T10 - Risk and Decision Making for Homeland Security, Part 1Chino 1 1:30 - 3:00 pm
|
| Chair(s): Margart MacDonell, Igor Linkov
|
T10.1 EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program. T. Oppelt; Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Homeland Security Research Center oppelt.timothy@epa.gov
Abstract: EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center is helping to protect human health and the environment from adverse impacts resulting from intentional acts of terror. With an emphasis on safe buildings, water security, and rapid risk assessment, Homeland Security Center scientists and engineers are working to develop tools and information that will help detect the intentional introduction of chemical or biological contaminants in buildings or water systems, the containment of these contaminants, the decontamination of buildings and/or water systems, and the disposal of material resulting from cleanups. With a substantial background in environmental protection and risk management, Homeland Security researchers are well-positioned to develop the tools and technologies needed to respond to existing and potential terrorist threats. The focus of these efforts is aimed at providing advice, guidance and scientific expertise on homeland security issues to emergency response personnel, decision-makers, and government officials that will result in improved protection for all citizens. This presentation will present a brief overview of the key research needs, strategies, and plans for the research center.
|
T10.2 Rapid Risk Assessment for the Ricin Incident: Lessons Learned and Research Needs. C. Sonich-Mullin, A. Avel; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Homeland Security Research Center sonich-mullin.cynthia@epa.gov
Abstract: On February 2, 2004, ricin was discovered in a mail room of a Senate Office building in Washington, DC. The contamination was contained by closing the buildings and sealing the contaminated room. Anticipating the questions, Homeland Security Research Center scientists conducted assessments on the best ways to detect the presence of ricin, evaluate its exposure, and estimate the likely risks. These assessments, in turn, were used to evaluate and assess the critical issue "How clean is clean?". This presentation will describe the approach, underlying assumptions, and data used to develop sampling protocols, identify hazards, evaluate the dose-response, estimate possible exposures, assess risks to human health, and develop risk-based cleanup levels. Further, the presentation will illustrate the many lessons learned from this exercise.
|
T10.3 How Clean is Safe: Addressing Residual Risk Issues at Anthrax Remediations. DA Canter; US Environmental Protection Agency canter.dorothy@epa.gov
Abstract: Since the 2001 attacks in which Bacillus anthracis (B.a.) spores were mailed to various media offices and two U.S. Senators, considerable interest has focused on developing estimates of the risk of contracting inhalational anthrax from exposure to such spores. Credible risk estimates would have significant utility in establishing future cleanup goals for contaminated sites. To perform a meaningful risk assessment, one needs sufficient data to identify the hazards, conduct dose-response assessment and assess exposure. This presentation reviews the existing data on mortality of B.a. spores from studies in laboratory animals and in humans and other relevant data. In particular, it focuses on the 11 cases of inhalational anthrax resulting from the 2001 attacks and their impact on hazard identification activities. It also addresses factors which may contribute to increased risk among exposed populations and the sources of uncertainty in dose response analysis. The presentation investigates the state of the science for assessing exposure levels to B.a. spores and concludes that significant challenges exist to performing robust assessments of risk. This conclusion supports the existing policy position of no growth of B.a. spores from all post-remediation environmental samples, for the cleanup of a site to be judged effective and for the site to be considered safe for re-occupancy. This has been the ultimate criterion for cleanups performed in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks. The paper also considers issues relating to acceptable risk levels for exposure to B.a. spores.
|
T10.4 A Study to Evaluate Possible Ongoing Impacts of the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers to the Indoor Environment. M. Maddaloni, M. Lorber; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Response and Recovery Operations Region 2; Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment maddaloni.mark@epa.gov
Abstract: In March 2004, EPA convened an expert technical to address issues of concern relating to the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) Towers. Panel members include government, academic, and private sector individuals who have been tasked to assist the EPA in studying two main issues: evaluating health effects attributed to exposure to WTC contaminants through the use of health registries and related mechanisms, and implementation of a sampling plan to determine the extent of WTC-related contamination in the indoor environment and to assess the need for further remediation. All panel meetings are open to the public and their input is welcomed during public comment periods at the meetings. This paper will focus on the latter study of the indoor environment. Several broad-ranging issues are being debated by the panel and the public during the design phase of this study. These issues generally fall into one of two categories: defining the area of impact and establishing remedial action (clean-up) criteria. With regard to defining the area of impact, topics debated include: the statistical/non-statistical design to properly determine the extent and magnitude of remaining impacts; enlisting the participation of owners and occupants of urban buildings to allow their space to be sampled; and, the list of contaminants and media (e.g., indoor air, settled dust) to be sampled. This last issue leads to a group of related concerns for triggering remedial activities: development of health-based benchmarks for the representative sampling media (e.g., indoor air and settled dust); characterization of background levels of contaminants in these media; and, the relationship between background and risk-based benchmarks in remedial decision-making. Also critical to the interpretation of the measurements made in this study is the concept that sampled dust can be attributed to the collapse of the World Trade Center. With the panel's input, EPA is concurrently engaged in developing a "WTC signature." Validation of this signature will provide additional information for interpreting sampling data and informing clean-up decisions. This talk will describe the study design, the procedure to interpret and act on results of the survey, and the public process used to debate the challenging issues that have arisen.
|
T10.5 Development of a Tool for Rapid Risk Assessment of Terrorist Attacks. K. Garrahan; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Homeland Security Research Center garrahan.kevin@epa.gov
Abstract: In order to more rapidly, accurately, and consistently assess the health risks from various types of terrorist attacks, EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center has recently embarked on a research project to develop a web-based expert tool. This tool, called the Rapid Risk Assessment Tool (RRAT), is intended to provide public health officials with instant access to summaries of critical information contained in a database organized around both the risk assessment and emergency response paradigms. This presentation will describe the conceptual design of the tool.
|
