United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research
and Development
Washington, DC 20460
November 1997
Volume 1 Number 2
EPA/600/N-97/004
v>EPA ORD Science Highlights
Spread of Harmful Algal Blooms
Prompts ORD Research Program
In recent years, harmful algal blooms have been
increasing in frequency and magnitude in coastal areas
around the world. Coastal waters provide a home for a
profusion of algal species, from microscopic organisms to
seaweeds. These algae are important food sources for marine
animals and are mostly harmless. But for reasons not yet
fully understood, some microscopic forms can release toxins
that are lethal to fish and other marine animals. Sickness
and even death can occur when people drink water or eat
shellfish contaminated by algal toxins. Seaweeds can cause
harm, too, by depleting oxygen or smothering other
organisms.
Under certain conditions, algae can expand to
tremendous numbers, with potentially damaging effects; this
proliferation is called a harmful algal bloom. Often, the
microscopic species involved in harmful blooms are single-
celled dinoflagellates and diatoms. Some are pigmented,
creating what is called a red (or brown) tide. Seaweed
blooms of red, brown, or green algae may grow in surface
mats or cover the bottom.
One organism involved in harmful algal blooms is the
dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida. This species was
identified in North Carolina estuaries in 1991, where it has
been implicated in fish kills; it is also a suspected cause of
fish kills in Maryland and Virginia waters of the Chesapeake
Bay during the summer of 1997. The extremely potent toxins
produced by Pfiesteria have caused memory loss and other
health effects in laboratory workers, and early evidence
indicates that it may affect people exposed to toxins through
activities like swimming and fishing.
Harmful algal blooms have cost fishing industries
millions of dollars over the past decade and caused outbreaks
of illness around the U.S. that included neurotoxic shellfish
poisoning in North Carolina in 1987-88 and amnesic
shellfish poisoning in Washington State and Oregon in 1991.
Episodes in Maine and nearby states have resulted in annual
closures of shellfish beds.
Scientists believe that human activities are at least
partly responsible for the increase in algal blooms.
Sewage discharges, excess runoff of farm fertilizers and
manure, deforestation along streams and bays, and other
Electron micrograph of Pfiesteria (cyst form), first discovered
in North Carolina estuaries and since documented in other
Mid-Atlantic coastal areas. ("Reproduced by permission of
Howard Glasgow, North Carolina State University Department
of Botany.)
factors that increase nutrient concentrations in coastal
areas may contribute to the spread of harmful algae.
In response to this growing problem, a number of
federal agencies are undertaking a major cooperative
research effort and developing a national research and
monitoring strategy. To help develop EPA's research
priorities as part of the national strategy, the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) hosted an algal bloom
workshop in Pensacola, Florida, in October. Experts
participated from universities and agencies such as the
National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as the Office
of Water and other EPA programs. ORD-sponsored
research, which may expand in the future, is proceeding
on several fronts:
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• In the spring of 1997, ORD awarded a $500,000 grant
to North Carolina State University to study the growth,
effects, and detection methods for Pfiesteria.
• Scientists at ORD's Neurotoxicology Division based in
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, are collaborat-
ing with academic researchers to study apparent learning
and memory problems caused by Pfiesteria.
• ORD's Gulf Ecology Division in Gulf Breeze, Florida,
is working with the U.S. Geological Survey to identify
the cause of fish kills in the Chesapeake Bay and plans
further laboratory evaluation of algal toxin effects on
aquatic organisms. The division is also developing a
rapid response capability to monitor blooms in the Gulf
of Mexico.
• ORD and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration, the National Science Foundation, and the
Office of Naval Research are jointly funding a multi-
year research program called ECOHAB (ecology and
oceanography of harmful algal blooms). The first com-
petitive grants will be awarded in November 1997.
• ORD's Atlantic Ecology Division, in Narragansett,
Rhode Island, is cooperating (along with the Gulf Ecol-
ogy Division) with several federal and state agencies to
monitor the ecological condition of Mid-Atlantic estu-
aries, including the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.
CONTACTS: Kay Austin, (202) 260-5789 and Bob Menzer,
(202) 564-6849
State-of-the-Art Research Facility
to Rise in North Carolina
EPA Administrator Carol Browner joined North
Carolina Governor James Hunt and several members of
Congress in an October 20 ground-breaking ceremony for a
new EPA science and research center at Research Triangle
Park (RTP). RTF is EPA's main location for health research,
air pollution research and regulation, and environmental
information management.
The new facility will contain specialized laboratory
space that improves EPA's research capabilities in such
areas as health effects of airborne particulate matter, risks
to children from pollution, health effects of drinking water
contaminants, and endocrine disrupting chemicals. It will
also include many environmentally efficient features such
as green (energy-saving) lighting, certified sustainable wood
products, high-efficiency boilers and chillers, and energy
conserving fume hoods in laboratories with a 70 percent
reduction in nighttime air flow demand. At the site itself,
plans call for minimal disturbance to the natural ecosystem
and separation and recycling of all major types of
construction materials.
Architect's drawing of a portion of the new EPA Science
Research Center in Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina.
The facility will consolidate space' for EPA slaff and
functions now dispersed among other locations in the RTP
area. Two of ORD's three national research laboratories
which have their headquarters at RTP, the National Health
and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory and the
National Exposure Research Laboratory, will move to the
new facility. A division of the National Risk Management
Research Laboratory based in Cincinnati will also be housed
at the new campus. In addition, the National Center for
Environmental Assessment's RTP staff will move to this
building. Staff occupancy is scheduled for 2001.
CONTACT: Russ Kulp, (919) 541-7980
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ORD Dissolved-Oxygen Studies Provide The Continuing Challenge-
Basis for Protecting Aquatic Species Keeping Drinking Water Safe
Fish, crabs, shrimp, and other aquatic organisms need
oxygen-dissolved in water-just as humans need oxygen in
air. And like humans, they can sicken and die without it. The
supply of oxygen in water is vulnerable to both natural and
human influences and ORD researchers have long recognized
low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) as a condition with
potentially serious environmental and economic effects.
Hypoxia can occur, for example, when bacteria deplete
oxygen as they consume organic matter created by blooms of
algae (see story on page 1).
Recently, the Atlantic Ecology Division of the National
Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
completed a report of a ten-year research effort on the effects
of low dissolved oxygen on coastal and estuarine species
in the Virginian Province (from Cape Cod in Massachusetts
to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina). The report provides
an approach to derive dissolved oxygen protection limits and
is applicable to other coastal regions, although a modest
amount of site-specific data will need to be generated.
In developing dissolved oxygen protection limits, the
ORD researchers broke new ground by emphasizing effects
to populations of organisms, not just individuals, and by
addressing intermittent as well as continuous low dissolved
oxygen exposures. To predict the effects of hypoxia on
future populations of organisms, the researchers developed
a mathematical model that takes into account the survival of
larvae each year. The research developed a minimum
dissolved oxygen limit which provides protection for survival
?fJUX6™!6 marine and estuarine animals for short times, and a
higher value which would provide protection for growth
should hypoxia continue over long time periods.
The data and the recommended approach for their
interpretation are presently being evaluated by the EPA
Office of Water. If adopted as Aquatic Life Criteria for
dissolved oxygen in these coastal waters, they would
become one of the measures used to set state standards on
which any regulatory action would be based.
CONTACT: Don C. Miller, (401) 782-3090
For nearly 100 years, public drinking water supplies
in the U.S. have been treated with a variety of chemicals
to reduce the risk of infectious diseases from harmful
organisms. Two well-known examples of such organisms
are Giardia and Cryptosporidium; while both can cause
serious illness and even death in certain cases, the latter
is the most difficult to detect and treat. It is the chief
suspect in the 1993 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, outbreak in
which more than 400,000 people became infected.
Dozens of other waterborne outbreaks around the U.S.
in recent years confirm that, in spite of historically
effective water treatment methods, risks remain.
A further concern is that the treatments themselves
will result in undesirable byproducts with hazards of their
own. Public health concerns over the disinfection process
were first raised in the 1970s with the identification of
chloroform and other chemical byproducts in chlorinated
drinking water. In addition to chlorine, public water
systems disinfect with ozone, chloramines or chlorine
dioxide and research has identified more than 100
chemical byproducts, some of which have been shown
to cause cancer and other toxic effects under experimental
conditions.
The challenge lies in minimizing disinfection
byproducts (DBFs) while continuing to control microbial
pathogens. This is a high priority for ORD research which
supports the development of EPA's regulations for
community drinking water systems. Some recent
accomplishments in the ongoing challenge to provide safe
drinking water:
• From ORD's National Exposure Research
Laboratory, the development of Method 1622, an
improved analytical technique to obtain purer
preparations of targeted organisms such as
Cryptosporidium in water samples; the improvement
of a method for measuring extremely low levels of
bromate, a byproduct from the use of ozone as a dis-
infectant; and the completion of procedures for
analyzing microbes and DBFs to be used under new
rules for drinking water safety. These rule changes are
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currently being negotiated by EPA in cooperation with
state and local health regulatory agencies, and consumer
and environmental groups.
CONTACT: Bruce Mintz, (919) 541-0272
From the National Risk Management Research Labo-
ratory, a new procedure for evaluating water treatment
plant performance. The procedure uses aerobic spore-
forming bacteria as surrogates for pathogenic organisms
in measuring removal efficiencies of biological particles
in water. These organisms, which do not themselves pose
a health risk, originate in soil and thus tend to increase
during periods of high runoff. Their concentrations in
source water vs. treated water provide useful informa-
tion regarding treatment effectiveness, enabling utilities
to fine-tune their treatment processes to produce high-
quality drinking water. This procedure has been
published in the peer-reviewed literature and has gained
acceptance by the water utility industry.
CONTACT: Gene Rice, (513) 569-7204
New Resource from ORD
Technical Assistance Directory, Office of Research and
Development. October 1997, EPA/600/K-97/001. Lists the
programs, areas of expertise, and primary contacts in each
of the major ORD offices, centers and laboratories. Available
by calling (513) 569-7562 or can be downloaded from the
Internet at http:llw\v\v.epa.govlORDIWebPubsltad97l
Awards Offered for Advanced
Measurement Technologies
The Advanced Measurement Initiative (AMI)
established by ORD in 1996 is an effort to accelerate the
adoption of new or improved technologies to address such
environmental tasks as measuring air pollution, monitoring
chemicals and microbes in water supplies, and measuring
underground plumes of contaminants. During the first year,
ORD sponsored five projects involving the use of new
measurement technologies by EPA Regional and Program
Offices. The projects have included such approaches as using
satellite data to monitor loss of wetlands and infrared light
beamsjo analyzejirban_air.pollution. . —— ——; ™-
This year, the focus will be on the application of remote
sensing technologies (such as gathering environmental data
from satellites). In November, ORD invited applications
from project teams composed of representatives from EPA
Regional Offices, Program Offices and ORD; these may
also include partnerships with outside organizations. Projects
will be selected in part on their potential to fulfill
measurement needs identified as high priority by EPA.
Applications are due by February 5,1998, and ORD expects
to award about $1 million for three to five projects.
CONTACT: Lawrence Friedl, (202) 260-7668
ORD Science Highlights is edited and published by ORD's
Center for Environmental Research Information in
Cincinnati, Ohio. It is available on the ORD website: http:l
lwww.epa.gov/ORD/ or by calling (513) 569-7562
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/600/N-97/004
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