Environmental Protection
Westat has applied our strong statistical, environmental, and data collection skills to design, conduct,
and analyze environmental studies for more than 25 years. We have applied national field resources to the collection of
environmental samples in homes, schools, and industrial facilities and coordinated analyses at specialized laboratories,
following EPA's and our own quality assurance specifications.
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Westat has been awarded the contract to serve as the coordinating center for the National Children's Study (NCS) — the largest study
ever undertaken within the United States to assess the effects of the environment on child and adult health. The full nationwide
study would follow more than 100,000 children from prior to conception through adulthood, seeking information to prevent
and treat such health problems as autism, birth defects, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Westat will collect data, compile
and analyze statistics, and ensure that the study proceeds according to design.
Environmental measures proposed for inclusion in the study include toxicants in air, water, and household dust and body burden
data to be collected from urine, saliva, and blood. Toxicants to be studied include pesticides, metals, volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), phytoestrogens, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and more.
Six Vanguard Centers have been selected to pilot and complete the first phases of the study. The centers, which include
a variety of universities, hospitals, health departments, and other organizations, will work within their communities to recruit
participants, collect and process data, and pilot new research methods for incorporation into the full study.
NCS is led by a consortium of Federal agency partners: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (including the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the
National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Our work in the area of exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology has
included studies of exposure to pesticides, particulate matter, PCBs, heavy metals, and volatile organic
compounds in a variety of populations, including children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
Westat conducted the National Human Exposure Assessment Regional Survey in Maryland, a
multimedia, multicontaminant field study of long-term exposure that included the collection of blood and
urine samples for environmental exposure. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
now includes measurements of environmental exposure to dozens of contaminants through sampling of blood,
urine, hair, and other body tissues and fluids. Other Westat environmental epidemiology studies include
studies of the health effects relating to the following exposures:
- Air pollution among the elderly in Maryland and California and school children in California and Texas;
- Pesticides among children throughout the United States;
- Microbial pathogens among bathers in recreational water;
- Mercury in the seafood consumed by subsistence fishermen and women of
childbearing age;
- Indoor allergens in the homes and daycare centers of children throughout the
United States; and
- Asbestos in homes, schools, and commercial buildings throughout the United States.
- Water quality has been the focus of several projects for the EPA. Westat has
performed the following:
- Evaluated the best technology available for minimizing the adverse environmental
impact of cooling water intake structures;
- Analyzed water quality impairment from concentrated animal feeding operations; and
- Designed, conducted, and analyzed the results of industry surveys to determine whether current
effluent guidelines were appropriate for current manufacturing technologies used in the
iron and steel, meat products, and aquaculture industries.
- Westat's work in the area of lead hazards has included two national surveys of
lead-based paint hazards in housing, an assessment of exposure to lead
in child-care centers and homes, and the analysis of data on lead levels
in soil. Our staff has performed the following:
- Produced technical guidance documents on lead contamination of various media (soil,
water, and dust);
- Developed risk communication materials for the general public;
- Designed a series of examinations to certify lead inspections;
- Evaluated training programs designed to train janitors and others to work safely
around lead paint; and
- Designed a protocol for measuring the blood lead levels of children living in
remediated housing.
- Westat assisted EPA in preparing the health and environment chapter of the EPA's State of the
Environment Report. Written in a style appropriate for the general public, yet in conformance with the
standards of the health and environmental research communities, the report addresses the following:
- Health status of the U.S. population;
- Human exposure to environmental pollutants;
- Diseases related to environmental pollution; and
- Data gaps and emerging issues.
- Westat developed a Program Evaluation Training Package for the EPA Design for the
Environment Program. The materials and training provide a template for assessing a variety of
government-private-sector partnerships and assessing their impact.
- Westat was part of an interdisciplinary team assembled to study worker complaints about
indoor air quality and the work environment in large office buildings.
- For the EPA's Office of Solid Waste, Westat designed and implemented the Hazardous Waste
Survey. This national industry survey provided important information about the
characteristics of waste generation, treatment, storage, and disposal facilities and the quantities
of hazardous waste produced.
For more information about the Environmental Protection Research Area,
please send us a message.
