science BRIEF
BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS
www.epa.gov
National Risk Management
Research Laboratory
www.epa.gov/nrmrl/
Water Quality Research Program
Providing Research Solutions to Manage Water Quality
The Test and Evaluation Facility
Cincinnati, Ohio
Introduction
The Test and Evaluation Facility (T&E)
is located on the grounds of Cincinnati's
Mill Creek wastewater treatment plant.
There, scientists and engineers in the
Water Quality Research Program in EPA's
National Risk Management Research
Laboratory conduct studies on new
treatment technologies for contaminants in
water and wastewater. This unique facility
has a high-bay area for bench-, pilot-,
and full-scale research. It is supported by
analytical laboratories, chemical storage,
and office space.
A wide variety of innovative water.
wastewater, and soil/sediment treatment
technologies and environmental
monitoring and control systems are
conceived, designed, fabricated,
and evaluated at T&E. Innovative
environmental management concepts
may be subsequently field-validated and
nationally applied. T&E researchers
verify water security monitoring and
treatment technologies as part of EPA's
Environmental Technology Verification
Program.
Administered by NRMRL, T&E is
managed by a highly experienced EPA
technical team. The team is complemented
by Shaw Environmental, Inc. and its
subcontractors (University of Cincinnati,
Miami University, etc.).
Background
Designed in 1977 and opened in 1979,
T&E is a multipurpose research facility
in Cincinnati, Ohio. The research
encompasses drinking water treatment,
wastewater treatment, and hazardous
waste, soil, and ground water remediation.
T&E is a two-story building with 33,000
square feet of space subdivided into
16 work areas. It was designed with
functional versatility for future use.
Under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, T&E is a permitted
treatment, storage, and disposal facility
that holds an Ohio EPA treatability
exclusion. This exclusion allows the
facility to conduct treatability studies
using quantities of all categories of
hazardous waste. This is unmatched by
any similar facility in the nation.
Features
T&E is a ventilated, fully heated and
lighted facility. Its features include:
• Wastewater flows to the 16
experimental locations in the 24,000-
square-foot high-bay area
• Two 5-ton bridge cranes for
ease of relocating large pieces of
experimental equipment
• A well-equipped, 700-square-foot
machine shop for fabricating specialty
items and building or repairing
experimental apparatus
• A 275-square-foot greenhouse for
agricultural studies of pollutant
application to soils
• 10,000 gallons of stainless steel tank
storage; drum storage areas for twenty
5 5-gallon drums
• Hazardous waste tank leak and spill
monitoring and alarm capability tied
into an automatic facility shutdown
system
To allow for installation and removal of
experimental equipment and units, several
large rollup doors facilitate the movement
of trucks and large equipment, including
trailer-mounted pilot plants, in and out of
the building.
T&E is equipped with:
• Chlorinated, dechlorinated, and
deionized water supplies
• Low- and high-pressurized air
supplies
• Electrical supply (110, 240, 480 volts)
• Analytical chemistry laboratories
(2,000 square feet)
• Chemical storage area
• Hazardous liquid and solid storage
facilities
• Liquid pumping systems
• Environmental chambers
• Office space (5,800 square feet)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
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The on-site chemistry laboratories give
scientists the flexibility to study:
• Phytoremediation
• Drinking water contaminants
• Biosensors (devices that determine
the concentration of substances
and other biological parameters of
interest)
• Small systems (public water systems
serving fewer than 10,000 people)
• Water distribution systems, using two
water distribution system simulators
The T&E facility may be used by
scientists and engineers from other federal
agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit
organizations, and private companies.
Provisions are in place to ensure that
EPA research will not be impacted by
any agreements. In most cases, EPA will
provide in-kind services and contractor
support for studies at the T&E facility.
Objectives
EPA's objectives are to reduce the risk
to public health, ensure clean and safe
drinking water, and enhance science and
research. T&E research supports these by
conducting leading-edge, sound scientific
research that reduces human exposure to
contaminants in drinking water.
The Water Quality Research Program
conducts research at T&E to develop
technologies and strategies for
controlling and monitoring drinking
water contaminants, including microbial
pathogens and inorganic and organic
chemicals. The primary areas of research
at T&E are:
• Drinking water and the Contaminant
Candidate List
• Bio-monitoring
• Package plants (technologies
packaged together to provide an
affordable solution for small-system
operators who may not otherwise be
able to efficiently treat water)
• Distribution systems
• Remote monitoring demonstrations
Specific contaminants are also investigated
to determine treatment and analytical
alternatives.
Results
Research conducted at T&E has led
to technologies and strategies for
controlling and monitoring drinking
water contaminants, including microbial
pathogens and inorganic and organic
chemicals.
Drinking water and wastewater studies at
T&E support EPA regulations and provide
regulators and utilities with environmental
results. Studies promote the development
and commercialization of practical and
innovative technologies that enhance
drinking water quality. T&E provides
diverse opportunities to convert drinking
water and wastewater research into
solutions for public water systems in the
United States.
CONTACT
Bio-monitoring - Joel Allen
(513)487-2806
allen.joel(g!epa.gov
Small systems - Craig Patterson
(513)487-2805
patterson.craig(g!epa. gov
Water distribution systems - Christopher Impellitteri
(513)487-2872
impellitteri.christophertgiepa.gov
SEE ALSO
Water Quality Research Program
http://www.epa.gov/ORD/npd/waterqualityresearch-
intro.htm
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with vegetable-based ink on
paper that contains a minimum of
50% post-consumer fiber content
processed chlorine free
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
EPA/600/F-08/004
July 2008
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