-------
R
research is the most fundamental of the tools that promote environmen-
tal quality. Without the strong, scientific and technical knowledge that
results from research and development programs, standard-setting would not
be possible, control technologies would not exist, and there would be
nothing to enforce.//
— EPA Science Advisory Board,
Future Risk: Strategies for the 1990s
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
UNIQUE RESOURCES.
WATER, LAND,
HAZARDOUS WASTES
Protecting
Drinking Water
.1
.5
CROSS-CUTTING
ACTIVITIES
.24
Detecting Pollutants 25
Protecting
Ambient Waters
Superfund R&D:
Cleaning Up Releases of
Hazardous Substances....
Protecting the Land
....8
....9
.14
.17
.21
Assessing the
Human Health Risk
of Pollutants
.28
Preventing Pollution 30
Transforming Information
into Action 31
Collaboration, Cooperation,
and Exchange 34
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION 35
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INTRODUCTION
Research and development (R&D) is the cornerstone of environmental protection.
R&D efforts generate the scientific and technological tools to help us understand
the causes, extent, and consequences of pollution and to develop strategies for pre-
vention and abatement. They provide the foundation of knowledge necessary to formulate
environmental policy and laws and to develop the regulations by which we implement
these legislative mandates. For these reasons, research and development has been an es-
sential component of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) activities since
the Agency's creation in 1970. ,
As one of the largest of EPA's R&D facilities, the Andrew W. Breidenbach
Environmental Research Center in Cincinnati has played an important role in advancing
environmental protection. Dedicated in 1975 and opened in 1976, the Center consolidat-
ed several environmental laboratories that had established an international reputation for
water research. With its state-of-the-art facilities and highly experienced staff, the Center
has continued this tradition of excellence in water research and has become a leader in
new areas of concern, such as hazardous and solid waste management, that have emerged
in recent years. In addition, the Center supports many EPA programs by evaluating the
risks posed by environmental pollution, developing methods to analyze environmental
media for pollutants, developing methods to treat and control pollution, and running ed-
ucation and outreach programs to increase awareness about ways to lessen pollution. Its
laboratories and offices enhance their R&D efforts by collaborating with EPA program of-
fices, regional offices, state and local governments, federal agencies, universities, industry,
and international organizations to identify environmental problems and develop solu-
tions.
The Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center currently encompasses
eight technical laboratories and offices that manage a diversity of research programs, and
two administrative offices that provide essential administrative support.
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,. _ ___
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
develops technologies to prevent, reduce, treat, and control pollution - particularly pollution
from hazardous and solid wastes and in drinking water and wastewater.
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory
develops methods and quality assurance materials for monitoring pollutants in the
environment.
Health Effects Research Laboratory
conducts toxicological and epidemiological studies to better understand the potential health
effects of chemicals in drinking water, ambient water, and wastewater sludge.
_. _ ____ _
Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office *
develops and applies methods for assessing the noncancer health effects of exposure to envi-
ronmental chemicals - particularly those found in ambient water, drinking water, and
hazardous wastes.
Technical Support Division
provides support to EPA in developing drinking water regulations and to communities in
complying with the regulations.
Environmental Response Team
provides training and technical assistance for response to hazardous materials emergencies.
Center for Environmental Research Information
communicates the results of EPA's R&D efforts to people who can use and apply the
information.
Office of the Senior Official for Research and Development
fosters communication and exchange between the Center's scientists and national and inter-
national representatives from government, academia, industry, and the public. Also provides
support services for the Center's R&D activities.
OFFICES
Office of Administration and Resources Management
provides the human resources and administrative support essential for the Center's R&D
activities.
Office of Civil Rights
is responsible for affirmative action and outreach to increase the contribution of minorities
and women to environmental research at the Center.
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RELATIONSHIP OF THE ANDREW W. BREIDENBACH ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH CENTER TO EPA PROGRAM AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
CINCINNATI, OHIO
Administrator
Office of Water
Office of
Research &
Development
Office of
Drinking Water
Office of
Technology
Transfer and
Regulatory
Support
Office of
Health and
Environmental
Assessment
Office of
Modeling,
Monitoring
Systems and
Quality Assurance
Technical
Support Division
Center for
Environmental
Research
Information
Environmental
Criteria and
Assessment
Office
Office of Senior
Official for
Research and
Development
QSORD
Environmental
Monitoring
Systems
Laboratory
~5&H £*M$*H
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Office of Civil
Rights
Office of
Administration
and Resources
Management
Office of Health
Research
Office of
Environmental
Engineering and
Technology
Demonstration
Health Effects
Research
Laboratory,
Research Triangle
Park, I\IC
Office of Solid
Waste and
Emergency
Response
Health Effects
Research
Laboratory
Risk Reduction
Engineering
Laboratory
•Office of
Administration
and Resources
Management
OARM
jf
Environmental
Response Team
Office of Civil
Rights
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UNIQUE
RESOURCES
I FACILITIES^ __ _„;
Constructed as a state-of-the-art laboratory, the
Center has some of the most advanced environmental in-
strumentation and research facilities in the world. The
Center's resources also include offsite facilities in the
greater Cincinnati area and in New Jersey and Arkansas.
This diversity provides unique capabilities for environ-
mental R&D.
The Center's most important resource is its staff—600
full-time professionals and 250 onsite support staff. The
staff bring to the Center an unusually high degree of edu-
cation and experience: over 80% have college degrees and
13%, Ph.D.s. Their skills encompass a broad range of dis-
ciplines, including chemistry, microbiology, toxicology,
epidemiology, and environmental engineering. Many of
the staff are national and international experts with sev-
eral decades of experience in environmental R&D.
Conscious of the importance of professional talent to
excellence in research, the Center's Office of Adminis-
tration and Resources Management (OARM) conducts an
active and innovative human resources program to pro-
vide working conditions that attract and develop a broad
base of professional talent. The Center's Office of Civil
Rights plays a major role in staff development through
programs to promote equal opportunity at the Center and
to enhance young adults' awareness about career opportu-
nities in environmental fields. These include a Minority
Apprenticeship Program to stimulate minority high
school students' awareness of and interest in science
fields, a Black Employment Program to promote environ-
mental education among black college students and to re-
cruit professionals, a Hispanic Employment Program to
recruit professionals, and several programs to address the
concerns of professional women.
• MOBILE TREATMENT UNITS. These
t units can be transported to different
ft locations to study effective ways to treat
'"specific wastes. Four units are used to
-. Study treatment of industrial
wastewaters, such as those produced by
e. the iron and steel industry; two units are
f used to study ways to treat soils, sludges,
djments, or liquid wastes
inated with halogenated (e.g.,
^-containing) pollutants.
ill
INJRING WATER PILOT PLANTS.
iese plants are used to examine how
ll treatment processes such as
g£ilonnation, activated carbon,
EfiTtration, diffused air aeration, packed
*« column air stripping, and ozonation
1'remove or alter contaminants in
^drinking water.
'•-' flSfCINERATfON RESEARCH FACILITY
IN JEFFERSON, ARKANSAS. This
* facility tests the effectiveness of
"A-'incineration technologies for treating
'hazardous wastes and mixtures of
'^organic chemicals and metals.
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I RESEARCH CONTAINMENT FACILITY
HFOR HAZARDOUS WASTES. In 1989,
H$he Center completed construction of a
Specialized facility for evaluating
Ipnethods to test and treat hazardous
^wastes. This state-of-the-art facility,
-unique in the nation, includes
*ynaximum safety features to preclude
"^exposure of employees or the
^urrounding environment to hazardous
"chemicals.
_EL£CTRON MICROSCOPE. This
[instrument magnifies images 50 to
fe| 00,000 times and can chemically
rtnalyze heavy metals in seconds It is
Spied to detect lead in drinking water, to
gjjudy asbestos removal methods, and to
Jggaluate methods for removing
{"chemicals from water
FISH TOXICOLOGY RESEARCH
FACILITY IN NEWTOWN, OHIO.
Here, scientists study the effects of
pollutants on live aquatic organisms and
use this information to develop
standards for evaluating aquatic toxicity.
The staff also raise test organisms and
distribute them to EPA regional
laboratories as well as state and private •
laboratories. ;
ifiATHOGENIC SUITE. This state-of-the-
f"ar.t facility is used for the safe study of
& disease organisms that pose a human
t health risk in environmental media such
»as drinking water. For example, the
as been instrumental in
^detecting and identifying viruses in
Tdrinking water, and in developing
^standardized methods for pathogen
t analysis that can be applied by other
laboratories.
!T AND EVALUATION (T&E)
^FACILITY. This 22,000-square-foot
CE—r|yjs used to study technologies for
^tjng municipal and industrial
JflStewaters and hazardous wastes
^Located next to one of Cincinnati's
tmjun,icipal wastewater treatment plants,
**" |f4S8.1i,ty draws wastewater and sludge
•onx,the plant for research purposes.
f i -i — -.j-^^.^ ^JL~
^ .CONTROL BRANCH IN
>ISON,~NEW JERSEY. This Branch "
and applies technologies to
rOiazardous wastes, evaluates
fgcjjriglogies to detect leaks from „
ridergrqund storage tanks, and
^provides technical assistance to EPA
IpypSgency response teams throughout *
fjhe country. For example, researchers ;
^Jiere.designed a mobile incineration unit
in 1977 — the first in the nation —that
l^asjasf ejnonerated I2 million pounds ,
|,tof3lioxin-contaming wastes at eight
•^Superfund sites
^CENTER HILL RESEARCH FACILITY.
of engineers and
.joentists conduct research and offer
^hnicaLassistance in geotechnology,
^ochemistry, and geohydrology.
^ivi|ies to.clude 1) assessing chemical
^pjidificatton/stabilization (CSS)
^technologies for Superfund projects and
ffofasli frorrTrnunicipal waste
^gcjnerators; 2) developing pollution
jpSmtrol technologies; 3) researching
f computer-aided engineering techniques
puch^as modeling the flow of ground
Water and the transport of
^contaminants. __
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•m
.;#. ;«#!
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WATER, LAND, HAZARDOUS WASTES
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PROTECTING DRINKING WATER
Drinking water is essential to our survival, yet
we have come to take it for granted. For
decades, our water has seemed safe because
disinfection has virtually eliminated epi-
demics from waterborne diseases such as cholera and
typhoid fever. In recent years, however, we have be-
come increasingly aware that other contaminants in
our nation's water supplies may pose a different kind
of public health threat. These contaminants include
industrial chemicals that have permeated source wa-
ters, chemical by-products produced when disinfec-
tants react with organic matter in water, and plumb-
ing materials such as lead that leach or corrode into
drinking water on its way to the tap. Advances in
chemical analysis have made it possible for scientists
to detect large numbers of these chemicals at very
low levels.
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of
1974 and its 1977 and 1986 amendments, EPA is re-
sponsible for protecting our nation's drinking water
from both chemical and microbial contaminants.
EPA's mandate includes promulgating national
drinking water standards, or "safe" levels, for 83 spe-
cific chemical and microbial contaminants by 1989,
as well as identifying and regulating at least 25 addi-
tional contaminants every three years thereafter.
Environmental laboratories in Cincinnati have
provided leadership in drinking water research for
several decades. In 1975, these laboratories were con-
solidated into the Center to become EPA's primary
facility for drinking water R&D. With this rich base
of experience, the Center plays a major role in help-
ing EPA fulfil its mandate under the SDWA. Research
includes identifying contaminants and their health
effects, developing and implementing technologies
to control contaminants, and developing standard-
ized test procedures and quality assurance materials
for monitoring the quality of drinking water sup-
plies.
Disinfection By-Products
The chlorine and other chemicals used to disin-
fect drinking water react with natural and industrial
organic materials in the source water to form chemi-
cal by-products. Increasingly, public health profes-
sionals are questioning whether these by-products
have adverse public health effects. In response to
this concern, EPA's
Office of Drinking
Water is developing a
new regulation covering
disinfection by-prod-
ucts, an effort that is
supported by an
Agency-wide Com-
mittee on Disinfection
By-Products. At the
Center, five offices par-
ticipate in the
Committee's efforts, in
the following areas:
ANALYTICAL MEANS
OF DETECTION. The
Environmental
Monitoring Systems
Laboratory (EMSL) is
evaluating and stan-
dardizing the analyti-
cal means of detecting
i Research by the Center's micro-:
I biologists helps reduce the, • i
!p[ubljc health threat fron?
organisms such as Gjardia\
(shoj/im here, magnified 14,pOO
i tjme?) that may occur in dr rising
vi/ateV. ' ' M ;
.Photo 'courtesy of Dennis E. Feely, University
of Nebraska and Dr. Stanley ErlandsenJ
University of Minnesota. i i
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disinfection by-products, and is providing appropri-
ate quality assurance materials for the analysis.
• OCCURRENCE. The Technical Support Division
(TSD) and Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
(RREL) are examining the frequency of occurrence
of different disinfection by-products in drinking
water.
• HEALTH EFFECTS. The Health Effects Research
Laboratory (HERL) has pioneered research efforts to
identify the adverse health effects of the by-prod-
ucts.
• TREATMENT. RREL is also looking for ways to con-
trol by-products in the water.
• RISK ASSESSMENT. The Environmental Criteria
and Assessment Office (ECAO) is assessing the
human health risks associated with exposure to dis-
infectants and their by-products.
HERL began work in the health effects area by
characterizing the types of chemicals formed during
chlorination. Many chlorination by-products occur at
very low levels in drinking water. To identify them,
Center scientists developed new analytical methods
capable of detecting chemicals at these low levels.
HERL has also been conducting toxicological and
epidemiological studies to determine whether any
chlorination by-products cause adverse health effects
such as cancer, cardiovascular effects, genetic toxicity,
or problems with reproduction or fetal development.
Some of these data point to a potential problem: for
example, chlorinated acetic acids—which are very
prevalent disinfection by-products—can cause liver
cancer in mice. These and other HERL research pro-
jects have provided an essential basis for developing
regulatory standards for 25 new chemicals every three
years, one of EPA's tasks under the SDWA.
Community Water Surveys
The SDWA allows EPA to propose chemicals for
regulation. In doing so, EPA must consider how
prevalent the chemical is in drinking water. The
Center's TSD supports this regulatory process by peri-
odically surveying the quality of community drinking
water supplies nationwide. These surveys tell EPA de-
cision-makers how widespread volatile contaminants
are in our drinking water and at what levels they are
detected. TSD has conducted four surveys: 1977,
1979, 1981, and 1986 (see box). A fifth is underway.
DRINKING WATER SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY THE
CENTER'S TECHNICAL SUPPORT DIVISION
1977- National Organic Monitoring Survey: Surveyed 113 systems serving 47
million people. First indication of widespread contamination by volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), Data on trihalomethanes supported'regulation.
1979- Community Water Supply Survey: Surveyed 436 systems. Samples from
45% of systems serving more than 10,000 persons contained at least one" VOC,
1981- Groundwa'ter Supply Survey: Surveyed 945 systems. 24% of all groundwater
systems were contaminated by at least one VOC, 12% by multiple contaminants.
Identified most frequently occurring VOCs. Data formed basis for regulation.
1986- National Inorganic and Radionuclide Survey: Surveyed 990 groundwater
systems. Samples from 11% of systems, all of which served fewer than 3300
'persons, contained radon at more than 1000 picocurfes per, liter. Data provided
basis for proposed regulation fpr both inorganic contaminarits.and radionuclides.
1988-90- National Pesticide Survey: Surveying 1350 water systems and domestic
wells. Being conducted jointly by the Office of Drinking Wafer and the Office of
Pesticide Programs. Data obtained to characterize pesticide contamination
nationally and relate it to agricultural use and th§ vulnerability of groundwater to
contamination.
Assessing the Health Effects of
Chemical Contaminants
Once a chemical is slated for regulation, a stan-
dard must be set according to a specific time table
specified within the SDWA. ECAO helps provide the
scientific basis and rationale for setting specific stan-
dards by compiling available data on the health ef-
fects of chemicals in drinking water. These data, pub-
lished as Drinking Water Criteria Documents, provide
EPA regulatory officials with a basis for setting
Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs).
MCLGs—the maximum levels of contaminants at
which no known or anticipated adverse health effects
are expected to occur—are an important basis for set-
ting final standards.
Identifying Microbial
Contaminants
Disinfecting drinking water is a highly effective
means of eliminating microorganisms that cause dis-
ease. When treatment systems fail, however, the dis-
ease outbreaks that occasionally occur provide oppor-
tunities to study why these systems fail and how such
failure can be prevented in the future. By request
from a state or municipality, Center staff gather data
in the affected community to pinpoint the nature
and cause of the disease as well as to suggest improve-
ments in the treatment system. One outcome of these
detective efforts—the association of the disease giar-
diasis with unfiltered water—resulted in EPA creating
a regulation that specified when treatment systems
must filter their source water to protect public health.
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TRACKING DOWN A
DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANT
In 1987, when a suspected outbreak of Cryptosporidium occurred
in Carrollton, Georgia, EPA was asked to investigate. Contaminated
drinking water was thought to be the cause. Center parasitologists
visited Carrollton and found Cryptosporidium both in the town's
source water and in the drinking water system. They pinpointed the
cause of the outbreak as inadequate filter operation and an RREL en-
gineer suggested changes in the town's treatment process to prevent
another occurrence.
Because of the Center's international leadership in
Cryptosporidium research, Center scientists were again called upon
two years later to provide assistance with an outbreak—this time in
London. After this occurrence, Center scientists successfully devel-
oped an antibody to Cryptosporidium.
Some disease outbreaks are caused by organisms
that, until recently, were unknown. Giardia, an organ-
ism that has caused numerous waterborne outbreaks
of diarrhea, was only identified in the 1970s. More re-
cently, an infectious protozoan called Cryptosporidium
that can be fatal to immunocompromised or im-
munosuppressed persons has been detected in some
drinking water supplies. The Center's staff include
world leaders who develop methods to accurately de-
tect and monitor these organisms, and identify treat-
ment methods that will remove or inactivate them in
drinking water.
Assessing Exposure
to Drinking Water
Contaminants in Air
Ingesting water is the usual—but
not the only—way for people to be ex-
posed to chemicals in drinking water.
Some chemicals rapidly evaporate from
drinking water into air, particularly
when the water is flowing vigorously,
such as during showering. Some of
HERL's research efforts have analyzed
the possible levels of exposure from in-
halation of compounds like radon and
certain organic chemicals that evaporate
from drinking water into air. For certain
compounds, inhalation has proved to
be a greater source of exposure than in-
gestion. This finding has helped deter-
mine the standards set for these com-
pounds.
Advancing Drinking
Water Treatment
To meet increasingly stringent drinking water
standards, many utilities will have to upgrade their
existing drinking water treatment facilities or design
new ones. TSD has been a leader in evaluating drink-
ing water treatment systems, such as packed column
air stripping, which is now widely used for removing
VOCs from drinking water.
At its drinking water pilot facilities, RREL opti-
mizes and compares treatment systems to determine
the most cost-effective ways to meet national drink-
ing water regulations. The results of these efforts help
municipalities choose appropriate systems for their
treatment needs. RREL also studies contaminant
movement through drinking water treatment and dis-
tribution systems and develops criteria to help mu-
nicipalities determine whether their source water is
safe enough to serve as a drinking water supply.
Helping Municipalities Meet
Drinking Water Regulations
Drinking water regulations are effective only to
the degree that they are implemented by suppliers
and accepted and enforced by state and local officials.
The Center's staff work with these groups to
familiarize them with the regulatory requirements
and the technological options for compliance. For
EMSL workers prepare media for growing viruses.
-------
example, the staff work with selected municipalities
to help them implement measures to prevent corro-
sion of lead and copper in their drinking water distri-
bution systems, and to operate their systems more ef-
ficiently.
The Center for
Environmental Research
Information (CERI) also
runs regional workshops
and publishes guidance
to address various
drinking water issues. For
several years, CERI has
collaborated with the
American Water Works
Association in organizing
drinking-water-related
workshops. This
relationship ensures
broad participation in
workshops and wide-
spread dissemination of
information to engineers
and regulators. Because
of the success of this
collaboration, CERI is
exploring similar
relationships with other
trade associations.
Bringing Small
Systems into Compliance
The vast majority of our nation's public water
suppliers are small water systems serving 25 to 3,300
people. Many of these systems currently do not com-
ply with environmental regulations, often because
they cannot afford the necessary equipment for treat-
ment. This situation is getting worse: EPA is promul-
gating additional drinking water standards each year,
so in the future there will be many more contami-
nants to monitor. Also, current regulations regarding
lead in distribution systems and disinfection by-prod-
ucts are being strengthened. Implementing the
changes could cost billions of dollars—a load cities
may be able to handle, but not small communities
that are already unable to meet the standards.
Another problem is the technology needed to moni-
tor often tiny amounts of chemicals. Small communi-
ties generally do not have the resources to select or
operate such equipment.
To address these needs, the Center's Risk
Reduction Engineering Laboratory has been evaluat-
ing more efficient, simpler treatment technologies ap-
plicable to small systems and the TSD has been work-
ing to facilitate implementation of appropriate tech-
nologies and procedures. These efforts should help
shorten the review and approval processes for treat-
ment technologies.
TSD and CERI are working together to develop
and make available a comprehensive approach to
solving the performance problems of small water
treatment facilities through careful analysis and cor-
rection of factors limiting performance. Through
analysis of this kind, needless expenditures on new or
upgraded facilities -an often be avoided.
Laboratory
Certification
One requirement of drinking water regulations is
that municipalities must periodically analyze their
drinking water for the presence of contaminants. All
municipalities—from cities the size of New York to
towns the size of Spot, Tennessee—analyze their water
for regulated as well as unregulated contaminants.
Standardizing the methods of analysis is a major chal-
lenge. EMSL is handling the task by certifying region-
al EPA laboratories for drinking water testing. These
laboratories then certify state and local laboratories.
Among EMSL's activities in this area are training
courses, sample checking, unannounced laboratory
visits, and examination of quality control measures.
Currently, this is EPA's only certification program for
-------
environmental monitoring. Additionally, the
Technical Support Division is responsible for imple-
mentation of the certification program. This includes
maintaining a national list of certified laboratories
and certification officers, publishing a certification
newsletter, and conducting workshops across the
country.
LEAD DETECTION IN WATER
TANKS: Recent studies have
shown that liners In some
drinking water coolers may
corrode, depositing lead in the
drinking water. This poses a
public health hazard. The photo
on the right shows lead de-
posits on the surface of a water
tank, magnified 3,000 times.
Studies at the Center, conduct-
ed for the Consumer Product
Safety Commission,
have shown that corrosion is
the major source of lead in
drinking water coolers.
Looking Ahead
Enough time has passed now since the passage of
the SDWA in 1974 for communities to establish
records of noncompliance with the drinking water
regulations. The vast number of municipalities in-
volved here precluded EPA from taking enforcement
actions against communities until it became clear
that the communities could not or would not com-
ply. Now, a stronger, concentrated enforcement effort
will mean that these communities must find afford-
able technologies for treating their drinking water.
TSD will continue to work on economically viable so-
lutions for these small systems. Some of these efforts
are focused on encouraging industry to design and
make prefabricated small treatment plants suitable to
the sizes of various small communities. Prefabrication
would mean lower onsite construction costs; and, if
states give blanket approval to the plant designs, the
requirement for individual plant review and state ap-
proval would be eliminated. In addition, TSD will
continue to look for ways to increase the financial ca-
pabilities of small plants and to provide educational
support to these systems.
RREL and ECAO will also be involved in develop-
ing and implementing new drinking water regula-
tions and helping communities comply with them.
RREL's efforts to help communities make water treat-
ment more cost-effective will include development of
approaches to upgrade treatment plants, education,
and outreach concerning affordable options for com-
pliance. ECAO will increase its emphasis on
outreach to assist communities in under-
standing the health risks of drinking water
contaminants.
Control of lead leaching in distribution
systems and reduction of disinfection by-
products is a high priority for EPA and for
RREL. Further research will be conducted
on factors that affect the corrosion of drink-
ing water distribution systems, and ap-
proaches to prevent corrosion will be devel-
oped. RREL will continue to team with TSD
to analyze disinfection by-products; these
efforts will include collecting and analyzing
drinking water samples; and evaluating the
intermediate by-products of disinfection
that can be found in the laboratory but dis-
appear by the time water reaches the tap
(and thus do not need to be regulated).
Some drinking water systems are out of
compliance with regulations due to operator error, in-
adequate process control, or sedimentation problems.
If diagnosed, these problems can generally be fixed
without major investment. CERI will continue a pro-
gram to develop a handbook and seminar series that
will show drinking water treatment plant operators
how to evaluate and correct deficiencies in their
treatment systems. In 1991, CERI will begin to devel-
op an "expert system" that will enable plant owners
to evaluate their system and develop a corrections
program using a personal computer.
Most chemical contaminants in drinking water
occur in minute quantities. Current methods of mea-
suring these contaminants are chemical-specific and
can be difficult to perform. Several Center laborato-
ries and offices will continue to develop these analyti-
cal methods. EMSL will coordinate these research ac-
tivities and test the procedures in the field and in
local and state laboratories with varying levels of ex-
pertise or equipment. As more chemicals are regulat-
ed, it will become more difficult to continue chemi-
cal-specific monitoring. The TSD will continue its ef-
forts to enhance analytical methods to detect individ-
ual compounds and groups of compounds.
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PROTECTING AMBIENT WATERS
Ambient waters—which include oceans,
rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries, under-
ground aquifers and wetlands—were some
of the first environmental media to be pro-
tected by legislation. Under the Clean
Water Act (CWA), passed in 1972 and amended in
1977, 1981, 1987 and 1988, EPA is responsible for
restoring and maintaining the "chemical, physical
and biological integrity of the nation's waters."
These waters are threatened by discharges from iden-
tifiable sources (called "point sources") such as efflu-
ents from plants that treat industrial and municipal
wastewaters; and by discharges from sources that are
more difficult to pinpoint (called "nonpoint
sources"), such as runoff from farms or city streets.
The Center's research has focussed on reducing dis-
charges from point sources.
Development of Ambient Water
Quality Criteria
Under the CWA, ambient waters are protected by
standards set by the states and approved by EPA. To
help the states set effective standards, the CWA re-
quires EPA to develop ambient water quality criteria
for specific pollutants. These chemical-specific crite-
ria represent the highest allowable concentrations
that are thought to cause no significant adverse
health or ecological effects. They are based solely on
scientific data and judgment concerning potential
health and ecological impacts. In 1980, ECAO devel-
oped a method for deriving the human health crite-
ria, and applied it to the 129 priority pollutants.
These criteria are now used as the basis for standard-
setting across the nation. As risk assessment methods
have advanced, and as new data are collected, the
methodology and criteria have been updated.
Treatment of Industrial and
Municipal Wastewater
Under the CWA regulations, both municipalities
and industry must treat their wastewaters before dis-
charging them into ambient waters. For many years,
RREL has been working to optimize wastewater treat-
ment relative to performance and cost. RREL devel-
ops and evaluates innovative treatment technologies,
and conducts research to improve the design and op-
eration of wastewater treatment plants.
Identifying Toxic Discharges
Under the Clean Water Act, the quality of dis-
charges into ambient waters is controlled by permits
By helping industries and rtiunicipalities comply wlftBI^
requirements 6f the:C[eah Water Act, the Cehter^slesearcri
-------
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Managers of municipal wastewater treatment plants are,key users of environmental technologies and information
developed at the Center. ; ! .! ! j ; , i ;| 1 i !
issued to each discharger by the state. This regulatory
program is referred to as the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). NPDES per-
mits require periodic monitoring of discharges. EMSL
provides test procedures used for NPDES monitoring
and develops methods for toxic organic priority pol-
lutants and other toxic materials identified by the
Agency.
One of the challenges in issuing NPDES permits is
determining which discharges may be toxic. RREL has
HELPING MUNICIPALITIES COMPLY WITH
REGULATIONS
facilitated this process by developing a relatively inex-
pensive and rapid procedure—the Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation Protocol—that states can use to detect tox-
icity in effluents. The specific toxic substances and
their industrial or municipal sources can then be
identified through further analysis. Many states now
require dischargers to conduct this type of testing
periodically.
ECAO has participated with EPA's Office of Water
Regulations and Standards in Washington, DC, in an
outreach program to help states
and Regions better understand
how to use ambient water quality
criteria in developing state water
quality standards.
One of CERI's major projects has been helping municipalities comply with
the regulations of the Clean Water Act. Studies in the 1970s showed that as
many as one-third of municipal wastewater treatment facilities constructed with
federal funds were not complying with their permit requirements. No easy solu-
tion to this problem proved possible—each treatment plant was out of compli-
ance due to a unique combination of different factors. Since the early 1980s,
CERI, using protocols developed by RREL, has been guiding municipalities in
identifying and correcting the particular factors that limit their plants' perfor-
mance. The approach to compliance involves two phases. First the facility is
evaluated to determine if correction is possible; then correction is implemented.
CERI developed a handbook for evaluation that has been widely distributed in
the U.S. and other countries, and has conducted 14 technology transfer semi-
nars to train municipalities in applying the program.
Educating the
Regulated
Community
To understand CWA regula-
tions and how to meet the regula-
tory requirements, municipalities,
industry, and states need a broad
range of regulatory and technical
information. CERI has been the
focal point at the Center for de-
veloping and disseminating rele-
vant publications, workshops and
other tools for effectively commu-
nicating this information. Subject
-------
areas covered have included water quality regulations,
technologies for treating wastewater, and methods for
disposing of sludge, the by-product of wastewater
treatment (see box).
Looking Ahead
States are required to update their water quality
standards triennially, incorporating any newly avail-
able information. ECAO will continue its participa-
tion in an outreach program to states and Regions to
help them understand and use the ambient water
quality criteria in standard setting. This effort will in-
clude providing them with updated information on
health effects of pollutants as well as updated esti-
mates of the consumption of contaminated fish and
shellfish, both in the general population and among
recreational fishermen.
New research efforts by REEL will address several
emerging issues concerning wastewater treatment and
control. For example, small communities are finding
it increasingly difficult to meet pollution control re-
quirements. RREL's future research will help develop
control technologies that are cost-effective for small
communities. Other emerging issues RREL will ad-
dress include:
• Control of emissions and other residuals from
wastewater collection and treatment systems (e.g.,
emissions from incinerators).
• Handling the impacts of hazardous wastes (e.g.,
from household and industrial discharges into the
sewer system) on wastewater treatment systems.
• Ways to prevent pollution that could reduce the
need for treatment and control.
Also, EPA is proposing new regulations governing
how the sludge produced by treatment of municipal
wastewater can be used (by applying it to land as a
soil conditioner) or disposed of (e.g., via incinera-
tion). ECAO has been the lead office in developing
methods to assess the health risks associated with the
use or disposal of municipal wastewater sludges.
Current and future efforts will focus on developing
methods to improve EPA's ability to assess the health
risks posed by pathogens in sludge. CERI will stay
abreast of changes in the regulations and develop
technology transfer tools to inform the user commu-'
nity about the new regulations and appropriate op-
tions for managing sludge. Recent developments in
communications technology are enabling CERI to de-
sign an expert system by which engineers using per-
sonal computers can evaluate wastewater plant defi-
ciencies and identify low-cost solutions.
-------
r
SUPERFUND R&D: CLEANING UP RELEASES
OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
-, - - he release of hazardous substances from im-
I properly or inadequately controlled waste sites,
I or from accidents during transportation and
JL storage of chemicals, poses a major environ-
mental problem. These releases not only present dan-
gers of fire, explosion, and chemical exposure to local
populations but may also permanently contaminate
unique and irreplaceable groundwater resources.
EPA's authority to respond to this problem is pro-
vided by the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA),
or Superfund, and the 1986 Superfund Amendments
and Reauthorization
Act (SARA). This legisla-
tion mandates that EPA
identify hazardous
waste sites, define and
mitigate their potential
health and environ-
mental effects, and re-
spond to chemical
emergencies.
EPA's Superfund
mandate poses a major
challenge for the
Agency: Approximately
27,000 hazardous waste sites have been identified to
date and the list continues to grow. Finding innova-
tive approaches and technologies is key to EPA's abili-
ty to effectively assess and clean up these sites.
The Center plays a major role In Superfund re-
search, development, and response. To fulfill EPA's
new priorities and mandates under SARA, the Center's
staff are:
• Developing methodologies to detect and assess pol-
lutants at these sites.
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the nation pose
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-------
• Developing technologies to control
and clean up sites.
• Providing training and technical as-
sistance to EPA and state personnel.
• Disseminating information to help
ensure that the latest technologies
are available for cleanup activities.
Many of the Center's laboratories
and offices are instrumental in fulfill-
ing EPA's mandate under Superfund.
Exploring New
Cleanup Technologies
Where to put hazardous wastes
has proved to be a thorny problem
for the Superfund program. In the
early years of the program, remedial
action usually consisted of simply
moving the wastes to controlled land
disposal sites or containing the
wastes on site. Both technical experts
and the public increasingly criticized
the long-term effectiveness of this ap-
proach and, in 1986, EPA was directed under Section
311 of SARA to establish an "Alternative or
Innovative Treatment Technology Research and
Demonstration Program." EPA's response was the
Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE)
program, which is run by RREL. Under this program,
RREL assesses the potential effectiveness of new tech-
nologies for use at EPA Superfund sites in the follow-
ing areas:
• Accelerating the development and use of new .tech-
nologies and associated monitoring techniques for
hazardous wastes.
• Maximizing the use of alternatives to land disposal
in Superfund cleanups.
• Exploring the possibility of privatizing technologies
that provide permanent cleanup at priority
Superfund sites.
EPA solicits proposals from developers of tech-
nologies that destroy, immobilize, or reduce wastes.
RREL evaluates the effectiveness of these technologies
at Superfund sites. Based on this evaluation, RREL de-
velops reliable performance and cost information so
that the technologies can be appropriately evaluated
for future cleanup efforts.
The results of RREL's evaluations are published
and widely disseminated through a technology trans-
NEW TESTING CENTER FOR SUPERFUND
CLEANUP TECHNOLOGIES
As part of the SITE program, RREL is establishing a fully permitted1
, Engineering Technology Evaluation Center (ETEC) at its branch office in
Edison, New Jersey. ETEC will serve as an environmentally safe testing
center for emerging and innovative Superfund cleanup technologies. It
will provide a highly controlled environment for testing how well new
technologies handle real-world Superfund wastes. Due to permitting dif-
ficulties, private manufacturers are limited in their ability to collect
enough credible performance data to persuade Superfund to invest in a
new technology on a multi-million dollar site. ETEC, which will be avail-
able to both industry and EPA laboratories, will have the facilities for the
large-scale tests necessary. This testing center is one of the ways the
SITE program will encourage industry in efforts to commercialize
cleanup technologies.
1This term means that the facility carries all the necessary federal and state permits for han-
dling hazardous wastes;
fer program supported by CERI. This program, explic-
itly mandated in Section 311 (B)(8) of SARA, is de-
signed to increase awareness about the availability of
technologies that are effective for meeting new feder-
al and state cleanup standards.
Improving Cleanups
RREL and EPA regional offices are collaborating
on a significant technical assistance program to im-
prove Superfund cleanups. Under this program, RREL
is establishing a Superfund Technical Assistance
Response Team (START) dedicated to providing EPA
regions with on-call assistance for Superfund activi-
ties. RREL will also become the focal point for treata-
bility studies to determine whether specific hazardous
•wastes can be detoxified and which treatment tech-
nologies are most appropriate for use at particular
Superfund sites.
Protecting Personnel
If they are not protected, personnel involved in
cleaning up spills and Superfund sites may be exposed
to many dangerous chemicals. An important part of
RREL's Superfund research therefore has involved
evaluating technologies to protect cleanup personnel.
These technologies have included disposable protec-
tive clothing, filter cartridges used in respirators,
robotics that allow machines to perform certain activ-
ities at sites, and equipment to monitor the vital signs
of cleanup personnel. One technology examined was
-------
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a commercially available robot — a small, self-pro-
pelled, tracked rover — that can be teleoperated by a
worker using a video camera or placed on a cable to
automatically monitor air quality around a site
perimeter.
Assessing the Risks of Sites
Assessing the risk posed by a site is an important
component of the Superfund program. When a
Superfund site is identified, EPA conducts an assess-
ment to determine whether the site poses an immi-
nent hazard. This assessment is used to determine the
site's priority for cleanup relative to other sites. To
foster consistency in these assessments — so that, for
example, sites in New York are evaluated with the
same methodology as sites in California — ECAO is de-
veloping a Technical Support Center under the
Superfund program. This state-of-the-art response
center will have computerized access to the latest sci-
entific and health risk assessment data, and as such
will serve as a central clearinghouse to supply these
data to EPA Regions and state agencies
and to respond to the needs of these user
groups.
Emergency Response
Under CERCLA, EPA must take im-
mediate action when a chemical release
such as a spill from a transportation acci-
dent or a discharge into air or water dur-
ing a fire poses an imminent threat. The
Center's personnel are part of the quick
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response that is vital for limiting en-
vironmental damage:
• ECAO conducts chemical assess-
ments to help define the threshold
(Reportable Quantity) at which a re-
lease of a hazardous chemical must
be reported to EPA's Environmental
Response Team (ERT).
• The ERT's Operations Support
Section (OSS), located at the Center,
provides technical assistance when
an urgent response is required to
contain spills or other chemical re-
leases. OSS helps Superfund person-
nel stabilize spill areas and prevent
downstream effects, and serves as a
technical support group for EPA re-
gional offices regarding cleanups.
• OSS also develops safety and tech-
nical training programs for people
working with hazardous materials,
and has managed a major training
program in this area for EPA emergency response
personnel since 1978. In 1988, OSS trained 5,300
federal, state, municipal, and private industry per-
sonnel. OSS also develops and distributes EPA's only
manual covering health and safety regarding chemi-
cal exposures.
Looking Ahead
The SITE program will continue to be a major
focus of work at the Center, emphasizing innovative
technologies for handling contaminated soils at
Superfund sites. In the first five years of the SITE pro-
gram, it evaluated 45 new technologies—a rate that
the program intends to at least replicate in its second
five years. RREL's Emerging Technology Program will
concentrate on taking new cleanup technologies,
such as supercritical fluids and soil-washing extrac-
tion technologies, from a nascent stage up to the field
demonstration level. RREL will also demonstrate the
interaction of different innovative technologies.
Cleaning up a Superfund site requires more than one
technology and, so far, it has been too early to show
how the technologies can be combined. The goal here
is to show that combined systems can correct all the
problems at a given site.
Thje Environmental Response Team trains emergency response
personnel to remove contaminants from protective clothing and
equipment.
Currently, states and responsible parties use a va-
riety of methods to collect data. This lack of standard-
ization poses a problem when decisions need to be
made concerning several sites, such as which sites
should be given priority for cleanup efforts. Both
RREL and EMSL will help address this problem. RREL
will help develop minimum standards for collecting
these data. EMSL will continue to evaluate and stan-
dardize analytical methods used to monitor
Superfund sites. EMSL will also investigate the preci-
sion of the various methodologies available for de-
tecting and measuring environmental chemicals at
Superfund sites.
RREL is also committed to providing technical
support to the Superfund effort through the START
program previously described. This program will pro-
vide direct technical support to EPA's Remedial
Project Managers (RPMs) and will provide the com-
munication avenues to transmit RREL's research re-
sults to RPMs.
ECAO will continue to refine methods that can
be used to assess the potential human health risks of
exposure to chemicals at hazardous waste sites.
-------
PROTECTING THE LAND
In the past, we have often regarded land as the ul-
timate disposal site, capable of containing wastes
out of sight within relatively discrete areas. As a
result, years of unregulated and improper disposal
have wraught grave damage to the land and to the
precious groundwater resources beneath it. Even dis-
posal techniques that we thought provided safe, per-
manent protection have been called into question. A
major challenge for the 1990s is to develop truly safe
methods for treatment and disposal of wastes.
EPA's man-
date to protect
the land is pro-
vided under the
Resource
Conservation
and Recovery Act
(RCRA) of 1976
and its most re-
cent revision, the
1984 Hazardous
and Solid Waste
Amendments
(HSWA). HSWA
emphasizes treat-
ment of haz-
ardous wastes be-
fore land dispos-
al, the use of
double liners and
leachate detec-
tion systems at
land disposal fa-
cilities to prevent
wastes from leak-
ing, and monitoring of ground water to ensure that
no leakage is occurring.
Development of Biosystems
to Treat Wastes
RREL is actively involved in developing treatment
and disposal technologies capable of meeting the
HSWA requirements. One innovative research area is
the use of natural organisms, or "biosystems," to treat
wastes. A white rot fungus that degrades wood treat-
ment chemicals including pentachlorophenol (PCP)
is being investigated. RREL is testing how effectively
this fungus degrades different mixtures of wastes and
is developing processes to maintain and encourage
fungus growth. If the work is successful, biosystems
such as the white rot fungus could provide simple,
easy-to-use treatment and disposal technologies that
would enable contaminated soils and ground water to
be treated in place. Such technologies will play a vital
role in protecting the environment, particularly in de-
veloping countries that cannot afford more sophisti-
cated systems.
Improving Disposal Methods
Safely containing wastes at landfill disposal sites
is a technological challenge. RREL is working to in-
crease the safety of land disposal by developing better
liner and leachate collection systems and improved
techniques to stabilize wastes so they will not leach.
RREL manages three of the Center's facilities: the Test
and Evaluation Facility, which provides a laboratory
for evaluating advanced treatment technologies for
hazardous wastes; the Center Hill facility, where con-
taminated soils are tested to ascertain treatability; and
an Incineration Research Facility in Arkansas, which
-------
develops incineration technologies as an alternative
to land disposal.
Leaking Underground
Storage Tanks
Across the nation, what have been called "little
time bombs ticking"—leaking underground storage
tanks (USTs) containing petroleum products and haz-
ardous substances—have been a major source of soil
and groundwater contamination. EPA estimates there
are three to five million USTs in the United States;
thousands are thought to be leaking now, and many
more will begin to leak in the next five to ten years.
Under HSWA, EPA has developed a comprehensive
regulatory program for USTs that includes regulations
for leak detection and corrective action. RREL has
been contributing to regulatory compliance by evalu-
ating the effectiveness of methods developed by in-
dustry for detecting UST leakage. In 1987, RREL tested
25 industry-submitted methods for detecting tank
leaks and, in 1988, published a major document on
the subject. Methods should be designed to detect a
leakage rate of one-tenth of a gallon per hour; few of
the methods tested achieved that level of detection as
submitted, but RREL staff suggested changes to bring
the tests within specifications. RREL plans to expand
this research to evaluate remedial technologies for
UST sites.
Underground storage tank test ;aj3parMu|^pl|
Releases Control Branch in Edison, Nevv 2Srsi^
Educating the Regulated
Community
Since the enactment of HSWA, EPA has promul-
gated many new regulations to protect the land. To
accelerate compliance and increase understanding of
the issues involved, CERI has organized workshops
and developed guidance on the regulations and op-
tions for compliance. These technology transfer ef-
forts have included the following:
• A seminar series on leak detection and prevention
methods, corrective action techniques, and inspec-
tion and maintenance procedures for USTs.
• A publication on installation, construction, and
maintenance of flexible membrane liners.
• Handbooks on groundwater monitoring and
restoration.
Looking Ahead
Municipal solid waste is expected to increase 20%
by the year 2000, yet it is becoming increasingly diffi-
cult to dispose of solid waste. Landfill capacity is de-
clining, regulatory restrictions on landfills are increas-
ing, and no one wants incineration facilities in their
-------
HI develop liners, covers^;anaJe4^i|tgJ|M^
111 s^stemsjp improve the Safety ofxhartdmis.
backyard. For these reasons, municipalities are start-
ing to take a great interest in innovative technologies
to reduce and manage their solid waste. RREL is close-
ly involved with implementing EPA's aggressive agen-
da to develop new technologies for recycling plastics
and plastic materials (current technologies handle
only a fraction of plastic wastes), new technologies
for recycling other materials such as paper and glass,
methods to control incineration residues, and meth-
ods to treat and use incineration ash.
RREL is developing expert systems and computer-
ized decision support systems to improve the efficien-
cy of hazardous waste decision-makers and the quali-
ty of their decisions. Systems are nearly completed to
facilitate review of permit applications for hazardous
waste land disposal facilities. They will be used to as-
sess the chemical resistance of flexible membrane lin-
ers, review waste analysis plans, and evaluate closure
plans.
RREL is also developing systems to aid those
responsible for managing Superfund activities.
These systems will be used to perform risk assess-
ments, evaluate effects of modifying remediation
contracts, screen possible remediation technolo-
gies, and review soil sampling plans.
Future systems will address a number of
Superfund issues, including manifest tracking,
construction design review, and preparation of
procurement documents.
CERI will be developing technology transfer
programs for owners and operators of waste
treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to help
them take measures to prevent and/or remediate the
release of hazardous waste from the facility.
EMSL will continue to provide the standardized
analytical methods and quality assurance materials
needed to monitor hazardous wastes.
ECAO has developed risk assessment methods to
help ensure that waste disposal methods are safe.
These methods examine the levels of pollutants that
may be emitted
from landfills, in-
cinerators, or other
forms of waste dis-
posal, and project
the health or envi-
ronmental risks
that may result.
ECAO plans to use
these methods to
help waste man-
agers compare the
risks of various dis-
posal methods to
assist in waste
planning decisions.
-------
CROSS-GUTTING ACTIVITIES
-------
DETECTING POLLUTANTS
One of the first steps in protecting our environ-
ment is understanding the extent and nature
of pollution. What pollutants are present? In
which parts of the environment? What are
their concentrations? This information is the basis for
assessing the extent to which we are exposed to pollu-
tants, identifying sources of pollution, developing
measures to control or prevent future pollution from
these sources, and ensuring that pollution control ob-
jectives have been met.
Characterizing pollution is a challenge in terms
of both quantity and concentrations of pollutants to
be identified. A variety of environmental media must
be analyzed, including air, water, soil, and sludge.
Thousands of pollutants are present in these media,
many at extremely small concentrations (parts per
billion). Some pollutants change their identity as they
are transformed by environmental factors such as
sunlight and heat, or disappear altogether. Since the
Center's establishment in 1975, EMSL has played a
critical role in meeting this challenge.
Development of
Standardized Methods
EMSL has developed and refined over 200 analyt-
ical methods for detecting and quantifying pollutants
in water, soil, air, sludge, and hazardous and solid
waste. These methods are national standards for the
pollutant monitoring required under all major envi-
ronmental legislation:
• Safe Drinking Water Act.
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
• Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act; the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act.
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
• Toxic Substances Control Act.
The methods are widely used for environmental anal-
ysis by state and private laboratories, and for analysis
of food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
' and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Quality Assurance
When an environmental sample is analyzed, the
quality of the analysis determines the accuracy of the
final result. EMSL runs a nationwide program to en-
sure the quality of environmental analyses. Under
this program, EMSL performs the following services:
• Provides manuals, guidelines, and equipment cali-
bration standards to laboratories performing
analyses.
• Provides standardized samples of bacteria, organic
compounds, and inorganics that private, state, re-
gional, and international laboratories can use to
confirm data.
• Evaluates alternative analytical methods proposed
by Regions, states, and the private sector to ensure
they are equivalent to standard methods.
Biomarker Research
Historically, we have relied on chemical analysis
of environmental media to tell us whether we are
being exposed to pollutants. Recently, scientists have
been investigating the use of "biomarkers"—tissues
-------
from potentially exposed organisms (such as people
or plants)—to indicate whether exposure has oc-
curred. The Center's laboratories have been develop-
ing and evaluating biomarkers for use in assessing
human, aquatic, and ecological exposure to pollu-
tants. If the research is successful, ecological biomark-
ers will be used to help assess the extent of ecosystem
exposure to pollution.
Looking Ahead
EMSL's biomarker efforts will concentrate on
aquatic test organisms that can serve as early flags of
an ecological area's environmental distress. If aquatic
animals and organisms can be pinpointed that ex-
press problems such as shell dysfunction and tumors
during the early stages of pollution, then scientists,
by monitoring those organisms, can flag the system
for remediation before the damage becomes irre-
versible.
-------
EMSL is also participating in a large effort with
other federal agencies and laboratories to map the
various ecosystems around the country, starting with
ecosystems near the coast. This effort, called the
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program,
includes evaluating methods for analyzing coastal waters,
identifying animal species in the ecosystems, and
mapping wetlands. The goal of the program is to be
able to characterize the country's ecosystems: to know
what's there and to be able to predict how the ecosys-
tem will respond to environmental stress.
-------
ASSESSING THE
OFPOELUTANTS
Regulations protect us from the adverse effects
of pollution through standards, or acceptable
levels, for individual pollutants that should
not be exceeded. These acceptable levels are
determined, in part, by scientific assessment of the
human health risks posed by individual pollutants.
The EPA is continually examining and refining this
risk assessment process to make it as accurate as pos-
sible.
ECAO develops methods for risk assessment
and applies these methods to assess pollutants in
water, sludge, and other media. Each year, ECAO
assesses the risks associated with over 200 envi-
ronmental chemicals. These assessments provide
the basis for regulatory decisions under a variety
of environmental legislation. ECAO also main-
tains several data bases (e.g., IRIS, see box) that
EPA decision-makers and the public can use to
access available health effects and regulatory in-
formation on hundreds of environmental con-
taminants.
ECAO's contributions to risk assessment ex-
tend outside the EPA. For many years, ECAO has
collaborated with international scientific organi-
zations to advance worldwide progress in envi-
ronmental risk assessment and to develop risk as-
sessment guidelines for third world countries. In
the United States, ECAO provides workshops,
training, and guidance to enable EPA offices and
state environmental agencies to perform their
own risk assessments.
In the past, risk assessments have focused on sin-
gle chemicals. However, since most contaminants in
the environment occur simultaneously with other
compounds, we are generally exposed to chemical
mixtures (e.g., in drinking water) rather than single
chemicals. Because of their multiple and interactive
elements, these mixtures have different characteristics
than their individual constituents. A current chal-
-------
lenge for scientists is to assess the risks associated
with these complex mixtures. In support of that ef-
fort, ECAO has assisted in the development of guide-
lines for assessing complex mixtures and is refining
these guidelines in response to advances in the envi-
ronmental sciences.
EPA's INTEGRATED RISK
INFORMATION SYSTEM
The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is an electronic infor-
mation system developed by the U.S. EPA. It summarizes data on the
health risks associated with toxic chemicals found in the environment. IRIS
is primarily intended to provide guidance to EPA personnel in making risk
management decisions. The final risk assessment presented for each .
chemical in IRIS represents EPA consensus on that chemical's health
risks, and is reviewed by several different scientific work groups within
EPA. Currently IRIS contains data on approximately 400 chemicals, in sep-
arate data "files." Each file summarizes information from experimental re-
search on the hazards posed by the chemical, and any uncertainties (e.g.,
using animal studies to predict human risk) accounted for in the final risk
assessment. The files also include data from risk assessments performed
by various programs offices within EPA, or by other agencies, for example
the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). When avail-
able, data on the chemical's physical properties and/or short-term toxicity
to humans are included in the file. IRIS is available to the general public by
telecommunications link with a commercial carrier and to Public Health
Foundation members through the Public Health Network.
Looking Ahead
Assessment of complex mixtures will continue to
be an important area of work for the Center.
Advancements in this area would help increase the
accuracy of risk assessments in all EPA program areas,
including Superfund, drinking water, and ambient
water. ECAO will also begin to investi-
gate ways to assess the risks of complex
exposures, i.e., exposures to one or
more chemicals through multiple
routes (skin, inhalation, and ingestion)
for different time periods. This is a
highly complex issue because chemi-
cals may exhibit different effects de-
pending on the route of entry and the
length of exposure.
In a related area, EMSL's research
will seek to assess the total human ex-
posure to pollutants (i.e., how much
we receive from all sources of
exposure—air, drinking water, diet,
etc.). One area requiring additional in-
formation is an assessment of relative
source, specifically how much exposure
do we receive from food. EMSL will
work to fill this data gap.
ECAO will also serve as one of six
technical support centers providing
guidance on health risk assessment for
the Superfund program. Included in
this support is the development of al-
ternative technologies, such as screens
to study the interactions of chemicals in short-term
tests. Software packages are also being developed for
personal computers that will help risk assessors per-
form consistent assessments of health effects due to
exposure to chemicals.
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PREVENTING POLLUTION
Preventing pollution at its source is the most ef-
fective and economical way to protect our en-
vironment. By recycling or eliminating dis-
charges and wastes, we do not have to pay to
treat them, find a place to "dump" them, or worry
that they might eventually cause environmental dam-
age when controls fail. Pollution prevention is also
gaining attention from industry as stricter environ-
mental regulations are making it more and more cost-
ly to pollute.
The EPA Administrator has clearly shown that
pollution prevention is a major priority by tapping
different research budgets to fund these activities. The
EPA has also issued a policy statement that clearly
promotes pollution prevention and recycling. It en-
courages all segments of society—organizations, com- Looking Ahead
munities, and individuals—to participate in reducing
pollution.
WRITE, RREL has developed a Waste Minimization
Opportunity Assessment—a method companies can
use to conduct their own waste reduction assessments.
To prevent pollution, industry—especially the
smaller business sectors—needs information on effec-
tive waste minimization practices. To provide indus-
try with tools to start reducing their wastes, CERI pre-
sented a series of seminars to managers on waste min-
imization methods and procedures for key industrial
sectors. These seminars focused on ways to reduce
solid waste, as well as air and water pollution generat-
ed by processes common to several industrial cate-
gories, including electroplating, metal finishing, tex-
tile and carpet manufacturing, and wood preserving.
RREL has helped catalyze the EPA's pollution pre-
vention program. For example, RREL engineers in co-
operation with industry are examining ways to modi-
fy production processes and products to reduce the
volume of hazardous waste generated. RREL also
manages the Waste Reduction Innovative Technology
Evaluation (WRITE) program—a cooperative federal-
state effort to assist industry in reducing the amount
of waste it generates. The WRITE program helps in-
dustry determine the origins of waste streams and de-
velop ways to reduce these streams, for example,
through better industrial housekeeping practices.
WRITE is particularly targeted to small industries,
which often do not have the resources to develop
waste reduction programs independently. Under
Over the next five years, RREL will evaluate a
wide range of innovative technologies for reducing
waste production in industrial operations. The labora-
tory will focus on working with states and small in-
dustries to implement pollution prevention technolo-
gies. RREL currently has cooperative agreements with
states such as Minnesota to examine recycling of sol-
vents on a small-scale and substitution of electrostatic
spray painting for conventional spray painting. RREL
will also be working with military installations to de-
velop ways to reduce waste pollution from industrial
operations (for example, metal finishing, aircraft re-
habilitation).
ECAO will apply its expertise in risk assessment
to developing methods that can be used to help eval-
uate the viability of pollution prevention strategies.
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TRANSFORMING INFORMATION INTO ACTION
Application of the knowledge and technologi-
cal tools generated by R&D is critical to miti-
gating environmental problems. Many
groups—including EPA Regions, states, private
industry, citizens and local governments—apply these
tools directly, or influence the extent and success of
their application. Since 1975, the Center has been ac-
tively involved in reaching these groups through a va-
riety of educational and outreach programs to in-
crease awareness and understanding about environ-
mental problems, regulations, and solutions.
Transferring Technological
Tools to Users
Much of the Center's R&D work concerns devel-
opment of technologies for controlling pollution. The
Center disseminates information about these tech-
nologies and the environmental regulations that re-
quire their use through a vigorous technology transfer
program. Run by CERI, this program provides a vital
link between EPA's R&D community and user groups
in EPA programs, regions, states, and the regulated
community. Through publications, workshops, con-
ferences, and other media, CERI transfers information
and technology to thousands of users each year. Since
the program's inception, CERI has published over 150
technology transfer documents with a total distribu-
tion of more than two million copies, and conducted
over 500 technology transfer seminars, conferences,
and video teleconferences.
CERI stays abreast of the latest developments in
communications technologies, incorporating them as
appropriate to reach broader audiences more rapidly,
effectively, and efficiently. Currently, collaborating
with RREL, CERI is at the forefront of developing ex-
pert systems for environmental pollution control—in-
teractive computer-based communication tools that
enable widespread application of expert knowledge—
and applying these systems to evaluate the perfor-
mance of pollution abatement technologies. This ap-
plication.is particularly valuable for small businesses
and municipalities, which often have limited re-
sources for technology evaluation. If successful, ex-
pert systems may become the preferred tool for deliv-
ering knowledge on complex environmental prob-
lems. They would make it easier for engineers to stay
abreast of the latest advances in environmental tech-
nology by reducing the latency time for introducing
demonstration data into the design community. CERI
is currently developing an expert system for evaluat-
ing municipal wastewater treatment plants and plans
to develop others for evaluating drinking water treat-
ment plants and solid waste management.
CERI operates an electronic bulletin board to dis-
tribute information rapidly and inexpensively to net-
work users and will evaluate other telecommunica-
tion options as they become economically feasible.
Optical disk technology, which enables a library of in-
formation to be stored and distributed on a single
disk, will offer a powerful tool for rapid and efficient
dissemination of environmental information once it
becomes practical for the average user. In 1990, EPA
will link the 48 contiguous states by a telecommuni-
cations network. CERI is exploring options to use this
network to increase availability of the results of the
Center's research.
-------
Since 1979, the Office of Civil Rights has
run a Minority Apprenticeship Program
designed to stimulate minority high school
students' awareness of and interest in .
science fields. Each year, 30 to 50 black,
Hispanic, and Asian minority students
spend eight weeks with a mentor at'the
Center on a one-to-one basis. Many'of these
students have been inspired to pursue
environmentally related careers.
Providing Technical
Assistance
In addition to planned technology transfer
activities, many user groups (Regions, states,
cities, industry, etc.) need technical assistance
and support. The Center's staff provide this sup-
port in many different ways. Increasingly, the Center
is establishing clearinghouses, such as ECAO's
Superfund Technical Support Center (see p. 19) to
serve as permanent on-call resources for user groups.
The Center's staff also offer technical support over the
telephone, conduct seminars on various environmen-
tal topics, and send experts as appropriate to provide
onsite support.
To perform research, laboratories must have all
the permits required under current regulations, e.g.,
to ensure that toxic chemicals are handled and dis-
posed of safely. The Office of the Senior Official for
Research and Development (OSORD) provides assis-
tance to Center laboratories and to outside groups on
how to obtain and comply with environmental per-
mits. OSORD also assists laboratories in handling con-
fidential business information as required under the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic
Substances Control Act, and the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
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Increasing Public Awareness
Public understanding of environmental issues is
an important force in shaping EPA's legislative man-
dates and in mitigating environmental problems. For
pollution prevention in particular, increased public
involvement will be essential for implementing solu-
tions, such as waste reduction and recycling, at the
local level. OSORD runs many programs to increase
public awareness and respond to concerns. Each week
the OSORD's staff answer hundreds of phone calls
from the public about environmental problems or the
Center's activities. OSORD also runs a program to re-
spond to requests from Congressional officials about
significant activities underway at the Center that are
of national and local interest to citizens.
OSORD plays an important role in environmental
education. OSORD staff organize environmental semi-
nars for the public, provide speakers, host tours, and
coordinate environment events such as special aware-
ness celebrations and household hazardous waste
pickups. When EPA launched a major initiative in
1988 to increase public awareness about environmen-
tal issues, OSORD organized seminars for the public
The Office of the 0eniQr j
Official for Research] and !
Development organized i
programs and events tjq j
increase public awatienessj
about envirbnrnenta
OSORD's public outreach pfogrjarris encburage &nd support
community involvement firi solvipg envifOnrn^ntal problems.
on radon and lead; created a Speakers' Bureau and a
videotape library; and hosted visits from schools,
community groups, Chambers of Commerce, city
councils, and local Congressional representatives.
OSORD also coordinated many educational and
awareness activities for Earth Day, 1990. In the com-
ing years, OSORD will continue to take a proactive
role in environmental education for school children
and community groups.
-------
COLLABORATION, COOPERATION; AND EXCHANGE
Many organizations and institutions, includ-
ing regional EPA offices, state and local
governments, federal agencies, universities,
and international organizations, are part of
the national and world effort to resolve environmen-
tal problems. As an internationally recognized R&D
facility, the Center collaborates with many of these
groups to develop and apply solutions. Its staff partic-
ipate in joint research projects, hold workshops,
sponsor internships, and participate in professional
and international organizations such as the World ;
Health Organization.
The Federal Technology
Transfer Act
Opportunities for the EPA to collaborate with in-
dustry and academia were greatly enhanced in 1986
with the passage of the Federal Technology Transfer
Act (FTTA). In a reversal of previous federal practices,
the Act enables federal laboratories to share technical
expertise, facilities, equipment, staff, and services by
exclusive and noncompetitive "cooperative research
and development agreements" with private firms or
consortia. It is designed to stimulate the rapid transfer
of new technologies developed by federal researchers
into commercial products and processes.
The FTTA has important implications for the
Center's R&D work. Access to industry resources will
enhance the Center's ability to develop technologies
and, perhaps most importantly, will enable industry
to rapidly apply technologies developed by the
Center or by the industries themselves into the mar-
ketplace.
With its diverse resources and successful R&D
track record, the Center is an attractive resource to in-
dustry. Its laboratories and offices are actively explor-
ing the possibilities for collaboration under the FTTA.
They have been inviting industry participation by dis-
playing pollution control technologies developed at
the Center at trade fairs. To support these efforts,
OSORD has been developing expertise to implement
the Act through joint agreements and workshops to
foster industry awareness of the opportunities created
by the FTTA. The Center is continually exploring
joint venture agreements with industry. OSORD is
also assisting regional EPA offices, other government
agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector
in implementing the FTTA.
The Agency's Alaskan Oil Spill Bioremediation
Project is the result of a cooperative research and de-
velopment agreement between EPA and the Exxon
-------
Company, under the authority of the FTTA. After the
tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of
crude oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in March
1989, a demonstration project was initiated to deter-
mine the feasibility of using nutrients to enhance
microorganisms to degrade oil on the shorelines.
Representatives from RREL, EMSL, and CERI par-
ticipated in this effort. Based on the recommendation
of EPA, Exxon treated 75 miles of shoreline in the
Sound with nutrients. This is the largest field test of
bioremediation to date. As a result, this innovative
technology holds great promise for more timely and
effective cleanup of future oil spills.
International Activities
The Center has many programs to foster interna-
tional collaboration and cooperation in environmen-
tal research. OSORD hosts about 120 visits each year
from individuals and delegations representing other
countries. OSORD also organizes work-study pro-
grams enabling foreign scientists to spend up to a
year at the Center. Center scientists conduct research
under bilateral research agreements that EPA has with
many countries, including France, Spain, Japan,
A member of the Envirol|rMnta!l| Response Teanfi examines iaj
hazardous waste site in Nigeria. ; j
Poland, Russia, and China. Center scientists also con-
tribute directly to the activities of international orga-
nizations involved in environmental and health sci-
ence, including the World Health Organization, the
Pan-American Health Organization, and the North
Atlantic Treatment Organization (NATO) Committee
on the Challenges on Modern Society.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION...
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION ABOUT:
The Federal Technology Transfer Act, technical assis-
tance, public information/education programs, community
outreach, and tours of the Center, contact the Office of
the Senior Official for Research and Development at
513-569-7771.
Pollution prevention, treatment and control technolo-
gies, contact the Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory at 513-569-7418.
Analytical methods and quality assurance, contact
the Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory at
513-569-7301.
Risk assessment and the health effects of environmen-
tal chemicals, contact the Environmental Criteria and
Assessment Office at 513-569-7531.
The health effects of chemicals in drinking water,
contact the Health Effects Research Laboratory at 513-
569-7401.
Approaches to community compliance with drinking
water regulations, contact the Technical Support
Division at 513-569-7904.
Training for and response to hazardous materials
emergencies, contact the Environmental Response
Team at 513-569-7537.
Workshops, publications, and seminars on environ-
mental regulations and technologies, contact the Center
for Environmental Research Information at 513-569-
7391.
Human resources programs and administration, con-
tact the Office of Administration and Resources
Management at 513-569-7801.
Affirmative action, programs for minorities and
women, and outreach to high school and college students,
contact the Office of Civil Rights at 513-569-7941.
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