Office of Inspector General
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
At a Glance
21-P-0223
September 9, 2021
Why We Did This Audit
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Office of
Inspector General conducted this
audit to determine whether the
EPA is communicating sampling
results or other indicators of
human health risk in a manner
that allows impacted
communities to make decisions
about managing their risks of
exposure to harmful
contaminants or substances. The
audit covered eight contaminated
sites.
According to the EPA, risk
communication is intended to
provide community members
"with the information they need to
make informed, independent
judgements about risks to health,
safety, and the environment."
The EPA has made risk
communication a priority.
This audit supports an EPA
mission-related effort:
•	Cleaning up and revitalizing
land.
This audit addresses these top
EPA management challenges:
•	Communicating risks.
•	Integrating and leading
environmental justice.
Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBCOMMENTS@epa.gov.
List of OIG reports.
EPA's Office of Land and Emergency
Management Lacked a Nationally Consistent
Strategy for Communicating Health Risks at
Contaminated Sites
As part of its mission to protect human
health, the EPA communicates risks from
contaminated sites to the public. Without
accurate, clear, and timely information,
residents living on or near contaminated
sites cannot take precautions, if necessary,
to protect their health and safety.
What We Found
The EPA did not consistently
communicate human health
risks at select sites being
addressed by Office of Land
and Emergency Management,
or OLEM, programs in a
manner that allowed impacted
communities to decide how to
manage their risks of exposure to harmful contaminants. OLEM did not
consistently adhere to existing guidance on risk communication, including the
EPA's Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication.
At the eight contaminated sites we reviewed, OLEM struggled with risk
communication because it lacked specific guidance to provide EPA personnel
with best practices for addressing environmental justice concerns, timeliness,
coordination, and clear communication. Inefficiencies in the EPA's risk
communication resulted in communities not being able to consistently rely on
the EPA as a credible source to manage their risks. Absent a national strategy,
OLEM's risk communication is not consistently integrated and applied across
programs and regional offices, including for sites in the same program, in
similar locations, or with the same contaminants. Also, without a measurable
definition of "timely" risk communication, OLEM does not have deadlines for
how long it should take to communicate site risks and sampling results to
affected communities.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that OLEM implement internal controls to (1) achieve
OLEMwide, nationally consistent risk communication to improve public
awareness and understanding of risks; (2) monitor its risk communication
efforts; and (3) provide community members with information to manage their
risks when exposed to actual or potential environmental health hazards. All
recommendations are resolved with corrective actions pending. We also
revised our report where appropriate based on technical comments provided by
the Agency.
Noteworthy Achievements
The EPA hired a senior risk communications advisor in November 2019. In
December 2020, the EPA developed and launched a "premier, scientifically-
grounded risk communication training platform."

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