The ITRC Biological Contaminant of Emerging Concern Guidance (published November 2025) is a tool to educate state regulators on processes and resources available to address emerging biological health risks in the environment. This training will provide an overview of the components of the guidance — process guide, conceptual exposure models, key variables for assessment, analytical methods for characterization, and a monitoring program inventory.

A Biological Contaminant of Emerging Concern (BioCEC) is defined as "a microbial pathogenic agent that may pose newly identified risks to humans through the environment and found in a vector, water, soil, waste, or air." "New identified risks" are informed by novel pathogens (hazard), their expanded prevalence (fate/transport), and/or new transmission pathways (exposure).

Novel and emerging biological contaminants are an area of great importance to the states as demonstrated by the notable challenges public health agencies have faced in recent decades when waste streams are diverted or insufficiently managed. A major challenge in public health is managing and reducing the risk associated with the transmission of harmful microorganisms (pathogens) and their resulting infectious diseases. Anthropogenic impacts on environmental systems can create niches for pathogens to survive and transport pathways for them to spread and cause disease outbreak.

The ITRC BioCEC guidance (published November 2025) brings attention to the nexus of environmental and public health investigations and highlights available resources and practices to monitor and manage an emerging environmental pathogen. To view this archive online or download the slides associated with this seminar, please visit http://www.clu-in.org/conf/itrc/CECBio_112025/