Impacts of EPA’s finalized power plant greenhouse gas standards
Emissions reductions may be met with relatively small costs.
Bistline, John↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “EPA”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Biota Modeling in EPA’s Preliminary Remediation Goal and Dose Compliance Concentration Calculators for Use in EPA Superfund Risk Assessment: Explanation of Intake Rate Derivation, Transfer Factor Compilation, and Mass Loading Factor Sources
The Preliminary Remediation Goal (PRG) and Dose Compliance Concentration (DCC) calculators are screening level risk assessment tools that set forth the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recommended approaches and currently available risk assessment guidance for response actions at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites, commonly known as Superfund. The environmental screening levels derived by the PRG and DCC calculators are used to identify isotopes contributing the highest risk and dose as well as establish preliminary remediation goals. Each calculator has residential gardening and subsistence farmer exposure scenarios that model transfer of contaminants from soil and water into various types of biota (crops and animal products). New publications of human intake rates of biota; farm animal intakes of water, soil, and fodder; and soil to plant interactions require updates be implemented into the PRG and DCC calculators. Recent improvements in the biota modeling for these calculators include newly derived biota intake rates, enhanced soil mass loading factors (MLFs), and more comprehensive soil to plant transfer factors (BV’s) and soil to tissue transfer factors (TFs) for animals. New biota have been added in both the produce and animal products categories that greatly improve the accuracy and utility of the PRG and DCC calculators and encompass greater geographic diversity on a national and international scale.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Chemical durability assessment of enhanced low-activity waste glasses through EPA method 1313
In this work, we report the progress of the Glass Leaching Assessment for Durability (GLAD) program on the implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework pH-dependent leach test (EPA Method 1313) to low-activity nuclear waste (LAW) glasses. The GLAD program seeks to develop new strategies to understand the chemical durability of nuclear waste glasses for the disposal in near-surface conditions. A series of 16 high-waste loading LAW glasses, currently under development, were selected using machine learning methods to study the corrosion behavior using EPA Method 1313. Reacted glass powders were examined using scanning electron microscopy and the eluate compositions were examined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Compositional modeling was used to fit the measured elemental releases from EPA Method 1313. The compositional models demonstrated that elements such as Si reduce elemental release while B can increase elemental release (consistent with elemental modeling of the Product Consistency Test and Vapor Hydration Test) while other elements, such as Fe, exhibit pH-dependent behavior. The amount of acid added during the EPA testing was found to significantly impact the observed result, which was only apparent after preforming the present matrix study. The overall titration curves were able to be compositionally modeled for future process optimization.
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
Curation of a list of chemicals in biosolids from EPA National Sewage Sludge Surveys & Biennial Review Reports
Section 405(d) of the Clean Water Act requires the US Environmental Protection Agency to review sewage sludge regulations every two years to identify any additional pollutants that may occur in biosolids and to set regulations for pollutants identified in biosolids if sufficient scientific evidence shows they may harm human health or the environment. To date, EPA has conducted eight biennial reviews to identify chemical and microbial pollutants and three national sewage sludge surveys to identify pollutants and obtain concentration data for chemicals found in biosolids. Prior to 2021, there was inconsistent reporting of chemicals identified and EPA did not cumulatively track chemicals in biosolids. Through the efforts presented here, EPA produced a list of 726 chemicals and structure-based classes found in biosolids based on biennial reviews and national sewage sludge surveys. Summary statistics of concentration data are also reported for the 484 chemicals found in the three national sewage sludge surveys. The creation of the Biosolids List supports EPA in assessing the potential risk of chemical pollutants found in biosolids.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Oak Ridge National Laboratory EPA Approval Letters and Historical Documentation for a Modification in Applying 40 CFR Part 61 Appendix D
Appendix D of Title 40 Part 61, “Methods for Estimating Radionuclide Emissions,” of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) provides a procedure that US Department of Energy (DOE) facility owners and operators can use to estimate radionuclide emissions to the atmosphere for dose calculations instead of measuring emissions for minor sources under 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart H, “National Emission Standards for Emissions of Radionuclides Other than Radon from Department of Energy Facilities.” The procedure assumes that any radioactive material heated above 100°C is completely vaporized and emitted to the atmosphere. In 1991, the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (DOE-ORR) requested approval to use different release fractions (RFs) for uranium because of its high melting and boiling points (1,132°C and 3,818°C, respectively). In response to the request, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IV approved the use of modified RFs for elemental uranium provided no reaction had taken place to alter its chemical form. In 2015, DOE-ORR requested approval to use different RFs for radioactive tungsten, also because of its high melting and boiling points (3,410°C and 5,660°C, respectively). EPA Region IV approved the use of modified RFs for heated radioactive tungsten metal. In accordance with the two precedents set for heating uranium and radioactive tungsten metals, in 2016, DOE-ORR requested approval to use modified RFs in similar fashion for other radioactive solid metals and compounds with melting and boiling points above 500°C that might be heated above 100°C in future research projects and experiments, and again, the EPA Region IV granted approval to use modified RFs for the list of compounds. This document contains the EPA approval letters and historical documentation used in the process to obtain approval for the use of alternative Appendix D emission factors. The approval to DOE-ORR allows modifying the existing regulatory RFs to 1 when radioactive solid metals and compounds are heated to temperatures greater than or equal to the boiling point of the solid, to 10 -3 when radioactive solid metals and compounds are heated to temperatures greater than or equal to 90% of the melting point and less than the boiling point of the solid, and to 10 -6 when radioactive solid materials are heated to temperatures above ambient air temperature but below 90% of the melting point of the solid.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
US EPA Superfund Radon Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (RVISL) Electronic Calculator - 20340
Currently, there is no U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance on correlating soil or groundwater levels of radon with indoor radon concentrations at Superfund sites. EPA is developing the Radon Vapor Intrusion Level Calculator (RVISL) Calculator which is an online tool. The RVISL calculator: (1) lists three radon isotopes (Rn-219, Rn-220 and Rn-222) known to pose a potential cancer risk through the inhalation pathway; (2) provides generally recommended risk and Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARAR) based preliminary remediation goals (PRG) for groundwater, soil gas (exterior to buildings and sub-slab) and indoor air for default target risk and ARAR based levels and exposure scenarios; and (3) allows calculation of site-specific PRGs based on user-defined target risk and ARAR based levels and exposure scenarios. EPA developed the RVISL calculator to help risk assessors, remedial project managers, and others involved with risk assessment and decision making at radioactively contaminated sites. (authors)
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NLR's FleetDNA Speed Distributions for EPA MOVES
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) models mobile sources of air toxics at small and large scales across the Unites States. Vehicle speed distributions based on the type of vehicle, type of road traveled, and hour of the day are inputs into MOVES. In conjunction with vehicle miles traveled (VMT) inputs, they are used to estimate total operation time and select the relevant driving cycles from which running operating modes and emissions are estimated. In an ongoing research effort, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) partnered with the EPA to provide default average speed data for heavy-duty vehicles based on NLR's FleetDNA database and the Bourns College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) data set from the University of California, Riverside.
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
Structural and immunological differences in Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage transmission-blocking vaccines comprised of Pfs25-EPA nanoparticles
Development of a malaria vaccine that blocks transmission of different parasite stages to humans and mosquitoes is considered critical for elimination efforts. A vaccine using Pfs25, a protein on the surface of zygotes and ookinetes, is under investigation as a transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) that would interrupt parasite passage from mosquitoes to humans. The most extensively studied Pfs25 TBVs use Pichia pastoris-produced recombinant forms of Pfs25, chemically conjugated to a recombinant carrier protein, ExoProtein A (EPA). The recombinant form of Pfs25 first used in humans was identified as Pfs25H, which contained a total of 14 heterologous amino acid residues located at the amino- and carboxyl-termini including a His6 affinity tag. A second recombinant Pfs25, identified as Pfs25M, was produced to remove the heterologous amino acid residues and conjugated to EPA (Pfs25M-EPA). Here, monomeric Pfs25M was characterized biochemically and biophysically for identity, purity, and integrity including protein structure to assess its comparability with Pfs25H. Although the biological activities of Pfs25H and Pfs25M, whether generated by monomeric forms or conjugated nanoparticles, appeared similar, fine-mapping studies with two transmission-blocking monoclonal antibodies detected structural and immunological differences. In addition, evaluation of antisera generated against conjugated Pfs25H or Pfs25M nanoparticles in nonhuman primates identified polyclonal IgG that recognized these structural differences.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
The 2021 update of the EPA’s adverse outcome pathway database
The EPA developed the Adverse Outcome Pathway Database (AOP-DB) to better characterize adverse outcomes of toxicological interest that are relevant to human health and the environment. Here we present the most recent version of the EPA Adverse Outcome Pathway Database (AOP-DB), version 2. AOP-DB v.2 introduces several substantial updates, which include automated data pulls from the AOP-Wiki 2.0, the integration of tissue-gene network data, and human AOP-gene data by population, semantic mapping and SPARQL endpoint creation, in addition to the presentation of the first publicly available AOP-DB web user interface. Potential users of the data may investigate specific molecular targets of an AOP, the relation of those gene/protein targets to other AOPs, cross-species, pathway, or disease-AOP relationships, or frequencies of AOP-related functional variants in particular populations, for example. Version updates described herein help inform new testable hypotheses about the etiology and mechanisms underlying adverse outcomes of environmental and toxicological concern.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NEWTS EPA FGD Effluent Database
Data from the US EPA FGD Database containing FGD effluent data from selected U.S. coal power plants. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
FGD Effluent↗
NEWTS EPA FGD Effluent Case Studies
Case studies of selected streams from the EPA FGD Database. Includes OLI Studio and Geochemist's Workbench example files. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Case Study↗
NEWTS EPA Ash Dataset
Data from the US EPA Ash Database containing Ash pond effluent data from selected U.S. coal power plants. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Ash Pond↗
NEWTS EPA Leachate Dataset
Data from the US EPA Leachate Database containing ash landfill leachate data from selected U.S. coal power plants. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Ash Landfill Leachate↗
NEWTS EPA Ash Dataset Case Studies
Case studies of selected streams from the EPA Ash Dataset. Includes OLI Studio and Geochemist's Workbench example files. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Aqueous Chemistry↗
NEWTS EPA Leachate Case Studies
Case studies of selected streams from the EPA Leachate Dataset. Includes OLI Studio and Geochemist's Workbench example files. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Aqueous Chemistry↗
NEWTS EPA Gasification Dataset and Case Studies
Data from the US EPA Gasification Database containing gasification effluent data from selected U.S. coal power plants. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640 Files include: Original data tab, processed data and charge balance information in "NEWTS_EPA_Gasification_Effluent_Dataset_all_tabs.xlsx" Individual .csv files for data in format for input into aqueous chemistry modeling software (OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench) Data input templates for modeling streams in OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench Case studies for selected solved streams modeled in OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench
gasification↗
Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Plan - Meeting EPA Guidelines for GHGRP and Subpart RR
The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) was founded in 2003 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership initiative. Since its founding, MRCSP has made significant strides toward making CCUS a viable option for states in the region. The public/private consortium, funded through the DOE Regional Carbon Sequestration Initiative, brings together nearly 40 industry partners and 10 states. Battelle, as the project lead, oversees research, development and operations and coordinates activities among the partners. The incremental, phased approach has built a valuable knowledge base for the industry and paved the way for commercial-scale adoption of CCUS technologies. From 2008 to 2020, MRCSP Phase III focused on the development of large-scale injection projects. This report is part of a series of reports prepared under the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) Phase III (Development Phase). These reports summarize and detail the findings of the work conducted under the Phase III project. This report summarizes the steps for successfully submitting a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This work used the lessons learned from various MRCSP tasks to demonstrate the geologic understanding of the reefs in Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend (NNPRT), successful monitoring and accounting methodologies, understanding of potential risks and leakage pathways, and mass balance of CO2 baseline and net storage. The plan encompasses ten reefs and provides a reporting plan for future reef development.
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
US EPA Superfund Remediation Program Update: Revisions to Risk and Dose Assessment Models - 20368
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund remedial program is finishing up a significant number of revisions to its guidance for the risk assessment process at radioactively contaminated Superfund sites. The six Preliminary Remediation Goal (PRG) and Dose Compliance Concentration (DCC) internet-based calculators for radiation risk and dose assessment at Superfund sites are being reformatted to match the chemical calculators and improve the user experience, revised to add a new peak risk and dose output option, and to add some adjustment options for external exposure. A new Radon Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (RVISL) calculator is expected to be finished in 2020, will be similar to the Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL) for chemical calculator that was finished in 2018. (authors)
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗