EPA-820-N-23-001
V>EPA Spring 2023
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.
Spring 2023
Health and Ecological Criteria Division (HECD) Priorities
in FY23 (presented by Ms. Colleen Flaherty, HECD/OST/
OW/EPA). Ms. Flaherty described the responsibilities
of EPA OST/HECD, including developing ambient
water quality criteria (CWA §304(a)); biosolids bien-
nial reviews, pollutant assessments, and standards/
regulatory limits (Clean Water Act §405(d)); drinking
water health effects assessments (Safe Drinking Water
Act §1412(b)(l)(A)); and drinking water health advi-
sories (Safe Drinking Water Act 51412(b)(1)(F)). EPA
OST/HECD recently developed a proposed National
Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), updated health
effects assessments for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
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).
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and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), developed
a draft framework to assess health risks associated
with PFAS mixtures, prepared a draft risk assessment
framework for biosolids for Science Advisory Board
(SAB) review, and provided support for state-specific
nutrient criteria development projects for lakes and
reservoirs, rivers and streams, and estuaries and
coastal marine waters. EPA OST/HECD's upcom-
ing priorities for FY 2023 are to finalize aquatic life
criteria for PFOA and PFOS; develop human health
criteria for PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS; prepare bio-
solids risk assessments for PFOA and PFOS; address
SAB comments on the draft risk assessment frame-
work for biosolids; continue to provide support for
state-specific nutrient criteria development projects;
and form an EPA National Harmful Algal Bloom
Program.
Investigation of Chloramines, Disinfection Byproducts, and
Nitrification in Chloraminated Drinking Water Distribution
Systems (presented by Dr. David Wahman, CESER/EPA). Dr.
Wahman described the 2016 EPA Regional Applied
Research Effort project that focused on understanding
the impacts and meaning of maintaining detectable
disinfection residuals in chloraminated drink-
ing water distribution systems (CDWDSs). Project
objectives included performing full-scale quarterly
sampling at four CDWDSs, evaluating a simple
method to estimate inorganic versus organic chlora-
mines, and performing laboratory hold studies using
CDWDS water samples. Results from the full-scale
CDWDS sampling indicated that minimum residual
and disinfection byproduct (DBP) compliance was
generally maintained and there were no clear sea-
sonal patterns for residual loss or DBPs. Also, as water
age increased from entry point (EP) to maximum
residence time (MRT), monochloramine decreased
while trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids initially
increased and then stabilized or slightly decreased.
The simple method to estimate inorganic versus
organic chloramines was validated based on pH
adjustment. In comparison to estimates from EPA's
web-based application (https://usepaord.shinyapps.
io/Unified-Combo/), residual loss in the EP hold
study samples (HSS) were similar and residual loss
in the MRT-HSS were faster. Nitrification occurred
in MRT-HSS and accelerated chloramine loss. Also,
the percentage of organic chloramines increased with
decreasing chlorine residual in EP-HSS and MRT-
HSS. For more information, refer to the published
article for this study: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)
EE.1943-7870.0002062.
PFAS in Ground Water from Wastewater Treatment Sludge
(presented by Ray Holberger, South Carolina Department
of Health and Environmental Control). Mr. Holberger
presented findings from a case study from the Galey
& Lord Superfund Site, which was a facility that spe-
cialized in textile dying, as well as stain removal and
waterproofing treatments. He mentioned that the
facility had extensive water treatment facilities and
it had a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit to directly discharge into the Pee Dee
River in South Carolina. Mr. Holberger mentioned
that the facility closed in 2019 and it was proposed for
the National Priorities List in 2021. He noted that this
site is a priority for clean up because PFAS continues
to run off from the wastewater treatment outfalls
during rain events. Mr. Holberger mentioned that the
facility also had been permitted to land apply sludge
which caused a secondary but substantial concern
for environmental exposure. The South Carolina
Department of Health and Environmental Control
(SC DHEC) identified the fields in Darlington County
to which sludge from this facility had been applied
and confirmed that the soils in these areas contained
PFAS. SC DHEC informed the local residents about
this situation and offered to collect and test their well
water. He noted that many of the well water results
were higher than the Regional Screening Levels
(RSLs). EPA immediately provided bottled water to
residents with wells that had PFAS levels above the
RSLs and had installed granular activated carbon
units for these residents. SC DHEC is working with
Darlington County to use EPA State Revolving Funds
to extend the water utility service lines to as many
affected houses as possible.
A Machine Learning Model to Estimate Toxicokinetic Half-
Lives of PFAS in Multiple Species (presented by Dr. John
Wambaugh, 0RD/EPA). Dr. Wambaugh mentioned that
most machine learning (ML) technologies require
a training set in which examples are annotated
with descriptors. He mentioned that there were
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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approximately one dozen PFAS half-life {PAt) measure-
ments available in the training set, but that t*A varied
greatly across species and in some cases sex. A set of
119 chemical and physiological (species) descriptors
were assembled as potential predictors of t*A in the
ML model. Chemical structure descriptors included
protein binding, physico-chemical, transport/re-up-
take analogs, and similarity of "defluorinated" PFAS
to endogenous ligands as surrogates for transporter
affinity. Physiological descriptors included transport/
re-uptake analogs and physiological descriptors,
including kidney structural features as surrogates for
renal transporter expression. Categorical descriptors
included sex and route of dose administration. Dr.
Wambaugh mentioned that a four-bin model was
selected in which chemicals were grouped into half-
life bins (0-12 hours, > 12 hours to 1 week, > 1 week
to 60 days, and > 60 days), which has an accuracy of
86.4% across chemicals, species, and sex. He noted
that toxicokinetic predictions can now be made for
approximately 900-4,000 PFAS with no other data,
and that the majority (56%) of these PFAS are pre-
dicted to be in the longest PA category in humans. Dr.
Wambaugh also described the model's limitations,
including that the training set included most of the
data available and that the chemicals in need of t*A
predictions were much more diverse than the training
set. He noted that model building scripts and pre-
dictions are available at: https://github.com/USEPA/
CompTox-PFASHalfLife.
Will Climate Warming Enhance Mercury Bioaccumulation in
Lake Fishes by Inducing Deep-Water Anoxia? (presented by
Dr. Stephen Jane, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability).
Dr. Jane mentioned that when mercury enters aquatic
systems, it is converted by microorganisms to the
organic form (methylmercury) in anoxic environ-
ments. He further noted that the warming surface
temperatures of lakes have indirect effects on deep
water oxygen concentrations that are increasing the
amount of anoxic water. Dr. Jane mentioned that he
evaluated whether warming would enhance mercury
bioaccumulation in lake fishes in a study of 16 lakes
in the Adirondacks with little or no development in
the surrounding areas. In this study, dissolved oxygen
and temperature were measured every 10 minutes at
various depths in each lake from mid-June through
mid-October 2021 using high frequency loggers. He
noted that there was a good range of conditions in
these lakes, with some lakes being more than half
anoxic and others having no anoxia. Brook trout
were also collected from each lake during this time
period and analyzed for mercury. Dr. Jane noted that
preliminary results from this study suggest that the
presence of anoxia can contribute to bioaccumulation
of mercury in fish, but other conditions need to be
co-occurring. For example, the presence of predom-
inantly thermally unsuitable habitats for fish near a
lake's surface could drive fishes to seek thermal refuge
in deeper, anoxic portions of a lake containing higher
concentrations of methylmercury. He is currently
processing data from a second field season to further
explore these potential mechanisms.
The Upper Great Lakes Fish Consumption Collaborative
(presented by Meghan Williams, Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources, Angela Preimesberger, Minnesota
Department of Health, and Caren Ackley, Great Lakes Indian
Fish & Wildlife Commission). Ms. Williams and Ms.
Preimesberger emphasized that fish consumption
rates are a vital part of calculating water quality
standards (WQS) and assessing public health mea-
sures. They noted that the default rates currently
used for WQS in the upper Midwest reflect average
consumption and they do not represent subsistence
populations. Great Lakes state and tribal agency staff
members formed the Great Lakes Fish Consumption
Collaborative to gain an improved understanding of
the fish consumption patterns of high-consuming or
vulnerable populations in the upper Midwest and to
implement changes, as appropriate, to protect these
populations from exposure to fish contaminants.
The Great Lakes Fish Consumption Collaborative
members have begun to identify high-consuming
populations and to collect and summarize existing
data. Next steps include identifying data gaps, identi-
fying ways to fill the data gaps, producing a technical
report, and implementing changes as appropriate.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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Information from
EPA, States, and Tribes Developing Guidance for Specific Chemicals
Criteria Values
Report on the 2nd Five-Year Review of the
Recreational Water Quality Criteria
On May 25, 2023, EPA released the final Report on
the 2nd Five-Year Review ofEPA's Recreational Water
Quality Criteria. This report represents EPA's second
five-year review of the agency's current Recreational
Water Quality Criteria (RWQC), fulfilling the require-
ment under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to review
its RWQC every five years. Each five-year review
includes an assessment of the new science since the
previous review of the RWQC. An important goal of
the review is to determine whether revisions to the
current national recommended RWQC are necessary.
Based on the scientific advances since the last five-year
review, EPA is making three recommendations to
improve the public health protection of its RWQC:
1. EPA plans to develop new quantitative polymerase
chain reaction (qPCR)-based RWQC that better
protect the health of young children, the age group
most sensitive to the risks of swimming in contam-
inated waters;
2. EPA plans to expand its recommended RWQC,
which currently include two culturable fecal indi-
cator bacteria and two groups of cyanotoxins, by
developing RWQC to protect humans from expo-
sure to viruses as well; and
3. EPA plans to explore new methods to better deter-
mine whether a waterbody is contaminated with
human feces, as this type of contamination presents
the greatest risk of illness in recreational waters.
These recommendations for revisions to EPA's current
RWQC are intended to improve the public health
protection of people with primary recreational water
contact at freshwater and marine beaches and in
waters from exposure to water-borne pathogens.
While EPA works to develop updated national rec-
ommended RWQC, the agency encourages states
and Tribes, especially those with beach advisory pro-
grams, to begin using or expanding their use of qPCR
methods. The benefits of using qPCR are improved
prediction of health risk and increased speed of
results, allowing states and Tribes to notify the public
about the water quality and related health risk at local
beaches more quickly.
For more information on the Report on the 2nd
Five-year Review of the Recreational Water Quality
Criteria, visit EPA's website at: https://www.epa.gov/
wqc/five-year-reviews-epas-rwqc
Proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water
Regulation
On March 14, 2023, EPA announced the proposed
National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
(NPDWR) to establish legally enforceable levels, called
Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for perfluo-
rooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
(PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoro-
propylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, commonly
known as GenX Chemicals), perfluorohexane sul-
fonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic
acid (PFBS). EPA is also proposing health-based,
non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals
(MCLGs) for these six PFAS.
The proposed rule would also require public water
systems to:
• Monitor for these PFAS
• Notify the public of the levels of these PFAS
• Reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water
if they exceed the proposed standards.
The proposed PFAS NPDWR does not require any
actions until it is finalized. EPA anticipates finalizing
the regulation by the end of 2023. EPA expects that if
fully implemented, the rule will prevent thousands of
deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-
attributable illnesses.
For additional information, refer to EPA's webpage on
Proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water
Regulation.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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Promulgation of Tribal Baseline Water Quality
Standards Under the Clean Water Act
On April 27, 2023, the EPA Administrator signed a
proposed rule to promulgate federal baseline water
quality standards (WQS) for waters on over 250
Indian reservations that do not have WQS in effect
under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This proposed
rulemaking would extend the same framework of
water quality protection to these tribal waters that
currently exists for most other waters of the United
States. The baseline standards would safeguard water
quality until tribes adopt their own WQS for these
waters under the CWA.
EPA conducted tribal engagement and consulta-
tion on the concepts reflected in this proposed rule
between June and September 2021, prior to drafting
the proposed rule. EPA is currently inviting contin-
ued consultation and coordination to provide tribes
an opportunity to share input and comments with
EPA on the proposed rule. The tribal consultation and
coordination period will end on August 1,2023. All
verbal and written tribal consultation comments must
be received by the end of the 90-day public comment
period on August 3, 2023. For more information on the
tribal consultation and coordination process, includ-
ing information on upcoming tribal listening sessions,
refer to the following webpage: https://www.epa.gov/
wqs-tech/tribal-consultation-and-coordination-epas-
proposed-federal-baseline-water-quality.
The 90-day public comment period closes on
August 3, 2023. EPA will accept public com-
ments at regulations.gov (Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0405).
EPA is holding two public hearings so that interested
parties may provide oral comments on EPA's proposed
rule. All attendees for the public hearings listed must
register in advance.
• REGISTER: Tuesday, June 27, 2023,
from 2:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Time
• REGISTER: Wednesday, July 12, 2023,
from 2:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Time
EPA will consider all oral comments provided during
the hearings along with written comments submitted
via the docket for this rulemaking (available at Docket
ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0405).
Hawaii Soil and Groundwater Environmental
Action Levels (EALs) for PFASs Updated in April
2023
The Hawaii Department of Health made the following
updates to its Soil and Groundwater EALs in April
2023:
• Toxicity factors and EALs for ammonium
4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoate (ADONA)
have been added (EALs for 20 compounds now
presented);
• The method used to calculate tapwater action
levels has been revised to reflect the proposed
approach for calculation of EPA MCLs and
MCLGs, including use of a target noncancer
Hazard Quotient of 1 and PFAS-specific water
ingestion rates;
• A section added to discuss calculation of cumu-
lative, noncancer hazard for drinking water
resources impacted by multiple PFASs;
• A discussion of volatile PFASs added, although
toxicity factors for the subject compounds (pri-
marily fluorotelomer alcohols) are not currently
available.
Technical Information
Hawaii Department of Health
• Ongoing study of PFAS in WWTP influent, efflu-
ent and biosolids;
• Compilation of toxicity studies initiated for flu-
orotelomer alcohols (used to coat food wrappers
and containers) and fluorotelomer thioether
amido sulfonates (used in modern AFFF);
• Review of potential use of total oxidized precur-
sor (TOPs) data to estimate weighted toxicity of a
mixture of unknown PFASs or PFASs that other-
wise lack published toxicity factors.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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Implementation Guidance for the Idaho Arsenic
Criteria for Human Health
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) is in the process of reviewing the second draft
of the Implementation Guidance for Idaho's Human
Health Water Quality Criteria for Arsenic. When
finalized, this document will provide guidance to
Idaho DEQ's staff, the regulated community, and the
general public for implementing arsenic statewide
human health water quality criteria in Idaho for
surface waters. The criteria reflect the latest Idaho-
specific arsenic surface and fish tissue monitoring
data. For additional information, please contact Dr.
Norka Paden (Norka.Paden@deq.idaho.gov).
Risk Assessment
Drinking Water
EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 5) "
UCMR 5 (86 FR 73131) specifies monitoring by cer-
tain public water systems (PWSs) for 29 per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium. The
five-year UCMR 5 cycle spans from 2022 through
2026, with preparations in 2022, sample collection
between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025,
and completion of data reporting in 2026. Starting
mid-2023, UCMR 5 monitoring results will be pub-
lished quarterly to the public through the National
Contaminant Occurrence Database (NCOD). EPA
hosted two webinars in February 2023 to review
reporting requirements for PWSs and data review
functionality in EPA's web-based Safe Drinking
Water Accession and Review System (SDWARS) for
large PWS (i.e., serving more than 10,000 people),
small PWS (i.e., serving 10,000 or fewer people), and
State users. The presentation also included available
health-based reference value information for the
UCMR 5 contaminants (i.e., reference concentrations
and reference doses [RfDs]), provided the plan for
sharing specific preliminary PFAS results from small
PWSs with States, and highlighted risk communica-
tion resources from EPA and other stakeholders. The
presentation is posted to the Meetings and Materials
webpage. For additional context around monitor-
ing results in relation to EPA established minimum
reporting levels (MRLs), the Health-Based Reference
Values for UCMR 5 document is available on EPA's
UCMR website.
Minnesota Department of Health's Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Project
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) tested
for unregulated contaminants and chemicals of
emerging concern (CECs) in drinking water sources
across the state. The data gathered provide insight
on how the presence and levels of some of the CECs
detected in drinking water were affected by treat-
ment, nearby land uses, and local geology. The project
tested for a wide spectrum of CECs, but only a frac-
tion of them were detected in drinking water with
very few detections that were above guidance values.
More information and the final report can be found
here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/
environment/water/unregcontam.html
EPA's Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL6)
EPA is beginning the development of the Sixth
Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6). The CCL is a
list of contaminants that are currently not subject to
any proposed or promulgated national primary drink-
ing 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).
On February 17, 2023, EPA requested nominations
of chemicals, microbes, or other substances for con-
sideration on the Draft CCL 6. The public was able to
nominate contaminants by following the instructions
contained in the Federal Register notice for CCL 6
nominations. The deadline for submitting nomina-
tions was April 18, 2023 and is now closed. EPA will
be evaluating the nominations and other contaminant
data and information to consider inclusion on the
Draft CCL 6 for public review and comment.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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For more information, please refer to EPA's Federal
Register Notice: Drinking Water Contaminant
Candidate List 6 - Nominations.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Screening Collaboration
The Minnesota Department of Health's (MDH)
Health Risk Assessment scientists, working in collab-
oration with scientists from EPA's Office of Research
and Development, recently published findings from a
project that looked at using an automated workflow to
review chemical exposure data. The Contaminants of
Emerging Concern program in Minnesota currently
uses a standardized process where exposure data is
manually reviewed by MDH scientists, one chemical
at a time, to identify potential contaminants in water.
MDH and EPA scientists worked together to develop
a workflow that automates this process, incorporat-
ing the standardized process MDH currently uses, to
review thousands of chemicals at once using expo-
sure information from multiple data sources. The
project found that exposure scores generated by the
automated process were similar to the manually pro-
duced exposure scores. With further development, the
automated process will help MDH screen a broader
range of chemicals and prioritize those with high con-
cern for exposure.
The results of the project are published here:
Screening for drinking water contaminants of
concern using an automated exposure-focused
workflow | Journal of Exposure Science &
Environmental Epidemiology (nature.com)
Clean Water
EPA Science Advisory Board Biosolids Panel's
Review of the Draft Biosolids Draft Standardized
Framework for Sewage Sludge Chemical Risk
Assessment
Refer to the following webpage for information on the
EPA's Science Advisory Board Biosolids Panel's review
of the draft Standardized Framework for Sewage
Sludge Chemical Risk Assessment:
https://sab.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=100:18:743531932320
4:::RP,18:P18_ID:2610
Additional information on the risk assessment of pol-
lutants in biosolids is available at: https://www.epa.
gov/biosolids/risk-assessment-pollutants-biosolids
Treatability Issues for Contaminants
Identifying the Potential for Wetland Vegetation
Management as a Strategy to Decrease
Methymercury Production
Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant of concern primarily due
to the microbial production of the more toxic bioac-
cumulative organic form—methylmercury (MeHg).
MeHg concentrations in biota are often the primary
risk driver at Superfund Sites where Hg is a contami-
nant of concern.
The Black Butte Mine Superfund Site is an aban-
doned Hg mine located in Lane County Oregon. Fish
in Cottage Grove Reservoir (Operable Unit 3 of the
Site) contain fish well above criteria levels for MeHg.
Wetlands located downstream of the mine have been
identified as "hot spots" of MeHg production and are
a source of MeHg to the Reservoir. The wetlands are
dominated by highly invasive reed canarygrass (see
Figure 1), which generate large amounts of organic
material that can enhance the microbial activity and
MeHg concentrations.
In 2021, EPA Region 10 and Office of Research and
Development (ORD) were awarded a Superfund
Extramural Grant to conduct research on the impacts
of reed canarygrass on MeHg production at Black
Butte Mine. The objective of this study was to deter-
mine if removing reed canarygrass could be an
effective strategy for decreasing MeHg production—
and ultimately MeHg concentrations in fish.
There are two main components of the study: 1)
conducting controlled experiments in mesocosms
containing different wetland vegetation communi-
ties (Figure 2); and 2) conducting measurements
from wetlands that have undergone reed canarygrass
removal and native vegetation restoration (Figure 3).
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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Figure 1. Example of reed canarygrass dominated wetland areas surrounding the
Cottage Grove Reservoir downstream of the Black Butte Mine Superfund Site.
Figure 2. Collecting porewater samples for Hg and MeHg analysis at the ORD
PESD greenhouse.
Reed Canarygrass
Native Vegetation Restoration
Figure 3. Collecting sediment and porewater samples for Hg and MeHg from restored wetlands and wetlands
dominated by invasive reed canarygrass.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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12.0 -r
10.0 --
Total-Mercury
Methylmercury
Reed Canarygrass Native Species
Wetland Vegetation
For the first component of the study, 18 mesocosms
were created at the ORD Pacific Ecological Systems
Division (PESD) greenhouse in Corvallis, OR. The
mesocosms included six different treatments (all run
in triplicate): one treatment was devoid of vegetation
to act as an experimental control, one contained reed
canarygrass, and four had different types of native wet-
land vegetation. This project is currently ongoing, with
the final sampling occurring in the summer of 2023.
Results from the field sampling component of the
study show that the native vegetation restored wet-
lands had significantly less total-Hg (THg) and
MeHg in the porewater compared to a proximate
reed canarygrass wetlands (Figure 4). Ancillary data
indicate that the restored wetlands had much lower
organic carbon levels and a higher oxidation-reduc-
tion potential, both of which are less conducive to the
microbial communities involved in generating MeHg.
A full summary of the project results should be avail-
able in fall of 2023.
For additional information, please contact Dr. Chris
Eckley (Eckley.Chris@epa.gov), Laboratory Services
and Applied Science Division, EPA Region 10, Seattle,
Washington.
Figure 4. Mean total-mercury (gray bars) and
methylmercury (red bars) concentration (± standard
error) measured in wetlands dominated by reed
canarygrass and wetlands that have been restored to
native species.
Publications
EPA's Biosolids Biennial Report No. 9 (Reporting
Period 2020-2021)
Section 405(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires
EPA to review sewage sludge regulations every two
years to identify any additional pollutants that might
occur in biosolids and to set regulations for those
pollutants if sufficient scientific evidence shows they
could harm, or present a risk to, human health or the
environment. Biennial reviews help EPA in fulfilling
the CWA Section requirement to identify additional
toxic pollutants that may occur in sewage sludge. In
December 2022, EPA published Biosolids Biennial
Review Report No. 9 for the reporting period of 2020-
2021 in accordance with CWA Section 405(d)(2)(C)
requirements. During the 2020-2021 biennial review
process, EPA searched publicly available peer-reviewed
academic publications for newly identified pollutants
during the literature search timeframe (2020-2021)
and collected data on pollutants that were identified
in three previous EPA national sewage sludge surveys
and in eight previous biennial reviews. Information
was collected on the occurrence, fate, and transport of
these pollutants in the environment and their effects
on human health and ecological receptors. The data
gleaned from the biennial review process may be
used to assess risk from chemicals found in biosolids.
EPA's Biosolids Biennial Report No. 9 is available here:
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-
12/2020-2021-biennial-report.pdf.
IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorohexanoic
Acid (PFHxA) and Related Salts
EPA has finalized the IRIS Toxicological Review of
Perfluorohexanoic Acid (PFHxA) and Related Salts.
This assessment addresses the potential cancer and
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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noncancer human health effects from exposure to per-
fluorohexanoic acid and related salts. EPA's program
and regional offices may use this assessment to inform
decisions to protect human health.
Agnoli, L., E. Urquhart, N. Georgantzis, B. Schaeffer,
R. Simmons, B. Hoque, M.B. Neely, C. Neil, J.
Oliver, and A. Tyler. 2023. Perspectives on user
engagement of satellite Earth observation for water
quality management. Technological Forecasting and
Social Change 189:122357. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.
techfore.2023.122357.
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Upcoming Events and Conferences
Upcoming FSTRAC Webinar
The next FSTRAC Webinar is scheduled for fall 2023.
Additional details, including the date of the next
FSTRAC Webinar, will be provided to FSTRAC mem-
bers in the coming weeks.
20th Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop:
Small System Challenges and Solutions
EPA ORD and OW, in partnership with the
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
(ASDWA), will be celebrating the 20-year anniversary
of the Drinking Water Workshop on September 11-14,
2023. Primarily designed for tribal, state, and territory
personnel responsible for drinking water regulations
compliance and treatment technologies permitting,
the workshop will provide current information,
resources, and training needed to help in building
systems capacity and sustainably and with providing
equitable access to drinking water. Additional infor-
mation is provided on EPA's website: https://www.epa.
gov/water-research/20th-annual-epa-drinking-water-
workshop-small-system-challenges-and-solutions.
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,
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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Kentucky. Additional information is provided on
the SETAC website: https://www.setac.org/events/
EventDetails.aspx?id=1514446.
SOT Annual Meeting - Society of
Toxicology
SOT will be holding its 63rd annual meeting on
March 10-14, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additional
information is provided on the SOT website: https://
www.toxicology.org/events/am/AM2024/session-
proposals.asp#
SRA Annual Meeting - Society for Risk
Analysis
SRA will be holding its 2023 annual meeting in
Washington, D.C. from December 10-14, 2023.
Additional information is provided on the SRA
website: https://www.sra.org/events-webinars/
annual-meeting/.
ECOS - Environmental Council of the States
The ECOS will be holding its 2023 ECOS Fall
Meeting in Boulder, Colorado on August 28-30,
2023. Additional information is provided
on the ECOS website: https://www.ecos.org/
event/2023-ecos-fall-meeting/.
The ECOS will be holding its 2024 ECOS Spring
Meeting in Austin, Texas on March 25-27,
2024. Additional information is provided
on the ECOS website: https://www.ecos.org/
event/2024-ecos-spring-meeting/.
ITRC Webinar - Interstate Technology
Regulatory Council
ITRC is holding the following trainings in late 2023:
• October 5: Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms
(HCBs): Strategies for Preventing and Managing
• October 12: Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms
(HCBs): Benthics
• November 7: Microplastics
• November 9: 1,4-Dioxane: Science,
Characterization & Analysis, and Remediation
Additional information is provided on the ITRC web-
site: https://itrcweb.org/events/calendar
EPA ORD Upcoming Events
EPA Research Webinar Series
EPA ORD hosts several webinar series dedicated
to providing the latest information and training
on cutting-edge scientific research activities and
results in order to provide assistance and solutions to
environmental and public health issues. The webinars
are free of charge and open to the public. Additional
information, schedules, and registration can be found
on the individual webinar series webpages here.
FSTRAC Newsletter ~ Spring 2023
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