EPA600/R-92 132
.action August 1992
irch and
Development
Looking to the Future
7 Recycled/Recyclable
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ORD
is the Office of Research and
Development. . . the Environmental
Protection Agency's center of scientific
expertise on environmental issues.
Working with their colleagues in the
academic and industrial communities,
ORD's managers and staff are
committed to solving the increasingly
complex environmental questions of the
1990s.
At 12 laboratories across the United
States, ORD's 2,000 scientists,
engineers, and support staff conduct the
field studies, chemical analyses, and
intricate mathematical calculations that
enable EPA to identify the mechanisms
and effects of pollution and understand
the complex interactions of
environmental processes. The
President's budget request for fiscal year
1993 calls for approximately
$526 million to fund ORD activities.
ORD is the Agency's "bench laboratory"
. . . the place where new, more
effective, and less costly environmental
technologies are developed and tested.
ORD also works with the academic and
business communities to move these
advancements into the marketplace for
practical application.
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oday's Environmental
Challenges Require
High-Tech Science ...
As environmental questions become more
complex, scientists must look to cutting-edge
technology for answers. ORD brings new
techniques to bear on difficult problems ...
such as developing entirely new approaches
for dealing with environmental problems . ..
and understanding the complex
interrelationships of animals, plants, and
hurnans in wet/ands, estuaries, and other
ecosystems. For example, working together with
scientists from the business and academic
communities, ORD has conducted important
research to enhance the recycling of
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants in
automobile air conditioners ... and to pioneer
the use of bioremediation techniques in helping
clean up the / 989 oil spill in Prince William
Sound, Alaska.
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An EPA-Led Interagency
Air Monitoring Team
traveled to the Persian Gulf
to work with the World Health Organization
(WHO) and other nations in assessing the
magnitude and effects of pollution from the
Kuwaiti oil well conflagrations. ORD scientists
routinely collaborate on important projects with
colleagues from other agencies, the academic
community, other nations, and international
organizations such as WHO, adding vital
knowledge to large-scale national and
international environmental studies.
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bserving and
nderstanding the
Environment.
requires many different kinds of
scientific expertise. In its own
laboratories and in cooperation with
other organizations, ORD utilizes the
services of ecologists, chemists,
biologists, toxicologists, and other
specialists to assess the status of our
ecological resources, measure pollution,
evaluate the effects of contaminants on
the environment and human health,
and predict future trends. The scope of
study could be as large as the planet
itself, or as small as a pond...
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The Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment
Program (EMAP)
is our "report card on the environment" ... a
pioneering effort to monitor the status of (and
trends in) the nation's ecological resources,
spot emerging environmental problems, and
understand the efficacy of efforts to deal with
environmental problems. In partnership with
other federal and state agencies and t
academic community, ORD is using advan
technology (satellite imagery, for example). ..
rigorous statistical design and sampling .. . and
hands-on field research to diagnose the health of
whole ecosystems, such as estuaries, arid lands,
forests, and wetlands. The goal of EMAP is to
meet the crucial need for comprehensive,
long-term environmental information.
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Global Climate Change
Emissions of carbon monoxide, methane, and
other greenhouse gases are altering the
chemistry of the atmosphere, and have the
potential to change Earth's climate. But there
are many uncertainties about the extent and
consequences of those processes. ORD's
research will give us important information on
the role of the terrestrial environment in this
atmospheric chemistry.
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ORD Is Conducting
State-of-the-Art Research
to Assess Indoor Air Quality
The past decade has seen increasing concern
about the possible health effects of indoor air.
ORD is using the latest science to identify the
components of indoor air . . . precisely measure
contaminants down to minute levels . . . and
generate data to fill gaps in our understanding
of these exposures and their potential effects.
At ORD's Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory, for example, a special test chamber
gives scientists a unique tool for assessing
potential health risks from low-level indoor
pollutants.
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Studying the Effects of
Complex Environmental
Mixtures
Whether the
subject is
hazardous waste
cleanup or air
pollution
prevention,
environmental
protection
requires an
understanding of
how different
pollutants
interact. Every
day, ORD
scientists study
complicated
physical and
chemical reactions
to determine, for
example, how the
combined effects
of chemicals differ
from the effects of
individual
substances ... and
how one pollutant
interacts with
another.
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isk Assessment
is the difficult but crucial process of
determining what magnitude of hazard
a given chemical or physical agent may
pose to human health or the
environment. Accurate risk assessment
;s a necessary first step for any action
taken by EPA. ORD's researchers
advance science by finding better ways
to identify and measure risk ... and
thus reduce uncertainty. In the case of
dioxin, they also have recognized the
evolution of science by re-examining an
existing risk assessment in light of
up-to-date biological, physiological, and
cellular discoveries.
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Using Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) to
Track Environmental Quality
gives scientists a promising tool for quickly
identifying pollution problems and speeding
hazardous waste cleanup. By studying a section
of terrain through computerized overlay maps
and making mathematical calculations, scientists
can estimate, for example, how far pollution may
spread from contaminated wells. ORD
researchers are working on advancements in this
intriguing technology through a series of
demonstration projects.
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hiding Innovative
Solutions.
Looking beyond traditional approaches,
ORD seeks new, more efficient, and less
costly tools for cleaning up hazardous
waste, treating wastewater, and
preventing dirty air emissions. ORD has
pioneered the use of everyday
microorganisms to clean up toxic waste
and oil spills ... developed new
methods for ensuring safe drinking
water... and in many other ways
brought new environmental tools and
technologies into being.
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Wastewater Treatment
through Constructed Wetlands
is an innovative
yet simple
process being
researched by
ORD.
Wastewater is
discharged into a
manufactured
wetlands area
identical to
nature's own.
Through
biochemical
reactions, natural
microbes in the
sediment and
root systems
convert the
wastes and help
clean the water.
ORD is
conducting
studies to
determine the
effectiveness of
constructed
wetlands, and
how they function
compared with
natural wetlands.
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Technology Transfer
is the means by which new discoveries in ORD
and other federal laboratories are disseminated
to the world at large .. .
benefiting everybody. The
Federal Technology Transfer
Act gives ORD a valuable
pipeline for commercializing its
A new technology. Through
Cooperative Research and
Development Agreements,
ORD is able to work with
private industry to develop new
tools and techniques for
protecting the environment,
\ and move these ideas into the
marketplace. For example,
EPA/industry collaboration
under a cooperative agreement
led to highly successful research
concerning the use of
i microorganisms to enhance the
natural biodegradation of oil
spilled in Prince William Sound,
Alaska. In partnership with the
J Department of Commerce, the
I Department of Energy, and
other federal agencies, EPA in
1992 conducted the National
Technology Initiative, a major
, . series of conferences across the
United States to encourage
further interaction with private
industry . . . and ORD followed
those conferences with
additional workshops focused
specifically on commercializing
new environmental technologies.
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A Bioslurry
Reactor
is one of the advanced
tools that ORD is
evaluating for more
effective, less
expensive hazardous
waste cleanup. Soils
contaminated with
coal tars,
hydrocarbons, and
other wastes are put
into the reactor.
Water is added, and
the resulting slurry is
agitated and
temperature-controlled
to promote the
natural activity of
microorganisms in the
soil that convert the
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Corvallis
• Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett, P
• Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth, Mt1
• Environmental Research Laboratory - Gulf Breeze, F
• Environmental Research Laboratory - Corvallis, Ol
- R.S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory - Ada, O\
•Environmental Research Laboratory - Athens, G/
> Health Effects Research Laboratory - Research Triangl
Park, N(
•Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessmer
Laboratory - Research Triangle Park, N(
•Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, N(
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Cincinnat
0\
• Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory - Cincinnati, Ol
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vega
N'
Duluth
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Cincinnati
L.S we head toward the 21 st
century, we face environmental questions
that demand scientific and technical
knowledge far beyond today's
understanding. ORD plays a critical role
in generating the knowledge that we need
to make sound, effective decisions today,
and anticipate the complex challenges of
tomorrow.
Erich W.
Bretthauer
Assistant Administrator
for Research and
Developm ~
Narragansett
RTP»
Athens
Gulf
Breeze
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ORD's Research on Air Pollution is recognized internationally, and its
laboratories are at the forefront of studies to better understand and monitor air
pollutants, and to find new, more effective ways of controlling them. For example,
ORD scientists helped the newly independent government of Poland install and begin
using the first state-of-the-art monitoring network in Eastern Europe, and ORD has
followed that effort with additional technical assistance in Eastern and Central Europe.
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