Drinking Water Data Analysis Efforts

A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional references

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

If you have questions, send an email to EPArpp@orau.org . Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.

A postgraduate research opportunity is currently available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water (OW).  This appointment will be served with the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) in Washington, DC.

The Standards and Risk Management Division (SRMD) in OGWDW is primarily responsible for the development of regulations and regulatory tools and analyses in support of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). SRMD conducts analyses on a wide variety of chemical and microbiological constituents potentially in our drinking water supplies, develops analytical methods, and collects and analyzes monitoring information on regulated and unregulated contaminants and other parameters related to drinking water. If needed, SRMD establishes standards for drinking water constituents that pose a threat to human health, develops technical information to support drinking water standards, and provides technical assistance on drinking water issues. SRMD also reviews and revises existing drinking water standards. In addition, SRMD coordinates with other EPA offices, states, environmental groups, drinking water providers, laboratories, and other interested parties.

The intern will be trained to conduct research for various management and regulatory activities within SRMD that will be used to inform the evaluation of drinking water contaminants and the potential development and/or revision of drinking water regulations.

The intern will be involved in the following projects:

• Development of approaches/models used for scientific or regulatory analyses/evaluations, development/implementation of statistical and other models used to examine large data sets, assembly and evaluation of publicly-available data sets, including watershed data and information about treated drinking water, the review of scientific or regulatory analyses/evaluations, the interpretation of findings, and the preparation and review of materials or documents used to support EPA’s drinking water regulatory and management efforts;
• Identification and evaluation of significant and critical factors to perform scientific and regulatory analyses/evaluations and draw rational inferences based on established principles;
• Development of information/analyses/materials for stakeholder outreach efforts.

This internship provides an opportunity for the intern to:

• Conduct scientific data analysis and evaluations and assist in developing documents/reports/papers that support a variety of efforts under SDWA mandates;
• Gain experience in EPA’s process for identifying drinking water contaminants of concern, evaluating human health risk/exposure, and assessing potential risk mitigation approaches;
• Gain experience in project design, strategic planning, and project management; and
• Coordinate outreach efforts and share pertinent information with external stakeholders.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and EPA.  

Applicants must have received a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a biological or physical science, engineering, environmental, health, or a public health field within five years of the desired starting date, or completion of all requirements for the degree should be expected prior to the starting date.

The appointment is full time for one year and may be renewed upon recommendation of EPA and contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend. The annual stipend will range from $43,684 to $53,435 based on level of education. Funding may be made available to reimburse the participant’s travel expenses to present the results of his/her research at scientific conferences. No funding will be made available to cover travel costs for pre-appointment visits, relocation costs, tuition and fees, or participant’s health insurance. The participant must show proof of health and medical insurance. The participant does not become an EPA employee.

The mentor for this project is Richard Weisman (weisman.richard@epa.gov).

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree received within the last 60 month(s).
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (2 )
  • Engineering (3 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (8 )