EPA 601/R-16/004
www.epa.gov/ord
Sustainable and Healthy Communities
National Research Program
2015 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Office of Research and Development
Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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EPA601/R-16/004
www.epa.gov/ord
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities
National Research Program
2015 Accomplishments
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Table of Contents
Planning. Partnership. Delivery. ii
Ecosystem Research 1
EPA's EnviroAtlas: Exploring Ecosystem Service from Your Desktop 2
Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Developing Ways to Consider the
"Goods and Services" of Nature in Environmental Decisions and Policies 3
Integrated Nitrogen Management 4
Community Health and Human Well-being 5
Illuminating the Impacts of Contaminants on Communities 6
New Models Developed for Assessing Soil Contamination 8
Helping Communities Breathe Easier: Exploring Local Environmental Drivers of Asthma 8
Developing Standardized Tests for Mold-resistant Building Materials 9
EPA's Report on the Environment 9
Assessing Environmental Health Disparities 11
Advancing Children's Environmental Health Science 11
Research to Advance the Clean-up and Rehabilitation of Contaminated Sites 13
EPA's Engineering Technical Support Centers for Contaminated Sites 13
Sustainable Approaches for Contaminated Sites 14
Sustainable Approaches for Vapor Intrusion 15
Supporting Preparedness, Emergency Response, and Clean Up of Oil and Fuel Spills 15
Sustainable Materials Management 16
Advancing Integrated Solutions for Community Sustainability 17
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Planning. Partnership. Delivery.
The Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC)
national research program is the largest and
most diverse research program within EPA's
Office of Research and Development. SHC
researchers consider the full range of interactions
between people and our environment, from
providing technical support for oil spills and other
environmental emergencies, to illuminating the
myriad connections between healthy ecosystems and
human well-being.
Program scientists—together with input from
their partners from EPA program and regional
offices, state environmental management
agencies, community decision-makers, and the
scientific community—are embracing a truly
cross-disciplinary research portfolio to deliver
the knowledge, data, and tools needed to meet the
most pressing environmental challenges of the day.
They are doing that work in innovative ways that
simultaneously advance prosperous and healthy
communities well into the future.
A common theme for the work is to present research
results so that they support community decisions
across the three components of sustainability:
economics, society, and the environment.
To ensure our work is immediately relevant to
support such decisions, SHC has embarked on a
multi-year, strategic planning effort (see Learn
More sidebar) that explicitly includes cultivating
partnerships with EPA program offices, other federal
and state organizations, public health officials, and
community decision makers across the nation. Those
partnerships create an atmosphere of exchange
and feedback that continually inform the program,
helping it remain responsive and nimble even as
it advances a new paradigm of environmental and
related public health research that advances holistic,
long-term solutions.
This report highlights specific achievements and
solutions delivered in fiscal year 2015 (October 2014
to September 2015). Collectively, they exemplify
how EPA's Sustainable and Healthy Communities
national research program is providing the technical
support needed by its partners, and helping the
Agency achieve its cross-cutting strategic goals of
"working towards a sustainable future" and "making
a visible difference in communities."
The results presented here represent critical
milestones along the road to a healthy, prosperous
future for all. Sustainable decisions start with what
SHC scientists and engineers are learning and
sharing.
Learn More:
With considerable input from its partners,
SHC released the Sustainable and Healthy
Communities Strategic Action Research Plan in
late 2015. Download at: http://go.usa.gov/xY2ud
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Understanding and quantifying the many ways in
which natural ecosystems contribute to human
well being is a major focus of SHC research.
Program scientists and engineers are exploring
how aspects of the natural environment such as
coastal and other wetlands, urban tree cover, and
parks and other green spaces provide "ecosystem
services," also known as nature's benefits. Working
with communities, they are helping identify and
measure specific local benefits, including natural
flood control, cleaner air and water, heat mitigation,
resiliency, and economic opportunity.
To ensure that work has impact, researchers are
incorporating what they learn into tools that support
decisions and inform long-term plans that better
protect and sustain these ecosystem services. Built
on robust databases, EPA tools provide accessible,
easy-to-use resources for exploring complex
questions and for contrasting the near-term costs
of proposed actions with the long-term benefits of
alternatives. By advancing the understanding of
the links between healthy ecosystems and healthy
people, SHC researchers are helping their partners
make the best investments for their communities.
2075 highlights of SHC research illuminating the
links between ecosystems and public health follow.
Ecosystem Research
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EPA's EnviroAtlas: Exploring Ecosystem Service from Your Desktop
EnviroAtlas
Ecos>5lem Serwces
and Bs»di*fsity
People and
Bull Spaces
Supplemental
Maps
EPA researchers and external partners have
developed EnviroAtlas, a collection of online
interactive tools and resources to help decision
makers and other citizens explore the connections
between people and the environment. The spatial
decision-support tool provides access to ecosystem
services-based data sets through a robust geographic
information system (GIS), allowing users to
view and analyze key aspects of the relationships
between natural landscape features, human-built
infrastructure, and public health.
In 2015 the EnviroAtlas team complemented the
tool's watershed-scale data, already covering the
entire conterminous U.S., with high-resolution
landcover information and metrics focused
on twelve communities. The community data
emphasizes local environmental aspects that can
have direct relevance to public health, such as:
residential properties' proximity to major roadways,
the percentage of residents living more than 500m
walking distance from a park entrance, and the
number of schools and daycare centers with less
than 25% surrounding green space.
In addition, researchers completed the first two case
studies for the tool uses library. The first explores
the connection between tree cover and public health,
illustrating how a planner could use
EnviroAtlas to prioritize additional
plantings to benefit children in the
vicinity of Durham, NC; the second
shows how to identify the amounts
of near-road tree cover in relation to
residential populations vulnerable
to air pollution. It was conducted by
examining communities in Durham,
NC, Milwaukee, WI, Portland, ME,
and Tampa, FL.
In December 2014, Secretary of
the Interior Sally Jewel announced
the release of EcoINFORMA, for
which EnviroAtlas serves as the ecosystem services
"resource hub." As a component to a Presidential
initiative on understanding nature's benefits,
EcoINFORMA is designed to facilitate assessments
of the impact of climate change, pollution and other
stressors on ecosystems, as well as assessments of
management responses to such stressors.
EnviroAtlas is free and publicly at:
www. epa. gov/enviroatlas.
Novel Techniques Support
Local Decisions
SHC researchers used high-tech satellite imaging
and GIS to map land cover and use patterns in
the 32,000-square-mile Muddy-Virgin River area
of southern Nevada. They then combined those
metrics with local water quality measurements
to create a tool to help local decision-makers
better understand ecological conditions and
predict likely changes under different decisions
and actions. Results of that work are featured in
An Ecological Characterization and Landscape
Assessment of the Muddy-Virgin River Project
(download at http://Lusa.gov/lpKwajy).
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Ecosystems and Human Weil-Being: Developing Ways to Consider the
"Goods and Services" of Nature in Environmental Decisions and Policies
Together with partners from the EPA Office of
Water, in September 2015, SHC researchers
released National Ecosystem Services Classification
System (NESCS): Framework Design and Policy
Application. The final report presents a standard
framework for systematically identifying the
components of nature that are directly beneficial
to people, specifically the flow of "final ecosystem
goods and services" from local environments into
economies and other community and individual
assets. The authors combined an analysis of the
scientific literature of how ecosystems support
human well-being, with reviews of standard national
economic accounting practices. By reconciling
natural and human systems, they developed a
seamless method for supporting environmental
decisions and policies that impact both. For
example, NESCS (pronounced "nexus") can be
used to explore exchanges from the "supply side"
of nature to the "demands" placed on them by
people through direct consumption or enjoyment.
The report is another significant milestone in SHC's
effort to move ecosystems services from concept
to implementation. It complements a 2013 Agency
report, Final Ecosystems Goods and Services
Classification System (FEGS-CS) as well as ongoing
research focused on developing standard, scalable
techniques for measuring, mapping, and quantifying
the value of natural ecosystems. Additional Agency
research delivered in 2015 will be presented in "The
Beneficiary Perspective—Benefits and Beyond", a
chapter in the forthcoming Handbook on Ecosystem
Services. In the chapter, SHC researchers and their
co-authors outline the importance of identifying
specific beneficiaries of final ecosystem goods for
making environmental measurements relevant for
policy and decision makers.
National Ecosystem Services Classification System (NESCS): Framework Design and Policy Application
is available for downloading at: http://go.usa.gov/xYTxY.
Ecosystem Research
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Excess nutrients sparked a toxic algal bloom in
Lake Erie in 2011. Image: NASA Earth Observatory.
Integrated Nitrogen Management
Human caused nutrient pollution, primarily in the
form of excess nitrogen and phosphorus, is one of
America's most widespread, costly, and challenging
environmental problems—threatening both human
health and the continued delivery of ecosystem
services. SHC scientists are working with partners
from across the Agency to address those challenges
and sustainably manage nitrogen and related co
pollutants.
More specifically, SHC researchers are exploring
the flow of nutrients into and across ecosystems,
and how excess nitrogen and related co-pollutants
are impacting and potentially disrupting ecosystem
services. They are leading Agency research efforts
under the context of informing sustainable decisions
using an ecosystem services approach.
Examples of results from research using an
ecosystem services approach to address nitrogen
management during 2015 include the release of
an EPA Research Roadmap, and the following
publications:
In October, 2015, EPA released Nitrogen and Co-
Pollutants Research Roadmap, a report outlining a
highly collaborative, strategic plan to provide the
scientific knowledge, data, and innovative solutions
needed to sustainably manage reactive nitrogen and
co-pollutants. The Roadmap can be downloaded at:
https://www.epa.gov/research/research-roadmaps.
Hale, Stephan. (2015, August.) Eutrophication
and hypoxia degrade ecosystem functions
and services ofbenthic communities in a New
England estuary. Poster session presented at
the 2015 Annual Conference of the Ecological
Society of America, Baltimore, MD.
Fetscher E, Sutula M, Sengupta A, and Detenbeck
NE. (2014.) Linking Nutrients to Alterations in
Aquatic Life in California Wadeable Streams.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC (NTIS EPA/600/R-14/043),
2014.
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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SHC researchers are working to identify the
connections between our natural environment
and human well-being. Their focus is on developing
the knowledge, data, and tools that can be used in a
decision-support context to help local communities
compare and contrast different scenarios and
take strategic action to build more sustainable,
prosperous, and healthier communities for
themselves and future generations.
2015 highlights of SHC work on developing
a better understanding of the connections
between the environment, community health,
and human well-being follow.
Community Health, and Human Well-being
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Illuminating the Impacts of
Contaminants on Communities
SHC researchers and their partners are working to
better understand the true health, economic, and
social costs that burden communities when their
citizens are exposed to harmful chemicals and other
contaminants in soil, air, and water. Their work
is empowering public health officials and other
community stakeholders with the knowledge they
need to pinpoint actions that will lower exposure
risks and advance public health.
Assessing Community Environmental Disease
Burden Associated with Arsenic Exposure
Arsenic has long been known to be among the
most toxic chemicals, causing bladder, lung, and
skin cancers. It is also increasingly linked to other
(noncancer) health effects, such as cardiovascular
disease, reproductive effects, neurological
malfunction, and diabetes. A main route of exposure
can be drinking water, which is why the U.S. EPA
Office of Water regulates arsenic at 10 ug/L in
public water systems, a rule that is subject to review
and reassessment every five years.
SHC researchers study the impacts of exposures to
environmental contaminants, such as arsenic in drinking water.
The health effects of arsenic at low exposure
levels, the interactions of the chemical with
potential additional inorganic arsenic exposures
from ingestions (from sources such as rice, wine,
and apple juice), and the metabolic, genetic,
and epigenetic differences that could impact
susceptibility, are also largely unknown.
To address such concerns and better protect public
health, SHC researchers and partners have been
conducting research on human populations impacted
by arsenic exposure in drinking water. Recently,
they completed studies on two broad ranging
populations: Inner Mongolia (chosen as a case
study based on previous studies and known arsenic
exposure risks) and Fallen, Nevada. Findings
included: an association between well-water
arsenic and cardiovascular disease, even at levels
below 50 ug/L; and, variations in drinking water
exposures (as measured in urine samples) along
social and demographic features. The results are
helping establish associations between arsenic and
cardiovascular disease and a better understanding
how arsenic exposures vary across different human
populations—critical information for supporting the
Office of Water's review of standards for arsenic
levels in drinking water, which occurs every five
years, as well as other efforts aimed at protecting
communities from the impacts of arsenic.
2015 SHC publications and other outputs assessing
environmental disease burden of arsenic include the
following:
Antonelli R, Shao K, Thomas DJ, Sams R, and
Cowden J. (2014). AS3MT, GSTO, and PNP
polymorphisms: impact on arsenic methylation
and implications for disease susceptibility.
Environmental Research, 132, 156-167.
Calderon RL, Hudgens EE, Carty C, He B,
Le XC, Rogers J, and Thomas DJ. (2013).
Biological and behavioral factors modify
biomarkers of arsenic exposure in a U.S.
population. Environmental Research, 126,
134-144.
Wade TJ, Xia Y, Mumford J, Wu K, Le XC,
Sams E, and Sanders WE. (2015). Cardiovascular
disease and arsenic exposure in Inner Mongolia,
China: a case control study. Environmental
Health, 14(1), 35.
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Assessing the Economic and Social Burden of Acute
Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, and Skin Disorders
Related to Environmental Exposures
SHC researchers and partners, including outside
collaborators from the University of California,
Berkley; the University of Illinois; and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, used data based
on 50,000 records from previous large scale field
work to better understand the health and economic
burden posed by acute respiratory, gastrointestinal,
and other health effects, primarily those associated
with recreational swimming in contaminated natural
waters.
Research results were presented in a number of
scientific journal papers focused on a range of
environmental health issues: trends in mortality due
to gastrointestinal illness; the health and economic
costs of swimming-associated ear infections;
and estimates of the overall costs of swimming-
associated illness.
2015 SHC publication on impacts related to
environmental exposures include:
Collier SA, Wade TJ, Sams EA, Hlavsa MC, Dufour
AP, and Beach, MJ. (2015). Swimming in the
USA: beachgoer characteristics and health
outcomes at US marine and freshwater beaches.
Journal of Water and Health, 13(2), 531-543.
Assessing the Health Impacts of Cumulative
Chemical ("Body Burden ") Exposures
To protect public health, it is important for risk
assessors and others to consider the complex
dynamics of environmental chemical exposures:
how people are exposed to different chemicals,
how those chemicals interact with one another once
inside the body, and how cumulative "body burden"
exposures might spark different health effects in
different groups, (by gender, race, life stage).
SHC researchers used a host of data sets, including
the large-scale National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES), and detailed
social, demographic, and genetic information
from previously conducted research to assess how
multiple and cumulative exposures have impacted
health endpoints such as childhood asthma,
chronic infection, and metabolic syndrome. A
wide range of clinical, social, and demographic
patterns were found to differ by race and ethnicity,
demonstrating the importance of evaluating
common, environmentally-driven health impacts
in the context of cumulative exposures related to
social, demographic, and clinical conditions.
2015 Sources and SHC publications on assessing the
health impacts of "body burden" exposures include:
George BJ, Reif DM, Gallagher JE, Williams-
DeVane CR, Heidenfelder BL, Hudgens EE,
and Edwards SW. (2015). Data-driven asthma
endotypes defined from blood biomarker
and gene expression data. PloS One, 10(2),
e0117445.
Krueger WS and Wade TJ. (2016). Elevated
blood lead and cadmium levels associated
with chronic infections among non-smokers in
a cross-sectional analysis of NHANES data.
Environmental Health, 15(1), 1.
Williams-DeVane CR, Reif DM, Hubal EC, Bushel
PR, Hudgens EE, Gallagher JE, and Edwards
SW. (2013). Decision tree-based method for
integrating gene expression, demographic, and
clinical data to determine disease endotypes.
BMC Systems Biology, 7(1), 1.
Community Health, and Human Well-being
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New Models Developed for
Assessing Soil Contamination
Toxic metals such as arsenic are a major target of
mitigation efforts to clean up soils at Superfund
and other contaminated sites. To support partners in
EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management,
SHC researchers developed more rapid, less
expensive tools to test the bioavailability of arsenic
in soil and guide clean-up efforts. The results are
highlighted in the EPA report, Compilation and
Review of Data for Relative Bioavailability of
Arsenic in Soil and Recommendations for Default
Value for Relative Bioavailability. The report is
now being used to guide national policy decisions
and risk calculations that are resulting in effective,
less costly remediation efforts—saving millions of
dollars in clean-up efforts nationwide.
Helping Communities Breathe
Easier: Exploring Local
Environmental Drivers of Asthma
The prevalence of asthma in the U.S. has doubled
since the 1980s. Today, some 26 million people
struggle with the disease, at an economic impact
of about $60 billion in yearly medical costs. SHC
researchers are exploring the environmental, socio-
economic, and public health dynamics behind
asthma, and the causes behind the rate of increase
experienced over the last several decades. What
they are learning will help communities—especially
low-income areas that have traditionally been
disproportionately affected by the disease—take
action. The ultimate goal is to ensure that everyone
in the country has an equal opportunity to breathe
easier.
Examples of those results follow.
A major priority of SHC asthma-related research
is developing a better understanding of the role
that race and social determinants play as factors
in asthma and other health outcomes from
environmental stressors. While the causes of asthma
are clearly linked to poor air quality, genetics are
also known to contribute to a predisposition for
its development. The interaction of genes and
environment, especially poor air quality, have long
been thought to be related to asthma. Studies of
these interactions, however, have not accounted for
the higher asthma rates found in ethnic minorities
and low income families.
To better understand the roles of race and income in
asthma risk, SHC scientists and partners conducted
epidemiological studies quantifying home mold
contamination in communities in New York, Ohio,
Puerto Rico, and Scotland. Puerto-Rican Hispanic,
African American, and Caucasian populations were
considered.
The research resulted in findings that homes with
higher scores on the Environmental Relative
Mold Index (ERMI), a standard metric to assess
mold contamination developed by EPA and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development,
were associated with increased asthma prevalence,
regardless of race or income.
These significant findings mean that Agency
partners can use the ERMI metric as a first line
screening tool to help families and communities
quantitatively assess—and ultimately reduce—
mold contamination in homes with the expectation
of lower asthma prevalence. Because asthma
is so pervasive, these results might be used by
families, physicians, and governments to reduce the
prevalence of asthma.
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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2075 Related publications and for more
information:
Kettleson EM, Adhikari A, Vesper S, Indugula R,
Reponen T. Key Determinants of the fungal and
bacterial microbiomes of homes. Experimental
Research. 2015; 138:130-135.
Vesper S, Choi H, Perzanowski MS, Acosta LM,
Divjan A, Bolafios-Rosero B, Rivera-Mariani F,
Chew GL. Comparison of mold populations and
dust mite allergen concentrations in house dust
samples from across Puerto Rico. International
Journal of Environmental Health Research.
Accepted 7-22-2015.
Developing Standardized Tests for
Mold-resistant Building Materials
To prevent the growth of mold and other microbial
"bioaerosols" that can contaminate indoor air and
threaten health, companies have developed a new
generation of resistant wallboard, flooring, and
other building materials. But how effective are these
materials? To support the industry and improve
indoor air quality SHC researchers developed a
joint, antimicrobial-chemical testing method that
industry can use to measures both the effectiveness
of new fungal-resistant products as well as their
release of volatile organic compounds.
The holistic, quantitative test method they
developed establishes standard protocols and works
for a diversity of different microbial resistant
products and product classes. More information
is in the report Microbial Resistant Test Method
Development, available for download at: http://
go.usa.gov/cGyXh.
EPA's Report on the Environment
EPA's Report on the Environment (ROE) is an
interactive, web-based resource for tracking how
national environmental and human health conditions
are changing over time. These trends are captured
in a set of 85 objective scientific indicators based
on data from a variety of sources including EPA
and other federal agencies, universities, and non-
governmental organizations. The ROE indicators
and the supporting contextual scientific content are
each reviewed by scientific experts to ensure that
they are based on valid and unbiased measurements.
Indicators are organized into five different themes
—Air, Water, Land, Human Exposure and Health,
and Ecological Condition—and address questions
relevant to EPA's mission of protecting human
health and the environment. The online format
of the Report on the Environment allows agency
researchers and others to frequently update the
indicators as new information is made available,
continually providing the latest data. New
indicators are also added when relevant. By better
understanding the condition and trends of the
environment and human health in the United States,
EPA can more effectively prioritize areas for action,
and foster efforts that improve trends.
EPA's Report on the Environment is available at:
https ://cfpub. epa.gov/roe/.
Community Health, and Human Well-being
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EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Aivancing healthy and sustainable communities
requires an understanding of the complex
dynamics linking environmental and social factors
to human health and well-being. SHC researchers
and their partners are working to provide that
understanding, combining explorations of both
built and natural environments with social sciences
to paint a more complete picture of how chemical
(exposures in air, water, and soil) and non-chemical
stressors (climate change, living in low-income
versus more affluent communities, and lifestages,
for example) impact human health and well-being.
Three research focus areas—(1) children's
environmental health, (2) tribal communities, and
(3) disproportionately impacted communities—
provide critical information supporting the Agency's
strategic goals to advance environmental justice and
bring the benefits of environmental protection to
every community and citizen across the country.
Advancing Children's Environmental
Health Science
Pound for pound children eat, drink, and breathe
more than adults. And because their bodies and
internal systems are still growing and developing,
the earliest stages of life are when the potentially
harmful effects of environmental exposures can lead
to long-term detrimental impacts. Behaviors such
as picking food up from the floor, playing in dirt,
exploring the world through touch and taste also
contribute to increased environmental health risks.
Assessing Environmental Health Disparities in Vulnerable Groups and Lifestages
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SHC researchers and partners are leading the effort
to provide the Agency's Office of Children's Health
Protection, as well as state and local public health
officials, pediatric health professionals, parents
and other caregivers, and community stakeholders
with the information they need to protect children's
environmental health wherever the live, learn, and
play.
• The Children's Environmental Health and Disease
and Prevention Centers
Together, EPA and the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences have established
a national network of university-based Children's
Environmental Health and Disease Prevention
Research Centers. The overall goal is to explore
ways to reduce children's health risks from
environmental exposures and other factors.
Currently, 14 centers are funded, collectively
addressing the most pressing questions related
to children's environmental health, such as
evaluating exposures from air pollutants and
endocrine disrupting chemicals, and looking at
causal relationships behind health outcomes such
as asthma, autism, adverse birth outcomes.
For more information, including a host of
examples of research results that have made
significant impacts improving the lives of
children, please visit: http://go.usa.gov/c7kv9.
• SHC Scientists Advance Children's
Environmental Health
In addition to jointly funding the nation's leading
pediatric public health scientists through the
Children's Environmental Health and Disease
Prevention Research Centers program, EPA's own
researchers conduct highly-targeted investigations
to help reduce environmental risks for those in the
earliest stages of life.
Their work includes looking at where, when,
how often, and why young children might be
exposed to contaminants in their environment and
answering questions about chemicals commonly
used in consumer products, pesticides.
Recent research results include published papers
contributing to what is known about the potential
for certain classes of chemicals to disrupt the
endocrine system, and the link between early
life chemical exposures and increased risks for
childhood obesity and related metabolic disorders
(such as diabetes). EPA scientists are also
advancing the science of how developmental or
early life environmental exposures can lead to life-
long health impacts through epigenetic effects,
changes to the function or expression of genes.
SHC Publications include the following:
Gray LE, Furr J, Tatum-Gibbs KR, Lambright
C, Sampson H, Hannas BR, and Foster PM.
(2016). Establishing the "Biological Relevance"
of Dipentyl Phthalate Reductions in Fetal Rat
Testosterone Production and Plasma and Testis
Testosterone Levels. Toxicological Sciences,
149(1), 178-191.
Rogers J. (2015, August). Epigenetics and the
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis
(Vol. 56, pp. S46-S46).
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Research to Advance the Clean-up and
Rehabilitation of Contaminated Sites
Across the country, thousands of former industrial
sites, waste operations, and other lands have
been contaminated with harmful chemicals and
other toxics, threatening human health, disrupting
or diminishing ecosystem services, and limiting
the productive use of the land. SHC researchers are
providing the innovative solutions needed to clean
up and rehabilitate such sites and help restore them
back into community assets.
EPA's Engineering Technical Support
Centers for Contaminated Sites
In 1987, EPA established three engineering
Technical Support Centers to match Agency
expertise with the needs of Agency Program and
Regional Offices, as well as the states for assessing,
cleaning up, and releasing contaminated sites for
reuse.
The centers are strategically located in close
proximity to the EPA Office of Research and
Development research laboratories and are dedicated
to serving the Agency and its clients by supplying
high-quality, quick-response technical support
services. Together, the centers respond to hundreds
of technical support requests from contaminated
sites across each of EPA's 10 Regions.
The three Technical Support Centers, their locations,
and web sites for more information are:
Research to Advance the Clean-up and Rehabilitation of Contaminated Sites
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• The Engineering Technical Support Center
Cincinnati, OH.
Web: www.epa.gov/land-research/engineering-
technical-support-center-etsc
• The Ground Water Technical Support Center
Ada, OK
Web: www.epa.gov/water-research/ground-water-
technical-support-center-gwtsc
• The Site Characterization and Monitoring
Technical Support Center
Athens, GA
Web: www.epa.gov/land-research/site-
characterization-and-monitoring-technical-
support-center-scmtsc
The three centers listed above work closely with
two other centers, the Superfund/Human Health
Technical Support Center and the Ecological Risk
Assessment Technical Support Center, which are
supported by EPA's Human Health Risk Assessment
national research program.
Sustainable Approaches for
Contaminated Sites
In coordination with the work of the Engineering
Technical Support Centers, SHC researchers also
work with land managers, EPA Program Offices,
communities, and other partners to characterize
the complex interactions of contaminants, soil,
groundwater, and air (vapor intrusion). The
overriding goal is to provide innovative solutions
and tools that lower risks, protect human health, and
help rehabilitate contaminated sites.
Agency researchers are building sophisticated
computer models and other tools to better
understand the pooling, flow, and diffusion of
contaminants and "contaminant plumes" between
(to and from) groundwater aquifers and different
types of underlying and surrounding substrates,
and to and from surface waters. They are also
developing, testing, and assessing technologies and
techniques for monitoring contaminants in soil,
water, and air.
Site managers and remediation specialists use
research results and resources to monitor and assess
clean up activities, and design long-term strategies
for protecting public health. Such innovative tools
are helping revitalize communities and advance
sustainable waste and materials management.
Recent research results and publications include the
following.
(Contaminated Groundwater Research)
Huang J, and Goltz MN. (2015). Semi-analytical
solutions for transport in aquifer and fractured
clay matrix system. Water Resources Research,
51(9), 7218-7237.
Brooks MC, Cha KY, Wood AL, and Annable
MD. (2015). Screening-level estimates of mass
discharge uncertainty from point measurement
methods. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology,
111, 167-182.
(Contaminated Sediments Research)
Lien Bob K, and Ford Robert G. (2014). Quantifying
Seepage Flux using Sediment Temperatures.
EPA/600/R-15/454. December 2014. Available
at: http://go.usa.gov/cH4fJ.
Fernandez LA, Lao W, Maruya KA, and Burgess
RM. (2014). Calculating the diffusive flux of
persistent organic pollutants between sediments
and the water column on the Palos Verdes Shelf
Superfund site using polymeric passive samplers.
Environmental Science and Technology, 48(7),
3925-3934.
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Cantwell MG, Perron, MM, Sullivan JC, Katz DR,
Burgess RM, and King J. (2014). Assessing
organic contaminant fluxes from contaminated
sediments following dam removal in an
urbanized river. Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment, 186(8), 4841-4855.
Sustainable Approaches
forVapor Intrusion
An additional challenge often related to cleaning
up contaminated sites and protecting public health
is that hazardous compounds are not confined
to solids or liquids in soils and groundwater,
but occur also in subsurface gases. Such gases,
such as volatile organic compounds (VOC) and
naturally occurring radon, can migrate upward and
into buildings through a process known as vapor
intrusion (VI), compromising indoor air quality
and posing significant health risks to occupants.
Air monitor EPA researchers use to study vapor
intrusion inside a former pre-1920 home.
EPA researchers have been conducting one of the
longest-running and most in-depth studies on VI
to date, conducted at a pre-1920 residential duplex
outfitted with a suite of monitors to measure indoor
air concentrations and continually monitor several
independent variables that could influence VOC and
radon concentrations, including barometric pressure,
soil moisture, soil temperature, water level, heating
and air conditioning operations, and air temperature.
In October, 2015, EPA released the latest results
of that study: Simple, Efficient, and Rapid
Methods to Determine the Potential for Vapor
Intrusion into the Home: Temporal Trends, Vapor
Intrusion Forecasting, Sampling Strategies, and
Contaminant Migration Routes. The 332-page
report provides the Agency's Office of Land and
Emergency Management as well as other partners
and stakeholders with a wealth of science-based
information they need to better protect building
occupants from vapor intrusion risks.
The report, the third in a series from the study
outlined above, can be downloaded at: http://go.usa.
gov/xYTGH.
Supporting Preparedness,
Emergency Response, and
Clean Up of Oil and Fuel Spills
Oil spill dispersant released in response to the
BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 presented
a tragic reminder of the enormous human and
environmental toll that the accidental release of oils
and fuels can take. Whether full-blown catastrophes
or the many smaller, isolated releases that unfold
across the nation, EPA is committed to finding
new, innovative ways to better prepare emergency
personnel and other responders, mitigate immediate
and long-term impacts, and lower the environmental
and related public health risks of oil and fuel spills.
Research to Advance the Clean-up and Rehabilitation of Contaminated Sites
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That work includes exploring novel methods to spur
the biodegradation of biodiesel and diesel blends
of fuel, developing techniques and technologies to
inform the Agency's National Contingency Plan
Product Schedule (dispersants and other products
available for use on oil spills), and advancing the
monitoring and assessment of leaking underground
storage tanks.
Recent accomplishments from EPA research include
the following.
Wu S and Supply BW. (2014). Anaerobic
Biodegradation Patterns for Biodiesel (Doctoral
Dissertation, University of Cincinnati).
Koran KM, Venosa AD, Vyas S, and Serial GA.
(2005, May). Development of a Surface Washing
Agent Effectiveness Protocol. In International
Oil Spill Conference (Vol. 2005, No. 1, pp.
637-641). American Petroleum Institute.
Sustainable Materials Management
Even as EPA researchers advance novel techniques
to help the cleanup of contaminated lands, monitor
and mitigate vapor intrusion, and respond to releases
of oil and fuel into the environment, they recognize
that the ultimate solution to such challenges is to
eliminate or prevent pollution at its source. They are
leading the charge to usher in new a generation of
cleaner, more sustainable materials management.
Working with partners and stakeholder throughout
the Agency, other federal and state agencies, and
private industries, SHC researchers are working to
minimize environmental impacts associated with
products, sparking new ways to reduce consumption
and increase reuse and recycling.
This work includes developing and demonstrating
new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) paradigms
to identify, monitor, and quantify the true
environmental impacts of consumer products across
the full spectrum of production, use, and disposal.
Examples include a 172-page report (EPA, 2015)
that provides greatly expanded access to data on
construction and demolition debris, materials
dominated by components such as concrete, asphalt,
wood, drywall, and metal. Such materials represents
both a focal point for many communities across the
nation looking for opportunities to increase solid
waste recycling and advancing sustainable materials
management.
To further such efforts, Agency researchers updated
The Waste Reduction Model (WARM), a tool
that estimates greenhouse gas emission reductions
from different waste management practices
(including source reduction, recycling, combustion,
composting, and landfilling), into an open source,
international-standards-based format compatible
with LCA studies and models. It is available for use
(web-based) and downloading (via a spreadsheet) at
https://www.epa.gov/warm.
In addition, Agency researchers are exploring
ways to help communities turn the waste streams
that result from high energy, resource intensive
productions, such as secondary aluminum
processing resources. Innovation applied to
such industries and practices has the potential to
dramatically reduce the consumption of water and
non-renewable fuels, and spark economic growth.
Highlights from 2015 SHC research achievements
in advancing sustainable materials management
include the following.
U.S. EPA (2015.)Methodology to Estimate the
Quantity, Composition, and Management of
Construction and Demolition Debris in the
United States. EPA/600/R-15/111. Accessed and
downloadable at: http://go.usa.gov/ctBvJ.
Tolaymat T and Huang X. Secondary Aluminum
Processing Waste:Salt Cake Characterization
and Reactivity. U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-15/109,
2015. Downloadable at: http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/
ZyPDF. cgi?Dockey=P 1 OONRFR.txt.
EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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Aivancing sustainable and healthy communities
requires multidimensional, sophisticated
investigations that integrate environmental, social,
and economic parameters. SHC researchers and
their partners, including grantees and supported
small businesses, are at the forefront of those efforts,
developing a suite of sophisticated decision-support
tools and innovative solutions that seamlessly link
environmental protection with human well-being.
Everybody Wins! EPA's People, Prosperity
and the Planet (P 3) Competition
Since 2004, the Sustainable and Healthy
Communities national research program has
supported the next generation of environmental
scientists and engineers through the People,
Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) student design
competition for sustainability.
The competition consists of two phases. In Phasel,
student teams and their faculty advisors submit a
research and design proposal for an innovative,
marketable solution to an environmental and/or
related public health challenge. Selected teams
receive up to $15,000 in "seed" money to advance
their solutions and are invited to present their
results and prototypes to a panel of judges at the
National Sustainability Design Expo each spring in
Washington, DC. The best, most promising designs
are awarded EPA's P3 Award, the second phase of
the competition which includes up to $75,000 in
additional funding to bring their designs to market.
Over the years, 645 funding awards have been made
to 217 institutions in all 50 states and Puerto Rico,
involving more than 4000 students. Twenty-six
winning teams have gone on to start companies or
commercialize their designs, and funded research
has led to 186 publications and 16 patents.
Advancing Integrated Solutions for Community Sustainability
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2015 Phase Two Winners
Institution
Cornell University
Johns Hopkins University
Project Title
"Smart" Turbidimeters for Remote
Monitoring of Water Quality
Description
Designed a low-cost monitor for
measuring water quality.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University
Develop a Concentrated Solar Power-
based Thermal Cooling System via
Simulation and Experimental Studies
An innovative air conditioning
system that runs on solar power.
Iowa State University
Developing Sustainable Products
Using Renewable Cellulose Fiber and
Biopolymer Composites
A new kind of fabric made with
fibers from bacteria and yeast grown
in tea and polymers of corn and soy.
Purdue University
Biowall's Impact on Indoor Air
Quality and Energy
Team is studying how to improve
indoor air quality by installing plants
in a home's HVAC system.
SUNY Stony Brook
Ocean Wave Energy Harvester with a
Novel Power Take-off Mechanism
Designed and built Poseidon, an
ocean energy harvester that infinitely
converts wave motion into electrical
energy.
University of Tennessee,
Knoxville
Green Oak as a Sustainable Building
Material
Exploring ways to use green oak or
"heart centers", the low quality part
of hardwood logs, in U.S. building
construction.
University of Wisconsin
Exchange Network for Expanded
Polystyrene Bio-Shipping Containers
Implemented a campus-wide
recycling program for foam
packaging.
For more information, including descriptions of past winning projects and how to apply,
please visit: www.epa.gov/P3.
10 EPA Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program
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