Science Inventory

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Microscopy is often the first step in microplastic analysis and is generally followed by spectroscopy to confirm material type. The value of microscopy lies in its ability to provide count, size, color, and morphological information to inform toxicity and source apportionment. To...

Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) techniques are critical to analytical chemistry, and thus the analysis of microplastics. Procedural blanks are a key component of QA/QC for quantifying and characterizing background contamination. Although procedural blanks are becomi...

Excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in lakes can lead to eutrophication, hypoxia, and algal blooms that may harm aquatic life and people.  Some U.S. states have established numeric water quality criteria for nutrients to protect surface waters.  However...

INTRODUCTION: Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal infection caused by inhalation of airborne spores of the Coccidioides genus. While Coccidioides immitis has been detected in soils across California, successful recovery of C. immitis from air samples has so far been limited ...

This study characterized Bacillus globigii (BG) as a Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) surrogate for wastewater treatment-related studies of UV inactivation, adsorption onto powdered activated carbon (PAC), and bioaerosol emission. The inactivation of BG was faster than that of BAS...

Historical deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) over the Eastern United States has impacted ecosystem structure and function. The potential for recovery of ecosystems is relatively uncertain, with deposition paired with future climate change contributing to this uncertainty....

This research summary is based on a literature review of research on social vulnerability to flooding. Social vulnerability is the result of processes of social marginalization and economic disadvantage that creates inequities. These processes and the multiple identities and life...

This Estuary Data Mapper product provides a summary of changes in the maximum extent of seagrass in estuaries of the Eastern and Gulf Coasts of the United States, compiled from multiple sources into a common format. Data were formatted to be consistent with datasets compiled in 2...

Phosphorus causes nutrient pollution in lentic water systems, which act as a reservoir of phosphorus since it is stored within the sediments of these waterbodies. The effects of phosphorus pollution include harmful algal bloom events, hypoxia of waterbodies, and impairment of dri...

Benthic rapid assessment tools are needed to close the gap between sample collection and analysis so managers can better evaluate ecological response to management actions and environmental conditions. Sediment profile imaging (SPI) captures the top centimeters of sediment in cro...

Along urban streams and rivers, various processes, including road salt application, sewage leaks, and weathering of the built environment, contribute to novel chemical cocktails made up of metals, salts, nutrients, and organic matter. Due to heterogeneous land use and a myriad of...

Should biosolids be contaminated with an intentional malicious release or natural outbreak of Bacillus anthracis spores, a water resource recovery facility (WRRF) may need to consider if their treatment processes can sufficiently inactivate this pathogen. Three methods commonly e...

Disaster debris removal is essential for community recovery and resilience. However, it is a lengthy, costly, and logistically challenging part of response and recovery operations. Managing waste in a disaster situation requires the coordination of multiple entities at ...

Wetland restoration and construction are important land management options for retaining nitrogen and phosphorus and thereby improving water quality at local scales (i.e., at nearby streams). However, limited information exists regarding the cumulative influence of wetlands outsi...

A probability-based sampling design can be used to create statistically defensible sampling plans. However, these plans may have sampling collection and/or processing demands that exceed allotted resources. Targeted sampling designs, also referred to as judgmental sampling, use p...

Toxicological outcomes in vivo result from complex interactions among molecular, cellular and tissue-level damage responses which are difficult to recapitulate in vitro or extrapolate from data-based Machine Learning or molecular-level computer simulations. Mechani...

The development of science-based restoration goals that reflect the primary motivation of stakeholders is a key factor leading to large-scale, long-term restoration successes. The ability to predict the potential ecosystem service delivery from restoration can inform the setting ...

Impervious surface cover increases peak flows and degrades stream health, contributing to a variety of hydrologic, water quality, and ecological symptoms, collectively known as the urban stream syndrome. Strategies to combat the urban stream syndrome often employ engineering appr...

The U.S. EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) is charged with protecting human health and the environment from accidental and intentional releases of toxic chemicals and other threat agents. Such chemical agents include Fourth Generation Agents (FGAs), which repr...

The presentation provides the updated information on the progress of Fukushima environmental remediation from the 2011 nuclear power plant accident.

Systems engineering can encapsulate many areas of design and production.  A prudent course is to consider the environmental effects in design, construction, operation, product manufacturing and use, and end of life.  To consider these effects requires information about ...

Background and Purpose: Drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI) is a significant concern because it can lead to acute or chronic kidney damage and may potentially result in kidney failure. Therefore, early diagnosis of DIKI is crucial to apply therapeutic strategies. Traditional biomar...

This report highlights the importance of effective data management in disaster response, specifically focusing on environmental sampling. In today's data-driven world, data management is crucial for decision-making, coordination, and systems thinking in disaster scenarios. Effici...

Waste is produced at all stages of the response and recovery (including decontamination) following a biological contamination incident. Types of materials that generate a significant proportion of the waste at every stage of the response include personal protective equipment (PPE...

The Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR) program is an interagency collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The overall purpose of this multiagency pro...