Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency
EPA, Coast Guard (USCG) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have primary responsibilities to prepare for and respond to a threat to public health or the environment caused by the release of a hazardous substance including the release of a biological threat agent. The EPA, USCG and DHS are partnering to improve capabilities and preparedness for response to such threats.
Although EPA has participated in other large scale demonstrations, each environment (building, railcar, subway station, ship, coastal environment) present unique challenges. It’s necessary to conduct full scale demonstrations and exercises in multiple environments to prepare for potentially devastating contamination incidents. The purpose of Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR) is to develop and demonstrate capabilities and strategic guidelines to prepare the nation for a wide-area release of a biological agent, including mitigating impacts to USCG facilities and assets (e.g. ships). This program will develop science based results to support wide-area response and remediation decisions. The project will be conducted over a number of years (2019-2022) and include experiments from the laboratory bench scale through the pilot scale and will culminate with a large-scale, wide-area demonstration.
Areas of Study
Bench and pilot scale research includes work in the following areas:
Sampling and Analysis
- Develop and evaluate air, surface, and waste sampling methods for large outdoor areas following a biological incident.
- Develop strategies and protocols for deploying sampling approaches in the field.
- Refine data management tools and methods for large numbers of samples.
- Report: Evaluation and Testing of Outdoor Surface Sample Collection and Analysis Methods (September 2021)
- Report: Evaluation of Analytical Methods for Detection of Bacillus anthracis Surrogate Spores: Compatibility with Real-World Maritime Environmental Samples Collected from the USCG Assets and Facilities (November 2021)
- Report: Development of Field-Executable Sample Collection Protocols for USCG Assets following a Biological Incident (January 2022)
- Journal Article: Evaluation of Two Methods for Detection of Viable Bacillus Anthracis Simulant Spores in Maritime Environmental Samples (2023)
Fate and Transport
- Develop predictive capabilities for spore transport in the environment.
- Enhance response operations by facilitating more efficient use of response resources and better coordination of response activities.
- Report: Phase 1 Modeling Report Fate and Transport of Spores on Outdoor Surfaces (AnCOR Task 2.1) (June 2021)
- Journal Article: Using SWMM for Emergency Response Planning: A Case Study Evaluating Biological Agent Transport under Various Rainfall Scenarios and Urban Surfaces. (2023)
- Journal Article: Monitoring Spore Washoff during a Biological Contamination Incident Response using Automated Stormwater Samplers and Sensors to Predict Contamination Movement. (2023)
- Journal Article: Exploring the Statistical Characteristics of Coastal Winter Precipitation Measured Using a Parsivel2 Disdrometer: A Case Study in North Carolina. (2024)
Decontamination
- Field-level decontamination of a US Coast Guard decommissioned Response Boat
- Assess and summarize decontamination options for urban and maritime structures, outdoor areas, and USCG assets
- Test viable decontamination options in a wide-area demonstration
- Report: Evaluation of pH Adjusted Bleach (pAB) and High-Test Hypochlorite (HTH) Decontaminants for US Coast Guard Assets following a Biological Agent Release (June 2022)
- Report: Spray Decontamination of Vegetation with Sporicidal Liquids for the Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Surrogate Spores and Phytotoxicity Assessment (August 2022)
- Journal Article: Demonstration and Evaluation of Commercial and Municipal Equipment for Urban Biological Decontamination (2023)
Waste Management
- Evaluate on-site treatment of waste items anticipated for a large biological incident response.
- Develop concept of operations for viable waste treatment methods
- Report: Development of Sampling Protocols and Strategies for Solid Waste Sampling During Biological Incidents (September 2022)
Data Management
- Report: Data Management for Wide-area Responses: Literature Review and Operational Expert Feedback (September 2021)
- Report: Data Management for Wide-area Responses: Technology Evaluation and Operational Expert Feedback (July 2022)
Demonstrations/Field-Scale Projects
Wide-Area Demonstration
Related Links
DHS Blog: Delivering Tools to Prepare the Coast Guard for a Bioagent Incident
Project Leads
- Shannon Serre, EPA (Serre.Shannon@epa.gov)
- Worth Calfee, EPA (Calfee.Worth@epa.gov)
- Lukas Oudejans, EPA (Oudejans.Lukas@epa.gov)