- Success Stories
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Conducting Greenhouse Soil Tests for Soil Remediation Recommendations
There are thousands of abandoned mines in the Western United States and residual heavy metal concentrations can be high in mine spoils. These spoils can also be quite acidic. Acidic soils with high concentrations of heavy metals can significantly impact the re-establishment and growth of native plant species at these sites. Even after removal of soils with the highest heavy metal concentrations, re-establishment of native species can be difficult because of the high acidity.
Through our contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CSS employee owners are supporting studies to develop methods for remediating contaminated mine soil and re-establishing native vegetation. This effort is important to helping prevent runoff and contamination of streams draining into larger watersheds.
As part of this work, CSS plant scientists are conducting greenhouse tests for the EPA to determine which soil amendments, such as biochar and lime, are most effective at mitigating the impacts of the metal contamination and acidity on the growth of native plants. This information will be used in recommendations for field applications of soil amendments at mine sites.
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Training the Next Generation of Researchers
CSS staff support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Occupational Safety and Health by providing Safe Techniques Advance Research Science (STARS) training to summer interns. Following a pause during the pandemic, staff resumed training May 15, 2024. During the in-person STARS training, CSS staff cover key concepts from the pre-requisite NIH Lab Safety…
Quality Assurance Audit Reports
Since 1985 we’ve supported the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and have provided more than 1,600 quality assurance audit reports that the client has used to assess the quality of toxicology studies they sponsor. Over the last year our employee owners reviewed several studies involving per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) compounds, or “forever chemicals”,…
Organizing National Mussel Watch Program Sample Collection Missions
Established in 1986, NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program has been systematically monitoring nearly 600 chemical contaminants (including legacy organic contaminants, trace metals, and contaminants of emerging concern) and biological indicators for the establishment of baseline contamination levels in coastal waters around the U.S., including the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. CSS employee…