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Mikelonis AM, Hall J, Dunn CA, McArthur T, Wiley G, Hintz CL, Steenbock J, Serre S, Calfee MW, Pirhalla M. Monitoring spore washoff during a biological contamination incident response using automated stormwater samplers and sensors to predict contamination movement. Sci Total Environ 2023; 897:165307. [PMID: 37414183 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the washoff of Bacillus globigii (Bg) spores from concrete, asphalt, and grass surfaces by stormwater. Bg is a nonpathogenic surrogate for Bacillus anthracis, which is a biological select agent. Areas (2.74 m × 7.62 m) of concrete, grass, and asphalt were inoculated twice at the field site during the study. Spore concentrations were measured in runoff water after seven rainfall events (1.2-65.4 mm) and complimentary watershed data were collected for soil moisture, depth of water in collection troughs, and rainfall using custom-built telemetry units. An average surface loading of 107.79 Bg spores/m2 resulted in peak spore concentrations in runoff water of 102, 260, and 4.1 CFU/mL from asphalt, concrete, and grass surfaces, respectively. Spore concentrations in the stormwater runoff were greatly reduced by the third rain event after both inoculations, but still detectable in some samples. When initial rainfall events occurred longer after the initial inoculation, the spore concentrations (both peak and average) in the runoff were diminished. The study also compared rainfall data from 4 tipping bucket rain gauges and a laser disdrometer and found they performed similarly for values of total rainfall accumulation while the laser disdrometer provided additional information (total storm kinetic energy) useful in comparing the seven different rain events. The soil moisture probes are recommended for assistance in predicting when to sample sites with intermittent runoff. Sampling trough level readings were critical to understanding the dilution factor of the storm event and the age of the sample collected. Collectively the spore and watershed data are useful for emergency responders faced with remediation decisions after a biological agent incident as the results provide insight into what equipment to deploy and that spores may persist in runoff water at quantifiable levels for months. The spore measurements are also a novel dataset for stormwater model parameterization for biological contamination of urban watersheds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne M Mikelonis
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America.
| | - John Hall
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Chris A Dunn
- U.S. Coast Guard, Base Elizabeth City, Elizabeth City, NC, United States of America
| | - Timothy McArthur
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America
| | - Garrett Wiley
- Jacobs Technology Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America
| | - Chelsea L Hintz
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Joshua Steenbock
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Shannon Serre
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Land and Emergency Management, Consequence Management Advisory Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America
| | - Michael Worth Calfee
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America
| | - Michael Pirhalla
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Materials Management Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States of America
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Lee S, Park J, Lee JS, Seo H, Ko GB, Seo JM, Kim SM. Comparative study on gamma-ray detectors for in-situ ocean radiation monitoring system. Appl Radiat Isot 2023; 197:110826. [PMID: 37094496 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Large-sized crystals and state-of-the-art photosensors are desirable to cope with low environmental radioactivity (e.g., 1-2 Bq∙m-3137Cs in surface seawater) for homeland security purposes. We compared the performances of two different gamma-ray detector assemblies, GAGG crystal + silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) and NaI(Tl) crystal + photomultiplier tube, for our mobile in-situ ocean radiation monitoring system. We performed energy calibration, followed by water tank experiments with varying the depth of a137Cs point source. Experimental energy spectra were compared with MCNP-simulated spectra with identical setup and the consistency was validated. We finally assessed the detection efficiency and minimum detectable activity (MDA) of the detectors. Both GAGG and NaI detectors exhibited favorable energy resolutions (7.98 ± 0.13% and 7.01 ± 0.58% at 662 keV, respectively) and MDAs (33.1 ± 0.0645 and 13.5 ± 0.0327 Bq∙m-3 for 24-h 137Cs measurement, respectively). Matching the geometry of the GAGG crystal with that of the NaI crystal, the GAGG detector outperformed the NaI detector. The results demonstrated that the GAGG detector is potentially advantageous over the NaI detector in detection efficiency and compactness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungeun Lee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Junsung Park
- Department of Quantum System Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-Daero, Deokjin-Gu, Jeonju-Si, Jeollabuk-Do, 54896, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Sung Lee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea; Brightonix Imaging Inc., 25 Yeonmujang 5ga-Gil, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul, 04782, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee Seo
- Department of Quantum System Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-Daero, Deokjin-Gu, Jeonju-Si, Jeollabuk-Do, 54896, Republic of Korea
| | - Guen Bae Ko
- Brightonix Imaging Inc., 25 Yeonmujang 5ga-Gil, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul, 04782, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Min Seo
- Maritime ICT & Mobility Research Department, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, 385 Haeyang-Ro, Yeongdo-Gu, Busan, 49111, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Mee Kim
- Maritime ICT & Mobility Research Department, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, 385 Haeyang-Ro, Yeongdo-Gu, Busan, 49111, Republic of Korea.
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Kim H. Biodefense and emergency use authorization: different originations, purposes, and evolutionary paths of institutions in the United States and South Korea. Global Health 2022; 18:100. [PMID: 36471373 PMCID: PMC9721072 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-022-00895-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emergency-use-authorization (EUA) is the representative biodefense policy that allows the use of unlicensed medical countermeasures or off-label use of approved medical countermeasures in response to public health emergencies. This article aims to determine why the EUA policies of the United States and South Korea produced drastically different outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how these outcomes were determined by the originations and evolutionary paths of the two policies. METHOD Historical institutionalism (HI) explains institutional changes-that is, how the institution is born and how it evolves-based on the concept of path dependency. However, the HI analytical narratives remain at the meso level of analysis in the context of structure and agency. This article discusses domestic and policy-level factors related to the origination of the biodefense institutions in the United States and South Korea using policy-learning concepts with the Event-related Policy Change Model. RESULTS The 2001 anthrax letter attack (Amerithrax) and the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak prompted the establishment of biodefense institutions in the United States and South Korea, respectively. Due to the different departure points and the mechanism of path dependency, the two countries' EUAs evolved in different ways-the United States EUA reinforced the Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) function, while the South Korea EUA strengthened the Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) function. CONCLUSIONS The evolution and outcomes of the two EUAs are different because both policies were born out of different needs. The United States EUA is primarily oriented toward protecting homeland security against CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) threats, whereas the South Korea EUA is specifically designed for disease prevention against infectious disease outbreak.
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Affiliation(s)
- HyunJung Kim
- grid.15444.300000 0004 0470 5454Barun ICT Research Center, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722 South Korea
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Jung SH, Kim K, Jang WS, Jeong HK, Kwon BJ, Kuh SU, You SH, Choi HJ, Kim KB. Development of a direction-sensitive gamma-ray monitoring system using a gamma camera with a dual-sided collimator: A Monte Carlo study. Appl Radiat Isot 2021; 178:109937. [PMID: 34536832 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear explosions, sabotage, and dirty bomb materials are considered a security threat. This paper discusses the development of a gamma-ray monitoring system that enables the screening of nuclear materials moving simultaneously on both sides of the system at ports. This direction-sensitive gamma-ray monitoring (DSGM) system consists of a monolithic plastic scintillator surrounded by 28 photomultiplier tubes and dual-sided parallel-hole lead collimators. With Monte Carlo simulation, the monitoring performance of the DSGM system was assessed for static and moving sources. A multilayer perceptron model was employed to estimate the energy-deposited position of the gamma-rays emitted by nuclear materials in the scintillator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong Ho Jung
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyuseok Kim
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Seuk Jang
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Kyo Jeong
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byeong-Ju Kwon
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Uk Kuh
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sei Hwan You
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Joon Choi
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyu Bom Kim
- Department of Integrative Medicine, Major in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Warny S, Ferguson S, Hafner MS, Escarguel G. Using museum pelt collections to generate pollen prints from high-risk regions: A new palynological forensic strategy for geolocation. Forensic Sci Int 2019; 306:110061. [PMID: 31841931 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The use of pollen as a forensic tool for geolocation is a well-established practice worldwide in cases ranging from the provenance of drugs and other illicit materials to tracking the travel of individuals in criminal investigations. Here we propose a novel approach to generation of pollen databases that uses pollen vacuumed from mammal pelts collected historically from international areas that are now deemed too high risk to visit. We present the results of a study we conducted using mammal pelts collected from Mexico. This new investigative technique is important because, although it would seem that the ubiquitous and geo-specific nature of pollen would make pollen analysis among the most promising forensic tools for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, it is not the case. The process is notoriously slow because pollen identification is a tedious task requiring trained specialists (palynologists) who are few in number worldwide, and the reference materials necessary for geolocation usually are rare or absent, especially from regions of the world that are no longer safe to visit because of war or threat of terrorism. Current forensic palynological work is carried out by a few highly trained palynologists who require accurate databases of pollen distribution, especially from sensitive areas, to do their jobs accurately and efficiently. Our project shows the suitability of using the untapped museum pelt resources to support homeland security programs. This first palynological study using museum pelts yielded 133 different pollen and spore types, including 8 moss or fern families, 12 gymnosperm genera and 112 angiosperm species. We show that the palynological print from each region is statistically different with some important clustering, demonstrating the potential to use this technique for geolocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Warny
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, E235 Howe-Russell, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA; Museum of Natural Science, 109 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
| | - Shannon Ferguson
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, E235 Howe-Russell, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA; Museum of Natural Science, 109 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Mark S Hafner
- Museum of Natural Science, 109 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Gilles Escarguel
- Laboratoire d'écologie des hydrosystèmes naturels et anthropisés, UMR CNRS 5023, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, F69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
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