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Battelle
Battelle Responds to EPA's
Homeland Security Challenges

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Confirming Battelle's expanded support are Teresa Harten (center), EPA's ETV Program Director; Robert Fuerst, Project Officer for the AMS Center in EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory; and Karen Riggs, Battelle’s program manager for the AMS Center.

Battelle is stepping up to a new and important environmental challenge-helping the U.S. EPA respond to Homeland Security needs. EPA is expanding the scope of its Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program to address Homeland Security needs. The ETV Advanced Monitoring Systems (AMS) Center, which Battelle has managed in partnership with EPA since 1997, will continue to verify the performance of monitoring technologies for natural species and pollutants in air, water, and soil, while taking on an expanded role in Homeland Security.

The AMS Center has begun verifying monitoring technologies that can help protect the nation's drinking water supply. Beginning in January, the AMS Center will conduct the first ETV verification test for Homeland Security by evaluating portable analyzers that can detect cyanide in drinking water. Five vendors have submitted six test kits and sensors for this test (see below).

Battelle also will help EPA protect the public in workplaces and other buildings that may be subject to chemical or biological attack. This responsibility includes detecting chemicals and biological contaminants in indoor environments and identifying methods and equipment for decontaminating buildings and indoor surfaces. Battelle will:

  • Manage the ETV Building Decontamination Center, which will verify the performance of decontamination technologies for indoor surfaces contaminated with chemical and biological agents under a new $5M task order contract with EPA.
  • Verify the performance of detection and monitoring technologies that measure contamination from chemical/ biological agents in indoor environments under a new $4M task order contract with EPA.

ChallengesThe new ETV programs are being directed by the EPA Office of Research and Development's new National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC), based in Cincinnati. The NHSRC manages, coordinates, and supports a wide variety of homeland security research and technical assistance efforts.

Research at the NHSRC will focus on developing methods to clean up contaminated buildings (the Safe Buildings Program), protecting the nation's water supply (the Water Security Program), and improving risk assessment techniques (the Rapid Risk Assessment Program).

Three stakeholder committees are being organized by Battelle to support the new verification initiatives: a Water Security Stakeholder Committee, Building Detection and Monitoring Stakeholder Committee, and Building Decontamination Stakeholder Committee. The stakeholder committees will provide advice and guidance in selecting and prioritizing technologies to be tested; assist in identifying vendors; provide perspectives of regulators, technology users, and investors; and review verification test plans and reports.

The new programs are being conducted by Battelle staff in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Seattle and managed by Karen Riggs, program manager for the AMS Center. "We are very pleased to be awarded this additional work, which allows us to help EPA address homeland security needs and to continue verifying technologies that will address these needs," Riggs said.

Other Battelle staff involved in the new programs include Tom Kelly, Amy Dindal, Kent Hofacre, Dan Janke, Gretchen Hund, Todd Peterson, and Helen Latham.

For more information on the ETV program, contact Karen Riggs at (614) 424-7379, riggsk@battelle.org.

First Test of Homeland Security Technologies Is Under Way

On January 13, the AMS Center began conducting the first ETV verification test of technologies with Homeland Security applications. This test will evaluate the performance of portable analyzers that can detect cyanide in water. Five vendors have submitted six technologies. Two types of technologies that can detect the presence of free cyanide in water will be tested.

  • Colorimeters test kits include reagents that, when added to a water sample, react with the available cyanide ion to form a colored solution. A vial containing this solution is inserted into the hand-held colorimeter that measures the intensity of the sample's color and reports the cyanide concentration.
  • Ion selective electrodes function as a sensor that, when inserted into a water sample, a data readout device reports the concentration of free cyanide.

The EPA has set 0.2 milligrams per liter as the maximum amount of cyanide that can be present in drinking water because of the toxicity of free cyanide to humans. The purpose of the tests of the analyzers and test kits is to determine the performance precision, accuracy, detection limits, and other performance characteristics of the technologies.
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