Man sits on a cooler holding a bottle of clear liquid and a syringe

CSS supports the Environmental Protection Agency with assessing contamination within abandoned mines. There are thousands of abandoned mines throughout the western United States. Many of these mines are leaching heavy metals into nearby streams or have contaminated soils causing vegetation die off.  

CSS employee owners conduct field work to assess the extent of this contamination. During field excursions, staff collect soil and water samples and characterize the extent of contamination. The team analyzes sample on site and in the laboratory for heavy metals. This information informs remediation plans for contaminated sites.

Feature image credit: Peter Robbins, Unsplash

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Examining Cetaceans for Contamination and Pathogens

CSS has employee owners who are experts in monitoring cetacean health. Several CSS scientists supporting NOAA’s Centers for Coastal Ocean Science have recently conducted research and tests on marine mammals to explore uncommon behaviors and causes for strandings. View some examples of this research below. Microplastics are becoming increasingly abundant in coastal and marine environments.…

Artist rendering of NOAA satellite in orbit

Engaging in New and Emergent Satellite Technologies 

CSS employee owners (formerly Riverside employees) support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service’s (NESDIS) Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR). STAR is the science arm of NESDIS, which acquires and manages the nation’s environmental satellites for NOAA. Satellite observations are critical to informing situational awareness and…

Quality Assurance Audit Reports 

Since 1985 we’ve supported the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and have provided more than 1,600 quality assurance audit reports that the client has used to assess the quality of toxicology studies they sponsor.    Over the last year our employee owners reviewed several studies involving per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) compounds, or “forever chemicals”,…