Community-Engaged Research and the Use of Open Access ToxVal/ToxRef In Vivo Databases and New Approach Methodologies (NAM) to Address Human Health Risks From Environmental Contaminants.

BACKGROUND: The paper analyzes opportunities for integrating Open access resources (Abstract Sifter, US EPA and NTP Toxicity Value and Toxicity Reference [ToxVal/ToxRefDB]) and New Approach Methodologies (NAM) integration into Community Engaged Research (CEnR). METHODS: CompTox Chemicals Dashboard and Integrated Chemical Environment with in vivo ToxVal/ToxRef and NAMs (in vitro) databases are presented in three case studies to show how these resources could be used in Pilot Projects involving Community Engaged Research (CEnR) from the University of California, Davis, Environmental Health Sciences Center. RESULTS: Case #1 developed a novel assay methodology for testing pesticide toxicity. Case #2 involved detection of water contaminants from wildfire ash and Case #3 involved contaminants on Tribal Lands. Abstract Sifter/ToxVal/ToxRefDB regulatory data and NAMs could be used to screen/prioritize risks from exposure to metals, PAHs and PFAS from wildfire ash leached into water and to investigate activities of environmental toxins (e.g., pesticides) on Tribal lands. Open access NAMs and computational tools can apply to detection of sensitive biological activities in potential or known adverse outcome pathways to predict points of departure (POD) for comparison with regulatory values for hazard identification. Open access Systematic Empirical Evaluation of Models or biomonitoring exposures are available for human subpopulations and can be used to determine bioactivity (POD) to exposure ratio to facilitate mitigation. CONCLUSIONS: These resources help prioritize chemical toxicity and facilitate regulatory decisions and health protective policies that can aid stakeholders in deciding on needed research. Insights into exposure risks can aid environmental justice and health equity advocates.

How wet must a wetland be to have federal protections in post-Sackett US?

In 2023, the US Supreme Court's majority ruled in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that only wetlands that are "indistinguishable" from federally protected waters "due to a continuous surface connection" are federally protected. This study estimates the potential impact of interpretations of the ruling on federal wetlands protections, using a qualitative measure of wetland "wetness" as a proxy for the new requirement. An estimated area ranging from ~17 million acres (19%) to nearly all 90 million acres of nontidal wetlands in the conterminous United States could be without federal protections, and variability in state protections creates hotspots of risk. The high-level estimates provided here represent a first step toward understanding the long-term impacts of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency on federal wetlands protections and highlight the uncertainty introduced by the ruling.

Emerging Scientific Approaches for Identifying Ecologically Adverse Effects of Air Pollution.

Now more than ever, complex socio-ecological challenges require timely and integrated responses from scientists and policymakers. Air quality is one such challenge. Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establishes ambient air quality standards to protect public welfare from known or anticipated adverse effects of air pollutants. As our understanding of the environment and awareness of social values grow, there is a need to improve characterization of "adversity to the public welfare." Scientific assessment can link ecological effects to public welfare using modern scientific approaches that incorporate ecological complexity and multiple value systems held by the public. We propose ideas for the future of scientific assessments meant to inform air quality and other environmental decision-making, including concrete ways we can focus on vulnerable species and ecosystems, incorporate a multiplicity of values, climate and multiple stressors, and partner to diversify the knowledge upon which protective policies are based.

Clinical Implications of New Drinking Water Regulation for "Forever Chemicals".

This Viewpoint describes new maximum contaminant levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency for specific perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and discusses the role clinicians can play in addressing their patients' PFAS health concerns.

ECOTOXr: An R package for reproducible and transparent retrieval of data from EPA's ECOTOX database.

The US EPA ECOTOX database provides key ecotoxicological data that are crucial in environmental risk assessment. It can be used for computational predictions of toxicity or indications of hazard in a wide range of situations. There is no standardised or formalised method for extracting and subsetting data from the database for these purposes. Consequently, results in such meta-analyses are difficult to reproduce. The present study introduces the software package ECOTOXr, which provides the means to formalise data retrieval from the ECOTOX database in the R scripting language. Three cases are presented to evaluate the performance of the package in relation to earlier data extractions and searches on the website. These cases demonstrate that the package can reproduce data sets relatively well. Furthermore, they illustrate how future studies can further improve traceability and reproducibility by applying the package and adhering to some simple guidelines. This contributes to the FAIR principles, credibility and acceptance of research that uses data from the ECOTOX database.

Validating self-reported Toxic Release Inventory data using Benford's Law: investigating toxic chemical release hazards in floodplains.

Introduction: Acute and long-term health impacts from flooding related toxic chemical releases are a significant local health concern and can disproportionately impact communities with vulnerable populations; reliable release data are needed to quantify this hazard. Methods: In this paper, we analyze US Federal Emergency Management Agency designated floodplain data and US Environmental Protection Agency Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data to determine if geographically manipulated databases adhere to Benford's Law. Results: We investigated multiple variants and discovered pollution releases adhere to Benford's Law and tests which thereby validates the self-reported toxic release dataset. Discussion: We find that Benford's Law applies to self-reported toxic chemical release and disposal data, indicating a lack of widespread data errors or manipulation.

Interstate Air Pollution Governance in the United States: Exploring Clean Air Act Section 126.

Air pollution is arguably the most pressing human health concern today, accounting for approximately 7-9 million premature deaths worldwide. In the United States, more than 40% of early deaths caused by air pollution are assessed to be caused by emissions produced by neighboring states. This article examines one of the governance mechanisms used by the U.S. to address this issue: section 126 of the Clean Air Act. Critical factors including case length, evidence used, and case outcome are compiled for the population of section 126 petitions submitted from 2000-2022. This evidence is assessed using comparative case analysis. The findings reinforce two issues with the petition process already identified in the literature-the use of cost as a proxy for significance and the excessive and unclear burden of proof placed on downwind states-adding texture to the latter issue by examining the modeling techniques used by downwind states. This analysis identifies lengthy response timelines as an additional issue and calls to attention the infrequency with which the EPA has formally accepted petitions. Collectively, these issues increase the cost, complexity, and unpredictability of filing a section 126 petition.

Translating nanoEHS data using EPA NaKnowBase and the resource description framework.

Background: The U.S. Federal Government has supported the generation of extensive amounts of nanomaterials and related nano Environmental Health and Safety (nanoEHS) data, there is a need to make these data available to stakeholders. With recent efforts, a need for improved interoperability, translation, and sustainability of Federal nanoEHS data in the United States has been realized. The NaKnowBase (NKB) is a relational database containing experimental results generated by the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) regarding the actions of engineered nanomaterials on environmental and biological systems. Through the interaction of the National Nanotechnology Initiative's Nanotechnology Environmental Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group, and the Database and Informatics Interest Group (DIIG), a U.S. Federal nanoEHS Consortium has been formed. Methods: The primary goal of this consortium is to establish a "common language" for nanoEHS data that aligns with FAIR data standards. A second goal is to overcome nomenclature issues inherent to nanomaterials data, ultimately allowing data sharing and interoperability across the diverse U.S. Federal nanoEHS data compendium, but also in keeping a level of consistency that will allow interoperability with U.S. and European partners. The most recent version of the EPA NaKnowBase (NKB) has been implemented for semantic integration. Computational code has been developed to use each NKB record as input, modify and filter table data, and subsequently output each modified record to a Research Description Framework (RDF). To improve the accuracy and efficiency of this process the EPA has created the OntoSearcher tool. This tool partially automates the ontology mapping process, thereby reducing onerous manual curation. Conclusions: Here we describe the efforts of the US EPA in promoting FAIR data standards for Federal nanoEHS data through semantic integration, as well as in the development of NAMs (computational tools) to facilitate these improvements for nanoEHS data at the Federal partner level.

A Class Act? Regulating Organohalogen Flame Retardants in Groups versus Singly.

Regulating chemicals by class based on chemical similarities may help reduce risk of regrettable substitutions while enhancing health protection. A new Commentary summarizes OFR toxicity and exposure research to inform this effort.