grantee projects are based in different 

locations across the county, some focusing 

on local water contamination while 
79

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

others focus on general water treatment 

techniques. For example, grantees from 

Lincoln University and the University of 

Missouri, Columbia are working to improve 

drinking water quality for small rural 

communities in Missouri while grantees 

from the University of California, Riverside 

and the University of Iowa are researching 

the use of nanofiber filters for small-scale 

water treatment systems.

Public Health Protection through 

Water Infrastructure Sustainability

With an estimated 240,000 water main 

breaks per year in the United States, the 

country is in need of new approaches to 

identify, characterize, repair and manage 

pipeline failures and other areas key of 

weaknesses of water distribution systems. 

Sustained public health protection relies 

upon an intact water infrastructure 

system, which includes drinking water 

and wastewater conveyance systems and 

related treatment facilities.

In 2009, EPA’s Science to Achieve 

Results (STAR) grant program asked 

for proposals for applied research that 

would increase understanding of the links 

between water infrastructure and public 

health protection, as well as suggest 

practical solutions for more sustainable 

infrastructure. 

Eight targeted research awards were 

granted in January 2011. Ongoing work 

includes:

• quantifying the extent of leaks from 

urban sanitary sewers and potential 

effects on drinking water sources;

• evaluating pipeline coating 

technologies as substitutes for lead 

and copper pipe replacement; 

• comparing water distribution 

rehabilitation scenarios and the 

effects on animal cells and genetic 

material exposed to the water; 

• developing self-powered sensors to 

monitor water supply networks; 

• identifying how biofilms attach and 

detach from pipes; 

• using “forward osmosis” techniques 

to design and construct membranes 

for wastewater treatment;

• developing efficient pipeline 

inspections based on genetic 

markers from bacteria; and 

• studying rural water supplies and 

improving water treatment in these 

systems. 

These two to six year research grants will 

contribute to the sustainability of drinking 

water and wastewater systems and help 

ensure the protection of public health. 

STAR Grantee Accomplishment in 

Water Research

Research results from EPA STAR grantees 

in 2011 also include:

• Researchers at University of 

Washington developed a highthroughput method to generate 

novel antibody-like “probes” for 

pathogen detection in water. The 

researchers filed a patent for the 

ratiometric pre-rRNA method 

(International Patent Number PCT/

US09/67565 titled RATIOMETRIC 

PRE-RNA analysis).

• Researchers from the University 

of Cincinnati successfully isolated 

and purified a commonly found 

microcystin, microcystin-LR (MCLR), from a large bloom of blue 

green algae in South Florida. 

Research results will provide a better 

understanding of the occurrence and 

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
80

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

2011 Accomplishments – In Brief, Cont’d.

interactions of selected cyanotoxins 

in freshwater estuaries, as well as 

the role of novel TiO2-based catalytic 

materials to destroy cyanotoxins in 

water as an approach to develop 

engineering technologies utilizing 

solar radiation.

• Researchers at Middle State 

Tennessee University successfully 

isolated 17 novel legionella-like 

amoeba-resistant bacteria (ARB) 

from water samples. Those 

responsible for ensuring safe and 

clean water will have an expanded 

list of potential pathogens to look 

for when sampling for respiratory 

infectious agents. 

• Researchers at the Lamont Doherty 

Earth Observatory and Woods Hole 

Oceanographic Institution developed 

a quantitative polymerase chain 

reaction-based method to assay 

zooplankton predation rates on 

harmful algae. These results may 

lead to improved representation of 

phytoplankton mortality in predictive 

models of bloom formation, thereby 

aiding the forecasting and mitigation 

of Alexandrium blooms by coastal 

managers.

• Researchers at the University 

of Delaware investigated the 

population dynamics of toxic and 

non-toxic cyanobacteria in the 

upper reaches of Chesapeake 

Bay. Researchers were able 

to demonstrate that natural 

mesozooplankton were better 

grazers of both toxic and nontoxic strains of Microcystis than 

their cultured counterparts, 

microzooplankton. Researchers 

summarized that the ability to 

synthesize microcystin does not 

seem to offer toxic Microcystis 

populations a significant defense 

against grazing by co-occurring 

zooplankton communities.

Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
81

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development

EPA supports the nation’s leading scientists 

and engineers to facilitate the pursuit and 

dissemination of high-quality research to 

build a strong scientific foundation for 

Agency actions and decisions. Additionally, 

EPA researchers cultivate and maintain 

partnerships with research colleagues at 

colleges and universities across the world, 

at partner federal and state agencies, and 

other entities throughout the scientific 

community. 

The Agency’s extramural research program 

funds research grants, graduate and 

undergraduate fellowships, and large 

research centers through a competitive 

solicitation process and independent peer 

review. These programs engage the nation’s 

best scientists and engineers in targeted 

research that complements EPA’s own 

outstanding intramural research.

EPA is also one of 11 federal agencies that 

participate in the Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) program, enacted in 1982 

to strengthen the role of small business in 

federal research and development, create 

jobs, and promote technical innovation. 

EPA’s SBIR program awards funds to 

innovative small businesses that have novel 

concepts for products and technologies 

that will help spur economic growth while 

advancing a more sustainable future.

Supporting and Building Partnerships
82

Supporting and Building Partnerships

EPA Research Grants and Awards

EPA Extramural Research Grants and 

Fellowships for 2011

EPA funds research grants and graduate 

fellowships in numerous environmental 

science and engineering disciplines 

through its Science to Achieve Results 

(STAR) program.

EPA issued 137 Graduate Fellowships, 

80 grants, 37 Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) awards, and numerous 

Greater Research Opportunities 

undergraduate fellowships to support 

environmental research conducted in 2011. 

Highlights are included below. 

The STAR program engages the nation’s 

best scientists and engineers in targeted 

research that complements EPA’s own 

intramural research program, and helps 

the Agency support partners in other 

federal agencies. 

Grants are awarded through competitive 

solicitation processes followed by 

independent peer review. Supported 

research includes work on drinking water, 

water quality, global change, ecosystem 

assessment and restoration, human health 

risk assessment, endocrine disrupting 

chemicals, pollution prevention and new 

technologies, children’s health, and the 

health effects of particulate matter.

In addition, through this same competitive 

process, EPA periodically establishes 

large research centers in specific areas 

of national concern. Currently, centers 

focus on children’s environmental health, 

hazardous substances, clean air, and

estuarine and coastal monitoring.

STAR Graduate Fellowships 

The STAR Graduate Fellowship 

Program supports masters and 

doctoral candidates working 

towards advanced degrees and 

careers in environmental science and 

engineering. 

137 STAR Graduate Fellows were 

awarded to support graduate work 

in human health and environmental 

research in 2011 (This includes funds 

awarded in Fiscal Year 2011, or in late 

2010) 

Greater Research Opportunities 

(GRO) Fellowships

The Greater Research Opportunities 

(GRO) fellowships support 

undergraduate students in 

environmental fields of study. The 

goals of the program are to bolster 

the environmental generation of 

tomorrow, inspire and train diverse 

communities, and boost excellent 

research and development that 

advances the protection of human 

health and the environment through 

education. 

Eligible students receive support 

for their junior and senior years of 

undergraduate study and for an 

internship at an EPA facility during 

the summer between their junior and 

senior years. The fellowship provides 

up to $19,700 per academic year of 

support and up to $9,500 of support 

for a three-month summer internship. 

The Agency awards approximately 40 

new fellowships each year.

EPA Greater Research Opportunities 

(GRO) Fellow Ciarra Greene is a chemistry 

major at Northern Arizona State 

University.
83

EPA Research Grants and Awards, Cont’d.

STAR Grants to Support Air 

Pollution Health Effects Research

Five projects received grant funding 

totaling nearly $1.5 million to explore 

air pollution health effects by taking 

advantage of previous investments in 

health and exposure data collection. 

Research explores new health and 

exposure questions by emphasizing 

the use of existing data from health 

studies to analyze health outcomes 

for which the link to air pollution is not 

well established, or to identify at-risk 

populations.

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Recipient(s) Title Amount Awarded ($)

NYU School of Medicine

Hunter College

New York University

University of Pittsburgh

Intra-Urban Variation of Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Health 

Effects $299,998

Colorado State University

University of Colorado

Exploring New Questions of Multiple Air Pollutants, Sources and 

Health in Denver $298,362

Harvard School of Public Health Are Diabetics and the Neurologically Impaired at Increased Risk 

from Air Pollutant Exposures? 

$299,903

Harvard School of Public Health

Brigham Young University

Imperial College

Johns Hopkins University

The Effect of Air Pollution Control on Life Expectancy in 

the United States: A Population-Based Analysis of Major 

Metropolitan Areas

$300,000

Brigham Young University Associations of Short-Term Pollution Exposures with Childhood 

Autoimmune Disease $298,857
84

Supporting and Building Partnerships

EPA Research Grants and Awards, Cont’d.

STAR Grants to Support Black Carbon 

Research

EPA awarded nine grants totaling 

$6,669,863 for research on the climate and 

air quality impacts of the pollutant black 

carbon. Research is intended to reduce 

uncertainty about black carbon effects and 

to improve the tools and understanding 

of black carbon in the face of global 

climate change. These projects will provide 

answers to science questions regarding 

this pollutant and will help policy-makers 

mitigate the emission of black carbon and 

related pollutants.

Recipient(s) Title Amount Awarded ($)

University of California - Riverside

Understanding the Hygroscopic Properties of Black Carbon/

Organic Carbon Mixing States: Connecting Climate and Health 

Impacts of Anthropogenic Aerosol

$449,925

University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaignParticle-Resolved Simulations for Quantifying Black Carbon 

Climate Impact and Model Uncertainty $449,902

University of California - Irvine

Characterization Of Emissions From Small, Variable Solid Fuel 

Combustion Sources For Determining Global Emissions And 

Climate Impact

$900,000

University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign

Argonne National Laboratory

NESCAUM

Linking Regional Aerosol Emission Changes with Multiple 

Impact Measures through Direct and Cloud-Related Forcing 

Estimates

$899,773

University of Washington

BC and Other Light-Absorbing Impurities in North American 

Great Plains Snow: Sources, Impacts, and a Comparison with 

North China Snow

$825,315

University of Wisconsin – 

Madison

Georgia Institute of Technology

Development of a Quantitative Accounting Framework for 

Black Carbon and Brown Carbon from Emissions Inventory to 

Impacts

$899,600

Rutgers University Improved Prediction of the Vertical Profile of Atmospheric Black 

Carbon: Development and Evaluation of WRF-CMAQ $449,916
85

EPA Research Grants and Awards, Cont’d.

Recipient(s) Title Amount Awarded ($)

University of Iowa

National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration

University of Colorado at Boulder

Constraining Urban-To-Global Scale Estimates of Black Carbon 

Distributions, Sources, Regional Climate Impacts, and CoBenefit Metrics with Advanced Coupled Dynamic - Chemical 

Transport - Adjoint Models

$895,432

Carnegie Mellon University Black Carbon, Air Quality and Climate: From the Local to the 

Global Scale $900,000

Supporting and Building Partnerships

STAR Grants to Support 

Computational Toxicology

Four grants totaling nearly $3 million 

were awarded to advance the science 

of computational toxicology with a 

focus on biologically-based multi-scale 

modeling. The research produced 

will help scientists better understand 

and measure the effects of chemical 

exposure on the human body.

Recipient(s) Title Amount Awarded ($)

The Hamner Institutes A Multi-scale Dose-response Model of AHR Toxicity Pathway 

Activation in the Human Liver

$750,000

University of North Carolina at 

Chapel Hill

Predictive QSAR Models of Hepatotoxicity $750,000

Indiana University - Bloomington Ontologies for Data & Models for Liver Toxicology $749,705

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 

State University

Model of Toxicant Response in Engineered Liver $750,000
86

Supporting and Building Partnerships

EPA Research Grants and Awards, Cont’d.

Grants to Support Nanomaterials 

Research

In partnership with the National Science 

Foundation and the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, EPA awarded five grants 

totaling nearly $3 million to support 

fundamental and applied research related 

to engineered nanomaterials. Two focal 

areas of research include:

1. Evaluation of potential exposures to 

engineered nanomaterials including 

an exploration of environmental 

and biological fate, transport, and 

transformation of these materials 

throughout their lifetimes; and 

2. Increasing the scientific understanding 

of engineered nanoscale additives and 

ingredients intentionally introduced 

into food matrices for delivery 

of important micronutrients and 

modification of sensory attributes.

Recipient(s) Title Amount Awarded ($)

University of Michigan - Ann 

Arbor

Michigan State University

Environmental Transformation And Biological Fate Of Fresh And 

Aged Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles $600,000

University of Kentucky

Environmental Behavior And Bioavailability Of Ag And Ceo2 

Nanoparticles: The Role Of Surface Functionalization and 

its Interaction with Natural Organic Substances and Iron 

Oxohydroxides

$599,840

University of Delaware

Uptake of Specific Engineered Nanoparticles (ENP) by Sludge 

Particulates as Affected by the Presence of Dissolved Organic 

Matters (DOM)

$599,678

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 

State University

Transformation and Fate of Nanomaterials During Wastewater 

Treatment and Incineration $599,859

Purdue University

Johns Hopkins University

Photochemical and Fungal Transformations of Carbon 

Nanotubes in the Environment $600,000
87

Supporting and Building Partnerships

EPA Research Grants and Awards, Cont’d.

Recruiting the Best: EPA Grant 

Solicitations

RFAs announced to support research in 

2011 are outlined below. 

Developing the Next Generation 

of Air Quality Measurement 

Technology To support research 

into the development, improvement, 

and demonstration of air pollution 

monitoring and measurement 

technologies. 

Extreme Event Impacts on Air Quality 

and Water Quality with a Changing 

Global Climate To support the 

development of assessments, tools, 

techniques, and the demonstration of 

innovative technologies that provide 

information and the capacity to 

prepare for climate-induced changes 

in extreme events. 

Dynamic Air Quality Management To 

support research laying the scientific 

foundation for improving the air 

quality management system, including 

by increasing the rate at which 

new information is incorporated 

into regional and local air quality 

management activities. 

Developing High-Throughput Assays for 

Predictive Modeling of Reproductive 

and Developmental Toxicity Modulated 

Through the Endocrine System or 

Pertinent Pathways in Humans and 

Species Relevant to Ecological Risk 

Assessment To support research on 

the development of high-throughput 

assays for use in analyzing chemicals, 

or mixtures of chemicals, to explain 

how exposure can be causally related 

to adverse, apical outcomes related to 

development and reproduction. 

Source Attribution of Radiative Forcing 

in Chemical Transport Models To 

support the development of advanced 

modeling capabilities that account for 

the dynamics of chemical transport, 

short-term climate changes (“radiative 

forcers”), and air quality.

Environmental Impact and Mitigation 

of Oil Spills To support a research 

program for the development of 

innovative technologies for use 

decreasing the impact of oil spills 

impacts, as well as incorporating 

an effective community outreach 

program. 

Sustainable Chesapeake: A 

Collaborative Approach to Urban 

Stormwater Management To 

advance the scientific and practical 

understandings of how to promote 

and sustain effective, communitybased stormwater management 

for reducing water-borne pollution 

entering Chesapeake Bay. EPA is 

specifically interested in funding 

research projects that engage the 

lay public and scientific experts 

in the co-development, trial, and 

objective assessment of innovative, 

local solutions to shared stormwater 

problems. (For more about this 

program, see Sustainable Chesapeake

in the “Safe and Sustainable Water 

Resources” section of this report.)

Research and Demonstration of 

Innovative Drinking Water Treatment 

Technologies in Small Systems To 

support the development of new, or 

innovative modifications of existing 
88

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Highlights From 2010 EPA Regional Science Partnerships, Cont’d.

treatment technologies that can 

perform significantly better than 

current technologies. (For more about 

this program, see Innovative Drinking 

Water Technologies in the “Safe and 

Sustainable Water Resources” section 

of this report.) 

To receive e-mail notices about future 

EPA STAR grant and other funding 

opportunities, please visit: http://epa.gov/

ncer/listserv/.

Stoking the Economic Engine: EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Awards 

There are approximately 25 million small 

businesses in the U.S. today. As the leading 

source of employment growth, these 

firms have generated 60 to 80 percent of 

new jobs over the past decade and are 

responsible for developing most of the 

country’s new technologies. 

Today, EPA is helping to tap the economic 

engine and creative energy of small 

businesses to help meet environmental 

challenges while they help lead an 

economic recovery.

EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research 

(SBIR) program was established to ensure 

that new technologies are developed to 

solve priority environmental problems. 

In 2011 EPA awarded nearly $4.4 million 

to 37 small companies to support the 

development of new technologies for 

protecting the environment and public 

health.

Twenty-seven small businesses received 

“proof of concept” awards up to $80,000 

(phase I recipients). Ten companies that 

received similar awards in 2010 were 

awarded additional 2011 funding up to 

$225,000 to move their technologies 

towards commercialization and 

implementation (phase II recipients).

Phase II winners include small businesses 

in California, Colorado, Florida, 

Massachusetts, Michigan, and New 

Mexico. Their projects include reducing 

toxic chemicals from landfills, producing 

an environmentally friendly adhesive, 

reducing methane emissions by converting 

dilute methane waste gas streams into 

useful fuel, and designing a real-time 

environmental water monitoring sensor.
89

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Stoking the Economic Engine: EPA’s Small Business Innovation 

Research Awards, Cont’d.

Phase I Recipient Title Amount

Awarded ($)

ACTA Technology Inc. Greener and More Energy Efficient Renewable Energy Resource – 

Geothermal Heat Pumps

$80,000 

Adherent Technologies Inc. Emission Suppression System for Outdoor Wood Boilers $80,000 

Advanced Diamond Technologies Inc. Development of a Scalable, Low-Cost, Ultrananocrystalline Diamond 

Electrochemical Process for the Destruction of Contaminants of Emerging 

Concern (CECs)

$79,995 

Algal Scientific Corporation Anaerobic Pre-Treatment for an Algae-Based Wastewater Treatment System $79,278 

Cool Energy Inc. Low Temperature Stirling Engine for Waste Heat Recovery from Distributed 

Power Sources

$79,096 

EcoChem Analytics A Real-Time, Sensitive and Affordable Fast-Response Elemental Carbon 

Monitor

$79,022 

Eltron Research & Development Inc. A Solvent-Free, Nanopowder Production Method $80,000 

Faraday Technology Inc. Functional Chrome Coatings on Hard to Access, Internal Surfaces of 

Industrial Parts from an Environmentally Benign Trivalent Chromium Bath

$80,000 

FBS Inc. In-Situ Imaging of Water Pipelines Using Ultrasonic Guided Waves $79,956 

FuelCell Energy Inc. Industrial Flue Gas Cleanup Using DFC Technology $79,936 

General Systems Research LLC Cost-Effective Algae Biomass Production for Oil integrated with Wastewater 

Treatment and Valued By-Product

$80,000 

H.I.P. Hot-In-Place Paving LLC Evaluation of the 100% Recyclability of Superpave Hot Mix Asphalt $80,000 

Los Gatos Research Compact, Cost-Effective Nitrogen Dioxide Analyzer for NAAQS Compliance 

Monitoring

$79,965 

Lynntech Inc. Microelectrochemical Capillary System for Environmental Analytical Lab on 

a Chip

$70,000 

Membrane Technology and Research 

Inc.

Novel Membranes for Natural Gas Dehydration $80,000 
90

Stoking the Economic Engine: EPA’s Small Business Innovation 

Research Awards, Cont’d.

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Phase I Recipient Title Amount

Awarded ($)

Micro-Tracers Inc. Combination of Chlorine-Free Electrolytic and Photochemical Methods for 

Sterilization of Contaminated Waters

$73,433 

OmniLane Inc. L-(+) Lactic Acid Production from Biodiesel Waste Using Pelletized Fungal 

Fermentation

$79,996 

Operational Technologies Corporation Handheld FRET-Aptamer Sensor for Chem-Bio Threats $79,984 

OPTRA Inc. Fourier Transform Infrared Phase Shift Cavity Ring Down Spectrometer $79,638 

Reactive Innovations, LLC Advanced Contaminant Inactivation System for Drinking Water $79,994

SkySight Technologies LLC Full Scale Anemometer $80,000

Sustainable Innovations LLC Recycling of Greenhouse Gases to Fuels & Chemicals $79,980

TDA Research Inc. A New Renewable Polymer from Bio-Oil $80,000

TDA Research Inc. New Sorbents to Control CO2 and Multi-Contaminant Emissions $80,000

TDA Research Inc. Pipeline-Quality Methane from Anaerobic Digestion Systems $80,000

Trillium FiberFuels Inc. Development of a Fermentation Compatible Xylose Isomerase $79,885

Viresco Energy LLC Low Oxygenate Bio-Oil Through Two Stage Hydro-Pyrolysis $79,825

Total:

$2,139,983
91

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Stoking the Economic Engine: EPA’s Small Business Innovation 

Research Awards, Cont’d.

Phase II Recipient Title Amount

Awarded ($)

Aspen Products Group, Inc. Reduction of Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions from 

Commercial Kitchens $225,000 

Defiant Technologies, Inc. Handheld Detection System for TCE and PCE $225,000 

Eltron Research & Development Inc Low-Cost Retrofit Emissions Control in Off-Road Sources $224,998 

Instrumental Polymer Technologies, LLC Silane-Terminated Aliphatic Polycarbonate Dendrimer 

Solutions for Environmentally Green Coatings $225,000 

Intelligent Optical Systems Inc. Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor for Long-term Monitoring 

of Groundwater Trichloroethylene Levels $224,996 

Lao K, LLC Mill Trials of a Novel Formaldehyde-Free Soy-Based Wood 

Adhesive for Making Plywood $224,000 

Membrane Technology and Research Inc. Novel Membrane Process to Utilize Dilute Methane Streams $225,000 

Mobius Technologies, Inc.

Development of Micronized Polyurethane as a 

Comprehensive, 100 Percent Recycled Resin for Green 

Building Materials and Systems

$225,000 

Smart Polymers Research Corporation Quantum Dot/Aptamer Real-Time Flow Sensor $225,000 

Technova Corporation

Value-Added Use of Milled Mixed-Color Waste Glass as a 

Supplementary Cementitious Material in Environmentally 

Friendly and Energy-Efficient Concrete Building 

Construction

$225,000 

Total: $2,248,994

EPA-Supported Small Businesses 

Recognized for Innovation, Jobs, 

Impact

Past EPA, SBIR awardees continued to 

show how investments in innovative 

small businesses as they work to 

bring sustainable technologies to the 

marketplace serve as catalysts for a 

growing and vibrant economy. Examples 

include:

• NanoMech, the developer of 

an innovative, environmentallyfriendly nanostructured coating 

for the automotive and aerospace 

industries, was honored with a visit 
92

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Stoking the Economic Engine: EPA’s Small Business Innovation 

Research Awards, Cont’d.

from Secretary of the U.S. Treasury 

Timothy Geithner, in March, 2011, 

who showcased the company to 

demonstrate how businesses that 

engage in innovative research can 

spur economic growth and lead to 

high-wage jobs. 

• Ecovative Design was named a 2011 

Technology Pioneer by the World 

Economic Forum in recognition of the 

company’s efforts to use technology 

to change and improve the way 

businesses operate. The company 

has developed two materials 

(MycoBondTM, and GreensulateTM) 

produced with a technology that 

begins by growing white rot fungus 

on agricultural byproducts, reducing 

waster as it produces marketable 

products.

• The Operational Technologies 

Corporation (OpTech) received 

the Tibbetts Award from the Small 

Business Administration in 2011 for 

their success in driving innovation 

and creating new jobs. OpTech 

research helped develop small chains 

of synthetic DNA that can detect 

bacteria and other contaminants in 

food samples, including bioterrorism 

agents and foodborne pathogens. 

• Advanced Technology Materials, 

Inc. (ATMI), also a recipient of a 

2011 Tibbets Award, was inducted 

as an inaugural member of SBIR 

Hall of Fame for its development 

of the Novapure Dry Scrubber 

System, which uses an innovative 

solid scrubber material designed 

specifically to reduce toxic air 

emissions from the semiconductor 

industry. 

EPA scientists Win Presidential Science Award

Two EPA scientists were named recipients 

of the Presidential Early Career Award 

for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)—

the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. 

government on outstanding science and 

engineering professionals in the early 

stages of their independent research 

careers. The award recognizes excellent 

research and leadership in sciences. 

The recipients were Dr. Gayle Hagler and 

Dr. David Reif. 

Dr. Hagler was nominated for leading 

research in the development and use of 

new technologies, such as electric vehicles 

and GPS, to measure and map air pollutant 

emissions near roadside locations. She also 

researched roadside landscaping to reduce 

the effects of harmful air pollutants. Dr. 

Reif was nominated for developing tools 

for prioritizing and profiling chemicals 

for potential toxicity to human health 

and the environment, as well as studying 

the various subsets of childhood asthma 

in order to develop more personalized 

diagnoses, management, and treatment of 

the disease. 

The award noted that both recipients 

have demonstrated a strong commitment 

to community service through their 

leadership in various outreach activities 

such as presenting at workshops, 

participating as science career panelists for 

visiting student groups and by using their 

research to mentor and teach others. 
Supporting and Building Partnerships

EPA scientists Win Presidential Science Award, Cont’d.

To read more about the awardees 

experience during the award 

ceremonies—including meeting 

President Obama—visit: www.epa.gov/

sciencematters/december2011/meetingthe-president.htm 

President Obama addresses PECASE 

honorees at the White House.

93
94

Supporting and Building Partnerships

For 2011, winning teams provided impact in 

four important areas:

1. Education – Stanford University

designed teaching units for local 

schools using principles of renewable 

energy to fulfill Standards of Learning 

requirements.

2. Campus & Community – Duke University

designed a learning lab where students 

and local professionals develop stream 

restoration, wetland mitigation and 

storm water management measures for 

the regional water basin. 

3. Small-Scale Development – University 

of Illinois-Urbana Champaign designed 

a low-cost system that uses bone char 

for removing arsenic and uranium 

from groundwater of the Pine Ridge 

Reservation in South Dakota; Purdue 

University designed a hydropower 

system for rural communities that 

provides low-cost electricity from 

local materials; and the University of 

Georgia designed a milk cooling system 

powered by renewable energy that will 

increase the amount of milk that can be 

sold by small rural dairy farmers.

4. Business of Sustainability – University 

of Illinois-Urbana Champaign designed 

Everybody Wins: EPA’s P3 Competition for Sustainable Design

From beeswax to bikes and beets to 

bacteria, EPA’s 2011 P3—named for 

People, Prosperity and the Planet—Award 

Competition fostered an outstanding 

range of environmental innovation. From 

the 55 teams that competed, the Agency 

announced ten P3 Award winners who 

received another grant to implement their 

projects.

EPA’s P3 competition offers students the 

opportunity to identify an environmental 

problem and design a solution. Working 

in teams, students work to solve 

environmental challenges in ways that 

benefit people, promotes prosperity and 

protects the planet—all at the same time. 

Since its launch in 2003, some 2000 

students have been involved in the 

program, representing 400 teams from 

almost every state. 

The competition has two phases. For 

the first phase, teams are awarded seed 

money based on proposals submitted to 

design and develop prototypes for their 

sustainable solutions. Teams then bring 

their projects to showcase at the National 

Sustainable Design Expo in Washington 

D.C. in the Spring to meet the judges 

and compete for the P3 Award, and for a 

second grant (phase II) to further develop 

and implement their designs.
95

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Everybody Wins: EPA’s P3 Competition for Sustainable Design, Cont’d.

a system and business for a solarpowered automatic watering system 

for container planters; Drexel University

designed a lightweight green room 

system that can be installed with 

minimal structural reinforcement; 

University of Massachusetts-Lowell 

developed an environmentally-safe 

flame retardant; Oklahoma State 

University designed a process that 

uses bacteria to convert hydrogen 

and CO2 from renewable and waste 

sources to make ethanol; University 

of Delaware developed a process for 

making material from plant oils and 

chicken feathers and then designed 

and produced clothes and shoes using 

these new materials.

In addition to this year’s winning teams, 

winners from past years continued to 

show how the seeds sown by EPA’s P3 

Award lead to lasting results. For example:

• A team representing Harvard 

University, MIT, and two Chinese 

universities founded the nonprofit 

One Earth Design (OED) that now 

employs 29 people in 2011. Their 

design for a solar-powered device 

that cooks, provides heat, and 

generates electricity has been 

recognized by the Dutch Postcode 

Lottery Green Challenge, St. 

Andrews Prize for the Environment, 

MIT $100k Competition, Clinton 

Global Initiative, Lemelson 

Foundation, Legatum Center for 

Development and Entrepreneurship, 

and Yunus Innovation Challenge.

• A 2010 P3 winner from Duke 

University leveraged their grant with 

support from the Lord Foundation 

and a sponsorship from DukeEngage 

to construct two stormwater 

enhancement areas, one completed 

in collaboration with the Eno River 

Association, and the other built 

through a collaboration with East 

Carteret High School. 

• A 2009 team from the 

Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology (MIT) that designed a 

solar power generator that produces 

electricity using heat rather than 

photovoltaic cells was featured in 

Discover Magazine and won several 

awards, including the ASME IShow, 

National Collegiate Inventors & 

Innovators Alliance Award, and the 

MIT 100K 20 Year Award. The team 

has now established the nonprofit 

organization STG International.

• University of California Davis 

teammates from a 2008 P3 winning 

project launched the company 

Micromidas a year after winning, 

and have since raised $3.6 million in 

venture capital funding. Micromidas 

expanded to 22 employees in 2011. 

• A 2007 winning team from Western 

Washington University, recognized 

for their work developing a process 

to tap methane from dairy cow 

manure as a car fuel, is now working 

with the local transportation district 

to convert biodiesel buses so they 

run on methane. 

• The Learning Barge, designed as 

part of a 2007 winning P3 project 

out of the University of Virginia, is 

now owned and operated by the 

Elizabeth River Project. The Learning 

Barge educated more than 13,000 

visitors in its first few years of 

operation, and in 2011 created seven 

new jobs. 

• Founders of a 2005 P3 team 

representing Oberlin College that 
96

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Everybody Wins: EPA’s P3 Competition for Sustainable Design, Cont’d.

developed a data monitoring display 

system that shows real-time energy 

and water use in dormitories and 

other large commercial buildings 

are now the principles for Lucid 

Design Group, a software company 

specializing in environmental 

monitoring and visualization 

technologies. The company grew to 

18 employees in 2011. 

EPA’s P3 competition is open to students in 

all areas of study and from any accredited 

U.S. two- or four-year college or university.

EPA Partnerships

Supporting Human Health and Environmental Science

in EPA Regions and Indian Country

EPA has ten regional offices across the 

country, each of which is responsible for 

meeting the Agency’s mission to protect 

human health and the environment in the 

states and territories within its region. To 

support those efforts, Agency scientists 

and engineers form partnerships to 

effectively respond to the high-priority, 

near-term research and technical support 

needs of regional offices. 

In addition, Agency scientists work closely 

with the National EPA-Tribal Science 

Council to help integrate Agency and 

tribal interests, specifically with respect 

to environmental science issues in Indian 

Country.

Annually, the Agency supports targeted 

collaborative research and technical 

support activities that are designed to: 

(1) provide the regions and communities 

across the nation with near-term research 

on high-priority localized needs; (2) 

improve collaboration between regions 

and Agency laboratories and research 

centers; (3) build the foundation for 

ongoing and future scientific interactions; 

and (4) develop useful tools for state, 

local, and tribal governments to address 

near-term and emerging environmental 

challenges. 

Agency Science Partnerships Tackle 

Water Quality Issues

There are over 3.5 million miles of rivers 

and streams and 39.9 million acres of 

lakes and reservoirs in the U.S., covering 

an enormous and diverse landscape. 

Not surprisingly, the condition of our 

nation’s waters varies widely. Cities 

and town, farmlands, mines, factories, 

sewage treatment facilities, dams, and 

many human activities on the land have 
97

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Supporting Human Health and Environmental Science

in EPA Regions and Indian Country, Cont’d.

significant impacts on the quality of our 

waters. Freshwater and tidal ecosystems 

support complex and important food web 

interactions and provide habitat needed 

to support numerous threatened and 

endangered species. 

Understanding the condition of these 

waters is critical if we are to develop 

effective plans to maintain, manage, 

and restore them. The following EPA 

partnerships were designed to advance 

that goal:

Dissolved Oxygen in the 

Chesapeake Bay

Fluctuations in the level of 

dissolved oxygen (DO) are a 

major environmental stressor in 

the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal 

tributaries. Elevated nutrient levels 

have resulted in significant decreases 

in DO, leading to fish kills and other 

impacts on the ecosystem. 

EPA partnered with the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) and the 

Maryland Department of Natural 

Resources to deploy, operate, and 

analyze the results of a vertical 

profiler, a monitoring technology 

that is able to measure DO, salinity, 

and temperature hourly at 1-meter 

intervals in a column of water. This 

technology has the potential to 

provide scientists and decision makers 

with information on the variability of 

DO that has not been available in the 

past.

Research results, combined with 

data from several similar concurrent 

projects, suggest the need to 

revisit the monitoring approaches 

now being used in the Chesapeake 

Watershed. The results have potential 

implications for the approach used by 

the Chesapeake Bay Program and the 

states for monitoring and assessing 

the instantaneous minimum criteria 

for their impaired waters listing 

assessments, and for implementation 

of Total Maximum Daily Loads of 

pollutants impacting DO levels. 

Results also point out the need for 

further development and validation of 

the technology available to monitor 

short term, deep water DO levels. 

Because of this research, researchers 

have made improvements to the 

vertical profiler and NOAA intends 

to continue deployment of this 

technology. 

Idaho Pebblesnail is Key to 

Developing New Ammonia Criteria

Ammonia is one of the most important 

pollutants in the aquatic environment. 

It is highly toxic and waste fluids, 

such as municipal wastewater or 

runoff from concentrated animal 

feeding operations, must be 

treated extensively to lower the 

concentrations of ammonia in surface 

waters. 

Currently, there are separate ammonia 

criteria for freshwater depending on 

whether salmonids or mussels are 

present. Salmonid fish include salmon, 

trout and whitefish. When conducting 

research in lakes, streams and rivers 

using the current criteria, scientists 

first have to determine if these fish or 

mussels are present. Scientists also 

suspect that the current criterion is 

not protective of freshwater snails. 

EPA collaborated with the U.S. 

Geological Survey to develop a 

method to breed and raise Idaho 

pebblesnails (Fluminicola sp.) and 

test their sensitivity to ammonia. The 

Idaho pebblesnail is a freshwater 

snail common in the western U.S. 

Toxicity data from the lab-controlled 
98

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Supporting Human Health and Environmental science

in EPA regions and Indian Country, Cont’d.

studies showed that it is among the 

most sensitive species evaluated for 

developing the ammonia criteria. 

The data also prompted a significant 

change in the way the ammonia 

criterion is stated. The criterion will 

now apply nationwide to all aquatic 

species. Permit writers will no longer 

have to determine if salmonid fish or 

mussels are present in a given water 

body. This will make it much easier 

to be consistently protective of all 

aquatic life, including threatened or 

endangered freshwater snails. EPA 

is revising the 2011 National Aquatic 

Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for 

Freshwater Ammonia to reflect this 

change.

Getting the Word Out: The Possible Hazards of Fish Consumption

Fish are important in a healthy diet. 

They are a lean, low-calorie source of 

protein. However, some fish may contain 

methylmercury or other harmful chemicals. 

. Even though these chemicals may be 

present in the water at low levels, because 

of bioaccumulation, organisms living in 

the water contain these toxic chemicals at 

much higher concentrations. These toxic 

chemicals are further concentrated in the 

fish at higher levels of the food chain.

Federal, state, Tribal, and local 

governments monitor local waters and 

issue fish consumption advisories when 

the fish are unsafe to eat. The advisories 

may recommend that people avoid eating 

certain kinds or certain amounts of fish. 

Some advisories apply to specific water 

types. Some may focus on specific groups 

of people. Advisories may apply to locally 

caught fish and fish purchased in stores 

and restaurants.

EPA collaborative research aimed 

at getting the word out about fish 

consumption include:

Regional Tool Identifies 

Populations with Increased 

Mercury Levels 

A 2004 New York State study found 

that blood mercury concentrations in 

adult New York City residents were 

three times the national estimate, 

with one in four New Yorkers, and 

almost half of New York City’s Asian 

population, exhibiting elevated blood 

mercury levels. 

In response, EPA conducted a 

geographic analysis to identify 

areas and populations to target for 

outreach, education, and other efforts 

aimed at reducing risks associated 

with eating some species of fish and 

shellfish. Agency scientists collected 

and analyzed existing data on age 

groups; birth rates; socio-economic 

status; ethnicity; restaurant, market, 

and grocery store fish sales; fish tissue 

contaminants; and other indicators.

The resulting work, completed for 
99

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Getting the Word Out: The Possible Hazards of Fish Consumption, Cont’d.

New York State and being finalized 

for New Jersey, identifies areas and 

populations most in need of outreach 

based on their exposure to certain 

fish and shellfish. The program will 

be piloted in 2012, in partnership with 

the pediatric environmental health 

unit at Mt. Sinai. Results will be shared 

with pediatricians and ob/gyns in 

affected areas to help them target their 

outreach efforts with women of childbearing age and children. 

Reducing Exposure to Mercury on 

the Cheyenne River Reservation

As part of a collaborative study 

with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 

(CRST) Department of Environmental 

Protection, scientists collected three 

years of field data to simulate the 

environmental fate of mercury and the 

dynamics of bioaccumulation within 

tribal livestock ponds. Researchers 

found elevated levels of mercury in 

fish tissues and released a fish advisory 

based on these findings. The advisory 

recommended reducing consumption 

of fish, especially for sensitive 

individuals, such as the pregnant and 

elderly.

Field and laboratory procedures have 

been transferred to the CRST and have 

resulted in capacity building with Tribal 

personnel. CRST livestock ponds were 

one of the five model ecosystems 

used in the Benefits Assessment for 

EPA’s Clean Air Mercury Rule to better 

understand processes driving mercury 

cycling in aquatic systems. 

Increasing Efficiency at Local Wastewater Facilities

Wastewater utilities across the country 

are facing challenges to improve their 

efficiency while keeping rates affordable 

for the communities they serve. These 

challenges include high municipal 

wastewater volumes, increased treatment 

costs, and rising energy costs. In the U.S. 

alone, over 16,000 operational wastewater 

facilities treat approximately 34 billion 

gallons of municipal wastewater daily. With 

this high volume, the total nationwide cost 

for wastewater treatment and collection 

is estimated to be $189.2 billion annually. 

Additionally, energy costs from wastewater 

and water services often represent 30% 

or more of a municipality’s total energy 

costs. These rising energy costs represent a 

major challenge for water and wastewater 

utilities that are also facing the challenges 

of increasing demands due to population 

growth, more stringent regulations, and 

aging infrastructure. 

EPA research partnerships in support of 

increasing efficiency at local wastewater 

facilities include:

Missouri Water Utilities Become 

More Energy Efficient

Agency scientists believe that 

Water treatment facility.
100

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Increasing Efficiency at Local Wastewater Facilities, Cont’d.

increasing energy efficiency is one 

of the most effective ways to reduce 

costs and improve environmental 

performance. EPA and the Missouri 

University of Science and Technology 

entered into a collaborative 

effort with the eight communities 

participating in the Missouri Water 

Utilities Partnership to increase 

energy efficiency at community 

wastewater facilities. The objective 

of the project was to help these 

communities, and others like them, 

to reduce utility costs and pollution 

while improving reliability and 

performance. Researchers assisted 

the communities in assessing their 

energy efficiency and effectiveness, 

provided recommendations regarding 

wastewater treatment and use, 

and presented the results of their 

changes to a broader community 

audience through outreach and the 

development of written cases studies.

Because of this research, many of 

the communities that participated 

in this project gained more than a 

20% reduction in energy use. The 

case studies are helping other 

communities analyze their own 

situation by providing ideas for energy 

efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, 

the data collected from this effort are 

informing the research community 

on the condition and specifications 

of these utilities to better aid 

technological development needed 

for wastewater treatment.

Revised EPA Wastewater 

Stabilization Ponds Design Manual

One particular technology that 

helps to reduce energy needs at 

wastewater facilities is stabilization 

ponds. Wastewater pond systems 

provide energy efficient, reliable, low 

cost, and relatively low maintenance 

treatment for municipal and industrial 

wastewater discharges. Wastewater 

stabilization ponds can be 3 to 10 

times more energy efficient when 

compared with digesters and aerators. 

This provides a more sustainable 

alternative for wastewater treatment. 

In 2011, Agency scientists collaborated 

to revise the EPA Wastewater 

Stabilization Ponds Design Manual, 

originally published in 1983. This 

revised manual provides updated 

information and guidance for the 

design and operation of over 8,000 

wastewater treatment ponds, 

which is more than 50 percent of 

the wastewater treatment facilities 

currently operating in the U.S. Using 

this guidance for proper design and 

operation, these ponds are capable 

of meeting strict environmental 

standards with minimal biosolids 

management requirements and very 

reasonable energy costs, helping to 

protect the environment and reduce 

energy needs. 

Conversion of Wastewater 

Facilities into Biorefineries

Reclaiming wastewater to generate 

biofuels is one strategy that Agency 

scientists hope will ease the 

environmental impacts and treatment 

costs of wastewater streams. EPA 

collaborated with Mississippi State 

University to investigate the potential 

for using municipal wastewater 

in the production of biofuels. 

Using wastewater obtained from 

a Tuscaloosa, Alabama municipal 

wastewater treatment plant 

and working at laboratory-scale, 

researchers demonstrated that 

ozone disinfection is a robust and 

effective disinfectant for wastewater. 

Further, the studies showed that 
101

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Increasing Efficiency at Local Wastewater Facilities, Cont’d.

microorganisms capable of producing 

large quantities of oil can be grown in 

ozonated wastewater. 

The results of this project provided 

valuable input for current pilotscale testing at the Mississippi 

State University Energy Institute. 

Wastewater from various 

municipalities and industries will 

be tested for oil accumulation to 

ultimately produce biofuels from the 

oils. 

New Technologies Used to Detect Emissions

EPA scientists are developing new 

technologies to better identify sources 

and to quantify emissions of gases or 

vapors. These emissions come from a 

variety of sources including vehicles, 

boats, industrial equipment, and oil and 

gas exploration activities. Emissions due 

to equipment leaks in the natural gas 

industry alone are estimated to be 146.9 

billion standard cubic feet. 

Identifying and controlling these 

emissions is an enormous challenge 

nationwide. EPA partnerships working to 

meet that challenge include: 

Detecting Emissions from Oil and 

Gas Operations Using Remote 

Sensing 

Emissions of volatile organic 

compounds (VOCs) and greenhouse 

gases from oil and gas exploration 

and production activities contribute 

to increased ozone levels in the 

ambient air, and pose a threat to air 

quality in and around communities in 

the Rocky Mountains. Furthermore, 

our ability to estimate the emissions 

from these activities is limited. EPA 

has collaborated with the states of 

Colorado and Wyoming to conduct 

field studies using a highly sensitive 

instrument mounted on a mobile 

platform to detect and quantify oil 

and gas emissions. The mobile unit is 

equipped with a fast-response cavity 

ringdown spectrometer, a device 

that can obtain rapid measurements 

downwind of potential sources, and 

a precise global positioning system 

to map air pollution patterns in areas 

around sources. Data collected with 

this remote method have improved 

knowledge of air pollutant emissions 

from production and storage 

equipment. 

As a result of these field studies, the 

project team has improved the overall 

performance of the mobile detection 

and quantification method, which can 

now produce emission flux estimates 

of methane and VOCs from individual 

sources. When the mobile method is 

fully developed, this technology can 

be passed on to state and local health 

departments to monitor air quality 

in communities near oil and gas 

exploration and production activities.

Infrared Cameras Find Emissions 

Leaks along the Mississippi River

Leaking organic vapors from barges 

and railcars along the Mississippi River 

industrial corridor affect air quality 

in nearby cities. In the past, the use 

of infrared technology to discover 

hydrocarbon leaks has been used 

along pipeline routes throughout 

the country. EPA partnered 

Mississippi river and 

surrounding area.
102

Supporting and Building Partnerships

New Technologies Used to Detect Emissions, Cont’d.

with the Louisiana Department of 

Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to test 

the ability of infrared cameras to “see” 

hydrocarbon emissions invisible to the 

human eye along the Mississippi River. 

With the use of the HAWK® surveying 

instrumentation from a helicopter 

flying low over the pipelines, barges 

and railcars, and entering that 

information into LDEQ’s existing GIS 

databases, EPA was able to identify the 

leakers and have them repaired. 

Prototype cameras are now 

making inspections safer and more 

effective. This information will 

also help determine if the existing 

regulations are sufficient to protect 

the environment and the public from 

unauthorized releases of hazardous 

chemicals.
103

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Green Infrastructure Research Shaping Community Projects

Communities are increasingly seeking 

to implement green infrastructure 

practices, such as rain gardens, 

bioswales, and permeable pavements, 

to help manage urban and suburban 

stormwater volume and quality and 

to help control sewer overflows. 

Green infrastructure can be a costeffective approach, compared to using 

strictly “gray infrastructure” (belowground pipes, sewer inlets, high-rate 

treatment plants, etc.), and can 

provide significant community benefits. 

Green infrastructure projects can help 

to keep stormwater out of combined 

sewers, leaving more capacity in these 

systems and decreasing the chance of 

overflows. Overflows of septic sewage 

are a threat to public health, impair 

our valuable water resources such as 

rivers and streams, and pollute the land 

surrounding these surface waters. 

EPA has developed a portfolio of green 

infrastructure research. The results of 

this research are now informing EPA 

permitting and enforcement actions, and 

providing new options for communities 

to meet regulatory standards. Scientists 

have recently completed a study that 

demonstrated the value of the use 

of rain barrels and rain gardens in a 

suburban neighborhood to decrease 

stormwater volume to sewer systems and 

receiving waters. EPA is also evaluating 

the effects of green infrastructure 

implementation in Cincinnati, Cleveland, 

and other midwestern urban areas, where 

researchers have conducted extensive 

studies of the condition of urban soils and 

the suitability of the soils for infiltration 

practices.

This research has produced valuable 

information that is being used in 

community planning decisions and 

enforcement actions. For example, the 

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District 

has negotiated a green infrastructure pilot 

program under their consent orders, and 

will undertake this program to set practical 

standards for performance and cost 

that will complement and build on other 

“gray” improvements to the combined 

system. It is anticipated that the green 

infrastructure investments will not only 

keep stormwater volume out of smaller 

combined sewer systems, but also increase 

the amount of green space in urban core 

areas, and provide more and higher-quality 

ecosystem services. These investments can 

help to stabilize and revitalize distressed 

neighborhoods and protect Lake Erie from 

the numerous beach closures caused by 

combined sewer discharges. EPA has taken 

the lead in working with other communities 

to understand how to share and manage 

risk with communities and get them on the 

right track to effective management and 

compliance with the Clean Water Act. 
104

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Controlling Lyme Disease in the Northeast

In the northeastern U.S., Lyme disease 

(LD) infection rates continue to increase 

and have reached epidemic levels in 

many communities. LD is the second 

most frequently reported disease in 

New England states. It is also the most 

common of all vector borne diseases 

reported in the U.S. The black-legged tick, 

Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector of 

the LD pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi. 

New research shows links between 

land use, biological diversity, and LD 

transmission. In 2006, EPA developed 

a research initiative to improve the 

understanding of these links. Agency 

scientists have been collaborating on 

research, management and control 

of black-legged tick populations in 

Massachusetts and have tested the 

efficacy of four poster deer stations 

(passive deer feeding stations that force 

deer to rub against pesticide-impregnated 

application rollers) for reducing tick 

populations and LD risk. The outreach 

tools that are being developed support 

the Agency’s Landscape, Biodiversity and 

Human Health Community of Practice 

(CoP), which is intended to foster 

closer collaboration between diverse 

communities, including public health 

practitioners, land use planners, ecologists 

and the public. This work will allow the 

State of Massachusetts to more effectively 

provide guidance on LD and help the 

Agency implement sustainable solutions. 

EPA plays an important role in developing 

and implementing sustainable, 

environmentally sound approaches under 

integrated pest management to improve 

control and management of vector-borne 

diseases on a landscape scale while 

reducing exposures to toxic chemicals. 

EPA is now building new partnerships 

with public health practitioners, land use 

planners, ecologists and the public to 

produce new knowledge and sustainable 

tools to reduce the risk of disease 

and minimize adverse impacts to the 

environment.
105

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Tribal Science 

Working with tribal nations to promote 

clean, healthy environments is a critical 

part of fulfilling EPA’s mission. EPA 

is committed to building strong and 

sustaining partnerships with American 

Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages for 

the protection of the environment and 

human health. 

The National EPA Tribal Science Council 

(TSC), composed of a single tribal 

representative from each of the nine 

EPA Regions, provides a platform for 

interaction between Tribal and EPA 

scientists to work collaboratively on 

environmental science issues. The TSC 

serves to inform EPA about significant 

tribal environmental issues and to lay 

the groundwork for addressing these 

challenges in conjunction with tribal 

partners.

2011 Tribal science partnership projects 

include: 

National Tribal Science Priorities

In June 2011, the TSC concluded its 

collaborative stakeholder-driven 

process to identify national tribal 

science priority issues. The six-month 

selection process promoted broad 

engagement of tribes to identify 

two tribal priorities: (1) Climate 

Change; and (2) Integration of 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in 

Environmental Science, Policy and 

Decision-Making.

Implementation of the priorities will 

strengthen EPA and tribes’ ability to 

improve human and environmental 

health in Indian Country. 

The TSC is currently working to 

integrate activities that support the 

priorities into tribal programs and 

operations on the national, regional, 

and local levels. 

Decision Support Tool for Tribes

In collaboration with tribes and other 

partners throughout the country, 

EPA is developing the Tribal-Focused 

Environmental Risk and Sustainability 

Tool (Tribal-FERST), a web-based 

decision support tool designed 

to empower tribes with the best 

available human health and ecological 

science. Tribal-focused tools are 

often not readily available to help 

tribes prioritize environmental issues 

and understand unique exposure 

pathways. Tribal-FERST is a userfriendly, science-based tool that 

will contribute to sustainable, costeffective solutions to improve public 

health and the environment on tribal 

lands.

Tribes may use the tool to:

• Create a data table to identify and 

prioritize local environmental issues

• Follow guidance on developing 

strategies for conducting tribal 

assessments

• Download information about 

environmental health and wellness

• Access traditional ecological 

knowledge as data sets or fact 

sheets

• Map exposures and risks

• Explore potential solutions to 

environmental problems

• Link to other tools relevant to tribalfocused assessments
106

Supporting and Building Partnerships

Tribal Science, Cont’d.

In November, EPA’s Sustainable 

and Healthy Communities Research 

Program launched a pilot study with the 

Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point 

in Maine. The Passamaquoddy Tribe will 

use the tool to inform environmental and 

economic decisions about solid waste, 

community sustainability and other issues 

of concern, while providing suggestions 

for making Tribal-FERST a more robust and 

user-friendly tool. 

Providing Technical Support for Hazardous Waste Sites

In 2011, EPA provided technical support to 

hazardous waste sites nationwide through 

the Superfund and Technology Liaison 

program and specialized EPA technical 

support centers. A number of targeted 

research projects and publications resulted 

from these technical support activities. 

These research projects focused on timely 

and relevant research to answer specific 

hazardous waste related questions. 

The research projects were communityfocused and included alternate water 

supply evaluations; watershed cleanup 

approaches; heavy metals contaminated 

soils, leaching, and bioavailability 

research; research involving preservatives 

for groundwater samples with binary 

mixtures of in situ chemical oxidants 

and chlorinated solvent contaminants; 

polychlorinated biphenyl sampling and 

remediation research; and an evaluation 

of the potential societal impacts of 

remediation of heavy metals in a large 

urban community. 

The results of these projects will assist 

in reducing community exposure to 

contaminants in both urban and rural 

areas. Communities across the country will 

benefit from effective and efficient cleanup 

remedies and assistance with promotion 

of overall community and environmental 

health.
107

EPA Progress Report 2011

Office of Research and Development

Homeland Security

Strengthening Community 

Resilience to Homeland 

Security Threats 

EPA’s Homeland Security Research supports 

the Agency’s role as the lead federal 

agency for protecting water systems and 

all decontamination following incidents 

involving chemical, biological, or radiological 

contaminants. The research strengthens the 

resiliency of communities to prepare for and 

respond to such incidents by providing water 

utility managers, laboratory technicians, 

on-scene coordinators, risk assessors, risk 

communicators and emergency responders 

with the scientific expertise, tools and 

technology to detect, prepare, respond to 

and recover from terrorist attacks and other 

disasters.

This section provides highlights of some of 

the top research results EPA researchers 

and their partners have achieved in 2011 

advancing Homeland Security. It illustrates 

some of the specific impacts that are 

important to partners of the Agency’s Office 

of Research and Development. The highlights 

presented were contributed by EPA’s 

research labs, centers, and offices located 

around the country, and were performed 

by Agency scientists and engineers, as well 

as their partners, grantees, fellows, and 

collaborators from across the scientific 

community.
108

Homeland Security

Strengthening Community Resilience to Homeland Security Threats

EPA has and will continue to have 

responsibilities in response to disasters. 

According to a recent assessment, rare, 

extreme weather events are becoming 

more common. Over the past decade, 

between 40 and 80 disasters have 

occurred each year. These included 

Hurricane Katrina, the historic flooding 

of the Mississippi River, and devastating 

tornados throughout the Midwest and 

Southeast. In 2001, an intentional release 

of anthrax spores killed five people 

and injured several more. The spores 

contaminated at least 17 buildings and 

required an immense site investigation and 

cleanup effort by EPA and partner agencies 

and departments. The estimated total 

cost was $1 billion. 

The Homeland Security Research Program

(HSRP) was established to conduct 

applied research and provide technical 

support that increases the capability of 

EPA to carry out its homeland security 

responsibilities. The HSRP helps build 

systems-based approaches to addressing 

Examples of Major EPA Responses

Three Mile Island (1979)

U.S. Impacts from Chernobyl (1986)

Midwest Floods (1993)

Los Alamos and Hanford Fires (2000)

9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

Capitol Hill Anthrax (2001)

Columbia Shuttle Disaster (2003)

Gulf Coast Hurricanes (2005)

Deep Water Horizon (2010)

Japan Nuclear Power Plant Emergency 

(2011)
109

Homeland Security

Strengthening Community Resilience to Homeland Security Threats, Cont’d.

these environmental problems by 

working with Agency partners to plan, 

implement and deliver useful science and 

technology products. HSRP maintains 

robust coordination efforts with other 

federal agencies including the Department 

of Homeland Security, the Department 

of Defense, and the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, among others. 

HSRP’s research is conducted and science 

products are constructed to address “all 

hazards,” filling science gaps associated 

with chemical, biological and radiological 

contamination intentionally released by 

terrorists or caused by natural disasters or 

accidents.

The program is organized into three 

themes: 

• Securing and Sustaining Water 

Systems;

• Characterizing Contamination and 

Determining Risk;

• Remediating Indoor and Outdoor 

Environments.

Natural and man-made disasters cause 

population loss, economic instability and 

property damage. A resilient community 

needs to be able to prepare for these 

kinds of challenges, respond to them, 

and recover from them. Strengthening 

communities so that they can withstand 

natural and manmade disasters is a major 

EPA goal. It is also an essential part of the 

Agency’s commitment to sustainability. 

Scientific and technological questions 

around large biological, chemical and 

radiological events remain. Emerging 

chemical and biological threats, as well as 

cyber threats, present unique challenges 

to our level of preparedness and response 

capabilities. Incidents such as anthrax 

clean-ups in New England and the 

domestic impacts of the Japanese nuclear 

plant meltdown at Fukushima affirm the 

importance of maintaining our scientific 

expertise (i.e., retaining, adapting and 

adding to the Agency’s cadre of scientific 

and engineering subject matter experts) 

so that EPA can address the scientific 

uncertainties and technical unknowns 

encountered in major responses.

If a terrorist released millions of lethal 

microbes into a building or mass transit 

system, how would first responders 

address these dangers and how would 

biohazard teams clean them up? 

Researchers in the homeland security 

area have made many great advances in 

developing decontamination techniques, 

but to date, the work has mostly been on a 

small scale in research laboratories. 

To approach this problem, EPA is leading a 

research project called the Bio-Response 

Operational Testing and Evaluation 

(BOTE). The BOTE field demonstration 

tests followed several years of research 

and collaboration with the Department of 

Homeland Security, the Defense Threat 

Reduction Agency, the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation and Department 

of Energy. The information and data from 

BOTE will help agencies make decisions 

about homeland security threats such as a 

biological attack with anthrax. 

The purpose of this project is to 

conduct and evaluate field-level facility, 

biological remediation studies of various 

decontamination technologies and to 

exercise biological incident response from 
Homeland Security

Responding to Anthrax Attacks: the Bio-Response Operational Testing and 

Evaluation (BOTE) Project 

110

initial health/law enforcement response 

through to environmental response and 

remediation. Field tests started with an 

intentional release of a surrogate organism 

named Bacillus atrophaeus. 

In Phase I of BOTE, scientists evaluated 

three decontamination methods: spraying 

with pH-adjusted bleach, fumigation 

with vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and 

fumigation with chlorine dioxide. The 

HSRP team compared the effectiveness 

and ease of using the three treatments. 

They also weighed costs, damage to the 

facility, types and quantities of generated 

waste, and potential recontamination 

risks. In addition, the scientists examined 

the potential for spores released 

indoors to escape from the building and 

contaminate soil outside. The researchers 

also measured how likely it was for the 

spores to be resuspended in the air after 

they had settled. The project managers 

will use the data from these tests to 

develop and recommend ways to protect 

future residents in actual incidents, from 

exposure to spores after returning to a 

decontaminated building. 

Phase II of BOTE involved mimicking 

a potential real-life scenario in which 

government officials were informed of 

an intentional anthrax-like, buildingwide release. In this scenario, a covert 

release contaminated several buildings. 

The exercise tested the preparedness 

and response capabilities of health and 

law enforcement officials and on-scene 

environmental response teams. 

Thus far, the BOTE project has shown that 

various remediation technologies and 

operational practices can be effective for 

the full-scale decontamination of anthrax 

in buildings. BOTE sample analyses data 

interpretation and reporting are currently 

underway. 

Microscopic enlargement of anthrax 

bacteria (Bacillus anthracis).
111

Homeland Security

Improving Laboratory Capacity and Capability

Determining the type and extent of 

contamination in the aftermath of a 

terrorist incident or other disaster is 

essential for emergency response, recovery 

and remediation operations. Fast, accurate 

laboratory analysis often is critical. 

EPA formed the Environmental Response 

Laboratory Network (ERLN) to respond 

to chemical, biological and radiological 

threats on a nation-wide scale. The ERLN 

is a national network of selected, existing 

public and private sector laboratories. Its 

goal is to provide consistent analytical 

tools and high-quality data. EPA scientists 

have developed reliable sampling and 

analytical methods for ERLN personnel.

One of these methods is a cuttingedge technique called Rapid Viability 

Polymerase Chain reaction (RV-PCR). 

This method provides a faster and more 

accurate way for laboratories to analyze 

samples suspected to contain anthrax 

than traditional culture methods. It allows 

laboratories not only to detect anthrax but 

also to determine if the detected bacteria 

are capable of causing human infection. 

By using this improved method, scientists 

were able to decrease the total time to 

analyze 24 samples from 24 hours to 15 

hours. In addition, it only takes 3-4 more 

hours to analyze subsequent batches of 

samples. This technique will allow scientists 

to analyze many more samples per day. 

Sample preparation, however, is the 

slowest step in detecting pathogens. 

Before analysis, the microorganism of 

interest must be removed from the 

material being analyzed (e.g., soil, water or 

wipes). Extracting target microorganisms 

from soil is particularly difficult because 

of the high number and variety of other 

naturally occurring microorganisms. Nontarget organisms often mask the presence 

of target organisms. It is critical to isolate 

only the organism of interest and to do so 

at a high concentration. 

EPA developed the Automated 

Immunomagnetic Separation (AIMS) 

method to improve anthrax spore 

extraction from soil. Compared to other 

methods, AIMS extracts a greater number 

of anthrax spores from several types 

of soil. By capturing more spores from 

the sample, laboratories can detect and 

quantify the amount of anthrax in soil 

more accurately.

It is also critical to be able to detect 

pathogens in the air. During 2011, EPA 

tested an air sampler device that was 

able to separate captured particles by 

size better than by previous methods. 

This is important because particles affect 

the human respiratory system differently 

depending on their size. Therefore, particle 

size data is needed to predict the effects 

of air contamination on human health. 

The new sampler can gather test materials 

from an entire area. It also can be used as 

a personal sampler when worn on clothing 

near the face. Its design eliminates sample 

loss and minimizes sample contamination.

By developing these new methods, 

EPA is moving closer to fulfilling its 

homeland security mission and its overall 

mission to protect human health and the 

environment.
Homeland Security

112

Responding to the Detonation of a Radiological Dispersion Device

A radiological dispersion device (RDD) 

or, “dirty bomb,” is a combination of 

chemical explosives and radioactive 

material. Such an explosion could spread 

radioactive material over a wide area. A 

RDD explosion is especially problematic 

in a heavily populated, urban area. RDDs 

lead to surface contamination dispersed 

unevenly by wind, weather, and vehicular 

and pedestrian traffic. 

The Department of Homeland Security 

published the National Response 

Framework (NRF) to guide response to 

disasters and emergencies in a unified and 

coordinated way. These potential disasters 

range from small, local incidents to large 

catastrophes. The explosion of an RDD 

would be one such disaster.

The NRF assigned EPA the task of leading 

the decontamination of buildings, 

equipment and outdoor areas following 

a large-scale radiation contamination 

incident. The Agency held a series of 

workshops to study waste disposal 

problems that might result from an RDD. 

Lessons learned will be applied in future 

research activities. 

EPA has also studied alternative 

approaches and techniques for cleaning-up 

radioactive contamination from an RDD. 

In one study, HSRP scientists investigated 

Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination --, one 

of the radioactive isotopes most likely to 

be used to make an RDD. Researchers 

applied Cs-137 to samples of unpainted 

concrete. They then decontaminated each 

sample using a chemical or mechanical 

treatment. The techniques included 

spraying-on liquid removed by vacuum, a 

strippable coating, surface grinding and 

ablation. The results for Cs-137 removal 

using the different techniques ranged from 

36 to 96 percent effective. 

Scientists prepared several peer-reviewed 

reports that described the findings from 

these studies. They wrote the reports 

for federal, state and local emergency 

management authorities, response 

planners and support personnel. The 

reports will help these officials choose the 

best technologies for specific clean-up 

operations.
113

Homeland Security

Helping Water Utilities Detect and Respond to Contamination

Many intentional and accidental incidents 

have the potential to threaten the security 

of public drinking water supplies. EPA is 

developing automated contamination 

warning systems (CWSs) to detect 

contamination events in public water 

distribution systems. EPA’s CWSs are 

actually combinations of several different 

types of warning systems. They use remote 

technology to monitor water quality and 

the physical security of water systems. 

CWSs also integrate public health reports 

of disease outbreaks and customer 

complaints about water quality. The goal 

of using CWSs is to catch problems early 

and so reduce their impact on public health 

and clean up costs. Since 2006, EPA has 

been collaborating with several drinking 

water utilities to test CWSs in Cincinnati, 

Philadelphia, New York City, Dallas, San 

Francisco, Los Angeles and Singapore. 

More than 30 utilities around the country 

are exploring using these tools. 

EPA has developed modeling software to 

help water distribution operators design 

sensor networks for their systems and to 

respond to contamination. Researchers 

continue to update and improving them. 

To determine which improvements to 

focus on in 2011, EPA researchers engaged 

participants in the Office of Water’s Water 

Security Initiative and other users. 

EPANET comprises several computer 

models used by water utilities and 

homeland security researchers to 

understand contamination threats to water 

distribution systems. EPANET estimates the 

flow and quality of water in specific water 

utility distribution systems. Early versions 

of EPANET were only able to predict the 

spread of one contaminant at a time. Since 

2007, however, EPA has expanded the 

capabilities of the models. EPANET now 

models the movements and interactions of 

multiple chemicals and/or pathogens. This 

new software, EPANET-MSX, was updated 

in 2011 to better support homeland security 

applications.

Along with other updates in 2011, 

researchers added multiple-contaminant 

capability to EPA’s sensor placement 

modeling tool, the Threat Ensemble 

Vulnerability Assessment and Sensor 

Placement Optimization Toolkit (TEVASPOT). TEVA-SPOT helps operators 

decide where to place sensors in 

water distribution systems to protect 

against both intentional and accidental 

contamination.

The EPA’s event detection software called 

CANARY—after the proverbial “canary 

in the coal mine”—interprets continuous 

monitoring data. It can discriminate 

between normal changes in water quality 

and contamination events. CANARY, most 

recently updated in 2011, can detect both 

intentional contamination and routine 

problems. 

Also in 2011, EPA, in partnership with 

the American Water Works Association 

convened workshops to explore what 

to do if local public water supplies were 

destroyed, damaged or contaminated. 

More than sixty technical experts attended 

the five workshops. Experts reviewed 

ways of providing emergency drinking 

water supplies. EPA’s report, Planning 

for an Emergency Drinking Water Supply, 

summarizes workshop recommendations. 

The report also helps public water 

utilities create emergency response and 

contingency plans.

Water utility experts recommended that 

community planners prepare for drinking 
Homeland Security

114

Helping Water Utilities Detect and Respond to Contamination

water supply emergencies. Local officials 

are encouraged to work with utilities and 

state agencies to stockpile emergency 

water supplies. In local disaster response 

exercises, agencies also should include 

the possibility of water service being lost 

or disrupted. Planners are encouraged to 

look for gaps between projected needs 

for emergency water supplies and local, 

state, federal and nonprofit organization 

resources. In addition, citizens are to be 

reminded of steps that they can take to 

prepare for a water emergency, including 

storing a 3- to 5-day supply of potable 

water. More than 3500 water utilities 

have participated in AWWA’s webinars 

describing EPA’s report and planning 

guidance. 
115

Join EPA’s Dr. Bill Sanders 1-2pm at EPA booth 1341 to discuss STAR & 

P3 grants, fellowships & SBIR awards #SOT2011

Dir of EPA’s Clean Air Research, Dan Costa “We need to do more than 

look at just one pollutant. We need a multipollutant approach.”

Are children born premature sensitive to air pollutants? @EmoryUniversity @Georgia_Tech center to investigate #SOT2011 http://bit.ly/

gjleqN

Does air pollution affect your child’s learning? @HarvardResearch to 

investigate pollution across life stages #SOT2011 http://bit.ly/gjleqN

Is your commute making you sick? U of WA (@UWsph) center to investigate #SOT2011 http://bit.ly/gjleqN

Dr Anastas: “we don’t want to make things just a little less bad. We want 

to move towards a systems perspective.”

Join EPA’s Dr Jennifer Orme-Zaveleta, 11am @ EPA booth 1341 to talk 

about clean, adequate & equitable water supply #SOT2011

“Green alternatives should be less toxic than current chemicals” EPA’s 

Dr Richard Judson shows tools used 2 test 4 toxicity risk @ #SOT2011

Celebrating #InternationalWomensDay & all women scientists & engineers who protect our planet & health - here’s one: http://bit.ly/fmX7Ts

EPA hosts Tribal Science Webinar (new process to ID science priorities 

in Indian Country) Mar 9 11am-12:30pm ET http://bit.ly/h9MolT

At #SOT2011? Join EPA’s Dr Robert Kavlock 9:30am @ EPA booth 

1341 to discuss sustainable development of chemicals

Join EPA’s Dr Dan Costa at 11am at EPA booth 1341 to discuss EPA’s air 

quality research #SOT2011 http://bit.ly/ieOr5o

Dr Teichman reviews EPA’s 40th anniv highlights including: removing 

acid from rain and lead from gasoline (and air) #SOT2011

Dr Teichman: more highlights of EPA’s 40 years: clearing second hand 

smoke, improving vehicle efficiency and emissions controls #SOT2011

Teichman: “EPA does research! Office of Research & Development 

provides the foundation 4 everything EPA does” http://bit.ly/6sz4uY

#SOT2011

Example of important EPA research on air polllution: http://twitgoo.

com/20no7t from Dr Teichman’s talk @ #SOT2011

At SOT2011? EPA’s Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe gives today’s 

keynote on EPA Vision 8- 9am (ET)

“Good science allows us to articulate what we must do” (for env. protection) from Perciasepe #SOT2011

Our work becomes more complex but very important to communicate 

how and what we do + how affects communities -Perciasepe #SOT2011

“It’s about going beyond boundaries, seeing big picture, being proactive. 

The Green Book will help us shift our vision” Perciasepe #SOT2011

EPA tools such as Toxcast & virtual models helping to give us foresight 

to make right decisions toward sustainability -Perciasepe #SOT2011

Want to join ToxCast effort? http://1.usa.gov/g7dQwK EPA’s Chemical 

Prioritization Communities of Practice stakeholder group #SOT2011

Thx to work of #SOT2011 better equipped to make strong scientific case 

to take comprehensive actions thru innovative solutions -Perciasepe

EPA Reaching Out To Empower Women Around The World today’s 

blog in our Women in Science series: http://bit.ly/go2RFm

“Learning the Science to Protect the Planet” http://bit.ly/h7jynk part of 

EPA’s Women In Science blog series

Chemistry Teacher? U have to watch EPA’s Dr Peavey “Moving schools 

to sustainable, green chemistry” http://bit.ly/dI4Re0 VIA @beyondbenign

Interested in EPA’s clean air research? http://www.epa.gov/airscience/

RU a small business with big ideas about #eco green technologies? Apply NOW for EPA funding $ http://1.usa.gov/fmdatP (pls RT!)

RT @EPAgov Our updated #japan #radiation site makes it easier to 

get monitoring data: http://epa.gov/japan2011 | More improvements 

coming.

From Tide Pools to Children’s Health – One Scientist’s Journey http://

bit.ly/epjUR7 (part of EPA’s women in science blog series)

RT @HealthyLegacy Great interview with Paul Anastas last night on 

Marketplace--take a listen! #greenchemistry #mngreenchem http://

ow.ly/4lwOM

Stay connected to EPA science throughout the year!

Follow us on Twitter: @EPAresearch

Catch our weekly blog: www.blog.epa.gov/science

Subscribe to Science Matters: www.epa.gov/sciencematters
116

EPA/601/R-12/010 | August 2012 | www.epa.gov/research

PRINTED WITH VEGETABLE OIL-BASED INKS

ON 100% POST-CONSUMER, PROCESS CHLORINE FREE,

RECYCLED PAPER.