EPA-820-N-19-006
dEPA	Fal12019
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
FSTRAG
Newsletter
FEDERAL-STATE TOXICOLOGY RISK ANALYSIS COMMITTEE
What Is FSTRAC?
FSTRAC's mission is to strengthen relationships and cooperation among EPA, states and tribes through
the exchange of technical information primarily regarding water-related human health and risk assess-
ment and also share information on ecological effects related to water quality criteria. FSTRAC is composed
of current representatives from governmental agencies (state, tribal, federal health and environmental
agencies, and other regulatory authorities) and representatives from the Association of State Drinking
Water Administrators (ASDWA) and the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA). The goal of
FSTRAC is to share information that supports the development of well-rounded, integrated approaches to
effects assessment, risk assessment, risk management, risk communication, and standard-setting for drink-
ing water, groundwater, and surface water contaminants. Specific objectives of FSTRAC include:
•	To foster cooperation, consistency, and an understanding of goals and problems in human health and
ecological risk assessment for contaminants in water.
•	To allow the exchange of technical information, including toxicity/exposure data and analysis, and
methodologies and assumptions related to the development and implementation of regulations, criteria,
advisories, and other toxicity values under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act, and
other state and tribal rules and policies as applicable.
•	To allow the exchange of information on research priorities and results.
•	To share science policy concerns regarding water-related human health and ecological risk assessment.
Recent Webinars
FSTRAC holds several webinars each year to share
information through presentations and discussions
regarding human health risk analysis and water
quality issues.
October 2018 FSTRAC Webinar
EPA held a FSTRAC Webinar in October 2018 during
which the following topics were discussed:
HECD Accomplishments and Workplan for FY 2019
(presented by Ms. Elizabeth (Betsy) Behl, HECD/OST/OW/
EPA) Ms. Behl presented an overview of EPA OST/
HECD's accomplishments during 2018 in the areas
of aquatic life, biosolids, nutrients, biocriteria,
and human health. She also described EPA OST/
HECD's 2019 priorities, including publishing final
updated aluminum aquatic life criteria, developing
a draft nationally applicable model linking nutrient
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep Federal-State Toxicology and Risk Analysis Committee (FSTRAC)
members up-to-date on current developments in toxicology, risk analysis, and water quality criteria and standards.
This newsletter also provides information on recent FSTRAC webinars and upcoming events. Please share this
newsletter with anyone you think might be interested in these topics. If you are interested in joining FSTRAC,
please contact the FSTRAC Chair, Dr. Shamima Akhter (Akhter.Shamima@epa.gov).

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concentrations in lakes to specific adverse effects for 3
designated uses, supporting Regions and States with
biocriteria development, and publishing 2013 and
2015 Biosolids Biennial Reviews.
EPA Biosolids Program (presented by Ms. Elizabeth Resek,
HECD/OST/OW/EPA) Ms. Resek presented an update on
EPA's Biosolids Program, including information on
Section 405(d) of the CWA, the 2016-2017 Biennial
Review, the biosolids screening tool, and 10 pollutant
risk assessments. Ms. Resek noted that EPA is initi-
ating a problem formulation for PFAS in biosolids,
including engagement to gain input from states and
tribes, risk managers, scientists, and members of the
biosolids community regarding foreseeable science
and implementation issues. She mentioned that EPA
had not tested for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) as part of its National Sewage Sludge Surveys
(NSSS); however, PFAS were detected in the digested
samples from EPA's 2001 and 2006 NSSS in Arizona
State University's National Sewage Sludge Repository.
Overview of PFAS Groundwater Contamination and
Derivation of Health-based Guidance in Minnesota (pre-
sented by Dr. Helen Goeden, Minnesota Department of
Health [MDH]) Dr. Goeden presented an overview of
PFAS contamination in Minnesota, including initial
testing of public and private wells for contamina-
tion, as well as the addition of analytical methods for
perfluorobutyrate (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid
(PFPeA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perflu-
orobutane sulfonate (PFBS), and perfluorohexane
sulfonate (PFHxS) that resulted in uncovering a larger
area of contamination than had been found originally.
She also presented information on MDH's 2017 PFAS
Water Guidance values, including direct and indirect
exposure concerns, daily serum concentration calcu-
lations, placental and breastmilk transfer values, and
relative source contribution factors. Refer to the open
source publication (https://www.nature.com/articles/
s41370-018-0110-5) for additional information about
the model, as well as supplemental information.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Source and Treated
Drinking Waters of the United States (presented by Dr. Susan
Glassmeyer, NERL/ORD/EPA) Dr. Glassmeyer presented
from a collaborative study with the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) evaluating contaminants of emerging
concern (CECs) in source and treated drinking water.
As part of this work, Dr. Glassmeyer presented infor-
mation on PFAS occurrence patterns in two river
systems, a source investigation via de facto reuse
modeling, removal of PFAS during drinking water
treatment (including the role of granular activated
carbon), and examination of data in relation to the
Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule
(UCMR 3). For additional information, please refer to
the open access article on which this presentation was
based (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/
pii/S004896971834141X).
April 2019 FSTRAC Webinar
EPA held a FSTRAC Webinar in April 2019 during
which the following topics were discussed:
HECD Update (presented by Ms. Colleen Flaherty, HECD/0ST/
0W/EPA) Ms. Flaherty presented an update on activi-
ties in the EPA Office of Water's Health and Ecological
Criteria Division (HECD). Her talk focused on work
underway related to emerging contaminants (includ-
ing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS), Safe
Drinking Water Act regulatory processes technical
support, chemical prioritization for criteria develop-
ment, method updates and tool development in the
areas of aquatic life, biosolids, and numeric nutrient
criteria, and stakeholder engagement.
Final Updated National 304(a) Aluminum Aquatic Life Criteria
(presented by Ms. Diana Eignor, HECD/OST/OW/EPA) Ms.
Eignor presented background information on sources
of aluminum and the criteria development process.
She described the framework for developing the
updated national 304(a) aluminum aquatic life criteria
that consisted of (I) screening toxicological studies for
high quality data, (II) evaluating water quality con-
ditions to determine applicability, (III) normalizing
toxicity data in species sensitivity distribution to a
set of water quality conditions, and (IV) constructing
a sensitivity distribution to determine criteria at set
conditions. Ms. Eignor noted that the relative ranking
of aquatic life genera in the sensitivity distribution to
which the toxicity data are normalized will change
based on water chemistry conditions (i.e., pH, hard-
ness, dissolved organic carbon). Thus, EPA developed
an aluminum criteria calculator to make calculating
aluminum criteria easier.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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NJDEP Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for Perfluoro-
octanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS),
& Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA): Regulatory and Scientific
Basis (presented by Dr. Gloria Post, New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection [NJDEP]) Dr. Post presented
an overview of the current status of NJDEP PFAS
standards and regulations. She described the process
for developing the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality
Institute's MCL recommendations, as well as public
participation in NJDEP's MCL development process.
Dr. Post described the literature review strategy and
the studies and endpoints that were used as a basis for
the NJ MCL for PFNA, which has been adopted, and
the proposed NJ MCLs for PFOA and PFOS.
Web-ICE Ecotoxicity Estimation Tool (presented by Dr. Sandy
Raimondo, ORD/EPA) Dr. Raimondo presented an over-
view of EPA's Interspecies Correlation Estimation
(ICE) tool to estimate acute toxicity to a species,
genus, or family from the known toxicity of a surro-
gate species. She provided background information
on ICE models, noting that they start with a large
database of existing, acute toxicity; a suite of ICE
models are developed, dependent on the toxicity
database; model validation is used to develop user
guidance; and models and their application are exten-
sively peer-reviewed. Dr. Raimondo described several
current applications of Web-ICE. She also provided a
live demonstration of EPA's Web-ICE tool.
Risk Assessment Basis of the NHDES Proposed MCLs for
Four PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFHxS (presented by Dr.
Jonathan Ali, New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Services [NHDES]) Dr. Ali provided background infor-
mation on the development of the NHDES proposed
MCLs for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFHxS. He noted
that New Hampshire Senate Bill 309 granted NHDES
the authority to set drinking water MCLs for these
four PFAS. Dr. Ali described how reference doses were
selected and how relative source contribution values
were estimated. He presented the proposed MCLs, a
timeline of New Hampshire's MCL process, and pub-
lic comments and information gaps.
Montana's Proposed PFOA/PFOS Ground Water Standards
(presented by Dr. Terri Mavencamp, Montana Department
of Environmental Quality [MTDEO]) Dr. Mavencamp pro-
vided an overview of Montana's proposed PFOA and
PFOS ground water standards. She described PFAS
monitoring performed for EPA's UCMR 3 and mil-
itary sites in Montana. Dr. Mavencamp mentioned
that ground water standards for PFOA and PFOS are
part of the DEQ-7 proposed ground water rulemaking
package. She noted that these ground water standards
would be used as remediation standards.
Information from States Developing Guidance for Specific Chemicals
Criteria Values
Michigan Department of Environment, Great
Lakes, and Energy
In June 2019 the Michigan PFAS Action Response
Team (MPART) Science Advisory Work Group
(SAWG) provided health-based values for seven per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Michigan
Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
(EGLE) Drinking Water and Environmental Health
Division (DWEHD), to be used as the starting point
for developing drinking water maximum contaminant
levels (MCLs) for PFAS in Michigan.
Utilizing input provided by key stakeholders, draft
MCLs will be provided by EGLE in October 2019 and
the formal rule promulgation process will begin. An
official public comment period will follow, including
public hearings hosted by EGLE, and the final rule is
expected to be adopted by April 2020.
Minnesota Department of Health
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has
completed water guidance for strontium, fluorene,
anthracene, quinoline, imidacloprid, and PFHxS in
recent months. Chemicals currently under full tox-
icology review by MDH include: lH-benzotriazole,
tolyltriazole, 5-methyl-lH-benzotriazole, benzophe-
none, biphenyl, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH),
and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. MDH's program to re-
evaluate existing water guidance values has recently
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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completed reviews of PFOS, ethylbenzene, 3 trimeth-
ylbenzenes, xylenes, and 1,1-dichloroethylene. More
detailed information on MDH water guidance values
can be found on MDH's Human Health-Based Water
Guidance Table website at https://www.health.state.
mn.us/communities/environment/risk/guidance/gw/
table.html.
Risk Assessment
Drinking Water
California Environmental Protection Agency
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) of
the California Environmental Protection Agency has
issued updated Notification Levels (NLs) and guide-
lines for detecting and reporting the presence of PFOA
and PFOS in drinking water. NLs are precautionary,
nonregulatory health-based levels for drinking water
contaminants that warrant notification and further
monitoring and assessment. The updated NLs are 5.1
parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 6.5 ppt for PFOS,
based on the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment's (OEHHA) recommendation that the
NLs be set at the lowest levels at which they can be
reliably detected in drinking water using currently
available and appropriate technologies. OEHHA's
recommendation stems from the development of
reference levels of 0.1 ppt for PFOA and 0.4 ppt for
PFOS based on cancer. Additionally, SWRCB has ini-
tiated the process of establishing regulatory standards
(Maximum Contaminant Levels or MCLs) for PFOA
and PFOS by requesting that OEHHA develop Public
Health Goals for these chemicals.
Clean Water
EPA Recommended Recreational Ambient
Water Quality Criteria or Swimming Advisories
for two Cyanotoxins, Microcystins and
Cylindrospermopsin
EPA issued final Recommended Recreational Ambient
Water Quality Criteria or Swimming Advisories for two
Cyanotoxins, Microcystins and Cylindrospermopsin.
The Agency identified recommended concentra-
tions of these cyanotoxins at or below which human
health is protected while swimming or participating
in other recreational activities in and on the water.
States, territories, and authorized tribes can consider
adopting these recommended criteria into their water
quality standards and using them for Clean Water
Act purposes. Alternatively, they can use these same
values as the basis of swimming advisories for public
notification purposes at recreational waters. The rec-
ommended criteria or swimming advisories are based
on peer-reviewed, published science and methods.
EPA also updated and reorganized online information
about cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms
(CyanoHABs) in water bodies, creating a new website
dedicated to scientific information, EPA tools, and
collaborative work on cyanoHABs in U.S. waters.
On the updated website, the EPA has also published
new infographics that state and local governments can
use to communicate basic information about HABs
to the public. The infographics highlight how a HAB
may affect both people and animals, and provide
information concerning how to identify and respond
to a potential bloom. Downloadable and printable
versions of the infographics are available at https://
www.epa.gov/cyanohabs/infographics-help-educate-
public-habs-basics; one as a more detailed poster for
display and another as an abbreviated handout. State,
tribal and local governments may also customize the
infographics by adding their logo and website address
or telephone number.
Here is the link to the webpage where the cyanotoxin
AWQC lives:
https://www.epa.gov/wqc/recommended-human-
health-recreational-ambient-water-quality-criteria-
or- swimming- advisories
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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EPA Published a Federal Register Notice
Requesting Public Comment to Inform
the Development of an Agency Policy for
Determining if a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)
or Hypoxia Event in Freshwater Is an "Event of
National Significance"
On Monday, September 16th, the EPA published a
Federal Register notice requesting public comment
to inform the development of an Agency policy for
determining if a harmful algal bloom (HAB) or
hypoxia event in freshwater is an "event of national
significance." Recent amendments to the Harmful
Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control
Act (HABHRCA) provide the EPA with the statu-
tory authority to make such a determination in the
case of a freshwater HAB or hypoxia event. Under
HABHRCA, the EPA is responsible for address-
ing HAB and hypoxia in fresh water and NOAA is
responsible for the same in marine and coastal waters.
A federal determination that such an occurrence is an
event of national significance enables mobilization of
federal resources to assess and mitigate its detrimental
effects, subject to the availability of appropriations.
Using public input, and in coordination with NOAA,
the EPA will develop a policy for making a determina-
tion of a freshwater HAB or hypoxia event of national
significance and subsequently seek public comment
on that draft policy.
Members of the public may submit comments on
the EPA's notice for 45 days (until October 31st,
2019). Access the notice and public docket via
EPA's website at https://www.federalregister.gov/
documents/2019/09/16/2019-19985/notice-of-intent-
to- develop-a-policy- on-the- determination- of- a-
harmful-algal-bloom-hab-and-hypoxia
Drinking Water Contaminant Occurrence
Information
Michigan Department of Environment, Great
Lakes, and Energy
In August 2019 the Michigan Department of
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), in
partnership with the state's contractor AECOM, pub-
lished a summary of findings for its statewide survey
of PFAS in public drinking water supplies. This state-
wide survey sampled over 1,700 public water supplies
in Michigan, representing drinking water resources
for approximately 75% of the state's population. Nearly
90% of those supplies tested returned non-detect
results for all tested PFAS compounds. An additional
7% returned combined detections of less-than 10 parts
per trillion for all tested PFAS compounds, and of the
remaining 3% only two supplies returned detections
exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Lifetime Health Advisory level.
Through effective prioritization of supplies based
on several sensitivity and risk factors, and the use of
multiple sampling teams working in tandem, EGLE
was able to promptly identify those supplies with
PFAS contamination. Based on the 2018 statewide
survey findings, an expanded PFAS testing program
for drinking water supplies in Michigan is ongoing for
2019.
Minnesota Department of Health
The MDH is partnering with the USGS on a project to
test for unregulated contaminants in drinking water
sources across the state. MDH and USGS are conduct-
ing this study to better understand where unregulated
contaminants occur and at what levels. The results
will guide future efforts in monitoring, source water
protection, and development of health-based guidance
values.
Project sampling began in summer 2019 and the final
report will be completed in 2021. Funding for this
project is provided by the Environment and Natural
Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) as recommended by
the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota
Resources (LCCMR). Additional information is
available on the project website: https://www.health.
state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/
unregcontam .html
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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Publications
EPA Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan
At the 34th Annual WateReuse Symposium in San
Diego, California, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft
National Water Reuse Action Plan that identifies pri-
ority actions and the leadership and collaboration that
is needed between governmental and nongovernmen-
tal organizations to implement these actions. Water
reuse represents a major opportunity to support our
nation's communities and economy by bolstering safe
and reliable water supplies for human consumption,
agriculture, business, industry, recreation and healthy
ecosystems.
The draft National Water Reuse Action Plan is the first
initiative of this magnitude that is coordinated across
the water sector. It was built upon extensive outreach,
research and prior engagement with the water sector.
The inclusive approach used to develop the draft plan
recognizes that meaningful advancement of water
reuse is best accomplished by working cooperatively
with all water sector stakeholders. The draft plan
incorporates federal, state, tribal and local water
perspectives and highlights key actions that support
consideration and implementation of water reuse.
EPA's goal is to issue a final plan that will include
clear commitments and milestones for actions that
will further water reuse to bolster the sustainability,
security and resilience of the nation's water resources.
Goeden, H. M., et al. (2019). A Transgenerational Toxicokinetic Model and Its Use in Derivation of Minnesota
PFOA Water Guidance, journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 29(2)183; doi: 10.5390/
ijerphl5050512.
Suchomel, A.; et al. (2018). A Method for Developing Rapid Screening Values for Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients (APIs) in Water and Results of Initial Application for 119 APIs. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health,
15(7)1308; doi:10.3590/ijerphl5071508.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
Upcoming FSTRAC Webinar
The next FSTRAC Webinar is tentatively scheduled
for December 2019. Additional details, including the
date of the next FSTRAC Webinar, will be provided to
FSTRAC members in the coming weeks.
SETAC North America Annual Meeting
SETAC will be holding its 40th annual North America
meeting on November 5-7, 2019, in the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, in Toronto, Ontario. Additional
information is provided on the SETAC website:
https://toronto.setac.org/
SRA 2019 Annual Meeting - Society for
Risk Analysis
SRA will be holding its annual meeting on
December 8-12, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia.
DRAFT
SEPTEMBER 2019
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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Drinking Water Relevant Symposia
Symposium: Derivation of Human Health Based
Water Guidance for Noncarcinogens: Is it time to
Change the Standard Default Approach?
The current standard approach for deriving human
health-based drinking water guidance for noncarcin-
ogens has not changed in over three decades and were
influenced by data availability and policy decisions at
the time of their inception. The values for these factors
should be scientifically based and should change as
scientific understanding and more data become avail-
able. More data is now available on age specific intake
rates and multiple routes and sources of exposure to
contaminants. The symposium will highlight these
important issues, advocating the need to derive sci-
entifically based drinking water guidance. Individual
abstracts can be viewed at:
http://scienceserv.com/sra/2019AM/program/
singlesession.php?sessid=T3-I
Symposium: Derivation of Human Health Based
Water Guidance: Challenges of Assessing
Emerging Contaminants and Mixtures
Drinking water guidelines are essential for public
health protection. With the advancement of analytical
methods more chemicals are being detected in drink-
ing water sources and at lower concentrations than
ever before. Few of these contaminants have health-
based guidance, which leads to concerns regarding
potential health risks. This session will highlight
examples that demonstrate efforts to provide risk
context for emerging contaminants as well as chemi-
cals with little or no toxicological data and mixtures.
Individual abstracts can be viewed at:
http://scienceserv.com/sra/2019AM/program/
singlesession.php?sessid=T4-I
Additional information about the SRA Annual
Meeting is available on the SRA website:
https://www.sra.org/events/2019-sra-annual-meeting
SOT Annual Meeting
SOT will be holding its 59th annual meeting
on March 15-19, 2020, in Anaheim, California.
Additional information about the March 2020 meet-
ing is provided on the SOT website:
https://www.toxicology.org/events/am/AM2020/
index.asp
ASM Microbe 2020 - American Society for
Microbiology
ASM will be holding its annual meeting on June
18-22, 2020, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
Additional information is available on the ASM web-
site: https://www.asm.org/Events
EPA IRIS Upcoming Events
EPA IRIS holds public meetings and workshops on
issues in risk assessment. Additional information is
provided on the EPA IRIS public meetings and work-
shop website:
https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris2/events.cfm
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2019

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