Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR) - Wide Area Demonstration
About the Webinar
Originally presented May 24, 2023
This presentation provides an overview of a recent field-scale demonstration of environmental remediation capabilities for outdoor urban areas following a wide-area biological incident. The Wide Area Demonstration (WAD) is part of a larger collaborative effort, the Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR), among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The AnCOR WAD aims to build capabilities to respond and recover following wide-area biological contamination incidents. The WAD seeks to implement remediation techniques, equipment, and strategies in an urban setting to evaluate their performance, compatibility within the response system, and their burden on response resources. Lessons learned will advance our Nation's preparedness to biological incidents.
About the Presenters
Dr. Worth Calfee is a research microbiologist with over 20 years of microbiological research experience, including 10 years at the U.S. EPA in decontamination and consequence management of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) agents. His research foci include sampling, decontamination, and management of wastes from CBRN contamination incidents. Dr. Calfee received his Ph.D. in 2007 from East Carolina University, where he studied coastal and estuarine microbial communities. He also earned a B.S. in molecular biology from East Carolina University in 1999.
Mr. Timothy Boe is a Geographer with EPA's Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response. Mr. Boe's work primarily focuses on response and waste management issues following CBRN incidents. He has also been developing computer-based decision support tools to aid decision makers in responding to wide-area contamination incidents. Before joining EPA, Timothy worked as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow where he conducted research on wide area CBRN remediation. Timothy has an M.S. and a B.S. in applied science from Arkansas Tech University (Russellville).
Dr. Lukas Oudejans is a Research Physical Scientist with ORD's Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response. Over the past 14 years, he has gained vast experience in homeland security programs related to research, development and evaluation of innovative technologies for the decontamination of materials contaminated with chemical or biological agents. Currently, he is leading research efforts to assess decontamination options for fentanyl contaminated building materials and approaches for effective decontamination of contaminated PPE. Dr. Oudejans holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from Radbound University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (1994).
Dr. Shannon Serre is currently with the EPA's Office of Emergency Management working in the CBRN Consequence Management Advisory Division. He is focused on the response and recovery from a chemical, biological, or radiological incident. He has been involved in several field scale projects including: the Bio-response Operational Testing and Evaluation (BOTE) project, Underground Transport Restoration (UTR) project, Operational Testing and Evaluation of Chemical Remediation Technologies (OTECRA) and is now involved with the Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR) project. Shannon has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah.
Dr. Michael Pirhalla is a physical scientist within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). Michael helps support a wide variety of research roles related to fate and transport and wide area sampling for emergency preparedness. He also supports flow and dispersion research at EPA's Fluid Modeling Facility through laboratory and modeling projects. Michael has a Ph.D. from the Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences Department at North Carolina State University.
Dr. Paul Lemieux is a senior research engineer in EPA's Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response. Paul has a B.S. in Chemistry from Seattle University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah. He has been with EPA's Office of Research and Development for 35 years initially studying formation and control of pollutants from combustion systems, and since 2002 has been working on management of wastes from cleanup after chemical, biological, radiological incidents and foreign animal disease outbreaks, and on decision support tools to aid decision makers during wide-area contamination incidents.