Sample records for environmental risk program

  1. EPA ETV Program for Vapor Intrusion

    EPA Science Inventory

    TITLE: EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program Douglas W. Grosse Senior Environmental Engineer U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development National Risk Management Research Laboratory National Risk Management Research Laboratory Environmental Technology A...

  2. Environmental health literacy in support of social action: an environmental justice perspective.

    PubMed

    White, Brandi M; Hall, Eric S; Johnson, Cheryl

    2014-01-01

    Different demographic groups in the U.S. experience unequal exposures to environmental hazards, i.e., 56% of the population in neighborhoods containing commercial waste facilities are people of color, with the associated poverty rates in those communities being 50% higher than in neighborhoods without commercial waste facilities. Developing programs to educate communities about environmental hazards affecting their health and quality of life is an essential component for a community to understand their true risk. The study described in this article examined the risk of environmental hazards as perceived by public housing residents and assessed the residents' preference for educational programs on environmental hazards. Residents perceived their risk factors in a broad context and they included environmental health risks caused by pollutants along with physical safety concerns from crime and law enforcement interactions. The most trusted sources of information on environmental health include community organizations, trusted individuals in the community, and television programs. Recommendations for developing community-specific environmental health education programs include using sources of environmental health information that community members trust.

  3. PROBABILITY SURVEYS , CONDITIONAL PROBABILITIES AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    We show that probability-based environmental resource monitoring programs, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, and conditional probability analysis can serve as a basis for estimating ecological risk over ...

  4. Probability Surveys, Conditional Probability, and Ecological Risk Assessment

    EPA Science Inventory

    We show that probability-based environmental resource monitoring programs, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, and conditional probability analysis can serve as a basis for estimating ecological risk over ...

  5. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Glantz, C.S.; DiMassa, F.V.; Pelto, P.J.

    The Western Area Power Administration (Western) views environmental protection and compliance as a top priority as it manages the construction, operation, and maintenance of its vast network of transmission lines, substations, and other facilities. A recent Department of Energy audit of Western`s environmental management activities recommends that Western adopt a formal environmental risk program. To accomplish this goal, Western, in conjunction with Pacific Northwest Laboratory, is in the process of developing a centrally coordinated environmental risk program. This report presents the results of this design effort, and indicates the direction in which Western`s environmental risk program is heading. Western`s environmentalmore » risk program will consist of three main components: risk communication, risk assessment, and risk management/decision making. Risk communication is defined as an exchange of information on the potential for threats to human health, public safety, or the environment. This information exchange provides a mechanism for public involvement, and also for the participation in the risk assessment and management process by diverse groups or offices within Western. The objective of risk assessment is to evaluate and rank the relative magnitude of risks associated with specific environmental issues that are facing Western. The evaluation and ranking is based on the best available scientific information and judgment and serves as input to the risk management process. Risk management takes risk information and combines it with relevant non-risk factors (e.g., legal mandates, public opinion, costs) to generate risk management options. A risk management tool, such as decision analysis, can be used to help make risk management choices.« less

  6. NASA's Agency-Wide Strategy for Environmental Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scroggins, Sharon; Duda, Kristen

    2008-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of NASA's risk analysis communication programs associated with changing environmental policies. The topics include: 1) NASA Program Transition; 2) Principal Center for Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication (RRAC PC); and 3) Regulatory Tracking and Communication Process.

  7. NASA's Agency-Wide Strategy for Environmental Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scroggins, Sharon

    2008-01-01

    NASA's Agency-wide.resource for identifying and managing risks associated with changing environmental regulations Goals of the RRAC PC: 1) Proactively. detect, analyze and communicate environmental regulatory risks to NASA Programs and facilities; 2) Communicate with regulators and participate in the mitigation of such risks; and 3) Provide centralized support on emerging regulations to NASA HQ Environmental Management Division. When significant regulatory changes are identified, timely communication is essential. Communication of changing requirements to the regulatory stakeholders - NASA Programs and Facilities. Communication of potential issues to management and, when appropriate, back to the regulating agency.

  8. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The Medical University of South Carolina`s vision is to become the premier national resource for medical information and for environmental/health risk assessment. A key component to the success of the many missions of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) is timely access to large volumes of data. This study documents the results of the needs assessment effort conducted to determine the information access and processing requirement of EHAP. The following topics are addressed in this report: environmental medicine and risk communication: curriculum and a professional support network-Department of Family Medicine; environmental hazards assessment and education program in pharmacy graduate educationmore » in risk assessment; and graduate education risk assessment.« less

  9. 78 FR 50022 - Environmental Impact Statement; Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-16

    ... submit comments regarding the environmental impact statement by either of the following methods: Federal..., Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental and Risk Analysis Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit...] Environmental Impact Statement; Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health...

  10. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bashor, B.S.

    The major resources used by the Bureau of Environment, and Environmental Epidemiology (EEP) for risk assessment are: the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), Health and Environmental Effects Summary Table (HEAST), Agency for Toxic Substances and disease Registry (ATSDR) Toxicological Profiles, databases at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), World Health Organization (WHO) ENvironmental Criteria, and documents that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) risk assessment activities. The Risk Assessment Review has been helpful in providing information about availability of new documents or information. No systematic method has been made availablemore » to us to locate information resources. IRIS User`s Support has been helpful in making appropriate and timely referrals. Most other EPA resources were located by serendipity and persistence. The CERCLA methodology for risk assessments is being used in environmental programs, and at present, one person is responsible for all risk assessment activities in the department, but plans are underway to train one or two people from each program area. 2 figs.« less

  11. Introducing a Transdisciplinary Approach in Studies regarding Risk Assessment and Management in Educational Programs for Environmental Engineers and Planners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Menoni, Scira

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss how long term risk prevention and civil protection may enter in university programs for environmental engineers and urban and regional planners. Design/methodology/approach: First the distinction between long term risk prevention and emergency preparedness is made, showing that while the first has…

  12. Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Quarterly report, July--September 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    This report describes activities and reports on progress for the first quarter (July--September) of the fourth year of the grant to support the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) at the Medical University of South Carolina. It reports progress against the grant objectives and the Program Implementation Plan published at the end of the first year of the grant. The objectives of EHAP stated in the proposal to DOE are to: (1) develop a holistic, national basis for risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication that recognizes the direct impact of environmental hazards on the health and well-being of all; (2)more » develop a pool of talented scientists and experts in cleanup activities, especially in human health aspects; and (3) identify needs and develop programs addressing the critical shortage of well-educated, highly-skilled technical and scientific personnel to address the health-oriented aspects of environmental restoration and waste management.« less

  13. Environmental Hazards Assessment Program annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    On June 23, 1992, the US Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FG01-92EW50625 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP). The objectives of the EHAP program stated in the proposal to DOE are to: (1) Develop a holistic, national basis for risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication which recognizes the direct impact of environmental hazards on the health and well-being of all. (2) Develop a pool of talented scientists and experts in cleanup activities, especially in human health aspects; and (3) Identify needs and develop programs addressing themore » critical shortage of well-educated, highly-skilled technical and scientific personnel to address the health oriented aspects of environmental restoration and waste management. This report describes activities and reports on progress for the second year of the grant.« less

  14. Healthy Communities Grant Program | Urban Environmental ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    2018-03-06

    The Healthy Communities Grant Program is EPA New England's main competitive grant program to work directly with communities to reduce environmental risks to protect and improve human health and the quality of life.

  15. LESSONS-LEARNED AND SUCCESS STORIES FROM EPA'S REAL-TIME ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, DATA DELIVERY, AND PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    TTSD has completed a series of technology transfer and risk communication handbooks, case studies, and summary reports for community-based environmental monitoring projects under EPA's Real-Time Environmental Monitoring, Data Delivery, and Public Outreach Program. The Program tak...

  16. Environmentally-driven Materials Obsolescence: Material Replacements and Lessons Learned from NASA's Space Shuttle Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Meinhold, Anne

    2013-01-01

    The Space Shuttle Program was terminated in 2011 with the last flight of the Shuttle Endeavour. During the 30 years of its operating history, the number of domestic and international environmental regulations increased rapidly and resulted in materials obsolescence risks to the program. Initial replacement efforts focused on ozone depleting substances. As pressure from environmental regulations increased, Shuttle worked on the replacement of heavy metals. volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. Near the end of the program. Shuttle identified potential material obsolescence driven by international regulations and the potential for suppliers to reformulate materials. During the Shuttle Program a team focused on environmentally-driven materials obsolescence worked to identify and mitigate these risks. Lessons learned from the Shuttle experience can be applied to new NASA Programs as well as other high reliability applications.

  17. Reduced-risk pest management programs for eastern U.S. peach orchards: effects on arthropod predators, parasitoids, and select pests.

    PubMed

    Biddinger, David J; Leslie, Timothy W; Joshi, Neelendra K

    2014-06-01

    We developed new integrated pest management programs for eastern U.S. peaches with minimal use of organophosphates. From 2002-2005, we assessed the ecological impacts of these reduced-risk programs versus grower standard conventional programs that still relied primarily on the use of organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides. Using a split-plot design replicated at four commercial Pennsylvania peach orchards, we quantified pesticide rates, environmental impact, and arthropod community response. We used Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) analysis based on the growers' pesticide records from each orchard to calculate seasonal cumulative EIQ field ratings for all years. Ecological effects of the reduced-risk and conventional program were also measured as the abundance and diversity of nontarget arthropod predators, parasitoids, and selected pest taxa. Pesticide inputs and EIQ values were substantially lower in reduced-risk programs compared with conventional spray programs. Arthropod arrays differed significantly between pest management programs: most beneficial predator and parasitoid taxa were positively associated with the reduced-risk program and negatively associated with the standard grower program. Regardless of the pest management program, we observed significant differences in species arrays in the peach tree canopy compared with the ground cover of the orchards, but the arthropod community did not differ among the field sites or based on distance from the edge of the orchard. We conclude that reduced-risk programs not only provide control comparable with that of conventional programs, but they also reduce negative environmental effects while conserving key arthropod biological control agents within eastern U.S. peach orchards.

  18. NASA's Agency-Wide Strategy for Environmental Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duda, Kristen; Scroggins, Sharon

    2008-01-01

    NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. To help enable existing and future programs to pursue this mission, NASA has established the Principal Center for Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication (RRAC PC) to proactively identify, analyze, and communicate environmental regulatory risks to the NASA community. The RRAC PC is chartered to evaluate the risks posed to NASA Programs and facilities by environmentally related drivers. The RRAC PC focuses on emerging environmental regulations, as well as risks related to operational changes that can trigger existing environmental requirements. Changing regulations have the potential to directly affect program activities. For example, regulatory changes can restrict certain activities or operations by mandating changes in how operations may be done or limiting where or how certain operations can take place. Regulatory changes also can directly affect the ability to use certain materials by mandating a production phase-out or restricting usage applications of certain materials. Such changes can result in NASA undertaking material replacement efforts. Even if a regulation does not directly affect NASA operations, U.S. and international regulations can pose program risks indirectly through requirements levied on manufacturers and vendors of components and materials. For example, manufacturers can change their formulations to comply with new regulatory requirements. Such changes can require time-consuming and costly requalification certification for use in human spaceflight programs. The RRAC PC has implemented several strategies for proactively managing regulatory change to minimize potential adverse impacts to NASA Programs and facilities. This presentation highlights the lessons learned through establishing the RRAC PC, the process by which the RRAC PC monitors and distributes information about emerging regulatory requirements, and the cross-Agency cooperation that is vital to supporting NASA's mission.

  19. NASA's Agency-wide Strategy for Environmental Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duda, Kristen; Scroggins. Sharon

    2008-01-01

    NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. To help enable existing and future programs to pursue this mission, NASA has established the Principal Center for Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication (RRAC PC) to proactively identify, analyze, and communicate environmental regulatory risks to the NASA community. The RRAC PC is chartered to evaluate the risks posed to NASA Programs and facilities by environmentally related drivers. The RRAC PC focuses on emerging environmental regulations, as well as risks related to operational changes that can trigger existing environmental requirements. Changing regulations have the potential to directly affect program activities. For example, regulatory changes can restrict certain activities or operations by mandating changes in how operations may be done or limiting where or how certain operations can take place. Regulatory changes also can directly affect the ability to use certain materials by mandating a production phase-out or restricting usage aPi'iications of certain materials. Such changes can result in NASA undertaking material replacement efforts. Even if a regulation does not directly affect NASA operations, U.S. and international regulations can pose program risks indirectly through requirements levied on manufacturers and vendors of components and materials. For example, manufacturers can change their formulations to comply with new regulatory requirements. Such changes can require time-consuming and costly requalification certification for use in human spaceflight programs. The RRAC PC has implemented several strategies for proactively managing regulatory change to minimize potential adverse impacts to NASA Programs and facilities. This presentation highlights the lessons learned through establishing the RRAC PC, the process by which the RRAC PC monitors and distributes information about emerging regulatory requirements, and the cross-Agency cooperation that is vital to supporting NASA's mission.

  20. 78 FR 17219 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-20

    ... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Assessment of Adverse Genetic Effects From Exposure to Compounds... Program Nos. 93.115, Biometry and Risk Estimation--Health Risks from Environmental Exposures; 93.142... Research and Testing, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: March 14, 2013. Carolyn Baum, Program...

  1. Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Quarterly report, January 1994--March 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-05-04

    The objectives of the EHAP program are to: Develop a holistic, national basis for risk assessment, risk management and risk communication; Develop a pool of talented scientists and experts in cleanup activities, especially in human health aspects, and; Identify needs and develop programs addressing the critical shortage of well-educated, highly-skilled technical and scientific personnel to address the health oriented aspects of environmental restoration and waste management. This report describes activities and reports on progress for the third quarter of year two (January-March, 1994) of the grant. To better accomplish objectives, grant efforts are organized into three major elements: The Crossroadsmore » of Humanity Series; Research, Science and Education Programs; and Program Management. The Crossroads of Humanity Series charted a new course, incorporating lessons learned during previous quarters into a series of programs designed to address environmental issues in a real world setting. Reports are included on the various research programs with milestones and deliverables from the third quarter.« less

  2. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bennett, D.A.

    The hazardous waste cleanup program under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) is delegated to the ten Regions of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has, to date, identified more than 33,000 sites for consideration. The size and complexity of the program places great demands on those who would provide information to achieve national consistency in application of risk assessment while meeting site-specific needs for risk management and risk communication.

  3. Mission Risk Reduction Regulatory Change Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scroggins, Sharon

    2007-01-01

    NASA Headquarters Environmental Management Division supports NASA's mission to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research by integrating environmental considerations into programs and projects early-on, thereby proactively reducing NASA's exposure to institutional, programmatic and operational risk. As part of this effort, NASA established the Principal Center for Regulatory Risk Analysis and Communication (RRAC PC) as a resource for detecting, analyzing, and communicating environmental regulatory risks to the NASA stakeholder community. The RRAC PC focuses on detecting emerging environmental regulations and other operational change drivers that may pose risks to NASA programs and facilities, and effectively communicating the potential risks. For example, regulatory change may restrict how and where certain activities or operations may be conducted. Regulatory change can also directly affect the ability to use certain materials by mandating a production phase-out or restricting usage applications of certain materials. Regulatory change can result in significant adverse impacts to NASA programs and facilities due to NASA's stringent performance requirements for materials and components related to human-rated space vehicles. Even if a regulation does not directly affect NASA operations, U.S. and international regulations can pose program risks indirectly through requirements levied on manufacturers and vendors of components and materials. For example, manufacturers can change their formulations to comply with new regulatory requirements. Such changes can require time-consuming and costly requalification certification for use in human spaceflight programs. The RRAC PC has implemented a system for proactively managing regulatory change to minimize potential adverse impacts to NASA programs and facilities. This presentation highlights the process utilized by the RRACPC to communicate regulatory change and the associated potential risks within NASA, as well as the process for communicating and cooperating with other government agencies and industry partners, both domestic and international, to ensure mission success.

  4. PROBABILITY SURVEYS, CONDITIONAL PROBABILITIES, AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    We show that probability-based environmental resource monitoring programs, such as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Asscssment Program EMAP) can be analyzed with a conditional probability analysis (CPA) to conduct quantitative probabi...

  5. NASA Collaborative Approach Mitigates Environmentally-Driven Obsolescence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greene, Brian; Leeney, Bob; Richards, Joni

    2016-01-01

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions, like Department of Defense (DoD) organizations, require the rigorous testing and qualification of critical materials. Obsolescence supply risks created by environmental requirements can affect the cost, schedule and performance of NASA missions and the resilience of critical infrastructure. The NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) Principal Center helps to identify obsolescence supply risks driven by environmental requirements and works proactively with NASA Centers and Programs, the DoD, the European Space Agency (ESA) and other agencies and partners to identify and evaluate environmentally friendly alternatives. TEERM tracks environmental regulations, identifies the potential loss of material availability and works with NASA programs and Centers to evaluate potential impacts through a risk assessment approach. TEERM collaborative projects identify, demonstrate and evaluate commercially viable alternative technologies and materials. A major focus during the Space Shuttle Program was the need to replace ozone depleting substances that were used in spray foam and cleaning applications. The potential obsolescence of coatings containing hexavalent chromium and the risks associated with lead free solder were also of concern for the Space Shuttle and present ongoing risks to new programs such as the Space Launch System. One current project teams NASA and ESA in the evaluation and testing of individual coatings and coating systems as replacements for hexavalent chromium coatings in aerospace applications. The proactive, collaborative approach used by TEERM helps reduce the cost burden on any one team partner, reduces duplication of effort, and enhances the technical quality and overall applicability of the testing and analysis.

  6. Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Volume 4: Annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The Medical University of South Carolina`s (MUSC) vision is to become the premier national resource for medical information and for environmental/health risk assessment. A key component to the success of the many missions of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) is timely access to large volumes of data. The significant growth in the number of environmental/health information systems that has occurred over the past few years has made data access challenging. This study documents the results of the needs assessment effort conducted to determine the information access and processing requirements of EHAP. The following topics are addressed in this report:more » immunological consequences of beryllium exposure; assessment of genetic risks to environmental diseases; low dose-rate radiation health effects; environmental risk perception in defined populations; information support and access systems; and environmental medicine and risk communication: curriculum and a professional support network-Department of Family Medicine.« less

  7. Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Compendium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Meinhold, A.; Greene, B.; Dussich, J.; Sorkin, A.; Olsen, W.

    2017-01-01

    The Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) Principal Center and its predecessor organization the Acquisition Pollution Prevention Program (AP2) supported the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in identifying technology solutions to risks and costs to NASA programs driven by environmental regulations and requirements. TEERM researched the commercial and government marketplace to locate viable and available technologies that met NASAs needs. TEERM focused on addressing environmentally-driven risks of direct concern to NASA programs and facilities, including hazardous materials in NASA operations and materials that became obsolescent because of environmental regulations. TEERM projects aimed to reduce cost; ensure the health and safety of people, assets, and the environment; promote efficiency; and minimize duplication. Major TEERM and AP2 projects focused on waste minimization and hazardous waste treatment, recycling, corrosion prevention and control, solvent and ozone depleting substances substitution, and aqueous based cleaners. In 2017, NASA made the decision to terminate the TEERM Principal Center. This Compendium Report documents TEERM and AP2 project successes. The Compendium Report traces the evolution of TEERM based on evolving risks and requirements for NASA and its relationship to the Space Shuttle Program, the United States Department of Defense, the European Space Agency, and other public and private stakeholders. This Compendium Report also documents project details from Project Summaries and Joint Test Plans and describes project stakeholders and collaborative effort results.

  8. MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    ORD's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) Program is developing and demonstrating approaches to assess current and future environmental vulnerabilities so that risk management activities can be targeted. The sister program to EMA.P (Environmental Monitoring Assessment Progr...

  9. Environmental Policy--a Priority for Schools in the '90s.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ehrhardt, Cathryn

    1989-01-01

    A transformation of public attitudes on the environment has resulted in more stringent standards on almost all school programs for hazardous waste management, air quality, groundwater, and emergency planning and response. A comprehensive environmental risk reduction and management policy should highlight the potential for environmental risks in…

  10. A risk explicit interval linear programming model for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization in the Lake Fuxian watershed, China.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiaoling; Huang, Kai; Zou, Rui; Liu, Yong; Yu, Yajuan

    2013-01-01

    The conflict of water environment protection and economic development has brought severe water pollution and restricted the sustainable development in the watershed. A risk explicit interval linear programming (REILP) method was used to solve integrated watershed environmental-economic optimization problem. Interval linear programming (ILP) and REILP models for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization at the watershed scale were developed for the management of Lake Fuxian watershed, China. Scenario analysis was introduced into model solution process to ensure the practicality and operability of optimization schemes. Decision makers' preferences for risk levels can be expressed through inputting different discrete aspiration level values into the REILP model in three periods under two scenarios. Through balancing the optimal system returns and corresponding system risks, decision makers can develop an efficient industrial restructuring scheme based directly on the window of "low risk and high return efficiency" in the trade-off curve. The representative schemes at the turning points of two scenarios were interpreted and compared to identify a preferable planning alternative, which has the relatively low risks and nearly maximum benefits. This study provides new insights and proposes a tool, which was REILP, for decision makers to develop an effectively environmental economic optimization scheme in integrated watershed management.

  11. A Risk Explicit Interval Linear Programming Model for Uncertainty-Based Environmental Economic Optimization in the Lake Fuxian Watershed, China

    PubMed Central

    Zou, Rui; Liu, Yong; Yu, Yajuan

    2013-01-01

    The conflict of water environment protection and economic development has brought severe water pollution and restricted the sustainable development in the watershed. A risk explicit interval linear programming (REILP) method was used to solve integrated watershed environmental-economic optimization problem. Interval linear programming (ILP) and REILP models for uncertainty-based environmental economic optimization at the watershed scale were developed for the management of Lake Fuxian watershed, China. Scenario analysis was introduced into model solution process to ensure the practicality and operability of optimization schemes. Decision makers' preferences for risk levels can be expressed through inputting different discrete aspiration level values into the REILP model in three periods under two scenarios. Through balancing the optimal system returns and corresponding system risks, decision makers can develop an efficient industrial restructuring scheme based directly on the window of “low risk and high return efficiency” in the trade-off curve. The representative schemes at the turning points of two scenarios were interpreted and compared to identify a preferable planning alternative, which has the relatively low risks and nearly maximum benefits. This study provides new insights and proposes a tool, which was REILP, for decision makers to develop an effectively environmental economic optimization scheme in integrated watershed management. PMID:24191144

  12. 78 FR 79658 - Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc.; Availability of Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Environmental...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-31

    ... available on the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/petitions_table_pending.shtml..., Environmental Risk Analysis Programs, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147...

  13. Environmental liability protection and other advantages of voluntary cleanup programs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bost, R.C.; Linton, K.E.

    Historically, regulatory agencies have required that contaminated sites be returned to pristine conditions, often at very high costs. Fear of these enormous environmental liabilities has resulted in abandonment of many industrial and commercial properties, referred to as brownfields. The development of Risk-Based Corrective Action programs has provided a means for regulatory agencies to evaluate contaminated sites based on risk to human health and the environment, resulting in more reasonable remedial measures and costs. Governmental bodies have created a more flexible means of addressing contaminated sites using Risk-Based Corrective Action and other incentives to encourage the redevelopment of sites through Voluntarymore » Cleanup Programs. This study describes the development of Voluntary Cleanup Programs, and the successful implementation of Risk-Based Corrective Action with a focus on the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.« less

  14. Environmental Science and Research Foundation annual technical report to DOE-ID, January , 1995--December 31, 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1996-06-01

    The foundation conducts an environmental monitoring and surveillance program over an area covering much of the upper Snake River Plain and provide environmental education and support services related to INEL natural resource issues. Also, the foundation, with its university affiliates, conducts ecological and radioecological research on the Idaho National Environmental Research Park. This research benefits major DOE-ID programs including waste management, environmental restoration, spent nuclear fuels, and land management issues. Major accomplishments during CY1995 can be divided into five categories: environmental surveillance program, environmental education, environmental services and support, ecological risk assessment, and research benefitting the DOE-ID mission.

  15. Environmental Biosciences Program Second Quarter Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2004-12-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  16. Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2006-10-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  17. Environmental Biosciences Program Fourth Quarter Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2005-06-30

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation s need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems.more » The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyles (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  18. RISK COMMUNICATION IN ACTION: ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This handbook discusses a variety of data visualization and data interpretation tools that municipal, state and federal government agencies and others hve successfully used in environmental risk communication programs. The handbook presents a variety of tools used by several diff...

  19. Nutrition and Other Protective Behaviors Motivated by Environmental Health Risk Awareness.

    PubMed

    Jones, Elizabeth W; Feng, Limin; Dixon, Jane K; Dixon, John P; Hofe, Carolyn R; Gaetke, Lisa M

    2016-01-01

    Research findings have suggested that exposure to environmental pollutants contributes to increased health risks, which may be modulated by certain nutrition and other protective health behaviors. Nutrition professionals play an important role in effectively disseminating this information and in devising specific community-based nutrition education programs for audiences located in areas with environmental health issues. To assess awareness of environmental health problems and motivation to adopt protective health behaviors for use in planning nutrition education programs for communities exposed to environmental pollutants. Data were collected from a modified, validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP) survey instrument administered to adults (n=774) participating in community events in Kentucky based on location relative to hazardous waste sites. The modified EHEP survey instrument showed good internal consistency reliability, and demographic characteristics were evaluated. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations in all groups, separately and combined, between awareness of environmental pollution in an individual's surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (P < 0.01) and between concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects and taking personal actions to protect against such environmental insults (P < 0.01). The groups having the highest level of awareness posed by pollution are those residing near federally designated hazardous waste sites. These results suggest that determining and expanding an audience's knowledge and perceptions of environmental health risks will enhance effective nutrition education program planning.

  20. Influence of environmental factors on college alcohol drinking patterns.

    PubMed

    Bani, Ridouan; Hameed, Rasheed; Szymanowski, Steve; Greenwood, Priscilla; Kribs-Zaleta, Christopher M; Mubayi, Anuj

    2013-01-01

    Alcohol abuse is a major problem, especially among students on and around college campuses. We use the mathematical framework of [16] and study the role of environmental factors on the long term dynamics of an alcohol drinking population. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out on the relevant functions (for example, on the drinking reproduction number and the extinction time of moderate and heavy drinking because of interventions) to understand the impact of environmental interventions on the distributions of drinkers. The reproduction number helps determine whether or not the high-risk alcohol drinking behavior will spread and become persistent in the population, whereas extinction time of high-risk drinking measures the effectiveness of control programs. We found that the reproduction number is most sensitive to social interactions, while the time to extinction of high-risk drinkers is significantly sensitive to the intervention programs that reduce initiation, and the college drop-out rate. The results also suggest that in a population, higher rates of intervention programs in low-risk environments (more than intervention rates in high-risk environments) are needed to reduce heavy drinking in the population.

  1. AN OVERVIEW OF INDOOR RADON RISK REDUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Radon in the indoor environment is a recognized environmental hazard. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established several programs to develop, demonstrate, and transfer radon mitigation technology. Administration and management of these programs are shared by EPA's ...

  2. Project Risk Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jr., R. F. Miles

    1995-01-01

    Project risk management is primarily concerned with performance, reliability, cost, and schedule. Environmental risk management is primarily concerned with human health and ecological hazards and likelihoods. This paper discusses project risk management and compares it to environmental risk management, both with respect to goals and implementation. The approach of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to risk management is presented as an example of a project risk management approach that is an extension to NASA NHB 7120.5: Management of Major System Programs and Projects.

  3. 40 CFR 166.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... territories; or (ii) Will present significant risks to human health; or (iii) Will present significant risks... environmental harm or harm to human health. IR-4 means the Interregional Research Project No. 4, a cooperative... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL...

  4. 40 CFR 166.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... territories; or (ii) Will present significant risks to human health; or (iii) Will present significant risks... environmental harm or harm to human health. IR-4 means the Interregional Research Project No. 4, a cooperative... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL...

  5. 40 CFR 166.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... territories; or (ii) Will present significant risks to human health; or (iii) Will present significant risks... environmental harm or harm to human health. IR-4 means the Interregional Research Project No. 4, a cooperative... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL...

  6. 40 CFR 166.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... territories; or (ii) Will present significant risks to human health; or (iii) Will present significant risks... environmental harm or harm to human health. IR-4 means the Interregional Research Project No. 4, a cooperative... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL...

  7. 40 CFR 166.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... territories; or (ii) Will present significant risks to human health; or (iii) Will present significant risks... environmental harm or harm to human health. IR-4 means the Interregional Research Project No. 4, a cooperative... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL...

  8. TOXCAST: A PROGRAM FOR PRIORTITIZING TOXICITY TESTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Evaluating the potential of tens of thousands of chemicals for risk to human health and the environment is beyond the resource limits of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's ToxCast program will explore alternative methods comprising computational chemistry, high-throug...

  9. Finding of No Significant Impact and Finding of No Practicable Alternative: Construction of Visiting Quarters - Phase One and Phase Two MacDill Air Force Base, Florida

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-07-13

    the Munitions Storage Area . Although the tree has since succumb to pine beetles, Affected Environment Environmental Assessment for Construction...from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks requires Federal agencies, to the extent permitted by law and mission, to identify and assess ...pose a risk to workers or installation personnel. Industrial hygiene programs address Affected Environment Environmental Assessment for

  10. 40 CFR 35.700 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants for Tribes Indoor Radon Grants (section 306) § 35.700 Purpose. (a... programs that assess and mitigate radon and that aim at reducing radon health risks. Indoor Radon Grant...

  11. Nutrition and Other Protective Behaviors Motivated by Environmental Health Risk Awareness

    PubMed Central

    Jones, Elizabeth W.; Feng, Limin; Dixon, Jane K.; Dixon, John P.; Hofe, Carolyn R.; Gaetke, Lisa M.

    2016-01-01

    Background Research findings have suggested that exposure to environmental pollutants contributes to increased health risks, which may be modulated by certain nutrition and other protective health behaviors. Nutrition professionals play an important role in effectively disseminating this information and in devising specific community-based nutrition education programs for audiences located in areas with environmental health issues. Objective To assess awareness of environmental health problems and motivation to adopt protective health behaviors for use in planning nutrition education programs for communities exposed to environmental pollutants. Method Data were collected from a modified, validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP) survey instrument administered to adults (n=774) participating in community events in Kentucky based on location relative to hazardous waste sites. Results The modified EHEP survey instrument showed good internal consistency reliability, and demographic characteristics were evaluated. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations in all groups, separately and combined, between awareness of environmental pollution in an individual’s surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (P < 0.01) and between concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects and taking personal actions to protect against such environmental insults (P < 0.01). The groups having the highest level of awareness posed by pollution are those residing near federally designated hazardous waste sites. Conclusion These results suggest that determining and expanding an audience’s knowledge and perceptions of environmental health risks will enhance effective nutrition education program planning. PMID:28090221

  12. Genetic Factors Involved in Fumonisin Accumulation in Maize Kernels and Their Implications in Maize Agronomic Management and Breeding

    PubMed Central

    Santiago, Rogelio; Cao, Ana; Butrón, Ana

    2015-01-01

    Contamination of maize with fumonisins depends on the environmental conditions; the maize resistance to contamination and the interaction between both factors. Although the effect of environmental factors is a determinant for establishing the risk of kernel contamination in a region, there is sufficient genetic variability among maize to develop resistance to fumonisin contamination and to breed varieties with contamination at safe levels. In addition, ascertaining which environmental factors are the most important in a region will allow the implementation of risk monitoring programs and suitable cultural practices to reduce the impact of such environmental variables. The current paper reviews all works done to address the influence of environmental variables on fumonisin accumulation, the genetics of maize resistance to fumonisin accumulation, and the search for the biochemical and/or structural mechanisms of the maize plant that could be involved in resistance to fumonisin contamination. We also explore the outcomes of breeding programs and risk monitoring of undertaken projects. PMID:26308050

  13. Genetic Factors Involved in Fumonisin Accumulation in Maize Kernels and Their Implications in Maize Agronomic Management and Breeding.

    PubMed

    Santiago, Rogelio; Cao, Ana; Butrón, Ana

    2015-08-20

    Contamination of maize with fumonisins depends on the environmental conditions; the maize resistance to contamination and the interaction between both factors. Although the effect of environmental factors is a determinant for establishing the risk of kernel contamination in a region, there is sufficient genetic variability among maize to develop resistance to fumonisin contamination and to breed varieties with contamination at safe levels. In addition, ascertaining which environmental factors are the most important in a region will allow the implementation of risk monitoring programs and suitable cultural practices to reduce the impact of such environmental variables. The current paper reviews all works done to address the influence of environmental variables on fumonisin accumulation, the genetics of maize resistance to fumonisin accumulation, and the search for the biochemical and/or structural mechanisms of the maize plant that could be involved in resistance to fumonisin contamination. We also explore the outcomes of breeding programs and risk monitoring of undertaken projects.

  14. Air National Guard Installation Restoration Program Site Investigation Report, 185th Tactical Fighter Group, Iowa Air National Guard, Sioux Gateway Airport, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-10-01

    during the RI; or to provide information for the determination that no further action is required if risks to human and environmental receptors are not...constitute an environmental risk . Exposure media and routes may differ between various organisms due to their physiological and behavioral differences...important species are relatively well documented. U Groundwater 3 Groundwater contaminants may constitute a risk to environmental receptors when

  15. NURail Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Summer Program in Multimodal Freight Transportation Risk.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-08-01

    NURail hosted an REU Summer Program in Multimodal Freight Transportation Risk at the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC...

  16. Status of Environmental Management Initiatives to Accelerate the Reduction of Environmental Risks and Challenges Posed by the Legacy of the Cold War

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    2009-01-01

    Fifty years of nuclear weapons production and energy research in the United States during the Cold War generated large amounts of radioactive wastes, spent nuclear fuel (SNF), excess plutonium and uranium, thousands of contaminated facilities, and contaminated soil and groundwater. During most of that half century, the Nation did not have the environmental regulatory structure or nuclear waste cleanup technologies that exist today. The result was a legacy of nuclear waste that was stored and disposed of in ways now considered unacceptable. Cleaning up and ultimately disposing of these wastes is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).more » In 1989, DOE established the Office of Environmental Management (EM) to solve the large scale and technically challenging risks posed by the world's largest nuclear cleanup. This required EM to build a new nuclear cleanup infrastructure, assemble and train a technically specialized workforce, and develop the technologies and tools required to safely decontaminate, disassemble, stabilize, disposition, and remediate unique radiation hazards. The sites where nuclear activities produced legacy waste and contamination include the original Manhattan Project sites--Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee--as well as major Cold War sites, such as Savannah River Site, South Carolina; the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho; Rocky Flats Plant, Colorado; and Fernald, Ohio. Today EM has responsibility for nuclear cleanup activities at 21 sites covering more than two million acres in 13 states, and employs more than 30,000 Federal and contractor employees, including scientists, engineers and hazardous waste technicians. This cleanup poses unique, technically complex problems, which must be solved under the most hazardous of conditions, and which will require billions of dollars a year for several more decades. The EM program focus during its first 10 years was on managing the most urgent risks and maintaining safety at each site while negotiating state and Federal environmental compliance agreements. The program also concentrated on characterizing waste and nuclear materials and assessing the magnitude and extent of environmental contamination. By the late 1990s, EM had made significant progress in identifying and characterizing the extent of contamination and cleanup required and began transitioning from primarily a characterization and stabilization program to an active cleanup and closure program. During that time, EM formulated multi-year cleanup and closure plans, which contributed to cleanup progress; however, reducing the overall environmental risk associated with the cleanup program remained a challenge. In response, the Secretary of Energy directed a review of the EM program be undertaken. The resulting 'Top-to Bottom Review' re-directed the program focus from managing risks to accelerating the reduction of these risks.« less

  17. Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2007-07-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  18. Environmental Biosciences Program Report for Year 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2007-04-30

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  19. First-Year Results of an Obesity Prevention Program at The Dow Chemical Company

    PubMed Central

    Goetzel, Ron Z.; Baker, Kristin M.; Short, Meghan E.; Pei, Xiaofei; Ozminkowski, Ronald J.; Wang, Shaohung; Bowen, Jennie D.; Roemer, Enid C.; Craun, Beth A.; Tully, Karen J.; Baase, Catherine M.

    2010-01-01

    Objective To examine first-year results from a workplace environmental obesity prevention program at The Dow Chemical Company. Methods A quasi-experimental cohort study was conducted among employees at nine treatment worksites (n=8,013) who received environmental weight management interventions and three control worksites (n=2,269). Changes in employees’ weight, body mass index (BMI), and other health risks were examined using chi-square and t-tests. Results After one year, a modest treatment effect was observed for weight and BMI largely because the control group subjects gained weight; however, no effect was observed for overweight and obesity prevalence. Other risk factors (tobacco use, high blood pressure, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure values) decreased significantly, although blood glucose (high risk prevalence and values) increased. Conclusions Environmental changes to the workplace can achieve modest improvements in employees’ health risks, including weight and BMI measures, in one year. PMID:19209033

  20. Risk management for sulfur dioxide abatement under multiple uncertainties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dai, C.; Sun, W.; Tan, Q.; Liu, Y.; Lu, W. T.; Guo, H. C.

    2016-03-01

    In this study, interval-parameter programming, two-stage stochastic programming (TSP), and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) were incorporated into a general optimization framework, leading to an interval-parameter CVaR-based two-stage programming (ICTP) method. The ICTP method had several advantages: (i) its objective function simultaneously took expected cost and risk cost into consideration, and also used discrete random variables and discrete intervals to reflect uncertain properties; (ii) it quantitatively evaluated the right tail of distributions of random variables which could better calculate the risk of violated environmental standards; (iii) it was useful for helping decision makers to analyze the trade-offs between cost and risk; and (iv) it was effective to penalize the second-stage costs, as well as to capture the notion of risk in stochastic programming. The developed model was applied to sulfur dioxide abatement in an air quality management system. The results indicated that the ICTP method could be used for generating a series of air quality management schemes under different risk-aversion levels, for identifying desired air quality management strategies for decision makers, and for considering a proper balance between system economy and environmental quality.

  1. Summer Undergraduate Research Program: Environmental studies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McMillan, J.

    1994-12-31

    The purpose of the summer undergraduate internship program for research in environmental studies is to provide an opportunity for well-qualified students to undertake an original research project as an apprentice to an active research scientist in basic environmental research. The students are offered research topics at the Medical University in the scientific areas of pharmacology and toxicology, epidemiology and risk assessment, environmental microbiology, and marine sciences. Students are also afforded the opportunity to work with faculty at the University of Charleston, SC, on projects with an environmental theme. Ten well-qualified students from colleges and universities throughout the eastern United Statesmore » were accepted into the program.« less

  2. Payments for Environmental Services in a Policymix: Spatial and Temporal Articulation in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Ezzine-de-Blas, Driss; Dutilly, Céline; Lara-Pulido, José-Alberto; Le Velly, Gwenolé; Guevara-Sanginés, Alejando

    2016-01-01

    Government based Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have been criticized for not maximizing environmental effectiveness through appropriate targeting, while instead prioritizing social side-objectives. In Mexico, existing literature on how the Payments for Ecosystem Services-Hydrological program (PSA-H) has targeted deforestation and forest degradation shows that both the process of identifying the eligible areas and the choice of the selection criteria for enrolling forest parcels have been under the influence of competing agendas. In the present paper we study the influence of the PSA-H multi-level governance on the environmental effectiveness of the program-the degree to which forest at high risk of deforestation is enrolled- building from a "policyscape" framework. In particular, we combine governance analysis with two distinct applications of the policyscape framework: First, at national level we assess the functional overlap between the PSA-H and other environmental and rural programs with regard to the risk of deforestation. Second, at regional level in the states of Chiapas and Yucatan, we describe the changing policy agenda and the role of technical intermediaries in defining the temporal spatialization of the PSA-H eligible and enrolled areas with regard to key socio-economic criteria. We find that, although at national level the PSA-H program has been described as coping with both social and environmental indicators thanks to successful adaptive management, our analysis show that PSA-H is mainly found in communities where deforestation risk is low and in combination with other environmental programs (protected areas and forest management programs). Such inertia is reinforced at regional level as a result of the eligible areas' characteristics and the behaviour of technical intermediaries, which seek to minimise transaction costs and sources of uncertainty. Our project-specific analysis shows the importance of integrating the governance of a program in the policyscape framework as a way to better systematize complex interactions at different spatial and institutional scales between policies and landscape characteristics.

  3. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    President William Jefferson Clinton's Executive Order that each Federal agency assess safety risks to children; and ensure that policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate risks. Also established the Task Force.

  4. 40 CFR 68.170 - Prevention program/Program 2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Prevention program/Program 2. 68.170 Section 68.170 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.170 Prevention program/Program...

  5. 40 CFR 68.170 - Prevention program/Program 2.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevention program/Program 2. 68.170 Section 68.170 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.170 Prevention program/Program...

  6. 75 FR 2445 - Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-01-15

    ... Homeland Security EPA--Environmental Protection Agency RMP--Risk Management Program SSP--Site Security Plan...) under the Clean Air Act's Risk Management Program (RMP) for counting-- or excluding--flammable chemicals... of flammable chemicals in gasoline from the RMP rules was mandated by the Chemical Safety...

  7. Environmental equity: Reducing risk for all communities. Volume 2. Supporting document

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1992-06-01

    In targeting its protection efforts to reduce the most serious risks, the Agency has begun to examine how the patterns of environmental problems converge on different places, how the people who live in those places are affected, and how environmental programs should be refined to address identified differences. A community surrounded by Multiple sources of air pollution, ringed by waste treatment facilities and landfills, and whose residences contain lead-based paint clearly faces higher than average potential environmental risks. It is in this context that concerns have been raised about the relative risk burden borne by low-income and racial minority communities.more » Examination of these differences in risk burden and how government agencies respond is known as environmental equity. Although there are many types of equity, this report focuses on racial and socioeconomic equity.« less

  8. Climate Change Risk Management: CRE Adaptation Projects and the Risk Management Process

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document describes National Estuary Program partner projects that demonstrate how risk management can be successfully applied to address environmental challenges in our country’s coastal areas.

  9. Final Environmental Assessment: Military Family Housing Privatization at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-12-01

    Income Populations  EO 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risk  EO 13423, Strengthening Federal Environment...pose any risk to workers or Base personnel. Industrial hygiene responsibilities of contractors as applicable include reviewing potentially hazardous...unexposed; and ensuring a medical surveillance program is in place to perform occupational health physicals for those workers subject to any

  10. Efficient management of cardiovascular risk screening programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roth, Carol

    1993-01-01

    The Environmental Health Unit, located on-site at the the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), is responsible for the implementation of the Center's Employee Environmental and Occupational Health Program. The Health Unit, Health Physics (HP), and Industrial Hygiene (IH) staffs collaborate to provide quality service to the employees at GSFC. The Health Unit staff identifies, evaluates, and ensures the control of occupational hazards on the Center. In the past, components of the Industrial Hygiene Program have included the Industrial Hygiene Health Hazard Identification Program (IHHIP), the Hearing Conservation Program (HCP), the Hazard Communication Program, and the bi-annual fume hood survey. More recently, the Environmental Health Unit has expanded its services by adding the Ergonomics Program. Various aspects of the Ergonomics Program are discussed.

  11. Risk based requirements for long term stewardship: A proof-of-principle analysis of an analytic method tested on selected Hanford locations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jarvis, T.T.; Andrews, W.B.; Buck, J.W.

    1998-03-01

    Since 1989, the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) Program has managed the environmental legacy of US nuclear weapons production, research and testing at 137 facilities in 31 states and one US territory. The EM program has conducted several studies on the public risks posed by contaminated sites at these facilities. In Risks and the Risk Debate [DOE, 1995a], the Department analyzed the risks at sites before, during, and after remediation work by the EM program. The results indicated that aside from a few urgent risks, most hazards present little inherent risk because physical and active site management controlsmore » limit both the releases of site contaminants, and public access to these hazards. Without these controls, these sites would pose greater risks to the public. Past risk reports, however, provided little information about post-cleanup risk, primarily because of uncertainty about future site uses and site characteristics at the end of planned cleanup activities. This is of concern because in many cases current cleanup technologies, and remedies, will last a shorter period of time than the waste itself and the resulting contamination will remain hazardous.« less

  12. ETV - ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION (ETV) - RISK MANAGEMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    In October 1995, the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program was established by EPA. The goal of ETV is to provide credible performance data for commercial-ready environmental technologies to speed their implementation for the benefit of vendors, purchasers, permitter...

  13. The benefits and costs of disclosing information about risks: what do we know about right-to-know?

    PubMed

    Beierle, Thomas C

    2004-04-01

    Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies removed information from their web sites that they feared could invite attacks on critical public and private infrastructure. Accordingly, the benefits and costs of environmental information disclosure programs have come under increasing scrutiny. This article describes a framework for examining these benefits and costs and illustrates the framework through brief case studies of two information disclosure programs: risk management planning and materials accounting. The article outlines what we know and still need to find out about information disclosure programs in order to appropriately balance benefits and costs.

  14. Risk Scan: A Review of Risk Assessment Capability and Maturity within the Canadian Safety and Security Program

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-01

    SCADA / ICS Cyber Test Lab initiated in 2013 Psychosocial – academic research exists,; opportunity for sharing and developing impact assessment...ecosystems and species at risk), accidents / system failure (rail; pipelines ; ferries CSSP strategy for the North Focus on regional l(and local) problem...Guidance; business planning; environmental scan; proposal evaluation; and performance measurement Program Risk Management – Guidelines for project

  15. DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL, POPULATION, AND SPATIAL LEVELS: INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF MULTIPLE STRESSORS ON PISCIVOROUS BIRDS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The goal of the US Environmental Protection Agency's National Health and Environmental Research Laboratory's Wildlife Risk Assessment program is to develop scientifically valid methods to assess risks to wildlife and aquatic organisms from multiple stressors. To this end, the Loo...

  16. Robotics crosscutting program: Technology summary

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for cleaning up the legacy of radioactive and chemically hazardous waste at contaminated sites and facilities throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons complex, preventing further environmental contamination, and instituting responsible environmental management. Initial efforts to achieve this mission resulted in the establishment of environmental restoration and waste management programs. However, as EM began to execute its responsibilities, decision makers became aware that the complexity and magnitude of this mission could not be achieved efficiently, affordably, safely, or reasonably with existing technology. Once the need for advanced cleanup technologies becamemore » evident, EM established an aggressive, innovative program of applied research and technology development. The Office of Technology Development (OTD) was established in November 1989 to advance new and improved environmental restoration and waste management technologies that would reduce risks to workers, the public, and the environment; reduce cleanup costs; and devise methods to correct cleanup problems that currently have no solutions. In 1996, OTD added two new responsibilities - management of a Congressionally mandated environmental science program and development of risk policy, requirements, and guidance. OTD was renamed the Office of Science and Technology (OST). This documents presents information concerning robotics tank waste retrieval overview, robotic chemical analysis automation, robotics decontamination and dismantlement, and robotics crosscutting and advanced technology.« less

  17. Application of environmental sensitivity theories in personalized prevention for youth substance abuse: a transdisciplinary translational perspective.

    PubMed

    Thibodeau, Eric L; August, Gerald J; Cicchetti, Dante; Symons, Frank J

    2016-03-01

    Preventive interventions that target high-risk youth, via one-size-fits-all approaches, have demonstrated modest effects in reducing rates of substance use. Recently, substance use researchers have recommended personalized intervention strategies. Central to these approaches is matching preventatives to characteristics of an individual that have been shown to predict outcomes. One compelling body of literature on person × environment interactions is that of environmental sensitivity theories, including differential susceptibility theory and vantage sensitivity. Recent experimental evidence has demonstrated that environmental sensitivity (ES) factors moderate substance abuse outcomes. We propose that ES factors may augment current personalization strategies such as matching based on risk factors/severity of problem behaviors (risk severity (RS)). Specifically, individuals most sensitive to environmental influence may be those most responsive to intervention in general and thus need only a brief-type or lower-intensity program to show gains, while those least sensitive may require more comprehensive or intensive programming for optimal responsiveness. We provide an example from ongoing research to illustrate how ES factors can be incorporated into prevention trials aimed at high-risk adolescents.

  18. Mapping for prevention: GIS models for directing childhood lead poisoning prevention programs.

    PubMed Central

    Miranda, Marie Lynn; Dolinoy, Dana C; Overstreet, M Alicia

    2002-01-01

    Environmental threats to children's health--especially low-level lead exposure--are complex and multifaceted; consequently, mitigation of these threats has proven costly and insufficient and has produced economic and racial disparities in exposure among populations. Policy makers, public health officials, child advocates, and others currently lack the appropriate infrastructure to evaluate children's risk and exposure potential across a broad range of risks. Unable to identify where the highest risk of exposure occurs, children's environmental health programs remain mitigative instead of preventive. In this article we use geographic information system spatial analysis of data from blood lead screening, county tax assessors, and the U.S. Census to predict statistically based lead exposure risk levels mapped at the individual tax parcel unit in six counties in North Carolina. The resulting model uses weighted risk factors to spatially locate modeled exposure zones, thus highlighting critical areas for targeted intervention. The methods presented here hold promise for application and extension to the other 94 North Carolina counties and nationally, as well as to other environmental health risks. PMID:12204831

  19. MUTAGENIC AND CARCINOGENIC POTENCY OF EXTRACTS OF DIESEL AND RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL EMISSIONS: STUDY DESIGN, SAMPLE GENERATION, COLLECTION, AND PREPARATION (JOURNAL VERSION)

    EPA Science Inventory

    A major diesel emissions research program has been initiated by the US Environmental Protection Agency to assess the human health risk associated with increased use of diesel automobiles. This program is intended to establish the mutagenic and carcinogenic potency of complex orga...

  20. EnvironMentors: Mentoring At-Risk High School Students through University Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monk, Melissa H.; Baustian, Melissa M.; Saari, Courtney R.; Welsh, Susan; D'Elia, Christopher F.; Powers, Joseph E.; Gaston, Suzan; Francis, Pamela

    2014-01-01

    Informal place-based environmental education is a proven approach for increasing environmental awareness for students in urban cities. This article describes and qualitatively evaluates the first two academic years of the EnvironMentors program at Louisiana State University (LSU-EM), which is part of a national network of EnvironMentors programs.…

  1. Reproducibility and Transparency of Omics Research - Impacts on Human Health Risk Assessment

    EPA Science Inventory

    Omics technologies are becoming more widely used in toxicology, necessitating their consideration in human health hazard and risk assessment programs. Today, risk assessors in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Toxicologi...

  2. Environmental surveillance at Los Alamos during 2008

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fuehne, David; Gallagher, Pat; Hjeresen, Denny

    2009-09-30

    Environmental Surveillance at Los Alamos reports are prepared annually by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (the Laboratory) Environmental Programs Directorate, as required by US Department of Energy Order 450.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and US Department of Energy Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting. These annual reports summarize environmental data that are used to determine compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, executive orders, and departmental policies. Additional data, beyond the minimum required, are also gathered and reported as part of the Laboratory’s efforts to ensure public safety and to monitor environmental quality at andmore » near the Laboratory. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Laboratory’s major environmental programs and explains the risks and the actions taken to reduce risks at the Laboratory from environmental legacies and waste management operations. Chapter 2 reports the Laboratory’s compliance status for 2007. Chapter 3 provides a summary of the maximum radiological dose the public and biota populations could have potentially received from Laboratory operations and discusses chemical exposures. The environmental surveillance and monitoring data are organized by environmental media (Chapter 4, air; Chapters 5 and 6, water and sediments; Chapter 7, soils; and Chapter 8, foodstuffs and biota) in a format to meet the needs of a general and scientific audience. Chapter 9 provides a summary of the status of environmental restoration work around LANL. A glossary and a list of acronyms and abbreviations are in the back of the report. Appendix A explains the standards for environmental contaminants, Appendix B explains the units of measurements used in this report, Appendix C describes the Laboratory’s technical areas and their associated programs, and Appendix D provides web links to more information.« less

  3. 7 CFR 371.9 - Policy and Program Development.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Policy and Program Development. 371.9 Section 371.9... and Program Development. (a) General statement. Policy and Program Development (PPD) provides... development; and policy, risk, and economic analysis for APHIS programs. (3) Analyzing the environmental...

  4. 40 CFR 68.180 - Emergency response program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Emergency response program. 68.180 Section 68.180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.180 Emergency response program...

  5. Environmental Management Science Program Workshop. Proceedings

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    1998-07-01

    The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM), in partnership with the Office of Energy Research (ER), designed, developed, and implemented the Environmental Management Science Program as a basic research effort to fund the scientific and engineering understanding required to solve the most challenging technical problems facing the government's largest, most complex environmental cleanup program. The intent of the Environmental Management Science Program is to: (1) Provide scientific knowledge that will revolutionize technologies and cleanup approaches to significantly reduce future costs, schedules, and risks. (2) Bridge the gap between broad fundamental research that has wide-ranging applications such as thatmore » performed in the Department's Office of Energy Research and needs-driven applied technology development that is conducted in Environmental Management's Office of Science and Technology. (3) Focus the nation's science infrastructure on critical Department of Energy environmental problems. In an effort to share information regarding basic research efforts being funded by the Environmental Management Science Program and the Environmental Management/Energy Research Pilot Collaborative Research Program (Wolf-Broido Program), this CD includes summaries for each project. These project summaries, available in portable document format (PDF), were prepared in the spring of 1998 by the principal investigators and provide information about their most recent project activities and accomplishments.« less

  6. Student Curriculum

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This nine-lesson program was designed to excite kids (ages 9-13) about environmental health and empower them to take steps in their everyday lives to improve the environment for their community and reduce their environmental risks.

  7. CONVERGENCE OF ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT: TOWARDS HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

    EPA Science Inventory

    A major emphasis of environmental monitoring and assessment programs is to characterize the condition of natural resources. When repeated through time, ecological assessments (EA) can be used to track changes in environmental condition that reflect on the efficacy of regulatory a...

  8. Expedited Remedial Action Program (SB 923): A California Brownfields initiative

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cambridge, M.; Wolfenden, A.K.

    California`s Expedited Remedial Action Program (ERAP) created a comprehensive program that promotes an equitable and expedited approach for redevelopment of properties contaminated with hazardous substances. This bill embodies an emerging trend in environmental policy that permits flexibility, cooperation and creativity without compromising protection to public health or the environment. Within the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is promoting a number of programs to facilitate the restoration of contaminated properties as part of its Brownfields initiative. ERAP represents a potentially more efficient process to remediate sites by minimizing economic risks through a clearly identified liabilitymore » scheme, indemnifying future owners through a covenant not to sue, and providing risk based cleanups that are based on the permanent use of the site.« less

  9. Medical University of South Carolina Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Volume 6: Annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994 deliverables

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The Medical University of South Carolina`s vision is to become the premier national resource for medical information and for environmental/health risk assessment. A key component to the success of the many missions of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program (EHAP) is timely access to large volumes of data. This study documents the results of the needs assessment effort conducted to determine the information access and processing requirements of EHAP. This report addresses the Department of Environmental Health Science, education and training initiative.

  10. Concepts in ecological risk assessment. Professional paper

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnston, R.K.; Seligman, P.F.

    1991-05-01

    Assessing the risk of impact to natural ecosystems from xenobiotic compounds requires an accurate characterization of the threatened ecosystem, direct measures or estimates of environmental exposure, and a comprehensive evaluation of the biological effects from actual and potential contamination. Field and laboratory methods have been developed to obtain direct measures of environmental health. These methods have been implemented in monitoring programs to assess and verify the ecological risks of contamination from past events, such as hazardous waste disposal sites, as well as future scenarios, such as the environmental consequences from the use of biocides in antifouling bottom paints for ships.

  11. School- And Home-Based Drug Prevention: Environmental, Parent, and Child Risk Reduction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hahn, Ellen J.; Hall, Lynne A.; Rayens, Mary Kay; Myers, April V.; Bonnel, Galadriel

    2007-01-01

    The study purpose was to test the effect of a school- and home-based alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) prevention program on reducing environmental, parent, and child risk factors for ATOD use. The design was a three-group pretest-posttest with interviews at baseline and 1 and 6 months post-intervention. The sample was 126 parents and their…

  12. Management of Occupational Exposure to Engineered Nanoparticles Through a Chance-Constrained Nonlinear Programming Approach

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Zhi; Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Shu-Shen; Chen, Yu; Yang, Feng-Lin

    2013-01-01

    Critical environmental and human health concerns are associated with the rapidly growing fields of nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs). The main risk arises from occupational exposure via chronic inhalation of nanoparticles. This research presents a chance-constrained nonlinear programming (CCNLP) optimization approach, which is developed to maximize the nanaomaterial production and minimize the risks of workplace exposure to MNMs. The CCNLP method integrates nonlinear programming (NLP) and chance-constrained programming (CCP), and handles uncertainties associated with both the nanomaterial production and workplace exposure control. The CCNLP method was examined through a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) manufacturing process. The study results provide optimal production strategies and alternatives. It reveal that a high control measure guarantees that environmental health and safety (EHS) standards regulations are met, while a lower control level leads to increased risk of violating EHS regulations. The CCNLP optimization approach is a decision support tool for the optimization of the increasing MNMS manufacturing with workplace safety constraints under uncertainties. PMID:23531490

  13. Management of occupational exposure to engineered nanoparticles through a chance-constrained nonlinear programming approach.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zhi; Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Shu-Shen; Chen, Yu; Yang, Feng-Lin

    2013-03-26

    Critical environmental and human health concerns are associated with the rapidly growing fields of nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs). The main risk arises from occupational exposure via chronic inhalation of nanoparticles. This research presents a chance-constrained nonlinear programming (CCNLP) optimization approach, which is developed to maximize the nanaomaterial production and minimize the risks of workplace exposure to MNMs. The CCNLP method integrates nonlinear programming (NLP) and chance-constrained programming (CCP), and handles uncertainties associated with both the nanomaterial production and workplace exposure control. The CCNLP method was examined through a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) manufacturing process. The study results provide optimal production strategies and alternatives. It reveal that a high control measure guarantees that environmental health and safety (EHS) standards regulations are met, while a lower control level leads to increased risk of violating EHS regulations. The CCNLP optimization approach is a decision support tool for the optimization of the increasing MNMS manufacturing with workplace safety constraints under uncertainties.

  14. Perceptions of environmental health risks among residents in the "Toxic Doughnut": opportunities for risk screening and community mobilization.

    PubMed

    White, Brandi M; Hall, Eric S

    2015-12-10

    Surrounded by landfills, and toxic and hazardous facilities, Altgeld Gardens is located in a "toxic doughnut". With high rates of environmentally-related conditions, residents have called for a community-based environmental health assessment to improve overall health in their community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of environmental health risks of Altgeld's residents which would assist community organizing efforts and provide the groundwork for a community-based environmental health assessment. A questionnaire was designed and administered to 42 Altgeld residents who also participated in focus groups to assess their perceptions of environmental health risks. All participants were Altgeld residents for at least two years and were fairly representative of the broader community. Physical and social hazards were primarily identified as posing risks to participants' family and the broader community. Physical hazards included the dumping of hazardous waste and landfills; social hazards were crime and drugs. These findings have been useful in community organizing efforts and in program planning for local community-based organizations and public health agencies. The results have also been used to prioritize health and environmental risk issues impacting the community.

  15. Environmental Biosciences Report for Year 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2007-10-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  16. Environmental Biosciences Quarterly Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2007-01-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

  17. Agencies, Educators, Communities and Wildfire: Partnerships to Enhance Environmental Education for Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monroe, Martha C.; Ballard, Heidi L.; Oxarart, Annie; Sturtevant, Victoria E.; Jakes, Pamela J.; Evans, Emily R.

    2016-01-01

    We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer…

  18. Agencies, educators, communities and wildfire: partnerships to enhance environmental education for youth

    Treesearch

    Martha C. Monroe; Heidi L. Ballard; Annie Oxarart; Victoria E. Sturtevant; Pamela J. Jakes; Emily R. Evans

    2015-01-01

    We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer school, they exhibit...

  19. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    West, C.R.

    This paper describes the way in which the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection uses risk assessment to implement the state`s environmental laws. It focuses on the Office of Research and Standards, which was created to provide information on adverse health effects of environmental contaminants, to recommend exposure levels, and to direct and manage research programs.

  20. Workshop: Community Based Environmental Decision Making, Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop in the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series (2000)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Proceedings from a one-day workshop cosponsored by US EPA Office of Economy and Environment and National Center for Environmental Research and the National Science Foundation Decision, Risk,and Management Science Program on community-based decision making

  1. EMAP and other tools for measuring biodiversity, habitat conditions, and environmental trends

    Treesearch

    Eric M. Preston; Christine A. Ribic

    1993-01-01

    We describe research efforts that contribute to assessment and monitoring of neotropical migratory birds, including: I) use of neotropical migrants in the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) as potential indicators of general environmental condition and biodiversity; 2) EPA's Habitat/Biodiversity Research Initiative to assess comparative risks...

  2. MEETING IN CHICAGO: SADA: A FREEWARE DECISION SUPPORT TOOL INTEGRATING GIS, SAMPLE DESIGN, SPATIAL MODELING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) is a Windows freeware program that incorporates tools from environmental assessment into an effective problem-solving environment. SADA was developed by the Institute for Environmental Modeling at the University of Tennessee and inc...

  3. 32 CFR Appendix A to Part 651 - References

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Technology). DOD 5000.2-R Mandatory Procedures for Major Defense Acquisition Programs and Major Automated... Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, 3 CFR, 1997 Comp., p. 198. Executive...

  4. 32 CFR Appendix A to Part 651 - References

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Technology). DOD 5000.2-R Mandatory Procedures for Major Defense Acquisition Programs and Major Automated... Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, 3 CFR, 1997 Comp., p. 198. Executive...

  5. Hazardous Waste: Cleanup and Prevention.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vandas, Steve; Cronin, Nancy L.

    1996-01-01

    Describes the Superfund, a federal cleanup program created in response to growing public concern over the health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. Discusses sources, disposal, and movement and risk of hazardous waste. (JRH)

  6. 75 FR 63490 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-15

    ... their associated disabilities; and (4) identify environmental and genetic risk factors and their... treatment, prevention and intervention programs; (2) identify subgroups at high risk for alcohol use...

  7. Ecosystem services in risk assessment and management. ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The ecosystem services (ES) concept holds much promise for environmental decision making. Even so, the concept has yet to gain full traction in the decisions and policies of environmental agencies in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Here we examine the opportunities for and implications of including ES in risk assessments and the risk management decisions that they inform. We assert that use of ES will: 1) lead to more comprehensive environmental protection; 2) help to articulate the benefits of environmental decisions, policies, and actions; 3) better inform the derivation of environmental quality standards; 4) enable integration of human health and ecological risk assessment; and 5) facilitate horizontal integration of policies, regulations, and programs. We provide the technical basis and supporting rationale for each assertion, relying on examples taken from experiences in the United States and European Union. Specific recommendations are offered for use of ES in risk assessment and risk management, and issues and challenges to advancing use of ES are described along with some of the science needed to improve the value of the ES concept to environmental protection. This paper is one of 4 papers generated from the 2014 Pellston Workshop “Ecosystem Services, Environmental Stressors and Decision Making,” organized jointly by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Ecological Society of America. The main workshop objective was

  8. 40 CFR 164.132 - Procedures governing hearing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Section 164.132 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS..., ARISING FROM REFUSALS TO REGISTER, CANCELLATIONS OF REGISTRATIONS, CHANGES OF CLASSIFICATIONS, SUSPENSIONS... and environmental risks found by the Administrator in his cancellation or suspension determination and...

  9. REPORT ON TWO PROCESS EQUIPMENT CHANGES FOR FEDERAL PAINTING FACILITIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) has actively participated in the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) to develop innovative technologies and processes for the reduction of environmental pollution. Technology developments fro...

  10. Programs of the Office of the Science Advisor (OSA)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Office of the Science Advisor provides leadership in cross-Agency science and science policy. Program areas: Risk Assessment, Science and Technology Policy, Human Subjects Research, Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Scientific Integrity.

  11. TAPESTRY on Display.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rapp, Katie

    1992-01-01

    Describes three programs funded by the Toyota Appreciation Program for Excellence to Science Teachers Reaching Youth (TAPESTRY) program: (1) High School Hawk Watch promotes wildlife awareness student research; (2) Science without Bounds makes science accessible to at-risk and minority students; and (3) Kansas Environmental Monitoring Network…

  12. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy Underground Coal Conversion (UCC) program is to develop the technology to produce clean fuels from coal deposits unsuitable for commercial exploitation by conventional mining techniques. The highest priority is to develop and demonstrate, in conjunction with industry, a commercially feasible process for underground gasification of low-rank coal in the 1985--1987 time period. The program will also attempt to develop cost-effective technologies to utilize steeply dipping seams and bituminous coal by UCC. Results of the program to date indicate that, while UCC is technically feasible, it still contains some process unknowns, environmental risks,more » and economic risks that require R and D. In order to contribute to the national energy goals, a strong DOE program which incorporates maximum industry involvement is planned. Major projects are described in some detail. Finally, a strong program of supporting activities will address specific problems identified in the field testing and will seek to advance UCC technology. In summary, the program's strategy is to remove the high-risk elements of UCC by resolving those technical, environmental, and economic uncertainties that remain, and to enable industry to assume responsibility for commercialization of the process.« less

  13. Seed Balls and the Circle of Courage: A Decolonization Model of Youth Development in an Environmental Stewardship Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wenger-Schulman, A. R. S.; Hoffman, Lauren

    2018-01-01

    Middle School 88 in Brooklyn, New York serves a community of students often considered at high risk for dropping out of high school and other socially undesirable behaviors. In this high-need setting, the authors designed and implemented an environmental education program designed to meet the needs of urban youth of color. The approach they used,…

  14. [Environmental Hazards Assessment Program annual report, June 1992--June 1993]. Proposal for a new program leading to the Master of Science degree in environmental studies to be offered jointly by the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of Charleston, South Carolina

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1993-12-01

    The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the University of Charleston, South Carolina (UCSC) propose to offer the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Studies. The proposed starting date is August 1994. The purpose of this interdisciplinary program is to offer nationally and internationally recognized graduate level training in the areas of environmental policy, science, and health risk assessment. Special emphasis will be placed on human health. Included in this proposal are a needs assessment for environmental science professionals along with employment projections and salary expectations. The Environmental Science program is described and its relationship to other programsmore » within MUSC and UCSC, as well as its relation to similar programs at other institutions are examined. Enrollment is discussed, admission requirements and standards outlined, and the curriculum is described. Academic and physical resources are examined and estimated costs are given.« less

  15. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR CHEMICAL AGENT RESISTANT COATING

    EPA Science Inventory

    This project was sponsored by the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and conducted by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL). In support of SERDP's objective to develop env...

  16. LOOP marine and estuarine monitoring program, 1978-95 : volume 1 : executive summary.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-01-01

    In recognition of the potential for significant environmental impacts much attention was given to environmental safeguards by state and federal agencies and by the Superport developers. Because of the potential risks associated with the construction ...

  17. RISK COMMUNICATION IN COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: COMPARING REGIONAL PROGRAMS IN SOUTH FLORIDA

    EPA Science Inventory

    Comparison of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) decision-making regimes revealed...

  18. USE OF FOCUS GROUPS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCHER

    EPA Science Inventory

    Qualitative research techniques are often under-utilized by the environmental health researcher. Focus groups, one such qualitative method, can provide rich data sets for study planning and implementation, risk perception, program and policy research, and exploration into future...

  19. THE US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    A scientifically rigorous determination of the condition of an aquatic resource is fundamental to all subsequent research, modeling, protection, and restoration issues. Environmental risk characterization is predicated on knowledge of condition and the rate at which that conditio...

  20. DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR METALS RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Many EPA programs are faced with deciding whether and how to regulate toxic metals. These decisions range from setting regulatory standards for environmental releases, to establishing safe levels in different environmental media, to setting priorities for regulatory or voluntary...

  1. Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    PESP is an EPA partnership program that works with the nation's pesticide-user community to promote IPM practices. Pesticide users can reduce the risks from pests and pesticides. Members include organizations and companies in the pesticide-user community.

  2. New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk.

    PubMed

    Driscoll, Don A; Catford, Jane A; Barney, Jacob N; Hulme, Philip E; Inderjit; Martin, Tara G; Pauchard, Aníbal; Pyšek, Petr; Richardson, David M; Riley, Sophie; Visser, Vernon

    2014-11-18

    Agricultural intensification is critical to meet global food demand, but intensification threatens native species and degrades ecosystems. Sustainable intensification (SI) is heralded as a new approach for enabling growth in agriculture while minimizing environmental impacts. However, the SI literature has overlooked a major environmental risk. Using data from eight countries on six continents, we show that few governments regulate conventionally bred pasture taxa to limit threats to natural areas, even though most agribusinesses promote taxa with substantial weed risk. New pasture taxa (including species, subspecies, varieties, cultivars, and plant-endophyte combinations) are bred with characteristics typical of invasive species and environmental weeds. By introducing novel genetic and endophyte variation, pasture taxa are imbued with additional capacity for invasion and environmental impact. New strategies to prevent future problems are urgently needed. We highlight opportunities for researchers, agribusiness, and consumers to reduce environmental risks associated with new pasture taxa. We also emphasize four main approaches that governments could consider as they build new policies to limit weed risks, including (i) national lists of taxa that are prohibited based on environmental risk; (ii) a weed risk assessment for all new taxa; (iii) a program to rapidly detect and control new taxa that invade natural areas; and (iv) the polluter-pays principle, so that if a taxon becomes an environmental weed, industry pays for its management. There is mounting pressure to increase livestock production. With foresight and planning, growth in agriculture can be achieved sustainably provided that the scope of SI expands to encompass environmental weed risks.

  3. New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk

    PubMed Central

    Driscoll, Don A.; Catford, Jane A.; Barney, Jacob N.; Hulme, Philip E.; Inderjit; Martin, Tara G.; Pauchard, Aníbal; Pyšek, Petr; Richardson, David M.; Riley, Sophie; Visser, Vernon

    2014-01-01

    Agricultural intensification is critical to meet global food demand, but intensification threatens native species and degrades ecosystems. Sustainable intensification (SI) is heralded as a new approach for enabling growth in agriculture while minimizing environmental impacts. However, the SI literature has overlooked a major environmental risk. Using data from eight countries on six continents, we show that few governments regulate conventionally bred pasture taxa to limit threats to natural areas, even though most agribusinesses promote taxa with substantial weed risk. New pasture taxa (including species, subspecies, varieties, cultivars, and plant-endophyte combinations) are bred with characteristics typical of invasive species and environmental weeds. By introducing novel genetic and endophyte variation, pasture taxa are imbued with additional capacity for invasion and environmental impact. New strategies to prevent future problems are urgently needed. We highlight opportunities for researchers, agribusiness, and consumers to reduce environmental risks associated with new pasture taxa. We also emphasize four main approaches that governments could consider as they build new policies to limit weed risks, including (i) national lists of taxa that are prohibited based on environmental risk; (ii) a weed risk assessment for all new taxa; (iii) a program to rapidly detect and control new taxa that invade natural areas; and (iv) the polluter-pays principle, so that if a taxon becomes an environmental weed, industry pays for its management. There is mounting pressure to increase livestock production. With foresight and planning, growth in agriculture can be achieved sustainably provided that the scope of SI expands to encompass environmental weed risks. PMID:25368175

  4. 24 CFR 35.1130 - Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... intervention blood lead level. 35.1130 Section 35.1130 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... STRUCTURES Public Housing Programs § 35.1130 Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level. (a... been identified as having an environmental intervention blood lead level, the PHA shall complete a risk...

  5. 24 CFR 35.1130 - Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... intervention blood lead level. 35.1130 Section 35.1130 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... STRUCTURES Public Housing Programs § 35.1130 Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level. (a... been identified as having an environmental intervention blood lead level, the PHA shall complete a risk...

  6. 24 CFR 35.1130 - Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... intervention blood lead level. 35.1130 Section 35.1130 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... STRUCTURES Public Housing Programs § 35.1130 Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level. (a... been identified as having an environmental intervention blood lead level, the PHA shall complete a risk...

  7. 24 CFR 35.1130 - Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... intervention blood lead level. 35.1130 Section 35.1130 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... STRUCTURES Public Housing Programs § 35.1130 Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level. (a... been identified as having an environmental intervention blood lead level, the PHA shall complete a risk...

  8. 24 CFR 35.1130 - Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... intervention blood lead level. 35.1130 Section 35.1130 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... STRUCTURES Public Housing Programs § 35.1130 Child with an environmental intervention blood lead level. (a... been identified as having an environmental intervention blood lead level, the PHA shall complete a risk...

  9. The use of third-party review to reduce health and environmental hazards from surfactants and cleaning products in the janitorial industry.

    PubMed

    Okumura, Kazuhiro

    2009-05-01

    The demand for environmentally preferable products is increasing in the area of Institutional and Industrial (I&I) cleaners. The GreenBlue Institute (GreenBlue) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) Design for Environment (DfE) launched two programs to review surfactant ingredients and final cleaning products, with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) conducting third-party reviews. The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program (LHWMP) in King County, Washington, has a strategic goal to reduce the risk of exposure of hazardous chemicals to vulnerable populations such as janitorial workers. This report summarizes the NSF partnership with GreenBlue, CleanGredients, and U.S. EPA's DfE to perform third-party reviews of cleaning product ingredients and its relevance to LHWMP's interest in reducing risks to workers in the janitorial industry. Due to information barriers, workers in the janitorial industry are at risk daily to these hazardous chemicals. The surfactant and formulator review program will make positive contributions towards the reduction of toxic chemical exposure to the employees of the janitorial industry. With proper communication and an increased use of less toxic cleaners, exposures to vulnerable populations can be reduced.

  10. Ten Years of Addressing Children’s Health through Regulatory Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

    PubMed Central

    Payne-Sturges, Devon; Kemp, Debra

    2008-01-01

    Background Executive Order (EO) 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, directs each federal agency to ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate environmental health and safety risks to children. Objectives We reviewed regulatory actions published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Federal Register from April 1998 through December 2006 to evaluate applicability of EO 13045 to U.S. EPA actions and consideration of children’s health issues in U.S. EPA rulemakings. Discussion Although virtually all actions discussed EO 13045, fewer than two regulations per year, on average, were subject to the EO requirement to evaluate children’s environmental health risks. Nonetheless, U.S. EPA considered children’s environmental health in all actions addressing health or safety risks that may disproportionately affect children. Conclusion The EO does not apply to a broad enough set of regulatory actions to ensure protection of children’s health and safety risks, largely because of the small number of rules that are economically significant. However, given the large number of regulations that consider children’s health issues despite not being subject to the EO, other statutory requirements and agency policies reach a larger set of regulations to ensure protection of children’s environmental health. PMID:19079726

  11. Application of quality risk management to set viable environmental monitoring frequencies in biotechnology processing and support areas.

    PubMed

    Sandle, Tim

    2012-01-01

    Environmental monitoring programs are essential for pharmaceutical facilities in order to assess the level of environmental control. For biotechnology facilities there is little advice as to the frequency at which viable environmental monitoring should be conducted. This paper outlines an approach, based on the principles of quality risk management, for the development of a framework from which monitoring frequencies can be determined. This involved the identification of common hazards and the evaluation those hazards in terms of the severity of contamination and the probability of contamination occurring. These elements of risk were evaluated for different cleanrooms and the relative risks ranked. Once the risk scores were calculated, the methods for detecting risks within the cleanrooms were assessed. Risk filtering was then used to group different cleanrooms based on their relative risks and detection methods against predetermined monitoring frequencies. Through use of case study examples, the paper presents the model and describes how appropriate frequencies for the environmental monitoring of cleanrooms can be set. Cleanrooms in which biotechnology pharmaceutical processing takes place are subject to environmental monitoring. The frequency at which such monitoring should be performed can be difficult to determine. This paper uses quality risk assessment methods to construct a framework for determining monitoring frequencies and illustrates the suitability of the framework through a case study.

  12. The Exposure Data Landscape for Manufactured Chemicals

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing chemical screening and prioritization programs to evaluate environmental chemicals for potential risk to human health in a rapid and efficient manner. As part of these efforts, it is important to catalog available information...

  13. EPA APPROACH TO EVALUATION OF INDICATORS FOR ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is continuing research efforts initiated by the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) on ecological indicator development. An ORD Ecological Indicators Working Group has been form...

  14. INTEGRATED CHEMICAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO TOXICOLOGY

    EPA Science Inventory

    A central regulatory mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency, spanning many Program Offices and issues, is to assess the potential health and environmental risks of large numbers of chemicals released into the environment, often in the absence of relevant test data. Model...

  15. EPA WASTE MINIMIZATION RESEARCH PROGRAM: AN OVERVIEW

    EPA Science Inventory

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a waste minimization research program within the Office of Research and Development's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory which is the primary contact for pollution prevention research efforts concentrating on source ...

  16. Lymphatic filariasis transmission risk map of India, based on a geo-environmental risk model.

    PubMed

    Sabesan, Shanmugavelu; Raju, Konuganti Hari Kishan; Subramanian, Swaminathan; Srivastava, Pradeep Kumar; Jambulingam, Purushothaman

    2013-09-01

    The strategy adopted by a global program to interrupt transmission of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is mass drug administration (MDA) using chemotherapy. India also followed this strategy by introducing MDA in the historically known endemic areas. All other areas, which remained unsurveyed, were presumed to be nonendemic and left without any intervention. Therefore, identification of LF transmission risk areas in the entire country has become essential so that they can be targeted for intervention. A geo-environmental risk model (GERM) developed earlier was used to create a filariasis transmission risk map for India. In this model, a Standardized Filariasis Transmission Risk Index (SFTRI, based on geo-environmental risk variables) was used as a predictor of transmission risk. The relationship between SFTRI and endemicity (historically known) of an area was quantified by logistic regression analysis. The quantified relationship was validated by assessing the filarial antigenemia status of children living in the unsurveyed areas through a ground truth study. A significant positive relationship was observed between SFTRI and the endemicity of an area. Overall, the model prediction of filarial endemic status of districts was found to be correct in 92.8% of the total observations. Thus, among the 190 districts hitherto unsurveyed, as many as 113 districts were predicted to be at risk, and the remaining at no risk. The GERM developed on geographic information system (GIS) platform is useful for LF spatial delimitation on a macrogeographic/regional scale. Furthermore, the risk map developed will be useful for the national LF elimination program by identifying areas at risk for intervention and for undertaking surveillance in no-risk areas.

  17. Report to Congress on the U.S. Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program: Research funded and its linkages to environmental cleanup problems, and Environmental Management Science Program research award abstracts. Volume 2 of 3 -- Appendix B

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    The Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) serves as a catalyst for the application of scientific discoveries to the development and deployment of technologies that will lead to reduction of the costs and risks associated with cleaning up the nation`s nuclear complex. Appendix B provides details about each of the 202 research awards funded by the EMSP. This information may prove useful to researchers who are attempting to address the Department`s environmental management challenges in their work, program managers who are planning, integrating, and prioritizing Environmental Management projects, and stakeholders and regulators who are interested in the Department`smore » environmental challenges. The research award information is organized by the state and institution in which the lead principal investigator is located. In many cases, the lead principal investigator is one of several investigators at a number of different institutions. In these cases, the lead investigator (major collaborator) at each of the additional institutions is listed. Each research award abstract is followed by a list of high cost projects that can potentially be impacted by the research results. High cost projects are Environmental Management projects that have total costs greater than $50 million from the year 2007 and beyond, based on the March 1998 Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure Draft data, and have costs or quantities of material associated with an Environmental Management problem area. High cost projects which must remain active in the year 2007 and beyond to manage high risk are also identified. Descriptions of these potentially related high cost Environmental Management projects can be found in Appendix C. Additional projects in the same problem area as a research award can be located using the Index of High Cost Environmental Management Projects by Problem Area, at the end of Appendices B and C.« less

  18. At-Risk Students Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montana Office of Public Instruction, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Montana's definition of a basic system of quality public elementary and secondary schools includes educational programs for at-risk students (20-9-309, MCA). State statute defines an at-risk student as a "student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's…

  19. At-Risk Students Fact Sheet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montana Office of Public Instruction, 2016

    2016-01-01

    Montana's definition of a basic system of quality public elementary and secondary schools includes educational programs for at-risk students (20-9-309, MCA). State statute defines an at-risk student as a "student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's…

  20. 75 FR 76982 - Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS); Announcement of Availability of Literature Searches...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-10

    ... quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may result from exposure to specific chemical...), Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460; telephone... human health assessment program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects...

  1. 77 FR 20817 - Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS); Announcement of Availability of Literature Searches...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-06

    ... quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may result from exposure to specific chemical... Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment, (mail code: 8601D), Office of Research and... program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may result from...

  2. 77 FR 41784 - Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS); Announcement of Availability of Literature Searches...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-16

    ... health assessment program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that..., National Center for Environmental Assessment, (mail code: 8601P), Office of Research and Development, U.S... quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may result from exposure to specific chemical...

  3. The dilemma in prioritizing chemicals for environmental analysis: known versus unknown hazards.

    PubMed

    Anna, Sobek; Sofia, Bejgarn; Christina, Rudén; Magnus, Breitholtz

    2016-08-10

    A major challenge for society is to manage the risks posed by the many chemicals continuously emitted to the environment. All chemicals in production and use cannot be monitored and science-based strategies for prioritization are essential. In this study we review available data to investigate which substances are included in environmental monitoring programs and published research studies reporting analyses of chemicals in Baltic Sea fish between 2000 and 2012. Our aim is to contribute to the discussion of priority settings in environmental chemical monitoring and research, which is closely linked to chemical management. In total, 105 different substances or substance groups were analyzed in Baltic Sea fish. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the most studied substances or substance groups. The majority, 87%, of all analyses comprised 20% of the substances or substance groups, whereas 46 substance groups (44%) were analyzed only once. Almost three quarters of all analyses regarded a POP-substance (persistent organic pollutant). These results demonstrate that the majority of analyses on environmental contaminants in Baltic Sea fish concern a small number of already regulated chemicals. Legacy pollutants such as POPs pose a high risk to the Baltic Sea due to their hazardous properties. Yet, there may be a risk that prioritizations for chemical analyses are biased based on the knowns of the past. Such biases may lead to society failing in identifying risks posed by yet unknown hazardous chemicals. Alternative and complementary ways to identify priority chemicals are needed. More transparent communication between risk assessments performed as part of the risk assessment process within REACH and monitoring programs, and information on chemicals contained in consumer articles, would offer ways to identify chemicals for environmental analysis.

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The goal of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Underground Coal Conversion (UCC) program is to develop the technology to produce clean fuels from coal deposits that are unsuitable for commercial exploitation by conventional mining techniques. The highest priority is to develop and demonstrate, in conjunction with industry, a commercially feasible process for underground gasification of low-rank coal in the 1985 to 1987 time period. The DOE program has stimulated industry interest and activity in developing UCC technology. Several major energy corporations and utilities have invested private funds in UCC research and development (R and D) projects. Results of themore » program to date indicate that, while UCC is technically feasible, it still contains some process unknowns, environmental risks, and economic risks that require R and D. In order to contribute to the national energy goals, a strong DOE program that incorporates maximum industry involvement is planned. The program's strategy is to remove the high-risk elements of UCC by resolving technical, environmental, and economic uncertainties. This will enable industry to assume responsibility for commercialization of the technology. Thus, the elements of the program have been designed to: provide detailed design and operational data that industry can scale-up with confidence; provide accurate and complete cost estimates that can be scaled-up and will allow comparison with alternative processes; provide detailed environmental impact and control data to allow industry to implement projects that will meet applicable standards; verify the reliability of continuous operation of UCC processes; and show that UCC processes have the flexibility to meet a variety of commercial needs.« less

  5. Exposure to Hazardous Chemical Substances--A Major Campus Environmental Health & Safety Concern.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Donald A.; Sorensen, Alfred J.

    1980-01-01

    A broad spectrum of potentially hazardous chemicals offers serious exposure risks to members of college and university communities. A formal program is needed to minimize exposure to these substances and maintain a prevention oriented protective program. The University of Massachusetts has developed such a program. (JN)

  6. Final Environmental Assessment of the Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-Off Missile (JASSM) Development and Evaluation Testing, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-12-01

    Explosive Test Site Program Definition and Risk Reduction Permissible Exposure Limit Program Executive Office Propellants, Explosives, and...each test vehicle is flown in the captive mode and critical systems are functioned to further remove risk of failure due to the flight environment...of other inferior missiles would require a larger number of missiles, at increased procurement costs and risk to aircraft and crew, in order to

  7. [Fetal programming and the etiology of osteoporosis].

    PubMed

    Pieńkowski, Wojciech; Wolski, Hubert; Drews, Krzysztof; Seremak-Mrozikiewicz, Agnieszka

    2015-08-01

    Osteoporosis is a multifactorial skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, resulting in increased risk of fracture. Peak bone mass is an important predictor of later risk of osteoporosis. Epidemiological studies revealed that the risk of osteoporosis might be modified by exposure to environmental factors during intrauterine life and early postnatal period. This review summarizes the influence of fetal programming on the development of osteoporosis based on the epidemiological studies and potential mechanisms of epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

  8. The EPA's Human Exposure Research Program for Assessing Cumulative Risk in Communities

    EPA Science Inventory

    Communities are faced with challenges in identifying and prioritizing environmental issues, taking actions to reduce their exposures, and determining their effectiveness for reducing human health risks. Additional challenges include determining what scientific tools are available...

  9. 10 CFR 300.11 - Independent verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... verifiers, and has been empowered to make decisions relevant to the provision of a verification statement... methods; and (v) Risk assessment and methodologies and materiality analysis procedures outlined by other... Accreditation Board program for Environmental Management System auditors (ANSI-RAB-EMS); Board of Environmental...

  10. 10 CFR 300.11 - Independent verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... verifiers, and has been empowered to make decisions relevant to the provision of a verification statement... methods; and (v) Risk assessment and methodologies and materiality analysis procedures outlined by other... Accreditation Board program for Environmental Management System auditors (ANSI-RAB-EMS); Board of Environmental...

  11. 40 CFR 192.21 - Criteria for applying supplemental standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... standards. 192.21 Section 192.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAMS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR URANIUM AND THORIUM MILL... a clear and present risk of injury to workers or to members of the public, notwithstanding...

  12. 1987 Oak Ridge model conference: Proceedings: Volume 2, Environmental protection

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1987-01-01

    See the abstract for Volume I for general information on the conference. Topics discussed in Volume II include data management techiques for environmental protection efforts, the use of models in environmental auditing, in emergency plans, chemical accident emergency response, risk assessment, monitoring of waste sites, air and water monitoring of waste sites, and in training programs. (TEM)

  13. Applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process to Oil Sands Environmental Compliance Risk Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roux, Izak Johannes, III

    Oil companies in Alberta, Canada, invested $32 billion on new oil sands projects in 2013. Despite the size of this investment, there is a demonstrable deficiency in the uniformity and understanding of environmental legislation requirements that manifest into increased project compliance risks. This descriptive study developed 2 prioritized lists of environmental regulatory compliance risks and mitigation strategies and used multi-criteria decision theory for its theoretical framework. Information from compiled lists of environmental compliance risks and mitigation strategies was used to generate a specialized pairwise survey, which was piloted by 5 subject matter experts (SMEs). The survey was validated by a sample of 16 SMEs, after which the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank a total of 33 compliance risks and 12 mitigation strategy criteria. A key finding was that the AHP is a suitable tool for ranking of compliance risks and mitigation strategies. Several working hypotheses were also tested regarding how SMEs prioritized 1 compliance risk or mitigation strategy compared to another. The AHP showed that regulatory compliance, company reputation, environmental compliance, and economics ranked the highest and that a multi criteria mitigation strategy for environmental compliance ranked the highest. The study results will inform Alberta oil sands industry leaders about the ranking and utility of specific compliance risks and mitigations strategies, enabling them to focus on actions that will generate legislative and public trust. Oil sands leaders implementing a risk management program using the risks and mitigation strategies identified in this study will contribute to environmental conservation, economic growth, and positive social change.

  14. OVERVIEW OF EPA'S LANDSCAPE SCIENCE PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development's National Exposure Research Laboratory has expanded it's ecological research program to include the development of landscape metrics and indicators to assess ecological risk and...

  15. OVERVIEW OF EPA'S LANDSCAPE SCIENCES PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development's National Exposure Research Laboratory has expanded it's ecological research program to include the development of landscape metrics and indicators to assess ecological risk and...

  16. Final Environmental Assessment for Capital Improvements Program (CIP) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-06-01

    which play a predominant role in protecting and preserving the national interests of the United States of America . The Proposed Action is needed...Additionally, potential health and safety impacts that could disproportionately affect children will be considered under the guidelines established by...EO 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. In a policy formulated to address EO 13084, Consultation and

  17. An Earthling to an Astronaut: Medical Challenges

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davis, Jeffrey R.

    2011-01-01

    Humans can travel safely into space in low Earth orbit (LEO) or to near-Earth objects if several medical, physiological, environmental, and human factors issues risks are mitigated. Research must be performed in order to set standards in these four areas, and current NASA standards are contained in the Space Flight Human System Standards volumes 1 and 2, and crew medical certification standards. These three sets of standards drive all of the clinical, biomedical research and environmental technology development for the NASA human space flight program. These standards also drive the identification of specific risks to crew health and safety, and we currently manage 65 human system risks within the human space flight program. Each risk has a specific program of research, technology development, and development of operational procedures to mitigate the risks. Some of the more important risks tat will be discussed in this talk include exposure to radiation, behavioral health due to confinement in a closed cabin, physiological changes such as loss of bone, muscle and exercise capability, reduction in immune system capability, environmental threats of maintaining an adequate atmosphere and water for drinking, avoidance of toxic or infectious material, protection of hearing, and human factors issues of equipment and task design. A nutritious and varied food supply must also be provided. All of these risks will be discussed and current strategies for mitigating these risks for long-duration human space flight. In mitigating these 65 human system risks, novel approaches to problem solving must be employed to find the most appropriate research and technology based applications. Some risk mitigations are developed internally to NASA while others are found through research grants, technology procurements, and more recently open innovation techniques to seek solutions from the global technical community. Examples and results will be presented from all of these approaches including the more recent use of prizes to stimulate innovation.

  18. Medical University of South Carolina Environmental Hazards Assessment Program. Deliverables: Volume 3, Annual report, July 1, 1993--June 30, 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-08-18

    This reference is concerned with the Crossroads of Humanity workshop which is part of the Environmental Hazards Assessment Program at the Medical University of South Carolina. This workshop was held during the month of June and July 1994. Topics discussed include: Perceived Risk Advisory Committee Meeting, surveys of public opinion about hazardous and radioactive materials, genetics,antibodies, and regulatory agencies.

  19. BEHAVIOR OF PERSISTENT BIOACCUMULATIVE TOXICANTS IN FISH EARLY LIFE STAGES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Whether through environmental criteria or site-specific risk assessments, many EPA programs rely on linking environmental exposures to levels of adverse effect (or no effect) in fish and wildlife. While empirical relationships of exposure to effect can be used for such assessmen...

  20. 40 CFR 82.176 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Applicability. 82.176 Section 82.176 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) PROTECTION OF... environmental and human health risk associated with the use of any class I or class II substitute. (7...

  1. 40 CFR 82.176 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Applicability. 82.176 Section 82.176 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) PROTECTION OF... environmental and human health risk associated with the use of any class I or class II substitute. (7...

  2. 40 CFR 82.176 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Applicability. 82.176 Section 82.176 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) PROTECTION OF... environmental and human health risk associated with the use of any class I or class II substitute. (7...

  3. INTEGRATING INDICATORS OF ECOLOGICAL CONDITION, STRESSOR EXPOSURE, AND QUALITY OF LIFE TOWARDS AN ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL VULNERABILITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) Program is developing and evaluating approaches to integrate information on environmental condition, estimated stressor exposures, and quality of life indicators so that regional risks can be prioritized...

  4. The EPA CompTox Chemistry Dashboard - an online resource for environmental chemists (ACS Spring Meeting)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Computational Toxicology Program integrates advances in biology, chemistry, and computer science to help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. This work involves computational and data drive...

  5. A PROJECTION OF URBAN GROWTH IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Regional Vulnerability Assessment Program(ReVA) is designed to develop and demonstrate approaches to identify the ecosystems at the greatest risk from regional population growth and economic activity. As part of this program, a cellular...

  6. Notification: Fiscal Year 2015 Risk Assessment of EPA's Purchase Card and Convenience Check Programs

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Project #OA-FY15-0064, August 26, 2015. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office oflnspector General (OIG) plans to begin the preliminary research phase ofauditing the agency's purchase card and convenience check programs.

  7. Implementing An Asthma Home Visit Program

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This guide offers health care organizations step-by-step instructions on how to start an asthma home visit program, with emphasis on environmental risk factor management. Representatives from seven health care plans share their experiences and recommendations. EPA 402-K-05-006.

  8. 40 CFR 68.185 - Certification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Certification. 68.185 Section 68.185 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.185 Certification. (a) For Program 1 processes...

  9. Situating Hazard Vulnerability: People's Negotiations with Wildfire Environments in the U.S. Southwest

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Timothy W.; Bolin, Bob

    2009-09-01

    This article is based on a multimethod study designed to clarify influences on wildfire hazard vulnerability in Arizona’s White Mountains, USA. Findings reveal that multiple factors operating across scales generate socially unequal wildfire risks. At the household scale, conflicting environmental values, reliance on fire insurance and firefighting institutions, a lack of place dependency, and social vulnerability (e.g., a lack of financial, physical, and/or legal capacity to reduce risks) were found to be important influences on wildfire risk. At the regional-scale, the shift from a resource extraction to environmental amenity-based economy has transformed ecological communities, produced unequal social distributions of risks and resources, and shaped people’s social and environmental interactions in everyday life. While working-class locals are more socially vulnerable than amenity migrants to wildfire hazards, they have also been more active in attempting to reduce risks in the aftermath of the disastrous 2002 Rodeo-Chediski fire. Social tensions between locals and amenity migrants temporarily dissolved immediately following the disaster, only to be exacerbated by the heightened perception of risk and the differential commitment to hazard mitigation displayed by these groups over a 2-year study period. Findings suggest that to enhance wildfire safety, environmental managers should acknowledge the environmental benefits associated with hazardous landscapes, the incentives created by risk management programs, and the specific constraints to action for relevant social groups in changing human-environmental context.

  10. Situating hazard vulnerability: people's negotiations with wildfire environments in the U.S. southwest.

    PubMed

    Collins, Timothy W; Bolin, Bob

    2009-09-01

    This article is based on a multimethod study designed to clarify influences on wildfire hazard vulnerability in Arizona's White Mountains, USA. Findings reveal that multiple factors operating across scales generate socially unequal wildfire risks. At the household scale, conflicting environmental values, reliance on fire insurance and firefighting institutions, a lack of place dependency, and social vulnerability (e.g., a lack of financial, physical, and/or legal capacity to reduce risks) were found to be important influences on wildfire risk. At the regional-scale, the shift from a resource extraction to environmental amenity-based economy has transformed ecological communities, produced unequal social distributions of risks and resources, and shaped people's social and environmental interactions in everyday life. While working-class locals are more socially vulnerable than amenity migrants to wildfire hazards, they have also been more active in attempting to reduce risks in the aftermath of the disastrous 2002 Rodeo-Chediski fire. Social tensions between locals and amenity migrants temporarily dissolved immediately following the disaster, only to be exacerbated by the heightened perception of risk and the differential commitment to hazard mitigation displayed by these groups over a 2-year study period. Findings suggest that to enhance wildfire safety, environmental managers should acknowledge the environmental benefits associated with hazardous landscapes, the incentives created by risk management programs, and the specific constraints to action for relevant social groups in changing human-environmental context.

  11. Human health risk constrained naphthalene-contaminated groundwater remediation management through an improved credibility method.

    PubMed

    Li, Jing; Lu, Hongwei; Fan, Xing; Chen, Yizhong

    2017-07-01

    In this study, a human health risk constrained groundwater remediation management program based on the improved credibility is developed for naphthalene contamination. The program integrates simulation, multivariate regression analysis, health risk assessment, uncertainty analysis, and nonlinear optimization into a general framework. The improved credibility-based optimization model for groundwater remediation management with consideration of human health risk (ICOM-HHR) is capable of not only effectively addressing parameter uncertainties and risk-exceeding possibility in human health risk but also providing a credibility level that indicates the satisfaction of the optimal groundwater remediation strategies with multiple contributions of possibility and necessity. The capabilities and effectiveness of ICOM-HHR are illustrated through a real-world case study in Anhui Province, China. Results indicate that the ICOM-HHR would generate double remediation cost yet reduce approximately 10 times of the naphthalene concentrations at monitoring wells, i.e., mostly less than 1 μg/L, which implies that the ICOM-HHR usually results in better environmental and health risk benefits. And it is acceptable to obtain a better environmental quality and a lower health risk level with sacrificing a certain economic benefit.

  12. United States Air Force Personalized Medicine and Advanced Diagnostics Program Panel: Representative Research at the San Antonio Military Medical Center

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-20

    Health Sciences Education (GHSC) [SGS O&M]; SGS R&D; Tri-Service Nursing Research Program (TSNRP); Defense Medical Research & Development Program...and environmental risk and protective factors, such as those associated with socia l-occupational impairment , sleep deprivation, and resiliency

  13. 78 FR 51719 - Draft Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene: In Support of the Summary Information in the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-21

    ... Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this... Program is a human health assessment program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information... IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-based human health assessments to support the...

  14. An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors on forest ecosystem services

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  15. An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors on multiple ecosystem services

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  16. EVALUATION OF ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN 17 NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDIES REPORT

    EPA Science Inventory

    From 1988 through 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (EPA-RREL) and the New Jersey Department of Health's Environmental Health Service (NJDOH-EHS) conducted studies in 17 schools in New Jersey to evaluate their asbestos manageme...

  17. EVALUATION OF ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN 17 NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS - A CASE STUDIES REPORT

    EPA Science Inventory

    From 1988 through 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (EPA-RREL) and the New Jersey Department of Health's Environmental Health Service (NJDOH-EHS) conducted studies in 17 schools in New Jersey to evaluate their asbestos manageme...

  18. 40 CFR 35.290 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants State Indoor Radon Grants (section 306) § 35.290 Purpose. (a) Purpose... mitigate radon and that aim at reducing radon health risks. State Indoor Radon Grant funds may be used for...

  19. 77 FR 5010 - Notice of Availability of Memorandum of Understanding Between U.S. Environmental Protection...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-01

    ...: aminopyralid, fluroxpyr, and rimsulfuron. The BLM is conducting human health and ecological risk assessments to... together to support and facilitate reviewing pesticide regulatory activities under the Federal Insecticide... and Resources Management Division (7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection...

  20. Clean Air Program : summary assessment of the safety, health, environmental and system risks of alternative fuel

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-08-01

    This is a handbook of safety, health, and the environmental issues of the production, bulk transport, and bult storage of alternative fuels with emphasis on transport and storage. Fuels included are: 1) compressed natural gas, 2) liquefied natural ga...

  1. EPA'S REGIONAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: TOOLS TO FACILITATE REGIONAL TO LOCAL DECISION-MAKING

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) program is developing and testing approaches to conducting comparative environmental risk assessments at the regional scale, considering impacts to ecological human, and fiscal health endpoints. It seeks an objective and quantifiable...

  2. Environmental surveillance at Los Alamos during 2009

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fuehne, David; Poff, Ben; Hjeresen, Denny

    2010-09-30

    Environmental Surveillance at Los Alamos reports are prepared annually by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (the Laboratory) environmental organization, as required by US Department of Energy Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and US Department of Energy Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting. These annual reports summarize environmental data that are used to determine compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, executive orders, and departmental policies. Additional data, beyond the minimum required, are also gathered and reported as part of the Laboratory’s efforts to ensure public safety and to monitor environmental quality at and nearmore » the Laboratory. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Laboratory’s major environmental programs and explains the risks and the actions taken to reduce risks at the Laboratory from environmental legacies and waste management operations. Chapter 2 reports the Laboratory’s compliance status for 2009. Chapter 3 provides a summary of the maximum radiological dose the public and biota populations could have potentially received from Laboratory operations and discusses chemical exposures. The environmental surveillance and monitoring data are organized by environmental media (air in Chapter 4; water and sediments in Chapters 5 and 6; soils in Chapter 7; and foodstuffs and biota in Chapter 8) in a format to meet the needs of a general and scientific audience. Chapter 9 provides a summary of the status of environmental restoration work around LANL. The new Chapter 10 describes the Laboratory’s environmental stewardship efforts and provides an overview of the health of the Rio Grande. A glossary and a list of acronyms and abbreviations are in the back of the report. Appendix A explains the standards for environmental contaminants, Appendix B explains the units of measurements used in this report, Appendix C describes the Laboratory’s technical areas and their associated programs, and Appendix D provides web links to more information.« less

  3. 78 FR 25942 - J.R. Simplot Co.; Availability of Petition for Determination of Nonregulated Status of Potato...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-03

    ... acrylamide potential (acrylamide is a human neurotoxicant and potential carcinogen that may form in potatoes.... Rebecca Stankiewicz Gabel, Chief, Biotechnology Environmental Analysis Branch, Environmental Risk Analysis Programs, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236...

  4. Invited seminar, University of North Texas: An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  5. Invited OSU class lecture: An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors on multiple ecosystem services

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  6. An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors on forest ecosystem services - ESRP mtg

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  7. An integrated eco-hydrologic modeling framework for assessing the effects of interacting stressors on multiple ecosystem services - 4/27/10

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Ecosystem Services Research Program to help formulate methods and models for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that quantify how multiple ecosystem services interact and respond in concert to environmental ...

  8. SADA: A FREEWARE DECISION SUPPORT TOOL INTEGRATING GIS, SAMPLE DESIGN, SPATIAL MODELING AND RISK ASSESSMENT (SLIDE PRESENTATION)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) is a Windows freeware program that incorporates tools from environmental assessment into an effective problem-solving environment. SADA was developed by the Institute for Environmental Modeling at the University of Tennessee and inc...

  9. MEETING IN CZECH REPUBLIC: SADA: A FREEWARE DECISION SUPPORT TOOL INTEGRATING GIS, SAMPLE DESIGN, SPATIAL MODELING, AND RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) is a Windows freeware program that incorporates tools from environmental assessment into an effective problem-solving environment. SADA was developed by the Institute for Environmental Modeling at the University of Tennessee and inc...

  10. SYNOPSIS OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RESIDENTIAL REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER ALTERNATIVE REFRIGERANTS EVALUATION PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper is a recapitulation of the experimental testing at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's NRMRL's (National Risk Management Research Laboratory's) Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division on residential refrigerator/freezers (R/Fs). R/F testing at the NRMRL lab...

  11. Comptox Chemistry Dashboard: Web-Based Data Integration Hub for Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology Data (ACS Fall meeting 4 of 12)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Computational Toxicology Program integrate advances in biology, chemistry, exposure and computer science to help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. This work involves computational and da...

  12. An Overview of Exposure Assessment Models Used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

    EPA Science Inventory

    Models are often used in addition to or in lieu of monitoring data to estimate environmental concentrations and exposures for use in risk assessments or epidemiological studies, and to support regulatory standards and voluntary programs (Jayjock et al., 2007; US EPA, 1989, 1992)....

  13. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vogt, B.M.; Sorensen, J.H.

    The CSEPP (Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program) was created to improve emergency planning and response capabilities at the eight sites around the country that store chemical weapons. These weapons are scheduled to be destroyed in the near future. In preparation of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), it was proposed that the Army mitigate accidents through an enhanced community emergency preparedness program at the eight storage sites. In 1986, the Army initiated the development of an Emergency Response Concept Plan (ERCP) for the CSDP, one of 12 technical support studies conducted duringmore » preparation of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS). The purpose of this document is to provide a fairly comprehensive source book on risk, risk management, risk communication research and recommended risk communication practices. It does not merely summarize each publication in the risk communication literature, but attempts to synthesize them along the lines of a set of organizing principles. Furthermore, it is not intended to duplicate other guidance manuals (such as Covello et al.`s manual on risk comparison). The source book was developed for the CSEPP in support of the training module on risk communications. Although the examples provided are specific to CSEPP, its use goes beyond that of CSEPP as the findings apply to a broad spectrum of risk communication topics. While the emphasis is on communication in emergency preparedness and response specific to the CSEPP, the materials cover other non-emergency communication settings. 329 refs.« less

  14. Environmental Assessment for Management of South End of Runway Wetlands, Moody AFB, Georgia

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    implement a management program for the wetlands at the south end of runway (EOR) at Moody AFB to reduce the bird/wildlife aircraft strike hazard (BASH) risk...because birds and other wildlife pose an increased bird/wildlife aircraft strike hazard (BASH) risk to aircraft utilizing the Moody AFB airfield. ln...support ofthe military mission, Moody AFB has implemented a BASH management program designed to minimize aircraft exposure to potentially hazardous

  15. Students perceived stress in academic programs: consequences for its management.

    PubMed

    Neveu, D; Doron, J; Visier, L; Boiché, J; Trouillet, R; Dujols, P; Ninot, G

    2012-08-01

    Academic stress contributes to the deterioration of the students' quality of life. Psychological determinants involved in the stress process, trait anxiety and coping, have been neglected when assessing the role of academic programs in stress. This study aimed at determining whether academic programs are associated with a high level of perceived stress above and beyond potential personal and environmental risk factors, as well as coping strategies. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009 among third-year medical (total n=170, participants 88%), dental (n=63, 94%), psychology (n=331, 61%) and sports sciences (n=312, 55%) students in Montpellier (France). The stress level experienced during the last 2months, trait anxiety and coping strategies were appraised. Substance use, psychological care, and stress triggers were also collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Compared with medicine and after adjusting for gender and age, only the sports program was associated with a lower perceived stress risk: adjusted odds ratio: 0.54 [95% Confidence interval: 0.30; 0.99]. Substantial reductions in perceived stress risks were observed in science students after additional adjustments for non-academic stress triggers, substance use, psychological care (adjusted odds ratio: 0.20 [95% Confidence interval: 0.09; 0.41]), and also for trait anxiety and coping strategies (adjusted odds ratio: 0.23 [95% Confidence interval: 0.10; 0.54]). Compared with medicine and after these additional adjustments, psychology had a significantly lower perceived stress risk (0.34 [0.18; 0.64]; 0.40 [0.19; 0.86], respectively), dentistry had a similar risk (0.82 [0.35; 1.91]; 0.53 [0.20; 1.43], respectively). Sports and psychology programs had a lower perceived stress risk compared with medicine. Personal and environmental risk factors and coping strategies modified the association between academic program and perceived stress. Developing efficient coping strategies in students and improving academic environment could contribute to prevent the potential deleterious consequences of stress. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Of Malthus and Methuselah: does longevity treatment aggravate global catastrophic risks?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jebari, Karim

    2014-12-01

    Global catastrophic risk is a term that refers to the risk of the occurrence of an event that kills at least millions of people across several continents. While it has been argued by a number of scholars that one major potential risk comes from technology, the obscure nature of future technologies makes it difficult to utilize traditional probabilistic risk for the meaningful study of these risks. This article describes an alternative approach and applies it to a research program that has attracted a considerable amount of resources recently: namely longevity research. The aim of this research is to delay or reverse the ageing process. This article argues that this research program is much more risky or less beneficial than its proponents argue. In particular, they tend to underestimate the concerns associated with the potentially drastic population growth that longevity treatment could cause. The ethical benefit often ascribed to longevity treatment is that such treatment would add more subjective life-years that are worth living. However, in light of contemporary environmental problems, such an increase of the human population might be reckless. Drastically reducing fertility to reduce risks associated with environmental stress would make the benefits of such technology much less compelling.

  17. Environmental Health Risk Assessment of Dioxin Exposure through Foods in a Dioxin Hot Spot—Bien Hoa City, Vietnam

    PubMed Central

    Tuyet-Hanh, Tran Thi; Vu-Anh, Le; Ngoc-Bich, Nguyen; Tenkate, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    This study used the Australian Environmental Health Risk Assessment Framework to assess the human health risk of dioxin exposure through foods for local residents in two wards of Bien Hoa City, Vietnam. These wards are known hot-spots for dioxin and a range of stakeholders from central government to local levels were involved in this process. Publications on dioxin characteristics and toxicity were reviewed and dioxin concentrations in local soil, mud, foods, milk and blood samples were used as data for this risk assessment. A food frequency survey of 400 randomly selected households in these wards was conducted to provide data for exposure assessment. Results showed that local residents who had consumed locally cultivated foods, especially fresh water fish and bottom-feeding fish, free-ranging chicken, duck, and beef were at a very high risk, with their daily dioxin intake far exceeding the tolerable daily intake recommended by the WHO. Based on the results of this assessment, a multifaceted risk management program was developed and has been recognized as the first public health program ever to have been implemented in Vietnam to reduce the risks of dioxin exposure at dioxin hot-spots. PMID:20623031

  18. Risk-based Prioritization of Facility Decommissioning and Environmental Restoration Projects in the National Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program at the Chalk River Laboratory - 13564

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nelson, Jerel G.; Kruzic, Michael; Castillo, Carlos

    2013-07-01

    Chalk River Laboratory (CRL), located in Ontario Canada, has a large number of remediation projects currently in the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP), including hundreds of facility decommissioning projects and over one hundred environmental remediation projects, all to be executed over the next 70 years. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) utilized WorleyParsons to prioritize the NLLP projects at the CRL through a risk-based prioritization and ranking process, using the WorleyParsons Sequencing Unit Prioritization and Estimating Risk Model (SUPERmodel). The prioritization project made use of the SUPERmodel which has been previously used for other large-scale site prioritization and sequencing ofmore » facilities at nuclear laboratories in the United States. The process included development and vetting of risk parameter matrices as well as confirmation/validation of project risks. Detailed sensitivity studies were also conducted to understand the impacts that risk parameter weighting and scoring had on prioritization. The repeatable prioritization process yielded an objective, risk-based and technically defendable process for prioritization that gained concurrence from all stakeholders, including Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) who is responsible for the oversight of the NLLP. (authors)« less

  19. Intergenerational equity and environmental restoration cleanup levels.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hocking, E. K.; Environmental Assessment

    2001-01-01

    The United States Department of Energy environmental restoration program faces difficult decisions about the levels of cleanup to be achieved at its many contaminated sites and has acknowledged the need for considering intergenerational equity in its decision making. Intergenerational equity refers to the fairness of access to resources across generations. Environmental restoration cleanup levels can have unintended and unfair consequences for future generations access to resources. The potentially higher costs associated with using low, non-risk-based cleanup levels for remediation may divert funding from other activities that could have a greater beneficial impact on future generations. Low, non-risk-based cleanup levels couldmore » also result in more damage to the nation's resources than would occur if a higher cleanup level were used. The loss or impairment of these resources could have an inequitable effect on future generations. However, intergenerational inequity could arise if sites are not completely restored and if access to and use of natural and cultural resources are unfairly limited as a result of residual contamination. In addition to concerns about creating possible intergenerational inequities related to selected cleanup levels, the tremendous uncertainties associated with sites and their restoration can lead site planners to rely on stewardship by default. An ill-conceived stewardship program can contribute to intergenerational inequity by limiting access to resources while passing on risks to future generations and not preparing them for those risks. This paper presents a basic model and process for designing stewardship programs that can achieve equity among generations.« less

  20. Understanding and managing health and environmental risks of CIS, CGS, and CdTe photovoltaic module production and use: A workshop

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Moskowitz, P.D.; Zweibel, K.; DePhillips, M.P.

    1994-04-28

    Environmental, health and safety (EH&S) risks presented by CIS, CGS and CdTe photovoltaic module production, use and decommissioning have been reviewed and discussed by several authors. Several EH&S concerns exit. The estimated EH&S risks are based on extrapolations of toxicity, environmental mobility, and bioavailability data for other related inorganic compounds. Sparse data, however, are available for CIS, CGS or CdTe. In response to the increased interest in these materials, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has been engaged in a cooperative research program with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solid State Technology (IFT), the Institute of Ecotoxicitymore » of the GSF Forschungszentrum fair Umwelt und Gesundheit, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to develop fundamental toxicological and environmental data for these three compounds. This workshop report describes the results of these studies and describes their potential implications with respect to the EH&S risks presented by CIS, CGS, and CdTe module production, use and decommissioning.« less

  1. EXAMINING REGIONAL LAND USE CHANGE: THE COMMUNITY GROWTH MODEL (CGM)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Regional Vulnerability Assessment
    Program (ReV A) is designed to develop and demonstrate approaches to identify the ecosystems at the greatest risk from regional population growth and economic activity.
    As part of this program, ...

  2. The EPA's human exposure research program for assessing cumulative risk in communities.

    PubMed

    Zartarian, Valerie G; Schultz, Bradley D

    2010-06-01

    Communities are faced with challenges in identifying and prioritizing environmental issues, taking actions to reduce their exposures, and determining their effectiveness for reducing human health risks. Additional challenges include determining what scientific tools are available and most relevant, and understanding how to use those tools; given these barriers, community groups tend to rely more on risk perception than science. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and collaborators are developing and applying tools (models, data, methods) for enhancing cumulative risk assessments. The NERL's "Cumulative Communities Research Program" focuses on key science questions: (1) How to systematically identify and prioritize key chemical stressors within a given community?; (2) How to develop estimates of exposure to multiple stressors for individuals in epidemiologic studies?; and (3) What tools can be used to assess community-level distributions of exposures for the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of risk reduction strategies? This paper provides community partners and scientific researchers with an understanding of the NERL research program and other efforts to address cumulative community risks; and key research needs and opportunities. Some initial findings include the following: (1) Many useful tools exist for components of risk assessment, but need to be developed collaboratively with end users and made more comprehensive and user-friendly for practical application; (2) Tools for quantifying cumulative risks and impact of community risk reduction activities are also needed; (3) More data are needed to assess community- and individual-level exposures, and to link exposure-related information with health effects; and (4) Additional research is needed to incorporate risk-modifying factors ("non-chemical stressors") into cumulative risk assessments. The products of this research program will advance the science for cumulative risk assessments and empower communities with information so that they can make informed, cost-effective decisions to improve public health.

  3. Measurement and Modeling of Ecosystem Risk and Recovery for In Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediments

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-08-01

    Hydrocarbons in Petroleum- Impacted Sediments." Environmental Science & Technology 47(2): 1024-1032. Choi, Y., Y. M. Cho, et al. (2013). "Measurement and...4020 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Strategic Environmental Research and Development...was prepared under contract to the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The publication of this

  4. State trends in ecological risk assessment and standard setting

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Siegel, M R; Fowler, K M; Bilyard, G R

    1993-02-01

    The purposes of this paper are (1) to identify key states' activities and plans related to setting cleanup standards using the ecological risk assessment process, and (2) to discuss the impacts these actions may have on the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) environmental restoration program. This report is prepared as part of a larger task, the purpose of which is to identify and assess state regulatory trends and legal developments that may impact DOE's environmental restoration program. Results of this task are intended to provide DOE with advance notice of potentially significant regulatory developments so as to enhance DOE's abilitymore » to influence these developments and to incorporate possible regulatory and policy changes into its planning process.« less

  5. Geological investigations and hydrogeologic model development in support of DoD and DOE environmental programs on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, U.S.A.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gibson, J.D.; Pratt, G.; Davidson, H.

    This paper presents results of preliminary geologic site characterization and hydrogeologic conceptual model development for the 250-km{sup 2} Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) and associated lands in central New Mexico. The research, development, and other operational activities of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) on KAFB over the last 50 years have resulted in diverse hazardous, radioactive, and mixed-waste environmental concerns. Because multiple federal, state, and local agencies are responsible for administrating the involved lands and because of the nature of many U.S. environmental regulations, individual contaminated and potentially contaminated DoD and DOE environmental restoration (ER)more » sites on KAFB are commonly handled as distinct entities with little consideration for the cumulative environmental and health risk from all sites. A site-wide characterization program has been undertaken at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM), under the auspices of the DOE, to construct a conceptual hydrogeologic model for the base. This conceptual model serves as the basis for placing each ER site into a broader context for evaluating background (i.e., non-contaminated) conditions and for modeling of possible contaminant pathways and travel-times. Regional and local hydrogeologic investigations from KAFB can be used as models for characterizing and evaluating other sites around the world where combined civilian and military environmental programs must work together to resolve environmental problems that may present health risks to workers and the general public.« less

  6. A conceptual framework for the design of environmental post-market monitoring of genetically modified plants.

    PubMed

    Sanvido, Olivier; Widmer, Franco; Winzeler, Michael; Bigler, Franz

    2005-01-01

    Genetically modified plants (GMPs) may soon be cultivated commercially in several member countries of the European Union (EU). According to EU Directive 2001/18/EC, post-market monitoring (PMM) for commercial GMP cultivation must be implemented, in order to detect and prevent adverse effects on human health and the environment. However, no general PMM strategies for GMP cultivation have been established so far. We present a conceptual framework for the design of environmental PMM for GMP cultivation based on current EU legislation and common risk analysis procedures. We have established a comprehensive structure of the GMP approval process, consisting of pre-market risk assessment (PMRA) as well as PMM. Both programs can be distinguished conceptually due to principles inherent to risk analysis procedures. The design of PMM programs should take into account the knowledge gained during approval for commercialization of a specific GMP and the decisions made in the environmental risk assessments (ERAs). PMM is composed of case-specific monitoring (CSM) and general surveillance. CSM focuses on anticipated effects of a specific GMP. Selection of case-specific indicators for detection of ecological exposure and effects, as well as definition of effect sizes, are important for CSM. General surveillance is designed to detect unanticipated effects on general safeguard subjects, such as natural resources, which must not be adversely affected by human activities like GMP cultivation. We have identified clear conceptual differences between CSM and general surveillance, and propose to adopt separate frameworks when developing either of the two programs. Common to both programs is the need to put a value on possible ecological effects of GMP cultivation. The structure of PMM presented here will be of assistance to industry, researchers, and regulators, when assessing GMPs during commercialization.

  7. Analysis of Data in Accordance with Space Flight Mission Environmental Requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shei, Monica

    2011-01-01

    The Environmental Assurance Program sets forth standards to ensure that all flight hardware is compatible with the environments that will be encountered during a spacecraft mission. It outlines the design, test and analysis, and risk control standards for the mission and certifies that it will survive in any external or self-induced environments that the spacecraft may experience. The Environmental Requirements Document (ERD) is the most important document in the Environmental Assurance Program, providing the design and test requirements for the project's flight system, subsystems, assemblies, and instruments. This summer's project was to assist Environmental Requirements Engineers (ERE's) in completing the Environmental Assurance Program Summary Report for both the Juno Project and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project. The Summary Report is a document summarizing the environmental tests and analyses of each spacecraft at both the assembly and system level. It compiles a source of all relevant information such as waivers and Problem/Failure Reports (PFRs) into a single report for easy reference of how well the spacecraft met the requirements of the project.

  8. DARTAB: a program to combine airborne radionuclide environmental exposure data with dosimetric and health effects data to generate tabulations of predicted health impacts

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Begovich, C.L.; Eckerman, K.F.; Schlatter, E.C.

    1981-08-01

    The DARTAB computer code combines radionuclide environmental exposure data with dosimetric and health effects data to generate tabulations of the predicted impact of radioactive airborne effluents. DARTAB is independent of the environmental transport code used to generate the environmental exposure data and the codes used to produce the dosimetric and health effects data. Therefore human dose and risk calculations need not be added to every environmental transport code. Options are included in DARTAB to permit the user to request tabulations by various topics (e.g., cancer site, exposure pathway, etc.) to facilitate characterization of the human health impacts of the effluents.more » The DARTAB code was written at ORNL for the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation Programs.« less

  9. Estimating the burden of disease attributable to four selected environmental risk factors in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Norman, Rosana; Bradshaw, Debbie; Lewin, Simon; Cairncross, Eugene; Nannan, Nadine; Vos, Theo

    2010-01-01

    The first South African National Burden of Disease study quantified the underlying causes of premature mortality and morbidity experienced in South Africa in the year 2000. This was followed by a Comparative Risk Assessment to estimate the contributions of 17 selected risk factors to burden of disease in South Africa. This paper describes the health impact of exposure to four selected environmental risk factors: unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene; indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels; urban outdoor air pollution and lead exposure. The study followed World Health Organization comparative risk assessment methodology. Population-attributable fractions were calculated and applied to revised burden of disease estimates (deaths and disability adjusted life years, [DALYs]) from the South African Burden of Disease study to obtain the attributable burden for each selected risk factor. The burden attributable to the joint effect of the four environmental risk factors was also estimated taking into account competing risks and common pathways. Monte Carlo simulation-modeling techniques were used to quantify sampling, uncertainty. Almost 24 000 deaths were attributable to the joint effect of these four environmental risk factors, accounting for 4.6% (95% uncertainty interval 3.8-5.3%) of all deaths in South Africa in 2000. Overall the burden due to these environmental risks was equivalent to 3.7% (95% uncertainty interval 3.4-4.0%) of the total disease burden for South Africa, with unsafe water sanitation and hygiene the main contributor to joint burden. The joint attributable burden was especially high in children under 5 years of age, accounting for 10.8% of total deaths in this age group and 9.7% of burden of disease. This study highlights the public health impact of exposure to environmental risks and the significant burden of preventable disease attributable to exposure to these four major environmental risk factors in South Africa. Evidence-based policies and programs must be developed and implemented to address these risk factors at individual, household, and community levels.

  10. The Relationship Between the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Common Externalizing Psychopathology and Mental Wellbeing

    PubMed Central

    Kendler, Kenneth S.; Myers, John M.; Keyes, Corey L. M.

    2012-01-01

    To determine the relationship between the genetic and environmental risk factors for externalizing psychopathology and mental wellbeing, we examined detailed measures of emotional, social and psychological wellbeing, and a history of alcohol-related problems and smoking behavior in the last year in 1,386 individual twins from same-sex pairs from the MIDUS national US sample assessed in 1995. Cholesky decomposition analyses were performed with the Mx program. The best fit model contained one highly heritable common externalizing psychopathology factor for both substance use/abuse measures, and one strongly heritable common factor for the three wellbeing measures. Genetic and environmental risk factors for externalizing psychopathology were both negatively associated with levels of mental wellbeing and accounted for, respectively, 7% and 21% of its genetic and environmental influences. Adding internalizing psychopathology assessed in the last year to the model, genetic risk factors unique for externalizing psychopathology were now positively related to levels of mental wellbeing, although accounting for only 5% of the genetic variance. Environmental risk factors unique to externalizing psychopathology continued to be negatively associated with mental wellbeing, accounting for 26% of the environmental variance. When both internalizing psychopathology and externalizing psychopathology are associated with mental wellbeing, the strongest risk factors for low mental wellbeing are genetic factors that impact on both internalizing psychopathology and externalizing psychopathology, and environmental factors unique to externalizing psychopathology. In this model, genetic risk factors for externalizing psychopathology predict, albeit weakly, higher levels of mental wellbeing. PMID:22506307

  11. U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH STRATEGY

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) has recently released a research strategy to guide its program to improve ecosystem risk assessment and risk management, which is one of the Agency's higheset priority search areas (http://www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/fmal/eco.pdf). It is...

  12. Systematic Review: Concept and Tool Development with Application in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment Process

    EPA Science Inventory

    Systematic Review: Concept and tool development with application to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment Processes. There is growing interest within the environmental health community to incorporate systematic review m...

  13. Interpretation of the Ecological Significance of Atrazine Stream-Water Concentrations Using a Statistically-Designed Monitoring Program

    EPA Science Inventory

    A risk assessment was conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the 2003 Interim Registration Eligibility Document (IRED) on atrazine. The assessment indicated potential community- and population-level risk to sensitive aquatic ecosystems at prolonged ...

  14. SmartWay

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    SmartWay is an EPA program that helps the freight transportation sector improve supply chain efficiency. SmartWay reduces transportation-related emissions, environmental risks for companies and increases global energy security.

  15. [Characterization of the training and practice of human talent working in environmental health in Colombia].

    PubMed

    Agudelo-Calderón, Carlos A; García-Ubaque, Juan C; Robledo-Martínez, Rocío; García-Ubaque, Cesar A; Vaca, Martha L

    2015-07-01

    Objectives To characterize the peculiarities in the training, exercise, and performance of human talent working in environmental health in Colombia. Method Documentary and database reviews. Surveys and semi-structured interviews. Results Approximately 70 % of professionals in the area of environmental health work in health management, food engineering, environmental engineering, sanitary engineering, veterinary medicine, and pharmaceutical chemistry. 63 % of technologists belong to the field of sanitation technology. Only 20 % of surveyed educational institutions apply the competence approach to training to their students and the identification of occupational characteristics in the labor market is only used at the undergraduate level as a criterion of academic analysis and design. Only 20 % of educational institutions identify educational trends in Colombian and or international environmental health as a contribution to their programs. In prospective practices, the following topics to be strengthened were identified: risk factor identfication, measurement, and control; design and implementation of mechanisms for controlling environmental risks; forms of interdisciplinary work between the natural, social and health sciences; preventative and environmental protection measures and the concept of environment (natural, social, and cultural). Conclusion The human talent currently working in environmental health in the country is concentrated in primary care activities (inspection, monitoring and control) and a large spread exists in mission processes and competences, both professionally and technologically. A lack of coordination between the environmental sector and the education sector can be observed. A great diversity exists among the profiles offered by the different educational programs related to environmental health.

  16. Environmental Studies at the Guiana Space Centre

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Richard, Sandrine

    2013-09-01

    The Environmental Commitment of the French Space Agency at the Guiana Space Centre (CNES / CSG) specifies that the environmental protection is a major stake. Consequently, CNES participates in numerous space programs that contribute significantly to a better knowledge, management and protection of our environment at a global scale.The studies and researches that are done at CNES / CSG meet several objectives:* Assessment of safety and environmental effects and risk related to the effects overflowing due to a pollution caused by ground and flight activities* Improvement of the studies related to the knowledge of the environment (flora and fauna monitoring).* Risk assessment and management which may affect the safety of people , property, and protection of public health and environment * Verification of the compliance of the results of impact studies of launch vehicle in flight phase provided by the launch operator (Technical Regulation) with the French Safety Operational Acts.In this note, study and research programs are presented. They allow a better knowledge of the surrounding environment and of impacts caused by the industrial activities done in Guiana Space Center.

  17. Environmental monitoring and research at the John F. Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, C. R.; Hinkle, C. R.; Knott, W. M.; Summerfield, B. R.

    1992-01-01

    The Biomedical Operations and Research Office at the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center has been supporting environmental monitoring and research since the mid-1970s. Program elements include monitoring of baseline conditions to document natural variability in the ecosystem, assessments of operations and construction of new facilities, and ecological research focusing on wildlife habitat associations. Information management is centered around development of a computerized geographic information system that incorporates remote sensing and digital image processing technologies along with traditional relational data base management capabilities. The proactive program is one in which the initiative is to anticipate potential environmental concerns before they occur and, by utilizing in-house expertise, develop impact minimization or mitigation strategies to reduce environmental risk.

  18. Department of Defense Basic Research Program.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-01-01

    25 Environmental Sciences oceanography ........................................................................... 27...budget category and increased emphasis on high- risk , high-payoff, and named Basic Research, most of the effort funded under long-term research was...proximity fue, °.tchooie-o examplsi, radar, theus prxiit fuzenan asrsk purchasing power because of inflation and was risking nuclear weapons, homing

  19. Engaging Communities in Research on Cumulative Risk and Social Stress-Environment Interactions: Lessons Learned from EPA's STAR Program.

    PubMed

    Payne-Sturges, Devon C; Korfmacher, Katrina Smith; Cory-Slechta, Deborah A; Jimenez, Maria; Symanski, Elaine; Carr Shmool, Jessie L; Dotson-Newman, Ogonnaya; Clougherty, Jane E; French, Robert; Levy, Jonathan I; Laumbach, Robert; Rodgers, Kathryn; Bongiovanni, Roseann; Scammell, Madeleine K

    2015-12-01

    Studies have documented cumulative health effects of chemical and nonchemical exposures, particularly chronic environmental and social stressors. Environmental justice groups have advocated for community participation in research that assesses how these interactions contribute to health disparities experienced by low-income and communities of color. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a request for research applications (RFA), "Understanding the Role of Nonchemical Stressors and Developing Analytic Methods for Cumulative Risk Assessments." Seven research projects were funded to help address this knowledge gap. Each engaged with communities in different ways. We describe the community engagement approaches of the seven research projects, which ranged from outreach through shared leadership/participatory. We then assess the experiences of these programs with respect to the community engagement goals of the RFA. We present insights from these community engagement efforts, including how the grants helped to build or enhance the capacity of community organizations in addition to contributing to the research projects. Our analysis of project proposals, annual grantee reports, and participant observation of these seven projects suggests guidelines for the development of future funding mechanisms and for conducting community-engaged research on cumulative risk involving environmental and social stressors including: 1) providing for flexibility in the mode of community engagement; 2) addressing conflict between research timing and engagement needs, 3) developing approaches for communicating about the uniquely sensitive issues of nonchemical stressors and social risks; and 4) encouraging the evaluation of community engagement efforts.

  20. Report: Implementation Plan With Cost Sharing Methodology Needed for Region 8 Senior Environmental Employee Work on Lead Risk Reduction

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Report #13-P-0430, September 24, 2013. The two Region 8 program offices that jointly implement the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program do not have methodology or agreement for sharing SEE funding, which has led to confusion.

  1. Overcoming Barriers to Implementing Outdoor and Environmental Education (Continued): Safety/Legal Liability.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanna, Glenda

    1994-01-01

    A risk management plan for outdoor education programs should include procedures for regular program implementation, as well as rescue, first aid, and accident follow-up procedures. Stresses understanding legal and ethical responsibilities and the importance of sufficient insurance protection. Includes suggestions for dealing with conflicts in…

  2. Green Open Space: Awareness for Health or Sustainability?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dewi, O. C.; Chairunnisa, I.; Hidayat, T.; Anggraini, M.; Napitupulu, A.

    2018-03-01

    Universitas Indonesia in cooperation with American Red Cross and Indonesian Red Cross have been assisting green open space revitalisation program in 7 locations in Bogor Regency (2016-2017). The program was held under The Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Greater Jakarta Project; an initiative program from American Red Cross Indonesia. This project was not only improving the existing green open space quality, but also creating one adapted from public land. The revitalization project figures what happened on daily basis on the existing land, proposing new programming facilities, community-based construction, monitoring and handing over. This paper discovers the meaning of a green space for the community, whether the community aware of its benefit on human health or environmental sustainability. The research question is does the community aware of green open space benefit for human health or environmental sustainability? Or both? The original data from the community was gathered and grouped based on its relevance with environmental quality and public health.

  3. Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program: Benefits of Improving Air Quality in the School Environment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Program to help schools prevent, identify, and resolve their IAQ problems. This publication describes the program and its advantages, explaining that through simple, low-cost measures, schools can: reduce IAQ-related health risks and…

  4. Health-risk appraisal with or without disease management for worksite cardiovascular risk reduction.

    PubMed

    Maron, David J; Forbes, Barbara L; Groves, Jay R; Dietrich, Mary S; Sells, Patrick; DiGenio, Andres G

    2008-01-01

    Worksite health promotion programs use health risk appraisal (HRA) surveys to identify employees at increased risk, then provide a range of interventions to encourage high-risk individuals to improve their health. Our objective was to determine how the intensity of intervention after HRA affected cardiovascular risk after 1 year, comparing individual follow-up counseling with environmental supports. 133 employees of Vanderbilt University with cardiovascular risk factors were randomly assigned to worksite HRA plus targeted disease management (DM group) or HRA plus information about worksite health promotion programs (HRA group). The DM group received longitudinal individualized counseling for risk reduction, whereas the HRA group members received one feedback session about their risk factors and information about free worksite health promotion programs. The main outcome measure was the difference between groups in the change in average Framingham risk score from baseline to 1 year. There was no significant baseline difference between groups in the Framingham risk score. Among DM participants, the mean (SD) Framingham risk score decreased by 22.6%; among HRA participants, the mean score rose by 4.3% (P = .017 for the difference between groups). In this study of employees with cardiovascular risk factors, HRA followed by individual counseling was more effective than providing information about free worksite health promotion programs.

  5. [Clinic of environmental pediatric care in a high complexity hospital].

    PubMed

    Gaioli, Marisa; Amoedo, Diego; González, Daniel

    2014-12-01

    Children environmental health is considered by The World Health Organization as one of the main challenges of Public Health during the Century XXI. They promote the development of programs that allow approaching, disclosure or mitigation of the impact of polluting agents on health at every level of pediatric attention. The Children Hospital "Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan" has created an Environmental Health Office in order to address the demands of those patients with suspected or verified exposure to environmental risks. An Environmental Clinical History has been elaborated with this purpose.

  6. Space Station Freedom Environmental Health Care Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Richard, Elizabeth E.; Russo, Dane M.

    1992-01-01

    The paper discusses the environmental planning and monitoring aspects of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Environmental Health Care Program, which encompasses all phases of the SSF assembly and operation from the first element entry at MB-6 through the Permanent Manned Capability and beyond. Environmental planning involves the definition of acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the radiation dose barothermal parameters and potential contaminants in the SSF air and water and on internal surfaces. Inflight monitoring will be implemented through the Environmental Health System, which consists of five subsystems: Microbiology, Toxicology, Water Quality, Radiation, and Barothermal Physiology. In addition to the environmental data interpretation and analysis conducted after each mission, the new data will be compared to archived data for statistical and long-term trend analysis and determination of risk exposures. Results of these analyses will be used to modify the acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the future.

  7. Retest of a Principal Components Analysis of Two Household Environmental Risk Instruments.

    PubMed

    Oneal, Gail A; Postma, Julie; Odom-Maryon, Tamara; Butterfield, Patricia

    2016-08-01

    Household Risk Perception (HRP) and Self-Efficacy in Environmental Risk Reduction (SEERR) instruments were developed for a public health nurse-delivered intervention designed to reduce home-based, environmental health risks among rural, low-income families. The purpose of this study was to test both instruments in a second low-income population that differed geographically and economically from the original sample. Participants (N = 199) were recruited from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Paper and pencil surveys were collected at WIC sites by research-trained student nurses. Exploratory principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted, and comparisons were made to the original PCA for the purpose of data reduction. Instruments showed satisfactory Cronbach alpha values for all components. HRP components were reduced from five to four, which explained 70% of variance. The components were labeled sensed risks, unseen risks, severity of risks, and knowledge. In contrast to the original testing, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) items was not a separate component of the HRP. The SEERR analysis demonstrated four components explaining 71% of variance, with similar patterns of items as in the first study, including a component on ETS, but some differences in item location. Although low-income populations constituted both samples, differences in demographics and risk exposures may have played a role in component and item locations. Findings provided justification for changing or reducing items, and for tailoring the instruments to population-level risks and behaviors. Although analytic refinement will continue, both instruments advance the measurement of environmental health risk perception and self-efficacy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Gender Differences Among Young Drivers in the Association Between High-Risk Driving and Substance Use/Environmental Influences*

    PubMed Central

    ELLIOTT, MICHAEL R.; SHOPE, JEAN T.; RAGHUNATHAN, TRIVELLORE E.

    2006-01-01

    Objective: The primary aim of this article is to assess young dirvers' gender differences in the associations between substance use/environmental influences and high-risk driving behavior. Method: We determine the association of 12th-grade self-reported substance use/environmental influences with high-risk driving behavior as quantified by the number of offenses, serious offenses, crashes, and single-vehicle crashes on state driving records during subjects' (N = 3,607; 51% male) first 4 years of licensure. Results: The associations between high-risk driving and substance use/environmental influences were generally stronger among women than among men. When matched by substance-use profiles, women had fewer risky-driving incidents than men. Conclusions: The results indicate that young women who exhibit high-risk driving behavior deviate more from the general population of young women with respect to alcohol use, alcohol misuse, and marijuana use than high-risk-driving young men differ from other young men. In addition, findings indicate that even if young men and women were to eventually have equal levels of substance use, women would likely retain their lower-risk driving profiles. These findings suggest the need for (1) future research to understand the differential associations, and (2) prevention programs that consider these gender differences. PMID:16562407

  9. Environmental Surveillance at Los Alamos during 2007

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    Environmental Surveillance at Los Alamos reports are prepared annually by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (the Laboratory) Environmental Directorate, as required by US Department of Energy Order 450.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and US Department of Energy Order 231.1A, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting. These annual reports summarize environmental data that are used to determine compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, executive orders, and departmental policies. Additional data, beyond the minimum required, are also gathered and reported as part of the Laboratory’s efforts to ensure public safety and to monitor environmental quality at and nearmore » the Laboratory. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Laboratory’s major environmental programs and explains the risks and the actions taken to reduce risks at the Laboratory from environmental legacies and waste management operations. Chapter 2 reports the Laboratory’s compliance status for 2007. Chapter 3 provides a summary of the maximum radiological dose the public and biota populations could have potentially received from Laboratory operations and discusses chemical exposures. The environmental surveillance and monitoring data are organized by environmental media (Chapter 4, air; Chapters 5 and 6, water and sediments; Chapter 7, soils; and Chapter 8, foodstuffs and biota) in a format to meet the needs of a general and scientific audience. Chapter 9 provides a summary of the status of environmental restoration work around LANL. A glossary and a list of acronyms and abbreviations are in the back of the report. Appendix A explains the standards for environmental contaminants, Appendix B explains the units of measurements used in this report, Appendix C describes the laboratory’s technical areas and their associated programs, and Appendix D provides web links to more information. In printed copies of this report or Executive Summary, we have also enclosed a compact disc with a copy of the full report in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) form and detailed supplemental tables of data from 2007 in Microsoft Excel format. These files are also available for download from the web (http://www.lanl.gov/community-environment/environmental- stewardship/environmental-report.php).« less

  10. Report to Congress on the U.S. Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program: Research funded and its linkages to environmental cleanup problems, and high out-year cost environmental management project descriptions. Volume 3 of 3 -- Appendix C

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1998-04-01

    The Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) serves as a catalyst for the application of scientific discoveries to the development and deployment of technologies that will lead to reduction of the costs and risks associated with cleaning up the nation`s nuclear complex. Appendix C provides details about each of the Department`s 82 high cost projects and lists the EMSP research awards with potential to impact each of these projects. The high cost projects listed are those having costs greater than $50 million in constant 1998 dollars from the year 2007 and beyond, based on the March 1998 Acceleratingmore » Cleanup: Paths to Closure Draft data, and having costs of quantities of material associated with an environmental management problem area. The high cost project information is grouped by operations office and organized by site and project code. Each operations office section begins with a list of research needs associated with that operations office. Potentially related research awards are listed by problem area in the Index of Research Awards by Environmental Management Problem Area, which can be found at the end of appendices B and C. For projects that address high risks to the public, workers, or the environment, refer also the Health/Ecology/Risk problem area awards. Research needs are programmatic or technical challenges that may benefit from knowledge gained through basic research.« less

  11. Screening-Level Ecological Risk Assessment Methods, Revision 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mirenda, Richard J.

    2012-08-16

    This document provides guidance for screening-level assessments of potential adverse impacts to ecological resources from release of environmental contaminants at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory). The methods presented are based on two objectives, namely: to provide a basis for reaching consensus with regulators, managers, and other interested parties on how to conduct screening-level ecological risk investigations at the Laboratory; and to provide guidance for ecological risk assessors under the Environmental Programs (EP) Directorate. This guidance promotes consistency, rigor, and defensibility in ecological screening investigations and in reporting those investigation results. The purpose of the screening assessmentmore » is to provide information to the risk managers so informed riskmanagement decisions can be made. This document provides examples of recommendations and possible risk-management strategies.« less

  12. Perception of Environmental Risks and Health Promotion Attitudes of French Perinatal Health Professionals.

    PubMed

    Marie, Cécile; Lémery, Didier; Vendittelli, Françoise; Sauvant-Rochat, Marie-Pierre

    2016-12-18

    The exposure of pregnant women to environmental contaminants is a subject of international concern. However, the risk perception of these contaminants by health professionals (HP) has not been extensively investigated. The main objective of the PERI-HELPE study (Perception of Risk-HEaLth Professionals & Environment Study) was to assess the risk perception of environmental exposure of pregnant women by perinatal HPs. The secondary objectives were to describe the preventive attitudes of perinatal HPs concerning chemicals exposure of pregnant women and to identify the barriers to preventive attitude. A cross-sectional study was performed in 2015 in France. One hundred eighty-nine HPs (obstetricians, midwives, and general practitioners) replied to an online self-administered questionnaire (participation rate: 11%). Carbon monoxide, pesticides and lead were the contaminants most frequently perceived as a high risk for pregnant women. A minority of HPs asked women about their chemical exposure and advised them to reduce exposure. The lack of information, training and scientific evidence in environmental health were the main difficulties declared by the HPs to advise pregnant women. Despite the low response rate, our findings provide important information to encourage French health authorities to take into account the difficulties encountered by HPs and set up appropriate training programs in Environmental health.

  13. Building a co-created citizen science program with gardeners neighboring a superfund site: The Gardenroots case study

    PubMed Central

    Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D; Brusseau, Mark L; Artiola, Janick; Maier, Raina M; Gandolfi, A Jay

    2014-01-01

    A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, give low priority to the development of a comprehensive communication strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. Objective To demonstrate how a research program can respond to a community research need, establish a community-academic partnership, and build a co-created citizen science program. Methods A place-based, community-driven project was designed where academics and community members maintained a reciprocal dialogue, and together, we: 1) defined the question for study, 2) gathered information, 3) developed hypotheses, 3) designed data collection methodologies, 4) collected environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and vegetables), 5) interpreted data, 6) disseminated results and translated results into action, and 7) discussed results and asked new questions. Results The co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels). Public participation in scientific research improved environmental health assessment, information transfer, and risk communication efforts. Furthermore, incorporating the community in the scientific process produced both individual learning outcomes and community-level outcomes. Conclusions This approach illustrates the benefits of a community-academic co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a contaminated site. Such a project can increase the community's involvement in risk communication and decision-making, which ultimately has the potential to help mitigate exposure and thereby reduce associated risk. PMID:25954473

  14. Building a co-created citizen science program with gardeners neighboring a superfund site: The Gardenroots case study.

    PubMed

    Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D; Brusseau, Mark L; Artiola, Janick; Maier, Raina M; Gandolfi, A Jay

    2015-01-01

    A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, give low priority to the development of a comprehensive communication strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. To demonstrate how a research program can respond to a community research need, establish a community-academic partnership, and build a co-created citizen science program. A place-based, community-driven project was designed where academics and community members maintained a reciprocal dialogue, and together, we: 1) defined the question for study, 2) gathered information, 3) developed hypotheses, 3) designed data collection methodologies, 4) collected environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and vegetables), 5) interpreted data, 6) disseminated results and translated results into action, and 7) discussed results and asked new questions. The co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels). Public participation in scientific research improved environmental health assessment, information transfer, and risk communication efforts. Furthermore, incorporating the community in the scientific process produced both individual learning outcomes and community-level outcomes. This approach illustrates the benefits of a community-academic co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a contaminated site. Such a project can increase the community's involvement in risk communication and decision-making, which ultimately has the potential to help mitigate exposure and thereby reduce associated risk.

  15. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in Water Treatment Plant considering Environmental Health and Safety Practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Falakh, Fajrul; Setiani, Onny

    2018-02-01

    Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is an important infrastructure to ensure human health and the environment. In its development, aspects of environmental safety and health are of concern. This paper case study was conducted at the Water Treatment Plant Company in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Hazard identification and risk assessment is one part of the occupational safety and health program at the risk management stage. The purpose of this study was to identify potential hazards using hazard identification methods and risk assessment methods. Risk assessment is done using criteria of severity and probability of accident. The results obtained from this risk assessment are 22 potential hazards present in the water purification process. Extreme categories that exist in the risk assessment are leakage of chlorine and industrial fires. Chlorine and fire leakage gets the highest value because its impact threatens many things, such as industrial disasters that could endanger human life and the environment. Control measures undertaken to avoid potential hazards are to apply the use of personal protective equipment, but management will also be better managed in accordance with hazard control hazards, occupational safety and health programs such as issuing work permits, emergency response training is required, Very useful in overcoming potential hazards that have been determined.

  16. An inexact chance-constrained programming model for water quality management in Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China.

    PubMed

    Xie, Y L; Li, Y P; Huang, G H; Li, Y F; Chen, L R

    2011-04-15

    In this study, an inexact-chance-constrained water quality management (ICC-WQM) model is developed for planning regional environmental management under uncertainty. This method is based on an integration of interval linear programming (ILP) and chance-constrained programming (CCP) techniques. ICC-WQM allows uncertainties presented as both probability distributions and interval values to be incorporated within a general optimization framework. Complexities in environmental management systems can be systematically reflected, thus applicability of the modeling process can be highly enhanced. The developed method is applied to planning chemical-industry development in Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China. Interval solutions associated with different risk levels of constraint violation have been obtained. They can be used for generating decision alternatives and thus help decision makers identify desired policies under various system-reliability constraints of water environmental capacity of pollutant. Tradeoffs between system benefits and constraint-violation risks can also be tackled. They are helpful for supporting (a) decision of wastewater discharge and government investment, (b) formulation of local policies regarding water consumption, economic development and industry structure, and (c) analysis of interactions among economic benefits, system reliability and pollutant discharges. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Violence prevention at work. A business perspective.

    PubMed

    Wilkinson, C W

    2001-02-01

    The risk of workplace violence varies depending on the type and location of the business. Business managers should assess violence risk and develop a program based on the level of risk faced by their employees. This assessment should include: (1) a review of workplace security and identification of positions with increased risk of exposure to violence, (2) risk reduction through environmental design and employee training, (3) development of a plan and identification of professional resources to respond to incidents should they occur, and (4) communication of the employer's commitment to providing a safe work environment for employees. For most businesses, threat assessment and management comprise the cornerstone of a workplace violence-prevention program. Planning and preparation are key to workplace violence prevention.

  18. In Vitro and Modeling Approaches to Risk Assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ToxCast Program

    EPA Science Inventory

    A significant challenge in toxicology is the “too many chemicals” problem. Humans and environmental species are exposed to as many as tens of thousands of chemicals, only a small percentage of which have been tested thoroughly using standard in vivo test methods. This paper revie...

  19. Forecasting Exposure in Order to Use High Throughput Hazard Data in a Risk-based Context (WC9)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The ToxCast program and Tox21 consortium have evaluated over 8000 chemicals using in vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) to identify potential hazards. Complementary exposure science needed to assess risk, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s ExpoCast initiative...

  20. INTEGRATING ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS IN WATERSHEDS: A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH AND THREE CASE STUDIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This document reports on a program of research to investigate the integration of ecological risk assessment (ERA) and economics, with an emphasis on the watershed as the scale for analysis. In 1993, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated watershed ERA (W-ERA) in five...

  1. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Vol. 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie (Editor)

    2008-01-01

    This is an exciting new chapter for the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). The Principal Center's past successes have created new opportunities for partnership and technology implementation. TEERM is continuing to support the current NASA Programs while reaching out and offering our assistance and experience to Constellation. NASA has also assumed Chairmanship responsibility of the Joint Group on Pollution Prevention (JG-PP) and Chairmanship of the JG-PP Working Group (WG). Both JG-PP and TEERM strive to improve mission readiness and reduce risk to personnel and assets by solving joint problems through cooperation. JG-PP and TEERM not only show our commitment to environmental stewardship, but also our commitment to fiscal responsibility.

  2. Tryon Trekkers: An Evaluation of a STEM Based Afterschool Program for At-Risk Youth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckels Anderson, Chessa

    This study contributed to the body of research that supports a holistic model of afterschool learning through the design of an afterschool intervention that benefits elementary school students of low socioeconomic status. This qualitative study evaluated a science focused afterschool curriculum that was designed using principles from Risk and Resiliency Theory, academic motivation theories, science core ideas from the Next Generation Science Standards, and used environmental education philosophy. The research question of this study is: how does an outdoor and STEM based afterschool program impact at-risk students' self-efficacy, belonging and engagement and ability to apply conceptual knowledge of environmental science topics? The study collected information about the participants' affective experiences during the intervention using structured and ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews. Observations and interviews were coded and analyzed to find patterns in participants' responses. Three participant profiles were developed using the structured observations and ethnographic observations to provide an in depth understanding of the participant experience. The study also assessed the participants' abilities to apply conceptual understanding of the program's science topics by integrating an application of conceptual knowledge task into the curriculum. This task in the form of a participant project was assessed using an adapted version of the Portland Metro STEM Partnership's Application of Conceptual Knowledge Rubric. Results in the study showed that participants demonstrated self-efficacy, a sense of belonging and engagement during the program. Over half of the participants in the study demonstrated a proficient understanding of program concepts. Overall, this holistic afterschool program demonstrated that specific instructional practices and a multi-modal science curriculum helped to support the social and emotional needs of at-risk children.

  3. Navajo Uranium Education Programs: The Search for Environmental Justice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Charley, Perry H.; Dawson, Susan E.; Madsen, Gary E.; Spykerman, Bryan R.

    2004-01-01

    Uranium mining and milling in the Four Corners' area of the American Southwest has had serious negative impacts on American Indian workers, their families, and their communities. In this article, we will examine Navajo education programs which inform citizens about risks and health impacts associated with radiation exposures. Because the Navajo…

  4. Endocrine disrupting chemicals research program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: summary of a peer-review report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Harding, Anna K.; Daston, George P.; Boyd, Glen R.; Lucier, George W.; Safe, Stephen H.; Stewart, Juarine; Tillitt, Donald E.; Van Der Kraak, Glen

    2006-01-01

    At the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development, a subcommittee of the Board of Scientific Counselors Executive Committee conducted an independent and open peer review of the Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Research Program (EDC Research Program) of the U.S. EPA. The subcommittee was charged with reviewing the design, relevance, progress, scientific leadership, and resources of the program. The subcommittee found that the long-term goals and science questions in the EDC Program are appropriate and represent an understandable and solid framework for setting research priorities, representing a combination of problem-driven and core research. Long-term goal (LTG) 1, dealing with the underlying science surrounding endocrine disruptors, provides a solid scientific foundation for conducting risk assessments and making risk management decisions. LTG 2, dealing with defining the extent of the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), has shown greater progress on ecologic effects of EDCs compared with that on human health effects. LTG 3, which involves support of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Program of the U.S. EPA, has two mammalian tests already through a validation program and soon available for use. Despite good progress, we recommend that the U.S. EPA a) strengthen their expertise in wildlife toxicology, b) expedite validation of the Endocrine Disruptors Screening and Testing Advisory Committee tests, c) continue dependable funding for the EDC Research Program, d) take a leadership role in the application of “omics” technologies to address many of the science questions critical for evaluating environmental and human health effects of EDCs, and e) continue to sponsor multidisciplinary intramural research and interagency collaborations.

  5. Committee to evaluate Sandia`s risk expertise: Final report. Volume 1: Presentations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dudley, E.C.

    1998-05-01

    On July 1--2, 1997, Sandia National Laboratories hosted the External Committee to Evaluate Sandia`s Risk Expertise. Under the auspices of SIISRS (Sandia`s International Institute for Systematic Risk Studies), Sandia assembled a blue-ribbon panel of experts in the field of risk management to assess their risk programs labs-wide. Panelists were chosen not only for their own expertise, but also for their ability to add balance to the panel as a whole. Presentations were made to the committee on the risk activities at Sandia. In addition, a tour of Sandia`s research and development programs in support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commissionmore » was arranged. The panel attended a poster session featuring eight presentations and demonstrations for selected projects. Overviews and viewgraphs from the presentations are included in Volume 1 of this report. Presentations are related to weapons, nuclear power plants, transportation systems, architectural surety, environmental programs, and information systems.« less

  6. Using GRACE-Derived Water and Moisture Products as a Predictive Tool for Fire Response in the Contiguous United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rousseau, N. J.; Jensen, D.; Zajic, B.; Rodell, M.; Reager, J. T., II

    2015-12-01

    Understanding the relationship between wildfire activity and soil moisture in the United States has been difficult to assess, with limited ability to determine areas that are at high risk. This limitation is largely due to complex environmental factors at play, especially as they relate to alternating periods of wet and dry conditions, and the lack of remotely-sensed products. Recent drought conditions and accompanying low Fuel Moisture Content (FMC) have led to disastrous wildfire outbreaks causing economic loss, property damage, and environmental degradation. Thus, developing a programmed toolset to assess the relationship between soil moisture, which contributes greatly to FMC and fire severity, can establish the framework for determining overall wildfire risk. To properly evaluate these parameters, we used data assimilated from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and data from the Fire Program Analysis fire-occurrence database (FPA FOD) to determine the extent soil moisture affects fire activity. Through these datasets, we produced correlation and regression maps at a coarse resolution of 0.25 degrees for the contiguous United States. These fire-risk products and toolsets proved the viability of this methodology, allowing for the future incorporation of more GRACE-derived water parameters, MODIS vegetation indices, and other environmental datasets to refine the model for fire risk. Additionally, they will allow assessment to national-scale early fire management and provide responders with a predictive tool to better employ early decision-support to areas of high risk during regions' respective fire season(s).

  7. Health and Environmental Research: Summary of Accomplishments. Volume 2

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    1986-08-01

    This is an account of some of the accomplishments of the health and environmental research program performed in national laboratories, universities, and research institutes. Both direct and indirect societal benefits emerged from the new knowledge provided by the health and environmental research program. In many cases, the private sector took this knowledge and applied it well beyond the mission of supporting the defense and energy needs of the Nation. Industrial and medical applications, for example, have in several instances provided annual savings to society of $100 million or more. The form of this presentation is, in fact, through "snapshots" - examples of significant, tangible accomplishments in each of the areas at certain times to illustrate the role and impact of the research program. The program's worth is not necessarily confined to such accomplishments; it extends, rather, to its ability to identify and help solve potential health and environmental problems before they become critical. This anticipatory mission has been pursued with an approach that combines applied problem solving with a commitment to fundamental research that is long-term and high-risk. The narrative of this research program concludes with a perspective of its past and a prospectus on its future.

  8. Update on a Pharmacokinetic-Centric Alternative Tier II Program for MMT—Part I: Program Implementation and Lessons Learned

    PubMed Central

    Dorman, David C.; Andersen, Melvin E.; Roper, Jerry M.; Taylor, Michael D.

    2012-01-01

    Concerns have been raised regarding environmental manganese exposure since high exposures have been associated with neurological disorders. The USA Environmental Protection Agency most recent human health risk assessment of inhaled manganese conducted in 1993 identified specific areas of uncertainty regarding manganese pharmacokinetics. This led to the development of a test rule under the USA Clean Air Act that required the generation of pharmacokinetic information on the inorganic manganese combustion products of the organometallic fuel additive methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT). The Alternative Tier 2 testing program for MMT, described in this paper, has yielded substantial pharmacokinetic data and has enabled the generation of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for manganese. These models are capable of predicting tissue manganese concentrations across a variety of dose routes, levels, and durations while accounting for factors such as age, gender, and reproductive status, enabling the consideration of tissue dosimetry in future risk assessments. PMID:22545047

  9. 49 CFR 237.31 - Adoption of bridge management programs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... prevent the deterioration of railroad bridges by preserving their capability to safely carry the traffic to be operated over them, and reduce the risk of human casualties, environmental damage, and...

  10. 49 CFR 237.31 - Adoption of bridge management programs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... prevent the deterioration of railroad bridges by preserving their capability to safely carry the traffic to be operated over them, and reduce the risk of human casualties, environmental damage, and...

  11. 49 CFR 237.31 - Adoption of bridge management programs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... prevent the deterioration of railroad bridges by preserving their capability to safely carry the traffic to be operated over them, and reduce the risk of human casualties, environmental damage, and...

  12. Superfund: Contaminated Sediments

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Contaminated sediments are a significant environmental problem and contribute to the over 3,200 fish consumption advisories nationwide. The Superfund program cleans up sediment sites that present an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.

  13. Environmental risk assessment of selected pharmaceuticals in Turkey.

    PubMed

    Oğuz, Merve; Mihçiokur, Hamdi

    2014-07-01

    In this study, environmental risks of selected pharmaceuticals were investigated to assess potential hazards. Ciprofloxacin, Clarithromycin, Cefuroxime axetil, antibiotics, Benzalkoniuman antiseptic, Paracetamol, an analgesic, and Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory, were selected due to their high rate of usage in Turkey. Ciprofloxacin was found to have the highest risk due to its high PEC/PNEC ratio (28.636). Benzalkonium, Paracetamol and Clarithromycin have a potential to cause environmental hazards. The biodegradation and biological concentration factors (BCF) of the drugs were also determined using EPA/STWIN and EPA/BCFWIN programs. The results illustrated that these pharmaceuticals are nonbiodegradable in wastewater treatment plants. The BCFs of Benzalkonium and Clarithromycin were found to be very high, 70.790 L/kg and 56.490 L/kg, respectively. It was suggested that alternative treatment methods other than biological ones should be investigated for these pharmaceuticals because of their low biodegradability. Also, unnecessary use of antibiotics is supposed to be discouraged to reduce environmental hazards. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Engaging Communities in Research on Cumulative Risk and Social Stress-Environment Interactions: Lessons Learned from EPA's STAR Program

    PubMed Central

    Korfmacher, Katrina Smith; Cory-Slechta, Deborah A.; Jimenez, Maria; Symanski, Elaine; Carr Shmool, Jessie L.; Dotson-Newman, Ogonnaya; Clougherty, Jane E.; French, Robert; Levy, Jonathan I.; Laumbach, Robert; Rodgers, Kathryn; Bongiovanni, Roseann; Scammell, Madeleine K.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Studies have documented cumulative health effects of chemical and nonchemical exposures, particularly chronic environmental and social stressors. Environmental justice groups have advocated for community participation in research that assesses how these interactions contribute to health disparities experienced by low-income and communities of color. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a request for research applications (RFA), “Understanding the Role of Nonchemical Stressors and Developing Analytic Methods for Cumulative Risk Assessments.” Seven research projects were funded to help address this knowledge gap. Each engaged with communities in different ways. We describe the community engagement approaches of the seven research projects, which ranged from outreach through shared leadership/participatory. We then assess the experiences of these programs with respect to the community engagement goals of the RFA. We present insights from these community engagement efforts, including how the grants helped to build or enhance the capacity of community organizations in addition to contributing to the research projects. Our analysis of project proposals, annual grantee reports, and participant observation of these seven projects suggests guidelines for the development of future funding mechanisms and for conducting community-engaged research on cumulative risk involving environmental and social stressors including: 1) providing for flexibility in the mode of community engagement; 2) addressing conflict between research timing and engagement needs, 3) developing approaches for communicating about the uniquely sensitive issues of nonchemical stressors and social risks; and 4) encouraging the evaluation of community engagement efforts. PMID:27688822

  15. Alzheimer disease is substantially preventable in the United States -- review of risk factors, therapy, and the prospects for an expert software system.

    PubMed

    Jansson, Erik T

    2005-01-01

    Epidemiology studies, including both regional incidence and the analysis of specific risk factors for Alzheimer's disease indicate that substantial prevention of the disease, in the 50-70 percent range, is a practical possibility for the United States. Epidemiology has identified a rich diversity of specific prevention strategies relating to nutrition, dietary supplements, lifestyle, food and environmental toxins, and in some cases medication, many of which have a capacity to reduce Alzheimer's risk by 50 percent or more. The interaction of these risk factors with brain biology is increasingly understood. In contrast, therapeutic strategies for un-prevented Alzheimer's generally prove incapable of delaying disease progression by more than 3-11 months, because extensive brain cell death occurs even in preclinical or mild cases. A public health program aimed at prevention can be fashioned with expert software packages, based on already identified risk factors. Such statistical analysis should allow the prediction of individual and group Alzheimer's risks of sufficient power to instruct the formulation of lifestyle, nutritional and environmental programs to substantially reduce disease incidence. A less satisfactory but complementary alternative is very early disease detection with therapeutic strategies focused on retardation of brain cell death, so that the person dies of another cause before the disease is clinically manifested.

  16. EPA OIG Strategic Plan for 2012 - 2016

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    We plan our work with the goals of influencing resolution of the EPA’s major management challenges, reducing risk, improving program operations, and saving taxpayer dollars, leading to positive human health and environmental impacts.

  17. Second Quarter Report Environmental Biosciences Program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2002-10-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

  18. Environmental Biosciences Program Third Quarter Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2003-01-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

  19. MUSC Environmental Biosciences Program First Quarter Report May - June, 2002

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr

    2002-07-31

    In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

  20. U.S. EPA Superfund Program's Policy for Risk and Dose Assessment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Walker, Stuart

    2008-01-15

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) has primary responsibility for implementing the long-term (non-emergency) portion of a key U.S. law regulating cleanup: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, CERCLA, nicknamed 'Superfund'. The purpose of the Superfund program is to protect human health and the environment over the long term from releases or potential releases of hazardous substances from abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The focus of this paper is on risk and dose assessment policies and tools for addressing radioactively contaminated sites by the Superfund program. EPA has almost completedmore » two risk assessment tools that are particularly relevant to decommissioning activities conducted under CERCLA authority. These are the: 1. Building Preliminary Remediation Goals for Radionuclides (BPRG) electronic calculator, and 2. Radionuclide Outdoor Surfaces Preliminary Remediation Goals (SPRG) electronic calculator. EPA developed the BPRG calculator to help standardize the evaluation and cleanup of radiologically contaminated buildings at which risk is being assessed for occupancy. BPRGs are radionuclide concentrations in dust, air and building materials that correspond to a specified level of human cancer risk. The intent of SPRG calculator is to address hard outside surfaces such as building slabs, outside building walls, sidewalks and roads. SPRGs are radionuclide concentrations in dust and hard outside surface materials. EPA is also developing the 'Radionuclide Ecological Benchmark' calculator. This calculator provides biota concentration guides (BCGs), also known as ecological screening benchmarks, for use in ecological risk assessments at CERCLA sites. This calculator is intended to develop ecological benchmarks as part of the EPA guidance 'Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Process for Designing and Conducting Ecological Risk Assessments'. The calculator develops ecological benchmarks for ionizing radiation based on cell death only.« less

  1. Facing tomorrow's challenges: U.S. Geological Survey science in the decade 2007-2017

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2007-01-01

    - A National Hazards, Risk, and Resilience Assessment Program: Ensuring the Long-Term Health and Wealth of the Nation - The Role of Environment and Wildlife in Human Health: A System that Identifies Environmental Risk to Public Health in America - A Water Census of the United States: Quantifying, Forecasting, and Securing Freshwater for America's Future

  2. Workplace Interventions to Reduce Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk

    PubMed Central

    Thorndike, Anne N.

    2012-01-01

    The worksite is ideal for implementing interventions to reduce obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors. Although worksite health promotion is not new, employer-sponsored wellness programs have become more widespread due to the rising prevalence and high cost of obesity. Over the past two decades, employers and researchers focused efforts on individual-based programs to change employees’ nutrition and exercise behaviors, but more recently, the worksite environment has been targeted. Overall, there is good evidence that individual-based worksite programs can produce modest weight loss, but the evidence for effects on other risk factors and on long-term health outcomes and costs is inconsistent. There is less evidence for the benefit of environmental-based interventions, and more data will be needed to establish conclusions about the benefits of these types of interventions. A major challenge for employers and researchers in the future will be to find the balance between effectiveness and economic viability of worksite wellness programs. PMID:22708000

  3. Workplace Interventions to Reduce Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk.

    PubMed

    Thorndike, Anne N

    2011-02-01

    The worksite is ideal for implementing interventions to reduce obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors. Although worksite health promotion is not new, employer-sponsored wellness programs have become more widespread due to the rising prevalence and high cost of obesity. Over the past two decades, employers and researchers focused efforts on individual-based programs to change employees' nutrition and exercise behaviors, but more recently, the worksite environment has been targeted. Overall, there is good evidence that individual-based worksite programs can produce modest weight loss, but the evidence for effects on other risk factors and on long-term health outcomes and costs is inconsistent. There is less evidence for the benefit of environmental-based interventions, and more data will be needed to establish conclusions about the benefits of these types of interventions. A major challenge for employers and researchers in the future will be to find the balance between effectiveness and economic viability of worksite wellness programs.

  4. Global E-Learning Opportunity for U.S. Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hezel Associates (NJ3), 2005

    2005-01-01

    E-learning is the fastest-growing sub-sector of a $2.3 trillion global education market, and the market for online higher education is estimated to exceed $69 billion by 2015. One way to minimize risk in marketing and selling courses and programs overseas is to understand the environmental factors in taking programs to market in any selected…

  5. Comparing environmental issues in Cuba before and after the Special Period: balancing sustainable development and survival.

    PubMed

    Maal-Bared, Rasha

    2006-04-01

    Following the Earth Summit in 1992, Cuba designed and implemented a variety of programs, administrative structures, and public awareness activities to promote sound environmental management and sustainable development. This came shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union and the strengthening of the US blockade in 1990, which resulted in a 35% drop in Cuban GDP. This period, referred to as the Special Period, witnessed a decrease in many environmentally damaging activities both by choice and by necessity, but also resulted in many decisions to resuscitate the Cuban economy. The purpose of this work was to compare and rank the environmental risks Cuba faced before and during the Special Period (1990-2000) using two Comparative environmental risk assessments (CERAs). To do so, an ecosystem integrity risk assessment matrix was constructed with 42 risk end points. The matrix assessed the risk posed by 17 problem areas including air pollution, water contamination, solid waste sites, pesticides and ecosystem degradation. The risks were calculated using five criteria: area affected, vulnerability of affected population, severity of impact, irreversibility of effect and uncertainty. To construct this matrix, both literature reviews and expert interviews in Cuba were conducted in 2000. The results showed a general decrease in risk scores during the Special Period. Before the Special Period, high risks were posed by: terrestrial degradation and industrial wastewater and sludge, followed by freshwater degradation, surface water stressors, and pesticides. After the Special Period, industrial wastewater and sludge and pesticides were no longer high-risk areas, but municipal wastewater and marine coastal degradation ranked higher than previously. Also, the risk endpoints most stressed after 1990 were affected by activities controlled by the government, such as mining and tourism, and lack of infrastructure. Therefore, the claims that public environmental education is the main pathway to sustainable development in Cuba seem uninformed and other management practices should be evaluated.

  6. Multiple Changes to Reusable Solid Rocket Motors, Identifying Hidden Risks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenhalgh, Phillip O.; McCann, Bradley Q.

    2003-01-01

    The Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) baseline is subject to various changes. Changes are necessary due to safety and quality improvements, environmental considerations, vendor changes, obsolescence issues, etc. The RSRM program has a goal to test changes on full-scale static test motors prior to flight due to the unique RSRM operating environment. Each static test motor incorporates several significant changes and numerous minor changes. Flight motors often implement multiple changes simultaneously. While each change is individually verified and assessed, the potential for changes to interact constitutes additional hidden risk. Mitigating this risk depends upon identification of potential interactions. Therefore, the ATK Thiokol Propulsion System Safety organization initiated the use of a risk interaction matrix to identify potential interactions that compound risk. Identifying risk interactions supports flight and test motor decisions. Uncovering hidden risks of a full-scale static test motor gives a broader perspective of the changes being tested. This broader perspective compels the program to focus on solutions for implementing RSRM changes with minimal/mitigated risk. This paper discusses use of a change risk interaction matrix to identify test challenges and uncover hidden risks to the RSRM program.

  7. Predictive Models and Computational Toxicology

    EPA Science Inventory

    Understanding the potential health risks posed by environmental chemicals is a significant challenge elevated by the large number of diverse chemicals with generally uncharacterized exposures, mechanisms, and toxicities. The ToxCast computational toxicology research program was l...

  8. SYNTHESIS OF SPATIAL DATA FOR DECISION-MAKING

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA'S Regional Vulnerability Assessment Program (ReVA) has developed a web-based statistical tool that synthesizes available spatial data into indices of condition, vulnerability (risk, considering cumulative effects), and feasibility of management options. The Environmental Deci...

  9. Environmental exposure modeling and monitoring of human pharmaceutical concentrations in the environment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Versteeg, D.J.; Alder, A. C.; Cunningham, V. L.; Kolpin, D.W.; Murray-Smith, R.; Ternes, T.

    2005-01-01

    Human pharmaceuticals are receiving increased attention as environmental contaminants. This is due to their biological activity and the number of monitoring programs focusing on analysis of these compounds in various environmental media and compartments. Risk assessments are needed to understand the implications of reported concentrations; a fundamental part of the risk assessment is an assessment of environmental exposures. The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance on the use of predictive tools (e.g., models) and monitoring data in exposure assessments for pharmaceuticals in the environment. Methods to predict environmental concentrations from equations based on first principles are presented. These equations form the basis of existing GIS (geographic information systems)-based systems for understanding the spatial distribution of pharmaceuticals in the environment. The pharmaceutical assessment and transport (PhATE), georeferenced regional exposure assessment tool for European rivers (GREAT-ER), and geographical information system (GIS)-ROUT models are reviewed and recommendations are provided concerning the design and execution of monitoring studies. Model predictions and monitoring data are compared to evaluate the relative utility of each approach in environmental exposure assessments. In summary, both models and monitoring data can be used to define representative exposure concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the environment in support of environmental risk assessments.

  10. Perception of Environmental Risks and Health Promotion Attitudes of French Perinatal Health Professionals

    PubMed Central

    Marie, Cécile; Lémery, Didier; Vendittelli, Françoise; Sauvant-Rochat, Marie-Pierre

    2016-01-01

    The exposure of pregnant women to environmental contaminants is a subject of international concern. However, the risk perception of these contaminants by health professionals (HP) has not been extensively investigated. The main objective of the PERI–HELPE study (Perception of Risk–HEaLth Professionals & Environment Study) was to assess the risk perception of environmental exposure of pregnant women by perinatal HPs. The secondary objectives were to describe the preventive attitudes of perinatal HPs concerning chemicals exposure of pregnant women and to identify the barriers to preventive attitude. A cross-sectional study was performed in 2015 in France. One hundred eighty-nine HPs (obstetricians, midwives, and general practitioners) replied to an online self-administered questionnaire (participation rate: 11%). Carbon monoxide, pesticides and lead were the contaminants most frequently perceived as a high risk for pregnant women. A minority of HPs asked women about their chemical exposure and advised them to reduce exposure. The lack of information, training and scientific evidence in environmental health were the main difficulties declared by the HPs to advise pregnant women. Despite the low response rate, our findings provide important information to encourage French health authorities to take into account the difficulties encountered by HPs and set up appropriate training programs in Environmental health. PMID:27999342

  11. Internship - practical education

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Porell, A.L.; Bauman, H.F.

    1989-01-01

    The current emphasis on regulatory compliance with environmental laws has depleted the availability of experienced environmental scientists and engineers needed to initiate critical environmental projects. Further, projects of short duration and long-term commitments to employment situations are considered a high risk for both the employer and the employee. Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., has met this challenge for federal agencies through the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP). Through unique interdepartmental agency agreements between the DOE and the Department of Defense (DOD) and contractual arrangements between Energy Systems, DOE, and the University of Tennessee's (UT's)more » Waste Management Institute (WMI), an intern program was formulated. HAZWRAP is a DOE headquarters' program for addressing hazardous-waste issues at all DOE facilities. Energy Systems is the support contractor office responsible for developing policies and implementing plans for this program. Under this charter, HAZWRAP assembled a large staff of experienced project managers for developing remedial actions plans, while providing other federal agencies assistance in implementing their remedial actions programs. HAZWRAP project managers are currently managing remedial investigations and feasibility studies at 130 federal facilities located throughout the DOD.« less

  12. The influence of worksite and employee variables on employee engagement in telephonic health coaching programs: a retrospective multivariate analysis.

    PubMed

    Grossmeier, Jessica

    2013-01-01

    This study assessed 11 determinants of health coaching program participation. A cross-sectional study design used secondary data to assess the role of six employee-level and five worksite-level variables on telephone-based coaching enrollment, active participation, and completion. Data was provided by a national provider of worksite health promotion program services for employers. A random sample of 34,291 employees from 52 companies was selected for inclusion in the study. Survey-based measures included age, gender, job type, health risk status, tobacco risk, social support, financial incentives, comprehensive communications, senior leadership support, cultural support, and comprehensive program design. Gender-stratified multivariate logistic regression models were applied using backwards elimination procedures to yield parsimonious prediction models for each of the dependent variables. Employees were more likely to enroll in coaching programs if they were older, female, and in poorer health, and if they were at worksites with fewer environmental supports for health, clear financial incentives for participation in coaching, more comprehensive communications, and more comprehensive programs. Once employees were enrolled, program completion was greater among those who were older, did not use tobacco, worked at a company with strong communications, and had fewer environmental supports for health. Both worksite-level and employee-level factors have significant influences on health coaching engagement, and there are gender differences in the strength of these predictors.

  13. Using adaptive processes and adverse outcome pathways to develop meaningful, robust, and actionable environmental monitoring programs.

    PubMed

    Arciszewski, Tim J; Munkittrick, Kelly R; Scrimgeour, Garry J; Dubé, Monique G; Wrona, Fred J; Hazewinkel, Rod R

    2017-09-01

    The primary goals of environmental monitoring are to indicate whether unexpected changes related to development are occurring in the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of ecosystems and to inform meaningful management intervention. Although achieving these objectives is conceptually simple, varying scientific and social challenges often result in their breakdown. Conceptualizing, designing, and operating programs that better delineate monitoring, management, and risk assessment processes supported by hypothesis-driven approaches, strong inference, and adverse outcome pathways can overcome many of the challenges. Generally, a robust monitoring program is characterized by hypothesis-driven questions associated with potential adverse outcomes and feedback loops informed by data. Specifically, key and basic features are predictions of future observations (triggers) and mechanisms to respond to success or failure of those predictions (tiers). The adaptive processes accelerate or decelerate the effort to highlight and overcome ignorance while preventing the potentially unnecessary escalation of unguided monitoring and management. The deployment of the mutually reinforcing components can allow for more meaningful and actionable monitoring programs that better associate activities with consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:877-891. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

  14. Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research; project: hazardous materials in aquatic environments; subproject: biomarkers and risk assessment in Bayou Trepagnier, LA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ide, C.

    1996-12-31

    Tulane and Xavier Universities have singled out the environment as a major strategic focus for research and training for now and beyond the year 2000. the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research (CBR) was established in 1989 as the umbrella organization to coordinate environmental research at both universities. CBR projects funded by the DOE under the Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments grant are defining the following: (1) the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants through wetlands environments, (2) the actual and potential impact of contaminants on ecological systems and health, (3) the mechanisms and new technologies through whichmore » these impacts might be remediated, and (4) new programs aimed at educating and training environmental workers of the future. The subproject described in this report, `Biomarkers and Risk Assessment in Bayou Trepagnier, LN`, is particularly relevant to the US Department of Energy`s Environmental Restoration and Waste Management program aimed at solving problems related to hazard monitoring and clean-up prioritization at sites with aquatic pollution problems in the DOE complex.« less

  15. Preliminary remediation goals for use at the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1995-06-01

    This report presents Preliminary Remediation Goals (PRGs) for use in human health risk assessment efforts under the United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations Office Environmental Restoration (ER) Division. Chemical-specific PRGs are concentration goals for individual chemicals for specific medium and land use combinations. The PRGs are referred to as risk-based because they have been calculated using risk assessment procedures. Risk-based calculations set concentration limits using both carcinogenic or noncarcinogenic toxicity values under specific exposure pathways. The PRG is a concentration that is derived from a specified excess cancer risk level or hazard quotient. This report provides the ERmore » Division with standardized PRGs which are integral to the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study process. By managing the assumptions and systems used in PRG derivation, the Environmental Restoration Risk Assessment Program will be able to control the level of quality assurance associated with these risk-based guideline values.« less

  16. NHEERL RESEARCH ON CARCINOGENIC CONTAMINANTS IN DRINKING WATER

    EPA Science Inventory

    Water research in the Environmental Carcinogenesis Division focuses on improved understanding of the mechanisms of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis of water contaminants for incorporation into human cancer risk assessment models. The program uses cellular , animal, and computer mo...

  17. 40 CFR 1400.8 - Access to off-site consequence analysis information by Federal government officials.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS...

  18. Environmentally-Preferable Launch Coatings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kessel, Kurt R.

    2015-01-01

    The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, has the primary objective of modernizing and transforming the launch and range complex at KSC to benefit current and future NASA programs along with other emerging users. Described as the launch support and infrastructure modernization program in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, the GSDO Program will develop and implement shared infrastructure and process improvements to provide more flexible, affordable, and responsive capabilities to a multi-user community. In support of NASA and the GSDO Program, the objective of this project is to determine the feasibility of environmentally friendly corrosion protecting coatings for launch facilities and ground support equipment (GSE). The focus of the project is corrosion resistance and survivability with the goal to reduce the amount of maintenance required to preserve the performance of launch facilities while reducing mission risk. The project compares coating performance of the selected alternatives to existing coating systems or standards.

  19. Collaborative Preservation of At-Risk Data at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Casey, K. S.; Collins, D.; Cooper, J. M.; Ritchey, N. A.

    2017-12-01

    The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) serves as the official long term archive of NOAA's environmental data. Adhering to the principles and responsibilities of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS, ISO 14721), and backed by both agency policies and formal legislation, NCEI ensures that these irreplaceable environmental data are preserved and made available for current users and future generations. These goals are achieved through regional, national, and international collaborative efforts like the ICSU World Data System, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program, NSF's DataOne, and through specific data preservation projects with partners such as the NOAA Cooperative Institutes, ESIP, and even retired federal employees. Through efforts like these, at-risk data with poor documentation, on aging media, and of unknown format and content are being rescued and made available to the public for widespread reuse.

  20. Challenges to Superfund Community Nutrition Programs in Kentucky

    PubMed Central

    Gaetke, Lisa; Gaetke, Kara; Bowen, Christa

    2008-01-01

    Since 2000, the University of Kentucky's (UK's) Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Community Outreach Core has provided support and guidance through Superfund Community Action through Nutrition (SCAN) programs, which meet the needs of individuals and communities affected by environmental contaminants. It has been shown that nutrition may modulate the toxicity of Superfund chemicals. SCAN programs integrate nutrition education, nutrition science research, and health communication to increase understanding of health risks associated with residing near Superfund sites. Two critical tasks must be accomplished. SCAN personnel must identify and recruit affected community members, and then, offer meaningful programs. Certain quantitative outcome measures and legal issues presented both challenges and opportunities. Community members preferred qualitative evaluation discussions, which showed increased knowledge and improved attitudes following SCAN programs. SCAN, in full partnership with affected communities, translates safe, effective nutrition information to reduce health risks associated with exposure to Superfund pollutants. PMID:18443657

  1. Challenges to superfund community nutrition programs in kentucky.

    PubMed

    Gaetke, Lisa; Gaetke, Kara; Bowen, Christa

    2008-03-01

    Since 2000, the University of Kentucky's (UK's) Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Community Outreach Core has provided support and guidance through Superfund Community Action through Nutrition (SCAN) programs, which meet the needs of individuals and communities affected by environmental contaminants. It has been shown that nutrition may modulate the toxicity of Superfund chemicals. SCAN programs integrate nutrition education, nutrition science research, and health communication to increase understanding of health risks associated with residing near Superfund sites. Two critical tasks must be accomplished. SCAN personnel must identify and recruit affected community members, and then, offer meaningful programs. Certain quantitative outcome measures and legal issues presented both challenges and opportunities. Community members preferred qualitative evaluation discussions, which showed increased knowledge and improved attitudes following SCAN programs. SCAN, in full partnership with affected communities, translates safe, effective nutrition information to reduce health risks associated with exposure to Superfund pollutants.

  2. Promoting resilience in youth from divorced families: lessons learned from experimental trials of the New Beginnings Program.

    PubMed

    Wolchik, Sharlene A; Schenck, Clorinda E; Sandler, Irwin N

    2009-12-01

    This article focuses on the contributions that the program of research on the New Beginnings Program (NBP) has made to understanding pathways to resilience in youth who experience parental divorce. First, the research demonstrating that divorce increases risk for mental health, physical health, and social adaptation problems is reviewed. Next, theory and research linking social environmental-level and youth-level modifiable risk factors and resilience resources to youth's postdivorce adjustment are presented. The conceptual framework underlying the NBP and the risk factors and resilience resources targeted in this program are described next. The short-term and long-term results of two experimental, randomized efficacy trials of the NBP and moderators and mediators of its effects are then presented. Analyses that examine whether youth self-systems beliefs account for the links between program-induced changes in family-level resilience resources and positive long-term program on adaptation outcomes are presented and how experimental trials can be used to further theories of resilience for youth facing adversities is discussed. The final section describes directions for future research on the NBP.

  3. Promoting Resilience in Youth from Divorced Families: Lessons Learned from Experimental Trials of the New Beginnings Program

    PubMed Central

    Wolchik, Sharlene A.; Schenck, Clorinda E.; Sandler, Irwin N.

    2009-01-01

    This article focuses on the contributions that the program of research on the New Beginnings Program (NBP) has made to understanding pathways to resilience in youth who experience parental divorce. First, the research demonstrating that divorce increases risk for mental health, physical health and social adaptation problems is reviewed. Next, theory and research linking social environmental-level and youth-level modifiable risk factors and resilience resources to youth’s post-divorce adjustment are presented. The conceptual framework underlying the NBP and the risk factors and resilience resources targeted in this program are described next. The short-term and long-term results of two experimental, randomized efficacy trials of the NBP and moderators and mediators of its effects are then presented. Analyses that examine whether youth self-systems beliefs account for the links between program-induced changes in family-level resilience resources and positive long-term program on adaptation outcomes are presented and how experimental trials can be used to further theories of resilience for youth facing adversities is discussed. The final section describes directions for future research on the NBP. PMID:19807862

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goven, A.J.; Fitzpatrick, L.C.; Venables, B.J.

    Understanding the toxic potential and mechanisms of action of environmental xenobiotics is fundamental for assessing risk to public and environmental health. Current established protocols with earthworms focus primarily on defining the lethal effects of chemicals associated with soil contamination. Development of sublethal assays, until recently, has been largely ignored. Here the authors develop rationale for use of earthworms as a model organism for comprehensive assessment of risks to higher wildlife from contaminated soils and hazardous waste sites. They present a panel of lethal (LC/LD50`s) and sublethal measurement endpoint biomarkers, developed within the framework of the National Toxicology Program`s tiered immunotoxicitymore » protocol for mice and according to published criteria for good measurement endpoints, that represent sensitive phylogenetically-conserved processes. Specifically the authors discuss immunosuppressive effects of terrestrial heavy metal and organic contamination on the innate, nonspecific and specific immune responses of earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, coelomocytes in terms of total and differential cell counts, lysozyme activity, nitroblue tetrazolium dye reduction, phagocytic activity and secretary rosette formation. Findings indicate that sensitive phylogenetically conserved immune responses present in invertebrates can be used to assess or predict risk to wildlife from contaminated soils.« less

  5. Risk factors for mobility limitation in community-dwelling older adults: a social ecological perspective.

    PubMed

    Yeom, Hye A; Fleury, Julie; Keller, Colleen

    2008-01-01

    Although a variety of risk factors for mobility limitation in older adults have been examined, a collective review of relevant literature has not been reported. The purposes of this review are to report the intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and organizational risk factors related to mobility limitation using a social ecological perspective and to discuss the direction of future clinical practice consistent with current literature on mobility limitation of community-dwelling older adults. Intrapersonal risk factors related to mobility limitation include advanced age, female gender, low socioeconomic status, comorbidity, lack of motivation (i.e., dependent personality, decreased self-efficacy), lifestyle factors (i.e., sedentary lifestyle, smoking, obesity), and physiological factors (i.e., vitamin D deficiency, inflammation, poor nutritional status). Interpersonal risk factors related to mobility limitation include weak social networks and limited social activities. Geriatric clients may also experience a decline in mobility when they encounter environmental challenges such as an inconvenient home environment and lack of availability of services in their community, as well as lack of organizational resources stemming from social policy. Potential intervention strategies focused on modifiable risk factors may include lifestyle modifications, social networking programs, and enhancing awareness of environmental and organizational resources in the community for older adults at risk for mobility limitation.

  6. A risk-based, product-level approach for assuring aquatic environmental safety of cleaning products in the context of sustainability: The Environmental Safety Check (ESC) scheme of the A.I.S.E. Charter for Sustainable Cleaning.

    PubMed

    Pickup, John Alexander; Dewaele, Joost; Furmanski, Nicola L; Kowalczyk, Agnieszka; Luijkx, Gerard Ca; Mathieu, Sophie; Stelter, Norbert

    2017-01-01

    Cleaning products have long been a focus of efforts to improve sustainability and assure safety for the aquatic environment when disposed of after use. The latter is addressed at ingredient level through environmental risk assessment, including in formal frameworks such as REACH. Nevertheless, in the context of programs to improve overall sustainability, stakeholders demand both environmental safety assurance and progress at product level. Current product-level approaches for aquatic toxicity (e.g., USEtox™, Critical Dilution Volume) can be seen as predominantly hazard-based. The more logical approach would be risk-based, because ecotoxicity is generally threshold-dependent and hazard-based assessment produces conflicts with risk-based learnings. The development of a risk-based approach to assess formulated products is described: the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.) Charter Environmental Safety Check (ESC), which is consistent with the scientific principles underlying REACH. This is implemented through a simple spreadsheet tool and internal database of ingredient parameters including predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) and removal rate. A novel feature is applying market volume information for both product types and ingredients to permit a risk-based calculation. To pass the ESC check, the projected environmental safety ratio (PESR) for each ingredient as formulated and dosed (unless cleared by a published risk assessment or exempted as inherently low risk) must be less than 1. The advantages of a risk-based approach are discussed. The strengths and limitations of various possible approaches to standard-setting, product-ranking and driving continuous improvement in respect of potential ecotoxic impacts on the aquatic environment are considered. It is proposed that as ecotoxicity is generally accepted to be threshold-dependent, with no effect below the threshold, the most constructive approach to continuous improvement of sustainability with regard to ecotoxicity is to focus efforts on instances where the safety margins for ingredients as used in specific products are narrow. This necessitates a risk-based approach. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:127-138. © 2016 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. © 2016 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

  7. Bioremediation of Pit Lakes - Gilt Edge Mine

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 Superfund Office and the EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) Mine Waste Technology Program (MWTP) conducted a field-scale treatability study demonstrating an in situ bio/geochemical treatment technology ...

  8. 46 CFR 162.060-5 - Incorporation by reference.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT Ballast Water Management Systems § 162.060-5 Incorporation by...), Environmental Technology Verification Program, National Risk Management Research Laboratory Office of Research...

  9. GUIDED TOUR OF A WEB-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION TOOLKIT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Decision-making regarding the targeting of vulnerable resources and prioritization of actions requires synthesis of data on condition, vulnerability, and feasibility of risk management alternatives. EP A's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReV A) Program has evaluated existing a...

  10. 40 CFR 721.6090 - Phosphoramide.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ....6090 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT...) Hazard communication program. A significant new use of this substance is any manner or method of manufacture, import, or processing associated with any use of this substance without providing risk...

  11. AN OVERVIEW OF EPA'S COMBUSTION RESEARCH PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Air Pollution Technology Branch (APTB) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Risk Management Research Laboratory, located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, performs a variety of combustion related research. Currently APTB's focus is on mercury from c...

  12. Lessons Learned From the Environmental Public Health Tracking Sub-County Data Pilot Project.

    PubMed

    Werner, Angela K; Strosnider, Heather; Kassinger, Craig; Shin, Mikyong

    2017-12-07

    Small area data are key to better understanding the complex relationships between environmental health, health outcomes, and risk factors at a local level. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) conducted the Sub-County Data Pilot Project with grantees to consider integration of sub-county data into the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network). The Tracking Program and grantees developed sub-county-level data for several data sets during this pilot project, working to standardize processes for submitting data and creating required geographies. Grantees documented challenges they encountered during the pilot project and documented decisions. This article covers the challenges revealed during the project. It includes insights into geocoding, aggregation, population estimates, and data stability and provides recommendations for moving forward. National standards for generating, analyzing, and sharing sub-county data should be established to build a system of sub-county data that allow for comparison of outcomes, geographies, and time. Increasing the availability and accessibility of small area data will not only enhance the Tracking Network's capabilities but also contribute to an improved understanding of environmental health and informed decision making at a local level.

  13. Medications at school: disposing of pharmaceutical waste.

    PubMed

    Taras, Howard; Haste, Nina M; Berry, Angela T; Tran, Jennifer; Singh, Renu F

    2014-03-01

    This project quantified and categorized medications left unclaimed by students at the end of the school year. It determined the feasibility of a model medication disposal program and assessed school nurses' perceptions of environmentally responsible medication disposal. At a large urban school district all unclaimed medications were collected at the end of a school year to determine the extent and nature of this problem. Nurses documented unclaimed medications and transported them to a central district location. An environmentally responsible medication disposal program, consisting of sealed containers bound for a local hospital's disposal system, was implemented. In a school district of approximately 133,000 students, there were 926 different medications abandoned at the end of a school year brought to a central disposal area. Nurses complied with the newly implemented protocol. Information collected from nurses indicates acceptance of the program. Disposal of unclaimed medications at a central location, use of secured containers, and transportation to a hospital for environmentally responsible disposal proved to be feasible and acceptable to the staff. Unclaimed medications at school each year pose a potentially huge environmental risk when disposed of improperly. It is feasible to implement an environmentally responsible medication disposal protocol at schools. © 2014, American School Health Association.

  14. Diarrheal disease on cruise ships, 1990-2000: the impact of environmental health programs.

    PubMed

    Cramer, Elaine H; Gu, David X; Durbin, Randy E

    2003-04-01

    In 1975, the then-Center for Disease Control (CDC) established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) to minimize the risk for diarrheal disease among passengers and crew aboard ships by assisting the cruise ship industry in developing and implementing comprehensive environmental health programs. To evaluate the relationship between cruise ship sanitation scores and diarrheal disease incidence and outbreaks among cruise ship passengers. Retrospective cohort study of ship inspection and diarrheal disease data from 1990 through 2000 from the National Center for Environmental Health, CDC database, for cruise ships entering the United States. Yearly trends in number of ships inspected, number of inspections conducted, inspection scores, and risks of failing inspections; rates of diarrheal disease among passengers, by inspection year, cruise duration, incidence of outbreaks, and passing- or failing-score status of the associated ship. From 1990 through 2000, inspection scores gradually increased from a median of 89 in 1990 to 93 in 2000 (p<0.001), with an associated statistically significant 21% increase in likelihood of passing. The total baseline level of diarrhea among passengers was 2.0 cases per cruise (13243/6485), or 23.6 cases per 100,000 passenger-days (13243/56129096). The latter rate declined significantly from 29.2 in 1990 to 16.3 in 2000 (p<0.0001). Diarrheal disease incidence rates among passengers sailing on ships that passed environmental inspections were significantly lower than rates among passengers sailing on ships that failed inspections (21.7 vs 30.1; RR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.31-1.47). Diarrheal disease outbreak-related illnesses decreased from 4.2 to 3.5 per 100000 passenger-days from 1990-1995 to 1996-2000. Environmental sanitation inspections conducted among ships sailing into the United States appear to continue to decrease diarrheal disease rates and outbreaks among passengers.

  15. Reducing drinking water supply chemical contamination: risks from underground storage tanks.

    PubMed

    Enander, Richard T; Hanumara, R Choudary; Kobayashi, Hisanori; Gagnon, Ronald N; Park, Eugene; Vallot, Christopher; Genovesi, Richard

    2012-12-01

    Drinking water supplies are at risk of contamination from a variety of physical, chemical, and biological sources. Ranked among these threats are hazardous material releases from leaking or improperly managed underground storage tanks located at municipal, commercial, and industrial facilities. To reduce human health and environmental risks associated with the subsurface storage of hazardous materials, government agencies have taken a variety of legislative and regulatory actions--which date back more than 25 years and include the establishment of rigorous equipment/technology/operational requirements and facility-by-facility inspection and enforcement programs. Given a history of more than 470,000 underground storage tank releases nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to report that 7,300 new leaks were found in federal fiscal year 2008, while nearly 103,000 old leaks remain to be cleaned up. In this article, we report on an alternate evidence-based intervention approach for reducing potential releases from the storage of petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, heating/fuel oil, and waste oil) in underground tanks at commercial facilities located in Rhode Island. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a new regulatory model can be used as a cost-effective alternative to traditional facility-by-facility inspection and enforcement programs for underground storage tanks. We conclude that the alternative model, using an emphasis on technical assistance tools, can produce measurable improvements in compliance performance, is a cost-effective adjunct to traditional facility-by-facility inspection and enforcement programs, and has the potential to allow regulatory agencies to decrease their frequency of inspections among low risk facilities without sacrificing compliance performance or increasing public health risks. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

  16. Effect of Neurocognition and Concussion on Musculoskeletal Injury Risk

    PubMed Central

    Herman, Daniel C.; Zaremski, Jason L.; Vincent, Heather K.; Vincent, Kevin R.

    2015-01-01

    Research regarding musculoskeletal injury risk has focused primarily on anatomical, neuromuscular, hormonal, and environmental risk factors; however, subsequent injury risk screening and intervention programs have been largely limited to neuromuscular factors and have faced challenges in both implementation and efficacy. Recent studies indicate that poor neurocognitive performance, either at baseline or in the aftermath of a concussion, is associated with elevated risk of musculoskeletal injury. Despite the relatively limited current understanding regarding the nature of the relationship between different aspects of neurocognitive performance and musculoskeletal injury risk, this is a promising area of research that may yield significant advances in musculoskeletal injury risk stratification, rehabilitation, and prevention. PMID:25968852

  17. SLS-SPEC-159 Cross-Program Design Specification for Natural Environments (DSNE) Revision E

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roberts, Barry C.

    2017-01-01

    The DSNE completes environment-related specifications for architecture, system-level, and lower-tier documents by specifying the ranges of environmental conditions that must be accounted for by NASA ESD Programs. To assure clarity and consistency, and to prevent requirements documents from becoming cluttered with extensive amounts of technical material, natural environment specifications have been compiled into this document. The intent is to keep a unified specification for natural environments that each Program calls out for appropriate application. This document defines the natural environments parameter limits (maximum and minimum values, energy spectra, or precise model inputs, assumptions, model options, etc.), for all ESD Programs. These environments are developed by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (MSFC organization code: EV44). Many of the parameter limits are based on experience with previous programs, such as the Space Shuttle Program. The parameter limits contain no margin and are meant to be evaluated individually to ensure they are reasonable (i.e., do not apply unrealistic extreme-on-extreme conditions). The natural environments specifications in this document should be accounted for by robust design of the flight vehicle and support systems. However, it is understood that in some cases the Programs will find it more effective to account for portions of the environment ranges by operational mitigation or acceptance of risk in accordance with an appropriate program risk management plan and/or hazard analysis process. The DSNE is not intended as a definition of operational models or operational constraints, nor is it adequate, alone, for ground facilities which may have additional requirements (for example, building codes and local environmental constraints). "Natural environments," as the term is used here, refers to the environments that are not the result of intended human activity or intervention. It consists of a variety of external environmental factors (most of natural origin and a few of human origin) which impose restrictions or otherwise impact the development or operation of flight vehicles and destination surface systems.

  18. Risk analysis and technology assessment in support of technology development: Putting responsible innovation in practice in a case study for nanotechnology.

    PubMed

    van Wezel, Annemarie P; van Lente, Harro; van de Sandt, Johannes Jm; Bouwmeester, Hans; Vandeberg, Rens Lj; Sips, Adrienne Jam

    2018-01-01

    Governments invest in "key enabling technologies," such as nanotechnology, to solve societal challenges and boost the economy. At the same time, governmental agencies demand risk reduction to prohibit any often unknown adverse effects, and industrial parties demand smart approaches to reduce uncertainties. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is therefore a central theme in policy making. Risk analysis and technology assessment, together referred to as "RATA," can provide a basis to assess human, environmental, and societal risks of new technological developments during the various stages of technological development. This assessment can help both governmental authorities and innovative industry to move forward in a sustainable manner. Here we describe the developed procedures and products and our experiences to bring RATA in practice within a large Dutch nanotechnology consortium. This is an example of how to put responsible innovation in practice as an integrated part of a research program, how to increase awareness of RATA, and how to help technology developers perform and use RATA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:9-16. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

  19. Installation Restoration Program. Phase II. Confirmation/Quantification. Stage 1 for Air Force Plant 6, Cobb County, Georgia. Volume 3.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-08-09

    and regulations. Additional hazard areas refer to non-regulated operations and/or practices that pose potential risks to human and environmental ...ORGANI1A’iON REPORT NUMPERASE IRP-IIa-AFP6 64 xAfi OF PEROING ORG IS ZArTON Śo 7a.AM OF MONITORING OAYIZAToN Environmental Science ’ aeedwabi.) U.S. Air...Force and Engineering, Inc ca ed AORESS Y. State, And ZIP C017) AOSS Approvetaoe pblic reease; P. Box ESE Occupational and Environmental Gainesville, FL

  20. Report: Some States Cannot Address Assessment Needs and Face Limitations in Meeting Future Superfund Cleanup Requirements

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Report #2004-P-00027, September 1, 2004. The five States have established hazardous waste site cleanup programs that address contaminated sites posing human health and environmental risks ranging from low to high.

  1. USE OF CITIZEN BIRD POPULATION MONITORING DATA FOR ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Birds are among the most conspicuous and easily monitored indicators of environmental health and change. Although volunteer avian monitoring ('citizen science') programs provide unique opportunities to gather data at fine and broad geographic scales simultaneously, and over long...

  2. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis. 68.165 Section 68.165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence...

  3. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for Bromofluorobenzene, p-

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  4. RISKIND : an enhanced computer code for National Environmental Policy Act transportation consequence analysis

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-01-01

    The RISKIND computer program was developed for the analysis of radiological consequences and health risks to individuals and the collective population from exposures associated with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or other radioactive ...

  5. CONTAMINANT CONCENTRATIONS IN WHOLE-BODY FISH AND SHELLFISH FROM U.S. ESTUARIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) pollutants are chemical contaminants that pose risks to ecosystems and human health. For these reasons, available tissue contaminant data from the US EPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program's National Coastal Assessment were...

  6. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis. 68.165 Section 68.165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence...

  7. NPOESS Preparatory Project Validation Program for the Cross-track Infrared Sounder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barnet, C.; Gu, D.; Nalli, N. R.

    2009-12-01

    The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Program, in partnership with National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational NPOESS launch. The NPOESS Program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, will execute the NPP Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) are two of the instruments that make up the suite of sensors on NPP. Together, CrIS and ATMS will produce three Environmental Data Records (EDRs) including the Atmospheric Vertical Temperature Profile (AVTP), Atmospheric Vertical Moisture Profile (AVMP), and the Atmospheric Vertical Pressure Profile (AVPP). The AVTP and the AVMP are both NPOESS Key Performance Parameters (KPPs). The validation plans establish science and user community leadership and participation, and demonstrated, cost-effective Cal/Val approaches. This presentation will provide an overview of the collaborative data, techniques, and schedule for the validation of the NPP CrIS and ATMS environmental data products.

  8. Risks associated with the environmental release of pharmaceuticals on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration "flush list".

    PubMed

    Khan, Usman; Bloom, Raanan A; Nicell, James A; Laurenson, James P

    2017-12-31

    A select few prescription drugs can be especially harmful and, in some cases, fatal with just one dose when not used as prescribed. Therefore, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that expired, unwanted, or otherwise unused portions of most of these drugs be disposed of quickly through a take-back program. If such an option is not readily available, FDA recommends that they be flushed down the sink or toilet. The goal of the current investigation was to evaluate the ecological and human-health risks associated with the environmental release of the 15 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) currently on the FDA "flush list". The evaluation suggests that even when highly conservative assumptions are used-including that the entire API mass supplied for clinical use is flushed, all relevant sources in addition to clinical use of the API are considered, and no metabolic loss, environmental degradation, or dilution of wastewater effluents are used in estimating environmental concentrations-most of these APIs present a negligible eco-toxicological risk, both as individual compounds and as a mixture. For a few of these APIs, additional eco-toxicological data will need to be developed. Using similar conservative assumptions for human-health risks, all 15 APIs present negligible risk through ingestion of water and fish. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Evaluation of a Home-Based Environmental and Educational Intervention to Improve Health in Vulnerable Households: Southeastern Pennsylvania Lead and Healthy Homes Program.

    PubMed

    Mankikar, Deepa; Campbell, Carla; Greenberg, Rachael

    2016-09-09

    This evaluation examined whether participation in a home-based environmental educational intervention would reduce exposure to health and safety hazards and asthma-related medical visits. The home intervention program focused on vulnerable, low-income households, where children had asthma, were at risk for lead poisoning, or faced multiple unsafe housing conditions. Home visitors conducted two home visits, two months apart, consisting of an environmental home assessment, Healthy Homes education, and distribution of Healthy Homes supplies. Measured outcomes included changes in participant knowledge and awareness of environmental home-based hazards, rate of children's asthma-related medical use, and the presence of asthma triggers and safety hazards. Analysis of 2013-2014 baseline and post-intervention program data for a cohort of 150 families revealed a significantly lower three-month rate (p < 0.05) of children's asthma-related doctor visits and hospital admissions at program completion. In addition, there were significantly reduced reports of the presence of home-based hazards, including basement or roof leaks (p = 0.011), plumbing leaks (p = 0.019), and use of an oven to heat the home (p < 0.001). Participants' pre- and post- test scores showed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in knowledge and awareness of home hazards. Comprehensive home interventions may effectively reduce environmental home hazards and improve the health of asthmatic children in the short term.

  10. Environmental Management System Objectives & Targets Results Summary - FY 2015.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vetter, Douglas W.

    2016-02-01

    Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Environmental Management System is the integrated approach for members of the workforce to identify and manage environmental risks. Each Fiscal Year (FY) SNL performs an analysis to identify environmental aspects, and the environmental programs associated with them are charged with the task of routinely monitoring and measuring the objectives and targets that are established to mitigate potential impacts of SNL's operations on the environment. An annual summary of the results achieved towards meeting established Sandia Corporation and SNL Site-specific objectives and targets provides a connection to, and rational for, annually revised environmental aspects. The purpose ofmore » this document is to summarize the results achieved and documented in FY 2015.« less

  11. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, annual technical progress report of ecological research for the year ending June 30, 1998

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wein, G.; Rosier, B.

    1998-12-31

    This report provides an overview of the research programs and program components carried out by the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Research focused on the following: advanced analytical and spectroscopic techniques for developing novel waste isolation and stabilization technologies as well as cost-effective remediation strategies; ecologically sound management of damaged and remediation of ecological systems; ecotoxicology, remediation, and risk assessment; radioecology, including dose assessments for plants and animals exposed to environmental radiation; and other research support programs.

  12. Workplace tobacco interventions.

    PubMed

    Perry, G

    1996-01-01

    Health promotion programs are becoming an integral part of work site activities. Recent data from Indiana businesses suggest that smoking is a leading concern. An objective has been adopted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce that states that the number of employers with work site smoking cessation policies should increase. Smoking control and cessation programs implemented in industry have contributed to a decrease in the number of smokers and in the health risks of nonsmokers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. This report describes the effectiveness of work site smoking control programs.

  13. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, annual technical progress report of ecological research for the year ending June 30, 1997

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wein, G.; Rosier, B.

    1997-12-31

    This report provides an overview of the research programs and program components carried out by the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Research focused on the following: advanced analytical and spectroscopic techniques for developing novel waste isolation and stabilization technologies as well as cost-effective remediation strategies; ecologically sound management of damaged and remediation of ecological systems; ecotoxicology, remediation, and risk assessment; radioecology, including dose assessments for plants and animals exposed to environmental radiation; and other research support programs.

  14. Identifying environmental risk factors for human neural tube defects before and after folic acid supplementation

    PubMed Central

    Liao, Yilan; Wang, Jinfeng; Li, Xinhu; Guo, Yaoqin; Zheng, Xiaoying

    2009-01-01

    Background Birth defects are a major cause of infant mortality and disability in many parts of the world. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are one of the most common types of birth defects. In 2001, the Chinese population and family planning commission initiated a national intervention program for the prevention of birth defects. A key step in the program was the introduction of folic acid supplementation. Of interest in the present study was to determine whether folic acid supplementation has the same protective effect on NTDs under various geographical and socioeconomic conditions within the Chinese population and the nature in which the influence of environmental factors varied after folic acid supplementation. Methods In this study, Heshun was selected as the region of interest as a surrogate for helping to answer some of the questions raised in this study on the impact of the intervention program. Spatial filtering in combination with GIS software was used to detect annual potential clusters from 1998 to 2005 in Heshun, and Kruskal-wallis test and multivariate regression were applied to identify the environmental risk factors for NTDs among various regions. Results In 1998, a significant (p < 0.100) NTDs cluster was detected in the west of Heshun. After folic acid supplementation, the significant clusters gradually moved from west to east. However, during the study period, most of the clusters appeared in the middle region of Heshun where more than 95 percent of the coal mines of Heshun are located. For the analysis, buffer regions of the coal mine zone were built in a GIS environment. It was found that the correlations between environmental risk factors and NTDs vary among the buffer regions. Conclusion This suggests that the government needs to adapt the intervention measures according to local conditions. More attention needs to be paid to the poor and to people living in areas near coal mines. PMID:19835574

  15. Finding of No Significant Impact & Tiered Environmental Assessment: Public Law 84-99 Rehabilitation Program Dry Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project Hawarden, Sioux County, Iowa

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-11-01

    by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (i.e., silt trapping devices) would be implemented as required to minimize...Natural Resources MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NWI...disturbance, bank disturbance, and riparian vegetation. This condition does not further restrict otherwise authorized drainage ditch maintenance activities

  16. Legacy of Environmental Research During the Space Shuttle Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lane, Helen W.

    2011-01-01

    The Space Shuttle Program provided many opportunities to study the role of spaceflight on human life for over the last 30 years and represents the longest and largest U.S. human spaceflight program. Risks to crewmembers were included in the research areas of nutrition, microbiology, toxicology, radiation, and sleep quality. To better understand the Shuttle environment, Crew Health Care System was developed. As part of this system, the Environmental Health Subsystem was developed to monitor the atmosphere for gaseous contaminants and microbial contamination levels and to monitor water quality and radiation. This program expended a great deal of effort in studying and mitigating risks related to contaminations due to food, water, air, surfaces, crewmembers, and payloads including those with animals. As the Shuttle had limited stowage space and food selection, the development of nutritional requirements for crewmembers was imperative. As the Shuttle was a reusable vehicle, microbial contamination was of great concern. The development of monitoring instruments that could withstand the space environment took several years and many variations to come up with a suitable instrument. Research with space radiation provided an improved understanding of the various sources of ionizing radiation and the development of monitoring instrumentation for space weather and the human exposure within the orbiter's cabin. Space toxicology matured to include the management of offgassing products that could pollute the crewmembers air quality. The Shuttle Program implemented a 5-level toxicity rating system and developed new monitoring instrumentation to detect toxic compounds. The environment of space caused circadian desynchrony, sleep deficiency, and fatigue leading to much research and major emphasis on countermeasures. Outcomes of the research in these areas were countermeasures, operational protocols, and hardware. Learning Objectives: This symposium will provide an overview of the major environmental lessons learned and the development of countermeasures, monitoring hardware, and procedures.

  17. INTEGRATION OF BIOMONITORING EXPOSURE DATA INTO THE RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Improved biomonitoring techniques are being used to measure very low levels of environmental chemicals in the tissues of adults and children. Public and private demand for biomonitoring data are on the increase worldwide. In the United States alone, government-sponsored programs...

  18. 40 CFR 68.190 - Updates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Updates. 68.190 Section 68.190 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.190 Updates. (a) The owner or operator shall...

  19. 40 CFR 68.150 - Submission.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Submission. 68.150 Section 68.150 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.150 Submission. (a) The owner or operator shall...

  20. 40 CFR 68.195 - Required corrections.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Required corrections. 68.195 Section 68.195 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.195 Required corrections. The owner or...

  1. 40 CFR 68.155 - Executive summary.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Executive summary. 68.155 Section 68.155 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.155 Executive summary. The owner or...

  2. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for 1,1-Dichloropropene

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  3. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for 1,2-Dichloropropane

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  4. A Risk-based Prioritization Strategy for Thyroid Disruption Under EDSP21

    EPA Science Inventory

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) to determine whether certain substances may have an effect in humans or wildlife that disrupt the estrogen, androgen or thyroid axes. The EDSP is now utilizing comp...

  5. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, p,p-

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  6. 40 CFR 166.2 - Types of exemptions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... condition to control a pest that will cause a significant risk to human health. (d) Crisis exemption. A....2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS General Provisions...

  7. 40 CFR 166.25 - Agency review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... benefits to be derived from the proposed use; and (4) The potential risks to human health, endangered or... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public...

  8. 40 CFR 166.2 - Types of exemptions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... condition to control a pest that will cause a significant risk to human health. (d) Crisis exemption. A....2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS General Provisions...

  9. 40 CFR 166.2 - Types of exemptions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... condition to control a pest that will cause a significant risk to human health. (d) Crisis exemption. A....2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS General Provisions...

  10. 40 CFR 166.2 - Types of exemptions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... condition to control a pest that will cause a significant risk to human health. (d) Crisis exemption. A....2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS General Provisions...

  11. 40 CFR 166.2 - Types of exemptions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... condition to control a pest that will cause a significant risk to human health. (d) Crisis exemption. A....2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS General Provisions...

  12. 40 CFR 166.25 - Agency review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... benefits to be derived from the proposed use; and (4) The potential risks to human health, endangered or... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public...

  13. 40 CFR 166.25 - Agency review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... benefits to be derived from the proposed use; and (4) The potential risks to human health, endangered or... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public...

  14. 40 CFR 166.25 - Agency review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... benefits to be derived from the proposed use; and (4) The potential risks to human health, endangered or... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public...

  15. 40 CFR 166.25 - Agency review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... benefits to be derived from the proposed use; and (4) The potential risks to human health, endangered or... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public...

  16. Health Behavior in Ecological Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simons-Morton, Bruce

    2013-01-01

    Health is best understood within an ecological context. Accordingly, health promotion involves processes that foster supportive environments and healthful behavior. Thus, effective health promotion programs are typically multilevel, focusing not only on the population at risk but also on the environmental conditions that contribute so importantly…

  17. 40 CFR 60.4805 - What is a siting analysis?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... siting analysis must consider air pollution control alternatives that minimize, on a site-specific basis, to the maximum extent practicable, potential risks to public health or the environment, including... Section 60.4805 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS...

  18. 40 CFR 60.4805 - What is a siting analysis?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... siting analysis must consider air pollution control alternatives that minimize, on a site-specific basis, to the maximum extent practicable, potential risks to public health or the environment, including... Section 60.4805 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS...

  19. 40 CFR 60.4805 - What is a siting analysis?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... siting analysis must consider air pollution control alternatives that minimize, on a site-specific basis, to the maximum extent practicable, potential risks to public health or the environment, including... Section 60.4805 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS...

  20. 40 CFR 68.160 - Registration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Registration. 68.160 Section 68.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.160 Registration. (a) The owner or operator shall...

  1. 40 CFR 1400.12 - Qualified researchers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Qualified researchers. 1400.12 Section 1400.12 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7...

  2. 40 CFR 68.155 - Executive summary.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Executive summary. 68.155 Section 68.155 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.155 Executive summary. The owner or...

  3. 40 CFR 1400.10 - Limitation on public dissemination.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limitation on public dissemination. 1400.10 Section 1400.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT...

  4. 40 CFR 68.195 - Required corrections.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Required corrections. 68.195 Section 68.195 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.195 Required corrections. The owner or...

  5. 40 CFR 68.190 - Updates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Updates. 68.190 Section 68.190 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.190 Updates. (a) The owner or operator shall...

  6. 40 CFR 68.150 - Submission.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Submission. 68.150 Section 68.150 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.150 Submission. (a) The owner or operator shall...

  7. Identification of water quality management policy of watershed system with multiple uncertain interactions using a multi-level-factorial risk-inference-based possibilistic-probabilistic programming approach.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jing; Li, Yongping; Huang, Guohe; Fu, Haiyan; Zhang, Junlong; Cheng, Guanhui

    2017-06-01

    In this study, a multi-level-factorial risk-inference-based possibilistic-probabilistic programming (MRPP) method is proposed for supporting water quality management under multiple uncertainties. The MRPP method can handle uncertainties expressed as fuzzy-random-boundary intervals, probability distributions, and interval numbers, and analyze the effects of uncertainties as well as their interactions on modeling outputs. It is applied to plan water quality management in the Xiangxihe watershed. Results reveal that a lower probability of satisfying the objective function (θ) as well as a higher probability of violating environmental constraints (q i ) would correspond to a higher system benefit with an increased risk of violating system feasibility. Chemical plants are the major contributors to biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total phosphorus (TP) discharges; total nitrogen (TN) would be mainly discharged by crop farming. It is also discovered that optimistic decision makers should pay more attention to the interactions between chemical plant and water supply, while decision makers who possess a risk-averse attitude would focus on the interactive effect of q i and benefit of water supply. The findings can help enhance the model's applicability and identify a suitable water quality management policy for environmental sustainability according to the practical situations.

  8. DOE Chair of Excellence Professorship in Environmental Disciplines

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shoou-Yuh Chang

    2013-01-31

    The United States (US) nuclear weapons program during the Cold War left a legacy of radioactive, hazardous, chemical wastes and facilities that may seriously harm the environment and people even today. Widespread public concern about the environmental pollution has created an extraordinary demand for the treatment and disposal of wastes in a manner to protect the public health and safety. The pollution abatement and environmental protection require an understanding of technical, regulatory, economic, permitting, institutional, and public policy issues. Scientists and engineers have a major role in this national effort to clean our environment, especially in developing alternative solutions andmore » evaluation criteria and designing the necessary facilities to implement the solutions. The objective of the DOE Chair of Excellence project is to develop a high quality educational and research program in environmental engineering at North Carolina A&T State University (A&T). This project aims to increase the number of graduate and undergraduate students trained in environmental areas while developing a faculty concentrated in environmental education and research. Although A&T had a well developed environmental program prior to the Massie Chair grant, A&T's goal is to become a model of excellence in environmental engineering through the program's support. The program will provide a catalyst to enhance collaboration of faculty and students among various engineering departments to work together in a focus research area. The collaboration will be expanded to other programs at A&T. The past research focus areas include: hazardous and radioactive waste treatment and disposal fate and transport of hazardous chemicals in the environment innovative technologies for hazardous waste site remediation pollution prevention Starting from 2005, the new research focus was in the improvement of accuracy for radioactive contaminant transport models by ensemble based data assimilation. The specific objectives are to: 1). improve model accuracy for use in minimizing health and environmental risk, and 2). improve the decision making process in the selection and application of available technologies for long-term monitoring and safeguard operation at NNSA sites.« less

  9. For Better or For Worse: Environmental Health Promotion in ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Environmental Health Education (EHE) is most effective when it incorporates environmental science, risk education, and health education. When paired with the local knowledge of community members, EHE can promote health equity and community action, especially for socially disadvantaged communities, which are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Developing EHE programs that inform residents about toxic exposures that damage their health and affect their quality of life is critical for them to understand their true risk. The community of interest is a public housing development surrounded by landfills, hazardous waste sites, and manufacturing facilities located in a Midwestern city of the United States (Chicago, Illinois). An environmental justice organization, People for Community Recovery (PCR), was the community partner. Data was collected during one week in March 2009 from community residents using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including both a focus group and a survey instrument provided to two different resident groups, to understand their attitudes/beliefs about environmental hazards, including exposure to hazardous wastes, landfills, and lead, and their preferences for EHE. The data was analyzed using standard qualitative analytical procedures and statistical software, when appropriate. This research assesses the impact that Environmental Health Education (EHE) can have on: improved civic engagement (i.e., increased int

  10. APPLICATION OF BAYESIAN AND GEOSTATISTICAL MODELING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF CS-137 AT THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kara G. Eby

    2010-08-01

    At the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Cs-137 concentrations above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk-based threshold of 0.23 pCi/g may increase the risk of human mortality due to cancer. As a leader in nuclear research, the INL has been conducting nuclear activities for decades. Elevated anthropogenic radionuclide levels including Cs-137 are a result of atmospheric weapons testing, the Chernobyl accident, and nuclear activities occurring at the INL site. Therefore environmental monitoring and long-term surveillance of Cs-137 is required to evaluate risk. However, due to the large land area involved, frequent and comprehensive monitoring is limited. Developing a spatial model thatmore » predicts Cs-137 concentrations at unsampled locations will enhance the spatial characterization of Cs-137 in surface soils, provide guidance for an efficient monitoring program, and pinpoint areas requiring mitigation strategies. The predictive model presented herein is based on applied geostatistics using a Bayesian analysis of environmental characteristics across the INL site, which provides kriging spatial maps of both Cs-137 estimates and prediction errors. Comparisons are presented of two different kriging methods, showing that the use of secondary information (i.e., environmental characteristics) can provide improved prediction performance in some areas of the INL site.« less

  11. Methods for Estimating the Social Benefits of EPA Land Cleanup and Reuse Programs (2007)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation’s National Center for Environmental Economics, and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response’s Land Revitalization Office convened a workshop on risk assessment and benefit estimation methods in 2006.

  12. USER MANUAL FOR EXPRESS, THE EXAMS-PRZM EXPOSURE SIMULATION SHELL

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Environmental Fate and Effects Division (EFED) of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs(OPP) uses a suite of ORD simulation models for the exposure analysis portion of regulatory risk assessments. These models (PRZM, EXAMS, AgDisp) are complex, process-based simulation codes tha...

  13. 75 FR 32960 - Hazardous Fire Risk Reduction, East Bay Hills, CA

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-10

    ... program. The Strawberry Canyon Vegetation Management Project involves the removal of eucalyptus and other... tree sprouts from the area. The Claremont Canyon Vegetation Management Project involves the removal of... the Strawberry Canyon Vegetation Management Project for public comment. The draft environmental...

  14. 5 CFR 339.205 - Medical evaluation programs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Section 339.205 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS MEDICAL... risks due to occupational or environmental exposure or demands. The need for a medical evaluation... identified and the applicants or incumbents notified in writing of the reasons for including the positions in...

  15. Major epigenetic development distinguishing neuronal and non-neuronal cells occurs postnatally in the murine hypothalamus

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Prenatal and early postnatal environment can persistently alter one's risk of obesity. Environmental effects on hypothalamic developmental epigenetics constitute a likely mechanism underlying such 'developmental programming' of energy balance regulation. To advance our understanding of these process...

  16. 40 CFR 721.3880 - Polyalkylene glycol substituted acetate.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... acetate. 721.3880 Section 721.3880 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED... communication program. A significant new use of this substance is any manner or method of manufacture, import, or processing associated with any use of this substance without providing risk notification as...

  17. 40 CFR 721.3629 - Triethanolamine salts of fatty acids.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    .... 721.3629 Section 721.3629 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC...) Hazard communication program. A significant new use of these substances is any manner or method of manufacture, import, or processing associated with any use of these substances without providing risk...

  18. 40 CFR 158.2173 - Experimental use permit microbial pesticides toxicology data requirements table.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... combination of inert ingredients is not likely to pose any significant human health risks. Where appropriate... pesticides toxicology data requirements table. 158.2173 Section 158.2173 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Microbial...

  19. 40 CFR 158.2173 - Experimental use permit microbial pesticides toxicology data requirements table.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... combination of inert ingredients is not likely to pose any significant human health risks. Where appropriate... pesticides toxicology data requirements table. 158.2173 Section 158.2173 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Microbial...

  20. 40 CFR 158.2173 - Experimental use permit microbial pesticides toxicology data requirements table.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... combination of inert ingredients is not likely to pose any significant human health risks. Where appropriate... pesticides toxicology data requirements table. 158.2173 Section 158.2173 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Microbial...

  1. 40 CFR 158.2173 - Experimental use permit microbial pesticides toxicology data requirements table.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... combination of inert ingredients is not likely to pose any significant human health risks. Where appropriate... pesticides toxicology data requirements table. 158.2173 Section 158.2173 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Microbial...

  2. 40 CFR 158.2173 - Experimental use permit microbial pesticides toxicology data requirements table.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... combination of inert ingredients is not likely to pose any significant human health risks. Where appropriate... pesticides toxicology data requirements table. 158.2173 Section 158.2173 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES Microbial...

  3. 40 CFR 68.168 - Five-year accident history.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Five-year accident history. 68.168 Section 68.168 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.168 Five-year accident history...

  4. 40 CFR 68.168 - Five-year accident history.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Five-year accident history. 68.168 Section 68.168 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.168 Five-year accident history...

  5. 40 CFR 68.168 - Five-year accident history.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Five-year accident history. 68.168 Section 68.168 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.168 Five-year accident history...

  6. 40 CFR 68.168 - Five-year accident history.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Five-year accident history. 68.168 Section 68.168 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.168 Five-year accident history...

  7. Water Reuse and Soil Column Studies for Alternative Water Resource Development

    EPA Science Inventory

    The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) has developed a holistic water research program in order to identify engineering and management options for safe and expanded use ...

  8. Maternal Influences on Epigenetic Programming of the Developing Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis

    EPA Science Inventory

    Parental and environmental factors during the prenatal and postnatal periods permanently affect the physiology and metabolism of offspring, potentially increasing risk of disease later in life. Underlying mechanisms are beginning to be elucidated, and effects on a number of organ...

  9. The EPA Comptox Chemistry Dashboard: A Web-Based Data Integration Hub for Toxicology Data (SOT)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Computational Toxicology Program integrates advances in biology, chemistry, and computer science to help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. This work involves computational and data drive...

  10. The Virtual Embryo Project (v-Embryo™)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The v-Embryo is a far reaching new research program at the US EPA to develop a working computer model of a mammalian embryo that can be used to better understand the prenatal risks posed by environmental chemicals and to eventually predict a chemical's potential developmental tox...

  11. The Virtual Embryo Project

    EPA Science Inventory

    The v-Embryo™ is a far reaching new research program at the US EPA to develop a working computer model of a mammalian embryo that can be used to better understand the prenatal risks posed by environmental chemicals and to eventually predict a chemical’s potential developmental to...

  12. ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE MAGNITUDE OF HUMAN INGESTION OF RECREATIONAL WATER DURING SWIMMING ACTIVITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The EPA's Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health (BEACH) Program is a multi-year, multifaceted strategy for reducing human exposure to certain risks from infectious pathogenic organisms associated with human behavior, and activities related to hygienic practices, o...

  13. Comparative Evaluation of Alternative Disinfectants for Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) initiated a research program to evaluate the performance of various disinfectants that could potentially be used in drink...

  14. 40 CFR 1400.13 - Read-only database.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Read-only database. 1400.13 Section 1400.13 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7...

  15. 40 CFR 1400.6 - Enhanced local access.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Enhanced local access. 1400.6 Section 1400.6 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7...

  16. 40 CFR 1400.7 - In general.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In general. 1400.7 Section 1400.7 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF...

  17. 40 CFR 68.168 - Five-year accident history.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Five-year accident history. 68.168 Section 68.168 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.168 Five-year accident history...

  18. Approaches for describing and communicating overall uncertainty in toxicity characterizations: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) as a case study.

    PubMed

    Beck, Nancy B; Becker, Richard A; Erraguntla, Neeraja; Farland, William H; Grant, Roberta L; Gray, George; Kirman, Christopher; LaKind, Judy S; Jeffrey Lewis, R; Nance, Patricia; Pottenger, Lynn H; Santos, Susan L; Shirley, Stephanie; Simon, Ted; Dourson, Michael L

    2016-01-01

    Single point estimates of human health hazard/toxicity values such as a reference dose (RfD) are generally used in chemical hazard and risk assessment programs for assessing potential risks associated with site- or use-specific exposures. The resulting point estimates are often used by risk managers for regulatory decision-making, including standard setting, determination of emission controls, and mitigation of exposures to chemical substances. Risk managers, as well as stakeholders (interested and affected parties), often have limited information regarding assumptions and uncertainty factors in numerical estimates of both hazards and risks. Further, the use of different approaches for addressing uncertainty, which vary in transparency, can lead to a lack of confidence in the scientific underpinning of regulatory decision-making. The overarching goal of this paper, which was developed from an invited participant workshop, is to offer five approaches for presenting toxicity values in a transparent manner in order to improve the understanding, consideration, and informed use of uncertainty by risk assessors, risk managers, and stakeholders. The five approaches for improving the presentation and communication of uncertainty are described using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) as a case study. These approaches will ensure transparency in the documentation, development, and use of toxicity values at EPA, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and other similar assessment programs in the public and private sector. Further empirical testing will help to inform the approaches that will work best for specific audiences and situations. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. The "Learning Through Play" project. Importance of interdisciplinary work among children born prematurely and their family groups in an area of high socio-environmental risk.

    PubMed

    Tobar, Flor L; Lencina, Manuel J

    2017-12-01

    Several socio-environmental risk factors causea large number of children born prematurely, and without neurological disorders, to have low scores in their development, particularly in the cognitive and socio-emotional skills areas, thus evidencing a potential future risk. Strengthening bonds with the family and caregivers is critical for their adequate development. This article reports on the experience of an interdisciplinary team from Hospital Eva Perón de Tucumán, who designed a program called "Learning Through Play"for the promotion of child development and aimed at parents of preterm infants seen at the Follow-up Outpatient Clinic and the Department of Social Services, with the collaboration of the Department of Nutrition. Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.

  20. Sound level exposure of high-risk infants in different environmental conditions.

    PubMed

    Byers, Jacqueline F; Waugh, W Randolph; Lowman, Linda B

    2006-01-01

    To provide descriptive information about the sound levels to which high-risk infants are exposed in various actual environmental conditions in the NICU, including the impact of physical renovation on sound levels, and to assess the contributions of various types of equipment, alarms, and activities to sound levels in simulated conditions in the NICU. Descriptive and comparative design. Convenience sample of 134 infants at a southeastern quarternary children's hospital. A-weighted decibel (dBA) sound levels under various actual and simulated environmental conditions. The renovated NICU was, on average, 4-6 dBA quieter across all environmental conditions than a comparable nonrenovated room, representing a significant sound level reduction. Sound levels remained above consensus recommendations despite physical redesign and staff training. Respiratory therapy equipment, alarms, staff talking, and infant fussiness contributed to higher sound levels. Evidence-based sound-reducing strategies are proposed. Findings were used to plan environment management as part of a developmental, family-centered care, performance improvement program and in new NICU planning.

  1. Maglev program test plan. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    deBenedet, D.; Gilchrist, A.J.; Karanian, L.A.

    1992-07-01

    Maglev systems represent a promising evolution in the high-speed ground transportation, offering speeds in excess of 300 mph along with the potential for low operating costs and minimal environmental impact. The goal of this effort is to investigate the feasibility and viability of maglev systems in the United States. The emergence of a sophisticated technology such as maglev requires a need for a coordinated research test program and the determination of test requirements to identify and mitigate development risk and to maximize the use of domestic resources. The study is directed toward the identification and characterization of maglev systems developmentmore » risks tied to a preliminary system architecture. Research objectives are accomplished by surveying experiences from previous maglev development programs, both foreign and domestic, and interviews with individuals involved with maglev research and testing. Findings include ninety-four distinct development risks and twenty risk types. Planning and implementation requirements are identified for a maglev test program, including the development of a facilities strategy to meet any operational concepts that evolve out of early development effort. Also specified is the logical development flow and associated long-lead support needs for sub-scale and full-scale testing.« less

  2. Toxicology in Australia: a key component of environmental health.

    PubMed

    Priestly, Brian G; Di Marco, Peter; Sim, Malcolm; Moore, Michael R; Langley, Andrew

    2007-10-01

    Managing public concerns relating to chemical exposures can consume substantial public health resources, particularly as the scientific basis around these issues is often contentious. Toxicology remains underrecognized as a public health discipline in Australia, although Australian toxicologists are making significant contributions from academia, government, and the commercial sector toward assessing the level of risk and protecting the community from environmental hazards. Internationally, the growth of environmental toxicology and the promotion of sound science in risk assessment as a basis for making regulatory decisions have been, to some extent, driven by the outcomes of the 1992 UNCED Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio Summit) and its Chapter 19 Agenda 21 activities. The promotion of safe chemical management practices and the need for global strengthening of capabilities in toxicology are among the initiatives of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS), which was formed after the Rio Summit to manage these programs. This article describes some of the initiatives in capacity building that marked the development of environmental toxicology in Australia since 1992 in response to these international environmental health initiatives.

  3. Applicability of a neuroprobabilistic integral risk index for the environmental management of polluted areas: a case study.

    PubMed

    Nadal, Martí; Kumar, Vikas; Schuhmacher, Marta; Domingo, José L

    2008-04-01

    Recently, we developed a GIS-Integrated Integral Risk Index (IRI) to assess human health risks in areas with presence of environmental pollutants. Contaminants were previously ranked by applying a self-organizing map (SOM) to their characteristics of persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity in order to obtain the Hazard Index (HI). In the present study, the original IRI was substantially improved by allowing the entrance of probabilistic data. A neuroprobabilistic HI was developed by combining SOM and Monte Carlo analysis. In general terms, the deterministic and probabilistic HIs followed a similar pattern: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were the pollutants showing the highest and lowest values of HI, respectively. However, the bioaccumulation value of heavy metals notably increased after considering a probability density function to explain the bioaccumulation factor. To check its applicability, a case study was investigated. The probabilistic integral risk was calculated in the chemical/petrochemical industrial area of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain), where an environmental program has been carried out since 2002. The risk change between 2002 and 2005 was evaluated on the basis of probabilistic data of the levels of various pollutants in soils. The results indicated that the risk of the chemicals under study did not follow a homogeneous tendency. However, the current levels of pollution do not mean a relevant source of health risks for the local population. Moreover, the neuroprobabilistic HI seems to be an adequate tool to be taken into account in risk assessment processes.

  4. Evaluating public participation in environmental decision-making: EPA's superfund community involvement program.

    PubMed

    Charnley, Susan; Engelbert, Bruce

    2005-11-01

    This article discusses an 8-year, ongoing project that evaluates the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund community involvement program. The project originated as a response to the Government Performance and Results Act, which requires federal agencies to articulate program goals, and evaluate and report their progress in meeting those goals. The evaluation project assesses how effective the Superfund community involvement program is in promoting public participation in decisions about how to clean up hazardous wastes at Superfund sites. We do three things in the article: (1) share our experience with evaluating an Agency public participation program, including lessons learned about methods of evaluation; (2) report evaluation results; and (3) address a number of issues pertaining to the evaluation of public participation in environmental decision-making. Our goal is to encourage more environmental managers to incorporate evaluation into their public participation programs as a tool for improving them. We found that written mail surveys were an effective and economical tool for obtaining feedback on EPA's community involvement program at Superfund sites. The evaluation focused on four criteria: citizen satisfaction with EPA information about the Superfund site, citizen understanding of environmental and human health risks associated with the site, citizen satisfaction with opportunities provided by EPA for community input, and citizen satisfaction with EPA's response to community input. While the evaluation results were mixed, in general, community members who were most informed about and involved in the cleanup process at Superfund sites generally were also the most satisfied with the community involvement process, and the job that EPA was doing cleaning up the site. We conclude that systematic evaluation provides meaningful and useful information that agencies can use to improve their public participation programs. However, there need to be institutionalized processes that ensure evaluation results are used to develop and implement strategies for improvement.

  5. Public health implications of environmental exposures.

    PubMed Central

    De Rosa, C T; Pohl, H R; Williams, M; Ademoyero, A A; Chou, C H; Jones, D E

    1998-01-01

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a public health agency with responsibility for assessing the public health implications associated with uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances into the environment. The biological effects of low-level exposures are a primary concern in these assessments. One of the tools used by the agency for this purpose is the risk assessment paradigm originally outlined and described by the National Academy of Science in 1983. Because of its design and inherent concepts, risk assessment has been variously employed by a number of environmental and public health agencies and programs as a means to organize information, as a decision support tool, and as a working hypothesis for biologically based inference and extrapolation. Risk assessment has also been the subject of significant critical review. The ATSDR recognizes the utility of both the qualitative and quantitative conclusions provided by traditional risk assessment, but the agency uses such estimates only in the broader context of professional judgment, internal and external peer review, and extensive public review and comment. This multifaceted approach is consistent with the Council on Environmental Quality's description and use of risk analysis as an organizing construct based on sound biomedical and other scientific judgment in concert with risk assessment to define plausible exposure ranges of concern rather than a single numerical estimate that may convey an artificial sense of precision. In this approach biomedical opinion, host factors, mechanistic interpretation, molecular epidemiology, and actual exposure conditions are all critically important in evaluating the significance of environmental exposure to hazardous substances. As such, the ATSDR risk analysis approach is a multidimensional endeavor encompassing not only the components of risk assessment but also the principles of biomedical judgment, risk management, and risk communication. Within this framework of risk analysis, the ATSDR may rely on one or more of a number of interrelated principles and approaches to screen, organize information, set priorities, make decisions, and define future research needs and directions. Images Figure 1 PMID:9539032

  6. Genetic and environmental influences on the transmission of parental depression to children's depression and conduct disturbance: an extended Children of Twins study.

    PubMed

    Silberg, Judy L; Maes, Hermine; Eaves, Lindon J

    2010-06-01

    Despite the increased risk of depression and conduct problems in children of depressed parents, the mechanism by which parental depression affects their children's behavioral and emotional functioning is not well understood. The present study was undertaken to determine whether parental depression represents a genuine environmental risk factor in children's psychopathology, or whether children's depression/conduct can be explained as a secondary consequence of the genetic liability transmitted from parents to their offspring. Children of Twins (COT) data collected on 2,674 adult female and male twins, their spouses, and 2,940 of their children were used to address whether genetic and/or family environmental factors best account for the association between depression in parents and depression and conduct problems in their children. Data collected on juvenile twins from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) were also included to estimate child-specific genetic and environmental influences apart from those effects arising from the transmission of the parental depression itself. The fit of alternative Children of Twin models were evaluated using the statistical program Mx. The most compelling model for the association between parental and juvenile depression was a model of direct environmental risk. Both family environmental and genetic factors accounted for the association between parental depression and child conduct disturbance. These findings illustrate how a genetically mediated behavior such as parental depression can have both an environmental and genetic impact on children's behavior. We find developmentally specific genetic factors underlying risk to juvenile and adult depression. A shared genetic liability influences both parental depression and juvenile conduct disturbance, implicating child conduct disturbance (CD) as an early indicator of genetic risk for depression in adulthood. In summary, our analyses demonstrate differences in the impact of parental depression on different forms of child psychopathology, and at various stages of development.

  7. Genetic and environmental influences on the transmission of parental depression to children’s depression and conduct disturbance: An extended Children of Twins study

    PubMed Central

    Silberg, Judy L.; Maes, Hermine; Eaves, Lindon J.

    2010-01-01

    Background Despite the increased risk of depression and conduct problems in children of depressed parents, the mechanism by which parental depression affects their children’s behavioral and emotional functioning is not well understood. The present study was undertaken to determine whether parental depression represents a genuine environmental risk factor in children’s psychopathology, or whether children’s depression/conduct can be explained as a secondary consequence of the genetic liability transmitted from parents to their offspring. Methods Children of Twins (COT) data collected on 2,674 adult female and male twins, their spouses, and 2,940 of their children were used to address whether genetic and/or family environmental factors best account for the association between depression in parents and depression and conduct problems in their children. Data collected on juvenile twins from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) were also included to estimate child-specific genetic and environmental influences apart from those effects arising from the transmission of the parental depression itself. The fit of alternative Children of Twin models were evaluated using the statistical program Mx. Results The most compelling model for the association between parental and juvenile depression was a model of direct environmental risk. Both family environmental and genetic factors accounted for the association between parental depression and child conduct disturbance. Conclusions These findings illustrate how a genetically mediated behavior such as parental depression can have both an environmental and genetic impact on children’s behavior. We find developmentally specific genetic factors underlying risk to juvenile and adult depression. A shared genetic liability influence both parental depression and juvenile conduct disturbance, implicating child CD as an early indicator of genetic risk for depression in adulthood. In summary, our analyses demonstrate differences in the impact of parental depression on different forms of child psychopathology, and at various stages of development. PMID:20163497

  8. Evaluation of a Home-Based Environmental and Educational Intervention to Improve Health in Vulnerable Households: Southeastern Pennsylvania Lead and Healthy Homes Program

    PubMed Central

    Mankikar, Deepa; Campbell, Carla; Greenberg, Rachael

    2016-01-01

    This evaluation examined whether participation in a home-based environmental educational intervention would reduce exposure to health and safety hazards and asthma-related medical visits. The home intervention program focused on vulnerable, low-income households, where children had asthma, were at risk for lead poisoning, or faced multiple unsafe housing conditions. Home visitors conducted two home visits, two months apart, consisting of an environmental home assessment, Healthy Homes education, and distribution of Healthy Homes supplies. Measured outcomes included changes in participant knowledge and awareness of environmental home-based hazards, rate of children’s asthma-related medical use, and the presence of asthma triggers and safety hazards. Analysis of 2013–2014 baseline and post-intervention program data for a cohort of 150 families revealed a significantly lower three-month rate (p < 0.05) of children’s asthma-related doctor visits and hospital admissions at program completion. In addition, there were significantly reduced reports of the presence of home-based hazards, including basement or roof leaks (p = 0.011), plumbing leaks (p = 0.019), and use of an oven to heat the home (p < 0.001). Participants’ pre- and post- test scores showed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in knowledge and awareness of home hazards. Comprehensive home interventions may effectively reduce environmental home hazards and improve the health of asthmatic children in the short term. PMID:27618087

  9. ACTIVE AND SEMI-PASSIVE LIME TREATMENT OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE AT LEVIATHAN MINE, CALIFORNIA CAPSULE

    EPA Science Inventory

    As part of the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), in cooperation with EPA Region IX, the state of California, and the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) evalua...

  10. ACTIVE AND SEMI-PASSIVE LIME TREATMENT OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE AT LEVIATHAN MINE, CALIFORNIA BULLETIN

    EPA Science Inventory

    As part of the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), in cooperation with EPA Region IX, the state of California, and the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) evaluat...

  11. ACTIVE AND SEMI-PASSIVE LIME TREATMENT OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE AT LEVIATHAN MINE, CALIFORNIA ITER

    EPA Science Inventory

    As part of the Superfund Innovative Tecbnology Evaluation (SITE) program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), in cooperation with EPA Region IX, the state of California, and the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) evalua...

  12. NATO CCMS PILOT STUDY - CLEAN PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES, NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Committee on the Challenges to Modern Society (CCMS) was established by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1969. The mission of CCMS is to develop meaningful programs to share information among countries on important environmental and societal issues that comple...

  13. 40 CFR 68.151 - Assertion of claims of confidential business information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Assertion of claims of confidential business information. 68.151 Section 68.151 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.151...

  14. High-Throughput Simulation of Environmental Chemical Fate for Exposure Prioritization

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. EPA must consider lists of hundreds to thousands of chemicals when allocating resources to identify risk in human populations and the environment. High-throughput screening assays to characterize biological activity in vitro have allowed the ToxCastTM program to identify...

  15. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for 1,2,3,4,5-Pentabromo-6-Chlorocyclohexane

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  16. A LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS OF NEW YORK CITY'S WATER SUPPLY (1973-1998)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Currently the city of New York is trying to save taxpayers the cost of a billion dollar filtration system by protecting water quality through implementing a long-range watershed protection program. The goals of this study are 1) improvements in environmental risk assessment and ...

  17. 40 CFR 721.5546 - Halogen substituted oxetanes (generic).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., and any information on methods for protecting against such risk, into a Material Safety Data Sheet...). 721.5546 Section 721.5546 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC... program. A significant new use of these chemical substances is any manner or method of manufacture, import...

  18. Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values for 1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-Trifluoroethane

    EPA Science Inventory

    Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTVs) are developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Assessment, Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center for OSRTI. Other EPA programs or external parties who may choose of their ...

  19. NTP-CERHR EXPERT PANEL REPORT ON THE REPRODUCTIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY OF 2-BROMOPROPANE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) established the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) in order to provide timely, unbiased, scientifically sound evaluations of human and exper...

  20. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    This document contains information about the research programs being conducted at the Savannah River Plant. Topics of discussion include: thermal cycling absorption process, development of new alloys, ion exchange, oxalate precipitation, calcination, environmental research, remedial action, ecological risk assessments, chemical analysis of salt cakes, natural phenomena hazards assessment, and sampling of soils and groundwater.

  1. Development of an exposure model for diesel locomotive emissions near the Alameda Corridor.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-02-01

    The present investigation is part of a program of study at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research and Services (CEERS) at CSULB to assess the exposure risks of the particulate matter (PM) in the outdoor environment related to the seaport op...

  2. Investigating Impact Metrics for Performance for the US EPA National Center for Computational Toxicology (ACS Fall meeting)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Computational Toxicology Program integrates advances in biology, chemistry, and computer science to help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. This work involves computational and data drive...

  3. Use of relational agents to improve family communication in type 1 diabetes: Methods

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Physiological and environmental risk factors interact to undermine blood glucose control during early adolescence. This has been documented to be associated with family conflict and poor adherence to diabetes management tasks. Family Teamwork is an efficacious program demonstrated to enhance family ...

  4. NTP-CERHR Expert Panel Report on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of hydroxyurea

    EPA Science Inventory

    The National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) established the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) in June 1998. The purpose of CERHR is to provide timely, unbiased, scientifically sound e...

  5. Overview of the ToxCast Research Program: Applications to Predictive Toxicology and Chemical Prioritization (SETAC)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Understanding the potential health risks posed by environmental chemicals is a significant challenge driven by the large number of diverse chemicals with generally uncharacterized exposures, mechanisms and toxicities. The U.S. EPA’s ToxCast chemical prioritization research projec...

  6. 40 CFR 1400.4 - Vulnerable zone indicator system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Vulnerable zone indicator system. 1400.4 Section 1400.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7...

  7. 40 CFR 68.151 - Assertion of claims of confidential business information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Assertion of claims of confidential business information. 68.151 Section 68.151 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.151...

  8. Transparent Democratic Foresight Strategies in the California EMF Program.

    PubMed

    Neutra, Raymond Richard; Delpizzo, Vincent

    2002-01-01

    A California Department of Health Services program dealt with possible health effects from Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) from power lines. With the advice of stakeholders, and well before any risk determinations were made, transparent policy analyses about the power grid and schools asked the question, "How confident must one be of how big an effect before one would adopt cheap or expensive EMF avoidance measures?" A risk evaluation was carried out with features that promoted transparency. It was formatted to provide a policy-neutral "degree of certainty of causality" to adherents of utilitarian, environmental justice, and libertarian policy frameworks. Though the program had many features advocated by adherents of the precautionary principle, it might be better characterized as following "Transparent Democratic Foresight Strategies," since no single principle justifies the strategies used in this participatory program, and it examined the pros and cons of options but made no recommendations, precautionary or otherwise.

  9. 2013 Advanced Environmental Health/Advanced Food Technology Standing Review Panel Final Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Steinberg, Susan

    2014-01-01

    The 2013 Advanced Environmental Health/Advanced Food Technology (AEH/AFT) Standing Review Panel (from here on referred to as the SRP) participated in a WebEx/teleconference with members of the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element, representatives from the Human Research Program (HRP), and NASA Headquarters on November 22, 2013 (list of participants is in Section IX of this report). The SRP reviewed the updated research plans for the Risk of Adverse Health Effects Due to Alterations in Host-Microorganism Interactions (Host Microbe Risk) and the Risk of Performance Decrement and Crew Illness Due to an Inadequate Food System (Food Risk). The SRP also received a status update on the Risk of Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Dust and Volatiles during Exploration of Celestial Bodies (Dust Risk). Overall, the SRP was impressed with the strong research plans presented by the scientists and staff associated with the SHFH Element. The SRP also thought that the updated research plans were thorough, well organized, and presented in a comprehensive manner. The SRP agrees with the changes made to the Host Microbe Risk and Food Risk portfolios and thinks that the targets for Gap closure are appropriate.

  10. Passenger behaviors associated with norovirus infection on board a cruise ship--Alaska, May to June 2004.

    PubMed

    Chimonas, Marc-Andre R; Vaughan, George H; Andre, Zandra; Ames, Jaret T; Tarling, Grant A; Beard, Suzanne; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Cramer, Elaine

    2008-01-01

    During May 2004, the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) investigated an outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis on board a cruise ship sailing in Alaska waters. The objectives were to identify a common food item source and explore behavioral risk factors for person-to-person transmission among passengers. A case was defined as three or more episodes of loose stools within 24 hours or two or fewer episodes of loose stools accompanied by one or more episodes of vomiting. Vomitus and stool samples from affected passengers were tested for norovirus by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Environmental health officers performed an environmental investigation following VSP protocol. Questionnaires about food items consumed and behavioral risk factors were placed in cabin mailboxes (n = 2,018). A case-control study design using multivariable logistic regression tested associations between risk factors and disease. A total of 359 passengers (24.1% of respondents) met the case definition. Four of seven clinical specimens tested positive for norovirus. No significant deficiencies in environmental health practices were identified, and no meal servings were associated with disease. Having a cabin mate sick with diarrhea or vomiting [odds ratio (OR): 3.40; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.80-6.44] and using a specific women's toilet that was contaminated with vomit (OR: 5.13; 95% CI = 1.40-18.78) were associated with disease. Washing hands before meals was protective (OR: 0.25; 95% CI = 0.12-0.54) against disease. Widespread person-to-person norovirus outbreaks can occur on board cruise ships, even with appropriate environmental health practices. Programs to prevent and control norovirus outbreaks on board cruise ships should involve strategies that disrupt person-to-person spread and emphasize hand washing.

  11. Multi-objective model of waste transportation management for crude palm oil industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silalahi, Meslin; Mawengkang, Herman; Irsa Syahputri, Nenna

    2018-02-01

    The crude palm oil industry is an agro-industrial commodity. The global market of this industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, such that it has a strategic value to be developed for Indonesian economy. Despite these economic benefits there are a number of environmental problems at the factories, such as high water consumption, the generation of a large amount of wastewater with a high organic content, and the generation of a large quantity of solid wastes and air pollution. In terms of waste transportation, we propose a multiobjective programming model for managing business environmental risk in a crude palm oil manufacture which gives the best possible configuration of waste management facilities and allocates wastes to these facilities. Then we develop an interactive approach for tackling logistics and environmental risk production planning problem for the crude palm oil industry.

  12. Ecological risks of DOE`s programmatic environmental restoration alternatives

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-06-01

    This report assesses the ecological risks of the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Environmental Restoration Program. The assessment is programmatic in that it is directed at evaluation of the broad programmatic alternatives outlined in the DOE Implementation Plan. It attempts to (1) characterize the ecological resources present on DOE facilities, (2) describe the occurrence and importance of ecologically significant contamination at major DOE facilities, (3) evaluate the adverse ecological impacts of habitat disturbance caused by remedial activities, and (4) determine whether one or another of the programmatic alternatives is clearly ecologically superior to the others. The assessment focuses on six representativemore » facilities: the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL); the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP); the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Y-12 plant, and K-25 plant; the Rocky Flats Plant; the Hanford Reservation; and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.« less

  13. Environmental justice: implications for occupational health nurses.

    PubMed

    Postma, Julie

    2006-11-01

    Through the use of innovative tools, such as clinical mnemonics, exercises in risk and asset mapping, and strategic program development, occupational health nurses can incorporate dimensions of environmental justice (EJ) into the workplace. Occupational health nurses who also take on educational roles can use case studies and network with labor and EJ groups to provide clinical experiences for occupational and environmental health nursing students, thereby integrating EJ into occupational and environmental health nursing practice. Occupational health nurses are well positioned to serve as technical experts within community-based participatory research projects. Occupational health nurses must share their knowledge and experience as members of coalitions that represent workers in their fight for worker health and safety.

  14. Effectiveness of environmental-based educative program for disaster preparedness and burn management.

    PubMed

    Moghazy, Amr; Abdelrahman, Amira; Fahim, Ayman

    2012-01-01

    Preparedness is a necessity for proper handling of emergencies and disaster, particularly in Suez Canal and Sinai regions. To assure best success rates, educative programs should be environmentally based. Burn and fire preventive educative programs were tailored to adapt social and education levels of audience. In addition, common etiologies and applicability of preventive measures, according to local resources and logistics, were considered. Presentations were the main educative tool; they were made as simple as possible to assure best understanding. To assure continuous education, brochures and stickers, containing most popular mistakes and questions, were distributed after the sessions. Audience was classified according to their level of knowledge to health professional group; students groups; high-risk group; and lay people group. For course efficacy evaluation, pre- and posttests were used immediately before and after the sessions. Right answers in both tests were compared for statistical significance. Results showed significant acquisition of proper attitude and knowledge in all educated groups. The highest was among students and the least was in health professionals. Comprehensive simple environmental-based educative programs are ideal for rapid reform and community mobilization in our region. Activities should include direct contact, stickers and flyers, and audiovisual tools if possible.

  15. Seasonal Variations in Birth Weight in Suzhou Industrial Park.

    PubMed

    Wu, Lei; Ding, Yi; Rui, Xing Li; Mao, Cai Ping

    2016-10-01

    Many environmental factors have been shown to adversely influence birth weight, and new insight has been gained into 'seasonal programming'. We studied a total of 23,064 infants. The mean birth weight varied across seasons. Logistic regression analysis was used to obtain the crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for dichotomous outcomes (e.g., macrosomia, low birth weight). There were significant differences in the risks for macrosomia in infants born in different seasons. Compared with those for infants born in spring, the ORs for macrosomia were 0.85 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75-0.98] and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.77-0.99) for infants born in summer and autumn, respectively. These findings suggest that environmental factors may have public health implications and should be considered when primary prevention programs are developed for macrosomia or low birth weight. Copyright © 2016 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

  16. Meta-Modeling-Based Groundwater Remediation Optimization under Flexibility in Environmental Standard.

    PubMed

    He, Li; Xu, Zongda; Fan, Xing; Li, Jing; Lu, Hongwei

    2017-05-01

      This study develops a meta-modeling based mathematical programming approach with flexibility in environmental standards. It integrates numerical simulation, meta-modeling analysis, and fuzzy programming within a general framework. A set of models between remediation strategies and remediation performance can well guarantee the mitigation in computational efforts in the simulation and optimization process. In order to prevent the occurrence of over-optimistic and pessimistic optimization strategies, a high satisfaction level resulting from the implementation of a flexible standard can indicate the degree to which the environmental standard is satisfied. The proposed approach is applied to a naphthalene-contaminated site in China. Results show that a longer remediation period corresponds to a lower total pumping rate and a stringent risk standard implies a high total pumping rate. The wells located near or in the down-gradient direction to the contaminant sources have the most significant efficiency among all of remediation schemes.

  17. Pesticide mixtures in the Swedish streams: Environmental risks, contributions of individual compounds and consequences of single-substance oriented risk mitigation.

    PubMed

    Gustavsson, Mikael; Kreuger, Jenny; Bundschuh, Mirco; Backhaus, Thomas

    2017-11-15

    This paper presents the ecotoxicological assessment and environmental risk evaluation of complex pesticide mixtures occurring in freshwater ecosystems in southern Sweden. The evaluation is based on exposure data collected between 2002 and 2013 by the Swedish pesticide monitoring program and includes 1308 individual samples, detecting mixtures of up to 53 pesticides (modal=8). Pesticide mixture risks were evaluated using three different scenarios for non-detects (best-case, worst-case and using the Kaplan-Meier method). The risk of each scenario was analyzed using Swedish Water Quality Objectives (WQO) and trophic-level specific environmental thresholds. Using the Kaplan-Meier method the environmental risk of 73% of the samples exceeded acceptable levels, based on an assessment using Concentration-Addition and WQOs for the individual pesticides. Algae were the most sensitive organism group. However, analytical detection limits, especially for insecticides, were insufficient to analyze concentrations at or near their WQO's. Thus, the risk of the analyzed pesticide mixtures to crustaceans and fish is systematically underestimated. Treating non-detects as being present at their individual limit of detection increased the estimated risk by a factor 100 or more, compared to the best-case or the Kaplan-Meier scenario. Pesticide mixture risks are often driven by only 1-3 compounds. However, the risk-drivers (i.e., individual pesticides explaining the largest share of potential effects) differ substantially between sites and samples, and 83 of the 141 monitored pesticides need to be included in the assessment to account for 95% of the risk at all sites and years. Single-substance oriented risk mitigation measures that would ensure that each individual pesticide is present at a maximum of 95% of its individual WQO, would also reduce the mixture risk, but only from a median risk quotient of 2.1 to a median risk quotient of 1.8. Also, acceptable total risk levels would still be exceeded in more than 70% of the samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Development of genetic programming-based model for predicting oyster norovirus outbreak risks.

    PubMed

    Chenar, Shima Shamkhali; Deng, Zhiqiang

    2018-01-01

    Oyster norovirus outbreaks pose increasing risks to human health and seafood industry worldwide but exact causes of the outbreaks are rarely identified, making it highly unlikely to reduce the risks. This paper presents a genetic programming (GP) based approach to identifying the primary cause of oyster norovirus outbreaks and predicting oyster norovirus outbreaks in order to reduce the risks. In terms of the primary cause, it was found that oyster norovirus outbreaks were controlled by cumulative effects of antecedent environmental conditions characterized by low solar radiation, low water temperature, low gage height (the height of water above a gage datum), low salinity, heavy rainfall, and strong offshore wind. The six environmental variables were determined by using Random Forest (RF) and Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) methods within the framework of the GP approach. In terms of predicting norovirus outbreaks, a risk-based GP model was developed using the six environmental variables and various combinations of the variables with different time lags. The results of local and global sensitivity analyses showed that gage height, temperature, and solar radiation were by far the three most important environmental predictors for oyster norovirus outbreaks, though other variables were also important. Specifically, very low temperature and gage height significantly increased the risk of norovirus outbreaks while high solar radiation markedly reduced the risk, suggesting that low temperature and gage height were associated with the norovirus source while solar radiation was the primary sink of norovirus. The GP model was utilized to hindcast daily risks of oyster norovirus outbreaks along the Northern Gulf of Mexico coast. The daily hindcasting results indicated that the GP model was capable of hindcasting all historical oyster norovirus outbreaks from January 2002 to June 2014 in the Gulf of Mexico with only two false positive outbreaks for the 12.5-year period. The performance of the GP model was characterized with the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve of 0.86, the true positive rate (sensitivity) of 78.53% and the true negative rate (specificity) of 88.82%, respectively, demonstrating the efficacy of the GP model. The findings and results offered new insights into the oyster norovirus outbreaks in terms of source, sink, cause, and predictors. The GP model provided an efficient and effective tool for predicting potential oyster norovirus outbreaks and implementing management interventions to prevent or at least reduce norovirus risks to both the human health and the seafood industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-02-28

    EPA to conduct health risk reduction and cost analyses for most new standards, authorized a state revolving loan fund (SRF) program to help public water...toxic substances; maintain an inventory of literature, research, and studies on the health effects of toxic substance contamination; provide medical care ...Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-311), and through 2007 by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-432). Table 16. Major

  20. Environmental Programs: Status of Work and Current Priorities for FY13

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, Patricia

    2012-08-17

    Presentation outline is: Mission/overview, Regulatory framework, Current status of cleanup, Shift in priorities to address highest risk, Removal of above-ground waste, Continued focus on protecting water resources, and Priorities for fiscal year 2013. LANL's Environmental Mission is to: (1) Repack and ship legacy transuranic waste containers; (2) Investigate and remediate Cold War (legacy) hazardous and radioactive waste areas; (3) Demolish unused buildings; (4) Disposition solid waste from Laboratory operations; and (5) Lifecycle cost nearly $3 billion.

  1. Xavier University CERE Program [Consortium for Environmental Risk Evaluation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    O'Connor, Sally

    1999-09-01

    The workshop provided training for 20 environmental professionals and educators. The focus of instruction for two days was the use of the Internet as a communcation tool. Instructors introduced participants to email, designing and building Web pages, and conducting research using search engines. The focus for three days was learning how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be used in the classroom and the workplace. Participants were introducted to the GIS on the Internet and Use of ArcView software.

  2. Proceedings of the International Cryocooler Conference (7th) Held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on 17-19 November 1992, Part 1

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-04-01

    mitigate the risks of utilizing this novel technology for spaceflight systems such as BE. The various elements of the development program include...the cylinder. The DC offset has been observed to change significantly with time or with a change in the environmental parameters. Also, a change in...in Figure 5, and immersed in an environmental vacuum chamber with the bonnet removed. In both cases, parasitic measurement confirmed that radiative

  3. Concurrent validity and reliability of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale in infants at dual risk for motor delays.

    PubMed

    Snyder, Patricia; Eason, Jane M; Philibert, Darbi; Ridgway, Andrea; McCaughey, Tiffany

    2008-01-01

    Concurrent validity of scores for the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Peabody Developmental Gross Motor Scale-2 (PDGMS-2) was examined with a sample of 35 infants at dual risk for motor delays or disabilities. Dual risk was defined as low birthweight ( 9 months of age. Novice examiners' scores on both measures closely approximated those of experienced examiners (ICC range = .98 to .99). The results support concurrent validity of the AIMS and PDGMS-2 for infants at dual risk and have implications for using the AIMS in high-risk follow-up programs, particularly in relation to evaluating functional components of motor performance and ease of administration.

  4. Multi-objective reverse logistics model for integrated computer waste management.

    PubMed

    Ahluwalia, Poonam Khanijo; Nema, Arvind K

    2006-12-01

    This study aimed to address the issues involved in the planning and design of a computer waste management system in an integrated manner. A decision-support tool is presented for selecting an optimum configuration of computer waste management facilities (segregation, storage, treatment/processing, reuse/recycle and disposal) and allocation of waste to these facilities. The model is based on an integer linear programming method with the objectives of minimizing environmental risk as well as cost. The issue of uncertainty in the estimated waste quantities from multiple sources is addressed using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. An illustrated example of computer waste management in Delhi, India is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed model and to study tradeoffs between cost and risk. The results of the example problem show that it is possible to reduce the environmental risk significantly by a marginal increase in the available cost. The proposed model can serve as a powerful tool to address the environmental problems associated with exponentially growing quantities of computer waste which are presently being managed using rudimentary methods of reuse, recovery and disposal by various small-scale vendors.

  5. Parent depressive symptomatology moderates the etiology of externalizing behavior in childhood: An examination of gene-environment interaction effects.

    PubMed

    Clark, D Angus; Klump, Kelly L; Burt, S Alexandra

    2018-04-26

    Parent depressive symptomatology is robust risk factor for externalizing behavior in childhood (Goodman et al., 2011). Although the precise mechanisms underlying this association have yet to be fully illuminated, there is some evidence that parent depression can impact externalizing behavior via both genetic and environmental pathways. In the current study, we investigated the extent to which genetic and environmental influences on externalizing behavior are moderated by parent depressive symptoms (i.e., genotype-environment interaction) in a sample of 2,060, 6- to 11-year-old twins. Results suggest that genetic influences explain more variance in externalizing behavior as maternal depressive symptoms increase, whereas shared environmental effects decrease. These findings were specific to maternal depressive symptoms, however, and did not extend to not paternal depressive symptoms. Findings are critical for understanding the role of parental depression as a risk factor for problematic child behavior, and informing programs that seek to minimize the impact of this risk factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Pharmaceuticals in the environment--exposure, effects and risks to humans and ecosystems: what we think we know, and what we need to know

    EPA Science Inventory

    U.S., European and Korean environmental monitoring and research programs have confirmed the occurrence of low levels of pharmaceuticals in stream waters, in soils and streambed sediments, in ground water, in estuaries, and in drinking water.

  7. High-Throughput Simulation of Environmental Chemical Fate for Exposure Prioritization (Annual Meeting of ISES)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. EPA must consider thousands of chemicals when allocating resources to assess risk in human populations and the environment. High-throughput screening assays to characterize biological activity in vitro are being implemented in the ToxCastTM program to rapidly characteri...

  8. 77 FR 28891 - National Flood Insurance Program Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-16

    ... critical habitat. This effort will result in a comprehensive series of policy recommendations designed to transition the NFIP toward a more resilient, sustainable, and comprehensive approach to flood risk management... insurance is designed to provide a financial alternative and to reduce the escalating costs of Federal...

  9. Two-Generation Programs and Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glied, Sherry; Oellerich, Don

    2014-01-01

    Parents' health and children's health are closely intertwined--healthier parents have healthier children, and vice versa. Genetics accounts for some of this relationship, but much of it can be traced to environment and behavior, and the environmental and behavioral risk factors for poor health disproportionately affect families living in…

  10. AN OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S DRINKING WATER TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RESEARCH PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation will provide an overview of drinking water research being conducted by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) of the U.S. EPA. The Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD) is an internationally known water research organization establi...

  11. 75 FR 81942 - Importation of Clementines From Spain; Amendment to Inspection Provisions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-29

    ... copy of your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0036, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS..., Assistant Director of Preclearance Programs, Quarantine Policy, Analysis, and Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700... have increased, and lower the number if environmental, climatic, or other factors indicate a lower risk...

  12. Using in Vitro High Throughput Screening Assays to Identify Potential Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

    EPA Science Inventory

    Over the past 20 years, an increased focus on detecting environmental chemicals posing a risk of adverse effects due to endocrine disruption has driven the creation of the U.S. EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). Thousands of chemicals are subject to the EDSP, whic...

  13. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... application shall address the potential risks to human health, endangered or threatened species, beneficial..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER...

  14. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... application shall address the potential risks to human health, endangered or threatened species, beneficial..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER...

  15. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... application shall address the potential risks to human health, endangered or threatened species, beneficial..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER...

  16. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... application shall address the potential risks to human health, endangered or threatened species, beneficial..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER...

  17. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... application shall address the potential risks to human health, endangered or threatened species, beneficial..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER...

  18. Delivering an Informational Hub for Data at the National Center for Computational Toxicology (ACS Spring Meeting) 7 of 7

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Computational Toxicology Program integrates advances in biology, chemistry, and computer science to help prioritize chemicals for further research based on potential human health risks. This work involves computational and data drive...

  19. Alternatives to the fish early life-stage test: Developing a conceptual model for early fish development

    EPA Science Inventory

    Chronic fish toxicity is a key parameter for hazard classification and environmental risk assessment of chemicals, and the OECD 210 fish early life-stage (FELS) test is the primary guideline test used for various international regulatory programs. There exists a need to develop ...

  20. DEVELOPMENT OF DURATION-CURVE BASED METHODS FOR QUALIFYING VARIABILITY AND CHANGE IN WATERSHED HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    During the past decades, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other Federal program administrative and regulatory agencies spent considerable amounts of time and money to manage risks to surface waters associated with agricultural ...

  1. Harnessing High-Throughput Monitoring Methods to Strengthen 21st Century Risk-Based Evaluations (SETAC Presentation)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Over the past ten years, the US government has invested in high-throughput (HT) methods to screen chemicals for biological activity. Under the interagency Tox21 consortium and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ToxCast™ program, thousands of chemicals have...

  2. Metal Pollutant Exposure and Behavior Disorders: Implications for School Practices.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marlowe, Mike

    1986-01-01

    The article summarizes research on relationships between low (below metal poisoning) metal exposure and childhood behavior disorders. Symptoms, assessment techniques (hair analysis), and environmental and dietary factors that may increase the risk of metal pollutant exposure are described. School programs emphasizing education and the role of…

  3. How credible are the study results? Evaluating and applying internal validity tools to literature-based assessments of environmental health hazards.

    PubMed

    Rooney, Andrew A; Cooper, Glinda S; Jahnke, Gloria D; Lam, Juleen; Morgan, Rebecca L; Boyles, Abee L; Ratcliffe, Jennifer M; Kraft, Andrew D; Schünemann, Holger J; Schwingl, Pamela; Walker, Teneille D; Thayer, Kristina A; Lunn, Ruth M

    2016-01-01

    Environmental health hazard assessments are routinely relied upon for public health decision-making. The evidence base used in these assessments is typically developed from a collection of diverse sources of information of varying quality. It is critical that literature-based evaluations consider the credibility of individual studies used to reach conclusions through consistent, transparent and accepted methods. Systematic review procedures address study credibility by assessing internal validity or "risk of bias" - the assessment of whether the design and conduct of a study compromised the credibility of the link between exposure/intervention and outcome. This paper describes the commonalities and differences in risk-of-bias methods developed or used by five groups that conduct or provide methodological input for performing environmental health hazard assessments: the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group, the Navigation Guide, the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) and Office of the Report on Carcinogens (ORoC), and the Integrated Risk Information System of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-IRIS). Each of these groups have been developing and applying rigorous assessment methods for integrating across a heterogeneous collection of human and animal studies to inform conclusions on potential environmental health hazards. There is substantial consistency across the groups in the consideration of risk-of-bias issues or "domains" for assessing observational human studies. There is a similar overlap in terms of domains addressed for animal studies; however, the groups differ in the relative emphasis placed on different aspects of risk of bias. Future directions for the continued harmonization and improvement of these methods are also discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Earth Institute at Columbia University ADVANCE Program: Addressing Needs for Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, R. E.; Cane, M.; Mutter, J.; Miller, R.; Pfirman, S.; Laird, J.

    2004-12-01

    The Earth Institute has received a major NSF ADVANCE grant targeted at increasing the participation and advancement of women scientists and engineers in the Academy through institutional transformation. The Earth Institute at Columbia University includes 9 research institutes including Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC), Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate Prediction, Earth Engineering Center, NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Center for Risks and Hazards, Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development, and Center for Global Health and Economic Development and six academic departments including Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology (E3B, School of Arts and Sciences), Earth and Environmental Engineering (DEEE, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), Department of Environmental Health (School of Public Health), Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES, School of Arts and Sciences), Department of International and Public Affairs (School of International and Policy Affairs), and Barnard College Department of Environmental Science. The Earth Institute at Columbia University's ADVANCE program is based both on a study of the status of women at Columbia and research on the progression of women in science elsewhere. The five major targets of the Columbia ADVANCE program are to (1) change the demographics of the faculty through intelligent hiring practices, (2) provide support to women scientists through difficult life transitions including elder care and adoption or birth of a child, (3) enhance mentoring and networking opportunities, (4) implement transparent promotion procedures and policies, and (5) conduct an institutional self study. The Earth Institute ADVANCE program is unique in that it addresses issues that tend to manifest themselves in the earth and environmental fields, such as extended field programs, which lay the foundation for leadership positions, but which may be difficult for young faculty. The strategy is to use the Earth Institute as a test bed for institutional change, and then expand the successful programs to other Columbia Science and Engineering Departments, as appropriate. Columbia's administration is committed to changing policies and supporting successful programs beyond the completion of the NSF grant. Earth Institute ADVANCE programs include (a) a self study including a climate survey modeled after the 1999 MIT study, (b) a senior faculty working group that will facilitate recruitment and retention by providing support for searches, faculty development, and retention, (c) internal funding competitions designed to recruit and retain women scientists and engineers, and (d) focused workshops and conferences. The ADVANCE program will establish offices both on the Morningside campus in Manhattan and Lamont campus in Palisades, NY.

  5. U.S. Earth Observation Programs May Still Be at Risk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zielinski, Sarah

    2005-10-01

    A recent interim report from a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academies warned that the U.S. system of environmental satellites was ``at risk of collapse'' (see Eos, 10 May 2005, p. 186). Nearly six months later, despite assurances from NASA that the agency would work to address in its fiscal year (FY) 2007 budget some of the imbalances that have led to mission delays and cancellations, these satellite programs may still be at risk. NASA funding for Earth science has suffered in recent years due to several pressures on the budget: deficit reduction, efforts to restore the space shuttle program, and plans for missions to the Moon and Mars. The NRC report, which was released as a draft in April and in its final form on 8 September, noted that six planned missions with implications for Earth science research were delayed, descoped, or canceled in the proposed FY2006 NASA budget.

  6. The children of mentally ill parents.

    PubMed

    Mattejat, Fritz; Remschmidt, Helmut

    2008-06-01

    The children of mentally ill parents have a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves over the course of their lives. This known risk must be taken into account in the practical provision of health care. Selective literature review. The increased psychiatric risk for children of mentally ill parents is due partly to genetic influences and partly to an impairment of the parent-child interaction because of the parent's illness. Furthermore, adverse factors are more frequent in these families, as well as a higher risk for child abuse. Genetic and psychosocial factors interact with one another. For example, genetic factors moderate environmental effects; that is, the effect of adverse environmental factors depends on the genetic substrate. Preventive measures for children of mentally ill parents urgently need improvement. In this article, positively evaluated programs of preventive measures are discussed. Essential prerequisites for success include appropriate, specialized treatment of the parental illness, psychoeducative measures, and special support (e.g. self-help groups) as indicated by the family's particular needs.

  7. Environmental management of mosquito-borne viruses in Rhode Island

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ginsberg, Howard S.; Gettman, Alan; Becker, Elisabeth; Bandyopadhyay, Ananda S.; LeBrun, Roger A.

    2013-01-01

    West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) are both primarily bird viruses, which can be transmitted by several mosquito species. Differences in larval habitats, flight, and biting patterns of the primary vector species result in substantial differences in epidemiology, with WNV more common, primarily occurring in urban areas, and EEEV relatively rare, typically occurring near swamp habitats. The complex transmission ecology of these viruses complicates prediction of disease outbreaks. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and Department of Health (DoH) provide prevention assistance to towns and maintain a mosquito surveillance program to identify potential disease risk. Responses to potential outbreaks follow a protocol based on surveillance results, assessment of human risk, and technical consultation.

  8. A Multidisciplinary Approach to Decommissioning Offshore Wells Using Stakeholder Engagement, Risk Identification, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Battalora, L.; Prasad, M.

    2017-12-01

    Context/PurposeThe typical oil and gas project lifecycle includes acquisition, exploration, drilling, production, and decommissioning phases. The oil and gas industry (Industry) has become proactive in identifying and mitigating health, safety, security, environment, and social responsibility risks during these phases as well as designing for sustainable development. With many fields reaching the end stages of the lifecycle, Industry is faced with the challenge of identifying and evaluating risks in the decommissioning phase. The level of challenge is increased when planning for the decommissioning of offshore wells. This paper describes tools that can be applied in the multidisciplinary design of the decommissioning program including use of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MethodsStakeholder engagement is key to a successful project. Typical stakeholders in an oil and gas project include the community, regulatory agencies, federal, state, and local governments, private investors, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Before engagement begins, stakeholders must be identified as well as their level of influence in the project. Relationships between stakeholders are "mapped" providing a better understanding of priorities and areas of concentration. Project risks are identified and ranked according to likelihood and impact. Mitigations are matched to risks. Sustainable development is implemented through acknowledgement of societal, economic, and environmental impacts in engineering design. InterpretationRecently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, partnered to develop the publication, Mapping the oil and gas industry to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas. SDGs have been linked to Industry operations and can serve as a guide for the offshore decommissioning phase ConclusionA multidisciplinary approach using stakeholder engagement and risk identification tools and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is recommended for designing the decommissioning program of offshore wells. This recommendation also applies to onshore decommissioning programs.

  9. Childhood lead poisoning associated with lead dust contamination of family vehicles and child safety seats - Maine, 2008.

    PubMed

    2009-08-21

    Persons employed in high-risk lead-related occupations can transport lead dust home from a worksite through clothing, shoes, tools, or vehicles. During 2008, the Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (MCLPPP) identified 55 new cases of elevated (>or=15 microg/dL) venous blood lead levels (BLLs) among children aged <6 years through mandated routine screening. Although 90% of childhood lead poisoning cases in Maine during 2003-2007 had been linked to lead hazards in the child's home, no lead-based paint or dust or water with elevated lead levels were found inside the homes associated with six of the 2008 cases (i.e., five families, including one family with two affected siblings). An expanded environmental investigation determined that these six children were exposed to lead dust in the family vehicles and in child safety seats. The sources of the lead dust were likely household contacts who worked in high-risk lead exposure occupations. Current recommendations for identifying and reducing risk from take-home lead poisoning include 1) ensuring that children with elevated BLLs are identified through targeted blood lead testing, 2) directing prevention activities to at-risk workers and employers, and 3) improving employer safety protocols. State and federal prevention programs also should consider, when appropriate, expanded environmental lead dust testing to include vehicles and child safety seats.

  10. Can an hour or two of sun protection education keep the sunburn away? Evaluation of the Environmental Protection Agency's Sunwise School Program

    PubMed Central

    Geller, Alan C; Rutsch, Linda; Kenausis, Kristin; Selzer, Paula; Zhang, Zi

    2003-01-01

    Background Melanoma incidence is rising at a rate faster than any other preventable cancer in the United States. Childhood exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light increases risk for skin cancer as an adult, thus starting positive sun protection habits early may be key to reducing the incidence of this disease. Methods The Environmental Protection Agency's SunWise School Program, a national environmental and health education program for sun safety of children in primary and secondary schools (grades K-8), was evaluated with surveys administered to participating students and faculty. Results Pretests (n = 5,625) and posttests (n = 5,028) were completed by students in 102 schools in 42 states. Significant improvement was noted for the three knowledge variables. Intentions to play in the shade increased from 68% to 75%(p < 0.001) with more modest changes in intentions to use sunscreen. Attitudes regarding healthiness of a tan also decreased significantly. Conclusions Brief, standardized sun protection education can be efficiently interwoven into existing school curricula, and result in improvements in knowledge and positive intentions for sun protection. PMID:14613488

  11. Global Trends in Mercury Management

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Kyunghee

    2012-01-01

    The United Nations Environmental Program Governing Council has regulated mercury as a global pollutant since 2001 and has been preparing the mercury convention, which will have a strongly binding force through Global Mercury Assessment, Global Mercury Partnership Activities, and establishment of the Open-Ended Working Group on Mercury. The European Union maintains an inclusive strategy on risks and contamination of mercury, and has executed the Mercury Export Ban Act since December in 2010. The US Environmental Protection Agency established the Mercury Action Plan (1998) and the Mercury Roadmap (2006) and has proposed systematic mercury management methods to reduce the health risks posed by mercury exposure. Japan, which experienced Minamata disease, aims vigorously at perfection in mercury management in several ways. In Korea, the Ministry of Environment established the Comprehensive Plan and Countermeasures for Mercury Management to prepare for the mercury convention and to reduce risks of mercury to protect public health. PMID:23230466

  12. Preferred listening levels of mobile phone programs when considering subway interior noise

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Jyaehyoung; Lee, Donguk; Han, Woojae

    2016-01-01

    Today, people listen to music loud using personal listening devices. Although a majority of studies have reported that the high volume played on these listening devices produces a latent risk of hearing problems, there is a lack of studies on “double noise exposures” such as environmental noise plus recreational noise. The present study measures the preferred listening levels of a mobile phone program with subway interior noise for 74 normal-hearing participants in five age groups (ranging from 20s to 60s). The speakers presented the subway interior noise at 73.45 dB, while each subject listened to three application programs [Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), music, game] for 30 min using a tablet personal computer with an earphone. The participants’ earphone volume levels were analyzed using a sound level meter and a 2cc coupler. Overall, the results showed that those in their 20s listened to the three programs significantly louder with DMB set at significantly higher volume levels than for the other programs. Higher volume levels were needed for middle frequency compared to the lower and higher frequencies. We concluded that any potential risk of noise-induced hearing loss for mobile phone users should be communicated when users listen regularly, although the volume level was not high enough that the users felt uncomfortable. When considering individual listening habits on mobile phones, further study to predict total accumulated environmental noise is still needed. PMID:26780960

  13. Preferred listening levels of mobile phone programs when considering subway interior noise.

    PubMed

    Yu, Jyaehyoung; Lee, Donguk; Han, Woojae

    2016-01-01

    Today, people listen to music loud using personal listening devices. Although a majority of studies have reported that the high volume played on these listening devices produces a latent risk of hearing problems, there is a lack of studies on "double noise exposures" such as environmental noise plus recreational noise. The present study measures the preferred listening levels of a mobile phone program with subway interior noise for 74 normal-hearing participants in five age groups (ranging from 20s to 60s). The speakers presented the subway interior noise at 73.45 dB, while each subject listened to three application programs [Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), music, game] for 30 min using a tablet personal computer with an earphone. The participants' earphone volume levels were analyzed using a sound level meter and a 2cc coupler. Overall, the results showed that those in their 20s listened to the three programs significantly louder with DMB set at significantly higher volume levels than for the other programs. Higher volume levels were needed for middle frequency compared to the lower and higher frequencies. We concluded that any potential risk of noise-induced hearing loss for mobile phone users should be communicated when users listen regularly, although the volume level was not high enough that the users felt uncomfortable. When considering individual listening habits on mobile phones, further study to predict total accumulated environmental noise is still needed.

  14. Profiles of African American College Students' Alcohol Use and Sexual Behaviors: Associations With Stress, Racial Discrimination, and Social Support.

    PubMed

    Metzger, Isha W; Cooper, Shauna M; Ritchwood, Tiarney D; Onyeuku, Chisom; Griffin, Charity Brown

    2017-01-01

    Though studies show that alcohol use and sexual activity increase during emerging adulthood, few studies examine within-ethnic group differences, particularly among African American college students. This investigation utilized a latent class analytic methodology to identify risk behavior profiles of alcohol use (frequency and amount of alcohol consumed), sexual activity (number of intimate partners), and co-occurring risk behaviors (drinking before sexual intercourse) among 228 African American college students. This investigation also examined whether identified risk behavior profiles were associated with stress (interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, and environmental), experiences of racial discrimination, and social support (from family, friends, and the college community). Results identified five distinct profiles within this sample: (a) High Sexual Risk-above-average sexual activity; (b) Abstainers-below-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (c) Low Risk-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (d) Alcohol Risk-above-average alcohol use and below-average sexual activity; and (e) Co-Occurring Risk-above-average alcohol use and sexual activity. Identified profiles differed across interpersonal and environmental stress, and self-reported frequency of experiences with racial discrimination. Implications for prevention programs and interventions aimed at reducing alcohol and sexual activity for African American college students are discussed.

  15. Recent Accomplishments and Future Directions in US Fusion Safety & Environmental Program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    David A. Petti; Brad J. Merrill; Phillip Sharpe

    2006-07-01

    The US fusion program has long recognized that the safety and environmental (S&E) potential of fusion can be attained by prudent materials selection, judicious design choices, and integration of safety requirements into the design of the facility. To achieve this goal, S&E research is focused on understanding the behavior of the largest sources of radioactive and hazardous materials in a fusion facility, understanding how energy sources in a fusion facility could mobilize those materials, developing integrated state of the art S&E computer codes and risk tools for safety assessment, and evaluating S&E issues associated with current fusion designs. In thismore » paper, recent accomplishments are reviewed and future directions outlined.« less

  16. [Influence of poor factors of airports on human health].

    PubMed

    Pochekaeva, E I

    2008-01-01

    The hygienic study conducted in Rostov-on-Don has shown that air transport and airports are important sources of physical and chemical pollution of the environment. Human health examinations served to illustrate the adverse impact of airports on the environmental and hygienic living conditions of the population. The performed studies provided the basis for purpose-oriented program to enhance the environment and to reduce morbidity rates in accordance with the National Environmental Hygiene Program. The developed algorithm of the assessment and reduction of a risk for diseases under the influence of poor factors associated with the activities of airports is designed to provide the authorities and concerned organizations with information, to make managerial decisions, and to work out health-improving measures.

  17. Programming of Essential Hypertension: What Pediatric Cardiologists Need to Know.

    PubMed

    Morgado, Joana; Sanches, Bruno; Anjos, Rui; Coelho, Constança

    2015-10-01

    Hypertension is recognized as one of the major contributing factors to cardiovascular disease, but its etiology remains incompletely understood. Known genetic and environmental influences can only explain a small part of the variability in cardiovascular disease risk. The missing heritability is currently one of the most important challenges in blood pressure and hypertension genetics. Recently, some promising approaches have emerged that move beyond the DNA sequence and focus on identification of blood pressure genes regulated by epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modification and microRNAs. This review summarizes information on gene-environmental interactions that lead toward the developmental programming of hypertension with specific reference to epigenetics and provides pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists with a more complete understanding of its pathogenesis.

  18. Cardiovascular disease prevention and lifestyle interventions: effectiveness and efficacy.

    PubMed

    Haskell, William L

    2003-01-01

    Over the past half century scientific data support the strong relationship between the way a person or population lives and their risk for developing or dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD). While heredity can be a major factor for some people, their personal health habits and environmental/cultural exposure are more important factors. CVD is a multifactor process that is contributed to by a variety of biological and behavioral characteristics of the person including a number of well-established and emerging risk factors. Not smoking, being physically active, eating a heart healthy diet, staying reasonably lean, and avoiding major stress and depression are the major components of an effective CVD prevention program. For people at high risk of CVD, medications frequently need to be added to a healthy lifestyle to minimize their risk of a heart attack or stroke, particularly in persons with conditions such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or hyperglycemia. Maintaining an effective CVD prevention program in technologically advanced societies cannot be achieved by many high-risk persons without effective and sustained support from a well-organized health care system. Nurse-provided or nurse-coordinated care management programs using an integrated or multifactor approach have been highly effective in reducing CVD morbidity and mortality of high-risk persons.

  19. Enhancing the ecological risk assessment process.

    PubMed

    Dale, Virginia H; Biddinger, Gregory R; Newman, Michael C; Oris, James T; Suter, Glenn W; Thompson, Timothy; Armitage, Thomas M; Meyer, Judith L; Allen-King, Richelle M; Burton, G Allen; Chapman, Peter M; Conquest, Loveday L; Fernandez, Ivan J; Landis, Wayne G; Master, Lawrence L; Mitsch, William J; Mueller, Thomas C; Rabeni, Charles F; Rodewald, Amanda D; Sanders, James G; van Heerden, Ivor L

    2008-07-01

    The Ecological Processes and Effects Committee of the US Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board conducted a self-initiated study and convened a public workshop to characterize the state of the ecological risk assessment (ERA), with a view toward advancing the science and application of the process. That survey and analysis of ERA in decision making shows that such assessments have been most effective when clear management goals were included in the problem formulation; translated into information needs; and developed in collaboration with decision makers, assessors, scientists, and stakeholders. This process is best facilitated when risk managers, risk assessors, and stakeholders are engaged in an ongoing dialogue about problem formulation. Identification and acknowledgment of uncertainties that have the potential to profoundly affect the results and outcome of risk assessments also improves assessment effectiveness. Thus we suggest 1) through peer review of ERAs be conducted at the problem formulation stage and 2) the predictive power of risk-based decision making be expanded to reduce uncertainties through analytical and methodological approaches like life cycle analysis. Risk assessment and monitoring programs need better integration to reduce uncertainty and to evaluate risk management decision outcomes. Postdecision audit programs should be initiated to evaluate the environmental outcomes of risk-based decisions. In addition, a process should be developed to demonstrate how monitoring data can be used to reduce uncertainties. Ecological risk assessments should include the effects of chemical and nonchemical stressors at multiple levels of biological organization and spatial scale, and the extent and resolution of the pertinent scales and levels of organization should be explicitly considered during problem formulation. An approach to interpreting lines of evidence and weight of evidence is critically needed for complex assessments, and it would be useful to develop case studies and/or standards of practice for interpreting lines of evidence. In addition, tools for cumulative risk assessment should be developed because contaminants are often released into stressed environments.

  20. Effects of a multimodal exercise program on balance, functional mobility and fall risk in older adults with cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled single-blind study.

    PubMed

    Kovács, E; Sztruhár Jónásné, I; Karóczi, C K; Korpos, A; Gondos, T

    2013-10-01

    Exercise programs have important role in prevention of falls, but to date, there are conflicting findings about the effects of exercise programs on balance, functional performance and fall risk among cognitively impaired older adults. AIM. To investigate the effects of a multimodal exercise program on static and dynamic balance, and risk of falls in older adults with mild or moderate cognitive impairment. A randomized controlled study. A long-term care institute. Cognitively impaired individuals aged over 60 years. Eighty-six participants were randomized to an exercise group providing multimodal exercise program for 12 months or a control group which did not participate in any exercise program. The Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment scale, Timed Up and Go test, and incidence of falls were measured at baseline, at 6 months and at 12 months. There was a significant improvement in balance-related items of Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment scale in the exercise group both at 6 month and 12 month (P<0.0001, P=0.002; respectively). There was no statistically significant increase in gait-related items of Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment scale after the first 6-month treatment period (P=0.210), but in the second 6-month treatment period the POMA-G score improved significantly (P=0.001). There was no significant difference between groups regarding falls. Our results confirmed that a 12-month multimodal exercise program can improve the balance in cognitively impaired older adults. Based on our results, the multimodal exercise program may be a promising fall prevention exercise program for older adults with mild or moderate cognitive impairment improving static balance but it is supposed that more emphasis should be put on walking component of exercise program and environmental fall risk assessment.

  1. NPOESS Preparatory Project Validation Program for Atmsophere Data Products from VIIRS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starr, D.; Wong, E.

    2009-12-01

    The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite Suite (NPOESS) Program, in partnership with National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational NPOESS launch. The NPOESS Program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS), will execute the NPP Validation program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. Data from the NPP Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will be used to produce Environmental Data Records (EDR's) for aerosol and clouds, specifically Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT), Aerosol Particle Size Parameter (APSP), and Suspended Matter (SM); and Cloud Optical Thickness (COT), Cloud Effective Particle Size (CEPS), Cloud Top Temperature (CTT), Height (CTH) and Pressure (CTP), and Cloud Base Height (CBH). The Aerosol and Cloud EDR Validation Program is a multifaceted effort to characterize and validate these data products. The program involves systematic comparison to heritage data products, e.g., MODIS, and ground-based correlative data, such as AERONET and ARM data products, and potentially airborne field measurements. To the extent possible, the domain is global. The program leverages various investments that have and are continuing to be made by national funding agencies in such resources, as well as the operational user community and the broad Earth science user community. This presentation will provide an overview of the approaches, data and schedule for the validation of the NPP VIIRS Aerosol and Cloud environmental data products.

  2. Integrated Environmental Risk Assessment and Whole-Process Management System in Chemical Industry Parks

    PubMed Central

    Shao, Chaofeng; Yang, Juan; Tian, Xiaogang; Ju, Meiting; Huang, Lei

    2013-01-01

    Chemical industry parks in China are considered high-risk areas because they present numerous risks that can damage the environment, such as pollution incidents. In order to identify the environmental risks and the principal risk factors in these areas, we have developed a simple physical model of a regional environmental risk field (ERF) using existing dispersal patterns and migration models. The regional ERF zoning was also conducted and a reference value for diagnostic methods was developed to determine risk-acceptable, risk-warning, and risk-mitigation zones, which can provide a risk source layout for chemical industry parks. In accordance with the environmental risk control requirements, this study focused on the three stages of control and management of environmental risk and established an environmental risk management system including risk source identification and assessment, environmental safety planning, early risk warning, emergency management, assessment of environmental effects, and environmental remediation of pollution accidents. By using this model, the environmental risks in Tianjin Binhai New Area, the largest chemical industry park in China, were assessed and the environmental risk zoning map was drawn, which suggested the existence of many unacceptable environmental risks in this area. Thus, relevant suggestions have been proposed from the perspective of the adjustment of risk source layout, intensified management of environmental risk control and so on. PMID:23603866

  3. Integrated environmental risk assessment and whole-process management system in chemical industry parks.

    PubMed

    Shao, Chaofeng; Yang, Juan; Tian, Xiaogang; Ju, Meiting; Huang, Lei

    2013-04-19

    Chemical industry parks in China are considered high-risk areas because they present numerous risks that can damage the environment, such as pollution incidents. In order to identify the environmental risks and the principal risk factors in these areas, we have developed a simple physical model of a regional environmental risk field (ERF) using existing dispersal patterns and migration models. The regional ERF zoning was also conducted and a reference value for diagnostic methods was developed to determine risk-acceptable, risk-warning, and risk-mitigation zones, which can provide a risk source layout for chemical industry parks. In accordance with the environmental risk control requirements, this study focused on the three stages of control and management of environmental risk and established an environmental risk management system including risk source identification and assessment, environmental safety planning, early risk warning, emergency management, assessment of environmental effects, and environmental remediation of pollution accidents. By using this model, the environmental risks in Tianjin Binhai New Area, the largest chemical industry park in China, were assessed and the environmental risk zoning map was drawn, which suggested the existence of many unacceptable environmental risks in this area. Thus, relevant suggestions have been proposed from the perspective of the adjustment of risk source layout, intensified management of environmental risk control and so on.

  4. Building a Co-Created Citizen Science Program with Community Members Neighboring a Hazardous Waste Site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramirez-Andreotta, M.; Brusseau, M. L. L.; Artiola, J. F.; Maier, R. M.; Gandolfi, A. J.

    2015-12-01

    A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, often gives low priority to the development of a comprehensive strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. To date, only a limited number of co-created citizen science projects, where community members are involved in most or all steps of the scientific process, have been initiated at contaminated sites and even less in conjunction with risk communication. Gardenroots: The Dewey-Humboldt AZ Garden Project was a place-based, co-created citizen science project where community members and researchers together: defined the question for study, developed hypotheses, collected environmental samples, disseminated results broadly, translated the results into action, and posed new research questions. This co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels) that was not being evaluated in the current site assessment. Furthermore, co-producing science led to both individual learning and social-ecological outcomes. This approach illustrates the benefits of a co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a hazardous waste sites. Such a project increased the community's involvement in regional environmental assessment and decision-making, which has the potential to help mitigate environmental exposures and thereby reduce associated risks.

  5. Risk aversion and willingness to pay for water quality: The case of non-farm rural residents.

    PubMed

    Larue, Bruno; West, Gale E; Singbo, Alphonse; Tamini, Lota Dabio

    2017-07-15

    Stated choice experiments are used to investigate the economic valuation of rural residents living in the province of Quebec for water quality improvements. In Quebec, rural residents played an important role in the setting of stricter environmental regulations. Unlike most stated choice experiments about the valuation of improvements in water quality, this study explicitly accounts for risk in the design and analysis of choice experiments. Risk in phosphorus and coliform reductions is introduced through a three-point uniform distribution in the choice sets. The results show greater support for constant absolute risk aversion preferences than for constant relative risk aversion. Rural residents value coliform and phosphorus reductions and the more educated ones are particularly willing to see the government tax farmers and taxpayers to secure such reductions. As the science improves and risk in water quality outcomes decrease and as the political weight of non-farm rural residents increase, it should be easier for governments to replace voluntary cost-share programs by polluter-payer programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Optimal groundwater security management policies by control of inexact health risks under dual uncertainty in slope factors.

    PubMed

    Lu, Hongwei; Li, Jing; Ren, Lixia; Chen, Yizhong

    2018-05-01

    Groundwater remediation is a complicated system with time-consuming and costly challenges, which should be carefully controlled by appropriate groundwater management. This study develops an integrated optimization method for groundwater remediation management regarding cost, contamination distribution and health risk under multiple uncertainties. The integration of health risk into groundwater remediation optimization management is capable of not only adequately considering the influence of health risk on optimal remediation strategies, but also simultaneously completing remediation optimization design and risk assessment. A fuzzy chance-constrained programming approach is presented to handle multiple uncertain properties in the process of health risk assessment. The capabilities and effectiveness of the developed method are illustrated through an application of a naphthalene contaminated case in Anhui, China. Results indicate that (a) the pump-and-treat remediation system leads to a low naphthalene contamination but high remediation cost for a short-time remediation, and natural attenuation significantly affects naphthalene removal from groundwater for a long-time remediation; (b) the weighting coefficients have significant influences on the remediation cost and the performances both for naphthalene concentrations and health risks; (c) an increased level of slope factor (sf) for naphthalene corresponds to more optimal strategies characterized by higher environmental benefits and lower economic sacrifice. The developed method could be simultaneously beneficial for public health and environmental protection. Decision makers could obtain the most appropriate remediation strategies according to their specific requirements with high flexibility of economic, environmental, and risk concerns. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Prospective aquatic risk assessment for chemical mixtures in agricultural landscapes.

    PubMed

    Holmes, Christopher M; Brown, Colin D; Hamer, Mick; Jones, Russell; Maltby, Lorraine; Posthuma, Leo; Silberhorn, Eric; Teeter, Jerold Scott; Warne, Michael St J; Weltje, Lennart

    2018-03-01

    Environmental risk assessment of chemical mixtures is challenging because of the multitude of possible combinations that may occur. Aquatic risk from chemical mixtures in an agricultural landscape was evaluated prospectively in 2 exposure scenario case studies: at field scale for a program of 13 plant-protection products applied annually for 20 yr and at a watershed scale for a mixed land-use scenario over 30 yr with 12 plant-protection products and 2 veterinary pharmaceuticals used for beef cattle. Risk quotients were calculated from regulatory exposure models with typical real-world use patterns and regulatory acceptable concentrations for individual chemicals. The results could differentiate situations when there was concern associated with single chemicals from those when concern was associated with a mixture (based on concentration addition) with no single chemical triggering concern. Potential mixture risk was identified on 0.02 to 7.07% of the total days modeled, depending on the scenario, the taxa, and whether considering acute or chronic risk. Taxa at risk were influenced by receiving water body characteristics along with chemical use profiles and associated properties. The present study demonstrates that a scenario-based approach can be used to determine whether mixtures of chemicals pose risks over and above any identified using existing approaches for single chemicals, how often and to what magnitude, and ultimately which mixtures (and dominant chemicals) cause greatest concern. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:674-689. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

  8. The US DOE-EM International Program - 13004

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elmetti, Rosa R.; Han, Ana M.; Williams, Alice C.

    2013-07-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) conducts international collaboration activities in support of U.S. policies and objectives regarding the accelerated risk reduction and remediation of environmental legacy of the nations' nuclear weapons program and government sponsored nuclear energy research. The EM International Program supported out of the EM Office of the Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary pursues collaborations with foreign government organizations, educational institutions and private industry to assist in identifying technologies and promote international collaborations that leverage resources and link international experience and expertise. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, the International Program awarded eightmore » international collaborative projects for work scope spanning waste processing, groundwater and soil remediation, deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) and nuclear materials disposition initiatives to seven foreign organizations. Additionally, the International Program's scope and collaboration opportunities were expanded to include technical as well as non-technical areas. This paper will present an overview of the on-going tasks awarded in FY 2012 and an update of upcoming international activities and opportunities for expansion into FY 2013 and beyond. (authors)« less

  9. The US DOE EM international program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elmetti, Rosa R.; Han, Ana M.; Roach, Jay A.

    2013-07-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) conducts international collaboration activities in support of U.S. policies and objectives regarding the accelerated risk reduction and remediation of environmental legacy of the nations' nuclear weapons program and government sponsored nuclear energy research. The EM International Program supported out of the EM Office of the Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary pursues collaborations with foreign government organizations, educational institutions and private industry to assist in identifying technologies and promote international collaborations that leverage resources and link international experience and expertise. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, the International Program awarded eightmore » international collaborative projects for work scope spanning waste processing, groundwater and soil remediation, deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) and nuclear materials disposition initiatives to seven foreign organizations. Additionally, the International Program's scope and collaboration opportunities were expanded to include technical as well as non-technical areas. This paper will present an overview of the on-going tasks awarded in FY 2012 and an update of upcoming international activities and opportunities for expansion into the remainder of FY 2013 and beyond. (authors)« less

  10. Use of Remote Sensing/Geographical Information Systems (RS/GIS) to Identify the Distributional Limits of Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STHs) and Their Association to Prevalence of Intestinal Infection in School-Age Children in Four Rural Communities in Boaco, Nicaragua

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moreno, Max J.; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.; Parajon, David G.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Luvall, Jeffrey; Parajon, Laura C.; Martinez, Roberto A.; Estes, Sue

    2011-01-01

    STHs can infect all members of a population but school-age children living in poverty are at greater risk. Infection can be controlled with drug treatment, health education and sanitation. Helminth control programs often lack resources and reliable information to identify areas of highest risk to guide interventions and to monitor progress. Objectives: To use RS/GIS to identify the environmental variables that correlate with the ecology of STHs and with the prevalence of STH infections. Methods: Geo-referenced in situ prevalence data will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from the RS environmental data using ESRI s ArcGIS 9.3. Prevalence data and RS environmental data matching at the same geographical location will be analyzed for correlation and those RS environmental variables that better correlate with prevalence data will be included in a multivariate regression model. Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, and Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhance Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) satellite sensors onboard Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 respectively. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections will be determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). Expected Results: Associations between RS environmental data and prevalence in situ data will be determined and their applications to public health will be discussed. Discussion/Conclusions: The use of RS/GIS data to predict the prevalence of STH infections could be useful for helminth control programs, providing improved geographical guidance of interventions while increasing cost-effectiveness. Learning Objectives: (1) To identify the RS environmental variables that can help predict the prevalence of STH infections. (2) To understand potential applications of RS/GIS to national helminth control programs. (3) To asses the applicability of RS/GIS to control STH infections.

  11. Mercury Mining in Mexico: I. Community Engagement to Improve Health Outcomes from Artisanal Mining.

    PubMed

    Camacho, Andrea; Van Brussel, Evelyn; Carrizales, Leticia; Flores-Ramírez, Rogelio; Verduzco, Beatriz; Huerta, Selene Ruvalcaba-Aranda; Leon, Mauricio; Díaz-Barriga, Fernando

    2016-01-01

    Mercury is an element that cannot be destroyed and is a global threat to human and environmental health. In Latin America and the Caribbean, artisanal and small-scale gold mining represents the main source of mercury emissions, releases, and consumption. However, another source of concern is the primary production of mercury. In the case of Mexico, in the past 2 years the informal production of mercury mining has increased 10-fold. Considering this scenario, an intervention program was initiated to reduce health risks in the mining communities. The program's final goal is to introduce different alternatives in line to stop the mining of mercury, but introducing at the same time, a community-based development program. The aim of this study was to present results from a preliminary study in the community of Plazuela, located in the municipality of Peñamiller in the State of Queretaro, Mexico. Total mercury was measured in urine and environmental samples using atomic absorption spectrometry by cold vapor technique. Urine samples were collected from children aged 6-14 years and who had lived in the selected area from birth. Urine samples were also collected from miners who were currently working in the mine. To confirm the presence of mercury in the community, mining waste, water, soil, and sediment samples were collected from those high-risk areas identified by members of the community. Children, women, and miners were heavily exposed to mercury (urine samples); and in agreement, we registered high concentrations of mercury in soils and sediments. Considering these results and taking into account that the risk perception toward mercury toxicity is very low in the community (mining is the only economic activity), an integral intervention program has started. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Searching for “Environmentally-Benign” Antifouling Biocides

    PubMed Central

    Cui, Yan Ting; Teo, Serena L. M.; Leong, Wai; Chai, Christina L. L.

    2014-01-01

    As the result of the ecological impacts from the use of tributyltins (TBT) in shipping, environmental legislation for the registration of chemicals for use in the environment has grown to a monumental challenge requiring product dossiers to include information on the environmental fate and behavior of any chemicals. Specifically, persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, collectively known as PBT, are properties of concern in the assessment of chemicals. However, existing measurements of PBT properties are a cumbersome and expensive process, and thus not applied in the early stages of the product discovery and development. Inexpensive methods for preliminary PBT screening would minimize risks arising with the subsequent registration of products. In this article, we evaluated the PBT properties of compounds reported to possess anti-fouling properties using QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) prediction programs such as BIOWIN™ (a biodegradation probability program), KOWWIN™ (log octanol-water partition coefficient calculation program) and ECOSAR™ (Ecological Structure Activity Relationship Programme). The analyses identified some small (Mr < 400) synthetic and natural products as potential candidates for environmentally benign biocides. We aim to demonstrate that while these methods of estimation have limitations, when applied with discretion, they are powerful tools useful in the early stages of research for compound selection for further development as anti-foulants. PMID:24865489

  13. Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

    2009-01-30

    Current research projects have focused Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP) talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene, low-dose ionizing radiation (gamma and neutron) and alpha radiation from plutonium. Trichloroethylene research has been conducted as a joint collaborative effort with the University of Georgia. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Laboratory work has been completed on severalmore » trichloroethylene risk assessment projects, and these projects have been brought to a close. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the remaining trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A comprehensive manuscript on the scientific basis of trichloroethylene risk assessment is in preparation. Work on the low-dose radiation risk assessment projects is also progressing at a slowed rate as a result of funding uncertainties. It has been necessary to restructure the proponency and performance schedule of these projects, with the project on Low-Dose Radiation: Epidemiology Risk Models transferred to DOE Office of Science proponency under a separate funding instrument. Research on this project will continue under the provisions of the DOE Office of Science funding instrument, with progress reported in accordance with the requirements of that funding instrument. Progress on that project will no longer be reported in quarterly reports for DE-FC09-02CH11109. Following a meeting at the Savannah River Site on May 8, 2008, a plan was submitted for development of an epidemiological cohort study and prospective medical surveillance system for the assessment of disease rates among workers at the Savannah River Site (SRS). This project will be incorporated into the ongoing project on Population Health Risks in the Vicinity of the Savannah River Site. During a meeting at the SRS on October 21, 2008, a presentation was made on EBP participation in the development and operation of an Epidemiology Consortium at the SRS. A follow-up meeting with SRS officials is planned for 29 and 30 January 2009 at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).An epidemiology project on population health risk assessment is being conducted to assess health risks among populations in the vicinity of the SRS. This project is using the capabilities of the EBP GIS for the geographical assessment of cancer and non-cancer disease rates, as well as the potential association of population health risks with environmental exposures. Although funding uncertainties have slowed progress on some aspects of this project, it has not been necessary to restructure the performance schedule to date.« less

  14. Early life nutrition, epigenetics and programming of later life disease.

    PubMed

    Vickers, Mark H

    2014-06-02

    The global pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes is often causally linked to marked changes in diet and lifestyle; namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, less attention has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic outcomes resulting from altered environmental conditions during the early life period. Human and experimental animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in the early life environment and increased risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in later life. This link is conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit lifelong effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. In particular, the nutritional environment in which the fetus or infant develops influences the risk of metabolic disorders in offspring. The late onset of such diseases in response to earlier transient experiences has led to the suggestion that developmental programming may have an epigenetic component, as epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation or histone tail modifications could provide a persistent memory of earlier nutritional states. Moreover, evidence exists, at least from animal models, that such epigenetic programming should be viewed as a transgenerational phenomenon. However, the mechanisms by which early environmental insults can have long-term effects on offspring are relatively unclear. Thus far, these mechanisms include permanent structural changes to the organ caused by suboptimal levels of an important factor during a critical developmental period, changes in gene expression caused by epigenetic modifications (including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA) and permanent changes in cellular ageing. A better understanding of the epigenetic basis of developmental programming and how these effects may be transmitted across generations is essential for the implementation of initiatives aimed at curbing the current obesity and diabetes crisis.

  15. Payload test philosophy. [JPL views on qualification/acceptance testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gindorf, T.

    1979-01-01

    The general philosophy of how JPL views payload qualification/acceptance testing for programs that are done either in-house or by contractors is described. Particular attention is given to mission risk classifications, preliminary critical design reviews, environmental design requirements, the thermal and dynamics development tests, and the flight spacecraft system test.

  16. Exploring the Impact of a Wilderness-Based Positive Youth Development Program for Urban Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norton, Christine Lynn; Watt, Toni Terling

    2014-01-01

    Young people today face a multitude of challenges, especially when growing up in an urban environment. Risk factors such as poverty, exposure to gangs, drugs, and community and family violence threaten healthy development. The positive youth development (PYD) approach attempts to combat these personal and environmental challenges by providing…

  17. An Education System for High-Risk Infants: A Preventive Approach to Developmental and Learning Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meier, John H.; And Others

    This paper reviews recent literature in the field of infant education, presents a rationale for developing a systematic program of infant education, and suggests how this might be accomplished. Developmental research has shown that experiential deprivation, whether environmentally or neurologically caused, is the major factor in mental retardation…

  18. Feasibility of assessing the public health impacts of air pollution reduction programs on a local scale: New Haven accountability case study

    EPA Science Inventory

    Background: New approaches on how to link health surveillance data with environmental and population exposure information are needed in order to examine the health benefits of risk management decisions. Objective: This study's objective was to examine the feasibility of conductin...

  19. 76 FR 80972 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-27

    ...), a subsidiary of UniStar Nuclear Energy, LLC. Basis for proposed no significant hazards consideration... Frequency Control Program in accordance with guidance in Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 04-10, ``Risk... with 10 CFR 51.22. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or...

  20. 77 FR 7576 - Draft Toxicological Review of 1,4-Dioxane: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-13

    ... Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA Office of Research and Development. EPA is... Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541- 1964; facsimile: (919... EPA's IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk...

  1. 75 FR 7477 - Draft Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic: In Support of the Summary Information on the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-19

    ... Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). The Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic was submitted to the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) for external peer... IRIS IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk...

  2. Refocusing Schools for Dropout Prevention: With Implications For Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhodes, Donna C.; McMillan, Samuel H., Jr.

    A description is given of "Operation Rescue," a program designed to find and implement solutions to the dropout problem. A discussion of the reasons students drop out of school takes into consideration the pressures of society that tend to overwhelm at-risk students. These include environmental, academic, survival, and social factors…

  3. An Environmental Impact Assessment of Perfluorocarbon Thermal Working Fluid Use On Board Crewed Spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perry, Jay L.; Arnold, William a.

    2006-01-01

    The design and operation of crewed spacecraft requires identifying and evaluating chemical compounds that may present reactivity and compatibility risks with the environmental control and life support (ECLS) system. Such risks must be understood so that appropriate design and operational controls, including specifying containment levels, can be instituted or an appropriate substitute material selected. Operational experience acquired during the International Space Station (ISS) program has found that understanding ECLS system and environmental impact presented by thermal control system working fluids is imperative to safely operating any crewed space exploration vehicle. Perfluorocarbon fluids are used as working fluids in thermal control fluid loops on board the ISS. Also, payload hardware developers have identified perfluorocarbon fluids as preferred thermal control working fluids. Interest in using perfluorocarbon fluids as thermal control system working fluids for future crewed space vehicles and outposts is high. Potential hazards associated with perfluorocarbon fluids are discussed with specific attention given to engineering assessment of ECLS system compatibility, compatibility testing results, and spacecraft environmental impact. Considerations for perfluorocarbon fluid use on crewed spacecraft and outposts are summarized.

  4. Workplace Programs, Policies, And Environmental Supports To Prevent Cardiovascular Disease.

    PubMed

    Goetzel, Ron Z; Henke, Rachel Mosher; Head, Michael A; Benevent, Richele; Calitz, Chris

    2017-02-01

    Using a novel approach, we provide a preliminary "snapshot" of how the comprehensiveness of workplace cardiovascular health initiatives is related to measures of employees' health risks, disease prevalence, and medical expenditures. We linked scores for the twenty large organizations that voluntarily completed the American Heart Association's newly launched Worksite Health Achievement Index (WHAI) for 2015 to individual-level MarketScan® data for 373,478 of their workers with employer benefits that year. Higher aggregate WHAI scores were associated with lower values for four of seven modifiable indicators of cardiovascular risk and a higher value for one. Although also associated with lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease, higher aggregate scores were associated with higher spending on the condition. These and other findings provide useful benchmarks and norms for employer practices related to cardiovascular disease prevention. As employers continue to complete the annual WHAI, we expect to gain further insights into the policies, programs, and environmental supports employers can implement to positively influence cardiovascular health and related spending. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  5. Chronic bullying victimization across school transitions: The role of genetic and environmental influences

    PubMed Central

    Bowes, Lucy; Maughan, Barbara; Ball, Harriet; Shakoor, Sania; Ouellet-Morin, Isabelle; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the antecedents and consequences of chronic victimization by bullies across a school transition using a genetically sensitive longitudinal design. Data were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk), an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. We used mothers’ and children’s reports of bullying victimization during primary school and early secondary school. Children who experienced frequent victimization at both time points were classed as “chronic victims” and were found to have an increased risk for mental health problems and academic difficulties compared to children who were bullied only in primary school, children bullied for the first time in secondary school, and never-bullied children. Biometric analyses revealed that stability in victimization over this period was influenced primarily by genetic and shared environmental factors. Regression analyses showed that children’s early characteristics such as preexistent adjustment difficulties and IQ predicted chronic versus transitory victimization. Family risk factors for chronic victimization included socioeconomic disadvantage, low maternal warmth, and maltreatment. Our results suggest that bullying intervention programs should consider the role of the victims’ behaviors and family background in increasing vulnerability to chronic victimization. Our study highlights the importance of widening antibullying interventions to include families to reduce the likelihood of children entering a pathway toward chronic victimization. PMID:23627948

  6. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Annual technical progress report of ecological research, period ending July 31, 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-07-31

    The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) is a research unit of the University of Georgia (UGA) that is managed in conjunction with the University`s Institute of Ecology. The laboratory`s overall mission is to acquire and communicate knowledge of ecological processes and principles. SREL conducts basic and applied ecological research, as well as education and outreach programs, under an M&O contract with the US Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site. Significant accomplishments were made during the year ending July 31, 1994 in the areas of research, education and service. Reviewed in this document are research projects in the followingmore » areas: Environmental Operations Support (impacted wetlands, streams, trace organics, radioecology, database synthesis, wild life studies, zooplankton, safety and quality assurance); wood stork foraging and breeding ecology; defence waste processing facility; environmental risk assessment (endangered species, fish, ash basin studies); ecosystem alteration by chemical pollutants; wetlands systems; biodiversity on the SRS; Environmental toxicology; environmental outreach and education; Par Pond drawdown studies in wildlife and fish and metals; theoretical ecology; DOE-SR National Environmental Research Park; wildlife studies. Summaries of educational programs and publications are also give.« less

  7. Use of oil shale ash in road construction: results of follow-up environmental monitoring.

    PubMed

    Reinik, Janek; Irha, Natalya; Koroljova, Arina; Meriste, Tõnis

    2018-01-05

    Oil shale ash (OSA) was used for road construction in a pristine swamp area in East-Estonia during 2013-2014. OSA was used as a binder both in mass stabilization of soft peat soil and in the upper layer. Use of OSA in civil engineering always raises questions about the environmental safety of such activities. Post-construction environmental monitoring of the pilot section was carried out in 2014 and 2015. The monitoring program involved surface water and soil sampling campaigns. Samples were analyzed for selected constituents and parameters of environmental concern. The paper gives data for assessing the environmental impact and evaluation of potential risks associated with construction of roads using OSA. Leaching of hazardous compounds from the pilot section to surrounding aqueous environment was not observed during the monitoring program. Still, the road construction affected the concentration of sulfates in surrounding surface water. Also, the water-soluble content of barium in surface water correlated significantly with the concentrations of chloride and sulfate ion and electric conductivity of the surface water. Therefore, it is recommended to monitor the electric conductivity, concentrations of sulfates, chlorides, and barium in nearby surface water when OSA is used in road construction.

  8. A Regional Multi-permit Market for Ecosystem Services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bernknopf, R.; Amos, P.; Zhang, E.

    2014-12-01

    Regional cap and trade programs have been in operation since the 1970's to reduce environmental externalities (NOx and SOx emissions) and have been shown to be beneficial. Air quality and water quality limits are enforced through numerous Federal and State laws and regulations while local communities are seeking ways to protect regional green infrastructure and their ecosystems services. Why not combine them in a market approach to reduce many environmental externalities simultaneously? In a multi-permit market program reforestation (land offsets) as part of a nutrient or carbon sequestration trading program would provide a means to reduce agrochemical discharges into streams, rivers, and groundwater. Land conversions also improve the quality and quantity of other environmental externalities such as air pollution. Collocated nonmarket ecosystem services have societal benefits that can expand the crediting system into a multi-permit trading program. At a regional scale it is possible to combine regulation of water quality, air emissions and quality, and habitat conservation and restoration into one program. This research is about the economic feasibility of a Philadelphia regional multi-permit (cap and trade) program for ecosystem services. Instead of establishing individual markets for ecosystem services, the assumption of the spatial portfolio approach is that it is based on the interdependence of ecosystem functions so that market credits encompasses a range of ecosystem services. Using an existing example the components of the approach are described in terms of scenarios of land portfolios and the calculation of expected return on investment and risk. An experiment in the Schuylkill Watershed will be described for ecosystem services such as nutrients in water and populations of bird species along with Green House Gases. The Philadelphia regional market includes the urban - nonurban economic and environmental interactions and impacts.

  9. Approaches to systematic assessment of environmental exposures posed at hazardous waste sites in the developing world: the Toxic Sites Identification Program.

    PubMed

    Ericson, Bret; Caravanos, Jack; Chatham-Stephens, Kevin; Landrigan, Philip; Fuller, Richard

    2013-02-01

    In the developing world, environmental chemical exposures due to hazardous waste sites are poorly documented. We describe the approach taken by the Blacksmith Institute's Toxic Sites Identification Program in documenting environmental chemical exposures due to hazardous waste sites globally, identifying sites of concern and quantifying pathways, populations, and severity of exposure. A network of local environmental investigators was identified and trained to conduct hazardous waste site investigations and assessments. To date, 2,095 contaminated sites have been identified within 47 countries having an estimated population at risk of 71,500,000. Trained researchers and investigators have visited 1,400 of those sites. Heavy metals are the leading primary exposures, with water supply and ambient air being the primary routes of exposure. Even though chemical production has occurred largely in the developed world to date, many hazardous waste sites in the developing world pose significant hazards to the health of large portions of the population. Further research is needed to quantify potential health and economic consequences and identify cost-effective approaches to remediation.

  10. Sun protection training based on a theater play for preschoolers: an effective method for imparting knowledge on sun protection?

    PubMed

    Seidel, Nadja; Stoelzel, Friederike; Garzarolli, Marlene; Herrmann, Sandra; Breitbart, Eckhard Wilhelm; Berth, Hendrik; Baumann, Michael; Ehninger, Gerhard

    2013-09-01

    Sun protection in childhood is important to reduce the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. The "Periods-of-Life-Program" for primary prevention of skin cancer introduces a combination of individual and environmental interventions for the preschool period. Within this pilot study, an intervention group received cognitive-behavioral and environmental interventions. A control group had solely received the environmental intervention, and a wait-control group received no intervention. Nursery school children (n = 80, 3 to 6 years of age) of four nursery schools were randomly assigned to these groups on school level. The ability of the cognitive-behavioral intervention (a theater play) to enhance sun protection knowledge was examined. The theater play improved knowledge over all age groups (p < .05 η(2) = .06). Age-specific analyses showed better results for children aged 5 to 6 (p < .05 η(2) = .20) compared to children aged 3 to 4 years (p = .17 η(2) = .04). In combining cognitive-behavioral and environmental interventions, the "Periods-of-Life-Program" is a promising strategy for primary prevention of skin cancer.

  11. PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH ELEVATED BLOOD LEAD LEVELS IN RURAL THAI CHILDREN.

    PubMed

    Swaddiwudhipong, Witaya; Kavinum, Suporn; Papwijitsil, Ratchadaporn; Tontiwattanasap, Worawit; Khunyotying, Wanlee; Umpan, Jiraporn; BoonthuM, Ratchaneekorn; Kaewnate, Yingyot; Boonmee, Sasis; Thongchub, Winai; Rodsung, Thassanee

    2014-11-01

    A community-based study was conducted to determine personal risk factors and environmental sources of lead exposure for elevated blood lead levels (≥ 10 µg/dl, EBLLs) among rural children living at the Thailand-Myanmar border in Tak Province, northwestern Thailand. Six hundred ninety-five children aged 1-14 years old were screened for BLLs. Environmental specimens for lead measurements included samples of water from the streams, taps, and household containers, house floor dust, and foods. Possible lead release from the cooking ware was determined using the leaching method with acetic acid. The overall prevalence of EBLLs was 47.1% and the geometric mean level of blood lead was 9.16 µg/dl. Personal risk factors significantly associated with EBLLs included being male, younger age, anemia, and low weight-for-age. Significant environmental risk factors were exposure to a lead-acid battery of solar energy system and use of a non-certified metal cooking pot. Some families whose children had high BLLs reported production of lead bullets from the used batteries at home. About one-third of the house dust samples taken near batteries contained lead content above the recommended value, compared with none of those taken from other areas and from the houses with no batteries. The metal pots were safe for cooking rice but might be unsafe for acidic food preparation. Both nutritional intervention and lead exposure prevention programs are essential to reduce EBLLs in this population.

  12. NPOESS Preparatory Project Validation Program for Ocean Data Products from VIIRS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnone, R.; Jackson, J. M.

    2009-12-01

    The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite Suite (NPOESS) Program, in partnership with National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational NPOESS launch. The NPOESS Program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS), will execute the NPP Validation program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. Data from the NPP Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will be used to produce Environmental Data Records (EDR's) of Ocean Color/Chlorophyll and Sea Surface Temperature. The ocean Cal/Val program is designed to address an “end to end” capability from sensor to end product and is developed based on existing ongoing government satellite ocean remote sensing capabilities that are currently in use with NASA research and Navy and NOAA operational products. Therefore, the plan focuses on the extension of known reliable methods and capabilities currently used with the heritage sensors that will be extended to the NPP and NPOESS ocean product Cal/Val effort. This is not a fully “new” approach but it is designed to be the most reliable and cost effective approach to developing an automated Cal/Val system for VIIRS while retaining highly accurate procedures and protocols. This presentation will provide an overview of the approaches, data and schedule for the validation of the NPP VIIRS Ocean environmental data products.

  13. Enhancing the Characterization of Epistemic Uncertainties in PM2.5 Risk Analyses.

    PubMed

    Smith, Anne E; Gans, Will

    2015-03-01

    The Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP) is a software tool developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is widely used inside and outside of EPA to produce quantitative estimates of public health risks from fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ). This article discusses the purpose and appropriate role of a risk analysis tool to support risk management deliberations, and evaluates the functions of BenMAP in this context. It highlights the importance in quantitative risk analyses of characterization of epistemic uncertainty, or outright lack of knowledge, about the true risk relationships being quantified. This article describes and quantitatively illustrates sensitivities of PM2.5 risk estimates to several key forms of epistemic uncertainty that pervade those calculations: the risk coefficient, shape of the risk function, and the relative toxicity of individual PM2.5 constituents. It also summarizes findings from a review of U.S.-based epidemiological evidence regarding the PM2.5 risk coefficient for mortality from long-term exposure. That review shows that the set of risk coefficients embedded in BenMAP substantially understates the range in the literature. We conclude that BenMAP would more usefully fulfill its role as a risk analysis support tool if its functions were extended to better enable and prompt its users to characterize the epistemic uncertainties in their risk calculations. This requires expanded automatic sensitivity analysis functions and more recognition of the full range of uncertainty in risk coefficients. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

  14. Risky Substance Use Environments and Addiction: A New Frontier for Environmental Justice Research.

    PubMed

    Mennis, Jeremy; Stahler, Gerald J; Mason, Michael J

    2016-06-18

    Substance use disorders are widely recognized as one of the most pressing global public health problems, and recent research indicates that environmental factors, including access and exposure to substances of abuse, neighborhood disadvantage and disorder, and environmental barriers to treatment, influence substance use behaviors. Racial and socioeconomic inequities in the factors that create risky substance use environments may engender disparities in rates of substance use disorders and treatment outcomes. Environmental justice researchers, with substantial experience in addressing racial and ethnic inequities in environmental risk from technological and other hazards, should consider similar inequities in risky substance use environments as an environmental justice issue. Research should aim at illustrating where, why, and how such inequities in risky substance use environments occur, the implications of such inequities for disparities in substance use disorders and treatment outcomes, and the implications for tobacco, alcohol, and drug policies and prevention and treatment programs.

  15. Risky Substance Use Environments and Addiction: A New Frontier for Environmental Justice Research

    PubMed Central

    Mennis, Jeremy; Stahler, Gerald J.; Mason, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Substance use disorders are widely recognized as one of the most pressing global public health problems, and recent research indicates that environmental factors, including access and exposure to substances of abuse, neighborhood disadvantage and disorder, and environmental barriers to treatment, influence substance use behaviors. Racial and socioeconomic inequities in the factors that create risky substance use environments may engender disparities in rates of substance use disorders and treatment outcomes. Environmental justice researchers, with substantial experience in addressing racial and ethnic inequities in environmental risk from technological and other hazards, should consider similar inequities in risky substance use environments as an environmental justice issue. Research should aim at illustrating where, why, and how such inequities in risky substance use environments occur, the implications of such inequities for disparities in substance use disorders and treatment outcomes, and the implications for tobacco, alcohol, and drug policies and prevention and treatment programs. PMID:27322303

  16. Mars Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) Coordinate Systems Definitions and Transformations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuhl, Christoper A.

    2009-01-01

    The Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) is a Mars exploration mission concept with the goal of taking scientific measurements of the atmosphere, surface, and subsurface of Mars by using an airplane as the payload platform. ARES team first conducted a Phase-A study for a 2007 launch opportunity, which was completed in May 2003. Following this study, significant efforts were undertaken to reduce the risk of the atmospheric flight system, under the NASA Langley Planetary Airplane Risk Reduction Project. The concept was then proposed to the Mars Scout program in 2006 for a 2011 launch opportunity. This paper summarizes the design and development of the ARES airplane propulsion subsystem beginning with the inception of the ARES project in 2002 through the submittal of the Mars Scout proposal in July 2006.

  17. Language delay in severely neglected children: a cumulative or specific effect of risk factors?

    PubMed

    Sylvestre, Audette; Mérette, Chantal

    2010-06-01

    This research sought to determine if the language delay (LD) of severely neglected children under 3 years old was better explained by a cumulative risk model or by the specificity of risk factors. The objective was also to identify the risk factors with the strongest impact on LD among various biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Sixty-eight severely neglected children and their mothers participated in this cross-sectional study. Children were between 2 and 36 months of age. Data included information about the child's language development and biological, psychological, and environmental risk factors. Prevalence of LD is significantly higher in this subgroup of children than in the population as a whole. Although we observed that the risk of LD significantly increased with an increase in the cumulative count of the presence of the child's biological-psychological risk factors, the one-by-one analysis of the individual factors revealed that the cumulative effect mainly reflected the specific impact of the child's cognitive development. When we considered also the environmental risk factors, multivariate logistic regression established that cognitive development, the mother's own physical and emotional abuse experience as a child, and the mother's low acceptability level towards her child are linked to LD in severely neglected children. Language development is the result of a complex interaction between risk factors. LD in severely neglected children is better explained by the specificity of risk factors than by the cumulative risk model. Most prevention and early intervention programs promote and target an increase in the quantity and quality of language stimulation offered to the child. Our results suggest that particular attention should be given to other environmental factors, specifically the mother's psychological availability and her sensitivity towards the child. It is essential to suggest interventions targeting various ecological dimensions of neglectful mothers to help break the intergenerational neglect transmission cycle. It is also important to develop government policies and ensure that efforts among the various response networks are concerted since in-depth changes to neglect situations can only come about when all interested parties become involved. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The NPOESS Community Collaborative Calibration/Validation Program for the NPOESS Preparatory Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kilcoyne, H.; Feeley, J.; Guenther, B.; Hoffman, C. W.; Reed, B.; St. Germain, K.; Zhou, L.; Plonski, M.; Hauss, B.

    2009-12-01

    The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) team is currently executing pre-launch activities and planning post-launch activities to efficiently integrate the NPOESS Sensor Data Records (SDRs) and Environmental Data Records (EDRs) into Customer applications to reduce risk in achieving NPOESS Mission Success. The NPP Cal/Val Team, led by the Integrated Program Office (IPO), includes members from the Contractor team producing the data products and subject matter experts from the Customer and User communities, bringing together the expertise with the production algorithms, product use, and science community. This presentation will highlight the progress made in the past year in defining the post-launch activity schedule, involvement of the science and operational data users, and techniques and correlative data used.

  19. Protecting the Public From Mercury Exposure: Success Through Microexchange Events

    PubMed Central

    Shoemaker, Paul A.; Ghaemghami, Jalal

    2003-01-01

    Mercury is a growing environmental threat that can cause serious health problems and birth defects. Household thermometers are high-risk sources of mercury because most people lack the knowledge to properly dispose of one when it is broken. The Boston Public Health Commission’s Environmental Health Office, with local and national partners, created the Boston Mercury Thermometer Exchange Program to address this hazard. Large central exchanges are successful, but multiple smaller targeted “microexchanges” can be another effective way to reach the general public and specific vulnerable subpopulations such as the elderly, the homebound disabled, or recent immigrants. By conducting exchanges in community health centers and public housing developments for the elderly and disabled, and by working through home health care providers, the program collected 4477 thermometers. PMID:14652320

  20. Environmental equity as a criterion for water management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grande, M.; Galvão, C.; Miranda, L.; Rufino, I.

    2014-09-01

    Environmental equity is a concept derived from the (un)equal exposure to environmental degradation by different social groups, usually minorities and low-income people exposed to major environmental risks, also known as environmental justice. It is assumed that no group of people, independent of race, ethnicity or socio-economic class, should support, either in concentrated or unevenly distributed form, the negative environmental impacts resulting from industrial, agricultural, commercial and infrastructure activities or government programs and policies. In this paper the concept of environmental equity is explored as a criterion for water management through the analysis of a typical coupled human-natural system: the Epitácio Pessoa Reservoir, located in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Inefficient water resource management has caused unequal access to water by the population, particularly during drought periods. However, census data indicate that population have practically the same access to water, which actually is not able to reflect the actual picture. This study argues that environmental equity can be an additional criterion to improve water management.

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