United States Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OS-305) EPA530-N-92-003 Summer 1992 &EPA RCRA Information Access to e I c to RCRA Information Access by Sylvia K. Lowrance Director, Office of Solid Waste During the last several years, we have seen a significant increase in the use of the RCRA Infor- mation Center (RIC). For example, in 1989 RIC responded to over 45,000 requests for information or materials from 24,000 requestors; by 1991, the number of requests had jumped to 256,000 from 87,000 indi- viduals and institutions. This growth can be at- tributed to the expand- . ing array of services and information RIC offers. The goal of RCRA In- formation Access is to keep RCRA staff abreast of the changes and improvements at RIC. This newsletter will feature articles on a variety of topics, such as RIC's information technology and document collections. We hope RCRA Information Access will encourage you to capitalize on RIC's multi- tude of services. C Usage Trends A STOREHOUSE OF INFORMATION geographies version The first phase of the RCRA Docket Micrographics Conver- sion Project is nearing comple- tion. During this phase, EPA has been converting to microfilm the dockets of all finalized rules, Administrative Record files, j and proposed rules published before 1988 but never finalized. More than 170 cubic feet of pa- per documents have been filmed, and the originals have been sent to the Federal Record Center. The motives for launching the Conversion Project were simple: to save money/ increase efficiency, and prolong the physical life of RCRA documents. Storage and document management expenses have been cut by more than 90 percent as a result of the project. Older materials take up less space, leaving more room for new dockets and a growing number of OSW publications and Federal Registers. In addition, micro- film minimizes the risks of docket loss, theft, or misfiling. In the second phase of this project, OSW publica- tions (including guidance documents, technical re- ports, booklets, brochures, fact sheets, and Reports to Congress) will be con- verted to both microfiche and microfilm formats. OSW publications that are no longer in print or that are available only through NTIS will be duplicated to microfiche for state and federal government em- ployees. Using microfiche rather than paper docu- ments will reduce both photocopying and postage costs. The microfilm docu- ments will be available for all RIC patrons to use. For information and in- Room M2427 struction on how to use the ^Waterside Mall micrographics system, visit 401 M Street, SW, the RIC staff in RoomM2427 Washington, DC of Waterside Mall, or call (202)260-9327 (202)260-9327. •r42X <5g> Printed on recycled paper. ^Tours Available: 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Public Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. RCRA Information Center (RIC) U.S. Environmental ^Protection Agency ------- Know.. RIC patrons can access many special collections and on-line services, such as the EPA/NOAA Library Information Network Catalog (UNO. UNC zs a com- puterized card catalog available on CD-ROM, which contains re- cords on all of the holdings in the 28 EPA libraries and the 22 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration (NOAA) libraries and information centers. UNC users can access more than 228,000 records of environ- mental information, including books, technical reports, maps, conference proceedings, journals, and other documents and materi- als in a variety of formats. UNC's CD-ROM media is highly user- friendly, providing on-screen help windows and various mecha- nisms to prevent the user from getting lostzoithin the system. RCRA INFORMATION CENTER STAFF OH STAFFED BY LABAT-ANDERSON, INC. COMMONLY REQUESTED PUBLICATIONS Ask for These Items at the RIC Reference Desk Native American Network: A RCRA Information Exchange Newsletter covers RCRA's solid waste management issues. Serves as a forum to exchange experiences and ideas among tribes to enhance working relationships among tribal governments, EPA, other federal agencies, and state and local governments. Recycle Today! Educational Materials for Grades K-12 (Pamphlet) EPA/530-SW-90-025 Encourages children to recycle and conserve materials. Contains information for ordering free educational materials (curriculum guide, how-to handbook, comic book, and poster) available to teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade. Reusable News ~. . . , . Quarterly newsletter by the Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste Division that reports on EPA's and others' efforts to safely and effectively manage garbage. Includes articles on recycling, procurement, markets, composting, and informa- tion available for EPA and other organizations. RCRA/Superfund Monthly Hotline Report: 1991 Annual Report EPAJ530-SW-91-093N (PB92-131390) Provides a compilation of Questions and Answers and Federal Register Summa- ries from individual Monthly Hotline Reports for the period of January to December 1991. It is divided into three sections: Questions and Answers, Federal Register Summaries, and Indices to the questions, according to subject matter and regulatory and statutory citations. Technical Implementation Document for EPA's Boiler and Industrial Furnace Regulations EPA/530-R-92-011 (PB92-154 947) Provides permit writers and owners/operators with technical guidance for following BIF Rule requirements. Addresses certainprecompliance and compliance certification activities, per- mitting, continued compliance with operating requirements, and associated planning and testing required for compliance with rules. If you ideas ¥FV%- ~* / ^ , •v Kathy Bruneske Veronica "Ronnie" McCrohan Fabienne McGovern Retta Williams Gregg Baumgartner Caleb Corkery Audrey Dykes Jonathan Smith Aimee Soubier Alvin Pulley 'Program Director Head Librarian Reference Librarian Organization of New Docket Materials and Public Comments; Maintains RCRADS Document Distribution Document Distribution Microfilming Project Reference Technician Photocopying and Mailing Microfilming and Archiving for future articles or questions con- act: , , / * , ' / , Barbara Both *Chief, Information Services Section EPA, RCRA Docket „ (202) 260-285& ' , . / Kathy Bruneske - Program Director, RIC Labat-Anderspn, Inc. ^(202)260-3986 ^ \ ------- |