This page includes links to technical
computer programs, manuals and case studies that may help community
members evaluate and better understand their local environment.
- Community Air Screening How-to Manual
OPPT's Community Community Air Screening How-to Manual makes air
quality assessment tools more accessible to communities. The How-to
Manual presents and explains a step-by-step process that a community
can follow to form partnerships to access technical expertise,
identify and inventory local sources of air pollutants, review
pollutant sources to identify known hazards that may present a
potential health risk to the community and set priorities and
develop plans for improvement.
- Aquatox
A computer program to perform ecological risk assessment modeling
developed to project the combined environmental fate and effects
of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems.
- The Baltimore Case Study
The Baltimore Case Study report describes the work and results
of a 3-year air screening pilot project in Baltimore, Maryland.
It illustrates the development and implementation of a new methodology
for evaluating air quality impacts of toxic air pollutant emissions.
The risk screening methodology applied during this study allowed
the partnership to evaluate potential human health risks from
more than 175 chemicals emitted to the air by more than 125 facilities
in and around the partnership neighborhoods. The case study presents
the process used as well as the results and lessons learned from
the experience.
- Assess Cancer-Causing Potential of Chemicals through OncoLogic™
The Cancer Expert System, or Oncologic, is a personal computer
program developed to analyze chemical structures to determine
the likelihood that they may cause cancer.
- Chemical
Screening Tool for Exposures and Environmental Releases (ChemSTEER)
ChemSTEER is a personal computer-based software program. ChemSTEER
uses established EPA methods to generate screening-level estimates
of environmental releases of and worker exposures to chemicals
manufactured and used in industrial and commercial operations.
The tool also contains data and estimation methods to assess situations
involving many common industrial / commercial sectors (e.g., automotive
refinishing) and chemical functional uses (e.g., surfactant in
hard surface cleaner). ChemSTEER is currently applied in EPA's
New Chemicals Program. In the future, engineers and technical
users may find the tool helpful in assessing exposures and releases
from workplaces.
- The
Exposure & Fate Assessment Screening Tool (E-FAST)
E-FAST is a personal computer based software program. It is a
screening level tool that estimates human exposure as well as
aquatic ecosystem exposure to and risk from the release of chemicals
to the environment.
E-FAST can be used by community groups to estimate exposure and
risk from such areas as industrial/commercial activities and the
use and disposal of consumer products.
- Geographical
Exposure Modeling System (GEMS)
The new GEMS is a modernization of OPPT's older Graphical Exposure
Modeling System and PCGEMS tools. GEMS brings together in one
system several EPA environmental fate and transport models and
the environmental data needed to run them. GEMS includes models
and data for ambient air, surface water, soil, and ground water,
and makes the models much easier to use than their stand-alone
counterparts.
The GEMS models estimate environmental concentrations that can
be used by communities or environmental groups in exposure and
risk assessments for local populations.
- Green Chemistry
Expert System (GCES)
GCES is a computer program that you can use to select green chemicals
and reactions. Green chemistry is the design of chemical products
and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of
hazardous substances. The GCES allows you to analyze a chemical
reaction for pollution prevention opportunities and provides information
on alternative, green chemistry technologies to use in place of
traditional chemicals or processes.
- Risk Screening
Environmental Indicators (RSEI)
The RSEI model is a personal computer-based, priority setting,
screening-level tool that evaluates the hazard and relative risk-related
impacts of toxic chemical releases and transfers from industrial
facilities. RSEI integrates information on the amount of chemicals
released to the environment, the relative long-term toxicity of
these chemicals to people outside the workplace, the degree to
which people are potentially exposed, and the estimated size of
the exposed population.
Communities can use RSEI, in a comparative fashion, to quickly
focus on certain sources of risk that warrant further investigation.
The model's pounds-based, hazard-based and risk-related perspectives
can be used to examine trends, to rank and prioritize chemicals
and industry sectors for strategic planning, to conduct risk-related
targeting, and to help investigate environmental justice issues.
- Use Cluster Scoring System
A computer-based, priority-setting, risk-screening system with
information about nearly 3,200 chemicals and the 380 clusters
-- or families -- into which these chemicals are grouped. |