National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC)
National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC)U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBiography
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) conducts research and evaluations towards protecting human health and the environment from the effects of biological, chemical, and radiological (CBR) contamination due to homeland security events.
NHSRC’s water security research focuses on developing tools and applications that can provide warnings to water utilities in the event of terrorist attacks with CBR weapons. Methods that help decontaminate water and wastewater infrastructure more rapidly and economically are also investigated.
The indoor and outdoor decontamination research section focuses on developing and testing tools, applications, and methods to clean up sites contaminated in a CBR attack. Research investigates contaminant behavior under different environmental conditions and how best to dispose of contaminated materials generated during site cleanup.
NHSRC’s Technology Testing and Evaluation Program conducts third-party performance evaluations of commercially available homeland security related technologies, which are tested against a range of performance characteristics and specifications. Technologies are evaluated for how effectively they can detect contaminants, treat drinking water, and decontaminate water distribution systems and indoor and outdoor areas.
NHSRC is staffed by approximately 60 full time personnel working in Cincinnati, Ohio, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas, Nevada. They are a strong multidisciplinary team that includes experts in the areas of chemistry, microbiology, health physics, engineering, toxicology, public health, environmental science, mathematics, risk assessment, quality assurance and quality control, and the social sciences.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) conducts research and evaluations towards protecting human health and the environment from the effects of biological, chemical, and radiological (CBR) contamination due to homeland security events.
NHSRC’s water security research focuses on developing tools and applications that can provide warnings to water utilities in the event of terrorist attacks with CBR weapons. Methods that help decontaminate water and wastewater infrastructure more rapidly and economically are also investigated.
The indoor and outdoor decontamination research section focuses on developing and testing tools, applications, and methods to clean up sites contaminated in a CBR attack. Research investigates contaminant behavior under different environmental conditions and how best to dispose of contaminated materials generated during site cleanup.
NHSRC’s Technology Testing and Evaluation Program conducts third-party performance evaluations of commercially available homeland security related technologies, which are tested against a range of performance characteristics and specifications. Technologies are evaluated for how effectively they can detect contaminants, treat drinking water, and decontaminate water distribution systems and indoor and outdoor areas.
NHSRC is staffed by approximately 60 full time personnel working in Cincinnati, Ohio, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas, Nevada. They are a strong multidisciplinary team that includes experts in the areas of chemistry, microbiology, health physics, engineering, toxicology, public health, environmental science, mathematics, risk assessment, quality assurance and quality control, and the social sciences.
Notes
Editor’s Picks: Articles and resources related to the EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center. Links may lead to external sites.
- Water System Security and Resilience in Homeland Security Research
- Selected Analytical Methods for Environmental Remediation and Recovery (SAM)
- Systems Measures of Water Distribution System Resilience
- Bio-response Operational Testing and Evaluation (BOTE) Project
- Performance of Assay Methods for Detecting Biological Agents in Drinking Water
- Radiological Dispersal Device Outdoor Simulation Test
- Water Treatment and Infrastructure Decontamination
- Contaminant Fate and Transport
- Indoor and Outdoor Decontamination Research
- EPA Seeks Contractor for Homeland Security Research Lab (Mar 2014)
- EPA Study on Bioterrorism Decontamination Techniques (Feb 2014)
- EPA Technologies for Chemical, Biological, Radiological Contamination Recovery (Jul 2013)
- EPA Study: Bioterror Agent Decontamination Sampling (Mar 2013)
- EPA’s Homeland Security Research Center Turns 10 (Nov 2012)