title: What do the data show? Knowledge map development for comprehensive environmental assessment.
abstract: Environmental and human health risk assessments benefit from using data that cross multiple scientific domains. Although individual data points may often be readily understood, the total picture can be difficult to envision. This is especially true with gaps in the data (e.g., with emerging substances such as engineered nanomaterials [ENM]), such that simply presenting only known information can result in a skewed picture. This study describes a method for building knowledge maps (KM) to visually summarize factors relevant to risk assessment in a relatively easy to interpret format. The KMs were created in the context of the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) approach for research planning and risk management of environmental contaminants. Recent applications of CEA to emerging substances such as engineered nanomaterials that have numerous data gaps have suggested that a more visually based depiction of information would improve the approach. We developed KM templates as a pilot project, to represent pertinent aspects of conceptual domains, and to highlight gaps in available information for one particular portion of a specific CEA application: the comparison of environmental transport, transformation, and fate of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and decabromodiphenyl ether as flame retardants. The results are 3 KM templates representing Physical Properties, Transport, and Transformation. The 3 templates were applied to both substances, resulting in a total of 6 KMs. In addition to presenting the KMs, this paper details the process used to generate them, to aid KM development for other sections of CEA applied to MWCNTs, or to apply the process to new CEA applications.
authors: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
authors: Kyle
authors: K
authors: Painter
authors: Emma R
authors: ER
authors: McConnell
authors: Samir
authors: S
authors: Sahasrabudhe
authors: Lyle
authors: L
authors: Burgoon
authors: Christina M
authors: CM
authors: Powers
mesh_terms: D001330:Electronic Data Processing / Q000379:methods*; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; C010902:decabromobiphenyl ether
keywords: Comprehensive environmental assessment; Data gaps; Data visualization; Engineered nanomaterials; Knowledge maps