Office of Research and Development Publications

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The exposure of readily soluble components of overburden materials from surface coal mining to air and water results in mineral oxidation and carbonate mineral dissolution, thus increasing coal mine water conductivity. A conductivity benchmark of 300 µS/cm for mine water dischar...

Little is known about the release of metal engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) from consumer goods, including lumber treated with micronized copper. Micronized copper is a recent form of antifouling wood preservative containing nanosized copper particles for use in pressure&#8208;tre...

One application of nanocopper is as a wood&#8208;preserving pesticide in pressure&#8208;treated lumber. Recent research has shown that pressure&#8208;treated lumber amended with micronized copper azole (MCA), which contains nanosized copper, releases copper under estuarine and ma...

Non-native species pose one of the greatest threats to native biodiversity, and can have severe negative impacts in freshwater ecosystems. Identifying regions of spatial overlap between high freshwater biodiversity and high invasion pressure may thus better inform the prioritizat...

The impact of air pollution on human health and the associated external costs in Europe and the United States (US) for the year 2010 are modeled by a multi-model ensemble of regional models in the frame of the third phase of the Air Quality Modelling Evaluation International Init...

Recreational ecosystem services (RES), understood as the numerous benefits people obtain from landscapes and the natural environment, are a topical area of policy, research and society. This Editorial introduces the current state of RES research, provides an overview of the 21 co...

Purpose of Review:&nbsp;&nbsp;Urea has been utilized as a reductant in diesel fuels to lower emission of nitrogen oxides, igniting interest in probable human health hazards associated with exposure to exogenous urea. Here, we summarize and update key findings on potential health ...

Objective: Exposure to mobile source emissions is nearly ubiquitous in developed nations, and is associated with multiple adverse health outcomes. There is an ongoing need to understand the specificity of traffic exposure associations with vascular outcomes, particularly in indi...

As of 2014, approximately 7.4% of U.S. adults had current asthma. The etiology of asthma is complex, involving genetics, behavior, and environmental factors. To explore the association between cumulative environmental quality and asthma prevalence in U.S. adults, we linked the U....

The United States (U.S.) suffers from high infant mortality (IM) rates and there are significant racial/ethnic differences in these rates. Prior studies on the environment and infant mortality are generally limited to singular exposures. We utilize the Environmental Quality Index...

Indoor-mold exposure has been associated with an increased risk of asthma and respiratory illness. This study investigated respiratory illness, asthma and indoor mold contamination in two low-income, Hispanic communities, Mecca and Coachella City, in the Eastern Coachella Valley...

Background Swimming in fecally-contaminated waterbodies can result in gastrointestinal infections. However, the pathogenic microorganisms responsible are not well understood because sporadic cases of illness are not reported completely, exposure information is often not collecte...

Ballast water remains a potent vector of non-native aquatic species introductions, despite increased global efforts to reduce risk of ballast water mediated invasions. This is particularly true of intracoastal vessel traffic, whose characteristics may limit the feasibility and ef...

Based on long-term monitoring conducted in Chang-ning county, a pilot site of the &lsquo;Grain for Green Program&rsquo; (GFGP), an integrated emergy and economic method was applied to evaluate the dynamic ecological-economic performance of 3 kinds of bamboo systems planted on slo...

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s continuing assessment of advanced light-duty automotive technologies to support the setting of appropriate national greenhouse gas standards, and to evaluate the impact of new technologies on in-use emissions, a 2016 Honda Civ...

In the field of environmental economics, the use of benefit estimates reported in existing nonmarket valuation studies to calculate willingness to pay for new policy cases has come to be known as “benefit transfer.” To make quantitative statements about the likely effects of pub...

Biological invasions are largely considered to be a &lsquo;numbers game&rsquo;, wherein the larger the introduction effort, the greater the probability that a population will become established. However, transport conditions can be particularly harsh, thereby drastically reducing...

Bis(2‐ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), a high production volume flame retardant (FR) chemical used as a replacement for banned FRs, has been detected in media and human and wildlife tissues globally. Here we describe bioaccumulation and biological effects from dietary expo...

The U.S. National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Geological Survey developed a screening program to characterize pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), wastewater indicators, and pesticides (collectively referred to as Contaminants of Emerging...

Asish Ghosh starts the epilogue of the second edition of Dynamic Systems for Everyone with this quote: &ldquo;We are now witnessing major technological advancements in areas, like artificial intelligence, robotics and self driven cars. &hellip;The pace of change is accelerating, ...

Gene drives are a topic of growing interest since the CRISPR/Cas9 system was discovered. In 2016, the National Academies published a report about science, governance, and engagement related to gene drive research and testing. There are valuable insights in all chapters, but espec...

Chemical toxicity testing is moving steadily toward a human cell and organoid-based in vitro approach for reasons including scientific relevancy, efficiency, cost, and ethical rightfulness. Inferring human health risk from chemical exposure based on in vitro testing data is a cha...

There is mounting evidence linking land development and transportation investments with physical activity and diet as health behaviors important for chronic disease prevention. In addition, natural elements within an urban setting provide many physical and mental health benefits....

This report outlines an approach to construct a developmental toxicity ontology. Such an ontology will facilitate computer-based prediction of substances likely to induce human developmental toxicity.

Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are anticipated to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) have been documented in numerous species of corals in laboratory studies, largely test...