National Environmental Methods Index for
Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Methods
NEMI-CBR
Drinking water and wastewater systems face a growing number of serious contamination threats as a
result of natural disasters, and accidental or intentional contamination. In cases of actual or suspected
contamination, identification and confirmation of the analytical method for a contaminant is important to
effectively respond to an emergency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water has overseen the development of two new tools to enhance the water
sector's ability to quickly and effectively identify and analyze contaminants in public water and
wastewater systems: the National Environmental Methods Index for Chemical, Biological, and
Radiological Methods (NEMI-CBR) and a companion expert system, CBR Advisor.
NEMI-CBR - A Compendium of Methods for the Water Sector
NEMI-CBR is an extension of the National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI), a free, searchable
clearinghouse of methods and procedures (located at http://www.nemi.gov) for both regulatory and non-
regulatory monitoring purposes for water, sediments, air, and tissues. NEMI-CBR is a powerful tool that
supports the contamination response capabilities of the water sector. Located at
http://www.epa.gov/nemi-cbr. NEMI-CBR is a Web-based compendium that:
• Contains analytical methods for chemical, biological, and
radiological contaminants that could pose a threat to public water
or wastewater systems
• Enables users to search, summarize, compare costs and other
features, and download (or link to) full analytical methods for:
1. emergency response to an accidental or intentional
contamination incident at a water or wastewater system
2. regular monitoring to confirm target analytes and pathogens
• Includes all the information fields in NEMI, plus three additional
fields needed to address emergency response: validation flags,
rapidity ratings, and specificity ratings
Key Emergency Response Fields in NEMI-CBR
• Validation Flags
o Green Flag: Indicates the method is included in EPA's Standardized Analytical Methods (SAM)
compendium and has been validated
o Yellow Flag: Indicates the method has been verified but has not been independently validated
o Green/Yellow Combination Flag: Indicates the method is included in the SAM compendium but
has not been validated for the specific analyte
o No Flag: Indicates the method has been independently validated but is not in the SAM compendium
Office of Water • EPA 817-F-08-002 • www.epa.gov/watersecurity • July 2008
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National Environmental Methods Index
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• Rapidity Ratings: Estimated time to perform an analysis and obtain data for interpretation after the
sample has been received at the lab. Ratings range from rapid (<1 hour) to very slow (>8 hours).
• Specificity Ratings: A method is rated on its usefulness as a screening method (a screening method
provides qualitative and/or quantitative results in 3 hours or less) or as a confirmatory method (a
confirmatory method provides quantitative results with low false positive/negative rates with respect to
the presence of the analyte).
CBR Advisor - A Companion to NEMI-CBR
The CBR Advisor is an expert system companion to NEMI-CBR that
enables users to obtain advice in response to an incident and to access
detailed information for planning and training purposes. The system
quickly provides information on the analytical method to select for a
particular contaminant.
Key Features of the CBR Advisor
• Contains modules from EPA's Response Protocol Toolbox
designed to help the water sector effectively and appropriately
respond to a contamination incident or threat. The Advisor also has
direct links to forms, such as chain of custody forms, which are
useful for responding to an incident.
• Provides easy access to the following information via multiple
entry points:
o How to classify threat warnings
o Initial threat evaluation and immediate response operations
o Initial site characterization, evaluation, and entry
o When and why screening methods might be used
o How to collect, package, and ship samples of potentially hazardous materials
• Includes tabular reports that provide advice on recommended analytical methods for a particular
contaminant (i.e., response versus confirmation/monitoring needs). From the reports page, there are
links to analytical method summaries and copies of the full analytical methods.
• Uses dual-screen format - the left screen contains Questions and Answers (Q&A), while the right
screen provides additional information, definitions, and links associated with each question.
Access to NEMI-CBR and CBR Advisor
Access to these password-protected tools will be granted to personnel from drinking water and
wastewater utilities, State Primacy (primary enforcement) Agencies, Federal officials (including
government laboratory personnel), and public health agencies. EPA is granting access to these individuals
because they represent the primary organizations that will be involved in water contamination prevention
and response. In addition, these groups have the necessary expertise to accurately interpret the data in the
database. EPA may grant access to other types of users in the future, depending on the need.
To apply for access to NEMI-CBR, visit: https://cdx.epa.gov/. If you have already been granted access to
NEMI-CBR, log in at: https://cdx.epa.gov/SSL/cdx/login.asp.
For More Information
For more information, please send an email to nemi@usgs.gov.
Office of Water • EPA 817-F-08-002 • www.epa.gov/watersecurity • July 2008
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