EPA 601/K-15/007 I October 2015 I www.epa.gov/research
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Science to Protect
Public Health and the Environment
EPA RESEARCH PROGRAM OVERVIEW
2016-2019
Office of Research and Development
Overview: Science for a Sustainable Future
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EPA 601/K-15/007
Science to Protect Public Health
and the Environment
EPA Research Program Overview
2016-2019
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
October 2015
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Research Organization and Support for EPA Strategic Plan 3
Guiding Principles for EPA Research 5
Strategic Research Action Plans 2016 - 2019 9
Air, Climate, and Energy 10
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources 13
Sustainable and Healthy Communities 16
Chemical Safety for Sustainability 21
Human Health Risk Assessment 24
Homeland Security 27
Science to Protect Public Health and the Environment 29
References... ...30
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Introduction
The United States has made tremendous prog-
ress in environmental protection, and we now
have cleaner air and water, waste sites restored
to useful purposes, and safer consumer prod-
ucts. For more than four decades, EPA research
has informed policies and led to impacts that
define environmental progress. EPA research
provided the evidence and assessments that
led the Agency to ban the use of lead in gaso-
line, protecting an entire generation of children
from hazardous lead exposure. EPA research il-
luminated the critical link between secondhand
tobacco smoke and serious health impacts,
findings that turned the tide so that smoking is
no longer permitted in many public spaces, re-
ducing the risks for all.
EPA researchers continue to build on this prog-
ress by delivering new scientific understanding
and technologies to help solve the complex
environmental challenges affecting our health,
environment and economy.
This document provides an overview of EPA's
research programs within the Office of Re-
search and Development. This critically impor-
tant work is providing the science needed to
address the biggest problems facing environ-
mental science, the Agency, and the world. This
cutting-edge and innovative research portfolio
is connecting the dots in an unprecedented and
integrated way by characterizing problems up
front, recognizing the inherent connections be-
tween a healthy and sustainable environment
and healthy people, and working across histori-
cal media-specific lines with an understanding
that problems aren't isolated to just air or water
or land, but in fact, cut across those domains.
Environmental challenges include:
• Rising global average temperature (see text
box, Our Changing Climate) is associated
with widespread changes in weather
patterns which can impact people's lives.
Many areas have seen changes in rainfall,
resulting in more frequent and intense
flooding and drought events, as well as more
frequent and severe heat waves. These
events can cause loss of life, injury, and
property damage, and can disrupt basic
services such as transportation, electrical
power and water supply.
• Much of the western U.S. is facing record-
setting drought with mountain snowpack
levels at or near their lowest levels on
record. In addition to greatly reducing water
supplies, drought contributes to increased
incidence of wildfires and forest disease,
leading to loss of life and property damage,
air pollution health effects, habitat
destruction, and potential impacts to water
quality.
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Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus,
are polluting our waterways, creating
another difficult environmental and human
health issue affecting local and regional
economies. We face a serious challenge—to
achieve the beneficial level of nutrients in
the environment to enhance food
production and other services, while
protecting human and ecosystem health.
Tens of thousands of chemicals are currently
used, but only a small fraction have been
thoroughly evaluated for potential risks to
human health, wildlife and the environment.
We know very little about people's real
life exposures to most of these chemicals; in
particular we lack data about exposures
during critical stages of life and
development.
• Many communities are disproportionately
overburdened by pollution. We need to
better understand the impacts of chemical
and non-chemical stressors in causing
disparities in health effects and how to help
communities improve resilience to disasters.
Advances in science and technology, including
social sciences, can help us address these and
other complex challenges. EPA's portfolio of
research for 2016-2019 builds on the research
program from 2012-2016 and is designed to
advance our understanding of the complex re-
lationships between human activities and their
impacts on public health and the environment.
This overview of EPA research summarizes:
• Research Organization and Support
for EPA Strategic Plan
• Guiding Principles for EPA Research
• Highlights of EPA Strategic Research
Action Plans
Our Changing Climate
Over the past century, the large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released
into the atmosphere have been the most important cause of recent climate change. The earth's
average temperature has risen by 1.4°F, and if no action is taken to reduce emissions, the average
temperature will rise another 2- 11.5° F over the next hundred years*. EPA's 2015 Report on the
Environment says that, among other impacts, future global warming is projected to produce more
severe droughts in the southwestern U.S.
*Melillo, Jerry M., Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and Gary W. Yohe, Eds., 2014: Climate Change Impacts in the United States:
The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program, 841 pp. doi:10.7930/JOZ31WJ2.
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Research Organization
and Support for EPA
Strategic Plan
EPA science is anchored in the priorities of the
Agency. EPA's FY 2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan1
states, "Sustainable, innovative approaches
grounded in science—the underpinning of
the EPA's decision making—are instrumental
to solving today's environmental challenges.
Now more than ever EPA's leadership as a pre-
eminent science and research institution is
essential."
To embrace the critical need for science leader-
ship, EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD), the science arm of the Agency, has es-
tablished six highly integrated and transdisci-
plinary national research programs that closely
align with the Agency's strategic goals (2014-
2018) and cross-agency strategies (see Figure
1). The six programs are:
• Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE)
• Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS)
• Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP)
• Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)
• Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR)
• Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC)
Each research program engages EPA program
and regional offices and outside partners and
stakeholders to identify the research priorities
that are important for achieving EPA's strategic
goals and objectives.
Research Programs
EPA Goals 2014-2018
Cross-Agency Strategies
Air, Climate, & Energy
Safe and Sustainable Water
Resources
Sustainable and Healthy
Communities
Chemical Safety for
Sustainability
Human Health Risk Assessment
Homeland Security
Addressing Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality
Protecting America's Waters
Cleaning Up Communities and
Advancing Sustainable Development
Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution
Enforcing Laws, Ensuring Compliance
Sustainable
Future
Visible Difference
in Communities
New Era of
Partnerships
High-Performing
Organization
Figure 1. The EPA Office of Research and Development's six national research programs are closely
aligned with EPA Strategic Goals and Cross-Agency Strategies. Research in any one program also
helps the Agency achieve multiple goals.
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ORD's Six Research Programs Aligned
with EPA Strategic Goals
EPA staff scientists and engineers conduct re-
search in laboratories and research facilities at
14 locations across the country. Overall resourc-
es for ORD in fiscal year 2015 included $521 mil-
lion and 1755 employees. EPA staff are joined
by a network of collaborators, partners, fellows,
and grantees. For example, scientists in the re-
search laboratories collaborate with scientists
in EPA regional offices on projects addressing
specific regional concerns. Grantees and fellows
compete from across the nation to receive fund-
ing from EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
extramural research program. EPA is one of 11
federal agencies that participate in the Small
Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program,
enacted in 1982 to strengthen the role of small
businesses in federal research and development,
create jobs, and promote technological innova-
tion.1
EPA continues to experiment with initiatives
to foster innovation and creativity in research.
Staff are exploring scientific competitions and
challenges, citizen science and crowd-sourcing,
public-private partnerships, and other activities
that promote innovative thinking and sustain-
able solutions. For example, the "Pathfinder In-
novation Projects" internal agency competition
offers EPA scientists an opportunity to win seed
funding for out-of-the-box ideas that could be
"game-changers" for environmental protection.
'See httoV/ec
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Guiding Principles for
EPA Research
Several principles guide the design and imple-
mentation of EPA research programs. They are:
Protect Public Health and Advance Sustainabil-
ity; Ensure Science Quality and Transparency;
Achieve Broad Impact; Innovate; Inform Deci-
sions and Actions; Seek Collaboration; and Sup-
port High-Performing Workforce. Completed
and ongoing research activities that illustrate
these principles are highlighted below.
Protect Public Health and Advance
Sustainability
Protecting public health is one of EPA's fun-
damental goals. EPA research uses a systems
approach to understand what causes environ-
mental problems, and to design solutions that
benefit health, the environment, and the econ-
omy—all of which are interconnected. Systems
approaches help advance understanding of the
complex relationships between human health
and the environment, and this knowledge leads
to progress in achieving sustainability—meeting
today's needs without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their needs. One
example of current research:
• Clean energy future: natural gas is playing
a key role in reducing carbon emissions,
creating jobs, and providing a domestic
source of energy. EPA's research on the
potential drinking water impacts of the
development of America's shale gas
resources is helping ensure that responsible
development will benefit the economy,
energy security, and environment.
Ensure Science Quality and
Transparency
Given the stakes of environmental decisions,
it is imperative that EPA produce and rely on
high quality science. Whether it's a community
determining the safety of reusing precious wa-
ter for a variety of purposes, a national policy
under scrutiny by the Supreme Court, or an
enforcement action requiring an industry to re-
vamp its processes to prevent toxic emissions,
the science and technology underlying these
important decisions must be of the highest
quality and accessible to the public. EPA's com-
mitment to quality science includes a rigorous
peer review policy, publishing results in peer-
reviewed journals, and review by external sci-
entific committees such as the National Acad-
emy of Sciences and EPA's Science Advisory
Board and Board of Scientific Counselors. Our
commitment to transparency includes public
access to EPA's publications and supporting sci-
entific data.
• Scientific advice: Each research program
benefits from the advice of a dedicated
subcommittee of EPA's Board of Scientific
Counselors with ongoing engagement
throughout the duration of the 2016-2019
research program. EPA recognizes that its
sound, high quality research will be used not
only by the Agency, but also by other federal,
state and local agencies, private companies
and organizations around the world.
Achieve Broad Impact
EPA's research addresses environmental prob-
lems of national and international significance
and strives to produce scientific results that are
timely and solution-oriented. For example:
• Climate change: EPA research contributed
evidence that provided the scientific
foundation for EPA to move forward
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with regulations to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions from stationary sources.
Groundbreaking research on the role of
black carbon in climate change is helping
decision makers assess benefits of reducing
these emissions on a global to local scale.
This work, together with other air quality
research, such as studies on cookstoves, has
global impact affecting billions of people.
The World Health Organization estimates
that exposure to smoke from traditional
cookstoves and open fires leads to 4.3
million deaths each year. EPA research helps
to improve air quality, protect public health
and slow climate change.
• Streams and wetlands impact water quality:
Smaller water bodies play an important role
in the health of larger downstream
waterways such as rivers and lakes, as
described in an extensive EPA
state-of-the-science report2. The report
provided the science behind the 2015 Clean
Water Rule that clarified the jurisdiction of
the Clean Water Act, protecting the streams
and wetlands that form the foundation of
the nation's water resources.
• Clean air: Over the last 45 years, air quality
in the U.S. has improved dramatically. EPA's
National Ambient Air Quality Standards are
the highest impact regulations, ensuring
U.S. air quality that prevents thousands of
heart attacks and premature deaths, and
millions of cases of respiratory illness, such
as bronchitis and asthma. Every five years,
EPA reviews the standards for air pollutants
such as particulate matter, ozone, and
nitrogen oxides. The standards often face
legal challenges, including cases that
are decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
EPA depends on the sound, peer-reviewed
scientific research and assessments that
characterize the health, ecological and
welfare effects from exposure to these
pollutants.
EPA's CMAQ Model is a powerful
computational tool used by EPA and
states for air quality management. The
National Weather Service uses the model
to produce daily U.S. forecasts for ozone
air quality. CMAQ is also used by states
to assess implementation actions needed
to attain National Ambient Air Quality
Standards.
Innovate
Fostering creativity and stimulating transforma-
tional change can solve complex problems in
new and innovative ways. Sometimes, it's the
advent of technological advances in other fields
that can be applied to an environmental prob-
lem. Examples include:
2See http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplav.cfm?deid=296414
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• Rapid, automated chemical testing:
Agency researchers and their partners are
revolutionizing the assessment of
potential risks to humans and the
environment from exposures to chemicals
and forging a new generation of predictive
capabilities, technologies and solutions.
New tools enable rapid screening of
chemicals for adverse effects, using very
small amounts of chemicals in laboratory
test samples, high-throughput robotics, and
automated analysis.
• Satellite data for water monitoring:
A team of scientists from EPA, NASA and
the U.S. Geological Survey used satellites
to monitor and assess water quality and
harmful algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs and
estuaries. This new approach can provide
early warning to environmental and public
health agencies to prepare for action.
Inform Decisions and Actions
EPA relies on sound science to inform decisions
that affect communities across the nation. To
ensure research is relevant, ORD works very
closely with EPA partners to define the most
pressing environmental problems, research
needs, and data gaps. EPA research is intended
to be accessible and meet both near- and long-
term science needs. Significant research efforts
focus on developing the science that serves as
the foundation for environmental regulations.
Providing technical support to help with more
immediate local issues continues to be of great
value to EPA regions. ORD is also poised in times
of crisis, such as chemical spills, explosions or
other potentially hazardous releases into the
environment, to make its laboratories and tech-
nical experts available to provide immediate
assistance to the on-site decision makers. Re-
search plans and products are peer-reviewed
to ensure transparency of methods and results.
For EPA research to be relevant and accessible,
it also has to be translated and delivered such
that it can be of real value to the end users. The
clients for EPA research range from scientists to
policymakers, lawyers, and the general public.
Examples include:
• Asbestos assessment in Region 8:
EPA and federal partners assessed the risk
to public health from asbestos-contaminated
vermiculite in Libby, MT. This assessment
informs risk management decisions,
including the ongoing clean-up and
remediation activities in the Libby
community. These activities have reduced
the asbestos outdoor air concentrations in
Libby, making the air quality in Libby similar
to other Montana cities and reducing risks
of cancer and respiratory disease from
asbestos.
• Reducing stormwater runoff: Stormwater
flowing from paved streets, parking lots, and
building rooftops can accumulate chemicals
and other pollutants that can adversely
affect water quality. Green infrastructure,
which includes approaches such as rain
gardens, porous pavement, and green roofs,
can alleviate flooding and protect water
quality. EPA's National Stormwater Calculator
is a desktop application that estimates
reductions in stormwater runoff for various
green infrastructure options, and it is a
practical and easy-to-use tool for local
decision makers such as urban planners,
landscape architects, site developers and
homeowners.
EPA green infrastructure researchers
provide key tools, such as the National
Stormwater Calculator, to address
stormwater management.
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Seek Collaboration
EPA science has even greater impact through
strong collaboration with public health and en-
vironmental partners. ORD works collaborative-
ly across its research programs and also devel-
ops partnerships within EPA and with external
organizations to accomplish its work. Partners
include scientists, engineers, decision makers,
risk managers, and other experts in EPA pro-
gram and regional offices, other federal agen-
cies, state and local governments, and other
research organizations. Developing scientific
tools and information jointly with partners, and
soliciting feedback from EPA partners and out-
side stakeholders, helps ensure that research
results are meaningful and that research prod-
ucts are tailored to meet the needs of decision
makers at the federal, state and local levels.
• Children's environmental health:
Children's environmental health research
involves many disciplines, such as
reproductive and developmental health,
genetics, exposure science, sociology, and
pediatrics, and requires coordination and
collaboration across EPA research programs,
laboratories and centers. In a long-running
partnership with the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, EPA supports
university-based, multi-disciplinary research
centers dedicated to children's health3.
These centers have provided the
foundational science for understanding
environmental health impacts on children
and have contributed evidence supporting
policy decisions related to air pollution,
pesticides and endocrine-disrupting
chemicals.
• Homeland security: Multiple agencies are
involved in responding to environmental
disasters, including terrorist incidents. EPA
regularly collaborates with other federal
agencies to conduct joint research and
3See http://epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/
operational activities. For example, a recent
full-scale test operation focused on
sampling, decontamination and waste
management for a facility contaminated
with simulated anthrax spores. EPA's
partners in the effort included the U.S.
Departments of Homeland Security, Health
and Human Services, Justice, Defense, and
Energy.
. Healthy
Heart
A healthier environment for healthier hearts
EPA partnered with the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services on a campaign
to promote heart health.
Support High-Performing Workforce
EPA's research organization is unique in its
breadth of expertise and science leadership to
address multifaceted environmental issues. En-
gineering, environmental health, ecology, com-
puter science, and meteorology are just a few
examples of the many scientific and technical
fields represented. Multidisciplinary research
is encouraged so that scientists can work to-
gether across many different areas of expertise.
As science evolves, so do the areas of expertise
needed to maintain highly relevant and out-
standing research. EPA's Office of Research and
Development developed a workforce strategy
to address the critical expertise gaps in the next
three to five years and to serve as a guide for
future hiring decisions. Social science is just one
area of expertise needed for research planned
in the next several years.
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Strategic Research
Action Plans 2016-2019
EPA has developed six Strategic Research
Action Plans, one for each of the national
research programs. The plans describe
the research vision, objectives, topics, and
expected accomplishments. Each explains
the programs' efforts to collaborate with EPA
partners and stakeholders. Involving those
who rely on EPA research, from staff to senior
managers, in setting priorities and following
research progress through to translation, is vital
to program success and ultimate impact.
Integrating across the six programs is a particu-
lar focus for the 2016-2019 plans. Many envi-
ronmental issues cut across the six programs.
ORD puts special emphasis on ensuring that
research on cross-cutting issues is coordinated
and collaborative. Embracing such integration
ensures that the work is designed to tackle the
increasingly complex nature of environmental
challenges and threats.
In addition, because of their Agency-wide
prominence, four key topic areas have been se-
lected for focused and active integration across
the six national programs: climate change,
children's environmental health, nitrogen and
co-pollutants, and environmental justice (see
Figure 2). Each of these efforts is described in
a cross-cutting research roadmap led by one
of the research programs. The roadmaps de-
scribe ongoing research and also help inform
the national research programs' strategic plan-
ning activities. EPA program and regional office
partners provide instrumental input that helps
shape ORD's investment in these cross-cutting
topics. The research programs work together
to address additional important cross-cutting
issues, such as community resilience and inte-
grating new data streams into risk assessment.
Highlights from the six Strategic Research
Action plans, including examples of research
planned for the years 2016-2019, and examples
of research collaboration on cross cutting issues
are summarized in the following pages.
Air, Climate,
and Energy
(ACE)
Sustainable •
and Healthy
Communities
(SHC)
Human
Health Risk
Assessment
(HHRA)
Climate Change
Environmental
Justice
Nitrogen and
Co-pollutants
Children's
Environmental
Health
Chemical
Safety for
Sustainability
(CSS) .
Figure 2. Integration
across the six national
research programs and
four roadmap topics.
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Air, Climate, and Energy
The Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE) research pro-
gram builds upon 40 years of achievement in
air pollution research that has led to landmark
outcomes—including visibly cleaner air, health-
ier communities, and longer life expectancies.
Looking forward, we understand that air quality
and climate are inextricably linked, and global
climate change is adversely affecting public
health and the environment in many areas of
the country. Energy production and use have
major impacts on both air quality and climate
with conventional energy options generally
representing the major source of air pollution
emissions, including greenhouse gases.
ACE research will directly advance EPA's strate-
gic goal to address climate change and improve
air quality. The ACE program continues to fulfill
Clean Air Act requirements by providing scien-
tific support to decision makers on individual air
pollutants of concern. However, we all breathe
mixtures of air and are not often exposed to air
pollutants one at a time. As a result, ACE re-
search is also focused on assessing impacts of
exposures to a combination of many pollutants
in the air, analyzing approaches for preventing
and reducing emissions of pollutants including
greenhouse gases, and helping communities,
states, and regions respond to the impacts of
changes in climate and air quality.
By addressing air, climate, and energy issues in
an integrated way, the ACE research program
provides the scientific results and innovative
technologies that are needed to take action on
climate change and improve air quality.
The ACE program has brought together scien-
tists from a broad range of disciplines including
atmospheric and climate science, air and water
quality, environmental health, exposure, ecol-
ogy, economics, and more. These scientists and
Research Challenges
We breathe a mixture of air pollutants.
Current scientific understanding of
environmental and health risks of air
pollution is based on single pollutants.
The effects of climate change on air, water
and ecosystems will vary by region and
locality. Helping communities prepare for
climate change requires scientific data
across a range of geographic scales, not
currently available.
Energy choices have trade-offs, but
the health and environmental risks
and benefits of new technologies and
approaches are not well understood.
Social, behavioral, and economic factors
influence the effectiveness of air quality
and climate policies, and methods are
lacking to address all factors togeth
engineers work collaboratively with those who
use and depend upon our research—EPA policy
makers, state, local and regional officials and
external stakeholders—to ensure the ACE pro-
gram is responsive and relevant to the greatest
needs. By working together to articulate high-
est priority problems and research, the ACE
program is focused on three main objectives:
1) Assess Impacts
Develop and apply methods to assess the
impacts and effects of air pollution
exposure and climate change at individual,
community, regional, and global scales.
2) Prevent and Reduce Emissions
Provide the science needed to develop and
evaluate approaches to prevent and
reduce harmful air emissions. The data
and methods resulting from this research
can be used to analyze the full life cycle
impacts of new and existing technologies
and assess the sustainability of various
energy choices.
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3) Respond to Changes in Climate and Air
Quality
Provide modeling and monitoring tools
and information to help government
agencies and communities prepare for
impacts to air, water, and land from
climate change. While reducing
greenhouse gas emissions is a critical
part of minimizing future climate
change, it is also necessary to adapt to the
environmental impacts caused by
unavoidable changes in climate.
The ACE program will continue to provide di-
rect technical assistance to its EPA partners in
the program offices and regions; provide re-
search needed for immediate policy or regu-
latory action; and anticipate and develop the
science needed for decisions in the coming de-
cade. As the lead for the cross-cutting issue of
climate change research, the ACE program
works closely with scientists from other federal
programs and across EPA, including the other
five research programs (see text box). EPA is one
of 13 departments and agencies that contribute
to the U.S. Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP), which coordinates federal climate
change research. ACE research is of interest to
scientists and environmental managers all over
the world.
2016-2019 ACE Strategic Research
Action Plan Research Examples
The ACE program encompasses research relat-
ed to air quality monitoring, modeling, public
health, climate change and energy sustainabil-
ity. Examples of this research for 2016-2019 are
described below.
Next Generation Air Pollution Monitoring
Historically, approaches for monitoring air pol-
lution generally use expensive, complex, sta-
tionary equipment, which limits who collects
data, what data are collected and how data
are accessed. This landscape is changing rap-
idly with the emergence of lower-cost, easy-to-
use, portable air pollution monitors (e.g., sen-
sors) that provide high-resolution data in near
real time and may be used by state and local
agencies, research scientists, regulated facili-
ties, communities and individuals for a range of
different purposes. ORD collaborates with EPA
programs and regions, states and federal part-
ners on this research.
Agency scientists will continue to evaluate and
utilize versatile, next-generation air monitor-
ing technologies in novel ways, such as mount-
ed to vehicles or applied along fence lines.
Global Climate Change Research Roadmap
EPA's mission to safeguard the environment and protect human health puts the Agency at
the forefront of federal efforts to mitigate and prepare for climate change impacts to air,
water, land, ecosystems, and human health. Highlighting the unique role that EPA plays,
the Climate Change Research Roadmap illustrates how EPA's research will: improve the
understanding of the interactions between climate change and the environment; evaluate
the resulting impacts on human health and welfare; develop strategies to prepare for and
respond to these impacts; and ensure that such responses promote sustainability and
avoid further, unintended adverse impacts. The Roadmap illustrates the coordination and
integration of research related to climate change across the six national research programs
(ACE, CSS, HHRA, HSRP, SHC and SSWR), responding to the needs of EPA's Office of Air
and Radiation, Office of Water, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Office of
Policy, Office of Children's Health Protection and the EPA regional offices.
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Working with the industrial community and
other partners, they are providing spatial and
temporal data useful for assessing both air pol-
lution source emissions and ambient air quality
around facilities and areas of high interest, such
as energy production and processing plants, in-
dustrial facilities, agricultural operations, land-
fills, brown fields and waste water treatment
operations.
EPA researchers are advancing next generation
mobile air quality monitors.
EPA researchers designed and installed solar-
powered, community-based air monitoring
systems ("Village Green Benches") to explore
real-world applications of next-generation air
monitors, and develop new approaches for
harnessing the proliferation of new data they
are generating.
EPA-supported Air, Climate, and Energy
Research Centers
Through the highly-competitive Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) grants program, EPA will
fund the fourth-generation of air research cen-
ters, now the Air, Climate, and Energy Research
Centers, a network of university-based, multi-
disciplinary consortia. Center researchers are
focusing on the challenges faced by different
regions of the country in achieving and sustain-
ing air quality as climate change continues. Lo-
cal conditions can be highly variable, including
differences in emission sources, topography,
climate, meteorology, demographics, and so-
cioeconomic and cultural patterns. Research-
ers are improving understanding of how these
social, economic, environmental and other fac-
tors affect regional differences in the mix and
magnitude of air pollution. Results will inform
policy makers on the development of innova-
tive approaches that enhance the effectiveness
of air pollution control strategies and achieve
the greatest public health benefits.
Helping to Protect Local Air Quality in a
Changing Climate
As part of their efforts to protect public health,
states across the nation rely on EPA's Commu-
nity Multi-scale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) to
help predict changes to air quality as a result of
proposed actions to meet clean air standards.
But while that system has proved invaluable
for more than a decade, a new challenge has
emerged: climate change. EPA modelers are
developing new frameworks for incorporating
critical data across multiple scales, down-scal-
ing global climate meteorological projections to
expand CMAQ's powerful capabilities for calcu-
lating local and regional air quality projections.
The work will support air quality managers who
must consider how changes in climate would af-
fect their state efforts to achieve clean air.
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Public-Private Research Partnership: Health
Effects of Air Pollution
Through a long-term partnership, EPA and the
motor vehicle industry jointly fund the Health
Effects Institute, which sponsors independent,
peer-reviewed research on the health impacts
of motor vehicle emissions. For 2015-2020, the
Institute is focusing on research to inform deci-
sions on air quality and on climate-driven tech-
nology. The program has four core program ele-
ments: (1) addressing the continuing challenges
of multipollutant science; (2) accountability and
transparency; (3) assessing emerging fuels and
technologies; and (4) global health.
EPA and the Health Effects Institute are developing
the next generation of tools and scientific
information to examine the combined effects of
air pollution on human health and the relationship
between air quality and climate change.
Safe and Sustainable
Water Resources
Water is one of our Nation's most precious re-
sources. The United States uses about 400 bil-
lion gallons of water each day. We depend upon
it for our lives and our livelihoods, for healthy
ecosystems and a robust economy. Yet a host
of challenges threaten the safety and sustain-
ability of our water resources, including biologi-
cal and chemical contaminants, aging water-
system infrastructure, demands of the energy,
agriculture and manufacturing sectors, popula-
tion change, climate change, extreme weather
events and homeland security threats.
To address these challenges, EPA's Safe and Sus-
tainable Water Resources (SSWR) research pro-
gram is using an integrated, systems approach
to develop scientific and technological solutions
to protect human health and to protect and re-
store watersheds and aquatic ecosystems.
The research directly advances EPA's strategic
goal "Protecting America's Waters" and pro-
vides scientific and technical support to meet
Research Challenges
Excess levels of nutrients and sediment
remain the Nation's largest contributor tc
water-quality deterioration. The rate at which
water bodies are newly listed for water-
quality impairment exceeds the pace that
restored waters are removed from the list
Surplus nutrients cause widespread damage
to aquatic ecosystems and impact public
health.
Sustainability of groundwater, with regard to
drawdown, recharge, and increasing potential
of contamination, is a growing concern.
Current drinking water and water treatmen
systems are inadequate to meet future
needs.
Many water systems are outdated and
inefficient, losing trillions of gallons of
treated water each year because of pipe
leaks and breaks.
Stormwater overflows in combined sewer
systems send billions of gallons of untreated
sewage into lakes and rivers.
Changes in population, land use, climate and
extreme events will affect water resources
and aquatic ecosystems.
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Agency obligations enforcing key legislative
mandates, including the Clean Water Act and
the Safe Drinking Water Act.
SSWR scientists have worked closely with part-
ners from EPA programs and regional offices, as
well as federal and state agencies, public and
private stakeholders and the scientific commu-
nity to identify research priorities. Four main
objectives guide the SSWR research program:
1) Address Complex Chemical and Microbial
Pollutants
Develop new methods for detecting,
quantifying, monitoring, and treating
complex chemical and microbial
pollutants. This research focuses on new
and emerging contaminants that threaten
human health and aquatic ecosystems,
providing scientific and engineering
guidance to strengthen drinking water and
water quality standards.
2) Transform the Concept of 'Waste' to
'Resource'
Develop innovative water treatment
technologies and green infrastructure
techniques to tap current streams of
wastewater for resources. Through
this research, stormwater runoff as
well as wastewater from homes and
industries has the potential to become a
source for certain, closely defined
("fit-for-purpose") water use, and as a
source for recovering energy, nutrients,
metals and other valuable substances.
3) Quantify the Benefits of Water Quality
Clean water and healthy ecosystems
provide many services that are currently
undervalued. By developing models and
tools to estimate the economic benefits of
water-quality improvements, this research
will aid in the protection or restoration of
water quality.
4) Translate Research into Real-world
Solutions
Move results out of the lab and into
the hands of end users who can use those
applications to sustainably manage water
resources and infrastructure.
As the lead for the cross-cutting issue of nitro-
gen and co-pollutants research, the SSWR pro-
gram works closely with scientists from other
research programs, EPA program and regional
offices and other federal agencies (see text
box).
Nitrogen and Co-pollutants Research
Roadmap
Excess nutrients in water are causing
widespread damage to aquatic systems
and impacting public health. Significant,
sustainable reductions in nutrients must be
economically efficient, socially acceptable,
environmentally sound, adaptable to climate
change, land-use and demographic changes,
and permanent. These requirements can be
met only through integrated research that
informs the systematic collective, adaptive
management of nutrients across air, land,
and water. To achieve that, SSWR is leading
a collaboration on nitrogen and co-pollutants
research across multiple media and spatial
scales. The Nitrogen and Co-pollutant
Roadmap is a collaboration among ORD's
research programs (ACE, HHRA, SHC, and
SSWR), EPA's Office of Water, EPA's Office
of Air and Radiation, and EPA's Regional
Offices. The roadmap provides a cross-media,
integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to
sustainably manage reactive nitrogen and co-
pollutant (in particular phosphorus, but also
sulfur, sediments) loadings to air, surface
and ground water to reduce adverse impacts
on the environment and human health.
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2016-2019 SSWR Strategic
Research Action Plan Research
Examples
SSWR research focuses on high-priority, cur-
rent and long-term water resource challenges
identified in partnership with EPA program and
regional office partners and other partners and
stakeholders. Examples of research for 2016-19
are described below.
Addressing Harmful Algal Blooms
Human activities appear to be increasing the
frequency of harmful algal blooms — the rapid
overgrowth of certain types of toxin-contain-
ing algae and cyanobacteria. The proliferation
of such organisms can pose risks to human
health by contaminating recreational waters
and drinking water supplies. EPA researchers
are developing predictive capabilities, analyti-
cal methods, and remote sensing techniques
to detect blooms. EPA works with partners at
NASA, NOAA and USGS to use data collected
by satellites. That and other innovative work
will provide stakeholders and decision makers
with improved scientific information and tools
to effectively assess and manage harmful algal
blooms and associated toxicity events.
NASA satellite image of harmful algal bloom
striking Lake Erie in the summer of 2014, resulting
in a "do not drink" water advisory for the entire
City of Toledo, OH.
Green Infrastructure in Communities
For many cities, stormwater management re-
mains one of the greatest challenges to meeting
water quality standards. Local communities can
realize cost savings and many other benefits by
using green infrastructure—natural and engi-
neered techniques that increase the capacity of
local watersheds to absorb stormwater runoff
and seasonal snow and ice melt. EPA research-
ers are developing a green infrastructure classi-
fication framework, and advancing research to
test and refine sophisticated tools, models, and
screens that incorporate multiple community-
based parameters, including the evaluation of
financial strategies and economic costs. Results
will help communities effectively use innovative
green infrastructure techniques to meet their
goals for minimizing stormwater discharge and
mitigating combined sewer overflow events.
Green infrastructure can potentially improve
water quality, while providing other benefits
such as additional green space in urban settings
and recharging ground water supplies.
Green roofs can be used effectively to reduce
stormwater runoff from commercial, industrial,
and residential buildings.
Reducing Risks from Water Treatment
Disinfection By-products
The presence and potential health effects of
by-products from chemical water treatment,
known as disinfection by-products, are a con-
cern for water treatment facilities and public
health officials. EPA researchers are tapping
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recent technical advances in integrated toxico-
logical and chemical characterization studies
(see more in the Chemical Safety for Sustain-
ability section of this document) to advance
the understanding of the joint impacts of initial
source water quality and the choice of disinfec-
tion techniques and technologies. Results will
advance water treatment techniques and bet-
ter protect public health.
EPA researchers are helping water quality
treatment facilities reduce risks from disinfection
by-products.
Quantifying National Water Quality Benefits
The long-term sustainability of water quan-
tity and quality depends on better assessing
the value of clean, abundant water that con-
tributes to human health, recreation, food
production and other environmental services.
Without that understanding, the degradation
of water quality due to chemical and microbial
contaminants, including nutrients, will con-
tinue to outpace water quality improvements.
ORD and EPA policy partners are advancing
national water quality benefit-cost analyses
and modeling tools that will build the capacity
for estimating the economic benefits of water
quality improvements. These resources include
a new generation of studies that will identify
market and non-market values associated with
water quality, and will identify useful metrics
for linking water quality models to economic
valuation.
Sustainable and
Healthy Communities
How do communities meet their day-to-day
needs without compromising the ability of
their children and future generations to one
day meet their own? And more specifically, how
can we take action to protect our shared envi-
ronment—air, water, land, and ecosystems—in
ways that are economically viable, beneficial to
human health and well-being, and socially just?
The Sustainable and Healthy Communities
(SHC) research program is developing the
knowledge, data, and tools to answer those
questions. The program is focused on providing
Research Challenges
Communities need information to make
decisions on infrastructure, land use,
transportation, and waste management tt
meet short-term priorities while minimizins
impacts to, and maximizing benefits for
long-term public health and community
prosperity.
The complex and dynamic interactions of
social, economic, and environmental trade-
offs are not well understood, nor incorporated
into usable, accessible tools and models.
Information is limited on linkages between
human health and well-being, ecosystems,
local economies, and disproportionate
environmental burden.
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scientifically sound information to EPA program
and regional offices and U.S. communities to
inform decisions that produce more sustain-
able outcomes for our environment, society,
and economy.
The SHC program is strongly aligned with ad-
vancing EPA's strategic goal, "Cleaning Up
Communities and Advancing Sustainable De-
velopment/' and the cross-agency strategies
of "Working Toward a Sustainable Future"
and "Working to Make a Visible Difference in
Communities." The program is also helping
the Agency implement key recommendations
made by the National Research Council (NRC)
in its reports Sustainability and the US EPA and
Sustainability for the Nation. The NRC explicitly
recommends adopting a Sustainability frame-
work that requires a comprehensive approach
for incorporating Sustainability into decisions
and actions.
Traditional methods for evaluating environ-
mental impacts typically focus on one pollut-
ant or one type of activity. To better evaluate
effects of policies or programs, SHC focuses on
incorporating environmental science into more
holistic approaches (such as health impact as-
sessment) that consider the interaction of envi-
ronmental, social and economic factors on the
health of a population. SHC is partnering with
EPA regional offices and communities to apply
these methods to help solve complex commu-
nity issues.
SHC research is focused on many of our nation's
most pressing problems, including: contaminat-
ed sites and revitalizing communities, oil spill
response and clean up, and shifting the para-
digm from disposal of waste to reuse of materi-
als and resource management.
Collectively, the SHC research program delivers
information and tools needed to support and
inform decisions that advance outcomes that
sustain a healthy environment, society, and
economy. Four broad research objectives guide
that work:
1) Support Community Decisions
Assist decision makers through the
development of information, methods and
tools incorporating decision science,
citizen science, spatial analysis, cause-
and-effect modeling, and Sustainability
assessments. These resources help
decision makers frame different options,
increase community-engagement, and
identify potential solutions that promote a
more sustainable future.
2) Develop Tools and Metrics to Identify,
Monitor, and Track the Links between
Human Well-being and the Environment
Explore ecosystems services, natural and
built environments, and the interactions
of chemical and nonchemical
environmental factors to better
understand how environmental conditions
provide a foundation for human well-
being. SHC researchers and their partners
are developing metrics, including
indicators and indices (combinations of
indicators), that communities can use to
better assess and predict the
environmental, public health, and
economic implications of decision
alternatives. A particular emphasis is
on identifying the links between the
environment and disproportionate impacts
on vulnerable groups and lifestages.
3) Research and Technical Support for
Environmental Clean Up, Mitigation, and
Restoration, and for Advancing
Sustainable Development
Help community stakeholders improve
the efficiency and effectiveness of
addressing contaminated sediments,
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land, and ground water, and resultant
vapor intrusion. The program also provides
and evaluates standards, products, data,
and approaches to prevent, characterize,
and clean up environmental releases of
petroleum and other fuel products.
SHC methods, models, tools, and data are
designed to enhance sustainable materials
management.
4) Develop and Apply a Sustainability
Assessment and Management Toolbox
Provide community stakeholders with a
suite of tools that, when used
together, produce a full accounting that
links environmental decisions with human
well-being. The "Sustainability Toolbox"
can be used to identify and characterize
the costs, benefits, and potential tradeoffs
of different decisions as they relate to
social (including public health), economic,
and environmental outcomes.
As the lead for developing the cross-cutting
roadmap for environmental justice research,
the SHC program works closely with EPA's Of-
fice of Environmental Justice and the five other
national research programs (see text box).
2016-2019 SHC Strategic Research
Action Plan Research Examples
SHC is developing information and tools to offer
solutions to community-based decision makers
within and outside the Agency. Examples of re-
search planned for the 2016-19 timeframe are
described below.
Making the Connection: Developing
Environmental Indicators and Indices to
Inform Decision Making and Track Progress
Local communities face multiple and sometimes
conflicting priorities when it comes to balanc-
ing immediate goals with long-term needs and
Environmental Justice Research
Roadmap
EPA has long recognized that environmental
risks are often greater for low income and
minority communities. The impacts on
communities at higher risk are influenced not
only by differential exposures due to close
proximity to sources of harmful chemicals,
but also by interactions with non-chemical
stressors that may impact effects posed by
exposures to environmental contaminants.
Disproportionate impacts can also arise
from enhanced susceptibilities, as well as
from the lack of sufficient health services
or benefits. Communities may suffer
from inadequate physical and economic
infrastructures, such as poor housing,
lack of transportation, and inadequate
water systems. SHC is the lead on the
Environmental Justice Research roadmap to
promote sustainable, healthy communities
by providing state-of-the-science tools and
information that can be used to characterize
and mitigate environmental and health
inequities. The program will collaborate
with the other programs in ORD (ACE,
HHRA, SSWR, HSRP and CSS) and EPA
partners, including the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response, the Office of
Environmental Justice, and the Office of
Children's Health Protection, on research to
advance EPA's EJ 2020 Action Agenda.
stability. To help them meet those challenges,
EPA researchers are developing a suite of envi-
ronmental indicators and indices that provide
researchers and others with a way to charac-
terize current conditions across a host of envi-
ronmental media, particularly as they connect
to human well-being. For example, the indices
and indexes inform EPA's Report on the Envi-
ronment, an easily accessible, on-line resource
that presents the best available indicators of
national trends in environmental and human
health conditions. Other searchable databases
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allow users to find the appropriate metrics for
different decision contexts, such as land use,
materials management, community revitaliza-
tion, or commercial, residential, or transporta-
tion planning.
Exhibit 1. Wet sulfate (SO,-) deposition in the contiguous U.S., 1 989-1991 and 2011 -
2013
Wei SCV deposition (kilograms per hectare)
Coverage; 188 monitoring sites in 1989-1991 and 2S7 monitoring sites in 2011-2013.
Analysis shows that these trends a
:ally significant. For more information about uncertainty, variabilit
)ata source: NADP. 2014
Indicators of national environmental and human
health trends are readily accessible from EPA's
Report on the Environment at: http://cfpub.epa.
gov/roe/.
Helping Communities Identify the Benefits of
Ecosystems
An important goal of the SHC research program
is to help community stakeholders and national
decision makers assess, and predict effects due
to, the interactions between people and the nat-
ural environment. EPA is conducting research
to identify the benefits that local communities
derive from the natural environment, "commu-
nity-based ecosystem goods and services." For
example, natural wetlands help purify water
and provide flood control, but these benefits
are hard to quantify. There are a whole host
of resources like wetlands that provide impor-
tant goods and services that are often under-
valued. The research includes the identification
and inventory of ecosystem goods and services
at multiple geographic scales, approaches com-
munities can use to measure those benefits,
and the development of a library of ecologi-
cal production models. Researchers are also
advancing the understanding of how climate
change and other major drivers and stressors
affect the production, delivery, and benefits of
ecosystem goods and services.
Helping Address Contaminated Sites
SHC plays a major role in advancing techniques
and technologies to help communities and oth-
ers remediate and rehabilitate Superfund and
other contaminated sites, including address-
ing challenges sparked by hazardous materials
reaching groundwater, which can lead to con-
tamination of drinking water and vapor intru-
sion—when volatile organic compounds and
other gases migrate from underlying water and
soil into the air of homes and other buildings.
Examples of this work include improving the ap-
plication and interpretation of high-resolution
groundwater characterization technologies, ad-
vancing the long-term evaluation of the use of
permeable reactive barriers for the treatment
of groundwater contamination, novel vapor
intrusion studies using real-time observations
and modeling scenarios, and the continued op-
eration of three technical support centers fo-
cused on site characterization and monitoring,
engineering and groundwater issues at contam-
inated sites.
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Supporting EPA Regional Science Needs
SHC sponsors collaborative projects in com-
munities across the country, taking advantage
of unique opportunities to apply new research
tools, gaining immediate feedback, and improv-
ing the design and delivery of research results
as they are used more widely to make a differ-
ence in communities. SHC's Regional Sustain-
able Environmental Sciences Research program
unites problem-solvers from the Office of Re-
search and Development directly with experts
from each of the Agency's ten regional offices
located across the country.
Examples of regional projects include: Engag-
ing Communities and Citizen Science to Assess
and Address Children's Environmental Health
from Transit and Air Pollution; Improving Pub-
lic Health through Urban and Roadside Vegeta-
tion; and Using Ecosystem Services Assessment
and Health Impact Assessments as Part of a
Stakeholder-driven Approach to Storm Recov-
ery: Long Island Case Study.
EPA's EnviroAtlas: A Mapping Tool to Assess
the Benefits of Nature
EPA researchers are expanding EnviroAtlas, a
collection of interactive tools and resources
that allow users to explore and visualize the
many benefits people receive from nature in
ways that are immediately applicable to de-
cision-making and planning. The dynamic re-
source combines multiple ecosystem-based
data sets, sophisticated geographic information
systems, and visualization tools to present fine-
scaled, multilayered maps and other resources
that people can download and use to inform
decisions to keep their communities healthy
and resilient. Development plans for EnviroAt-
las extend out to 2017, incorporating updates,
additional data, analysis tools, and increased
functionality as they become available.
*
Using EnviroAtlas, many types of users can access, view, and analyze diverse information to better understand
how various decisions can affect an array of ecological and human health outcomes.
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Chemical Safety for
Sustainability
Chemicals are a lynchpin of the American econ-
omy. Moving toward sustainability requires in-
novation to design, produce, and use chemicals
in safer ways.
The challenges faced in today's chemical envi-
ronment are formidable. Tens of thousands of
chemicals are currently in use and hundreds
more are introduced into the market every
year. Many of these chemicals have not been
thoroughly evaluated for potential hazard to
human health, wildlife and the environment,
particularly when considering the consequenc-
es of use over a chemical's life cycle (from pro-
duction to disposal). Current toxicity testing
methods focus on evaluating hazard from expo-
sures to individual chemicals and are expensive
and time consuming. Characterizing exposures
to multiple chemicals, and understanding their
impacts across the life cycle of products, further
amplifies the challenge. Innovative methods to
assess hazard and exposure, and to integrate
this information to assess risk, are needed to
make better-informed, more-timely decisions
about chemicals.
To address these challenges, the Chemical Safe-
ty for Sustainability research program (CSS) is
leading development of innovative science to
support safe and sustainable selection, design,
and use of chemicals and materials required to
promote human and ecological wellbeing, as
well as to protect vulnerable species, lifestages,
and populations. The ultimate goal is to en-
able the Agency to address impacts of existing
chemicals, anticipate impacts of new chemicals
and materials, and evaluate complex interac-
tions of chemical and biological systems.
The research strategy guiding the work was de-
veloped in partnership with EPA program and
Research Challenges
Thousands of chemicals have not
been evaluated and new chemicals
are continually being developed and
introduced into commerce.
Chemical substitutions and other
alternatives designed to solve one
environmental health problem may have
unintended consequences.
The real-world is inherently more
complicated than current experimental
models of toxicology can depict.
Decision-makers need demonstrated
solutions to translate new information into
action.
regional offices, and with input from other fed-
eral agencies, states, public and private stake-
holders, and the global scientific community.
The research program recognizes that transfor-
mative approaches are needed to improve the
information used in chemical evaluations. CSS
science is strategically scoped with four inte-
grated research topics to support Agency pri-
orities.
1) Chemical Evaluation
Advancing cutting-edge methods to
provide data for risk-based evaluation
of both existing chemicals and emerging
materials.
2) Life Cycle Analytics
Exploring new ways to evaluate risks
to human and ecological health across the
lifecycle of manufactured chemicals,
materials and products. CSS methods will
efficiently evaluate alternatives and
support more sustainable chemical design
and use.
3) Complex System Science
Adopting a systems-based approach
to examine complex chemical-biological
-------
interactions and predict potential for
adverse outcomes resulting from
exposures to chemicals.
4) Translation and Delivery
Promoting web-based tools, data, and
applications to support chemical safety
evaluations and related decisions. CSS
engages Agency partners and stakeholders
to ground truth the transparency, access,
relevance, and applicability of our
research.
As the lead for the cross-cutting issue of chil-
dren's environmental health, the CSS program
works with scientists from the other research
programs and from EPA program and regional
offices, to identify research priorities and coor-
dinate research (see text box).
Children's Environmental Health
Research Roadmap
Public concern about the potential role of
environmental factors on children's health
including asthma, autism spectrum disorder,
and childhood obesity is increasing. To date,
research in this area has been limited and
recent studies are difficult to evaluate and
interpret. The Children's Environmental
Health Research roadmap presents ORD's
vision for providing integrated, cutting-
edge science required for EPA actions to
promote children's environmental health
and wellbeing. It recognizes that EPA has a
unique mandate to focus on understanding
the role of exposure to environmental
stressors on health impacts during early life
and across the course of development. The
Children's Environmental Health Research
Roadmap is a collaboration among ORD's
research programs (ACE, CSS, HSRP,
HHRA, SHC, and SSWR), EPA's Office of
Children's Health Protection, Office of Air
and Radiation, and Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response.
2016-2019 CSS Strategic Research
Action Plan Research Examples
The CSS program maps out innovative research
that will transform how scientists and policy
makers assess the safety of chemicals and ex-
posure to them. Working closely with EPA part-
ners to conduct case studies of new approaches
improves the quality of the science and confi-
dence in the methods. Examples of CSS re-
search for 2016-2019 are described below.
Accelerating the Pace of Data-driven
Chemical Evaluations
Driven by limitations of current chemical test-
ing methods, EPA needs very rapid and efficient
methods to prioritize, screen, and evaluate
chemical safety for thousands of compounds.
The ToxCast research program generates data
and predictive models on a large number of
chemicals using high-throughput screening
methods and computational toxicology ap-
proaches that are increasing the pace and de-
creasing the cost of chemical screening.
ToxCast uses robotics technology to screen chemicals
for potential toxicity, developing a cost-effective
approach for prioritizing the thousands of chemicals
that need toxicity testing.
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While ToxCast measures changes in biological
activity, ExpoCast uses related high-throughput
estimates to assess exposure, another key as-
pect of assessing risk. ExpoCast and new ap-
proaches known as non-targeted measurement
methods are being developed and deployed to
more rapidly generate much-needed exposure
information on several thousand chemicals, in-
cluding data on chemicals not expected to be
found in environmental samples. Together, this
multi-year effort is generating an unprecedent-
ed volume of exposure and toxicology data and
making it publicly available. Moving forward,
researchers will assess how to apply these data
from the very start to a range of applications
including: chemical screening and priority set-
ting for more in-depth studies of health hazard;
human or ecological risk assessments; and the
design of safe chemicals.
Shifting the Paradigm of Toxicity
Characterization
Traditionally, toxicological testing for chemi-
cal exposure has focused on observing health
outcomes such as disease and death. Using sys-
tems science, CSS research will identify early
indicators, or "tipping points" of adversity or
biological harm associated with chemical expo-
sures, and build predictive models that are pub-
lic health protective. To facilitate this research,
ORD is funding four university-based centers.
The centers will develop cell models for high-
priority biological systems such as the brain,
liver, kidney, testis, breast tissue, heart and
neurovascular, and evaluate them for use in re-
search into the interactions of chemicals with
key biological processes. This innovative work
will provide new biological insight into how tis-
sues and organs function during chemical expo-
sures and illuminate when and how those "tip-
ping points" occur. Scientists will use the data
to develop advanced computational models of
how organs and tissues respond to chemicals,
and use the models to evaluate predictive mod-
els of human disease or response.
EPA is advancing and supporting innovative
science to model the brain and other high-priority
biological systems.
Transforming Ecological Risk Assessments
EPA's uses a tiered ecological risk assessment
process for registering and regulating chemical
compounds. Chemicals determined to present
an appreciable risk based on first tier screening
with minimal data are subject to higher-level as-
sessments that provide quantitative estimates.
For the vast majority of chemicals and species,
little or no data exist and refined assessments
must rely on modeled estimates of exposure
and effects. The Ecological Modeling project
area will advance efficient methods to improve
risk assessments with limited data availability,
as well as more complex approaches where
data are more abundant. Research will also
focus on developing and evaluating ecological
models for endangered species and wildlife
populations exposed to pesticides. The ability
to apply models with varying complexities and
data requirements will enhance EPA capacity to
protect sensitive ecosystems and species.
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This work will provide demonstrated ecological
risk assessment tools that reduce uncertainty
for high priority and methodologically challeng-
ing chemicals. The resulting decision frame-
work for using models of various complexities
and data requirements appropriate for the
assessment will enhance Agency capacity to
protect sensitive ecosystems and species.
Integrating Life Cycle Thinking
To make sustainable decisions it is important to
understand the broad range of impacts to hu-
man health and the environment associated
with a chemical or product throughout the life
cycle. CSS is developing efficient tools that will
help consider, among the broad range of im-
pacts, the potential for exposures to human
and ecological species across the chemical life
cycle where limited data are available. Scien-
tists are developing approaches to efficiently
evaluate environmental and human health
impacts and identifying metrics to quantify
tradeoffs between risks and other sustainabil-
ity factors. By bringing together two of ORD's
leading disciplines, exposure science and life
cycle assessment, this project is transforming
how scientists in the broader community are at-
tacking these same challenges. Research in this
area will be focused on how to operationalize
sustainability analysis for chemical safety evalu-
ation by leveraging and extending methods in
life cycle assessment and exposure modeling
to incorporate metrics of human and ecologi-
cal risk.
Human Health Risk
Assessment
Every day, EPA and diverse stakeholders must
make decisions to protect human health and
the environment from the known or potential
adverse effects of exposure to environmental
pollutants. Such decisions span a large regu-
latory landscape and require different types
of environmental pollutant risk information:
evaluating data on new chemicals entering the
market; characterizing potential public and en-
vironmental health impacts during emergency
situations; screening and prioritizing chemicals
for monitoring at Superfund sites and in the air
and water; evaluating health and ecological ef-
fects data to derive benchmark estimates; and
interpreting and integrating different lines of
evidence to support decisions to establish, re-
tain or revise national standards.
;esearcn onanenges
Decision makers need timely and robust
scientific risk evaluations that include an
ever-expanding number of exposure scenarios
and environmental contaminants.
Current risk assessment methods must
continually modernize and accelerate
the application of scientific advances
in molecular biology and computational
sciences.
Communities need technical support to
assess urgent environmental contamination
issues, assess exposures to multiple
pollutants and address cumulative risk
concerns.
EPA's Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)
research program is designed to provide ro-
bust and responsive risk assessment support
for a wide range of risk management decisions
aimed at protecting human health and the
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environment. The HHRA program provides an
essential portfolio of risk assessment products
and undertakes targeted and innovative de-
velopment of new approaches to advance risk
analysis.
The HHRA program addresses all of the Stra-
tegic Goals in the Fiscal Year 2014-2018 EPA
Strategic Plan: "Addressing Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality"; "Protecting America's
Waters"; "Cleaning Up Communities and Ad-
vancing Sustainable Development"; and "En-
suring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing
Pollution." In addition, HHRA research supports
the cross-agency strategies "Working Toward a
Sustainable Future" and "Making a Visible Dif-
ference in Communities."
The HHRA research program adapts and evolves
as needed. The program adjusts in response to
Agency needs, new scientific opportunities,
and new challenges and needs in the risk as-
sessment and management arenas. To help
partners and stakeholder gain confidence in
the application of new approaches, projects in
the program are targeted at characterizing the
utility of emerging science and tools to improve
risk assessments. Program researchers regu-
larly engage Agency and external partners and
stakeholders to solicit feedback and ensure that
assessments are conducted in open, transpar-
ent ways.
The three main HHRA program objectives sup-
port the vision of protecting public health and
the environment by providing state-of-the-
science chemical assessments, refining risk as-
sessment approaches, advancing innovative
applications and providing stakeholder engage-
ment.
portfolio of robust and responsive
assessment products that characterize
risks and potential impacts to human
health and the environment.
2) Advance and Refine Assessment
Approaches
Refine risk assessments by identifying
critical issues and advancing analytical
approaches and applications to
incorporate new science, methods and
technologies.
3) Enhance and Engage
Enhance data access and management
systems to support transparency and
efficiency; provide outreach and engage
stakeholders to ensure support, training,
and tailoring of assessment priorities and
products.
Cross Program Collaboration:
Incorporating New Data Streams
into Health and Environmental Risk
Assessments
The HHRA and CSS programs are
working together to evaluate how the
new data emerging from computational
toxicology can be used effectively in
risk assessment. Characterizing the
utility of these new data and tools for
improving risk assessment will build both
stakeholder confidence in and capacity for
their application, and thereby accelerate
their acceptance in regulatory decision
making. Projects in the HHRA program
include case studies demonstrating
several new approaches applied to
different classes of chemicals, various
endpoints and toxicities, and with varying
degrees of supporting evidence.
1) Characterize Risks
Efficiently support a range of decision
making with an agile, fit-for-purpose
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2016-2019 HHRAStrategic Research
Action Plan Research Examples
The HHRA program provides a course of ac-
tion for delivering direct scientific and techni-
cal support on risk assessment. Examples from
the 2016-2019 research program are described
below.
Integrated Science Assessments (ISAs)
The HHRA program regularly develops ISAs as a
major component of its research portfolio. The
ISAs evaluate and synthesize the most policy-
relevant science for reviewing the National Am-
bient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), set by EPA
for six principal pollutants: ozone, particulate
matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitro-
gen oxides and lead. Called criteria pollutants,
these are derived from numerous sources and
are considered harmful to public health and the
environment. Because each ISA communicates
critical science judgments, it forms the scien-
tific foundation for the review of the NAAQS.
The ISAs are developed on a five-year cycle, in
response to regulatory requirements, and are
vetted through a rigorous peer review process.
Integrated Risk Information System
Under the Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS) program, EPA evaluates scientific infor-
mation on health effects that may result from
exposure to environmental contaminants. The
web-accessible IRIS database provides health
effects information on more than 550 chemi-
cal substances, and these scientific evaluations
support EPA decisions related to air and water
pollution, Superfund cleanups, and other regu-
latory activities. For 2016-2019, the IRIS pro-
gram is focused on implementing a series of
recommendations from the National Research
Council to improve the process for developing
IRIS assessments, including enhancing stake-
holder engagement. Additionally, the IRIS pro-
gram is embarking on an effort to review and
update older assessments in the database. To-
gether, the ongoing improvements will contin-
ue to strengthen the IRIS program and increase
transparency and productivity.
Cumulative Risk Assessment
To address the desire of communities to un-
derstand and conduct local or "place-based"
risk assessments, EPA scientists are developing
methods to integrate and evaluate impacts of
chemical and non-chemical stressors on hu-
man health and the environment. Cumulative
risk assessment requires understanding key
biological, social, spatial, temporal and envi-
ronmental factors and how they contribute to
disproportionate risk. Research may include
scenario-specific case studies in collaboration
with regional partners. Advances in cumulative
risk assessment will support communities in ad-
dressing environmental justice concerns.
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Homeland Security
Recent major disasters in the United States
(Hurricane Sandy, the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill, the Oklahoma tornados, avian influenza,
and the West Virginia water contamination in-
cident) and abroad (Fukushima nuclear power
plant accident) illustrate the critical need for
rapid recovery after all types of disasters. The
U.S. Government has recognized that prepar-
ing for and responding to most disasters, man-
made or natural, have common elements.
The mission of EPA's Homeland Security
Research Program (HSRP) is to conduct research
and deliver scientific products that advance the
Agency's homeland security responsibilities
in ways that also help communities become
resilient to disasters.
To guide that work, HSRP researchers work
closely with Agency partners and stakeholders,
including emergency response professionals
and water utilities, to understand their most
important gaps in the science and technology
needed for decontamination and resiliency.
This work directly supports EPA strategic goals
to protect America's waters and clean up com-
munities.
The homeland security research program uses
a systems approach to develop methodologies,
strategies, and tools to support water security
and wide area contamination after disasters.
The program has two primary objectives:
1) Improve Water Utilities' Abilities to
Prepare for and Respond to Incidents that
Threaten Public Health
Disasters are likely to impact water
utilities' ability to function. To build
resilience, HSRP develops modeling tools
that support the design and operation
of water systems to decrease their
Research Challenges
Environmental disasters due to intentional
or natural causes can result in the loss
of human life and create long-term injury
to social, economic, and environmental
systems.
Devising and adapting methods and
technologies to effectively respond to
and recover from these incidents requires
understanding the complex and evolving
nature of the incident and subsequent
response activities.
vulnerability to disasters. HSRP also builds
tools, technologies and data to support
post-incident responses including
decontamination of infrastructure and
treatment of contaminated water.
2) Advance EPA's Capabilities to Respond to
Wide Area Contamination Incidents
Terrorist incidents or natural disasters can
result in wide area contamination with
chemical, biological, radiological and
nuclear agents or materials. HSRP develops
cost effective and efficacious cleanup
strategies and methods to enable recovery
of the contaminated area including
cleanup approaches and waste
management strategies and tools.
2016-2019 HSRP Strategic Research
Action Plan Research Examples
From preparing for terrorist threats that could
impair our air, water, land and infrastructure to
responding to natural disasters and industrial
accidents, the HSRP program addresses EPA's
environmental priorities. Examples of research
for 2016-2019 are described below.
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The Water Security Test Bed: Advancing
Water Security in Real-World Scenarios
EPA and research partners designed and con-
structed a replica of a municipal drinking water
piping system at the Department of Energy's
Idaho National Laboratory, part of efforts to
advance decontamination techniques beyond
laboratory and field-scale studies. Experiments
at the newly constructed facility will allow re-
searchers to conduct the first evaluations of
technologies and techniques for monitoring
and decontaminating drinking water systems
under real-world conditions; tests will include
in-line contaminant detectors, decontamina-
tion methodologies (including automatic flush-
ing), and wash water treatment methodologies.
EPA researchers will also be leading the devel-
opment of water systems modeling tools.
Water security test bed at the Idaho National
Laboratory.
Decontamination Technologies for Wide Area
Contamination Events
Recent catastrophic events such as the Fuku-
shima Daiichi incident following the earthquake
and ensuing tsunami in Japan clearly demon-
strate the need for decontamination and reme-
diation techniques that can be effective across
large areas (single building to entire neighbor-
hoods), and a diversity of environments (from
soil and vegetation to manmade structures).
HSRP is developing and improving decontami-
nation engineering processes to facilitate im-
plementation of technologies in the field and
provide information to assist in scaling up of
such methodologies to improve resiliency. For
example, Agency researchers are developing
risk reduction and self-help remediation meth-
ods for use after a contamination incident in-
volving a wide area anthrax or radiological con-
tamination incident.
EPA supports its responders' ability to
characterize site contamination by developing
sampling protocols, sample preparation
methods, and analytical methods for chemicals,
biotoxins, microbial pathogens, and radiological
agents.
Sampling Strategy for Anthrax
Any large-scale contamination event involving
the bacteria responsible for anthrax (6. an-
thracis) will require extensive environmental
sampling to inform remediation and decision
support regarding the potential for re-inhab-
iting areas and buildings. HSRP scientists have
reviewed and assessed traditional sampling
strategies, and are developing innovative new
strategy options to support responses, such as
modeling tools to support air sampler place-
ment after a wide area outdoor release of 6.
anthracis.
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Cross Program Collaboration: Community Resilience
Increasing the resilience of communities to changing climate, declining ecosystem goods and
services, and man-made or natural environmental disasters is an area of interest in all of the
EPA national research programs. HSRP is facilitating research coordination in this area as it
continues to grow over the 2016-2019.
As a part of these research efforts, HSRP is developing indicators of community environmental
resilience. By highlighting strengths and weaknesses, these indicators will support communities'
efforts to improve their resilience to disasters and help focus research on building tools
and technologies needed to minimize the impact of disasters and to improve post-disaster
adaptation. HSRP will collaborate with the other programs in ORD (ACE, SHC, HHRA, and
SSWR) to develop these indicators and the tools that facilitate their use by communities.
Science to Protect
Public Health and the
Environment
EPA research is strategically designed to deliv-
er the scientific and engineering solutions the
nation—and the world—need to meet today's
complex environmental and human health
challenges, while advancing a more sustainable
and resilient future. Together, its six national
research programs—Air, Climate, and Energy;
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources; Sustain-
able and Healthy Communities; Chemical Safe-
ty for Sustainability; Human Health Risk Assess-
ment; and Homeland Security Research—are
laying the foundation for new ways of looking
at and solving environmental problems. The
cross-cutting roadmaps are demonstrating the
value of interdisciplinary research that spans
media-specific lines in recognition that in the
real world, environmental problems don't stop
at the borders of land, air or water. EPA research
is forging a path to the future while building
on a forty-year legacy of scientific achievement
and leadership. Beginning with framing prob-
lems up front with input from partners and
stakeholders, EPA research is using innovative,
interdisciplinary, and integrative solutions that
transcend traditional boundaries. It's connect-
ing the dots between a healthy ecosystem and
healthy people, and working across media to
solve problems in an unprecedented way. EPA
research closes the loop by translating research
findings to partners and stakeholders and assist-
ing those who use our data, tools, and models.
This model of science-based, problem-driven
research designed to inform solutions will drive
change in the scientific community and the way
we address the nation's most challenging envi-
ronmental problems today and tomorrow.
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References
1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2014). FV2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan.
Available at: http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.
2. National Research Council (2011). Sustainability and the U.S. EPA. National
Academies Press: Washington, DC.
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2012). Science for a Sustainable Future, EPA Research
Program Overview 2012-2016. Available at: http://www2.epa.gov/research/science-
sustainable-future-epa-research-program-overview-2012-2016-0.
EPA Strategic Research Action Plans and Roadmaps can be downloaded here:
http://www2.epa.gov/research/strategic-research-action-plans
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