Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) 2019 Update

Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST)

2019 Update

EPA, ECOS and ASTHO under our Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) planned to identify a few early specific cases to
apply the Community-Focused Exposure Risk Screening tool (C-FERST), with the aim of illustrating potential uses of the
science-based tool that can be repeated in other places to improve environmental and health outcomes. In 2017 the
MOA parties worked together to identify potential additional local government collaborators and communities to pilot
the tool.

However, due to anticipated budget reductions, and in response to the updated EPA Strategic Plan, past EPA Science
Advisory Board and ORD Board of Scientific Counselors recommendations, and recent EPA Office of the Inspector
General findings, EPA decided to discontinue C-FERST as a stand-alone tool. To ensure that valuable information is
preserved, an assessment of C-FERST datasets, maps and functionality was conducted for potential incorporation into
other EPA tools. C-FERST will remain available for public use via the EPA Web Archive but will no longer be updated. C-
FERST can be found in the archive at: https://archive.epa.gov.

EPA discussed this new C-FERST direction with the ECOS members involved in the pilot, and it was agreed to look to
other opportunities to engage on developing case studies of how ORD applied science tools can be used.

As of fall 2019, the functionality from C-FERST's Community Data Table is now available in EnviroAtlas via the Compare
My Area tool, with improved graphing capability for users to do comparisons visually in addition to the data table. For
data, EnviroAtlas now includes the EPA Regulated Facilities data—Brownfields grantees, Superfund, RCRA, etc.—and a
selection of the National Air Toxics Data which were both included to help meet the needs of C-FERST users.

Accomplishments:

EPA developed training materials and held a training webinar for the states on July 26, 2017.

Transitioned relevant datasets to EnviroAtlas in response to EPA's Strategic Plan update, while still meeting the

needs of C-FERST users.

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