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EL Newsroom
FY 2013 News Stories
Archived News StoriesOrganizers and Hosts of the DoD, Tri-Service Ecological Risk Assessment Working Group (TSERAWG) and US EPA Ecological Risk Assessors Forum (ERAF) Second Annual Combined Meeting
The ERDC organized and hosted the second combined meeting of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DoD/Service ecological risk assessment professionals. The three-day combined meeting held 27-29 January 2009, was attended by 52 environmental risk assessment professionals, developed cross-agency understanding and relationships; facilitated inter-agency discussion of the latest information on policy, research, and technology; and provided a forum in which risk assessors could find common ground on difficult challenges on specific sites. The US EPA Environmental Risk Assessment Forum and the DoD, Tri-Services Environmental Risk Assessment Working Group specifically requested the ERDC-Vicksburg site as the meeting location, which was a natural site for the second meeting which focused on risk-related research and new technology. Attendees from US EPA included one site attendance of at least one member from all regions and headquarters and several remote attendees using the ERDC teleconferencing capabilities. The DoD was represented by attendees from all the Services, as well as Mr. Paul Yaroshack from the Office of Secretary of Defense, MERIT office. The US Army was specifically represented by ERDC researchers and program management personnel, the Corps of Engineers, Environment and Munitions Center of Expertise, the Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine, and the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Command. The meeting was also attended by invited University collaborators and limited commercial contractors. Topics ranged from the use of toxicogenomics to predict population risk to new ways to track contaminant particles from dredging activities. The group toured ERDC research facilities and were briefed on capabilities and activities in risk-related laboratory areas. Several spin-off meetings were held by specialty interest groups between the agencies. A wrap-up review indicated a highly favorable impression of ERDC research and development activities and approval of the meeting content.
