Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

    • Environmental Topics
    • Air
    • Bed Bugs
    • Cancer
    • Chemicals, Toxics, and Pesticide
    • Emergency Response
    • Environmental Information by Location
    • Health
    • Land, Waste, and Cleanup
    • Lead
    • Mold
    • Radon
    • Research
    • Science Topics
    • Water Topics
    • A-Z Topic Index
    • Laws & Regulations
    • By Business Sector
    • By Topic
    • Compliance
    • Enforcement
    • Laws and Executive Orders
    • Regulations
    • Report a Violation
    • Environmental Violations
    • Fraud, Waste or Abuse
    • About EPA
    • Our Mission and What We Do
    • Headquarters Offices
    • Regional Offices
    • Labs and Research Centers
    • Planning, Budget, and Results
    • Organization Chart
    • EPA History

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Emergency Response Research

Virtual Reality: A Training Tool for Biological Sampling Webinar

About the Webinar

View the Webinar

Originally presented November 12, 2020.

Following a chemical, radiological, or biological incident, responders need to be prepared to properly collect samples of the contaminating agent and conduct decontamination to protect the surrounding community and environment. In order to ensure that environmental sampling and analysis efforts produce credible and scientifically sound data so that agencies and the public could be reasonably confident in their results, sampling methods must be reproducible using validated and standardized procedures. Incorrect sampling could result in inconclusive results, thereby hampering cleanup efforts. Responders typically prepare for such events by learning sampling and decontamination protocols either in a classroom setting or in a condensed training provided prior to conducting sampling in a hazardous environment. Emergency responder expertise is a direct derivative of training and exercise. The impacts of these activities are bolstered with increasing realism. Nevertheless, exercises, especially full-scale disaster exercises are expensive, time consuming, difficult to organize, and can be limited in scope.

EPA researchers, in collaboration with North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety and the City of Raleigh Fire Department, developed a cost-effective training simulator capable of generating life-like visuals using commercial off-the-shelf software and hardware to produce a “perfect practice” environment for improving training effectiveness and enhancing situation awareness prior to entering a contaminated environment. The training platform reduces the burden associated with planning and conducting full-scale disaster exercises by creating an immersive and interactive experience while serving as a more in-depth tool for training emergency officials on the use of biological surface sampling methods and their associated procedures.

Watch a demonstration of the tool 

Science Matters: EPA Researchers Design Virtual Reality Software to Prepare Responders for Sampling in a Hazardous Environment

EPA Research on Homeland Security and Emergency Response

About the Presenter

Timothy Boe is a Geographer with EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center. Mr. Boe’s work primarily focuses on response and waste management issues following CBRN incidents. He has also been developing computer-based decision support tools to aid decision makers in responding to wide-area contamination incidents. Before joining EPA, Timothy worked as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow where he conducted research on wide area CBRN remediation. Timothy has an M.S. and a B.S. in applied science from Arkansas Tech University (Russellville). 

Emergency Response Research

  • Research Topics
    • Cleanup and Remediation
    • Communities, Resilience & Remediation
    • Contaminant Detection and Sampling & Analysis
    • Contaminant Fate, Transport & Exposure
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Oil Spill Research
    • Waste Management
    • Water Security
    • Wildland Fire Research
  • Models, Tools, & Applications
  • Outreach & Training
    • Webinar Series
    • Engagement Opportunities
    • Decon Conference
    • Technical Support to States & Territories
  • Publications
Contact Us About Emergency Response & Homeland Security Research
Contact Us About Emergency Response & Homeland Security Research to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on May 2, 2025
  • Assistance
  • Spanish
  • Arabic
  • Chinese (simplified)
  • Chinese (traditional)
  • French
  • Haitian Creole
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Tagalog
  • Vietnamese
United States Environmental Protection Agency

Discover.

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Budget & Performance
  • Contracting
  • EPA www Web Snapshot
  • Grants
  • No FEAR Act Data
  • Plain Writing
  • Privacy
  • Privacy and Security Notice

Connect.

  • Data
  • Inspector General
  • Jobs
  • Newsroom
  • Regulations.gov
  • Subscribe
  • USA.gov
  • White House

Ask.

  • Contact EPA
  • EPA Disclaimers
  • Hotlines
  • FOIA Requests
  • Frequent Questions
  • Site Feedback

Follow.