U.S. EPA Research and Development
Improvement Network &
Science Walk
Poster Abstracts
December 1-4,1997
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A number of individuals and organizations contribute to the
research conducted by ORD. These organizations include
other federal agencies, universities, and support
contractors. The individuals identified under the
PREPARED BY:
portion of each abstract are those in ORD who are contact
points regarding the efforts describedin the abstract. If
additional information is needed from individuals involved
in the work but outside of ORD, their names and telephone
numbers are available from the contact points.
Those of us involved in preparing this booklet thank all of our associates
who helped in the mechanics of putting it together. Particularly, we
thank Pat Burke who assembled the booklet into its final format, and
Randy Bacon who took Pat's efforts and turned them into what you now
have in hand. Most importantly, we want to thank all of the abstract
preparers who put up with our critiques, and hopefully constructive
criticisms, and willingly responded to our many telephone calls and E-
mails.
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Improvement
Network Session
Poster Abstracts
Printed on Recycled Paper
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1-1 MANAGING CHANGE IN ORD
This poster will provide the central theme of Workshop II.
PREPARED BY: Carol Finch, ORD, (202-564-6638)
1-2 COMMITMENT TO LONG-TERM CHANGE: CHANGE FOR A
PURPOSE
Demonstrates management's commitment to long-term change by
showing a timeline of management improvement activities. Highlights
activities which began at Workshop I continuing through the implemen-
tation of Workshop II. The timeline offers potential improvement
activities to roll out after Workshop II.
PREPARED BY: Carol Finch, (202-564-6638), ORD
1-3 ORD COMMUNICATIONS FRAMEWORK
Describes the activity that IOAA initiated as a commitment to
developing a framework for a communications strategy. Also provides
a hands-on demonstration using ORD's Intranet as an outreach strategy.
PREPARED BY: Carol Finch, (202-564-6638), ORD
1-4 MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
The ORD Management Council worked on a wide variety of
management issues, including those that fall into the five improvement
areas. Accomplishments fall into categories of budgeting and planning,
financial management, human resource management, information
management, red tape, and infrastructure. The ORD Management
Council has identified major goals for the next year that will continue
to improve the overall management of ORD.
PREPARED BY: Colleen Lentini, (202-564-6686), ORMA
1-5 OFFICE OF SCIENCE POLICY(OSP) WHO?
The Office of Science Policy—the result of the reorganization of
the old Office of Science Policy and the Office of Research and Science
Integration—is a Headquarters office with many missions. What are
those missions and why should you care? Who are those OSP staff and
why are they calling you? What improvements have we made this past
year? Our on-screen slide presentation answers these questions and
more!
PREPARED BY: Mary Ellen Radzikowski, (202-564-6757), OSP
ICD-6 CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Career Development was identified as one of the "first five issues"
at the 1996 ORD Organizational Change meeting. Many concerns
were identified including lack of information on career development
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opportunities, lack of resources for training, and limited use of indi-
vidual development plans. An action plan addressing career develop-
ment improvements was prepared. The plan included improving the
distribution of information on career development and a number of
specific actions on individual development plans, resources, and
management support for these activities. Each ORD organization and
the Human Resources Council have made significant progress in
implementing the 1996 action plan. In fact, many activities have far
exceeded the 1996 ideas. This poster group will highlight the many
actions taken across ORD in the last year.
PREPARED BY: Nancy Wentworth (202-564-6830), ORD Career
Advancement and Development Workgroup
ICD-7 HUMAN RESOURCES COUNCIL (HRC) RECOMMENDATIONS
ORD's HRC's Career Development Workgroup is recommending
that ORD institute a comprehensive Career Development Program for
all managerial, scientific and engineering, administrative, and secre-
tarial employees by implementing a three-component Program which
includes: (1) Career Planning, (2) Training, and (3) Advancement
Opportunities. A comprehensive and equitable Career Development
Program will serve to prepare ORD for the future by making the best
utilization of the skills and interests of ORD staff and by identifying
future needs of the organization. The HRC will brief the ORD Man-
agement and Science Councils on the recommended Program and
present an overview of the recommendations at the 1997 Chance
Workshop.
It is recognized that career development is a joint responsibility of
both the employee and ORD management. Each employee has the
ultimate responsibility for his/her career development. However, ORD
must provide the appropriate tools, and management must determine
the needs of the organization and be held accountable for implementa-
tion of the Career Development Program.
PREPARED BY: Kelly Leovic (919-541-7717), NRMRL, Nancy
Wentworth (202-564-6830), NCERQA
ICD-8 CAREERPOINT CAREER DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
CareerPoint is a computer-based Career Development System
which assists employees in understanding the career development
process, evaluating strengths and preferences, identifying development
areas, creating development goals, developing specific career develop-
ment plans, and preparing for career discussions with their managers.
An ORD-wide Test Panel was organized to determine if: (a) on an
individual basis — was CareerPoint useful? and (b) as an organization
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— should ORD provide it to all employees and promote its use?
CareerPoint was installed in RTF, Cincinnati, Edison, Athens, DC,
Duluth, and Las Vegas. An evaluation form was developed, the
software was tested, and a review of the findings was presented to the
ORD Human Resource Council. The test panel concluded that
CareerPoint is a useful Career Development Tool which merits ORD-
wide support to promote access to it for all ORD employees.
PREPARED BY: Barry Goldfarb, (202-564-6741), ORMA
ICD-9 ORD'S TRAINING EXCHANGE ASSIGNMENTS
ORD has developed and is implementing a training exchange
program to allow ORMA and National Laboratories/Centers employees
an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how the different ORD
organizations operate. The program is designed to provide training in a
variety of functions, including administration and resources manage-
ment in ORD Headquarters and the ORD Laboratories and Centers. To
date, one ORMA person has worked at NHEERL-RTP, and one
NRMRL person has worked with ORMA in Headquarters as part of this
exchange program.
PREPARED BY: Peter Durant, (202-564-6746), ORMA
ICD-10 ORD MENTORING PROGRAM
The ORD Mentoring Program will provide opportunities for all
ORD employees to receive individualized counseling and guidance.
This assistance can enhance their proficiency and support their career
• development and professional growth. Mentoring can improve the
effectiveness of the organization and the people in it. When successful
mentoring takes place within any organization, a nurturing, learning
environment develops and becomes part of the overall culture.
Mentoring is typically implemented as a component of a comprehen-
sive human resource program. The ORD program is designed to:
increase recognition of people's knowledge and expertise; provide
another mechanism for staff to develop and improve their knowledge,
skills, and abilities; empower staff to customize their training and
development activities along non-traditional lines; foster cooperation
across ORD; enhance individual development and growth opportuni-
ties; encourage greater communication and an open culture; provide
employees with greater job satisfaction; and enhance career develop-
ment.
PREPARED BY: Jayne Ramsey, (202-564-6736), ORMA
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ICD-11 INCORPORATING A REVIEW OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT AS
PART OF THE ORD MANAGEMENT REVIEW PROGRAM
The process for conducting internal management reviews at ORD
sites may be amended to include data gathering on career development,
mentoring, performance standards, training, and Individual Develop-
ment Plan activities. The review could look into the allocation of
resources for training and other dimensions of career development such
as promotions, implementation of the dual track system, and career
development plans. The goal would be to identify successful practices
and opportunities for improving career development activities.
PREPARED BY: Steven Smith (202-564-6738), ORMA
ICD-12 OFFICE OF SCIENCE (OSP) POLICY ACTIVITIES
The OSP has undertaken a number of activities relating to career
and organizational development. Internal and external training/
rotational assignments have been completed by many of the staff. The
Office of Human Resources and Organizational Services provided
coaching to managers and supervisors on the development and use of
Individual Development Plans. From a larger perspective, OSP is
working with organizational change/management consultants to
address some of the issues attendant to the February 1997 merger of
Office of Research and Science Integration and the original OSP.
Activities have included three All Hands Meetings on change issues,
including a two-day workshop, selection of a "transition team" to chart
the course of change, and a series of coaching sessions for the leader-
ship group. This effort will continue into mid-year 1998.
PREPARED BY: Mary Ellen Radzikowski (202-564-6757), OSP
ICD-13 NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY (NERL)
ACTIVITIES
The NERL has undertaken a number of activities. NERL is
developing a standard protocol entitled "Policy and Procedures for
NERL's Orientation Program for New Employees" for use by new hires
to help them understand the organizational and administrative proce-
dures of NERL and ORD. Also, NERL has established a long-term
training program (with no grade-level restrictions) to aid employees in
acquiring training necessary to enhance their careers. The new para-
digm of conducting more in-house research requires that some Project
Managers return to the bench — NERL has created a course on human
exposure assessment to help employees in this transition.
All NERL employees recently received an E-Mail inviting them to join
NERL's Career Enhancement and Development Improvement
Workgroup (seven new employees volunteered). Areas identified for
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future investigation are: career promotion pathways available for
professionals not directly performing research (e.g., Quality Assurance
Officers, Project Officers, etc.); individual development plans' (IDPs')
policy; training opportunities (catalogue them and identify barriers);
performance evaluation systems (these are not uniform across the
NERL - does this effect employees promotional potentials?)
PREPARED BY: Bob Graves (513-569-7197), NERL
ICD-14 NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
(NCEA) ACTIVITIES
The NCEA established a work group with representatives from
each of its locations to develop solutions to the career development
issues identified at the first Williamsburg conference. After looking at
other group's follow-up actions, it was decided that NCEA would await
the outputs of the ORMA activities on mentoring and the use of Career
Point. Efforts to expand scientific training opportunities, develop
individual development plans, improve upward mobility, and expand
career progression options are continuing.
PREPARED BY: Chon Shoaf (919-541 -4155), NCEA
ICD-15 NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY
(NRMRL) ACTIVITIES
The NRMRL has done a number of things to address career
development concerns within the Laboratory. They conducted an
analysis of travel utilization for administrative activities versus techni-
cal travel which showed more money was going to technically related
travel. They also looked at Individual Development Plans (IDPs), and
decided that supervisors should let staff know that IDPs are available,
and it is the staff's responsibility to initiate the IDP development. In
addition, they designated a Laboratory Career Development resources
person and established a new hire mentoring program. Peer panel
promotion guidelines were established for administrative positions
from GS-5 through GS-13 level, and science positions from GS-11
through GS-15, and a flow chart documenting the processes was
prepared. The Laboratory is also investigating professional certifica-
tions for staff as a means of documenting staff qualifications and
credibility.
PREPARED BY: George Moore (513-569-7991), NRMRL
ICD-16 NATIONAL HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
RESEARCH LABORATORY(NHEERL) ACTIVITIES
The NHEERL established a NHEERL Action Team that prepared a
draft career development plan that (1) defines what a viable career
development program should strive to be; (2) states objectives of such a
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plan; (3) defines several areas of concern; and (4) presents problems
and solutions associated with each area of concern. A number of
significant issues were discussed and decisions/conclusions made. A
few of these are listed below.
• A commitment was made to hire for the Laboratory a Human
Resource Coordinator who has expertise in career development
activities.
• Division Directors will be encouraged to provide the opportunity
to develop and to implement Individual Development Plans for all
staff.
• Desirability of developing a long-term training and mentoring
programs will be investigated.
• An effort will be made to identify in a user-friendly catalogue what
kinds of course offerings on training and other career development
activities are available to Laboratory staff.
• Establish a standing Career Development committee within
NHEERL.
More information on NHEERL's activities can be found on the ORD
Career Development Intranet site (www.cin.epa.gov and then find
ORMA).
PREPARED BY: Steve Broderius (218-720-5574), NHEERL
ICD-17 NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND
QUALITY ASSURANCE (NCERQA)
A core group of staff from the Environmental Engineering Re-
search Division initiated a Career Development Work Group that
identified a cluster of issues for management's attention: lack of
awareness of award and career development opportunities and
policies in ORD and the Agency. Additional discussions with other
NCERQA staff affirmed the issues. A number of actions were taken,
including making Awards' manuals available and providing a report on
awards made in the previous year to NCERQA employees. A Career
Development workshop was conducted using the WorkPower Plus
system from Career Systems Advantage, Inc."information. The
workshop was well-received and could easily be used across ORD as a
planning tool to encourage the development and use of individual
development plans. It is likely that additional workshops will be held
for NCERQA staff. The request for a system for tracking resources
used for career development (travel money, registration fees, and time
of staff) and awards has been "put on hold" pending modifications to
OMIS and resolution on questions of confidentiality of awards and
career development information.
PREPARED BY: Nancy Wentworth (202-564-6830), NCERQA
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ICD-18 SCIENTIFIC/PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL (SIT) PROMOTION
PROCESS
ORD S/T Promotion Process — ORD has established a new
process to provide promotion opportunities for its bench scientists and
engineers. This provides an avenue for promoting ORD researchers
who have world-class qualifications to promotions above the GS-15
level (S/T scientists and engineers are compensated at levels similar to
Senior Executive Service members). ORD has formed a Technical
Qualification Board for reviewing and recommending promotions to
the S/T level with an emphasis on internal ORD candidates.
PREPARED BY: Peter Durant (202-564-6746), ORMA
IR-19 REDUCING RED TAPE ORD-WIDE
Red Tape emerged from the first Williamsburg Workshop as an
item of significant concern to staff throughout ORD. Since the
Workshop, considerable attention has been paid at the local level to
reducing red tape involved in transactions or processes where authority
exists to make changes. The Red Tape Synergy Group was formed
shortly after the Williamsburg Workshop. Comprised of a member
from each Laboratory, Center, or Office its purpose is to serve as a
medium for exchange of information regarding local successes. Its
further purpose is to provide a vehicle for raising issues to higher levels
for resolution where authority for resolution does not exist locally. To
date, the Group has recommended that eleven additional delegations be
made to lower levels of the organization. The Group has served as a
catalyst for raising issues regarding Responsibility Center Consolida-
tion and Bank Card procedures as well. There are still a number of red
tape issues, and some of these are likewise being addressed. However,
the 1997 Survey data show Red Tape to still be a matter of significant
concern. As part of this poster presentation, viewers will be asked to
note their comments and suggestions for further work. The ORD-Wide
Red Tape poster consists of three panels. The first gives background
from Williamsburg I, the second depicts the work of the ORD-Wide
Red Tape group, and the third lists remaining issues and solicits
comments from the viewers. These posters were prepared by Richard
Garnas, Ken Dawsey, and Mary Shaffran.
PREPARED BY: Ken Dawsey, (850-934-9361), NCEA Red Tape
IR-20 REDUCING RED TAPE: THE BACKGROUND ONE YEAR AGO
Red Tape topped the list at ORD's first improvement workshop last
year. Participants from across ORD noted that a CYA culture exists
with a general lack of trust, empowerment, or appropriate delegation.
This condition has resulted in frustration and low morale for employees
as well as a loss of research momentum. Participants' recommenda
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ions for reducing red tape fell into five broad action areas: (1) re-
delegate to lowest possible level; (2) review, evaluate, and revise ORD
policies and procedures for value-added and accountability; (3)
service-oriented ORE) organizations act as facilitators and not barriers;
(4) communicate ORD rules; and (5) simplify Lab Implementation
Plans and reduce information requests.
PREPARED BY: Richard Garnas, (702-798-2235), ORD Red
Tape Workgroup
IR-21 NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY-WIDE
IMPROVEMENT NETWORK (NERLWIN)
The objective of the NERLWIN is to solicit ideas with openness
(and amnesty), listen to issues, commit to working as partners to find
solutions for making NERL and ORD more efficient and effective, and
strengthen communications NERL-wide regarding the Williamsburg
follow-on activities. Members advise and assist the Laboratory
Director in developing effective policies, strategies, and programs for
the five ORD-Wide Improvement Opportunities: integrating science
with EPA mission, infrastructure and resources to support science,
reducing red tape, improving communication, and career advancement
and development. It is our belief that participants at all levels is a key
element in providing guidance and direction to NERL and ORD
management in the implementation of these activities.
PREPARED BY: Richard Garnas, (702-798-2235), NERL
IR-22 RED TAPE WORKGROUP
The Red Tape Workgroup is comprised of 12 members represent-
ing the Immediate Office of the Director, the Research and Administra-
tive Support Division, the Management Coordination Division, and
each National Health Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
Division. The Workgroup is charged with identifying problems caused
by unnecessary red tape, searching for solutions, and recommending
remedial action. This includes researching the background for each
action item, making contact outside NHEERL as necessary, understand-
ing the requirements of ORD and/or the Agency versus that of
NHEERL specifically. Thus far, the Workgroup has actively addressed
the following eight administrative issues: delegations, signature
requirements for ADP purchases, electronic forms, personnel actions,
store stock requisitions, bankcards, hazardous agent protocols, and
professional services contracts. Recommendations for five of the eight
areas have been implemented with the remaining three well underway.
PREPARED BY: Debbie Andrews, (919-541-4911), NHEERL
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IR-23 NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
(NCEA) RED TAPE REDUCTION
Red Tape was identified as an impediment to producing research
products and fulfilling the overall mission of NCEA in the first em-
ployee survey conducted by ORD. After the Williamsburg I Workshop,
NCEA formed an internal Red Tape Reduction Team with representa-
tives from each NCEA Division. The Team first conducted an assess-
ment of the red tape issues identified in the Williamsburg I Workshop
to determine which issues were most important to NCEA. Then the
assessment was distributed to all NCEA staff with a request for
comments and suggestions on what are the most important red tape
problems that interfere with getting their jobs done. Staff response
pointed out several problem areas, many of which remain. Since that
time NCEA has made some progress in reducing red tape. Internal
steps have been taken within some NCEA Divisions to delegate
responsibility further down the line or to make procedures more user-
friendly. There is, however, much that needs to be accomplished in this
area, and a long-term effort will be necessary to make substantial
progress.
PREPARED BY: Joe DeSantis, (202-260-0436), NCEA
IR-24 REDUCING RED TAPE IN THE NATIONAL EXPOSURE RE-
SEARCH LABORATORY (NERL): A SUMMARY OF ACCOM-
PLISHMENTS
At the conclusion of the ORD Improvement Workshop last year,
NERL participants committed to reducing red tape in the following
eight areas listed below:
• Review and revise the NERL delegations of authority.
• Work on an easy access electronic system.
• Involve NERL individuals in the review and revision of ORD
policies and procedures: sole source justifications; lAGs, other
vehicles; international travel; and bank card.
• Implement the two signature model and work with ORMA on its
implementation
• Revise lab notebook system to account for electronic information
consistent with NERL policy.
• Ensure NERL project research plan includes QA, peer review, etc.
• Involve NERL managers in budget decisions.
• Use electronic signature wherever possible.
PREPARED BY: Richard Garnas (702-798-2235), NERL
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IR-25 INTEGRITY PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL (IPC): A PILOT AP-
PROACH TO REDUCING RED TAPE
The Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) requires us
to maintain vigilancejn safeguarding the government's resources and to
make improvements in our work processes while remaining responsive
to our clients. What has evolved at NERL-Las Vegas since the Act's
implementation is an IPC which is composed of local administrative
specialists who wage war on unnecessary red tape by: (1) recognizing
and addressing potential or existing administrative obstacles; (2)
establishing a reasonable schedule of internal self-assessments; (3)
reducing duplications or illogical steps in administrative processes; and
(4) adding stability and confidence in support services. The IPC strives
to develop issues for review; deliberate on potential improvements;
decide on recommendations to forward for management consideration
and implementation; and dissolve the focus on that particular issue and
begin again.
PREPARED BY: Richard Garnas (702-798-2235), NERL
IR-26 OFFICE OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRA-
TION (ORMA) IN MOTION: MOVING TO CUT RED TAPE
Over the past year, ORMA has worked to reduce red tape in
internal ORMA processes, ORD-wide procedures, and at the Agency-
wide level. While there have been several successes, ORMA looks
forward to further improvements in FY 1998.
PREPARED BY: Jim Morant (202-564-6681), ORMA
IR-27 THE NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT LABORATORY (NRMRL)
RED TAPE
The NRMRL, has been proactive in cutting red tape at both the
Laboratory and the Division levels. At the Laboratory level, we
carefully analyzed delegations with emphasis on acquisition and
human resource functions. The goal was to identify opportunities to
redelegate approvals to the lowest appropriate level. It was determined
that there were many instances in which the Laboratory Director had
the authority to delegate approval to a lower level. On April 10, 1997,
the Laboratory Director dramatically enhanced delegations down to the
Division Directors. In the acquisition area, this included enhanced
delegations for contracts, cooperative agreements and interagency
agreements. In the Human Resource area, delegations were enhanced
in the long-term training, overtime pay, time off awards and for other
performance based actions. In addition, the Divisions were encouraged
to cut red tape within their operations. One example of this was in the
Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division (APPCD) which
commissioned a cross division team to identify red tape cutting
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opportunities. The team came up with a number of suggestions and
recommendations. As a result, APPCD management has implemented
major changes to current policies to eliminate unnecessary approvals
and simplify cumbersome procedures. Such changes included:
elimination of computer purchase justification, delegation of SEE
training to Branch Chiefs, eliminate need for branch level travel plans,
and simplified leave procedures for PHS Corp Officers.
PREPARED BY: Frank T. Princiotta, (919-541-2821), NRMRL
IC-28 OFFICE OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRA-
TION (ORMA) COMMUNICATIONS
Identifies the technological approaches taken by ORMA to
enhance communications among ORD employees.
PREPARED BY: Cliff Moore (202-564-6513), ORMA
IC-29 OFFICE OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRA-
TION (ORMA) INTRANET
Identifies this technology as a tool for communications and
explores the potential for this mechanism for ORMA and ORD.
PREPARED BY: Cliff Moore (202-564-6513), ORMA
IC-30 NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY
(NRMRL) COMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS
The communications workgroup, with the full participation and
cooperation of the NRMRL staff and management and the hard work of
the other four Laboratories improvement areas, would like to highlight
. the communication successes which have been developed or occurred
over the past year. These successes have included:
• An update of the E-mail system at each of the four Office locations
to allow trouble-free interaction;
• Subsurface Protection and Remediation Division's (Ada's) website
is averaging over 1,000 "hits" a month;
• Senior staff meeting minutes are available to all the staff;
• Completion and follow-up of an informal NRMRL
communications survey;
• Staff input was provided to improve the NRMRL monthly report;
• Development of an Internet and Intranet communications strategy
by the Technical Transfer and Support Division;
• The communications workgroup is developing an interactive list
server to allow NRMRL staff to post improvement ideas to the
workgroup;
• Nearly all staff are satisfied with the hardware and software
capabilities provided on their personal computers according to the
NRMRL communications survey.
PREPARED BY: Thomas Holdsworth (513-569-7675), NRMRL
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IC-31 NATIONAL HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
RESEARCH LABORATORY(NHEERL)
The NHEERL Communications Opportunity Workgroup, compris-
ing of a representative from each Division within NHEERL, discussed
the results of the Williamsburg ballot and then presented opportunity,
areas from each respective Division. The Williamsburg communica-
tions ballot items were prioritized by number of votes and arrayed to
link local communication issues, NHEERL communication issues and
to develop an implementation plan, which was then presented to and
accepted by NHEERL senior management. Details of our approach
and accomplishments are presented in this poster.
We consider our work to be a multi-year opportunity process initiated
at the 1996 Williamsburg Meeting and implemented through subse-
quent meetings, conference calls, and video conferences. Every
NHEERL employee is encouraged to participate by volunteering
comments on proposals, providing comments through amnesty boxes,
and volunteering time in various opportunity areas. The collective
willingness of all NHEERL staff to assertively participate in these
improvements is reaping positive rewards for this Laboratory and its
workforce.
PREPARED BY: NHEERL Communications Improvement Group,
James Harvey, Chair (850-934-9237)
IC-32 THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESS-
MENT (NCSA): BUILDING COMMUNICATION LINKAGES
Since the Williamsburg Workshop in 1996, NCEA has taken up the
issue of improving communication as a critical development goal.
Beginning with debriefings at each NCEA location and the formation
of a Communications Improvement Workgroup, NCEA has been
striving for effective communication linkages across the entire organi-
zation. As examples: a series of team building workshops proved a
meaningful forum for reflecting on the diversity of interests and
communication needs that exist in NCEA; the Technical Information
Exchange seminars highlight recent project activities of NCEA scien-
tists; the Director's Science Discussion Meetings have helped improve
understanding of technical projects; and an entrepreneurial effort that
resulted in an E-mail MOVE-NEWS newsletter kept the staff informed
before, during, and after negotiations for a lease on new NCEA office
space. To a wider audience, the NCEA website serves as a display case
for the organization highlighting our goals, capabilities and products
while linking to other helpful sites. Over twelve thousand accessions
have been made since going on line in May. Priority additions still in
the formative stages include a technical expertise
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directory (in cooperation with the NCEA Integrating Science Group),
chat rooms, and other exciting features. NCEA@Work, an on-line
intranet site supplementing the public access web page, is expected to
be completed in December, It will serve the day-to-day information
needs of our staff as well providing important items of interest to the
rest of ORD and EPA.
PREPARED BY: The NCEA Improving Communication Workgroup:
Bob Frederick, Kim Hoang, David Cleverly, Joe Corbett, and Dave
Oberlin, (202-260-0689), NCEA
IC-33 ENHANCING THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN AND FROM
THE NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY (NERL)
The NERL is pursuing improvements in both internal and external
communications through the use of the EPA Intranet and the EPA
Internet. Four of the NERL Divisions, the Center for Exposure
Assessment Modeling, as well as project specific areas such as the
Microbiology Home page and the Atmospheric Modeling Initiative
have a presence on the EPA Public Access Server. Since March of
1997, the number of hits on NERL Web Sites has increased from
approximately 30,000 per month to over 70,000 per month. The goal is
to make public as much information as possible so that the research
community and the general public can see and understand the work
being performed by the NERL.
Internally, the NERL has developed an Intranet presence designed to
provide NERL employees and other interested parties information that
will help them in their day-to-day jobs, as well as enhancing their
ability to interact with their colleagues throughout the agency (http://
www.cin.epa.gov/nerl/). Using a combination of Lotus Notes Applica-
tions and regular HTML Coding, discussion databases have been
created and an Ecosystems Intranet work site is being designed and
created. By placing the delegations of authority and other information
on Lotus Notes servers deployed throughout the NERL, employees and
others have real time access to data as it is posted and subsequently
amended.
PREPARED BY: Rosemarie C. Russo and Christopher Byrne
(706-355-8010), NERL
IC-34 NETWORKED ANALYTICAL DATA SYSTEMS (NADS)
ORD is in the process of making data gathered on various pieces of
scientific equipment and projects available on the Intranet through the
NADS. Using Lotus Notes servers deployed at all ORD Sites, the goal
is to have data generated made available in real-time. Currently,
information is available including the National UV Monitoring Net-
work, EMAP, AFM Images, and other Microscopy Images. Included
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on the NADS Intranet Site is an AVI Movie File of a Virtual Reality
"Fly By" of Hunlic Acid on Graphite. In addition, there are discussion
groups to allow for the free flow exchange of information ideas within
ORD. The potential-tise of this technology will result in a better
understanding of each others' work and provide a platform for the
sharing and exchange of ideas and information.
PREPARED BY: Rosemarie C. Russo and Christopher Byrne
(706-355-8010), NERL
IRI-35 SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Office of Resources Management and Administration coordi-
nates the work of the Capital Equipment Committee to purchase
scientific equipment (approximately $5M/year). ORD created a capital
equipment escrow to set aside resources needed by Laboratories to
purchase scientific equipment costing $75K and above. Using these
resources, Laboratories have been able to purchase new state-of-the art
equipment and/or replace technically obsolete, aged equipment. As a
result, scientific equipment was deleted from FMFIA material weak-
ness report in FY 1995. Nonetheless, ORD efforts to improve the
condition of Laboratories' scientific equipment are continuing. Man-
aged by Capital Equipment Committee to ensure optimum utilization,
an average of $5.0M per year is provided to purchase scientific
equipment costing $75K and above for Laboratories.
PREPARED BY: Jason C. Choe (202-564-6729), ORMA
IRI-36 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE: A PROGRESS REPORT
At the first ORD Workshop in 1996, many resource issues were
identified requiring clarification and data gathering. All Laboratories/
Centers/Offices formed work groups to work on these issues. A cross-
cutting look at resource/infrastructure issues that ORD has completed
as well as some future plans are displayed in our progress report.
PREPARED BY: Kay Waters (202-564-6727), ORMA
IRI-37 NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY
(NRMRL) RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORK
GROUP
The NRMRL Resources and Infrastructure Work Group examined
the question of how to most effectively apply our fiscal and personnel
resources and research infrastructure to conduct high-quality, signifi-
cant, in-house research. The approach used was: (1) characterize the
current condition, (2) envision a desired future state, (3) identify issues
and obstacles, and (4) develop an action plan. To better understand our
current condition and to frame a desired future state, preliminary
benchmarking interviews were conducted with representatives of
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several highly respected government and private research organiza-
tions. Our current condition reflects our historical mixture of extramu-
ral and in-house operations, and a management emphasis on extramural
funding. In contrast, the interviews reveal that other research organiza-
tions place a strong management emphasis on their people and their
products. A significant transition will be required within NRMRL to
change a primarily in-house, performance-based operation with a focus
on people and products. Most aspects .of that transition appear to be
under the control of ORD and NRMRL, management, and staff. A13-
point future state was identified, and 23 actions are recommended. One
key recommendation is to continually benchmark high-performance
research organizations world-wide and identify and utilize practicable
improvements to ORD and NRMRL research planning and execution.
PREPARED BY: Frank Freestone (908-321-6632), NRMRL
IRI-38 LABORATORY IMPROVEMENTS
The Office of Resources Management and Administration coordi-
nates about $7M a year to fund major repair and improvement projects
(>$75K) for our Laboratories. These funds are allocated from the
Agency's Building and Facilities Appropriation. Additionally, ORD
allocates approximately $4M per year from its S&T funds to support
repair and improvement projects costing $75K or less. Our charts will
display the funding as allocated by Lab for FY 1997, FY 1998 and FY
1999.
PREPARED BY: Jack Simmons, (202-564-6732), ORMA
IRI-39 TRAVEL: FY 1997
Detailed review of travel by categories was prepared by all
Laboratories/Centers/Offices in response to the specific request of
ORD Workshop I. The categories included; training, scientific meet-
ings, administrative, management, and others. This summary is
provided to display how ORD spent its travel funds in FY 1997.
PREPARED BY: Cliff Moore, (202-564-6513), ORMA
IRI-40 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT SCIENCE:
A NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY (NERL)
SUMMARY
During the first ORD Improvement workshop one year ago, NERL
participants committed to the following improvement activities for
resources and infrastructure to support science listed below:
• Reach agreement between Laboratory Director and scientists on
definition of research.
• Influence and contribute to ORD definition of infrastructure.
• Define "core" research areas to sustain/protect.
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• Evaluate "acceptable" allocation of infrastructure; it must be
protected.
• Maintain long-term stability (3-5 years) of infrastructure essential
for strong research capability.
« Include travel and FTE allocations in infrastructure.
» Ensure that all teams/Pis are aware of their infrastructure
allocations.
• Periodically adjust infrastructure to reflect dynamic nature of
research.
• Ensure research infrastructure data are robust—resource simulation
models.
PREPARED BY: Richard Garnas, (702-798-2235), NERL
IRI-41 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (IR) TEAM
The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) IR
Team developed an Infrastructure Definition that was appropriate for
use in determining the essential types of support necessary to maintain
the core capabilities of NCEA. It then applied that definition in a
careful review of the FY 1997 budget and supplied that information to
the Management Deputies for their review. The definition was and
continues to be used in defining information to be included in the LIPS.
Other improvements made by NCEA in this opportunity area include
the following:
• Development of a Strategic IRM Plan to guide the acquisition and
use of computer equipment and software to better serve staff needs
both now and over a five-year time frame.
« Major immediate improvements in the purchase of PCs and
software throughout the organization.
• Organizing the move to a new facility on 17th Street, including
ordering furniture and equipment to meet individual needs and
organizational effectiveness.
PREPARED BY: Joe Corbett, (202-260-7665), NCEA
IRI-42 NATIONAL HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
RESEARCH LABORATORY (NHEERL) INFRASTRUCTURE
OPPORTUNITY GROUP: 1997
The "old" definition of infrastructure was vague so the first task of
the Infrastructure Opportunity Group (IOG) was to define "Infrastruc-
ture." Using guidance from the ORD Williamsburg I meeting, the
major components of the definition were determined. Included in the
definition is support for training, travel, operating expenses, staffing,
and extramural resources. Next, through frequent conference call
discussions with NHEERL divisional representatives, action plans to
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address each of these components were generated. The plans were
discussed with NHEERL management in June and fined tuned. The -
NHEERL definition has been disseminated to the other ORD Infra-
structure Groups, and an ORD consensus in definition is being devel-
oped. Discussions with NHEERL management about the implementa-
tion of the action plans are underway.
PREPARED BY: Elizabeth George (919-541-5036), NHEERL
IIS-43 GOAL TO IMPROVE THE INTEGRATION OF ORD SCIENCE
INTO THE MISSION OF EPA
The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL)
made two commitments at Williamsburg I related to improving the
integration of ORD science into the mission of the Agency. We have
completed one of our commitments which was the installation of an
ORD homepage @ HTTP://WWW/CIN.EPA.GOV/WORKGROUP as
well as a chat room @ HTTP://WEBNT.CIN.EPA.GOV.4080 both of
which have the complete electronic posting of all communications by
the ORD workgroup dealing with the integration science issue. The
chat room permits real time, electronic communication by up to 25
people in EPA simultaneously on a topic of mutual interest. The second
commitment was to facilitate a "State of Science Meeting" on a topic of
mutual interest among ORD, the operating programs and regions.
Some 37 potential topics have been identified by the participants and a
round of priority setting voting has been completed within ORD.
Media specific priority topics were also solicited from the research
coordinating councils. The current topics of primary interest in ORD
were "Disinfection-by-Products and Microbiological Risks in Drinking
Water - Sources to Consumption" as well as Endocrine Disrupters. The
workgroup could not reach consensus on the appropriate topic for the
first "State of Science Meeting" or the primary purpose of the meet-
ings. Some members felt the primary purpose of such a meeting was to
improve research coordination among the ORD organizations. Others
felt that the primary purpose was to improve technical communications
among ORD, the operating programs and the Regions. Others felt that
we needed an improved planning system, and these state-of-science
meetings would be a first step in a series of improved research planning
meetings. Other discussion issues included who should attend these
meetings, ORD researchers, ORD grantees, outside experts, all of the
above.
PREPARED BY: John J. Convery, (513-569-7986), NRMRL
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IIS-44 NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY (NERL)
IMPROVEMENTS IN INTEGRATING SCIENCE WITH EPA's
MISSION fe
The NERL accomplishments in the area of integrating science
with EPA mission include the creation of increased opportunities for
interaction among NERL scientists at various sites and between NERL
scientists and other ORD scientists and clients in the program offices
and regions. This was done through the establishment of NERL home-
pages on the Internet and Intranet and through participation in the
establishment of the ORD-wide bulletin boards and chat rooms. A
NERL research strategy was developed to summarize current research
including links to other EPA programs and to identify major issues and
client research needs. It also serves as a framework for areas of future
research. In addition, NERL developed clear definitions of applied/
basic research and short- and long-term research and held subject area
workshops for resource planning attended by Human Exposure and
Ecological Exposure lead scientists.
PREPARED BY: Gerard N. Stelma, Jr. (513-569-7384), NERL
IIS-45 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS ACT (GPRA):
UTILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The GPRA comes into full implementation in FY 1999 requiring
Federal Agencies to link program activity to performance. GPRA gives
the EPA an opportunity to better demonstrate how it is successfully
achieving its mission. To do this, the Agency has identified 10 goals
which contribute to its mission. Much of ORD's efforts contribute to
achievement of Goal 8 to "provide sound science to improve under-
standing of environmental risk.." ORD also helps to achieve other EPA
goals such as Clean Air and Clean and Safe Water. This poster
provides information abo.ut the GPRA requirements and what ORD has
done to meet these requirements.
PREPARED BY: David Kryak and Howard Cantor (202-564-6709),
ORMA
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Science Walk Session
Poster Abstracts
20
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S-01 UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF MECHANISMS FOR DIOXIN
FORMATION IN COMBUSTION SYSTEMS
NRMRL has been conducting research on the formation of poly-
chlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (diox-
ins) in combustion systems. Use of NRMRL/APPCD combustors, field
combustors, and mobile diesel vehicles has shown that dioxins form
from incomplete combustion reactions in the presence of sufficient
amounts of chlorine and catalytic surfaces. Dioxins most typically
form in the cooling portion of combustion systems, from temperatures
between 650°C to 300°C. Catalytic surfaces are necessary to promote
dioxin formation; these catalysts are usually transition metals, such as
copper (Cu) and iron (Fe). This mechanistic work has developed two
technologies that prevent formation of dioxins. The first, termed
SICORE, involves high temperature sorbent injection to bind up
hydrogen chloride (HC1) and chlorine (C12), making Cl unavailable to
chlorinate the multi-ring dioxin structures. SICORE has been patented
and an exclusive license has been granted to Nalco Fuel Tech to
encourage commercialization. The second technology that prevents
dioxin formation relies on a common pollutant, sulfur dioxide (SO2), to
reduce levels of dioxin. The effect of SO2 to reduce dioxin levels has
recently been demonstrated at a field waste combustor where minor
amounts of co-fired high sulfur coal greatly reduced dioxin formation.
The effect of SO2 is likely responsible for the very low observed
emissions from coal-fired power plants. Research on this effect
continues in order to identify the mechanism and promote this preven-
tative approach.
This research program aims to further understand the genesis of
organic pollutants as byproducts from combustion processes. Many of
these pollutants, including dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar-
bons (PAHs), are extremely toxic and environmentally persistent.
Further understanding of mechanisms that promote formation of
complex toxic organics from small, unburnt hydrocarbon fragments in
the presence of surface catalysts will lead to methods for preventing
formation of such pollutants.
PREPARED BY: Frank T. Princiotta, NRMRL (919-541-2821) and
Brian K. Gullett, NRMRL (919-541-1534)
S-02 BIOGENIC EMISSIONS
National and regional biogenic emissions can make major contri-
butions to total VOC emissions which result in ozone compliance
problems. Ozone control strategies must produce NOx emission
reductions in areas with high biogenic VOC emissions (biogenic
21
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emissions are over half of all annual VOC emissions and are an even
higher proportion during ozone episodes.) Without knowledge on
biogenic emission contributions, Agency control strategies can very
well focus on ineffective VOC-only reductions resulting in the waste of
millions of dollars on VOC emission controls. Recent field studies
have validated the efficacy of the biogenic emissions model developed
to allow for estimation of these emissions as a function of location and
other factors.
PREPARED BY: Frank T. Princiotta (919-541-2821), NRMRL
S-03 FINE PARTICULATE MATTER FROM COMBUSTION
SOURCES: PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND HEALTH EFFECTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Researchers at the National Risk Management Research Labora-
tory (NRMRL) and the National Health and Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory (NHEERL) are conducting a joint research project
to improve the understanding of combustion source operations and
health effects. This work will help define the origins and mechanisms
of adverse health impacts due to increases in ambient particulate levels.
By combining the expertise and facilities of NRMRL's Air Pollution
Technology Branch (APTB) on combustion source operations and
emissions with that of NHEERL's Pulmonary Toxicology Branch
(PTB) on damage to lung function from exposure to particulate matter,
it is hypnotized that a link between specific types of particulate sources
and adverse health impacts can be determined. This project is a clear
case of how cooperative research involving diverse areas of expertise
can improve the scientific understanding of complex issues.
PREPARED BY: Frank T. Princiotta (919-541-2821), NRMRL, and
Daniel Costa, (919-541-2532), NHEERL
S-04 EXPOSURE FACTORS HANDBOOK
The 1997 Exposure Factors Handbook provides a summary of the
available statistical data on various factors assessing human exposure.
Volume I, General Factors, includes an introduction and discussion of
variability and uncertainty and provides data for drinking water
consumption, soil ingestion, inhalation rates, and dermal factors
including skin area and soil adherence factors. Volume II, Food
Ingestion Factors, provides data for consumption of fruits and veg-
etables, fish, meats and dairy products, homegrown foods, and breast
milk. Volume III, Activity Factors, provides data for human activity
factors, consumer product use, and residential characteristics. Recom-
mended values are provided for the general population and also for
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various segments of the population who may have characteristics
different from the general population. This document is an update of
the Exposure Factors Handbook published in 1989 and it incorporates
Science Advisory Board (SAB) review comments submitted in March
1997.
PREPARED BY: Jacquline Moya, (202-260-2385), NCEA
S-05 OVERVIEW OF TOXICITYASSESSMENTS FOR BORON
USING NEW METHODOLOGIES
The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) has
been involved in developing and evaluating several toxicity assess-
ments for boron. These boron (B) assessments use innovative new
methodologies for risk assessment. These methodologies include the
benchmark dose and categorical regression analysis for boron, as well
as innovative ways to look at uncertainty. Development of new
assessments has involved work with the Office of Water (OW), the
boron industry and WHO (World Health Organization) International
Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). These assessments based on
new methods may reduce reliance on default assumptions by providing
mechanistic based data yielding a more quantitative and biologically
defensible human health risk assessment. AH of these assessments will
provide a sound scientific basis for assessing the risk to Boron and
reduce environmental risk based on the best available scientific
information.
PREPARED BY: Carolyn Smallwood, NCEA (513-569-7425)
S-06 ORD STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT/COMMUNITY OUT-
REACH
ORD expertise and science provide state and local government and
communities innovation to improve environmental protection program
effectiveness and reduce costs. OSP's region, state and local staff
work to build capacity within national, state, and local government
associations to work with their constituency to the advance the
dissemination of ORD products to state and local clients. The staff
also provides a liaison between ORD and the Agency's Community-
Based Environmental Protection (CBEP) initiative, state and local
government policy, the Agency's environmental justice program, and
other clients as opportunities at HQ arise. With cooperative agreements
through OSP, ORD links with the Council of State Governments's to
work on ecological monitoring and assessment, with the National
Association of Counties on EPA technical assistance tool evaluation,
The National Governors Association on risk management, and with
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Public Technology, Inc. on environmental information technology.
OSP also supports the National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council's Subcommittee on Health and Research. OSP seeks to link
ORD labs and centers to the Agency's clients through these initiatives
by identifying program links between the ORD research agenda and
client concerns.
PREPARED BY: Lawrence Martin, OSP (202-564-6497)
S-07 PARTICULATE MATTER - THEME OVERVIEW
Recent epidemiology reports suggest an association between
human mortality and morbidity and exposure to ambient air paniculate
matter (PM). Concern stems from the impact not only on healthy
individuals, but notably on potentially susceptible subgroups. Studies
of ambient PM in the laboratory are complicated by the difficulty in
obtaining adequate bulk samples of ambient PM to do inhalation
studies. Thus as a preliminary approach, intratracheal instillation can be
used to assess the overall toxicity and hazard. However, controversy
exists as to the appropriateness of intratracheal instillation (IT) of PM
into the rodent lung as a surrogate for inhalation exposure. We have
conducted a series of studies using inhalation and intratracheal instilla-
tion to validate this approach and have confirmed by both methods that
bioavailable metals associated with the PM may be integral to the
toxicity observed. Further work with intratracheal instillation, inhala-
tion, and exposures involving real-time concentrated PM will further
this effort to assess the effects of ambient PM on the health of normal
and cardiopulmonary diseased rodents.
PREPARED BY: Kevin Dreher, (919-541-3691), NHEERL and
Daniel L. Costa, (919-541-2532), NHEERL
S-08 ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS AND PERSISTENT ORGANIC
POLLUTANTS
During the past several years concern has grown over exposure to
chemicals that disrupt endocrine function. Many of the endocrine
disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPS)
such as the polyhalogenated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and
biphenyls, DDT and DDE. The research efforts in the Experimental
Toxicology Division area can be divided into several subsections:
experimental and computational model development; pharmacokinet-
ics; and interaction studies. While the research is divided into these
categories, considerable interactions are between areas. In particular
these studies focus on determining the shapes of the dose-response
curves for EDCs at relevant exposures and the tissue levels associated
with adverse effects. Researchers in the Experimental Toxicology
Division have developed models of endocrine disorders such as
24
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diabetes and endometriosis and other diseases. Recent efforts have
focused on the effects of EDCs and (POPS) in these animal models.
Because humans are exposed to numerous EDCs and POPs, researchers
are characterizing the effects of environmentally relevant mixtures of
these chemicals in the animal models of endocrine diseases. In
addition, the researchers in ETD have developed quantitative structure
activity relationship (QSAR), physiologically based-pharmacokinetic
(PBPK) and biologically based dose response (BBDR) models for
EDCs. The QSAR models for the different classes of EDCs developed
by ETD researchers may provide a means of screening and prioritizing
these chemicals for testing as required by the Food Quality Protection
Act. Furthermore, much of this research has been in support of the
ongoing reassessment of the health risks of dioxins.
PREPARED BY: Michael DeVito (919-541 -0061), NHEERL
S-09 METHODS, MODELS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY
The Experimental Toxicology Division (ETD) performs research to
improve EPA's regulatory decisions and risk assessment process. This
includes the development and application of toxicologic assessment
methods and the creation of predictive models, as well as performing
research to support the first two steps in the risk assessment process
(i.e., hazard identification and dose-response assessment). The
research projects presented in this poster cover a wide range of issues,
disciplines, approaches, media and pollutants, all of which contribute to
and are relevant for improving risk assessment and regulatory policy
decisions, by directly supporting a number of program offices. These
offices include OAR, OAQPS, ORIA, GAP, OPPTS, OPP, OPTS,
OSWER, and OW. The 16 research projects presented are divided into
the following areas: 1) test methods development and refinement; 2)
mechanistic and toxicokinetic research; 3) susceptible populations; and
4) relationship between toxic endpoints and disease.
PREPARED BY: Ralph Smialowicz (919-541-5776), NHEERL
S-10 DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS, VOLATILE ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS, AND ARSENIC
The research projects included in this theme address issues
primarily of interest to the Agency's Office of Water. Risk assessors in
the Office of Water are in need of new data and approaches to substan-
tiate the scientific basis of their risk estimates for priority disinfection
by-products (DBPs) and arsenic, as mandated by the Safe Drinking
Water Act Amendments of 1996. The Amendments specifically direct
the development of physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for
DBPs along with research to enhance mechanistic understanding and
improve capabilities to perform rodent to human extrapolations. New
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regulations for DBFs are scheduled to be promulgated in 2002, and
therefore, information regarding health effects and exposure will be
needed to initiate negotiations in 2000. ETD research on DBFs has
focused on volatile by-products, specifically the trihalomethanes
(THMs), a class that includes the most prevalent DBFs in chlorinated
drinking water. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) studied by
ETD, which include other environmental contaminants in addition to
the THMs, are also of concern for the Indoor Air, Urban Air and
Superfund programs.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) also requires the Agency to
implement a final arsenic rule in 2001. ETD's arsenic research
program addresses fundamental questions that underlie uncertainties
about the health effects of arsenic in humans and which have been
presented in the Arsenic Research Plan developed by the agency and
submitted to Congress under the terms of the SDWA. Novel mechanis-
tic data about the dynamic behavior of arsenic will provide the agency
with better information to refine the risk assessment for this metalloid
and to develop rational and appropriate standards for human exposure.
PREPARED BY: Rex Pegram (919-541-0410), NHEERL and David
Thomas, (919-541-4974), NHEERL
S-ll TRENDS IN INDICATORS OF EUTROPHICATION IN THE
HUDSON-RARITAN ESTUARY
Long-term monitoring of New York Harbor waters indicate that
many areas of the Harbor have recently experienced dramatic improve-
ments in several conventional water quality indicators. These improve-
ments include Harbor-wide order-of-magnitude reductions in ambient
coliform concentrations, and significant increases in dissolved oxygen
(DO) concentrations in the waters of the Inner Harbor. However, in
contrast to these and other water quality improvements, some areas of
the outer Harbor, in particular, Jamaica Bay, western Long Island
Sound, and Raritan Bay, exhibit either no trend or a negative trend in
several water quality indicators. For example, in some of these waters
bottom average DO concentrations show a decreasing trend, while
trends in surface water DO concentrations are indicative of increasing
supersaturation. Sites which exhibit the greatest top-to-bottom DO
stratification, also exhibit high plankton activity, decreasing transpar-
ency, elevated pH, and the highest average chlorophyll 'a' concentra-
tions in the Harbor. While the increased algal activity, and the decline
in related indicators suggest some areas of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary
are experiencing increasing eutrophication, both nutrient loads and
ambient nutrient concentrations have remained mostly constant over
the past 20 years. The recent covariance of dissolved oxygen minima
among very diverse and isolated areas of the Harbor strongly suggest
26
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other factors, possibly meteorological, hydrologic, or oceanographic in
nature, may be affecting water quality trends in some parts of the
Estuary, calling into question the probable success of planned nutrient
management efforts aimed at decreasing the occurrence of hypoxia in
the Harbor.
PREPARED BY: Marie O'Shea (908-321-4468), NRMRL
S-12 IMPACT OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT ON WATER QUALITY
TRENDS IN THE LOWER HUDSON RIVER
Long-term trends in dissolved oxygen (DO) and total coliform
bacteria concentrations are used to evaluate the impact of almost 60
years of sewage abatement and treatment in the lower Hudson River
near New York City (NYC). Although some water pollution control
plants (WPCPs) have been in operation in the region since the 1930s,
the most significant abatement of untreated sewage in the lower
Hudson River has occurred since the late-1970s, when most of the
existing plants were upgraded to secondary treatment, and additional
plants were constructed. From at least 1922 through the early 1960s,
average summer DO percent saturation varied between 35-50% in
surface waters and 25-40% in bottom waters. Beginning in the late
1970s, DO concentrations generally increased through the 1980s and
especially into the 1990s, coinciding with the upgrading of the 170 mgd
North River plant to secondary treatment in the spring of 1991.
Average summer percent saturation in the early 1990s exceeded 80% in
surface waters and 60% in bottom waters. In addition, summer DO
minima have increased from less than 1.5 mg 1-' in the early 1970s to
greater than 3.0 mg H in the 1990s, and the duration of hypoxia during
summer months has been reduced. Total coliforms also display strong
declining trends from the 1970s into the 1990s, with declines attributed
to plant upgrades, construction of two NYC plants (North River and
Red Hook) in the mid-1980s, and improved operation of the sewer
system. This paper will examine these and other changes to dissolved
oxygen (DO) and coliform bacteria in the lower Hudson River, in
response to recent improvements in both sewage capture and treatment.
PREPARED BY: Marie O'Shea, NRMRL (908-321-4468)
S-13 CRITERIA FOR PAH EXPOSURE DETERMINED FROM
SELECTED REFERENCE SITES AND STATISTICALLY
SAMPLED SITES
Exposure criteria are needed to provide universal references for
assessment of streams. Reference values for naphthalene, associated
with oil contamination, and benzo[a]pyrene, associated with
combustion by-products, were determined for fish in Ohio streams by
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measuring bile metabolites (Lin et al, 1996). The exposure criteria
values were rounded up from the 0.90 fractile upper reference limit
calculated according to the recommendations of the International -
Federation of Clinical Chemistry. The exposure criteria were 0.3 u.g
benzo[a]pyrene/mg protein and 50 jig naphthalene/mg protein for data
obtained from statistically selected (REMAP) first through third order
streams. In the Eastern Cornbelt Plains, 7.5% of the sites exceeded the
benzo[a]pyrene and the naphthalene criteria values. For both types of
metabolites, more than half of the rivers of concern sampled by the
Ohio EPABiomonitoring Program exceeded the criteria values. This
method can be used to develop criteria of exposure for other
contaminants to other wildlife and other ecosystems.
PREPARED BY: Susan Cormier and E. Lin, NERL (513-569-7995)
S-14 A POTENTIAL MECHANISM OF ACTION FOR ARSENIC AS A
CARCINOGEN: DNA METHYLATION ALTERATIONS
The mechanism of action of the human carcinogen arsenic is not
well understood. Because arsenic is detoxified using an S-
adenosylmethionine/methyltransferase pathway we hypothesized that
arsenic exposure could affect DNA methylation. Human lung A549
cells exposed to 0.08 to 2 M arsenite in vitro over a 2 week period
acquired increases of up to 7-fold in cytosine methylation in a 5'-
control region of the p53 promoter as confirmed by bisulfite modifica-
tion technique of DNA sequencing and by Hpall restriction analysis.
Using Sssl methylase to quantify CpG methylation, hypermethylation
was shown was present globally throughout the genome. CMTase
mRNA was increased in cells grown in the presence of arsenite as
detected by RT-PCR, and CMTase preparations isolated from arsenite-
exposed cells had higher levels of activity per g protein. We conclude
that changes in DNA methylation induced by arsenic could underlie its
mechanism of action as a carcinogen.
PREPARED BY: M. J. Mass, NHEERL (919-541-3514) and L.
Wang, NHEERL (919-541- 0324)
S-15 IDENTIFICATION OF ANALYTICALLY PROBLEMATIC
POLLUTANTS WITH A NEW MASS SPECTROMETRIC
TECHNIQUE
Structural identification of environmental pollutants is often
impossible even with the Agency's advanced analytical techniques. A
high resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) technique pioneered at
BSD can identify pollutants that would otherwise be reported as
"unknowns." The technique very accurately measures three exact
masses and two relative abundances for one ion and the ions weighing
1 and 2 amu more. Together, these five values yield a unique elemental
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composition. Two examples illustrate the power of this new technique.
For a Superfund site sample, elemental compositions were determined
for thje presumed molecular ion formed from each of 47 compounds
corresponding to unidentifiable gas chromatographic peaks. These
compositions, and tracking of the ions characteristic of
alkylbenzothiazoles (at 20,000 resolution), confirmed that these
compounds were benzothiazole derivatives from a nearby dye manu-
facturing plant. In a second example, the new HRMS technique
determined the elemental compositions of the molecular ion and 10
fragment ions from several isomers, leading to identification of a series
of alkylated cyanotetralins in well water from an area having an
elevated incidence of childhood cancer.
PREPARED BY: A. H. Grange, NERL (702-798-2137) and G. W.
SovocooJ, NERL (702-798-2212)
S-16 NON-PURGEABLE VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RAPIDLY DETERMINED BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHYIMASS
SPECTROMETRY USING DIRECT AQUEOUS INJECTION
A number of analytical techniques are available for identifying and
quantifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in aqueous media
(e.g., purge and trap; headspace analysis). These approaches all
involve preliminary steps to remove the analytes from the aqueous
matrix. Some VOCs (i.e., "non-purgeables"), however, cannot be
removed from water. The Environmental Sciences Division (NERL,
Las Vegas) has developed a method that bypasses the need for all
preliminary steps when analyzing water for VOCs. This method uses
fused-silica gas chromatography via direct injection of the aqueous
sample, coupled with determination by ion-trap mass spectrometry.
This direct aqueous injection (DAI) method has been evaluated for 18
non-purgeable volatile organic compounds of which nine have no EPA-
approved method. Using internal standardization, the relative response
factors and relative retention times for the 18 compounds were deter-
mined. The precision of the technique was 19% and 13% (relative
standard deviation) for the splitless and on-column injection, respec-
tively. On average, DAI was also able to detect as few as 800 mol-
ecules of analyte in every one billion molecules of water (800 ppb).
PREPARED BY: Steven M. Pyle, NERL (702-798-2529) and Alvin B.
Marcus, NERL (702-798-2324)
S-17 A ROTATED PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS OF TOTAL
COLUMN OZONE OBTAINED FROM TOMS FOR 1984 TO 1989
The global distribution of total column ozone (3) is attracting great
international attention as concerns over reduced global abundances
escalate. Detection of a trend is an arduous task, made difficult by
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numerous natural inter- and intra - annual fluctuations, many of which
are not well understood. Accordingly, this study analyzes these natural
variations (across all spatial and temporal scales) through the applica-
tion of rotated Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the 3 data
derived from Version 6.0 TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer)
for the period 1984-1989. Utilization of Kaiser's varimax orthogonal
rotation allows delineation of eleven homogeneous subregions that
together account for 74.08% of the total variance. Each subregion
displayed statistically unique 3 characteristics that were further
examined through time series and spectral analysis, allowing identifica-
tion of the probable phenomena (i.e. annual and semiannual cycles,
QBO, ENSO, baroclinic waves) responsible for the variability of 3.
PREPARED BY: Brian Eder, NERL (919-541-3994) and Sharon
LeDuc, NERL (919-541-1335)
S-18 TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR CLEANER PRODUCTION:
SEPARATIONS FOR REMOVAL/RECYCLE/REUSE AND GREEN
ENGINEERING FOR CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS
In four in-house projects, the Clean Processes and Products
Branch, Sustainable Technologies Division, NRMRL, is developing
and evaluating technologies for making industrial processes cleaner.
The first project, Pervaporation for VOC Removal and Recovery,
grew out of a successful in-house study of the membrane technology
applied to a surfactant-treated contaminated groundwater. After
investigating several potential industrial applications, we identified
solvent dehydration as the most promising and will begin bench work
in FY 98. Performance predictive software is also under development
in-house. The second project is Temperature Swing Sorption for
VOC Removal and Recovery. A potentially significant advance in the
technology is being studied in the lab, with a pilot evaluation at a DOD
paint spray booth planned for late FY 98. In the third project, Adsorp-
tion for Metals Removal and Recovery, we are developing adsorbents
to remove and recover metals from industrial streams. Target metals
are nickel, copper, and lead found in metal finishing and primary
metals industry process and waste streams. The fourth project, Alter-
native Oxidation using Photocatalysis, will develop an environmen-
tally benign catalytic process for partial oxidation of hydrocarbons in
the manufacture of commodity chemical oxygenates such as alcohols,
aldehydes and ketones. The experimental process uses ultraviolet light
and a titanium dioxide catalyst. Currently we are investigating multiple
reactor configurations, deposition of a nanocrystalline catalyst film and
additional catalysts and co-catalysts, such as iron and copper.
PREPARED BY: Teresa Marten, NRMRL (513-569-7565)
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S-19 ORD'S REGIONAL SCIENTIST PROGRAM
The Regional Scientist Program fosters communication between
ORD and the Regions. An ORD scientist, detailed to a Regional
Office, provides expert advise to managers, develops applied science
projects that utilize ORD research products, and communicates regional
science needs to ORD's research planning process. The program builds
science capacity in the Regions, brings regional experience into the
laboratories, and provides professional development opportunities. The
poster introduces the current Regional Scientists and describes their
activities.
PREPARED BY: John Miller, OSP (202-564-4896)
S-20 SHOULD ORD CARE ABOUT WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE
DOING?
OSP's Regulatory Support Staff links ORD research and expertise with
the Agency's regulatory process. Participating in that process helps to
make EPA's programs, guidance, regulations, and reports more legally
defensible. This poster details the activities regulatory support re-
quires. Some of the activities in which OSP Regulatory Support Staff
are involved require that they:
• review the tiering of policy and regulatory actions; the various tiers
refer to the degree on internal EPA scrutiny given to each action,
and the tiering is based on the significance of the action.
• conduct essentially a 'triage' on the new regulatory activities to
assess the need for and level of ORD involvement, and help
identify ORD experts for workgroups and participating when they
have expertise. Recent efforts include review and participation on
efforts associated with clean air act workgroups, recent pesticide
regulations and recent solid waste regulations.
analyze proposed and enacted legislation for its impacts on ORD's
research program. Recent efforts include analysis of congressional
inquiries on the clean air standards, the safe drinking water act, and
the food quality protection act.
Staff also respond to external (e.g., congressional) inquiries.
PREPARED BY: Ed Hanlon, OSP (202-564-6761)
S-21 THE ECOLOGICAL CONDITION OF ESTUARIES IN THE GULF
OF MEXICO
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with other
federal agencies, initiated the Environmental Monitoring and Assess-
ment Program (EMAP) in order to document the status and geographi-
cal extent of the condition of the nation's ecological resources. Using a
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standardized, probabilistic sampling design and standardized methods,
the Estuaries component of EMAP (EMAP-E) launched a demonstra-
tion project in 1991 to monitor the ecological condition of near-shore
waters along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The Gulf of Mexico region
covers estuarine systems from Rio Grande, Texas to Florida Bay,
Florida. EMAP-E has conducted sampling surveys in the Gulf estuar-
ies during the summers of 1991-1995. This poster highlights informa-
tion about the ecological condition of estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico
available from EMAP-E and other federal and state environmental
programs. In FY'98, we will combine available information to provide
an environmental "report card," assessing the overall ecological
condition of Gulf of Mexico estuaries.
PREPARED BY: Virginia Engle, John Macauley, and Kevin Summers,
NHEERL (850-934-9200)
S-22 EPA'S SCIENCE POLICY COUNCIL
Established in 1993 by the Administrator, the Science Policy
Council (SPC) addresses significant science policy issues that go
beyond regional and program boundaries. The SPC is chaired by the
Deputy Administrator and is composed of senior managers from the
programs, regions, and laboratories. Staff in ORD's Office of Science
Policy support SPC activities, which currently include efforts in areas
such as Cumulative Risk, Risk Characterization Implementation, Peer
Review Issues, Cancer Guideline Implementation, and Social Science
Issues.
PREPARED BY: Kerry Dearfield, OSP (202-564-6486) and Ed
Bender, OSP (202-564-6483)
S-23 THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM (EIMS): IMPROVING ACCESS TO ORD'S DATA AND
INFORMATION RESOURCES.
The Environmental Information Management System (EIMS) stores
and manages descriptive information (metadata) about data, projects,
models, and documents used by Agency staff. The core of this system
is a relational database containing both metadata and data. World Wide
Web forms provide direct access to the metadata components of the
system enabling anyone with an Internet browser to identify and find
environmental information resources. Thus far, the EIMS has been
implemented for an ORD research program (ReVA), a regional office
(Region 10), and a program office (OW's Surf Your Watershed Pro-
gram). The continued development and application of EIMS within
ORD is being coordinated by the recently formed ORD Scientific
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Information Management Coordination Board (SimCorB). SIMCorB is
developing pilot projects to integrate EIMS with existing ORD pro-
grams, such as EMAP, and to capture descriptive information about
legacy data sets held by ORD. These projects are designed to develop
the full potential of EIMS to become the inventory of environmental
resources held by ORD.
PREPARED BY: Robert Shepanek, NCEA (202-260-3255) and Gary
Collins, NERL (513-569-7174)
S-24 GENETIC DIVERSITY OF CENTRAL STONE ROLLER FROM
THE GREAT MIAMI RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN, OHIO
The response of a species to stress may depend on the genetic
variability at its disposal. Molecular approaches are useful for measur-
ing genetic diversity within and among wild populations exposed to
environmental stressors. We have developed molecular tools for
genetic analysis which generate a high number of loci in the absence of
specific sequence information. These methods are well-suited for
evaluating regional scale population diversity and potential vulnerabil-
ity. We applied these to assess the level of genetic variation in popula-
tions of Central Stone Rollers (Campostoma anomalum) collected from
tributaries of the Great Miami River in Ohio during the summer of
1995 as a part of a Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assess-
ment Program (REMAP) project. The results demonstrate that a trend
exists towards a relationship between genetic diversity and stream
order. Therefore, isolated populations farthest from main conduits or in
lower stream orders may be the most vulnerable to stressor exposure. It
is hoped that information pertaining to genetic diversity, when inte-
grated with other metrics, will aid in making scientifically grounded
decisions for resource management.
PREPARED BY: R.N. Silbiger, S.A. Christ, A.C. Leonard, M. Garg,
D.L. Lattier, T. Wessendarp, D.A. Gordon, A.C. Roth, M.K. Smith and
G.P. Toth, NERL (513-569-7623)
S-25 EXPOSURE MONITORING IN TELEOSTS USING GLOBAL
EXPRESSION OF TISSUE-SPECIFIC GENES AS MARKERS
Expression of certain genes in aquatic organisms is the cellular
"reaction" to environmental "action". We are using molecular biology
tools to assess such reaction, or gene induction, in common carp
(Cyprinus carpio). These methods will provide a means for sensitive
detection of the "first cellular event" in response to environmental
impact. The activation of certain genes may be correlated with classes
of chemical compounds. Molecular approaches to exposure monitoring
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are supported by the hypothesis that subcellular events resulting from
the contact of an organism with chemical milieu are detectable far in
advance of those effects observed at higher levels of biological organi-
zation. We have, therefore, developed a method designed to identify, in
any target tissue, genes which are expressed or suppressed as a function
of chemical exposure. This method is currently being applied in
conjunction with an in situ exposure monitoring scheme, using caged
fish. It is expected to contribute substantially to the detection of
pesticides and endocrine disrupting compounds in stream ecosystems.
PREPARED BY: D. Lattier and G. Toth, NERL (513-569-7419)
S-26 A MICROBIOLOGICAL SURROGATE FOR EVALUATION OF
DRINKING WATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFICIENCY
The emergence of waterborne pathogens, such as Cryptospordium,
has prompted renewed interest in procedures for evaluating water
treatment plant performance. In this study, endospores of aerobic
spore-forming bacteria were used as microbial surrogates for evaluating
the efficiency of various unit processes in drinking water treatment. A
method of assaying for the microbial surrogate is proposed. Occur-
rence data for various source waters and data from coagulation and
disinfection studies will be presented. Evaluations of endospore
removal will be compared with removals of turbidity and particle
removal. Seasonal removal data through a full-scale treatment plant
and data from a pilot-scale plant will also be presented.
PREPARED BY: E. W. Rice, K. R. Fox, R. J. Miltner, D. A. Lytle and
C. H. Johnson, NRMRL (513-569-7204)
S-27 COLLABORATIVE STUDY OF TWO METHODS FOR THE
DETECTION OF ESCHERICIA COLI IN WATER
A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate two methods for
the detection of Escherichia coli in water. The Agency approved 24
hour EC-MUG procedure was compared with a rapid 4 hour glutamate
decarboxylase (GAD) method. Nine samples representing four different
sample types were examined. Fourteen analysts from ten governmental
•and two commercial laboratories participated in the study. A total of
769 total coliform positive cultures were analyzed for the presence of
E. coli. There was a 98% agreement between the two methods.
Intel-laboratory variability was within accepted limits. Based upon
these findings, the rapid GAD assay was equivalent to the standard 24
hour, elevated temperature procedure.
PREPARED BY: E. W. Rice and C.H. Johnson, NRMRL (513-569-
7204) and J. W. Messer, NERL (919-541-1425)
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benchmark dose approach, problem formulation for ecological risk
assessments, and a framework for integrating cancer and noncancer risk
assessment.
PREPARED BY: William P. Wood, NCEA (202-260-1095)
S-30 PCBs, THYROID HORMONES AND OTOTOXICITY IN RATS:
CROSS-FOSTERING EXPERIMENTS DEMONSTRATE THE
INFLUENCE OF POSTNATAL LACTATIONAL EXPOSURE
Previous research has demonstrated the sensitivity of the develop-
ing rat to the hypothyroxinic and ototoxic effects of perinatal exposure
to Aroclor 1254 (A 1254). We tested the hypothesis that postnatal expo
sure via lactation is the major cause of the ototoxicity by cross-
fostering animals at birth. Primiparous rats (22-24/dose) received 0 or 6
mg/kg A1254 (po in corn oil) from gestation day (GD) 6 to postnatal
day (PND) 21. On the day of birth half of the treated litters and half of
the control litters were cross-fostered, resulting in the following groups:
CTRL/CTRL - controls; PCB/PCB - perinatal exposure; PCB/CTRL -
prenatal exposure only; CTRL/PCB - postnatal exposure only. We
assessed offspring at a number of ages for: plasma thyroid hormone
concentrations, liver concentrations of PCBs, body weight, mortality,
auditory startle amplitudes, and auditory thresholds for 1 and 40-kHz
tones. Circulating T4 concentrations were sharply reduced in the PCB-
exposed group at GD21, and on PND 3,7,14 and 21 in the PCB/PCB
and the CTRL/PCB groups. Smaller decreases in T4 were observed in
the PCB/CTRL group on PND 3,7, and 14. Amounts of PCBs in the
liver on PND 21 were similarly elevated in the PCB/PCB and CTRL/
PCB groups, but not in the PCB/CTRL group. Auditory startle ampli-
tudes were unchanged in all groups. A1254 exposure caused permanent
hearing deficits (20 dB increase) at the low frequency (1 kHz) in the
PCB/PCB and CTRL/PCB groups. These data demonstrate significant
hypothyroxinic and ototoxic effects of postnatal lactational exposure to
PCBs.
PREPARED BY: K. M. Crofton, P.R.S. Kodavanti, E. C. Derr-Yellin
and C. G. Nace, NHEERL (919-541 -2672)
S-31 INCREASED [H3JPHORBOL ESTER BINDING IN RAT CER-
EBELLAR GRANULE CELLS AND INHIBITION OF 4SCa 2+
SEQUESTRATION IN RAT CEREBELLUM BY POLYCHLORI-
NATED DIPHENYL ETHER CONGENERS AND ANALOGS:
STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS
Research in our laboratory has indicated that a prototypic ortho-
substituted, non^coplanar polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener
disrupts calcium homeostasis and second messenger systems in nerve
cells in vitro. Other studies on the structure-activity effects of 24 PCB
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S-28 TOOLS FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL)
Systems Analysis Branch has developed a number of tools to assist
users in incorporating environmental considerations and sustainable
development concepts into the decision-making process. The tools
range from completed computer programs to documented conceptual
frameworks and methodologies. Thirteen tools are complete or
currently under development. This poster highlights four of the tools:
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Tool for Reduction and Assessment of
Chemical Impacts (TRACI), Pollution Prevention Progress (P2P), and
Program for Assisting the Replacement of Industrial Solvents (PARIS).
An accompanying publication ("toolbox") gives a synopsis and the
current status of each of the tools, the capabilities and limitations of
each tool, how and when the tools should be used, and how tools can be
combined for enhanced application.
PREPARED BY: Terri Hoagland, NRMRL (513-569-7783)
S-29 RISK ASSESSMENT FORUM
The Risk Assessment Forum is a standing committee of senior EPA
scientists charged with studying selected risk assessment issues. The
Forum was established to promote Agency-wide consensus on difficult
and controversial risk assessment issues and to ensure that this consen-
sus is incorporated into appropriate Agency risk assessment guidance.
To fulfill this purpose, the Forum assembles Agency risk assessment
experts in a formal process to study and report on issues from an
Agency-wide scientific perspective. Forum activities range from long-
term risk assessment guidelines development to one-time conferences,
each designed to foster inter-office dialogue and, as appropriate,
develop expert scientific consensus on important risk assessment
issues. Risk Assessment Forum products include: risk assessment
guidelines, technical panel reports on special risk assessment issues,
and peer consultation and peer review workshops addressing controver-
sial risk assessment topics. ORD scientists play key roles in the
Forum's activities. Forum work is managed by a staff lodged in and
supported by the National Center for Environmental Assessment.
Several ORD scientists participate in shaping and managing the
Forum's agenda as Forum members while others participate on Forum
technical panels, often leading these efforts. Presently, the Forum is
completing the Agency's first risk assessment guidelines for neurotox-
icity risk assessment and ecological risk assessment and revisions to the
earlier carcinogen risk assessment guidelines. Efforts are underway to
development further guidance on the use of Monte Carlo analysis, the
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congeners suggested that those with chlorination substitution patterns
favoring non-coplanarity were active in vitro, while those that were
coplanar had littl|or no activity in vitro. The present experiments
tested the hypothesis that coplanarity is a salient structural feature in
the activity of the PCBs by testing the effects of related chemical
classes such as the polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs) in which
coplanarity is more difficult to achieve regardless of the degree and
pattern of chlorinated. Selected PCDEs and their analogs were
predicted to be active in vitro, since they are non-coplanar in nature.
Molecular mechanics calculations and conformational modeling
supported the hypothesis that the potential for PCBs to assume a
coplanar state plays a fundamental role in the activity of PCBs in
nervous system cells in vitro. PCB congeners that are active in the
nervous system tend to be o/t/w-substituted and non-coplanar, which
are structural characteristics normally associated with low
arylhydrocarbon (Ah) receptor activity. The results of these studies
suggest that potential health risk associated with exposure to PCB
mixtures containing ortAo-substituted and non-coplanar congeners
would underestimate risk associated with effects in the nervous system.
PREPARED BY: R.S. Kodavanti, T.R. Ward, J.D. McKinney, C.L.
Waller and H.A. Tilson, NHEERL (919-541-7584) .
S-32 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND AN ECOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED STATES MID-ATLANTIC
REGION: AN ATLAS
There is a growing public, legal, and scientific awareness that
broader-scale views are important when assessing regional environ-
mental quality. In the past, the media has concentrated on dramatic
events, focusing our environmental awareness on local or isolated
phenomena such as cleaning up Superfund sites, stopping pollution
from a drainage pipes, saving individual endangered species, or
choosing a site for a county landfill. Today, our perceptions are
changing. We realize-that humans and our actions are an integral part
of the global ecosystem, and that the environment is complicated and
interconnected with human activities across local and regional scales.
We have begun to take a broader view of the world and of our place in
natural systems. Technological advances in remote sensing and
computing now make it possible to assess regional environmental
quality, to envision where we hope to be in the future, and to identify
the steps we need to take to improve environmental quality. An atlas
has been prepared which takes advantage of these advanced technolo-
gies and presents results of one of the first comprehensive, regional-
scale environmental assessments.
PREPARED BY: Bruce Jones, NERL (702-798-2671)
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S-33 DEVELOPING A RISK ASSESSMENT OF PATHOGENIC
SHRIMP VIRUS INTRODUCTIONS INTO THE UNITED STATES
Worldwide and within the U.S., shrimp aquaculture has suffered
substantial economic losses due to pathogenic viruses. Although these
viruses pose no threat to human health, recent catastrophic outbreaks on
U.S. shrimp farms, the appearance of diseased shrimp in U.S. com-
merce, and new information on the susceptibility of shrimp and other
crustaceans to these viruses prompted the Joint Subcommittee on
Aquaculture (ISA; Office of Science and Technology Policy) to initiate
a risk assessment of the introduction and spread of exotic shrimp
viruses to the wild penaeid shrimp fishery and shrimp aquaculture
industry in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern coastal United States.
The ISA appointed a federal interagency work group to assemble
available information on the shrimp virus problem and prepare a
preliminary report that is structured around the problem formulation
phase of an ecological risk assessment. Here, we describe the highlights
of the report, including the economic and management context of the
problem, the management goal, and the overall conceptual model for
the proposed risk assessment. We discuss the potential effects of
pathogenic viruses on penaeid shrimp and other species and the
possible exposure pathways to wild shrimp in the context of penaeid
shrimp life history patterns and other anthropogenic stressors and
environmental factors that affect shrimp. Finally, we review responses
to the report obtained from stakeholder meetings and future plans for a
full risk assessment.
PREPARED BY: H. Kay Austin and William Van der Schalie, NCEA
(202-260-5789)
S-34 NETWORKED ANALYTICAL DATA SYSTEMS (NADS)
ORD is in the process of making data gathered on various pieces of
scientific equipment and projects available on the Intranet through the
Networked Analytical Data Systems Initiative (NADS). Using Lotus
Notes servers deployed at all ORD Sites, the goal is to have data
generated made available in real-time. Currently, information is
available including the National UV Monitoring Network, EMAP,
AFM Images, and other Microscopy Images. Included on the NADS
Intranet Site is an AVI Movie File of a Virtual Reality "Fly By" of
Humic Acid on Graphite. In addition, there are discussion groups to
allow for the free flow exchange of information ideas within ORD. The
potential use of this technology will result in a better understanding of
each others' work and provide a platform for the sharing and exchange
of ideas and information.
PREPARED BY: Rosemarie C. Russo, Tom Prather, and Christopher
Byrne, NERL (706-355-8010)
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S-35 EPA's QA PROGRAM ON THE SUPPLIERS OF PROTOCOL
GASES
In 1992 EPA^National Exposure Research Laboratory initiated a
nationwide QA program for EPA Protocol Gases. The program had
three goals: increase the acceptance and use of Protocol Gases by the
air monitoring community, provide a QA check for the suppliers of
these gases, and to help the users identify suppliers who could consis-
tently provide accurate certified Protocol Gases. In this QA program,
which operates continuously, Protocol Gases are procured by EPA and
the supplier's certification of the pollutant concentration(s) is verified
by EPA. The results are published on EPA Technology Transfer
Network's electronic bulletin board. If a supplier's concentration
differs from the EPA values by more than 2.5%, the supplier is immedi-
ately notified in writing. The results obtained for SO2, CO and NO
Protocol Gases are described in this paper.
PREPARED BY: Avis Hines, NERL (919-541-4001)
S-36 THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESS-
MENT (NCEA): EPA's RISK ASSESSMENT OFFICE
ORD's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA)
serves as a national resource center for advancing the evolving science
of human health and ecological risk assessment. Further, the integra-
tion of hazard; dose-response, and exposure data and models into a
clear and useful risk characterization for use by federal and state
agencies, the scientific risk community and the broader public and
private sectors is a specific end-product of the Center. NCEA occupies
a critical position in ORD between (1) the researchers in other ORD
components who are generating new findings and data, and (2) the
regulators in the EPA program offices and regions who must make
regulatory, enforcement, and remedial action decisions. Thus, NCEA is
uniquely positioned to influence ORD's future research agenda to
assure that it addresses research needs identified by risk assessments
and to serve as consultants to the programs and regions on the use of
science in environmental decision making. In support of these func-
tions, NCEA focuses its work in three major areas:
• Development of assessment methodologies that reduce uncertain
ties in current approaches
• Conduct assessments of contaminants and sites of national
significance
• Provide guidance and support to risk assessors
Other important goals of NCEA are to: 1) advance the integration of
ecological risk assessment with human health assessment as a funda-
mental approach in risk assessment activities; 2) act as a catalyst for
advances in the science of risk assessment brought about by coopera
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tion and an exchange of ideas among environmental health profession-
als in the federal, state, industrial, academic, environmental, public
interest, and international communities; and 3) fully characterize'the
impacts on ecological and human systems whether they result from
exposure(s) to single, complex, or multiple physical, chemical, biologi-
cal or radiological stressors.
PREPARED BY: Linda C. Tuxen, NCEA (202-260-5949)
S-37 HUMAN EXPOSURE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES ,
DIVISION
In addition to the recent ORD reorganization, NERL has recently
reorganized to align the different divisions under ecological or human
health in order to better support ORD's science mission. To support
this structure this year NERL/RTP realigned its three divisions into
one: The Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division. This
includes one branch from the Las Vegas group. One of our major areas
of expertise and emphasis is particulate matter (PM). Our PM team is
collaborating with NHEERL in monitoring particulate matter near
selected nursing homes in support of epidemiological studies concern-
ing PM and mortality. Another area of active PM research is develop-
ing the new Federal Reference Method monitors in conjunction with
OAQPS. The Exposure Methods and Monitoring Branch (EMMB) set
up field sites on the Neuse River this past summer, in cooperation with
the State of North Carolina, the U.S. Geological Survey, and NC State
University to start testing for endocrine disrupters. EMMB are also
working with the state and other groups in EPA to determine what role
HEASD will play in researching the Pfiesteria issue that is currently
causing fish kills in North Carolina and Maryland. Our mobile sources
group and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics branch are still active in
monitoring auto emissions and determining the environmental impact
from different types of automotive fuels.
PREPARED BY: Deborah R. Mangis, NERL (919-541-3086)
S-38 CELL CULTURE METHOD TO DETERMINE CRYPTOSPO-
RIDIUM PARVUM VIABILITY
A practical, rapid, and inexpensive method to determine the
.viability of low numbers of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts is
deemed necessary to establish the risk of transmission of this organism
in drinking water. A cell culture method has been developed to assess
C. parvum viability and infectivity in vitro. Two methods, the enzyme-
immunoassay (EIA) and fluorescence antibody test (FAT), were
compared to detect cell infections resulting from this organism. A
human adenocarcinoma cell line, HCT-8 (clone C10A), was infected
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with varying doses (0-105 per well or chamber; >90% excystation rate)
of surface-sterilized C. parvum oocysts produced in adult mice. The
oocysts were allowed to excyst, and the sporozoites allowed to attach to
host cells for 4 hr after which unattached parasites and cell debris were
washed with RPMI1640. The infected cells were incubated at 37°C,
5% CO2/95% air incubator for a total of 24 hr. Infected cells treated
with human and rabbit anti-Cryptosporidium antibodies and infections
detected colorimetrically or by fluorescence. Preliminary results
showed that cells infected with about 200 oocysts can be detected by
EIA and about 100 oocysts by FAT which are comparable to the
conventional suckling mice assay used to assess C. parvum viability.
PREPARED BY: Armah. A. de la Cruz, Ph.D., NERL (513-569-7224),
and Hector E. Moreno, and James H. Owens, NRMRL (513-569-7882
or 7235)
S-39 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE U. S.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY-APPROVED
MEMBRANE FILTER METHOD FOR TOTAL COLIFORMSAND
ESCHERICHIA COLI IN DRINKING WATER
Recent waterborne outbreaks have drawn attention to the reliability
of the analytical methods used for monitoring drinking water. The
performance characteristics of the U.S. EPA-approved membrane filter
method for total coliforms (TC) and E. coli, respectively, were
determined by the ASTM method. Five isolates of each of the follow-
ing four types of colonies were picked from 11 samples of wastewater-
spiked or natural tap water and identified: mEndo sheen, MUG+ (E.
coli); sheen, MUG- (TC); and nonsheen, MUG+ and MUG-
(nontargets). The results showed that both media had low specificities
and high false-positive rates for the target organisms. The false-
positive organisms for mEndo agar were primarily Aeromonas, Vibrio,
and fluorescent Pseudomonas species, while those for nutrient agar
with MUG were fluorescent and other Pseudomonas species. In
addition, mEndo agar had a high false-negative rate. Because the EPA
method failed with >40% of the isolates, it is unreliable for routine
monitoring of drinking water.
PREPARED BY: Dr. Kristen P. Brenner, NERL (513-569-7317) and
Clifford C. Rankin, NERL (513-569-7306)
S-40 BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL
DECISIONS
NCERQA will focus on its research programs—their relationship
to the ORD Strategic Plans and how they enhance EPA's credibility as a
scientific organization and help ORD achieve its goal of providing
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national and international leadership in environmental science and risk
assessment. The presentation will feature information on NCERQA's
Research Progress Workshops Reports, Adopt-a-Grant program, STAR
Reports, 1996 Research Abstracts, and 1997 Research Awards.
PREPARED BY: Ronald Slotkin, NCERQA (202-564-6854)
S-41 IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND UTILITY OF EPA'S MONI-
TORING DATA
The Environmental Monitoring Management Council (EMMC)
brings together EPA's senior managers to promote Agency-wide
policies on environmental measurement and monitoring. The EMMC,
as a cross-Agency forum, has numerous initiatives underway that are
designed to improve the quality of the data that serve as the basis for
environmental decision making. One initiative involves The Agency-
wide Monitoring Strategy which will provide EPA with a plan for
ensuring that EPA has the data needed to track and report progress
toward achievement of environmental goals, compare the risks of
environmental threats, identify emerging threats to human health and
the environment, and inform the public. The strategy will serve as the
link between today's single-media, statute-driven monitoring programs
and a more "holistic" multi-media approach to monitoring needed to
support results-oriented planning and the growing number of cross-
media environmental initiatives. A second initiative is the Perfor-
mance-Based Measurement System (PBMS). PBMS is a framework
for matching the analytical method used to the data requirements of
specific measurement circumstances and, consequently, will lead to
improvements in data quality. Rather than requiring that a specific,
prescribed analytical method be used for a particular measurement,
under PBMS, any method can be used provided that it is demonstrated
to meet required performance standards. This approach will be more
flexible and more cost-effective for the regulated community and will
therefore encourage innovation in analytical technology. A third
initiative is the Method Development Information System (MDIS)
for tracking new measurement needs and method development products
which will serve as a communication tool for the environmental
monitoring community. It will allow scientists and regulators in EPA's
programs, the Regional Offices, and the states to notify the research
and development community of needs for new or improved measure-
ment techniques and will track the progress of on-going research and
development projects designed to meet their needs. This Windows-
based system is designed for desk-top use both as a reference library
and as a communication tool. Portions of the system will be available
to the public so that private sector research and development organiza
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lions can be informed of trends in environmental measurement and
EPA's measurement needs. Finally, EMMS has established the Na-
tional Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC)
as a voluntary association of state and federal officials organized for the
purpose of fostering the development of nationally accepted standards
for environmental laboratory accreditation. NELAC's goal is to
achieve reciprocity among state laboratory accreditation programs in
order to reduce the number of on-site laboratory inspections, eliminate
duplication in laboratory proficiency testing, and establish a uniform
national standard for environmental laboratory performance. NELAC
adopted a full set of standards for the program in July of 1997 and will
begin program implementation in 1998.
PREPARED BY: Carol Finch, EMMC (202-564-6638), David
Friedman, EMMC (202-564-6662), Sherry Hawkins, EMMC (202-564-
6671), Jan Jablonski, EMMC (202-564-6663)
S-42 A MODIFIED mTEC MEDIUM FOR MONITORING RECRE-
ATIONAL WATERS
The mTEC method, currently recommended by the USEPA for
measuring E. coli, requires transferring membrane filters from the
primary to a substrate medium after 24 hrs. incubation. The medium
was modified by eliminating brom cresol purple and brom phenol red,
and substituting 500mg/L of 5-bromo-6-chloro-3-indoyl-beta-D-
glucuronide in the original formulation to eliminate the membrane
transfer step. E. coli is identified by observing red colonies on the
membrane after 24 hrs. incubation. The methods were compared using
split surface water samples to determine if detection rates and specific-
ity for E. coli differed. Comparison indicated E. coli detection rates of
the two methods were not significantly different. The false positive rate
of the original method was significantly greater than the modified
method; false negative rates of the two methods were not significantly
different. The modified mTEC method measured the same E. coli
population as the original method with greater specificity for the target
organism.
PREPARED BY: Bennett Smith, NERL (513-569-7316) and Alfred P.
Dufour, NERL (513-569-7303)
S-43 FRAMEWORK FOR CONDUCTING INTEGRATED
ASSESSMENTS EXAMPLE - CONDITION OF THE
MID-ATLANTIC ESTUARIES
Research is being conducted to develop and evaluate a framework
for conducting integrated assessments across spatial scales to address
major environmental problems facing the ecosystem of the Atlantic
coastal region of the United States. Three features common to almost
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every environmental assessment are: (1) a link with policy or regula-
tory questions and issues, (2) a value-added perspective to assessments,
ranging from a formal, quantitative cost/benefit analysis of alternatives
to a qualitative improvement in our understanding of potential impacts
or effects, and (3) a synthesis and interpretation of scientific informa-
tion to present it in an understandable format for the intended audience.
These features have been translated into a sequence of steps that are
being used to guide the development of the integrated assessment of
environmental resources and serve as an initial framework. These
steps: (1) identify what will be assessed through clear elucidation of
management concerns in the form of assessment questions of relevance
to environmental managers; (2) identify the purpose of the assessment,
e.g., evaluate the significance of a change of condition with a minimum
uncertainty; (3) identify what is required to make the evaluation, e.g.,
knowledge of the problem and natural resources, and (4) identify how
the evaluation will be implemented. The proposed framework has been
exercised by applying it to the development of a State of the Region
Report for Mid-Atlantic Estuaries.
PREPARED BY: John Paul, Charles Strobe, Brian Melzian, John
Kiddon, James Latimer, Dan Campbell, Don Cobb, and Barbara
Brown, NHEERL (401-782-3088)
S-44 THE ECOLOGICAL CONDITION OF ESTUARIES IN THE GULF
OF MEXICO
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with
other federal agencies, initiated the Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (EMAP) in order to document the status and
geographical extent of the condition of the nation's ecological re-
sources. Using a standardized, probabilistic sampling design and
standardized methods, the Estuaries component of EMAP (EMAP-E)
launched a demonstration project in 1991 to monitor the ecological
condition of near-shore waters along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The
Gulf of Mexico region covers estuarine systems from Rio Grande,
Texas to Florida Bay, Florida. EMAP-E has conducted sampling
surveys in the Gulf estuaries during the summers of 1991-1995. This
poster highlights information about the ecological condition of estuar-
ies of the Gulf of Mexico available from EMAP-E and other federal
and state environmental programs. In FY 98, we will combine avail-
able information to provide an environmental "report card," assessing
the overall ecological condition of Gulf of Mexico estuaries.
PREPARED BY: Virginia Engle, John Macauley, and Kevin
Summers, NHEERL (850-934-9200)
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S-45 COMPARATIVE WATERSHED STUDY IN WESTERN LAKE
SUPERIOR
This study is designed to determine the effects of forest fragmenta-
tion on streams in Watersheds draining to western Lake Superior and
the role of wetlands in the surrounding watersheds in mediating these
effects. Characterization of all second and third order watersheds for
size, mature forest cover, recent logging, and wetland coverage.
Effects endpoints will include hydrology, sedimentation, water quality,
nutrient transport and biotic community structure and function in
streams. Once the link between landscape structure and ecosystem
function is established, watersheds will be classified and ranked by
sensitivity to stressors or resilience of component ecosystems. This
will facilitate extrapolation of risk across watersheds in a given class as
well as predictions of impacts of land-use changes on ecosystem
function and structure in watersheds from a variety of
hydrogeomorphic regions elsewhere in the Lake Superior basin.
Ultimately this research will be used as a case study to test a conceptual
model of watersheds sensitivity which could serve as a basis for
watershed classification throughout the Great Lakes region. An overall
framework for the study will be presented along with preliminary data
on fish community structure in the selected watersheds.
PREPARED BY: John Brazner, NHEERL (218-529-5207)
S-46 ASSESSING REGIONAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM
VULNERABILITY TO RAPID GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
We evaluated potential effects of future environmental change rates
so rapid that species may not be capable of migrating fast enough to fill
newly available niches, or of growing fast enough to complete life
cycles. First, we developed a process-based model of tree seed trans-
port that can operate at local to regional scales. It mimics differing
agents of seed transport (wind, animals, running water), seed properties
of species (mass and fall speeds, annual seed production, seed longev-
ity, seed response to immersion in water, etc.) and effects of environ-
mental properties (land uses, land cover patterns, topography, soils,
etc.) which act to facilitate or reduce seed transport. We ran the model
on a 200 X 200 m land use and land cover grid over areas approximat-
ing 5 degrees of latitude and longitude, although other grid sizes and
areas can be used.
Second, we simulated forest growth by modifying Bugmann's
ForClim forest succession model (Ecology 77:2055) to simulate tree
species responses to summer drought in the Pacific Northwest, and to
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run at several thousand points simultaneously. We tested the succession
portion of the model by comparison with vegetation in the Pacific
Northwest U.S. under present day climate, and the migration portion by
comparison with Holocene vegetation reconstructed from fossil pollen
data in the Midwestern U.S. The model calculated the potential seed
transport across the 15 km between sites at which the succession model
simulated the annual growth of different tree species and ages. With
each time step, the migration simulator determined the seed species
available to establish seedlings at each forest succession site, while the
succession model determined which trees at each site were reproduc-
tively mature and the quantity of seeds available for transport.
We projected future vegetation with the model under AGCM-
generated climate scenarios in the Pacific Northwest. The process of
migration was relatively unimportant to forest dynamics and resulting
carbon sequestration under a future warming because climate condi-
tions benign to tree growth occur short vertical distances from deterio-
rating ones in this mountainous region. In contrast, much more obvious
effects on forest structure and composition were generated by climate
change acting directly on the process of forest growth and succession.
Delayed migration in response to rapid climate change may be much
more important in flat or gently rolling terrain while forest succession
is probably of similarly great importance in both flat and mountainous
regions.
PREPARED BY: Allen M. Solomon, NHEERL (541-754-4601)
S-47 THE EFFECTS OF OZONE ON CO2 FLUX FROM SOILS WITH
PONDEROSA PINE AND BLUE WILDRYE IN COMPETITION
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) seedlings were planted
with 3 densities of blue Wildrye grass (Elymus glaucus Buckl) and
exposed to ozone to study the effects of plant competition and ozone on
below-ground processes. CO2 flux was measured monthly from 1995
through 1997, and soil active bacterial and fungal biomass were
measured periodically over the three year period. Seasonal variation in
CO2 flux from soil was high due to changing soil temperatures. By the
end of the first exposure season, grass competition and ozone both
increased CO2 flux from soil. During the second exposure season, CO2
flux from soil tended to be higher in ozone treated plots than in control
plots. During the third and current exposure season (1997), CO2 flux
was not different among treatments. Soil organic matter (LOI) was
higher in ozone treated plots than in control plots through out the study
period. Active microbial biomass was increased in ozone exposed plots
by the beginning of the 1997 exposure season. The results suggest that
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ozone stress increases soil organic matter and soil CO2 flux, and alters
soil microbial biomass. The extent to which these changes affect soil
nutrienjtdynamics |s currently under investigation.
PREPARED BY: Chris Andersen, NHEERL (541 -754-4601)
S-48 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIOMASS IN FORESTS OF THE
EASTERN UNITED STATES
Our goal was to produce a map of the biomass density and pools of
eastern forests (hardwoods and softwood; encompassing 32 states and
1991 counties) using new approaches for converting inventoried wood
volume (Forest Service FIA data) to estimates of above and
ground biomass. We estimated biomass density and pools from
the FIA data by forest type and stand size-class for each county, and
mapped the results using an overlay of the map of the forest resources
of the US (Powell et al. 1993). We developed functions between
biomass expansion factors (BEF; ratio of aboveground biomass density
of trees to merchantable volume) and stand volume. The BEFs ranged
from >4 Mg m-3 for low volume stands to <1 Mg m-3 for high volume
stands, and were statistically related to stand volume. Belowground
biomass was estimated as a function of aboveground biomass from
regression equations (Cairns et al. 1997). Average total biomass
density for hardwood forests was 159 Mg ha-1, and ranged from
56-234 Mg ha-1, and for softwood forests was 110 Mg ha-1 and ranged
from 2-344 Mg ha-1. The average biomass density is about half that of
mature forests. The total biomass for all eastern forests for the late
1980s was estimated at 20 Pg, with highest amounts in the Northern
Lake states, mountain areas of the Mid-Atlantic states, and parts of
New England, and lowest amounts in the Midwest states. Our esti-
mates are higher than those reported in other studies using the FIA data,
and suggest that US forest contain more C and accumulate it at a faster
rate than previously reported.
PREPARED BY: Sandra Brown, NHEERL (541-754-4346)
S-49 PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF OFF-CHANNEL
LOTIC RIPARIAN HABITATS (ALCOVES) OF THE
WILLAMETTE RIVER (OREGON, USA)
Since European settlement of the Willamette River basin (~29,400
km2) dramatic changes have taken place, altering the status of main
channel riparian habitats. We initiated a research project to evaluate
functional attributes of these systems with regard to the ecology of the
river. Pilot studies of 1996 focused on the characteristics of 16 alcoves
located on a 53 km reach of the river. Physical dimensions, human
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impact and vegetation varied among the systems sampled. Results
suggest that the mixture of hyporheic connectivity and ground water
flow from surrounding agricultural sites combine with physical factors
to determine attributes of these systems. Future work will evaluate fish
utilization and ground water flow with respect to these habitats.
Potential restoration of aggregate mining activities near the main river
channel will benefit from an increased understanding of these existing
off-channel sites.
PREPARED BY: D. H. Landers, NHEERL (541-754-4427)
S-50 MONITORING FORESTED RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS:
WHAT IS THE WISEST APPROACH?
Riparian forests are small, but widespread features of forested
landscapes. Their contributions to water quality and aquatic and
terrestrial habitats are critical to streams and forests. We developed a
conceptual model that relates indicators of riparian forest structures to
these three features. We compare characterizations of riparian areas by
'multiple observational approaches including multiple resolutions of
multispectral data (in 30m, 3m, and 1m pixels), fine resolution air
photos, videography, and intensive ground measurements. Our work
focused on 90 probability sites within Northwestern Oregon. The
results underscore that choices about observational methods must
account for the scale of the relationships between ecological patterns
and processes.
PREPARED BY: Paul L. Ringold, S. Cline, NHEERL (541-754-4601)
S-51 FIELD VALIDATION OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC MARINE
AMPHIPOD SEDIMENT TOXICITY TESTS WITH
GRANDIDIERELLA JAPONICA
Contaminated field sediments from Pearl Harbor, HI, Lauritzen
Channel, CA, Black Rock Harbor, CT and Elliot Bay, WA were tested
for toxicity using 10-day sediment toxicity tests with the amphipods
Rhepoxynius abronius, Leptocheirus plumulosus, Eohaustorius
estuarius, Corophium insidiosum, and Grandidierella japonica, and
chronic (28-day) tests with L. plumulosus and G, japonica. In all
sediment tested, results of the 10-day sediment tests were similar
among all species except C. insidiosum in terms of significant differ-
ence from control sediments. Grandidierella collected from DDT-
contaminated sediments from Lauritzen adapted to contaminants in that
sediment. The 10-day and 28-day LC50's in terms of % contaminated
sediment in the dilution series from Lauritzen and Black Rock Harbor
indicated general concurrence among the species tested and between
the 10- and 28-day tests as to the toxicity of the sediment. Results of
10-day and 28-day tests validate G. japonica as an appropriate test
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species for sediment toxicity testing on the U.S. mainland, in Hawaii
and potentially elsewhere where G. japonica is found, provided the test
animals are cultured or collected from a population living in uncon-
taminated sediment.
PREPARED BY: J.O. Lambers.on, R.C. Swartz and RJ. Ozretich,
NHEERL (541-867-4043)
S-52 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND THE ENVIRONMEN-
TAL TECHNOLOGY CHOICES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
DECISION MAKERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD
The Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) is a
service of the Environmental Protection Agency designed to accelerate
the development and commercialization of improved environmental
technology through third party verification and reporting of perfor-
mance. The goal of ETV is to provide purchasers, permitters and
developers with objective and quality assured performance data. Since
its inception in October 1995, ETV has designed 12 pilot projects to
test a wide range of partner and procedural alternatives and to cover a
broad range of environmental areas. Although the 12 pilots began on
different schedules, all will be operational in 1998. The first pilot, Site
Characterization and Monitoring Technologies, verified 11 environ-
mental technologies in 1996 and 1997. Thirty-five additional technolo-
gies are presently in the verification process. ETV envisions verifying
over 350 better, faster, cheaper technologies by the year 2005. ETV is
managed by the Office of Research and Development with pilot
managers from the National Risk Management Research Laboratory
and the National Exposure Research Laboratory. The ETV poster
exhibit for the ORD Williamsburg Workshop includes two posters.
One poster is a map of the U.S. entitled ETV Pilot Partnerships
highlighting the ETV pilots, their partner, the location of their partner
organization and a brief description of the pilot activities. The other
poster lists the ETV Team Pilot Managers, the partner organization
Pilot Managers and the ETV Program Coordination Director and
Contacts with their telephone numbers. To learn more about ETV, see
the ETV Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/etv.
PREPARED BY! Tina Maragousis Conley, NRMRL (202-260-2579)
S-53 BIOVENTING: LOW COST IN-SITU BIOREMEDIATION OF
SOILS
Bioventing is the delivery of gases to subsurface soils to promote
•in-situ biodegradation of organic contaminants. Initially, bioventing
was developed to remediate fuel-contaminated sites. Since fuels, such
as diesel and jet fuel, are biodegradable by soil microorganisms if
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sufficient oxygen is available, bioventing was developed to deliver
oxygen by injecting air into the subsurface. Usually, the injection rate
can be optimized to provide adequate oxygen while minimizing
volatilization. Bioventing of fuel-contaminated sites has been studied
extensively by EPA and others resulting in the technology being used
widely and considered as "off the shelf." Using bioventing to attack
other aerobically biodegradable compounds is currently under study
including using bioventing to treat PAH-contaminated sites such as
wood treating and manufactured gas plant sites.
In recent years, the bioventing concept has been generalized so that
other microbiologies harnessed to biodegrade more recalcitrant
contaminants. Under development now at NRMRL is cometabolic
bioventing and anaerobic bioventing. Cometabolism of chlorinated
solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) can be accomplished by
injection a specific cosubstrate, such as propane, and air. This gas
mixture establishes the correct environment for the soil microorganisms
to perform cometabolic destruction of TCE. Anaerobic microbial
transformations may be desirable for treatment of highly chlorinated
soil contaminants such as perchloroethylene (PCE), PCBs and DDT.
By injecting nitrogen gas to displace soil oxygen and adding small
amount of hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases, anaerobic dechlorina-
tion of these compounds may be possible. Many dechlorinated
compounds can then be destroyed by aerobic biodegradation via
aerobic bioventing. Thus, sequential anaerobic-aerobic bioventing may
be an effective treatment train. Since the cost of bioventing of fuel
contamination is so low ($5-$25/cu-yd), and variants on the technology
such as those described above should not add significant cost, the
bioventing research program at NRMRL is attempting to develop a
general technology for use with a wide variety of soil types and
contamination.
PREPARED BY: Gregory Sayles, NRMRL (513-569-7607)
S-54 ENHANCED SOURCE REMOVAL
The objective of the enhanced source removal project is to evaluate
alternative and innovative technologies to extract non-aqueous phase
liquids (NAPLs) from unconsolidated permeable formations. NAPLs
serve as persistent sources of dissolved ground-water plumes at many
contaminated sites, and are typically categorized according to their
fluid phase density as light non-aqueous liquids (LNAPLs) or dense
non-aqueous liquids (DNAPLs). Nine methods for in-situ NAPL
extraction were evaluated at a contaminated site on Hill Air Force Base,
Utah. The contaminant was a complex mixture of organic wastes
present as a residual LNAPL. Predominant components of the LNAPL
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were jet fuel and chlorinated solvents. Adjuvants used to expedite
LNAPL removal included surfactants, alcohol cosolvents, air, steam,
and a macromolecuje. Tests were conducted in 3 m x 5 m cells which
were hydraulically isolated by interlocking sheet piles. Remedial fluids
containing one or more of these adjuvants were flushed through a
contaminated zone of each test cell. LNAPL content was estimated
both before and after flushing using core sample analysis and partition-
ing tracer tests. In addition, concentrations of NAPL constituents in
waste streams were monitored and used to estimate mass of contami-
nant extracted.
Because of their fluid phase density, DNAPLs have proven to be
very difficult to locate and remediate. Therefore, the current focus of
the project is an evaluation of the technologies used at Hill AFB for
removal of DNAPLs. This work is being performed at the Ground
Water Remediation Field Laboratory, Dover AFB, Delaware. In this
case, perchloroethylene (PCE) will be released into double contained
test cells to create a known DNAPL source. Ground water sampling
and tracer tests will be used to estimate volume and distribution of
DNAPL in test cells both before and after remediation. Multiple
technology demonstrations will be conducted in each of two test cells at
the site. The first technology to be evaluated will be cosolvent-
enhanced solubilization.
PREPARED BY: Carl G. Enfield, NRMRL (513-569-7489) and A.
Lynn Wood, NRMRL (406-436-8552)
S-55 IN-SITU PERMEABLE REACTIVE BARRIERS TO REMEDIATE
GROUND WATER CONTAMINATED WITH CHROMATEAND
CHLORINATED SOLVENT COMPOUNDS: FULL-SCALE FIELD
DEMONSTRATION
Much of the current research on ground-water remediation has focused
on the removal of contaminated water from the subsurface and treating
it at the surface. While the removal of the contaminants is desirable,
the costs often are prohibitive and rarely are contaminant concentra-
tions lowered to the required regulatory levels. This has been particu-
larly evident for standard "pump-and-treat" approaches. In-situ
' chemically reactive permeable walls or treatment zones are being
considered as a low-cost and effective alternative for the restoration of
contaminated soils, ground water and surface water systems. The
chemical form of the contaminant in question is transformed via
oxidation-reduction and/or precipitation reactions to an immobilized
and/or non-toxic form. The application of in situ approaches to
., subsurface restoration efforts increase the emphasis on adequate site
characterization and thorough understanding of the subsurface system
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targeted for restoration and the geochemical mechanisms controlling
contaminant transformations.
Research into the use of zero-valent metals to remediate ground-
water contaminated with mixed wastes (inorganic and organic) has
been ongoing at the Environmental Protection Agency's National Risk
Management Research Laboratory in Ada, Oklahoma (NRMRL-Ada)
since 1991. The primary emphasis has been on inorganic contaminants
such as chromate, arsenic, nitrate and sulfate, however we have also
investigated the application of this technology for chlorinated organic
compounds. Laboratory-based research at NRMRL-Ada conclusively
demonstrated the effectiveness of using zero-valent metals to remediate
chromate in ground water and this research was scaled up to pilot and
full-scale demonstrations in September 1994, and June 1996, respec-
tively, near an old chrome plating facility on the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) Support Center near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Perfor-
mance monitoring results of the first year following installation of the
full-scale barrier wall are presented and directions for future research
involving this promising innovative technology are proposed.
PREPARED BY: Robert W. Puls, NRMRL (405-436-8543)
S-56 ORD SCIENCE COUNCIL KNOW YOUR SCIENCE COUNCIL
FY97 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
ORD RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND PLANS
ORD's Science Council is chaired by the Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Science. Science Council members provide a
balance between health and ecological research. They include the
Associate Directors for Health and Ecology of ORD's National
Laboratories and Centers; the Associate Director for Science in
NCERQA; and the Associate Director for Science and the Director of
OSP. The Science Council advises the AA and ORD's Executive
Council on research and scientific issues with special consideration for
strategic planning and integration with Agency-wide goals. The
Science Council serves as the principal forum for identifying, discuss-
ing and providing advice on Agency scientific and technical issues, as
well as work environment and professional development for scientists.
The Science Council manages the process for development and review
of ORD research strategies and plans on high priority research areas
and programs. Draft documents are available via the Internet at: http://
www.epa.gov/ORD/resplans. .
PREPARED BY: Lisa Matthews, IOAA (202-564-6669)
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S-57 EPA'S INTEGRATED RISK INFORMATION SYSTEM {IRIS} PILOT
PROGRAM
IRIS is an EPA data base containing Agency consensus scientific positions on
potential adverse human^health effects that may result from chronic exposure to
environmental contaminants. IRIS health assessments include the oral reference
dose (RfD), the inhalation reference concentration (RfC}» and the cancer assessment
for both oral and inhalation exposure. The Agency is conducting a pilot program to
improve the scientific consensus and review process that precedes IRIS database
entries. Under the pilot, EPAis testing improvements in (1) solicitation of scientific
information from the public on chemicals under consMeration^) documentation in
. IRIS summariesand support documents, includjngne|i^Tcixlcorogical Reviews,'*
„ _ " (3)^conducting external peerjev§w7 either by mail or^anelVe^|ing^a!iSJ*)
* streamlining final Internal AgeWyeonsensus. The piloVincludes"ass^ment or '
reassessment of the following 10 chemicals: bentazon, biryHiumrchlordane,
... . «" , ^V" '*"" * ^-^^"tJSMV 'V'-X*->^ 4 C^f^^A^ > -I -
- chromium, cumene, methyl methacrylate, methylene dfphenyl diisocyanate, - >
naphthalene, tributyltin oxide, and vinyl chloride. Also, the IRIS discussion of
arsenic carcinogenicity is being augmented. Both the existing and proposed new
cancer guidelines (EPA, 1996) are being applied. The new IRIS flies and Toxico-
logical Reviews are being made available as they are completed from summer 1997
through winter 1998 on the new IRIS web site, http:/lww\v,epa.gov/iris. An
evaluation of the pilot process and products is being used K> design standard
operating procedures for EPA's long-term IRIS program". A revised and expanded
IRIS program is being developed for 1998. ' ?
PREPARED BY: A. Mills, NCEA (202-260-0569) & O. L. Foureman, NCEA (919-541-1183)
S-58 RESEARCH NEEDS FOR FUEL OXYGENATES
The demands of the Clean Air Act for the use of oxygenated and reformulated
gasoline ("oxyfuels") in areas with excessive carbon monoxide and ozone levels in
ambient air have led to increased potential for environmental contamination from,
and human exposure to, chemicals such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) used
as fuel oxygenates. There have been increasing questions about the potential health
and environmental impact from the use of oxyfuels. However, the available
information on conventional gasolines and on oxyfuels (and even the oxygenates
themselves in some cases) is not sufficient to support quantitative assessments of the
risks of oxyfuels in relation to conventional fuels. A complete assessment requires
information on emissions, potential exposures, health and environmental effects,
and the overall impact to air and water quality. To define and address the research
needed to respond to these questions, NCEA in cooperation with ORD laboratories
and offices, as well as the Office of Air and Radiation and other program and
regional offices, has coordinated development of an information and research needs
document to support risk assessment and risk management efforts related to
oxyfuels. "Oxyfuels Information Needs" (EPA Report No. 600/R-96/069) covers a
broad range of research and analyses needed to improve the scientific understanding
of environmental risks and benefits of oxyfuels relative to conventional fuels. More
recently, a draft "Research Strategy for Oxygenates in Water" has been under
development to address more specifically the issues related to oxyfuel contamina-
tion of ground, surface, and drinking water. A workshop to review the draft
"Research Strategy" was held in October (Workshop Draft will be available on the
ORD/NCEA web page). An External Review Draft is expected to be released for
public comment in January 1998.
PREPARED BY: Michel Stevens, NCEA (919-541-4645)
AU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1997—650-273/61010
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