Exponent Scientists Contribute to EPA Guidelines

New EPA guidelines help remediation teams select bioaccumulation models for use at contaminated sediment sites

The Environmental Protection Agency's Ecological Risk Assessment Support Center (ERASC) has published a new set of guidelines for the selection of bioaccumulation models. Authors include Exponent's Ashley Parks, Ph.D., and Susan Kane Driscoll, Ph.D., working alongside EPA co-authors, as well as reviewers from across the agency, the University of Maryland, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The new guidelines provide an overview of bioaccumulation models available for the evaluation of nonionic organic contaminants (NOCs), including a discussion of the key principles and site-specific considerations for selecting a bioaccumulation model to apply at a given contaminated site. NOCs include contaminants such as PCBs, PAHs, DDT and its metabolites, dieldrin, and other organochlorine pesticides.

These guidelines are intended for use by site managers, potentially responsible parties, and environmental scientists working on assessing risk or remedial effectiveness for contaminated sediments. They will help site managers and environmental scientists select the optimum models for bioaccumulation-related applications at contaminated sediment sites and also support potentially responsible parties in understanding the uncertainties associated with those models.

Connect with Dr. Parks

Connect with Dr. Kane Driscoll

The full document can be accessed here.