Topics:  Emerging Contaminants, Microplastics, Data Quality, Analytical Methods NEWS ALERT California Develops Analytical Testing Methods for Microplastics in Drinking Water California’s State Water Board announced last week that it has developed new standard methods for analyzing microplastics in drinking water, the world’s first regulatory standard methods in this medium. The science of measuring microplastics in environmental samples and assessing potential risks to human health and the environment is relatively new. As consumer and regulatory concerns have grown, California has been at the forefront of this issue, having recently developed a regulatory definition of microplastics and guidance for monitoring these materials in drinking water. The new analytical procedures released last week are the first proposed methods to standardize microplastics measurements in environmental samples, and use Raman and infrared spectroscopy to evaluate microplastics in drinking water. These methods will enable the California Water Board to begin collecting consistent, standardized data about the amount and types of microplastics in drinking water sources. Eventually, those data can be used to provide insight regarding exposures and potential risks from microplastics in drinking water. Gradient is tracking the evolving science and regulatory concerns related to microplastics. Gradient’s expertise related to microplastics and other emerging contaminants includes: more than 20 years of experience assessing risks to human health and the environment for a range of chemicals, including emerging contaminants; experience developing and assessing standard methods for analyzing existing and emerging contaminants in environmental samples; and recognized technical experts in the fields of exposure assessment, human health and marine environmental toxicology, spatial data analysis, and environmental fate and transport. If you have any questions about Gradient’s capabilities related to microplastics, please visit our website or contact: Jessie Kneeland, Ph.D. Principal Scientist Tom Lewandowski, Ph.D., DABT, ERT, ATS Principal Kim Reynolds Reid Principal Scientist Matthew Tymchak, M.S. Senior Hydrologist Tim Verslycke, Ph.D. Principal Andrew Yeh, Ph.D., DABT Senior Toxicologist About Gradient | News | Environmental Sciences Services Science and Strategies for Health and the Environment  www.gradientcorp.com Gradient, One Beacon Street, 17th floor, Boston, MA, 02108, 617-395-5000 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Topics:  Water Rights, Water Resources, Hydrogeology, Groundwater Modeling, Aquifer NEWS ALERT MS v. TN Supreme Court Water Rights Case Receives Unanimous Ruling Gradient contributed scientific analyses in the first interstate water dispute focused solely on groundwater tried before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court recently ruled on a decade-plus-long water rights dispute between Mississippi and Tennessee. In a unanimous decision, the Court rejected Mississippi’s claims that it owns groundwater beneath its state borders and that pumping by Tennessee resulted in the wrongful taking of Mississippi’s groundwater. In the first Supreme Court ruling focused solely on groundwater, the Court declared that the doctrine of equitable apportionment applies to groundwater flowing in interstate aquifers. The aquifer at issue was the Middle Claiborne, which is a major source of water for Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. To address Mississippi’s claims in the case, Gradient evaluated the vast literature on the Mississippi Embayment aquifer system and characterized regional aquifer behavior using a numerical groundwater model developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that encompassed the 78,000-square-mile aquifer system. We used the model to evaluate pre-development groundwater flow patterns and groundwater-surface water interconnectedness. Specific Gradient analyses in this matter included: Evaluating the aquifer extent, characteristics, and historical definition; Modeling pre-development groundwater flow patterns, groundwater-surface water interactions, and sources of recharge; Assessing anthropogenic impacts to the aquifer using measured data and mathematical models; and Delivering expert testimony in a hearing before the Special Master to the Supreme Court for this case. Gradient has provided scientific support for two recent original-jurisdiction water rights actions tried before the Supreme Court. These cases have required multidisciplinary hydrologic expertise. If you have any questions about Gradient’s capabilities, please visit our website or contact: Andrew Bittner, M.Eng., P.E. Principal David Langseth, Sc.D., P.E., D.WRE Principal Matt Tymchak, M.S. Senior Hydrologist Sam Flewelling, Ph.D. Principal John Kondziolka, M.S., E.I.T. Senior Environmental Engineer About Gradient | News | Water Resources Services Science and Strategies for Health and the Environment  www.gradientcorp.com Gradient, One Beacon Street, 17th floor, Boston, MA, 02108, 617-395-5000 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Charlotte Marsh presenting at Material Health Open Innovation Symposium November 16. “Looking Beyond the CAS Number: Considering Form Specificity in Hazard Assessment of Metals,” will be presented from 1:40- 2:20 EST on 11/16.   This work is one of four recipients of the 2021 Material Health Open Innovation Presentation Award.
Charlotte Marsh, Kim Reynolds Reid

Gradient scientists Drs. Isaac Mohar and Tom Lewandowski will present at the American College of Toxicology (ACT) 42nd Annual Meeting 2021 (Virtual).  Their poster presentation is titled, “Toxicology-Based Exposure Limits for Residual HEK-293T Cell DNA and Protein.”  Learn about the conference here.

The objectives of this research were:  (1) determine if the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 10 ng of residual host cell DNA per dose can be applied to the HEK-293T cell lineage and (2) identify a toxicology-based limit for residual HEK-293T cell protein.

Gradient scientists will present at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America 42nd Annual Meeting 2021 (Virtual).  Learn about the conference here.

Ifeoluwa A. Bamgbose will present a poster, “Microplastics in the Terrestrial Environment: Is there a real threat and risk?”  The objective of this poster is to assess the weight of evidence for microplastic biological effects in soil, biota, and other terrestrial matrices.

Thomas Lewandowski (Jiaru Zhang, Joel Cohen) will give a talk, “West Coast States and Taking Different Approaches to Alternatives Assessment.”  This talk will review California’s Safer Consumer Products (SCP), Oregon’s Toxic Free Kids, and Washington State’s Alternatives Assessment programs, including the key features of these three programs to understand their similarities and differences.

Charlotte Marsh (Kim Reid, Carrie Claytor) will present, “Looking Beyond the CAS Number: Considering Form Specificity in Hazard Assessment of Metals.”  This talk will present technical issues related to assigning form-specific hazards and opportunities to address challenges within current assessment tools.

Jiaru Zhang, Joel Cohen, Thomas Lewandowski will present a poster, “Lessons Learned from Conducting Alternatives Analyses Under California’s Safer Consumer Products Program.”  This poster will share lessons learned and key recommendations after conducting the first two Alternative Assessments submitted under California’s Safer Consumer Products (SCP) program.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control Approves the First Product to go through the Regulatory Alternatives Analysis Process The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has approved the preliminary alternatives analysis (PAA) for paint removers containing methylene chloride, which was authored by Gradient scientists. Methylene chloride-based paint removers are the first product to go through DTSC’s groundbreaking regulatory alternatives analysis process.  The work involved gathering, scoring and comparing data on chemical hazard, exposure potential and product performance across several product formulation categories.  As this was the first product to go through the process, Gradient scientists had detailed conversations with Agency staff to help ensure that the submitted PAA could be approved by DTSC within the 30-day final review period. In the PAA, Gradient identified at least one alternative paint remover formulation which will receive a more in-depth evaluation in stage two.  The deadline for that final alternative analysis report is December 2020. Gradient conducted the work on behalf of several responsible entities who manufactured the product as of the effective date of the regulation. A copy of the PAA can be obtained from the CalSAFER website. Gradient Experts: Tom Lewandowski, Ph.D., DABT, ERT, ATS Principal Joel Cohen, Sc.D., DABT Senior Toxicologist Links to Gradient’s website: Green Chemistry and Alternatives Assessment Product Stewardship and Safety | News and Events Science and Strategies for Health and the Environment | www.gradientcorp.com Gradient, One Beacon Street, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, United States, 617-395-5000 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Scientific Integrity at a Glance

A tripartisan group from academia, business, and government joined together to author advice on scientific integrity, including paying more attention to transparency, supporting findings by publishing underlying data, and posting detailed methods, among other things, to overcome the rising distrust in science.

Scientific Integrity Issues in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Improving Research Reproducibility, Credibility, and Transparency

In a “post-truth” world, where objective facts are becoming less influential in shaping public opinion (and policy) than appeals to emotion and personal belief, a group of industry, academic, and government scientists took it upon themselves to explore the topic of scientific integrity. Gradient scientists Mr. Mayfield and Dr. Verslycke contributed to this effort and co-authored an upcoming publication in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, titled “Scientific Integrity Issues in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Improving Research Reproducibility, Credibility, and Transparency.”

The authors describe scientific integrity as a set of norms similar to those taught from a young age:

• Tell the truth, and tell the whole truth (no data sanitizing, no selective reporting, and all conflicts reported);
• tell both sides of the story (avoid bias);
• do your own work (no plagiarism);
• read the book, not just the back cover before writing your report (properly research and cite primary sources);
• show your work for full credit (transparency);
• share (publish your work and data in peer-reviewed outlets for collective learning);
• and listen (with humility and collegial fraternity to observations and suggestions of others).

Specifically, the authors describe how scientific integrity can be harnessed by high quality environmental research that is characterized by rigor, relevance, reproducibility, and objectivity and discuss each of these in more detail in the paper. The authors conclude with a number of actions that could be taken to maintain and improve a culture of scientific integrity, such as: scientific institutions should increase attention to quality management training; scientific journals should require that all supporting data of a published study be included and strongly discourage accepting studies that lack such data; science users should be discouraged from judging science solely on the basis of its funder and should instead maintain an open-minded skepticism; and professional societies should help foster respectful evidence-based dialog during meetings and support scientific integrity training seminars.

Kurt Herman has been appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of Remediation Journal.

Kurt Herman is a licensed Professional Geologist in Washington state.

Technologically enhanced naturally occurring radiological material, or TENORM, has moved onto the regulatory and legislative agendas in multiple states. TENORM is material that contains naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as uranium, thorium, or radium, that have been concentrated or brought into waste streams as a result of human activities.

Although there is no national regulatory framework for handling TENORM, piecemeal regulatory updates by individual states have recently been promulgated as states have become aware of the potential presence of TENORM in waste streams from the energy, paper and pulp, phosphate fertilizer, and sewage treatment sectors. For example, legislative bodies in Pennsylvania and North Dakota have enacted new regulations pertaining to levels of radioactivity for the handling and disposal of certain TENORM wastes. Other states, such as Colorado, Kentucky, Montana, and West Virginia, are either in the process of gathering information or developing new regulations. The evolving regulatory landscape surrounding TENORM could potentially affect multiple stakeholders in various industrial sectors.

Evaluating the impacts of new or proposed regulations requires an understanding of the factors that generate TENORM in different types of waste as well as background levels of radioactivity. TENORM content can vary considerably depending on the waste source (e.g., pipe/tank scale, waste phosphogypsum, or combustion residuals). Moreover, consideration of local background radioactivity levels can be important for interpreting TENORM concentrations in those wastes at specific sites. Gradient has experience providing scientific comments on proposed regulations, evaluating the TENORM content of wastes, assessing radiological risks, and evaluating appropriate remediation alternatives. If you would like to discuss these issues further, please contact one of our scientific experts listed below.

Gradient is an environmental and risk sciences consulting firm renowned for our specialties in Toxicology, Epidemiology, Risk Assessment, Product Safety, Contaminant Fate and Transport, Industrial Hygiene, Geographic Information Systems, and Environmental/Forensic Chemistry. We employ sound science to assist national and global clients in resolving their complex problems relating to chemicals in the environment, in the workplace, and in consumer products.