For nearly 40 years NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program has been monitoring contaminants in coastal waters in over 400 sites around the U.S. by testing sediment and bivalves, such as oysters and mussels. A CSS employee owner organizes and coordinates the regional missions to collect and test samples. This includes developing a schedule and coordinating several teams to collect samples in different subregions for each region as well as shipping equipment and supplies needed for each of the team to carry out their tasks.

CSS employee owners work alongside federal program staff and local partners to collect samples throughout the regions. In fiscal year 2024 CSS staff deployed to the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean, which includes Alaska, Hawaii, and the West Coast. The team adds data they collect during these missions to the Coastal Pollution Data Explorer, a cloud-based ArcGIS platform that allows users to search by location or type of contaminant, generate a report, and download the data. A CSS employee owner serves as the lead developer for this online platform. Learn more about NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program.

Three people on a boat.
Person on a boat holding a bucket.

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Supporting Response Efforts Following California Fires 

Following the fires that devastated Los Angeles, California and surrounding areas in January 2025, CSS employee owners were deployed to the area as a subcontractor to Weston Solutions, Inc. to assist with the response. This effort supports U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START) program.   Initially, a CSS…

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”,…

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Monitoring Air Quality in California’s San Joaquin Valley

CSS employee owners supported the deployment and operation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality monitoring trailer (WEAVE COM – Western Enhanced Air quality VEhicle for COmmunity Monitoring) in California’s San Joaquin Valley in during late fall and early winter of 2024.  Elevated particulate matter (PM2.5) is frequently found throughout the valley during…