Environmental Response Laboratory Network
About ERLN | Membership | Programs and Tools
EPA established the Environmental Response Laboratory Network in 2009 to address a need for a national network of laboratories with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear analytical capabilities to support the emergency response community in mitigation of CBRN threats.
On this page:
- What is the Environmental Response Laboratory Network?
- What is the Water Laboratory Alliance?
- What is the Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks?
- ERLN and WLA Membership
What is the Environmental Response Laboratory Network?
The ERLN is a comprehensive, all-hazard/all-environmental media laboratory network that can be activated as needed to provide analytical data of known quality in support of environmental emergency response and recovery actions. The ERLN integrates the capabilities of public sector laboratories with accredited private sector laboratories and can be used to support incidents of any scale during the preparedness, response, and remediation phases.
The mission of the ELRN is to provide federal, state, Tribal, and territory decision-makers with reliable, high-quality analytical data used to identify chemical, biological, and radiological, and radiological contaminants collected in support of response and cleanup activities. The ERLN's goals are to:
- Provide environmental laboratory testing capability and capacity to meet EPA's responsibilities for surveillance, response, decontamination, and recovery from incidents involving the release of chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants.
- Facilitate coordination of laboratories capable of responding efficiently and effectively to incidents.
- Establish relationships and priorities with other federal laboratory networks through the Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks in preparation for a major environmental event.
The ERLN is a recognized homeland security asset and provides EPA emergency responders with access to vetted labs with a broad spectrum of analytical capabilities. The ERLN utilizes a streamlined process for data users to easily assess reliable analytical data of known quality from multiple laboratories.
What is the Water Laboratory Alliance?
The Water Laboratory Alliance is a subset of the ERLN that serves the drinking water sector. WLA members have the capabilities and capacity to analyze drinking water samples in the event of natural, intentional, or unintentional drinking water contamination incidents involving chemical, biological, or radiochemical contaminants. The WLA offers a host of free tools, resources and best practices to help facilitate successful and timely incident responses.
Additional information about the Water Laboratory Alliance
What is the Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks?
The Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks is a partnership of nine federal agencies which coordinates federally sponsored analytical laboratory services for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. In addition to EPA, the partners include:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of State
During CBRN incidents, the ICLN provides timely, credible, and interpretable data in support of the surveillance, early detection, and effective consequence management. The ERLN is one of seven federal laboratory networks in the ICLN and is tasked with providing analytical support for characterizing the extent and degree of contamination in environmental media during response and remediation activities. The ERLN also has the primary role in the analysis of drinking water and wastewater. Other laboratory networks in the ICLN include:
- The DoD Laboratory Network
- The Center for Disease Control's Laboratory Response Network
- USDA's National Animal Health Laboratory Network
- USDA's National Plant Diagnostic Network
- The U.S Food and Drug Administration's Food Emergency Response Network
- FDA's Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network
Additional information about the ICLN's mission and members
ERLN and WLA Membership
The ERLN and WLA are made up of EPA, commercial, state public health, local/municipal, public utility, and other laboratories. Membership is voluntary and not restricted by the type of laboratory. All ERLN and WLA laboratories have been evaluated and determined to meet the ERLN and WLA capacity and quality standards.