The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator, who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The current administrator is Michael S. Regan. The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank.The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., regional offices for each of the agency's ten regions and 27 laboratories. The agency conducts environmental assessment, research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and the federally recognized tribes. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions, and other measures. The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.In 2021, the agency had 14,297 employees. More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists.Many public health and environmental groups advocate for the agency and believe that it is creating a better world. Other critics believe that the agency commits government overreach by adding unnecessary regulations on business and property owners.S.S.S.
In order to set nutrient and sediment load targets for the Chesapeake Bay, projections of changing environmental conditions through 2055 have been previously considered. This article expands the analysis through 2085. Under future ensemble scenarios of General Circulation Models (GCMs), temperature and precipitation trends for the Chesapeake Bay watershed prior to midcentury have a rate of change more than twice that of the post-midcentury trend. Prior to midcentury, runoff and nutrient loading to the Bay estuary are projected to increase. In this analysis, model simulations for post-midcentury suggest the trend of increasing runoff may be reduced. The combined effect of a reduced trend in temperature and precipitation increases post-midcentury with continued sea level rise in the ensemble scenarios leads to a decreasing trend in Chesapeake hypoxia post-midcentury, resulting in a leveling off of dissolved oxygen water quality degradation.
The decontamination of thousands of pipes in fire suppression systems, for example, aircraft hangars and firetrucks exposed to aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), may generate large volumes of PFAS-laden water requiring treatment. This study investigated the use of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to remove PFAS from washwater used to rinse pipes from aircraft hangar pipe contaminated with AFFF. The untreated washwater contained 249 & micro;g/L of total PFAS. The concentrations were highest for 6:2 FTS (178 & micro;g/L), PFHxA (48 & micro;g/L), PFOA (9.5 & micro;g/L), and PFPeA (6.2 & micro;g/L). PFAS was removed from washwater during 24-h adsorption experiments conducted over a range of adsorbent masses. Temporal increases were observed between the 2- and 4-h total PFAS concentrations during most of the experiments, corresponding to some PFAS species being displaced during complex competitive adsorption mechanisms. After 24 h in the presence of 0.23 g of PAC per liter of solution, removals of 6:2 FTS and PFHxA, two of the short-chain PFAS, were 95% and 86%, respectively. For long-chain PFAS, PFOA and PFOS were removed to below their quantitation limits (i.e., 1 and 0.01 & micro;g/L, respectively) in most cases. However, removal of 8:2 FTS was only 52% in the presence of 0.0575 grams of PAC, despite having a relatively high Log K ow and dipole moment values, also pointing to the complexity of PAC adsorption mechanisms in AFFF contaminated water. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to report the use of PAC to treat AFFF washwater, a niche but important matrix.
Naturally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM), primarily from the decay chains of uranium (U-238) and thorium (Th-232), as well 1as potassium (K-40), are commonly found in raw materials used in the construction industry. These radionuclides contribute to indoor radiation exposure, particularly in enclosed environments. As part of the NORM-BMI project, this study evaluated the activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 in commonly used building materials in Ireland, specifically tiles, cement, and concrete. The assessment focused on calculating the Gamma Index (Iγ) to determine radiation safety, using high-resolution gamma spectrometry in three independent laboratories (University of Cantabria, University College Dublin, and the Environmental Protection Agency Laboratory). The results indicated that tile samples exhibited the highest concentrations of radionuclides, particularly Ra-226 and K-40, with Gamma Index values approaching the recommended threshold (Iγ ≈ 1). In contrast, cement and demolition concrete samples showed low activity concentrations and Gamma Index values well below 1, indicating minimal radiological risk. Comparison with European datasets confirmed the relative safety of these building materials, particularly concrete and cement. These findings support the development of national screening protocols and contribute to safer, more sustainable construction practices, while also informing EU initiatives focused on the recycling and reuse of building materials.
This paper provides an overview of the EU policy context relevant to wetlands, assessing EU legislations that support or counteract wetland conservation, restoration and sustainable use. We classify selected EU environmental and climate policies according to their impacts and reliance on wetlands and assess prevailing implementation weaknesses of their wetland-related aims. The second part of the assessment focusses on the new EU Nature Restoration Regulation, finding that it can serve as a focal point for synergetic action, promoting wetland restoration while enhancing benefits for biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, flood risk management, water resilience and other policy objectives. The success of the Nature Restoration Regulation will depend on its effective implementation in EU Member States through ambitious and well-funded National Restoration Plans. To further improve policy coherence and enhance the health of wetlands in Europe, systemic changes are needed in policy sectors currently driving wetland degradation, including the Common Agricultural Policy. Highlights Nature and water policies in the EU are supportive of wetland conservation and rely on high quality wetlands to meet their aims.The CAP, as the biggest fund for land management, needs significantly better targeting to reduce continued wetland damage and promote wetland conservation.The EU Nature Restoration Regulation introduces legally binding, time-bound restoration targets, a legislative milestone for wetland restoration.The NRR’s success depends on political will, funding, and cross-sector coherence to effectively deliver synergies for biodiversity, climate, disaster risk reduction and water resilience.
The One Health concept strongly brings into focus the important connections for human and ecosystem health. However, the incorporation of behavior method guidelines in risk assessment and regulation/policy is not equal between human and ecological disciplines. A survey was conducted on the perceptions and role of behavioral (eco)toxicology in the protection of human and ecosystem health. Those surveyed include scientists working in the field of environmental toxicology and behavioral ecology, representing industry, government, nongovernment organizations, and academia/research centers. The respondents (N = 166) agreed that contaminants "can impact" and "are impacting" wildlife (97% and 77%) and humans (84% and 62%, respectively). Overall respondents believed behavioral experiments to be repeatable (60%), reliable (61%), and relevant (84%), although those not studying behavior (43%) were more cautious in their answers. Respondents were more likely to be neutral when asked whether behavioral endpoints are more sensitive (43%), but they agreed (80%) that behavioral endpoints provide important alternative information to standard endpoints. The largest group disagreed (42%) with the statement that behavioral endpoints are currently used in risk assessment but agreed that they were essential (55%). The majority of respondents disagreed (63%) that we understood the risks of contaminants to human and ecosystem health, but they agreed (68%) that regulatory authorities should consider behavioral endpoints. When answers were compared among sectors (academia, government, or industry), industry scientists were more likely to be negative or neutral in their responses to the application of behavioral toxicology. We discuss how these data could be used to support our understanding of and confidence in the effects of contaminants on human and ecosystem health.
