Office of Research and Development Publications

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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...

A database of embryo-fetal developmental toxicity (EFDT) studies of 379 pharmaceutical compounds in rat and rabbit was analyzed for species differences based on toxicokinetic parameters of area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) at the developmental adverse ef...

The potential for environmental chemicals to produce birth defects is largely unknown. Mouse embryonic stem cells were used to profile the bioactivity of chemicals on the EPA Contaminant Candidate List 4 (CCL4). Differentiation and cytotoxicity were evaluated for 81 non-volatile ...

An IRIS Assessment Plan (IAP) communicates to the public the plan for assessing each individual chemical and includes summary information on the IRIS Program’s scoping and initial problem formulation; objectives and specific aims for the assessment; the PECO (Populations, Exposur...

The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) has been active since 2010 with the aim of building a coordinated international effort on regional scale air quality modelling and evaluation, involving the modelling communities of North America and Europe. Over ...

The Co-Digestion Economic Analysis Tool (Co-EAT) models the emerging practice of co-digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF). The intended use of the tool is to provide an initial evaluation assessing the feasibility of implementing co-digestion of organic substra...

Many WRRFs have anaerobic digestion (AD) systems that have excess capacity, sometimes significant excess capacity. This is often a result of changes in service area population not rising to match design expectations. Having AD capacity could be an opportunity to create or enhan...

Climate change is already affecting cities and urbanized regions bringing growing attention to current and future climate effects on urban ecosystems and biodiversity. Almost all of the impacts of climate change have direct or indirect consequences for urban ecosystems, biodivers...

The balance of abiotic and biotic stressors experienced by a species likely varies across its range, resulting in spatially heterogeneous limitations on the species' demographic rates. Support for spatial variation in stressors (often latitudinal gradients) has been found in many...

Microcystins are the most common group of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins found in freshwater in the U.S., and microcystin-LR (MCLR) is one of the most common forms. Understanding its spectrum of effects and dose-response relationships depends on consistent experimental results which...

Presentation at the US EPA Small Drinking Water Workshop, Small Systems Challenges and Solutions, Cincinnati, OH.

A recent paradigm shift from purely biophysical towards social-ecological assessment of watersheds has been proposed to understand, monitor, and manipulate the myriad interactions between human well-being and the ecosystem services that watersheds provide. However, large-scale, q...

This multi-year pilot study evaluated a proposed field method for its effectiveness in the collection of a benthic macroinvertebrate sample adequate for use in the condition assessment of streams and rivers in the Neuquén Province, Argentina. A total of 13 sites, distributed acro...

The goal of this case study was to examine whether the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) scale created for United States (U.S.) homes was applicable in the assessment of mold contamination for Australian homes. Settled-dust samples were collected in southeastern Aust...

Understanding the risks of biological invasion posed by ballast water—whether in the context of compliance testing, routine monitoring, or basic research—is fundamentally an exercise in biodiversity assessment, and as such should take advantage of the best tools available for tac...

Wetlands across the globe provide extensive ecosystem services. However, many wetlands – especially those surrounded by uplands, often referred to as geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) – remain poorly protected. Protection and restoration of wetlands frequently requires info...

Aim Mapping the geographic distribution of non-native aquatic species is a critically important precursor to understanding the anthropogenic and environmental factors that drive freshwater biological invasions. Such efforts are often limited to local scales and/or to single spec...

Groundwater quality is often evaluated using microbial indicators. This study examines data from 12 international groundwater studies (conducted 1992-2013) of 718 public drinking-water systems located in a range of hydrogeological settings. Focus was on testing the value of indic...

Somatic and F+ coliphages are promising alternative fecal indicators, but current detection methods are hindered by lower levels of coliphages in surface waters compared to traditional bacterial fecal indicators. We evaluated the ability of dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration (...

In a previous study, we found that rice-straw biochar degraded and removed hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) through coupled adsorption-biodegradation. However, few studies have determined whether biochar affects HOC isomer degradation and isomer-selective biodegradation or...

Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are watercourses that cease flow at some point in time and space. Arguably Earth's most widespread type of flowing water, IRES are expanding where Anthropocenic climates grow drier and human demands for water escalate. However, IR...

The observed strong sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) to biochar presents potential implications for HOCs bioavailability and bioaccessibility in sediments, while biochar could impact sediment microbial ecology. However, the comprehensive study on the effects of...

Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) are two contaminants of concern associated with urban gardening. In Puerto Rico, data currently is limited on As and Pb levels in urban garden soils, soil metal (loid) bioaccessibility, and uptake of As and Pb in soil by edible plants grown in the regio...

Bacteriophages have been used in soil column studies for the last several decades as surrogates to study the fate and transport behavior of enteric viruses in groundwater. However, recent studies have shown that the transport behavior of bacteriophages and enteric viruses in poro...

The egg yolk precursor protein vitellogenin is widely used as a biomarker of estrogen exposure in male fish. However, standardized methodology is lacking and little is known regarding the reproducibility of results among laboratories using different equipment, reagents, protocols...