CSS scientists supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs are reviewing modeling data that evaluates the potential for transfer of chemical residues from pregnant and nursing  animals to fetuses and infants. The vast majority of data come from pharmaceuticals, but staff are reviewing some data from pesticides and other environmental contaminants as well. Staff are reviewing the data for measured concentrations in maternal blood and milk as well as fetal tissues in laboratory animals and humans. The objective of this work is to better understand the various models being developed and use this modeling data to help refine risk assessment for pesticides. 

Person walks through a field spraying a substance.
Credit: Arjun MJ, Unsplash

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Studying Mesophotic Coral Health

Mesophotic coral can live at depths of 500 feet below the ocean surface. Even at this depth, some of the mesophotic corals in the Gulf of Mexico were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Our coral scientists supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are studying the extent of this impact.…

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Developing a Database for Ecosystem Service Models 

CSS scientists have been major developers and contributors to the online U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s EcoService Models Library (ESML) database since its inception in 2012. The ESML database contains detailed but concise descriptions of ecosystem service models to facilitate the selection of models by ecosystem scientists for a variety of management and research applications. The…

woman pointing to a sign talking to a group of students

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…