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AnCOR Task 2.1 Phase I Modeling Report: Fate and Transport of Spores on Outdoor Surfaces
Citation:
Picel, K., E. Yan, G. Betrie, J. Feinstein, K. Ratliff, R. Janke, T. Haxton, AND A. Mikelonis. AnCOR Task 2.1 Phase I Modeling Report: Fate and Transport of Spores on Outdoor Surfaces. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-21/093, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This report documents Phase I of Task 2.1 of the Interagency Agreement entitled Analysis of Coastal Operation Resiliency (AnCOR) between the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). The overall objective of the AnCOR project is to address preparedness and response gaps related to a wide-area contamination incident involving Bacillus anthracis (Ba) spores at U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) bases. Task 2.1 focuses on evaluating the potential impacts on USCG stormwater systems by water-driven contamination following dispersal of Ba within the surrounding watersheds and is divided into two Phases of work: Phase I - site and model selection and Phase II – model construction and spore washoff field study. A better understanding of the movement of spores in stormwater is intended to enhance responses by increasing the effectiveness of responders conducting sampling and decontamination activities, as well as mitigating impacts though the identification of flow-paths, contaminant movement rates, and potentially impacted infrastructure and environmental media. Impacts of concern to stormwater systems and infrastructure would include surface contamination of pipes and equipment with spores, which would require decontamination to prevent spores from penetrating into stormwater systems, infiltrating into groundwater and discharging into receiving waters or surface areas. Off-base migration could reach residential areas as well as impact groundwater. Capabilities, resources, and strategies to respond to and remediate such impacts currently do not exist at USCG bases and represent a preparedness gap this project is focused on narrowing. In addition, impacts to stormwater systems and the required response actions could adversely impact base operations due to the intrusive nature of such actions on base infrastructure.
Description:
This report focused on researching United States Coast Guard (USCG) stormwater systems to summarize differences in meteorological/terrain features and operations of USCG assets by location. This information was used to develop a modeling framework that identified which hydrodynamic models may be used during a response to a biological contamination incident (e.g. Bacillus anthracis spores) for key fate-and-transport-related decisions. Contained in this report are a review and evaluation of five USCG bases for suitability to build a detailed stormwater model/conduct fieldwork during Phase II that parameterizes the model, a summary of the results of a survey of USCG facility engineers, and a modeling roadmap. The development of the modeling roadmap included an evaluation of available hydrodynamic models with respect to capabilities, cost, and applicability to support operational decisions during an incident. The five USCG bases were used by the project team to characterize USCG stormwater systems in general for the purpose of the modeling framework and to represent a range of meteorological conditions and terrain, stormwater system design and complexity, and vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. The information contained in this report is intended to document the research involved in selecting the location and models for Phase II of Task 2.1. It is also intended to provide the emergency planners and facility engineers at the USCG a sense of the resulting remedial impacts across the climatic and infrastructure diversity of their systems and to lay out the current state of stormwater modeling options available during a response.