Impact/Purpose:

This work group coordinates technical approaches to and policy on ecological risk assessment at hazardous waste sites. EPA uses the work group to expedite and strengthen remediation of ecological risk at Superfund and RCRA sites.

Description:

This work group is an ad hoc body of regulatory and trustee biologists from State and Federal agencies in Region 9 who work on hazardous waste sites. It is chaired by the Superfund BTAG coordinator. The BTAG meets bimonthly to exchange and discuss technical information on ecological risk assessment. These meetings promote a unified and therefore stronger approach by the participating agencies in technical negotiations with the parties responsible for hazardous waste sites. The BTAG is a forum for development and informal peer review of risk assessment approaches and meta-analysis of ecotoxicology studies to determine appropriate toxicity benchmarks for use at R9 sites. Although the BTAG is primarily an in-person forum for exchange for technical information, it has occasionally produced white papers on specific technical topics. Most written BTAG products are distributed through a web site maintained by the State of California's Dept. of Toxic Substance Control, Human and Ecological Risk Division at . The most recent written BTAG products are: 1. Depth of burrows for burrowing mammals. 2. Calculation of intake for vertebrate receptors in a Phase I Predictive Assessment. 3. Use of the Navy/Biological Technical Assistance Group (BTAG) Toxicity Reference Values (TRVs) in ecological risk assessment. 4. Use of PCB Congener and Homologue Analysis in Ecological Risk Assessments. This is an ongoing project with no projected completion date.

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