Environmental Monitoring and It’s Role in Emergency Response Situations

1. Environmental Monitoringand It’s Role inEmergency Response Situations Lara P. Phelps, Senior Advisor U.S. Environmental Protection Agency BOSICON 2012 – Rome, Italy

2. Overview • Background • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Office of the Science Advisor • Forum on Environmental Measurements • Environmental Monitoring Assessment • Emergency Response Situation • Collaborative Opportunities • Summary • Contact Us

3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) • Our Mission: • The mission of US EPA is to protect human health and the environment. • What We Do (to accomplish this mission): • Develop and Enforce Regulations • Give Grants • Study Environmental Issues • Sponsor Partnerships • Teach People About the Environment • Publish Information

4. Office of the Science Advisor (OSA) • OSA Purpose – To support the Science Advisor’s key responsibilities: • Advise EPA Administrator on science and technology (S&T) issues; • Hold a corporate view and coordinate cross-agency S&T policy issues; • Resolve conflicts on science and science policy; • Provide a vision on S&T and advance emerging issues; and • Serve as face and spokesperson for agency science overall. • OSA Initiatives – Science and Technology, Measurement, Monitoring, Modeling, Risk, Human Health, Information Management

5. Forum on Environmental Measurements (FEM) • FEM Purpose – To promote consistency and consensus on measurement methodology, monitoring, technology, and laboratory science issues with multi-program impact. • FEM Initiatives: • Validate and disseminate methods for sample collection and analysis. • Ensure monitoring studies are scientifically rigorous and statistically sound to yield representative measurements. • Employ a quality systems approach to ensure data gathered and used by the Agency is of known and documented quality.

6. Monitoring Assessment • Purpose – The Agency needed to synthesize monitoring programs to expand our scientific capabilities, information, and knowledge to meet the Agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment. • Charge – Conducted a stepwise process and produced: • an inventory of routine monitoring programs; • a list of needs and data gaps; and • a list of collaborative and/or leveraging opportunities.

7. Definition of Monitoring Monitoring is the measurement or assessment of environmental stressors and related parameters in various media, humans, plants, or animals to: • Determine status and trends of core physical, chemical, and biological indicators of ambient conditions in the nations air, land, and water resources; • Inform rule-making and to measure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements; • Inform risk and exposure assessments; • Develop public and ecosystem health advisories; or • Support research investigations including new method development or evaluation.

8. Assessment Results • Produced Databases: • an inventory of routine monitoring programs; • a list of needs and data gaps; and • a list of collaborative and/or leveraging opportunities. • Indentified Common Themes: • Measurement and Method Development • Data Management • Data Analysis or Assessment • Emergency Response

9. Common Theme – Measurement and Method Development • Lack of environmental measurement techniques and analytical methods for routine monitoring. • State of the art monitoring technology needs to be developed and utilized. • Applicable FEM Efforts: • Flexible Approaches to Environmental Measurement • Method Validation and Peer Review Policies with Accompanying Guidelines • Environmental Technology Advancement

10. Common Theme – Data Management • Multiple databases, processes, procedures, and methods for the same information. • Consistent and stable business driven framework needs to be prescribed with all data generated registered into an Agency catalogue. • Applicable FEM Efforts: • Discussions with External Organizations • Data Management Action Team

11. Common Theme – Data Analysis or Assessment • Confidence in the reliability of data and ability to use appropriately are important. • Consistent application of the data life-cycle and enforce data quality policies for greater confidence. • Applicable FEM Efforts: • Glossary for Consistent Use of Method Detection Limit and Calibration Terms • General Laboratory Competency Policies for Internal EPA Laboratories and External Organizations Engaging in Environmental Data Operations for the Agency

12. Common Theme – Emergency Response • Preparedness for responding to emergency situations. • More flexible array of methods and monitoring technology to potentially identify unknown compounds at low concentrations in a time-sensitive manner. • Applicable Agency Efforts: • Laboratory Networks • Standardized Methods • Multi-Agency Guidelines • Method Validation and Peer Review Policy

13. Unexpected Challenges • EPA has programs to help … • prevent oil spills, chemical accidents, and other emergencies; • implement planning and preparedness requirements; and • respond to environmental emergencies. • Science and technology solutions for measurement and monitoring, however, must often play a significant role in tackling these events. • Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010

14. Collecting the Possibilities • Technology Solutions Website was launched on April 30, 2010 with significant improvements made for a re-launch on May 17, 2010. • A LOT of suggestions were submitted. • Everyone (e.g., public sector, private sector) made suggestions.

15. Technology Idea Categories • Surface Water Cleanup (e.g., booms, skimmers, vacuums) • Surface Water Monitoring and Detection • Air Monitoring and Detection • Landfall Cleanup (e.g., soil remediation, waste disposal, oil containment) • Wildlife Protection and Cleanup • Other (e.g., data collection and management, service providers, volunteers) • Wellhead/Leak Related

16. Cross-Government Effort • Interagency Alternative Technology Assessment Program included: • US Environmental Protection Agency • US Coast Guard • Minerals Management Services • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • Maritime Administration • US Army Corps of Engineers • US Fish and Wildlife Services • Solicited in Five Technology Gap Areas: • Oil Sensing Improvements to Response and Detection • Oil Wellhead Control and Submerged Oil Response • Traditional Oil Spill Response Technologies • Alternative Oil Spill Response Technologies • Oil Spill Damage Assessment and Restoration

17. Methods of Analysis • All methods of analysis developed for emergency response situations must have documentation to support their utilization. • Validation is the confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that the particular requirements for a specific intended use are fulfilled. • EPA Science Policy Council, Peer Review Handbook, 3rd ed.; EPA/100/B-06/002; December 2006. • In 40 CFR Part 68, “response” has the same meaning as OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Standard (29 CRF 1910.120). OSHA defines emergency response as “a response effort by employees from outside the immediate release area or by other designated responders … to an occurrence which results, or is likely to result, in an uncontrolled release of a hazardous substance.”

18. Commitment • Transparency in the Agency’s work for the problems being faced and proposed solutions. • Initiatives to identify the true cross-agency needs and gaps that are faced to meet the unique challenges, like emergency response situations, within our mission. • Partnerships internally and externally to protect our environment and strengthen our communities for the environmental challenges that are faced.

19. Monitoring Challenges • Methods development research needs exceed available resources. • New monitoring requirements and emergency situations continually strain existing resources. • Ability to investigate new complex environmental issues are constrained by resources. RESOURCES!!!

20. Collaborative Opportunity • Monitoring Needs to be … • Real-time (Continuous, Automated) • Low-cost • Multi-pollutant • Portable • Innovative • Wish List Slogan …. BETTER, CHEAPER, SMALLER, FASTER!!!

21. Summary • The issues we face are more complex and subtle than in the past; so, the need for the best science is greater than ever now. • There is a need for more flexible, innovative methods and monitoring technology to identify potentially unknown compounds at low concentrations in a time-sensitive manner. • Much has been accomplished, but there are always new challenges and, unfortunately, emergency response situations that arise with more work to be done. • Collaboration with partners within and outside of the Agency provides leveraging opportunities for greater success in cleaning-up our world’s environment.

22. Contact Us Lara P. Phelps Phone: 919-541-5544 E-mail: phelps.lara@epa.gov • US Environmental Protection Agency • http://www.epa.gov • Office of the Science Advisor • http://www.epa.gov/osa • Forum on Environmental Measurements: • http://www.epa.gov/fem