EPA-820-N-22-001

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.

The purpose of this newsletter is to update Federal-State Toxicology and Risk Analysis Committee (FSTRAC) members
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 those who
may be interested in these topics. If you are interested in joining FSTRAC, please contact the FSTRAC Co-Chairs,
Dr. Shamima Akhter (Akhter.Shamima@epa.gov) or Ms. Katie Fallace (Katie.Fallace@state.mn.us).

Recent Webinars

FSTRAC holds several webinars each year to share
information through presentations and discussions
regarding human health risk analysis and water
quality issues.

fish tissue results from EPA's 2013-2014 National
Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA). He noted
that these fish tissue samples were analyzed for
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and other
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Mr.
Wathen mentioned that fewer PFAS are detected in
fish than in water. He noted that 322 of the 348 fish
tissue samples analyzed for PFAS in EPA's 2013-2014
NRSA contained both PFOS and up to five other
PFAS (i.e., perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA),

September 2022

Patterns of Occurrence of PFAS Compounds in Fresh
Water Fish from Major U.S. Rivers (presented by Mr.
John Wathen, 0ST/0W/EPA). Mr. Wathen presented

information on the occurrence of PFAS in the


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perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorododecanoic
acid (PFDoA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and
perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA)). He mentioned
that the PFOS tissue consumption screening level of
46 ng/g (calculated using EPA's current reference dose
of 0.00002 mg/kg/day) was exceeded in 28 of the 348
fish samples. Mr. Wathen noted that on a large scale,
PFAS in fish occured in repeatable patterns with basic
SUDo (PFOS + PFUnA + PFDA + PFDoA) variants
comprising 46 percent of EPA's 2013-2014 sample
set, and that there have been comparable patterns of
detection of these compounds in fish collected from
streams and lakes in New Jersey.

Evaluating Chemical Contaminants in Biosolids: A
Collaboration Between EPA's Center for Computational
Toxicology and Exposure and EPA's Office of Water (pre-
sented by Dr. Caroline L. Ring, CCTE/ORD/EPA). Dr. Ring
mentioned that the Clean Water Act requires EPA's Office
of Water (OW) to evaluate chemicals and microbes
that occur in biosolids for harm to human health and
the environment. She noted that EPA OW has a need
to fill data gaps to more efficiently evaluate biosolids
contaminants. Dr. Ring mentioned that researchers
from EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD),
Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure
(CCTE) are working with EPA OW to provide data
and tools to support biosolids chemical prioritization
and screening, including curating a list of chemicals
found in biosolids, adapting a Public Information
Curation and Synthesis (PICS) prioritization workflow
(that originally was developed in the context of Toxic
Substance Control Act (TSCA) prioritization) for bio-
solids, and developing a high-throughput consensus
model to predict biosolids chemical concentrations.

National Biosolids Data Project (presented by Ms. Janine
Burke-Wells, North East Biosolids & Residuals Association).

Ms. Burke-Wells mentioned that the first National
Survey of Biosolids Regulation, Quality, End Use and
Disposal was conducted in 2004 and that the second
survey (consisting of a biosolids coordinators survey
and a wastewater reclamation facility (WWRF) survey)
was conducted in 2018. The 2018 survey topics included
general information, sewage sludge and biosolids,
septage received, energy, economic data, trends, and
the top five pressures on the Biosolids Management
Program. She noted that the survey trend results from

2004 to 2018 indicated that there was a slight decrease
in biosolids being produced, more pressures and incen-
tives to divert from landfills, and a decrease in total
solids used or disposed in the United States. Ms. Burke-
Wells mentioned that survey results are available at
http://www.biosolidsdata.org, including state-specific
data, costs for biosolids use or disposal, and what crops
are grown with biosolids. She described the benefits of
recycling biosolids (e.g., enhancing soil health, recy-
cling nutrients, reducing fertilizer and pesticide use,
strengthening farm economies) and concerns with
recycling biosolids (e.g., odors, over-applying of nutri-
ents, and trace contaminants (e.g., PFAS)).

PFAS in Soil and Groundwater Following Historical Land
Application of Biosolids (presented by Dr. Gwynn Johnson,
Portland State University, Civil and Environmental
Engineering Department). Dr. Johnson provided an
overview of biosolids application as a soil amendment,
including patterns and techniques for land application
of sewage sludge. She noted that biosolids contain
inorganic and organic materials, as well as metals, phar-
maceuticals, persistent and emerging pollutants, flame
retardants, steroids, and PFAS. Dr. Johnson mentioned
that risks in long-term land applications of biosolids
include heavy metal mobility through the soil profile
and off-site migration, persistent "forever" organic pol-
lutants (e.g., PFAS) accumulating and migrating in the
soil sludge zone, and organic toxins found in ground-
water and in dairy products on farms. She presented the
results from her study on a 4,600-acre farm to which
biosolids had been land-applied since the mid-1990s. Dr.
Johnson mentioned that PFOS and PFOA had migrated
through the soil profile at the farm, the soil burden of
PFOS > PFDA > PFOA at all sampling locations, and
PFOS and PFOA measured in shallow groundwater
were 2- to 4-orders of magnitude greater than EPA's
corresponding interim HA levels for drinking water.

Field Study of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in WWTP
Influent, Effluent and Biosolids-Preliminary Data from
Hawaii (presented by Dr. Roger Brewer, Hawaii Department
of Health). Dr. Brewer described two types of laboratory
tests used to assess the leachability of PFASs from the
biosolids. He noted that the Method 1314 soil column
leaching test in theory provides data most directly
comparable to the HDOH water action levels, but that
additional modification of the test was needed to allow

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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for a larger sample volume size and to reduce the num-
ber of analyses carried out on the leachate generated.
He noted that the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching
Procedure (SPLP) is most properly used to estimate a
sorption coefficient (Kd) for individual PFASs, rather
than direct comparison to action levels. The sorption
coefficient can be used to estimate the tightness to
which the compound is bound to the biosolids and the
overall leaching risk. Dr. Brewer presented a summary
of the study results, noting that the PFASs makeup of
influent and effluent was variable among WWTPs and
that PFOS and PFOA were not necessarily the main
compounds of concern. The PFASs makeup of biosolids
was, in contrast, similar and dominated by fluorotelo-
mer carboxylates, for which toxicity factors are not
available. The HDOH drinking water and aquatic toxic-
ity action levels were not exceeded in influent or effluent
at any of the WWTPs. Sorption coefficients calculated
based on SPLP test data for biosolids suggest that most
PFASs are tightly bound to organic material and clays
in the biosolids and do not appear to pose a significant
leaching problem. Additional Method 1314 soil column
leaching studies are needed to better understand this
issue, however. Sample collection at five additional
WWTPs is anticipated in late 2022 and 2023.

July 2022

EPA's Drinking Water Health Advisories Developed for Four
PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFBS) (presented by Dr. Carlye
Austin and Ms. Czarina Cooper, OST/OW/EPA). Dr. Austin
and Ms. Cooper provided an overview of EPA's four
PFAS Health Advisories (HAs) that were published on
June 15, 2022. First, Dr. Austin presented the infor-
mation and process used to develop the interim HAs
(iHAs) for PFOA and PFOS. Interim or provisional
HA values can be developed to provide information in
response to an urgent or rapidly developing situation.
EPA has developed interim HAs rather than final HAs

for PFOA and PFOS because the input values used to
derive the iHAs are currently draft values and EPA
has identified a pressing need to provide information
to public health officials prior to their finalization.
Specifically, the interim HAs were derived using draft
reference dose (RfD) and relative source contribu-
tion (RSC) values that were developed in draft PFOA
and PFOS assessments that have recently undergone
Science Advisory Board (SAB) review and are being
revised in response to SAB comments. She noted that
the iHA values for PFOA and PFOS are 0.004 parts
per thousand (ppt) and 0.02 ppt, respectively. Because
the interim HAs are based on draft values, they are
subject to change. Second, Ms. Cooper presented the
information and process used to develop the HAs for
PFBS and GenX chemicals. The final HAs for PFBS and
GenX chemicals are 2,000 ppt and 10 ppt, respectively.
They indicated that each PFAS HA document includes
an analytical methods section and a treatment technol-
ogies section. The HA documents also include a brief
section summarizing approaches to the assessment of
health risks of PFAS mixtures, and an example apply-
ing EPA's Draft Framework for Estimating Noncancer
Health Risks Associated with Mixtures of Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using the Hazard
Index approach to assess the potential noncancer risk of
a mixture of PFOA, PFOS, GenX chemicals, and PFBS.
Dr. Austin and Ms. Cooper emphasized that EPA's HA
levels are non-enforceable and non-regulatory.

Additional information:

•	Interim Updated PFOA and PFOS
HAs (available at www.epa.gov/sdwa/
drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos)

•	Final PFBS and GenX Chemicals HAs (available
at www.epa.gov/sdwa/drinking-water-health-
advisories-genx-chemicals-and-pfbs)

Risk Assessment
Drinking Water

Contaminant Candidate List 5 - CCL 5

The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) is a list of
contaminants that are currently not subject to any

proposed or promulgated national primary drinking
water regulations but are known or anticipated to
occur in public water systems. Contaminants listed on
the CCL may require future regulation under the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA). With the announcement

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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of the Draft CCL 5 on July 19, 2021, EPA provided a
period for public comment and consulted with EPA's
Science Advisory Board (SAB). Following revisions to
address public comments and SAB's review, EPA pub-
lished the Final CCL 5 on November 14, 2022.

The CCL 5 includes 66 chemicals, three chemical
groups (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),
cyanotoxins, and disinfection byproducts (DBPs)),
and 12 microbes, which were selected from a uni-
verse of chemicals used in commerce, pesticides,
biological toxins, disinfection byproducts, and water-
borne pathogens. The development of CCL 5 is based
on the existing framework used for the previous
Contaminant Candidate List 3 (CCL 3) and its carry-
over, the Contaminant Candidate List 4 (CCL 4). In
developing the CCL 5, EPA implemented improve-
ments to the CCL process to better identify, screen,
and classify potential drinking water contaminants.
These improvements resulted in a CCL 5 that can
better support prioritization of contaminants for reg-
ulatory decisions and research efforts.

More information on the final Fifth Contaminant
Candidate List (CCL 5).

Hawai'i Department of Health

The Hawai'i Department of Health is carrying out lab-
oratory studies to better assess the chemical makeup
and toxicity of dissolved-phase petroleum contaminants
in drinking water. Multiple types of petroleum fuels
will be included. This in part follows the inadvertent
release of several thousand gallons of JP-5 jet fuel into
the drinking water system of Joint Base Pearl Harbor
Hickam in November 2021. Much and in many cases
most of the risk posed by exposure to neat and dis-
solved-phase petroleum fuel is posed by non BTEX
(benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) or PAH
(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon)-related aromatic
and aliphatic compounds and/or degradation products
of both sets of compounds. Toxicity factors have been
available for both for some time, but a detailed under-
standing of the mixture of these groups of compounds
has been lacking. The results of the study, anticipated
to be completed in early 2023, will allow calculation of
more refined, risk-based screening levels for non-specific
mixtures of "Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH)" in
drinking water as well as mixtures of petroleum-related

degradation compounds, collectively referred to
"Hydrocarbon Oxidation Products" or "HOPs."

Clean Water

2022 Draft Aquatic Life Criteria for PFOA and
PFOS

As part of EPA's commitment to safeguard the envi-
ronment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,
the agency announced the availability of Clean Water
Act national "Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water
Quality Criteria for Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)"
and "Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality
Criteria for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)" for a
30-day public comment period on May 3, 2022. On
May 31, 2022, the agency extended the public com-
ment period to allow additional time for stakeholders
to provide comments. This extended public comment
period closed on July 5, 2022.

These draft criteria reflect the latest scientific knowl-
edge regarding the effects of PFOA and PFOS on
aquatic life. The draft PFOA and PFOS criteria doc-
uments both contain water column-based acute and
chronic criteria for freshwaters, and chronic tis-
sue-based criteria for freshwaters, to protect aquatic
life from PFOA and PFOS bioaccumulation. The
chronic freshwater and chronic tissue criteria are
intended to be independently applicable and no one
criterion takes primacy. Once finalized, states and
authorized tribes can adopt these recommended cri-
teria into water quality standards to protect against
harmful effects of PFOA and PFOS on aquatic life.

EPA also derived draft acute estuarine/marine bench-
marks for PFOA and PFOS using available toxicity
data supplemented with modeled estimates of acute
toxicity, through application of a New Approach
Method (NAM). The acute estuarine/marine bench-
marks are also intended to be protective of aquatic life
designated uses. Once finalized, the acute estuarine/
marine benchmarks are also recommendations for
states and tribes to consider as protective values in
their water quality protection programs.

• Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality
Criteria for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
(available at https://www.epa.gov/wqc/
aquatic-life-criteria-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa)

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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•	Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality
Criteria for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)
(available at https://www.epa.gov/wqc/aquatic-
life-criteria-perfluorooctane-sulfonate-pfos)

Implementing the BEACH Act of 2000: 2022
Report to Congress

EPA's Implementing the BEACH Act of 2000: 2022
Report to Congress documents the recent progress that
states, tribes, territories, EPA, and other federal agencies
have made to implement the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of
2000. Section 7 of the BEACH Act (33 U.S.C. § 1375a)
requires EPA to publish reports to Congress on the
implementation of the Act every four years.

Coastal beaches are one of our nation's natural
treasures. They are important for recreation and con-
necting with nature and are an integral part of our
national economy. According to the United States
Census Bureau, 94.7 million people, or about 29.1%
of the total U.S. population, lived in coastline coun-
ties in 2017. The United States Lifesaving Association
estimated there were more than 400 million visits to
U.S. beaches in 2019. Ocean-based tourism and rec-
reation contributes an estimated $143 billion in gross
domestic product to the national economy each year
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.

The BEACH Act of 2000: 2022 Report to Congress
highlights EPA accomplishments since the 2018
BEACH Act Report to Congress:

•	draft analytical methods for coliphage, an
indicator of viral fecal contamination

•	advances in qPCR methods providing same-day
monitoring results

•	the development of the Alternative Methods
Calculator Tool

•	recreational water quality criteria for cyanotoxins

•	the development and release of the Sanitary
Survey App, which is used to identify sources of
fecal contamination and document harmful algal
blooms

•	the development of a web-based version of Virtual
Beach software which predicts pathogen indicator
levels

•	a preliminary analysis to identify beaches near
communities with possible environmental justice
concerns

The BEACH Act of 2000: 2022 Report to Congress also
details numerous programs and projects employed by
the 39 states, tribes, and territories that receive BEACH
Act grants to monitor coastal water quality and keep
the public informed within current budgets and staff
levels, while facing challenges caused or exacerbated
by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

EPA's Implementing the BEACH Act of 2000: 2022
Report to Congress is available on EPA's Data and
Reports about Beach Health website.

Annual Beach Swimming Season Reports

EPA releases an annual report that contains national-
level statistics of beach closings and advisories that
states, territories, and tribes issued during the swimming
season as well as beach data trends over several years.
You can also create a report for any year from 2014 to
the present that uses the most up-to-date information
in EPA's database (that may have been updated after our
reports were released) using the dynamic report. EPA's
2021 Beach Swimming Season Report (EPA 823-R-22-
002) is available here: https://www.epa.gov/system/
files/documents/2022-07/beach-report-2021.pdf

Model Quality Assurance Project Plan (OAPP) for
Sanitary Survey

This model quality assurance project plan (QAPP)
supports participatory scientists with the develop-
ment of QAPPs for collecting environmental data
and information using the EPA Sanitary Survey
App for Marine and Fresh Waters. Use of the app
requires a QAPP. The model QAPP provides a tem-
plate that participatory science groups can tailor
with their own project-specific information, when
collecting data using the app and paper versions of
the sanitary surveys. EPA's Model QAPP for the EPA
Sanitary Survey App for Marine and Freshwaters
is available here: https://www.epa.gov/beach-tech/
sanitary-surveys-recreational-waters#model

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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Publications

The Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 5)

UCMR 5 was published in December 2021 (86 FR
73131) and specifies monitoring by public water
systems (PWSs) for 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub-
stances (PFAS) and lithium. The five-year UCMR 5
cycle spans from 2022 through 2026, with prepara-
tions in 2022, sample collection between January 1,
2023, and December 31, 2025, and completion of data
reporting in 2026. Starting summer of 2023, UCMR 5
monitoring results will be published quarterly to the
public through the National Contaminant Occurrence
Database (NCOD). EPA recently hosted four webinars
in October 2022 (two for small PWSs [serving <10,000
people], two for large PWSs [serving >10,000 people]) to
review key elements of the UCMR 5 program and the
actions that PWSs must take to prepare for monitor-
ing. The presentations and a recording of the webinars
will be posted to the Meetings and Materials website.
For more information, visit EPA's UCMR Website.

New NPS Resource for Land Trusts

EPA's Healthy Watersheds team has released a
new resource to support watershed conservation:
Advancing Watershed Protection Through Land
Conservation: A Guide for Land Trusts. More
information on the Healthy Watersheds Team and
watershed protection can be found here.

Draft Method 1633 for 40 PFAS Compounds

EPA's Office of Water, in partnership with
the Department of Defense's (DoD) Strategic
Environmental Research and Development Program,
has published draft Method 1633, a single-laboratory
validated method to test for 40 PFAS compounds in
wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soil, biosol-
ids, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue. This
draft method can be used in various applications,
including National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permits. The method will support
NPDES implementation by providing a consistent
PFAS method that has been tested in a wide variety
of wastewaters and contains all the required quality
control procedures for the Clean Water Act (CWA).
While the method is not nationally required for CWA

compliance monitoring until EPA has promulgated it
through rulemaking, it is recommended now for use
in individual permits.

Multiple EPA programs have reviewed this draft
method. DoD has begun a multi-laboratory validation
study of the procedure, which is expected to be com-
pleted in 2022. DoD's multi-laboratory validation is
proceeding in collaboration with the Office of Water,
the Office of Land and Emergency Management, and
the Office of Research and Development.

The Office of Water will use the results of the
multi-laboratory validation study to finalize the
method and add formal performance criteria. The
method validation process may eliminate some of the
parameters listed in this draft method. In the mean-
time, the Office of Water encourages laboratories,
regulatory authorities, and other interested parties
to review and use the draft method, with the under-
standing that it is subject to revision.

EPA's 2nd Draft Method 1633 Analysis of Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous, Solid,
Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC MS/MS is avail-
able on EPA's CWA Analytical Methods for Per- and
Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances website.

External Peer Review of Draft IRIS Toxicological
Review of Perfluorohexanoic Acid (PFHxA) and
Related Salts

EPA's draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorohexanoic
Acid (PFHxA) and Related Salts underwent an indepen-
dent external scientific peer review. The final external
panel peer review report is available here.

Update on EPA ORD's Strategic Research Action
Plans for Fiscal Years 2023-2026

EPA ORD's Strategic Action Plans have been finalized
for the following six national research programs that
collectively target the science and engineering needed to
provide the scientific foundation for EPA to execute its
mandate to protect human health and the environment:

•	Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE)

•	Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS)

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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•	Health and Environmental Risk Assessment
(HERA)

•	Homeland Security (HS)

•	Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR)

•	Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC)

These Strategic Action Plan can be found here.

Evaluating Tribal Dietary, Lifestyle, and
Ceremonial Exposures for Use in EPA Superfund
Risk Assessments

The "Evaluating Tribal Dietary Lifestyle, and
Ceremonial Exposures for Use in EPA Superfund
Risk Assessments" report was finalized last year and
included as an EPA special collection document. This
report includes information from the second year of
intern projects to gather information from Superfund
risk assessments and other sources such as state studies
to obtain information on tribal exposures from food
(plant and animal) not already included in the EPA
Preliminary Remediation Goals for Radionuclides
(PRC) calculator for radionuclides (https://epa-prgs.
ornl.gov/cgi-bin/radionuclides/rprg_search). In this
new report data is provided on over forty plant prod-
ucts and over twenty-five animal products that were
not included in the PRC calculator, nor the two reports
authored by the previous intern Grace Maley. While
many of these species constitute entirely new addi-
tions, others provide clarity with regards to specific
species or cooking preparations. All of these additions
pertain to specific Indigenous communities. Lastly,
this report also incorporates lifestyle and ceremonial
tribal exposures. Examples include water consump-
tion, soil ingestion, and inhalation rates.

This report is the product of an intern project over-
seen by Jon Richards of EPA Region 4 along with
Stuart Walker and Michele Burgess of EPA's Office of
Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2021.
Evaluating Tribal Dietary, Lifestyle, and Ceremonial
Exposures for Use in EPA Superfund Risk
Assessments. EPA Special Collection Document.
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/100002840.pdf

Hawai'i Department of Health

Dr. Roger Brewer, with the Hawai'i Department
of Health, published a paper entitled "Fake Data?
The Need for Theory of Sampling Concepts in
Environmental Research and Investigations" as part of
the 10th World Conference on Sampling and Blending
held in Kristiansand, Norway, in May-June 2022. The
conference was attended by representatives of the
mining, agriculture, pharmaceutical, recycling and
environmental industries, all of which rely on sam-
pling intensive studies for critical decision making.
The paper highlights dramatic differences in sampling
methods and resulting data reliability between the
economics-driven commodities industries and the
risk-driven environmental industry and postulates
on forces that cause the latter to lag so far behind the
former. Approaches to improve data reliability and
confidence in decision making for testing of contami-
nated soil, sediment, air and water based on "Decision
Unit" and "Multi Increment" type sampling methods
long employed in the commodities industry are pre-
sented. Links to a recording of the presentation and
the published paper are available on the Hawai'i DOH
DU-MIS webpage: https://health.hawaii.gov/heer/
guidance/specific-topics/decision-unit-and-multi-
increment-sampling-methods/

Fake Data? The Need for Theory of Sampling
Concepts in Environmental Research and
Investigations: Proceedings of the 10th World
Conference on Sampling and Blending, TOS Forum
Issue 11, 193-205 (2022), ISSN: 2053-969X, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1255/tosf. 149

Gallardo, V., S. Shah, M. Mattioli, and K. Berling. 2022. Protocol for Collection of Water Samples for Detection of
Pathogens and Biothreat Agents. EPA/600/R-21/280. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=CESER&dirEntryId=355726

Liberatore, H., E. Daiber, S. Ravuri, J. Schmid, S. Richardson, and D. DeMarini. 2022. Disinfection byproducts
in chlorinated or brominated swimming pools and spas: role of brominated DBPs and association with
mutagenicity, journal of Environmental Sciences 117:253-263. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.jes.2022.04.049

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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Wallace, A., C. Su, M. Sexton, and W. Sun. 2022. Evaluation of the immobilization of coexisting heavy metal
ions of Pb2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ from water by dairy manure derived biochar: performance and reusability.
journal of Environmental Engineering 148(6):04022021. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%2
9EE.1943-7870.0002000.

Zartarian, V., A. Poulakos, V. Helms Garrison, N. Spalt, R. Tornero-Velez, J. Xue, K. Egan, and J. Courtney.
2022. Lead data mapping to prioritize US locations for whole-of-government exposure prevention efforts:
state of the science, federal collaborations, and remaining challenges. American journal of Public Health
112(S7):S658-S669. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307051.

Upcoming Events and Conferences
Upcoming FSTRAC Webinar

The next FSTRAC Webinar is scheduled for spring
2023. Additional details, including the date of the next
FSTRAC Webinar, will be provided to FSTRAC mem-
bers in the coming weeks.

Upcoming EPA Fish Forum

The U.S. EPA, Office of Water, will hold a virtual
National Fish Forum early next year on Contaminants
in Fish to bring together interested stakeholders to
discuss the many issues related to human health and
contaminants in fish. The Forum will be all virtual
and will take place during four days, two days each of
the following weeks:

Week 1: February 28 and March 2, 2023
(12:00 - 5:30 PM Eastern Time)

Week 2: March 7 and 9, 2023
(12:00 - 5:30 PM Eastern Time)

Register for the Fish Forum at:

https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/

WN_h_jw0futQlGjDim2P51Ubg

For more information, visit https://www.epa.gov/
fish-tech/2023-national-fish-forum

Tribal Nonpoint Source Program
Consultation

EPA seeks to better understand how the national
NPS program can better support Tribes and Nations
through action(s) in the CWA §319 program. Click
here to learn more about the Consultation and

Coordination on Potential EPA Actions to Increase
Tribal Capacity to Maintain and Expand Nonpoint
Source Management Programs.

Comment period 2 is open from October 24 to
December 23, 2022! Submit comments via EPA's web
form here.

Public Comment Period for the Draft IRIS
Assessment of Hexavalent Chromium
[Cr(VI)]

EPA's IRIS Program is announcing the release of
the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Hexavalent
Chromium [Cr(VI)] for public comment and external
peer review. The 60-day public comment period ends
on December 19, 2022. Written comments should be
submitted to docket (EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0313) via
Regulations.gov.

For more information on the draft IRIS Assessment
of Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)], including how to
submit comments, visit the Federal Register or the
EPA IRIS website.

SETAC North America Annual Meeting -
Society of Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry

SETAC will be holding its 44th annual North America
meeting on November 12-16, 2023 in Louisville,
Kentucky. Additional information is provided on
the SETAC website: https://www.setac.org/events/
EventDetails.aspx?id=1514446.

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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SOT Annual Meeting - Society of
Toxicology

SOT will be holding its 62nd Annual Meeting and
ToxExpo in Nashville, Tennessee on March 19-23,
2023. Additional information is provided on the
SOT website: https://www.toxicology.org/events/am/
AM2023/index.asp

SRA Annual Meeting - Society for Risk
Analysis

SRA will be holding its 2023 annual meeting in
Washington, D.C. on December 3-7, 2023. Additional
information is provided on the SRA website:
https://www.sra.org/event/2023-sra-annual-meeting/

ASM Microbe - American Society for
Microbiology

ASM Microbe will be holding its annual meeting
in Houston, Texas, on June 15-19, 2023. Additional
information is provided on the ASM website:
https://asm.org/Events/ASM-Microbe/Home

ECOS - Environmental Council of the States

ECOS will be holding its 2023 ECOS Spring Meeting
on March 27-30, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia.
Additional information is provided on the ECOS web-
site: https://www.ecos.org/events/.

ITRC Webinar - Interstate Technology
Regulatory Council

ITRC is holding the following trainings in early 2023:

•	January 24: Soil Background & Risk Assessment

•	January 31: 1,4-Dioxane: Science, Characterization
& Analysis, and Remediation

•	March 2: Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms
(HCBs); Strategies for Preventing and Managing

•	March 7: Microplastics

•	March 9: Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms
(HCBs): Benthics

Additional information is provided on the ITRC web-
site: https://itrcweb.org/events/calendar.

NDWAC - National Drinking Water
Advisory Council

NDWAC Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts
Rules Revision Working Group Meeting

EPA has requested that NDWAC provide the agency
with advice and recommendations on key issues
related to EPA's potential regulatory revisions effort for
eight National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
(NPDWRs) included in Microbial and Disinfection
Byproducts (MDBP) rules. The NDWAC MDBP Rule
Revisions Working Group will meet on December 13,
2022 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time. Registration for members of the public to listen
to this virtual meeting is available here.

EPA ORD Upcoming Events

EPA New Approach Methods (NAMs) Training
Program

The NAMs training program outlined in the
NAMs work plan to create courses and workshops for
interested stakeholders is well underway. The NAMs
Training website is online with a wealth of easily
searchable information and training materials about
EPA NAMs research and tools.

EPA Research Webinar Series

EPA ORD hosts several webinar series dedicated to
providing the latest information and training on cut-
ting-edge scientific research activities and results in
order to provide assistance and solutions to environ-
mental and public health issues. The webinars are free
of charge and open to the public. Additional informa-
tion, schedules, and registration can be found on the
individual webinar series webpages here.

FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Fall 2022


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