Make a Market Tech Challenge DEADLINE December 31, 2022

(Environmental Protection Agency) EPA launched the Make a Market Tech Challenge to solicit innovative strategies for market assessments of new technologies developed by EPA researchers. The challenge asks teams or individual participants to choose one of five patented EPA technologies listed below and compete to develop innovative market assessments for the selected technology. The technologies in this challenge have not been externally tested or verified. All have been filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office for patenting.

Groundwater can be contaminated from natural sources of soil and sediment deposits or from industrial sources such as burning fossil fuels and mining. Arsenic pollution poses a great environmental risk as ingestion of arsenic-contaminated groundwater can lead to serious poisoning incidents. To address this risk, EPA researchers have invented a novel way to detect troubling pollutants that are found in many superfund sites, landfills, and other polluted locations. The “Water Contamination Detection Kit,” invented by Tao Li and Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie, detects arsenic pollutants as well as additional water contaminants, such as PFAS, mercury, and carbamate pesticides through electrochemical biosensors. This invention is easy-to-use, shelf stable, disposable, and highly portable for measuring pollutant concentrations in a wide variety of sites. This detection technology will be instrumental in monitoring and eliminating contaminants from polluted water sites as well as preventing the spread of contamination to water supplies.

Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, are frequently found in freshwater systems. Cyanobacteria can produce toxins that are poisonous to livestock, wildlife, and humans, as well as cause odor problems and oxygen depletion. EPA inventor Jingrang Lu created a technology that will help water officials monitor toxic cyanobacterial levels in recreation and drinking water sources. The “Portable Cyanobacteria Detection Kit for Recreation and Drinking Water Supplies,” may help water officials quickly and accurately determine when specific toxin-producing cyanobacteria could produce detectible cyanotoxin too rapidly for public safety. Using qPCR (a method for measuring and detecting DNA), this technology can quantify the amount of cyanotoxins, harmful toxins that can lead to gastrointestinal, neurological, and liver disorders. Using this portable, easy to use technology, water officials will be able to rapidly identify and/or even predict harmful algal blooms (HABs) and make decisions to protect our recreational and drinking water resources.

Monochloramine has been used in low concentrations as a secondary disinfectant in the treatment of municipal water supplies as an alternative to adding chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses. However, monochloramine addition remains a concern in drinking water utilities as nitrification can occur in water systems containing monochloramine, reducing water quality, and promoting microbial growth. EPA’s newly developed sensor monitors monochloramine throughout water systems to determine whether the local concentration of monochloramine successfully controls the growth of biofilms, a collection of organic and inorganic material that adheres to the surface of the pipes in a water system. The “In situ Monochloramine Sensor for Monitoring Drinking Water Disinfectant Concentrations,” created by Jonathan Pressman, Woo Hyoung Lee, and David Wahman, generates data to allow municipal water systems to analyze the effectiveness of its treatment of biofilms within pipes. As more municipal water systems turn to monochloramine as a secondary disinfectant, this sensor will help them determine the proper doses to use and disinfectant residual remaining, ensuring that the health of consumers within the municipal water supply is protected and their water is clean.

Activities such as industrial processes and agricultural chemical use can produce man-made, toxic substances composed of organic compounds. These toxic chemicals are called persistent halogenated contaminants, and they do not degrade easily in the environment. The pollutants can enter waterways and harm people and wildlife. EPA created a technology to remediate persistent halogenated contaminants in waterbodies by stripping the halogens, making the pollutants unstable and, eventually, removing their risk. The “Carbon Traps to Deactivate Halogen Containing Pollutants” technology, invented by Souhail Al-Abed, John McKernan, and Slawomir Lomnicki can be placed in filters and traps that are then dispersed in lakes and streams or it can be used to decontaminate ecosystems for local wildlife and drinking water. Benefits of this material include an easy, hands-off method to clean water and sediments contaminated with halogenated pollutants, as well as to reduce bioaccumulation, the gradual accumulation of substances in people or animals, of those pollutants in food stocks. The technology represents an important step forward in securing water quality and food security for public health and the environment.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs), which can appear in water bodies across the country during warm weather months, are an indicator of poor water quality and can potentially cause serious environmental concerns, including impacting human and aquatic health. When cyanobacterial HABs occur in recreational waters or source waters used for drinking, the toxins that may be released can cause respiratory or skin irritation and even illness in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. EPA researchers Blake Schaeffer, Robyn Conmy, Darryl Keith, Ross Lunetta, Mark Murphy, and Torrin Hultgren have developed a “Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) App” to detect and forecast HABs across U.S. freshwater and coastal water systems. The mobile application uses satellite imagery to provide an easy-to-use and customizable interface to show users where HABs are occurring in water bodies. The technology can also supply critical information for users to pinpoint potential problem areas and make appropriate plans to reduce exposure to HABs. The tool will empower recreational water users and water professionals to make real time decisions on water use at the point of contact, enhancing the safe use of recreational and drinking water supplies.