CSC provides innovative technological solutions for scientific issues in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) mission of protecting human health and the environment. CSC offers a wide range of IT support services to EPA including the following:
Information Technologies and Web-based Solutions
Information System Security
Process Analysis and Engineering
Software and Internet Applications
Systems Design and Development of Software Applications
Scientific Application Development
Legacy System Support
Systems Integration Support
Decision Support/Expert Systems Applications
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
LAN/Network and Systems Administration Support
Major Projects
FORMS II Lite: Collecting environmental samples at hazardous waste sites requires an enormous amount of supporting documentation. This documentation is vital to cleanup and litigation of sites, but the completion process is time consuming. Previously, documentation was a manual process where each item was being completed by hand. To lessen the burden of sample documentation on individuals who collect samples, CSC developed FORMS II Lite to assist samplers with generating their sample documentation. FORMS II Lite is a flexible and easy-to-use, stand-alone, Windows-based application for generating bottle and tag labels; generating Chain of Custody (COC) forms; tracking samples from field to laboratory; facilitating electronic capture of sample information into databases; and exporting data electronically as .dbf or .txt files.
Institutional Controls Tracking System Development: CSC has supported EPA with the development of a Web-based institutional controls (IC) tracking system for data collection, exchange, and reporting among EPA cleanup programs, partners, and stakeholders. The tracking system design was facilitated through several data collection and exchange pilots with EPA regions, states, local government, other federal agencies, and industry. Throughout the development of the tracking system, CSC has provided creative and innovative support to EPA including planning and implementing procedures to receive IC data through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX).
LUC Web Ring Development: CSC has supported EPA with the development of an innovative Web navigation tool – a Web Ring – that provides a direct link to a multitude of Web pages with institutional controls (IC)/land use control (LUC) content. The purpose of the Web Ring is to create a virtual community around the issue of risk-based cleanups, contaminated property transactions, and the land use control (LUC)/institutional control (IC) tracking systems that make such cleanups possible. The Web Ring Navigation Tool organizes the Internet’s vast array of LUC information according to the origin of content. The origin of content is organized by the Web Ring Navigation Tool in eight sectors – EPA IC Information, EPA IC Tracking Systems, State IC Tracking Systems, Commercial Services, Environmental Site Assessment Firms, Research Nongovernmental Organizations, Academic Institutions and Laboratories, and Real Estate and Lending Institutions. The LUC-related content from a diverse, all-inclusive set of Web Pages is brought within two mouse clicks. CSC conceived of and developed the Web Ring through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). Click the logo to explore the LUC WebRing.
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and Electronic Reporting via EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX): On May 19, 2004, the TRI program began distributing an important EPA Chief Information Officer (CIO) communication to more than 23,000 facilities that currently report to TRI each year. This memo, termed the CIO TRI Modernization Memo, describes TRI’s efforts to re-engineer the program and contains two important announcements. For the first time, facilities were informed that EPA’s Office of Environmental Information (OEI) will no longer provide a series of opportunities for facilities to re-check the data they submit to TRI by the July 1 reporting deadline each year. Rather, the memo stated, EPA expects the data to be correct the first time it is sent to EPA and will only be providing one verification opportunity via the Facility Data Profile (FDP) process. Input received during the FDP process will be incorporated in time for a brand new, early data release each November called the Electronic Facility Data Release (eFDR). The eFDR is intended to provide the public with an early glimpse of TRI data months before the annual Public Data Release. The EPA CIO also urged facilities to take advantage of the secure, efficient Central Data Exchange (CDX) TRI reporting method. Use of CDX would basically guarantee that facilities would receive their FDP with adequate time to provide any corrections in time for the eFDR. Also, and most importantly, if all facilities used CDX to report to TRI, the EPA CIO wrote, “EPA would save the American taxpayers 1.5 million dollars.”
Grid Computing: CSC successfully supports a key effort to increase research collaboration within EPA, Department of Energy, academia, and partner organizations. A current Grid Pilot Program with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, using a major air-quality modeling application, lays the foundation for future connectivity of the computational Grid resources at the EPA’s National Computer Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, and with the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.
EPA Homeland Security Infrastructure Support - BioSketch Program: CSC has also assisted with EPA’s Homeland Security infrastructure through support for the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). CSC had been maintaining and expanding the capabilities of BioSketch, a Lotus Notes application containing information on EPA researchers that allowed for more quickly determining where specific expertise and skills could be found for better scientific collaboration. The application is also connected to a publications database further expanding its usefulness to researchers. After September 11, the EPA determined that its response team needed a quick, easy, secure means of identifying specific experts in specific areas. It was obvious that BioSketch had much of the required information about ORD scientists and was easily searchable. Applying a high level of security, CSC has expanded the capability of the program to identify the necessary experts and also to run as a stand alone program. Future plans will include expertise from other federal agencies and other research facilities.
For More Information
Jim King Computer Sciences Corporation 6101 Stevenson Avenue Alexandria, VA 22304 Tel: 202.741.4304 E-mail: jking46@csc.com
