Technology Testing and Evaluation Program

EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) has developed the Technology Testing and Evaluation Program (TTEP) in an effort to provide reliable information regarding the performance of homeland security related technologies. Technologies are evaluated to specifically determine their abilities to:

• Detect contaminants to determine health and economic impacts, and to identify areas that need to be restored after a terrorist attack


• Decontaminate buildings and water distribution systems in order to return them to a usable state after a terrorist attack

The Process and Benefits

TTEP rigorously tests technologies against a wide range of performance characteristics, requirements, and/or specifications. The primary focus of the program is on testing commercially available technologies. Testing is performed to generate objective performance data so building and facility managers, first responders, groups responsible for building decontamination, and other technology buyers and users can make informed purchase and application decisions. It also provides potential users with unbiased, third-party information that can supplement vendor-provided information.

The TTEP process includes the use of chemical and biological warfare agents in bench-scale testing, with additional field testing as needed. Existing test plans are often used after being modified to meet homeland security requirements. All testing is conducted following strict quality assurance procedures described in the test plans. Data are evaluated, and the performance results are included in individual summary reports and in side-by-side comparisons.

Stakeholder involvement is important to the success of the program. Stakeholders are engaged in identifying and selecting technologies for testing and in developing test plans. Stakeholder involvement allows for user needs and perspectives to be incorporated into test plan designs. This involvement ensures that useful performance information is generated for each technology tested.

The Products

Test reports and summaries are available for the following technologies:

Detection/Monitors

• Immunoassay test kits
• Cyanide detection technologies
• Rapid polymerase chain reaction technologies
• Rapid toxicity monitoring technologies
• Ion mobility spectrometers
• Surface acoustic wave detectors
• Multi-parameter water monitors for distribution systems
• Technology performance summaries for detection instruments

Decontamination

• Chlorine dioxide decontamination technologies
• Hydrogen peroxide decontamination technologies
• Spray-applied sporicidal decontamination technologies
• Strippable coatings for radionuclides

Treatment

• Air cleaning technologies
• Drinking water and wastewater treatment methods

Research Area Products

• Water protection research
• Indoor and outdoor decontamination research

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