TOSC Services

TOSC can help communities with hazardous substance concerns in three main ways. We can:

  1. Review and explain technical reports.
  2. Help community members work effectively with regulators and other stakeholders.
  3. Answer questions and provide educational workshops about health concerns, the cleanup process, and environmental regulations.

Below are details about each of these services. If you have an idea of something you would like help with, please contact us -- we'll be glad to talk with you.

1. Help with Technical Reports

The reports that identify hazardous substance contamination and cleanup plans can be long, technical, and confusing. How can a community be an active participant in the cleanup process if the reports are so hard to understand?

TOSC staff have technical backgrounds and strong communication skills. We can review documents such as cleanup proposals and site assessments and help communities understand them. We provide an outside perspective -- we are from a university and are not part of the regulatory agencies or other groups involved with the site.

Our staff members have backgrounds in civil engineering, public health, environmental regulation, and environmental cleanup. We can also draw on the expertise of the university faculty at our parent center, The Western Region Hazardous Substance Research Center (WRHSRC).

Two examples:
  • In Tempe, AZ a community was concerned about health effects of air emissions from a foundry. TOSC reviewed emissions monitoring data and risk assessment reports and helped the community understand them. TOSC also provided comments to regulators and was later asked to help develop an emissions monitoring plan.
  • In San Francisco, CA, The Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for the US Army's Presidio Military Installation asked TOSC to research and review alternative cleanup methods for the site. TOSC was able to help the RAB by providing an outside perspective and additional technical expertise.

 

2. Help with Communication

TOSC staff can help community members effectively communicate their concerns to regulators and other stakeholders. For example, TOSC staff can provide training in conflict resolution or "coach" community members in ways to strengthen their leadership and communication skills. We often accompany community members to public meetings.

An example:

In Oakland, CA TOSC is participating in a series of mediation sessions between the Chester Street Block Club Association and the State of California. The community filed an environmental justice complaint about the way a neighborhood site was cleaned up and converted to a park.

 

3. Workshops and other Educational Materials

Photograph of Michael Fernandez giving a workshop.TOSC and TAB can provide information to the community in the form of fact sheets and workshops. We have given community workshops on topics such as:

  • health concerns,
  • environmental risks and risk assessment,
  • the regulatory process, and
  • potential cleanup technologies.

An example:

TOSC created a fact sheet on perchloroethylene (PCE) for a community in Santa Rosa, CA. Their groundwater had been contaminated with the substance and they wanted a two page information sheet they could give out to neighbors. The sheet explained what PCE is, its potential health effects from typical water uses in the community, and how contamination can be cleaned up.

You can view the fact sheet as pdf document (you need the free software program Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it).

Link to more information about working with us --