Overview of DOD activities in ecological risk assessment

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Congress has mandated that all designated hazardous waste sites will be remediated to protect human health and the environment. This law is the driving force behind the Department of Defense (DOD) ecological risk assessment (ERA) program. Ecological risk assessments are currently underway at many DOD sites with budgets ranging from five thousand to ten million dollars. However, with the advent of downsizing government and shrinking funds, efforts are being made within DOD to better refine these assessments. Two DOD work groups function to develop guidance for and assist project managers with the ERA process. These groups are the Army Biological Technical Assistance Group chaired by the Army Environmental Center and the Tri-Service Ecological Risk Assessment Work Group (ERWG) chartered by the Tri-Service Environmental Support Centers Coordinating Committee. Membership in the Tri-Service ERWG includes all facets of DOD. In the research arena, the Fate & Effects Research and Development Program is one of four primary thrust areas under the Army's Environmental Quality Technology Program "Clean Up" pillar. This program is currently being executed by three laboratories, the Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, and the Army Center for Environmental Health Research (Provisional), Ft. Detrick, MD. The goal of this program is to provide tools to improve environmental risk assessments, both human and ecological. The research is geared toward addressing user requirements and is defined by the Fate and Effects Research Program.