Evaluation of impact of shale gas operations in the Barnett Shale region on volatile organic compounds in air and potential human health risks.

Shale gas exploration and production (E&P) has experienced substantial growth across the U.S. over the last decade.

Development of a chronic noncancer oral reference dose and drinking water screening level for sulfolane using benchmark dose modeling.

Sulfolane is a widely used industrial solvent that is often used for gas treatment (sour gas sweetening; hydrogen sulfide removal from shale and coal processes, etc.), and in the manufacture of polymers and electronics, and may be found in pharmaceuticals as a residual solvent used in the manufacturing processes. Sulfolane is considered a high production volume chemical with worldwide production around 18 000-36 000 tons per year.

Reduction of a large fish tissue analyte database: identifying and assessing data specific to a remediation site for risk assessment application.

The Lower Passaic River (LPR) is one of the most heavily industrialized waterways in the US with both historical and continuing discharges of chemicals from point and non-point sources. Significant efforts have been initiated on behalf of public, private, and regulatory entities to restore this degraded urban river. Considerable attention has been devoted to characterizing environmental media with respect to human and ecological risk.

Assessment of human health risks posed by consumption of fish from the Lower Passaic River, New Jersey.

The Lower Passaic River (LPR) in New Jersey has been impacted by variety of human activities over the course of the last two centuries. In this risk assessment, we assessed potential human health risks associated with consumption of fish from the LPR, the human exposure pathway of greatest concern when addressing contaminated sediments. Our risk assessment incorporates fish consumption information gathered during a year-long, intercept-style creel angler survey and representative fish tissue concentrations for 156 chemicals of potential concern (COPCs) obtained from USEPA's public database (OurPassaic website: http://www.

Assessment of potential human health risks posed by benzene in beverages.

A recent study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicated that some beverages contained benzene at levels above the federal drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb).