The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water (OW) has selected ICF (NASDAQ:ICFI), a consulting and technology services provider to government and commercial clients around the world, for a contract to help the agency establish health protective criteria that ensures the nation’s waters are safe for drinking and recreational purposes. The agreement with EPA’s Health and Ecological Criteria Division (HECD) has a capacity of $12.4 million and a term of 56 months, including one eight-month base plus four 12-month options.
ICF blends evidence-based science with advanced data processing and analytical tools to address the complex, data intensive issues faced by its clients. ICF is well grounded in the fundamentals of risk assessment and expert in the risk issues associated with a wide range of substances.
ICF has continually supported HECD programs and technical needs over the past 24 years, including through some of the nation’s most significant water-related crises. ICF understands water, how its used and the complex, interactive effect that hazardous chemicals and pathogens can have on human health.
ICF brought this expertise to bear during EPA’s development of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria and supporting implementation materials, which provide states and communities with the most up-to-date science and information for use in determining whether water quality is safe for public use or, if not, when to issue an advisory or a beach notification.
These skills combined with the firm’s depth of experience in the individual disciplines of microbial and chemical risk assessment are key to helping EPA identify and anticipate future threats and address the major crosscutting water issues under its responsibility, such as health concerns related to reuse of wastewater for human consumption and the impact of hazardous algal blooms on recreational activities.
“As demand for transparency around the effects of environmental hazards on human health increases, ICF is the ideal partner for ensuring public trust and confidence in the agency’s risk assessment process,” said Jennifer Welham, senior vice president for ICF. “We look forward to continuing to support EPA in its efforts to ensure the nation’s waters are safe for drinking, swimming, fishing and other activities.”
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