Remediation Data Repository (RADAR) Project Report
Citation:
Boe, T., S. Lee, S. Ryan, W. Calfee, P. Lemieux, D. Galloway, C. Hayes, AND M. Rodgers. Remediation Data Repository (RADAR) Project Report. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-21/117, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This project supports U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) and the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland and Materials Management Division’s strategic goals as described in detail in the Homeland Security Strategic Research Action Plan (U.S. EPA, 2020). This work is pertinent to Long-Term Goal 2, which states, “The Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) and other clients use HSRP products and expertise to improve the capability to respond to terrorist attacks affecting buildings and the outdoor environments.” Numerous decision support tools and technical/operational data have been developed under EPA’s HSRP. Collectively, the research data and tools support decision makers in a wide range of emergency response and recovery activities. In many cases, tools developed under HSRP (and elsewhere within the federal government) tend to rely on static data that are individually distributed with each tool and are therefore susceptible to becoming out of sync with source data updates and can be costly to maintain and update. Additionally, technical/operational data generated through various research initiatives are often shared through static reports that require an arduous amount of time to review or reference, and associated data not easily accessed to support subsequent research and modeling efforts.
Description:
The Remediation Data Repository (RADAR) is a searchable database for accessing multi-hazard research and operational data conducted by the U.S. EPA and other federal and international partners. The tool provides a central repository (i.e., database) that stores up-to-date data derived from HSRP literature reviews, studies, and tools, and provides a user interface to increase the discoverability and applied use of research data. RADAR is intended for use by a wide audience that includes scientists, engineers, and operational experts. Delivering on-demand data to the right people at the right time enhances the utility of the important research outputs that are generated.RADAR allows the U.S. EPA’s homeland security specific research or operational guidance to be shared among partners and a broad array of users by way of an online platform – an offering that currently does not exist. RADAR provides users access to data both through a user-friendly searchable interface and via an application programming interface (API) to facilitate consumption of data by other HSRP tools through web services. This capability greatly reduces the cost of updating models and tools and ensures end-users are referencing the most up-to-date information, all the while significantly reducing development and maintenance costs. This report provides an overview of RADAR, including instructions for using RADAR and associated technical documentation describing the technology architecture and security controls is also included.