Following the events of September 11, 2001, EPA's mission expanded beyond safeguarding the natural environment--air, water, and land--from traditional sources of pollution. With the nation under continued threat from those who seek to harm it, EPA also has the important responsibility of helping to protect the environment from terrorist threats. Several Homeland Security Presidential Directives describe EPA's responsibilities, which are outlined in EPA's Homeland Security Strategy. One of the most important issues facing EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is the development of a biological risk assessment methodology. No consensus-based methodology exists for evaluating biological threat contaminants and establishing cleanup levels. This Compendium of Prior and Current Microbial Risk Assessment Methods is one of the first steps toward establishing such a methodology.

"EPA/600/R-07/129" "September 2007." Title from title screen (viewed on March 12, 2008).

The compendium contains an extensive compilation of literature and data derived from biological risk assessment methods employed by various industries, such as food safety, drinking water, and public health.