*
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK
NORTH CAROLINA
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On the cover: The main building of the National
Environmental Research Center, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina, is composed of research labo-
ratory wings connected by nodes and describes a
gentle arc around a central courtyard. This view
shows the inner courtyard from one of the inter-
connecting nodes.
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ANNUAL REPORT
1973
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK
NORTH CAROLINA
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Office of Research and Development
National Environmental Research Center
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
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Note: Mention of trade names or commercial
products in this publication does not constitute
endorsement or recommendation for use by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
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EPA has a clear mandate to carry out the environmental statutes en-
acted by Congress . . . In addition, I believe that EPA has a broader
responsibility to help define, articulate, and give leadership to the
environmental aspirations of our society." Russell Train—First speech
as Administrator, delivered before the National Press Club in Washing-
ton, D.C., September 18, 1973.
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PREFACE
The Environmental Protection Agency, as with other Federal organ-
izations, receives direction from legislative mandates passed by Congress
and approved by the President. Important then is an understanding of how
well the purpose of this direction is achieved. This determination can best
be made by reviewing programs in relation to the appropriate legislation, In
this Annual Report for 1973 attention is focused on the research activities of
NERC-RTP and their relationship to specific legislative acts applicable to
NERC-RTP- Thus, in presenting a summary of our research accomplishments
during 1973, the Report illustrates the responsiveness of this research to
Congressional desires. We hope too, that in reading the Report you will under-
stand better the role of Congress and the Executive Branch in establishing an
environmental policy and the action taken by a Federal agency to fulfill the
intent to this policy. Comments on the Report and our activities are welcome.
John F. Finklea, M. D.
Director, NERC-RTP
n>
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . ... 1
INTRODUCTION ... 7
Mission . . . . . . g
NERC-RTP Research Program ... . . 11
LEGISLATIVE MANDATES .... . ... 15
SPECIAL FEATURES ... ... 23
Automotive Oxidation Catalysts ...... . ...... 25
Energy and the Environment . . .... 27
Substitute Pesticide Chemicals . 30
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES . ... 33
Special Studies Staff ..... . . . .35
Human Studies Laboratory ... . ... 47
Experimental Biology Laboratory . . ...... .55
Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory . . . , .... 65
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory. . ...... 75
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory ... . .91
Meteorology Laboratory ... . , ... . . , 105
Control Systems Laboratory . ...... 115
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGEN-
cy's National Environmental Research Center at Re-
search Triangle Park, NC, (NERC-RTP) constitutes one
of the largest multidisciplinary research groups in
existence concentrating its efforts on developing the
bases for improving the environment of the United
States. Basic research and development programs at
NERC-RTP encompass air pollution, pesticides pollu-
tion, and radiation pollution; a special studies staff
performs diverse technical investigations. This sum-
mary provides a brief discussion of the program areas,
cites some of the major accomplishments during the
period of this report, and indicates the direction of
future research.
Air Pollution
Lamp method is used to analyze sulfur content of
gasoline collected by National Fuels Surveillance Net-
work.
Air pollution research and monitoring projects en-
compass a wide variety of scientific disciplines ranging
from the elucidation of the effects of pollutants on
human health to the evaluation of devices for measur-
ing pollutant concentrations in the ambient air.
In the evaluation of measurement methods, NERC-
RTP Laboratories conduct a continuing program to
establish definitive requirements and test procedures
to be used in determining whether new or different
methods of sampling and analyzing the ambient air
produce valid, legally acceptable data. Acceptable
procedures may then be designated as "equivalent"
methods. (Equivalent methods provide the same de-
gree of measurement accuracy as the "reference"
methods given in the regulations for primary and
secondary ambient air quality standards.) In further-
ance of this project, specific performance specifica-
tions and test procedures for measuring carbon
monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide were tested for
workability and technical adequacy by NERC-RTP
technicians and by a private, independent contractor.
Reference materials (samples of known composition)
were supplied to participants in collaborative testing
of reference methods for measuring ozone and beryl-
lium; significant progress was also made in the de-
velopment of reference materials for ambient nitrogen
dioxide measurements.
During the year, NERC-RTP began the preparation
of guidelines for the development of regional quality
assurance programs for use with the reference methods
for new stationary sources; and with the reference
methods for two hazardous pollutants, mercury and
beryllium. Also, reference samples were developed
for use in quality control programs of measurements
of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulates
in ambient air.
Reference methods used to characterize emissions
were improved for Category I and II new source
performance standards. (Category I sources include
Executive Summary
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steam electric power plants, cement plants, municipal
incinerators, sulf uric acid plants, and nitric acid plants.
Category II sources include petroleum refineries, pri-
mary lead and copper smelters, and asphaltic con-
crete plants.) Performance criteria were developed
for extractive and in-situ instrumentation for deter-
mination of compliance with sulfur oxide, nitrogen
oxide, and opacity standards for a number of Cate-
gory I sources.
X-ray fluorescence methods for use in analyzing
a number of possibly hazardous materials were de-
veloped, and improved sampling and analysis methods
for polycyclic organic matter, asbestos, and mercury
are being evolved. Particular research emphasis was
placed on assessing levels of mercury that may have
an adverse effect on human health.
Several special studies were conducted by NERC-
RTP at the request of EPA's Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards to determine the ambient
concentrations of significant pollutants—one of many
instances of technical assistance being provided to
other EPA components and to State air pollution
control agencies.
Operational responsibility for the Continuous Air
Monitoring Program (CAMP) stations in Philadelphia,
PA, Denver, CO, and Chicago, IL, was transferred
from NERC-RTP to the EPA Regional Offices in
these cities. The transfer involved personnel and
resources and included responsibility for the direction
of the National Air Surveillance Network (NASN)
monitoring program for total suspended particulates,
sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
In the area of air quality simulation modeling,
both for predictive and diagnostic purposes, the
User's .Network of Applied Models of Air Pollution
(UNAMAP), a centralized computer facility, began
operation. This network provides nationwide access
by any user, public or private, to standardized and
consistent model arrays to estimate concentration
dispersion fields for six different source, receptor,
dispersion, and topographic settings. Developmental
work continued on improving and evaluating the sen-
sitivity of simulation models for reactive and non-
reactive species of pollutants for both local and
regional applications.
Several important field investigations were under-
taken during the year including a study in Denver, CO,
conducted in^cooperation with the EPA Region VIII
Office and the Colorado State Air Pollution Control
Office, to clarify the nature and source of the Denver
"Brown Cloud"; a study in Houston, TX, and
Phoenix, AZ, on photochemical oxidant air pollut-
ants; and a study in St. Louis, MO, on photochemical
oxidant and sulfur oxide air pollutants. Also in/
St. Louis, in preliminary experiments relating to the
Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS), an intensive
aerosol characterization program was begun during
the summer, and the difference in the solar radiation
budget between a rural and urban site was investigated.
Preliminary evaluation of the data indicates that the
city of St. Louis received about 6.5 percent less solar
radiation than in its rural surroundings, presumably
because of the extinction of sunlight by air pollutants.
RAPS, a major NERC-RTP research program, is de-
signed to improve the techniques for developing
least-cost air pollution control strategies for urban
areas.
NERC-RTP established a comprehensive and in-
tegrated program to study the effects of aerosol
composition on visibility. This program included
field studies to examine specific instances of visibility
reduction caused by aerosols, a project to develop a
theoretical model of visibility degradation, a study
of the effects of humidity on aerosols and visibility,
and a study of aerosol formation as a function of
reactant concentration. Construction of an aerosol
generation facility was also planned.
Statistical, numerical, and experimental studies
were undertaken to investigate the effects of air
quality on meteorological parameters and clima-
tology—and to assess the effects of meteorology and
climatology on air quality. Wind tunnel modeling
and cloud and rain-chamber techniques were used
to determine the scavenging efficiency of precipita-
tion on atmospheric aerosols, a process bearing
heavily on the problem of acid rains.
The Community Health and Environmental Sur-
veillance System (CHESS) program, a major NERC-
RTP project that relates air quality to human health
effects, was continued in 31 neighborhoods in 6 sec-
tions of the country—the interstate area of New York-
New Jersey; the state of Utah; and the cities of
Chattanooga, TN, Birmingham, AL, Charlotte, NC,
and Los Angeles, CA. The health indicator used in
the program included chronic respiratory disease in
adults, acute lower respiratory disease in children,
frequency of daily asthma attacks, pulmonary func-
tion tests of school children, cumulative residue of
pollutants in body tissues, and daily aggravation of
symptoms in individuals with pre-existing heart and
lung disease. Results of the CHESS program for
1971-1972 for New York and the Southeastern areas
revealed that, with respect to respirable-size par-
ticulates, the implementation of plans to improve
air quality in the areas would provide obvious benefits
to the study populations. Analysis of data and prep-
aration of reports pertaining to nitrogen dioxide and
oxidantsfor 1971-1972 was begun for the Los Angeles
basin and for Chattanooga. Preliminary results from
laboratory studies of controlled exposure of humans
to oxidants indicate that ambient air concentrations
of the pollutant in a number of cities may be suffi-
ciently high to cause indentifiable chromosomal
aberrations. The report Health Consequences of Sul-
AIS1NUAL REPORT 1973
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fur Oxides: A Report from CHESS, 1970-1971 was
published in May 1974.
Measurable progress has been achieved in develop-
ing the technology required to control air pollution
from stationary sources in a timely and cost effective
manner. On the pressing problem of fine particulate
(matter less than 3 micrometers in diameter) control
technology, potential areas of improvement of con-
ventional devices have been defined, and laboratory
testing of new concepts in detection and removal has
been accomplished. Among the "conventional" de-
vices, field tests show that properly designed and
operated electrostatic precipitators can be more than
90 percent efficient on a mass basis in collecting all
particle size fractions down to about 0.01 micrometer
in diameter. Experimental work by NERC-RTP to aid
in selecting optimum fabric filter cleaning methods
was described in a report issued in early 1974. Test
programs were initiated to evaluate two new par-
ticulate control devices, the sonic agglomerator and
the steam-hydro scrubber; feasibility studies were
completed on the use of charged droplets and con-
densation effects to improve fine particle collection.
The control of sulfur oxides has been a major
problem of concern in efforts to improve air quality.
The flue-gas-cleaning demonstration projects that are
presently underway are expected to provide removal
efficiencies ranging from 60 to 97 percent for these
pollutants. The technical feasibility of removing in-
organic sulfur from coal was proven in both laboratory
and bench-scale tests; design of a pilot-plant-size
operation has begun. Support for coal gasification
and conversion processes and for versions of f luidized-
bed combustion of coal and residual oil to reduce
emissions (particularly for steam and power genera-
tion) has continued.
Techniques were developed for the reduction of
nitrogen oxides emissions from combustion processes
by as much as 50 percent in commercial coal-fired
boilers. Commercially feasible means of reducing
carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate
emissions from coke ovens by 90 percent were also
demonstrated.
The NERC-RTP intramural capability to support
control technique development programs took a sig-
nificant step forward with the installation of the first
aerodynamic test facility specifically designed for
studies requiring large gas volumes (up to 15,000 cfm),
carefully controlled velocity profiles, and test mate-
rials of known chemical composition. A research
prototype lidar (laser-radar) system designed specifi-
cally for the measurement of particulate emissions
from stationary sources was obtained, and a new
long-path irradiation chamber system capable of the
resolution of fractional parts per billion of ambient
air pollutants began operation.
Improved optical measurement instrumentation
has been developed for determining concentrations of
regulated pollutants emitted by on-the-road vehicles.
Extensive research was accomplished on sampling
techniques for particulate emissions from light-duty
vehicles using leaded and non-leaded fuels in vehicles
with and without catalytic devices.
Analyses of some 1500 samples of fuels and fuel
additives were completed, and some certified fuel
standards were developed. NERC-RTP participated
in a cooperative test of the trace element content of
fuels with approximately 50 public and private labora-
tories using various measurement methods.
Currently, more than 325 additives used in gasoline
have been registered in a number of chemical classi-
fications. Detailed characterization of vehicle exhaust
products resulting from combustion of fuels with
and without additives and of products eminating
from catalytic control devices and alternate power
systems has resulted in a reassessment of the public
health benefit related to the use of oxidation catalysts
on mobile sources because of the attendant increase
in levels of potentially hazardous, non-regulated
emissions.
Scientific summary documents, which contribute
to the scientific knowledge base necessary for adminis-
trative decisions regarding the need for control of a
pollutant and indicate the strategy necessary to achieve
that control, were initiated or completed for a num-
ber of pollutants. This documentation of pollutant
characteristics leads to the issuance or revision of air
quality criteria, which are compilations of the latest
available information on the sources, prevalence, and
manifestation of recognized air pollutants. During
Fiscal Year 1974 for example, intramural review of
the effects of sulfur oxides on vegetation led to
revision of EPA's Air Quality Criteria for Sulfur
Oxides, which led to a revision of the ambient air
quality standards for that pollutant. By arrangement
with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), review
documents for vapor-phase organic matter, chlorine,
selenium, copper, zinc, arsenic, and the platinum-
group heavy metals are being developed. With respect
to the timely review of criteria documents (a require-
ment of the Clean Air Act of 1970), NAS is also pre-
paring reviews on carbon monoxide, photochemical
oxidants, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter.
Pesticides Pollution
A significant portion of NERC-RTP pesticide re-
search is directed toward evaluating the health effects
of pesticides and their residues on laboratory animals
and ultimately on humans. For example, high con-
centrations of an experimental organophosphate in-
secticide was found to cause irreversible paralysis
Executive Summary
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in animals. The significance to humans of this finding
will be evaluated using a newly developed, more
sensitive procedure for determining low-level organo-
phosphate exposure.
It was also found that, among pesticides tested in
animals using an electroencephalograph, carbanyl
caused changes in brain wave patterns and changes in
behavior in primates at a concentration that approxi-
mates the incidental or background exposure levels
experienced by humans. The significance of these
findings with respect to humans is under active inves-
tigation.
During Fiscal Year 1974, all pesticides laboratory
functions were consolidated at IMERC-RTP from
Perrine, FL, and Chamblee, GA. This transfer meant
that not only were better accommodations provided
and more efficient and economic operations made
possible, but a significant element of increased safety
for operating personnel and for experimental animal
colonies was also achieved.
Radiation Pollution
Research activities at NERC-RTP included the in-
vestigation of both ionizing radiation and nonionizing
electromagnetic radiation effects using laboratory
animal models. Ionizing radiation research programs
were confined to tritium and krypton-85, two major
effluents from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel. Non-
ionizing radiation research (part of a multiagency
control program) investigated potential detrimental
effects of environmental exposure to radio and micro-
wave frequencies.
Unique exposure facilities for the investigation of
biological effects of exposure to radio frequency and
microwave radiation were constructed at NERC-RTP.
These facilities were used in studies that demon-
strated the production of chromosome aberrations in
mammalian cells caused by microwave radiation.
Future efforts will include research on the teratologic
and neurobiologic effects of nonionizing radiation.
Humans are exposed to environmental tritium from
conception throughout their life span. A long-term
dose/response study of female rats continuously ex-
posed to tritiated water (HTO) over the gestation
period and of their off-spring demonstrated harmful
effects at concentrations approaching existing stand-
ards for exposure of human populations to tritium.
Research into the harmful effects of krypton-85 on
laboratory animals was continued with attention
directed toward its cancer-causing properties.
Research on the health effects of synergistiopqjlut-
ants was also continued. A study of the long-term
effects of continuous exposure to lead combined
with tritium revealed a tendency toward birth anom-
alies in laboratory animals.
Special Studies
During the period of this report, NERC-RTP con-
tinued its involvement in a host of international ac-
tivities in cooperation with agencies such as the World
Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organi-
zation, the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development, and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and with individual countries such as
France, Poland, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and
India. A broad spectrum of involvement has resulted
in technical assistance programs as well as scientific
research in the fields of health effects research, source
monitoring, pollutant dispersion modeling, and con-
trol technology. Cooperative research agreements in
specified areas of environmental pollution included
bipartite projects with the Federal Republic of
Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union and a tri-
partite project with Sweden and Japan.
NERC-RTP research capabilities were also focused
on environmental problems related to the desire to
again become self-sufficient as a nation in energy
production. Substantial financial resources were
allocated to the study of the impact of alternative
power production strategies on human health—par-
ticularly regarding the increased levels of sulfates,
nitrates, and total respirable particulates emitted as
certain fuels are burned. A major objective is the
development of more precise measurements of human
exposure in situations of normal activity to permit
the establishment of relationships between health
effects and air monitoring data and to allow closer
coordination between field epidemiological efforts
and controlled laboratory studies.
Extensive support in resources and data was pro-
vided to the Energy Research and Development Pro-
gram Task Force, a concerted, cooperative effort by
Federal agencies to plan the Nation's energy future.
A series of model environmental research and de-
velopment activities were formulated by EPA to
coincide with the development of new energy pro-
duction technology. The models allow for an- iterative
process of environmental assessment and control
technology development from the early stages of
new technology conception through final demonstra-
tion and commercial application.
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
conducts its activities under the auspices of several
legislative mandates. Of these, four give direction to
EPA's research programs carried out by the National
Environmental Research Center at Research Triangle
Park(NERC-RTP):
• Clean Air Act.
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act.
• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
• Public Health Service Act.
This Report, in describing the Center's research
activities during 1973, relates how these programs are
supportive of the mandates expressed in these Acts.
Accordingly, the legislative mandate portion of the
Report summarizes these Acts and the NERC-RTP
programs directly supportive of them. The last section
of the Report describes the NERC-RTP's scientific
program in detail and its relationship to specific sec-
tions of the Acts. The Executive Summary briefly
discussed the highlights of the Center's activities in
1973. This section continues with a general discus-
sion of the Center—its mission, research program,
and summary of resources. The Report covers the
activities of the Center for the period January through
December 1973. A supplement to the Report will be
published listing the publications of the Center Staff.
Mission
The National Environmental Research Center at
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a highly
specialized facility in which multi-discipline research
programs directed toward solving environmental prob-
lems are conducted.
The National Environmental Research Center at
Research Triangle Park has the primary responsibility
within the Environmental Protection Agency for the
conduct and management of research and related ac-
tivities pertaining to air pollution. In addition, the
Center has responsibilities for carrying out research
in the fields of pesticides and radiation. In general,
Agency research related to environmental media other
than air is performed by EPA at other National En-
vironmental Research Centers. Also, in the interest of
maximizing the scientific resources available to the
Agency as its research and development operations
evolve, responsibilities for research in air pollution
effects with direct implications for non-human life and
in the economic costs to the nation have gradually
been transferred to those other Centers.
NERC-RTP is the corporate successor to preceding
Federal research organizations that have evolved as a
result of the nation's growing concern about air
pollution over the last 20 years. Accordingly, the
focus of NERC-RTP's objective generally is reflected
in the stated purpose of the Clean Air Act; its research
is tied to the statutory mandates of that Act as well
Introduction
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as of newer legislation pertaining to pesticides and
radiation.
The underlying purpose stated by the Clean Air
Act is to protect and enhance the quality of the
nation's air resources so as to promote the public
health and welfare and the productive capacity of its
population. With this now broader mandate, the
Center's mission can be paraphrased so as to protect
and enhance the quality of life and the productive
capacity of the nation's population. Recognizing the
overwhelming technical problems and economic costs
to the nation posed by a purpose of this lofty dimen-
sion, and to ensure that solutions advanced for dealing
with those problems would be meaningful. Congress
has stipulated other action purposes for the Act, the
aims of which are to accelerate a national research
and development program and to provide technical
assistance to state and local governments. The
mechanisms mandated by Congress for achieving the
nation's environment-related goals rely heavily on
the use of standards to be promulgated by the Agency.
Such standards are applicable specifically to the
offending sources and are designed to limit their
emissions in accordance with appropriate environ-
mental goals. To ensure relevancy for the emission
standards, particularly where the problem is general
and widespread, standards reflecting the environmen-
tal goals are required to be established by the Agency.
The standards limiting emissions from the sources
must reflect both the cause-and-effects relationships
and the technological feasibility of their implementa-
tion. The scientific knowledge necessary to define
the environmental goals, the establishment of the
role of emissions as they relate to these goals, and the
engineering capability to ensure availability of con-
trol technology at reasonable costs in societal, cul-
tural, and economic consequences are essential to
the mission of NERC-RTP
The conduct of research supporting the develop-
ment of a reliable monitoring and surveillance capa-
bility—for following the progress in attaining the
environmental goals and ensuring compliance with
the source standards—is ancillary to the Center's
mission. Scientific knowledge necessary to define
the environmental goals includes an ability to assess
the impact of environmental pollution on health and
welfare parameters as the following objectives relate
to this need:
• Identification of the health and welfare indica-
tors of environmental pollution.
• Identification of the chemical and physical
nature of the environmental pollutants responsi-
ble for adverse effects.
• Development and application of measurement
technology to establish pollution levels and de-
fine exposure patterns.
• Establishment of dose-response relationships
and the mechanism of the pollutant action on
the receptor.
To define the relationships between polluting
sources and the environmental exposure pattern, the
Center's mission includes the following objectives:
• Development and application of identification
and measurement technology to characterize
the chemical and physical nature of source
emissions to the environment.
• Establishment of the patterns of movement of
pollutants in the environment and the role of
environmental factors in their transport.
• Definition of the nature and expense of the
chemical and physical alterations that attend
the movement of pollution through the environ-
ment.
• Development and validation of methods for
simulating environmental exposure patterns and
predicting optimum control strategy.
The engineering capability to control the emissions
of environmental pollutants involves the following
Center objectives:
• Characterization of pollutants.
• Development of laboratory and pilot-scale tech-
niques and hardware for eliminating or minimiz-
ing emissions.
• Construction of plant-scale demonstration proj-
ects to assess the effectiveness of control
techniques.
Surveillance and monitoring objectives relate to
the development and application of the following
parameters:
• Field-worthy techniques for large-scale popula-
tion surveys to ascertain the benefits resulting
from the control of environmental pollution
and to determine the soundness of the stand-
ards upon which the controls are based.
• Measurement methodology for monitoring the
impact of pollution controls on environmental
exposure patterns.
• Measurement methodology for monitoring com-
pliance with emissions standards and surveil-
lance for new pollutants resulting from control
operations.
A major function of the Center is the documenta-
tion of the scientific and engineering knowledge result-
ing from the conduct and management of research
related to the above objectives to provide information
for policy decisions at the Agency level.
10
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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NERC-RTP
Research Program
The National Environmental Research Center at
Research Triangle Park conducts research and related
functions necessary for the fulfillment of the primary
mission of the Environmental Protection Agency.
This mission is to protect the public health and wel-
fare by the establishment and enforcement of environ-
mental quality standards. The research necessary for
the development and promulgation of those standards
is the responsibility of the Agency's Office of Research
and Development of which the NERC-RTP is a major
component. Research, and its auxiliary undertaking
of environmental surveillance, is essential to an
appreciation of the complex and variable factors
upon which environmental improvement depends.
Effective and rational standard-setting and enforce-
ment require sound and relevant data on pollutants
that are being introduced into the environment and
on their impact on ecological stability, human health,
and other factors important to the well-being of our
society. Another obligation of research and develop-
ment is to provide to the public and private sectors
the technological know-how to comply with regula-
tory statutes. All research and technological advance-
ment studies are conducted with the expectation of
application in problem solving. Specifically, NERC-
RTP has the overall responsibility for the direction
and conduct of EPA's research and development pro-
grams related primarily to effects of air pollutants on
health, and to the understanding of the physical and
chemical processes operating during the emission,
transport and transformation, and reception stages
of the air pollution cycle. These programs are an
integral part of EPA's closely coordinated total re-
search program that strives to achieve a synthesis of
knowledge from the biological, physical, engineering,
medical, and social sciences that can be interpreted
in terms of total human and environmental needs.
The NERC-RTP research program is in direct re-
sponse to the language and intent of several Congres-
sional mandates, specifically the Clean Air Act (and
amendments). The Public Health Service Act; the
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The
activities of five of the Center's eight major units
(i.e., seven Laboratories and the Special Studies Staff)
are undertaken exclusively, however, under the au-
thority of the Clean Air Act. Results of the Center's
research on the impact and the cause-effect relation-
ships of pollution problems provide a range of
knowledge necessary in the establishment of standards.
The research development of pollution control tech-
nology provides pollutant emitters with the means
for compliance with air quality standards, and the
Center's monitoring capability provides a check on
compliance with the standards.
NERC-RTP conducts research on a broad environ-
mental basis to provide EPA with a sound scientific
basis for control of environmental pollutants that
adversely affect human health and welfare.
These programs emphasize the following major
research activities:
• Exposure and Source of Exposure—These ac-
tivities include development and standardization
of techniques for measurement of pollutants,
both at their source and in the ambient environ-
ment.
• Effects of Exposure—This work includes quan-
tification of the effects of exposure to environ-
mental pollutants on both health and welfare
(including the development of techniques for
assessing effects).
• Stratgey—This research includes development
of predictive models for environmental levels of
pollutant emissions, reflecting transportation
and removal processes.
• Prevent/on of Exposure—Activities in this area
include development of cost-effective control
technologies.
• Pollutant Characterization—Efforts include
preparation of briefing reports, scientific sum-
mary documents, and criteria documents.
The development and standardization of tech-
niques for the measurement of pollutants both at
their source and in the ambient environment are
necessary for accurately defining the exposure and
its source. Standards and regulations cannot be estab-
lished until the extent and source of an exposure are
identified. At the Center, techniques are being
developed and standardized for defining both air
quality and emissions. Emphasis will continue to be
placed on gathering valid air quality and related data
and on developing (refining) methodology for measur-
ing pollutants. The chemical and physical transfor-
mations that pollutants undergo from source to
receptor in the atmosphere are also being studied.
Specialized monitoring and technical assistance serv-
ices are provided to EPA Regional Offices and local
air pollution control agencies in their endeavors to
identify pollutants and their sources. The nation-
wide fuel surveillance network is operated to assess
the" potential impact of emission products from
various fuel components and from various emission
control devices on atmospheric- reaction processes.
Exposure of various materials to pollutants is also an
important aspect of this research area. Environmental
samples are analyzed for a variety of trace metals
and other pollutants, requiring development and
Introduction
11
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, EPA
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NERC
•RTP
DIRECTOR
1 1 1
HUMAN STUDIES
LABORATORY
^
EPIDEMIOLOGY BRANCH
BIO-ENVIRONMENTAL
MEASUREMENT BRANCH
B10-EHVIHONHEMTAL
LABORATORY BRANCH
CLINICAL STUDIES
BRANCH
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
LABORATORY
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-
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BRANCH
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
BRANCH
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND
BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
BRANCH
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TECHNICAL STUDIES
BRANCH
PESTICIDES AND TOXIC
SUBSTANCES EFFECTS
LABORATORY
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CHEMISTRY BRANCH
TOXIC EFFECTS BRANCH
BIOCHEMISTRY AND
PHYSIOLOGY BRANCH
SCIENTI
s
PROGRAM COORDINATION
STAFF
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
LABORATORY
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METHODS BRANCH
EMISSION MEASUREMENTS
RESEARCH BRANCH
1
1C ADVISORY
TAFF
1 "
CONTROL SYSTEMS
LABORATORY
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
AND PHYSICS BRANCH
~
-
BRANCH
S
GAS CLEANING AND
METALLURGICAL PROCESSES
BRANCH
CLEAN FUELS AND
ENERGY BRANCH
P RTCU
QUALITY ASSURANCE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING LABORATORY
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METHODS STANDARDIZATION
AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
BRANCH
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
BRANCH
BRANCH
METEOROLOGY
LABORATORY
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REGIONAL AtRPOUUTIDN
STUDIES BRANCH
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MODEL DEVELOPMENT
BRANCH
BRANCH
BRANCH
NOVEMBER 1174
CO
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standardization of monitoring equipment for specific
elements.
It is important that standard methodology and
adequate quality control be used to ensure the pro-
duction of unimpeachable data and to maximize the
validity and comparability of those data. Once the
exposure to harmful substances and the sources of
exposure are established, one major building block
has been completed in the foundation of knowledge
needed for making far-reaching national decisions on
environmental control.
Another body of knowledge important to EPA
in establishing and enforcing standards is the research
concerned with the manner in which environmental
pollutants (singly or in combination) cause specific
undesirable health effects. This research includes
animal studies, human clinical studies, and epide-
miological studies on human populations. Major
emphasis is placed on the collection of sufficient
information for formulating environmental control
strategies and thus providing bases for establishing
national emission standards for pollutants or source
categories that endanger human health or welfare.
The Community Health and Environmental Sur-
veillance System (CHESS) is a national program of
standardized epidemiologic studies organized within
the past 3 years. The program is designed to measure
environmental quality as it relates to chronic and
acute health indicators in sets of communities repre-
senting exposure gradients to common air pollutants
including particulates, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides,
and photochemical oxidants. The CHESS program
is essential in evaluating existing environmental stand-
ards, in obtaining health intelligence for new controls,
and in documenting the health benefits of air pollu-
tion control.
Clinical research is being conducted in the area of
exposure effects to obtain data on gaseous and par-
ticulate air pollutants relevant to the development of
standards for the protection of human health and
welfare. These studies are supportive of the standard-
setting processes in the following ways:
• Validating data from human studies.
• Providing clues to new human studies.
• Indicating the potential harmful effects of new
pollutants.
• Ascertaining the adequacy of safety margins
through interaction studies.
A specific research area in the study of pollutant
effects on human health and welfare is the research
pertinent to providing data necessary for the intelligent
assessment of the hazards to human health of exposure
to pesticides, toxic substances, substitute chemicals,
and combinations of these with each other and with
other environmental factors. To obtain these data,
toxicity studies are conducted in which various animal
species are used as models. Methods for measurement
of human exposure to pesticides and toxic substances
are developed and improved, and a quality assurance
program is conducted to ensure the accuracy of
analytical results. The studies are concerned with
identifying pesticides, their metabolites, and any
adverse effects on normal biological functions. In
these subject areas, research provides data needed by
the Agency in meeting its legally mandated responsi-
bilities in registering, labeling, setting of tolerances
for, and limiting the misuse of pesticides.
Results of the Center's research on the effects
from pollutant exposure are used in formulating and
revising environmental quality criteria. The epide-
miologic studies have been oriented toward defining
environmental hazards and providing data on which
to base standards. Biological research is designed to
detect, define, and quantify the effects of environ-
mental pollution. Collectively, the data generated by
the Center's research on exposure effects form a
major part of the information system that the Agency
uses to set and enforce standards.
Relevant to the Agency's need to make control
decisions is the information derived from the meteor-
ological aspects of air pollution, including theoretical
and experimental studies of the physical properties
that affect the transport, diffusion, transformation,
and disposition of air pollutants in and from the
atmosphere. Through this research, techniques and
methods to forecast potential air pollution episodes
are improved. Analytical diffusion models are de-
veloped to predict the temporal and spatial distribu-
tion of air pollutants; they are also useful for pre-
evaluating proposed air pollution control strategies.
Studies are also conducted on the effects of air
pollutants on the geophysical processes of weather
and climate as well as on the energy balance of the
earth-atmosphere system. The Center's research pro-
gram also includes development of remote-sensing
techniques for measuring meteorological parameters
in urban areas.
Chamber and field studies are used to investigate
physical and chemical characteristics, transformations,
and effects on materials of emissions of sulfur oxides,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and
other organics, and their role in producing sulfates,
nitrogen dioxide, nitrates, ozone, organic aerosols,
and other finely divided particulate materials in the
atmosphere. Because the consequences as well as
the fate of environmental pollution can be anticipated
from this and other information, the Agency can
develop strategy to be used in its program of estab-
lishment of enforcement standards.
The Center's fourth major area of emphasis, pre-
vention of exposure, can only be accomplished
through the development of the technology required
Introduction
13
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to control air pollution sources in a timely and cost-
effective manner. The Agency does not stipulate the
control technology to be used to meet the standards
it has set; however, the Agency is required by law to
publish control technique documents before it sets
air quality standards. In other words, EPA must
identify the means of achieving a standard before it
sets the standard. Thus, much research is needed to
develop control techniques that reflect the best avail-
able technology. A large part of the Center's research
effort is concerned with the conduct, direction, and
management of engineering research, development,
and demonstration programs leading to the abatement
of air pollution from major stationary sources. Labo-
ratory activities encompass development and improve-
ment of control devices such as scrubbers, filters,
and electrostatic precipitators; complete effluent gas-
treatment processes; combustion methods and equip-
ment; fuel preparation technology; and associated
sampling and analysis instrumentation systems. Im-
proved control technology must be developed if new
source performance standards are to have their in-
tended effect and hazardous pollutants are to be
controlled.
Another important element of control in the area
of exposure prevention is the Fuel and Fuel Additive
Registration program. The program consists of
registering information on the chemical composition,
purpose of use, and recommended concentration of
additives used in motor gasoline that is introduced into
interstate commerce. Fuel and fuel additive manu-
facturers are required to provide usage data quarterly
for registered additives as well as information concern-
ing the mechanism of action, effects on exhaust com-
position, and toxicity of the resultant exhaust prod-
ucts, if known. There are also protocols to assess the
effect of fuel components on control device perform-
ance, which will result in information to allow the
control or prohibition of fuel components or additives
pursuant to the 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments in a
time frame to ensure public safety and satisfactory
performance of advanced automotive control systems.
A major effort in the Center, which results from
the previously described research programs, is the
preparation of briefing reports, scientific summary
documents, and criteria documents that are required
by the Clean Air Act Amendments. According to
the law, the Administrator is required (from time to
time but as soon as practical) to develop and issue to
the States such criteria of air quality as in his judg-
ment may be requisite for the protection of the
public health and welfare. Such criteria shall reflect
the latest scientific knowledge useful in indicating
the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on
health and welfare which may be expected from the
presence of an air pollution agent.
Pollutant characterization is an attempt to define
the biologic effects of specific air pollutants on
humans, animals, and vegetation, as well as non-
biologic effects such as modification of visibility and
deterioration of materials. Characterization also in-
cludes gathering qualitative and quantitative informa-
tion on the sources, form(s), reactivity, methods of
collecting and quantitating, and strategies for con-
trolling pollutants. In promulgating standards, the
legally defensible basis must include scientifically
sound assessment of comprehensive scientific data as
reported in criteria documents. Associated position
papers are also required to identify the need for addi-
tional research for producing adequate criteria for
issuing or revising standards. Position papers (or
scientific summary documents) are also developed
for non-criteria pollutants to indicate the need for
control and to recommend control strategy.
The effort of NERC-RTP in this area consists of
collecting, reviewing, evaluating, comparing, sum-
marizing, and interpreting pertinent information and
literature to prepare criteria documents, briefing
reports, and scientific summary documents on non-
criteria pollutants. In this preparation, the data
generated by the entire research program of the Cen-
ter converge with all other available literature and
research and form the basis needed to produce scien-
tifically sound documents. The Center contracts
with authoritative sources—one being the National
Academy of Sciences—to review the information that
is available on some issues. Center personnel then use
these reviews in the assessment of the problems and
in the development of pollutant characterization
documents. These documents form a major compo-
nent of the data base used by the Agency in.making
decisions on control and in deciding upon actions to
be initiated.
The Center also provides assistance to the NATO
Committee on the Challenge of Modern Society
(CCMS), the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), and the World Health
Organization (WHO) in developing air quality guide-
line documents as well as updating annually the infor-
mation on primary ambient air quality criteria and
hazardous pollutants.
14
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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LEGISLATIVE
MANDATES
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fffiiJSit- A\v
i1' s&v
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LEGISLATIVE
MANDATES
ACTIVITIES OF THE NERC-RTP ARE EITHER
in response to explicit mandates given in legislative
acts or derived from language that requires the
initiation of certain programs to carry out the intent
of those mandates.
Illustrated in Tables 1 and 2 below are the re-
sources of manpower (i.e., man-years and funds) that
the several Laboratories of the Center have been
allocated to carry out particular portions of the
relevant Acts. Tables 1 and 2 are followed by a brief
narrative description of each Section of the Clean Air
Act and the specific responses of the appropriate
Center units.
Clean Air Act
Activities of NERC-RTP units are responsive to at
least 1 3 Sections of the Clean Air Act: 103, 1 04, 1 08
through 113, 202, 211, 303, 312, and 313. The fol-
lowing portion of this section of this Report outlines
each of the Sections and relates them to the activities
of NERC-RTP laboratories.
Research activities conducted at NERC-R TP are based
on explicit environmental mandates of the Congress
of the United States.
Legislative Mandates
SECTION 103: "RESEARCH,
INVESTIGATION, TRAINING,
AND OTHER ACTIVITIES"
The essential feature of Section 103 is the require-
ment for EPA to establish a national research and de-
velopment program for the prevention and control of
air pollution. In addition to the conduct of in-house
research studies, surveys, etc., the requirements in-
clude provision of assistance to other public and
private agencies and institutions to conduct experi-
ments, studies, demonstrations, and training activities,
as well as technical services relating to the causes,
effects, extent, and control of air pollution. To help
meet these requirements, the Act authorizes EPA to
establish technical advisory committees; to cooperate
with and utilize the resources of other Federal, public,
and private facilities; to make research grants and
contracts; and to develop practical processes and
methods for air pollution control. EPA is to
emphasize short- and long-term effects of air pollut-
ants on health and welfare by epidemiological, clinical,
and laboratory studies.
Table 1 indicates that the largest category of
activities at NERC-RTP is that which involves carry-
ing out the mandates imposed by this Section of the
Clean Air Act. All but one of the laboratories are in-
volved to some degree; over 90 percent of the re-
sources of the Human Studies Laboratory (HSL) and
the Meteorology Laboratory (ML) are so committed.
17
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Table 1. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES EXPENDED BY NERC-RTP TO MEET LEGISLATIVE
MANDATES OF CLEAN AIR ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1974
($103/man-years)
S 6ction
of Act
103
104
108
109
110
111
112
113
202
211
303
312
313
Total
Laboratory3
OD
SSS
156/3
158/3
718/12
10/1
HSL
8461/104
EBL
1896/20
CPL
536/5
1587/23
562/9
2393/13
1847/17
330/5
636/13
780/5
59/2
QAEML
833/28
90/3
1182/14
405/10
274/8
103/3
225/1
112/6
ML
5940/49
275/12
36/0
50/0
CSL
4030/24
3546/21
1934/11
1934/11
3675/22
967/6
32/0
637/14
Total
21,852/233
3,546/21
3,769/40
562/9
5,784/50
5,927/49
1,571/19
103/3
636/13
1,723/18
36/0
32/0
231/9
46,409/478
aOffice of Director (OD), Special Studies Staff (SSS), Human Studies Laboratory (HSL), Experimental Biology
Laboratory (EBL), Chemistry and Physics Laboratory (CPL), Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring
Laboratory (QAEML), Meteorology Laboratory (ML), Control Systems Laboratory (CSL).
Table 2. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES EXPENDED BY NERC-RTP TO MEET LEGISLATIVE
MANDATES OF PHSA, FIFRA, AND FDCAa
($103/man-years)
Act
PHSA
(Section
241)
FIFRA
and
FDCA
Office of
Director
78/2
125/3
Human
Studies
Laboratory
299/9
Experimental
Biology
Laboratory
1 1 80/47
Pesticides and
Toxic Substances
Effects Laboratory
3141/91
Total
1557/58
3266/94
Public Health Service Act (PHSA); Federal
Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); Federal Food, Drug, and
The Special Studies Staff (SSS) is concerned with
the preparation, assessment, and dissemination of
scientific and technical documents and publications
related to air pollution research and control activities
impinging upon the total research and development
program, as well as on specific aspects commensurate
with several provisions of this Section of the Act.
The effort of the Chemistry and Physics Labora-
tory (CPL) in this area deals primarily with studies
relating to analytical methodology and atmospheric
chemistry research.
The Control Systems Laboratory (CSL) conducts
research to characterize emissions of pollutants,
evaluate control technology, predict future needs,
18
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
and develop and demonstrate the most promising and
cost-effective control methods for stationary sources.
The Experimental Biology Laboratory (EBL) in-
vestigates the effects of gaseous and particulate
pollutants on biological species,- i.e., whole animal,
organ, cellular, and sub-cellular components. Particu-
lar emphasis is given to effects on pulmonary defense
mechanisms and pulmonary carcinogenesis and on the
influence of interactions between coexisting pollut-
ants and various physical factors upon these responses.
The development and conduct of studies designed
to define relationships between environmental pol-
lutants (singly or in combination) and specific un-
desirable health effects is the prime objective of HSL
activities. Emphasis is given to the development of
bases for ambient air and emission standards com-
patible with desirable aspirations for human health
and welfare, and an evaluation of the health benefits
that could be achieved. The assessment of adverse
health effects and the economic costs that might re-
sult from any future revision of air quality standards
is also a part of the HSL program.
The activities of ML focus upon research relating
to the transport and dispersion of air pollutants,
their effects on weather, visibility, and climate; and
the relationship between weather factors and pollu-
tion. Dispersion model development and climatic
analysis investigations improve understanding of the
physical processes involved in (1) the relationships
between source strength and receptor dosage, (2) the
ultimate disposition (fate) of pollutants in the atmos-
phere, and (3) the delineation of a national climatol-
ogy of the potential for adverse accumulations of air
pollutants.
QAEML engages in the evaluation, testing, and
standardization of methodologies for surveying the
extent of air pollution as well as in the development
of quality control procedures to ensure comparability
of data wherever collected in the United States and
for whatever purpose.
SECTION 104: "RESEARCH
RELATING TO FUELS
AND VEHICLES"
Section 104 charges EPA with the responsibility
for conducting and supporting research into the de-
velopment, laboratory and pilot testing, and demon-
stration of improved methods for the prevention and
control of air pollution from combustion of fuels.
Activities by CSL under this mandate include the
development of techniques for the reduction of
nitrogen oxide emissions from combustion processes
and the demonstration of commercially feasible
means for the reduction of significant pollutants from
coke oven emissions. Possibilities for effective, low-
cost processes for cleaning coal are of current con-
cern.
SECTION 108: "AIR QUALITY
CRITERIA AND CONTROL
TECHNIQUES"
EPA is required by Section 108 to ascertain those
pollutants judged to have an adverse effect on public
health and welfare and maintain an up-to-date list
that it publishes from time to time. Air quality
criteria for these pollutants must then be issued pre-
senting the latest scientific knowledge on the kind
and extent of identifiable effects that may be ex-
pected from varying concentrations of the pollutants
in ambient air. Along with these criteria, informa-
tion on air pollution control techniques or methods
must be issued, including data on alternate fuels and
processes that will result in elimination or significant
reduction of the pollutant emissions.
Preparation of the criteria and scientific summary
documents that serve as the legally defensible basis
for the development of control stategies and the
promulgation of ambient air quality standards is the
responsibility of the Special Studies Staff.
A major program in CPL is the development of
analytical methods and instruments to be used in
health and welfare studies to aid in the evaluation or
revision of air quality criteria. Also, considerable
effort is going into the development of measurement
technology for pollutants that may be considered
candidates for air quality criteria, e.g., fine particles.
In support of this Section, CSL is evaluating new
and existing stationary source control technology
procedures on a continuing basis.
QAEML maintains the capability to evaluate
methodologies and undertake surveys to obtain
scientific information needed by the developers of the
criteria documents.
SECTION 109: "NATIONAL
AMBIENT AIR QUALITY
STANDARDS"
For each pollutant for which an air quality
criteria document has been issued, Section 1 09 of the
Act requires that national primary and secondary
ambient air quality standards be set. Primary stand-
ards concern the minimum level of air quality neces-
sary to prevent adverse health effects; secondary
standards are aimed at the prevention of adverse
Legislative Mandates
19
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effects on "welfare"; e.g., plants, animals, materials,
and climate.
Considerable effort in support of the standards is
being made in CPL, particularly to further define the
atmospheric relationships involving hydrocarbons and
oxidants. Development of continuous measurement
instrumentation for nitrogen dioxide (one of the
pollutants for which standards have been set) and the
evaluation of the reference method for measurement
have been accomplished.
SECTION 110:
"IMPLEMENTATION PLANS"
In accordance with a prescribed time schedule,
Section 110 requires each state to prepare and submit
to EPA a plan that provides for the implementation,
maintenance, and enforcement of the primary and
secondary ambient air standards promulgated in ac-
cordance with Section 109. In turn, EPA must make
a thorough examination and evaluation of the plan's
adequacy in technical concept and allocated resources.
If a state fails to submit such a plan within the pre-
scribed time, or if the plan is judged to be not in ac-
cordance with the requirements of this Section, then
EPA must prescribe (or revise) a plan that meets the
requirements. Section 110 also includes the steps
and procedures for notices, hearings, or court actions
that must or may be utilized in arriving at the objec-
tives sought.
CPL is involved here to support development of
chemical and physical air pollution models for reactive
pollutants for use in implementation plans, including
site criteria for large area sources.
CLS's role is primarily in providing expert testi-
mony relating to the availability of air pollution con-
trol technology that could be incorporated in the
implementation plans as they relate to the abate-
ment of pollutants from specific sources.
ML provides direct assistance in the evaluation of
the meteorological (i.e., transport and dispersion)
portions of implementation plans.
QAEML activities support this Section by the
evaluation and standardization of methods of measure-
ment for the pollutants for which standards have
been set, and by the development and dissemination
of quality control procedures for the standardized
methods.
SECTION 111: "STANDARDS OF
PERFORMANCE FOR
NEW STATIONARY SOURCES"
The emission of pollutants from new stationary
sources must be regulated under Section 111 of the
Act. Categories of such sources are to be established,
and uniform national standards that would require
application of the best available control technology,
considering the cost, for air pollution prevention must
be set. EPA must also determine the procedure that
the states are to follow in setting emission standards
for existing stationary sources.
Extensive support is provided by CPL in verifying
and improving the reference methods of emission
measurements and in developing performance criteria
for the determination of compliance with the new
source performance standards.
CSL evaluates the state-of-the-art air pollution
control technology for various stationary sources
and, based on projected future control needs, de-
velops new control technology.
QAEML provides support here in a manner analo-
gous to that for Section 110, again by the evaluation
and standardization of measurement methods and by
the development and dissemination of quality control
procedures for the standardized methods.
SECTION 112: "NATIONAL
EMISSION STANDARDS FOR
HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS"
Section 112 gives EPA the authority to set nation
emission standards for hazardous air pollutants, de-
fined as materials discharged into the atmosphere that
have a proven relationship with increased mortality
rates, or with incapacitating or serious illness.
CPL is responsible for developing the analytical
methodology for the national emission standards for
hazardous materials. Improved sampling and analysis
methods are under development for a number of sub-
stances including asbestos, mercury, and polycyclic
organic matter.
The identification of all air pollutants from sta-
tionary sources is included in the programs of CSL.
As the need for control is indicated, the best tech-
nological possibilities and the most cost-effective
approaches are sought through related research pro-
grams.
Again, QAEML support is in terms of measurement
methods standardization and quality control pro-
cedures. Technical assistance to other EPA units is
also rendered to obtain data to assist in the determina-
tion of what constitutes a hazardous pollutant.
SECTION 113: "FEDERAL
ENFORCEMENT"
The legal actions that EPA must take in the event
that violations of an implementation plan are en-
countered are contained in Section 11 3. This Section
also cites penalties to be assessed for non-compliance
with the Administrator's orders.
20
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
QAEML maintains a limited rapid-response capa-
bility to ass'st in the collection of data for purposes
of Federal enforcement.
SECTION 202: "ESTABLISHMENT
OF STANDARDS"
In accordance with the provisions of Section 202,
EPA must establish standards of emission for any
pollutant from new motor vehicles that is likely to
endanger public health or welfare. Section 202 also
delineates a time schedule for achieving a large (90
percent) reduction in carbon monoxide and hydro-
carbons; additionally, the Section outlines a certifica-
tion plan for ensuring compliance with the standards
by the manufacturers.
CPL provides support in development of emission
protocols for fuel additive effects and in characteriza-
tion of emissions from vehicles either equipped with
control devices or utilizing alternate power systems.
SECTION 211: "REGULATION
OF FUELS"
Section 211 stipulates that no fuel or fuel additive
may be offered for sale until the manufacturer has
notified EPA of the product's chemical composition
and EPA registers the product. If the fuel or additive
endangers public health or interferes with the per-
formance of anti-pollution devices, its use may be
restricted or banned. EPA may require tests by the
manufacturer to determine such effects.
The fuel and fuel additive registration program is
one of the areas of responsibility of the Special
Studies Staff. This program involves information re-
trieval activities in addition to the conduct of re-
search programs to develop protocols that will allow
the valid assessment of the effect of fuel components
on emission products.
CPL develops emission protocols for fuel additive
effects and characterizes the emissions from vehicles
equipped with control devices and advanced alternate
power systems.
The support of this Section by QAEML is in the
development and evaluation of methods of analysis
and in the collection and analysis of fuel samples.
SECTION 303: "EMERGENCY
POWERS"
Section 303 provides EPA with the authority to
act immediately to restrain the emission of pollutants
presenting an imminent and substantial danger to the
health of persons when appropriate state or local
authorities have not acted to abate such sources.
ML provides direct meteorological support for the
assessment of weather factors and consequences in
actual or potential emergency or accidential air
pollution episodes.
SECTION 312:
"COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC
COST STUDIES"
Included in Section 312 is the requirement for
EPA to make a comprehensive study of the economic
impact of air quality standards as well as an analysis
of the national requirements for, and the cost of, con-
trolling emissions to attain those standards.
In this connection, CSL undertakes research and
demonstration projects leading to the development of
comprehensive data relating to the cost of various air
pollution control techniques.
SECTION 313: "ADDITIONAL
REPORTS TO CONGRESS"
The Administrator is required to submit annual
reports to Congress giving the progress made in
implementing the purpose and intent of the Clean Air
Act (and amendments). Included must be statements
of the (1) status of enforcement actions, (2) progress
on control techniques, and (3) standards set or under
consideration.
The Special Studies Staff has a major responsibility
in the preparation of such reports to Congress and in
the identification of problems and additional research
efforts that should be brought to the attention of
that body.
CPL provides input to the progress reports to
Congress on air quality and emission instrumentation
and on emission standards for moving vehicles.
ML contributes to these reports by interpreting
the effects of weather and climatic factors on existing
or proposed air pollution control strategies to ensure
that the effects of abatement actions can be isolated
from natural variations.
Air quality and emissions data, as well as measure-
ment methods developments, by QAEML are often
included in the reports to Congress.
Public Health Service Act
SECTION 241: "RESEARCH AND
INVESTIGATIONS"
Section 241 of the Public Health Service Act
authorizes research, investigations, experiments, dem-
onstrations, and studies relating to the causes,
diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of
Legislative Mandates
21
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physical and mental diseases and impairments of man.
Under this broad charge, EPA has the responsibility
to provide Federal guidance on both ionizing and
non-ionizing radiation problems affecting health.
This responsibility includes the authority to establish
environmental standards for safe levels of radioactive
materials.
The Experimental Biology Laboratory conducts an
extensive program on the known and potential health
effects of electromagnetic non-ionizing radiation and
ionizing radiation; studies involving the latter are
centered about the potential health effects of tritium
and krypton-85, both of which are major potential
effluents from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants.
Epidemiologic studies on the effects of exposures
from radioactive materials in Japan are under the
jurisdiction of HSL.
FDCAandFIFRA
Provisionsof the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act, taken together, seek to protect the
safety of the nation's food supply by preventing con-
tamination that might arise through the use of
chemical controls to protect crops and livestock from
pests and diseases. These provisions require the
registration (with EPA) of all such "poisons" as well
as the filing of all test results and claims made for
them. Also required by these Acts is the establish-
ment of tolerances for pesticides in or on both human
andanimal food;this responsibility has been delegated
to EPA. This provision means that "registration for
use" of a pesticide that would leave a residue on a
food or feed crop is granted only when a tolerance
established by EPA has been satisfied. Interstate
shipment of non-registered products is prohibited.
The entire resources of the Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Effects Laboratory (PTSEL) are devoted
to support of the responsibilities delegated to EPA
to carry out provisions of these Acts. The resources
are devoted primarily to research activities to support
registration decisions and to determine and analyze
levels of pesticide residues in or on agricultural prod-
ucts. In particular, data from acute, subacute, and
chronic studies of laboratory animals and exposed
human subjects are used to augment basic knowledge
for continued registration of toxic substances for use
in the United States.
22
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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SPECIAL
FEATURES
-------
-------
SPECIAL
FEATURES
EACH YEAR MANY NERC-RTP PERSONNEL
and programs reflect, in varying degrees, significant
areas of effort relating to EPA's overall goal of re-
claiming the purity of this Nation's environment.
This portion of the Report focuses on three programs
that are of significance because of their near-universal
impact: the reduction of automotive emissions
through the use of oxidation catalysts; the interface
between energy and the environment, spotlighted by
the recent fuel shortage; and the efforts to abate ef-
fects of pesticides on human health and the environ-
ment.
Automotive Oxidation
Catalysts
Emission characterization and emission measurement
methodology work is performed at the Chemistry and
Physics Laboratory's mobile source facility. Such
work is integral to the catalyst program and other
automotive pollutant research efforts.
The 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments require that
by 1976 the emissions of carbon monoxide, unburned
hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen be reduced to
10 percent of the rate of emissions from 1970 and
1971 model year cars. EPA published new motor
vehicle emission standards for these regulated pollut-
ants based upon the legislative mandate contained in
Section 202 of these Amendments. Although the
regulations require the achievement of specific emis-
sion levels for these pollutants, they do not require
the automotive industry to employ specific technol-
ogy to do so. The industry has chosen the oxidation
catalyst to achieve the standards for 1975 model
year vehicles.
NERC-RTP has conducted its Fuel and Fuel Addi-
tive Registration program since FY 1971. This pro-
gram has been specifically directed toward provisions
of Clean Air Act Section 211, providing for the
registration and prohibition or control of fuels, fuel
components, or fuel additives that are shown to have
adverse effects on automotive emissions, performance
of emissions control devices, or public health or wel-
fare. The major focus of both this program and the
Mobile Source Emissions Measurement program (con-
ducted by NERC-RTP's Chemistry and Physics
Laboratory) has been to identify not only the effects
of fuels, fuel additives, and control devices on the
emissions of regulated automotive pollutants (carbon
monoxide, hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen),
but the effect on non-regulated emission products
such as particulates, trace metals, sulfur compounds,
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes,
phenols, and the many other organic compounds
present in automotive exhaust gases.
Early in 1973 it was noted that, when oxidation
catalysts were used, a substantial increase in total
particulate emissions resulted when compared to
similar vehicles using the required non-leaded fuel
Special Features
25
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but without the oxidation catalyst present to reduce
regulated emission levels. It was determined that this
increased particulate emission product consisted of
sulfuric acid aerosols. Center research activities were
quickly shifted in both the in-house and contract pro-
grams to investigate this "new" emission product re-
sulting from the application of the unique emission
control device—the oxidation catalyst.
The investigations sought answers to the following
key questions:
• Are sulfuric acid aerosol emissions unique to
catalyst-equipped vehicles?
• What other unique products, if any, are emitted
from oxidation catalysts?
• How much sulfuric acid aerosol is emitted?
• What amount of sulfuric acid aerosol would the
general public and the driving public be exposed
to as a result of such emissions?
• Would these incremental sulfuric acid exposures
be sufficient to pose a public health threat?
• How can sulfuric acid emissions be controlled?
It was determined that sulfuric acid, aerosols are
indeed emitted from oxidation-catalyst-equipped
vehicles and that current, non-catalyst-equipped vehi-
cles emit little, if any, sulfuric acid. Preliminary
studies indicated that low levels of platinum and
alumina, the active ingredient of the catalyst and its
support material, respectively, may also be emitted
from such catalysts. It was judged that approximately
0.05 gram of sulfuric acid is emitted per vehicle mile
from catalyst-equipped vehicles. These data were
generally confirmed by preliminary reports from
automotive and petroleum industry research studies
that were examining the problem also.
NERC-RTP's Meteorology Laboratory conducted
studies to provide estimates of exposure levels to sul-
furic acid on and near major highways. These esti-
mates, based on the assumed emission factor for sul-
furic acid of 0.05 gram per mile, were used to
calculate acid concentrations that would result under
various meteorological conditions a.nd under various
assumptions as to the number of motor vehicle model
years equipped with such catalysts.
Using the estimated incremental exposures cal-
culated by the Meteorology Laboratory, the Human
Studies Laboratory provided information based upon
its extensive epidemiological studies in the CHESS
program as to the potential public health risk of
various exposure levels to sulfuric acid and particulate
sulfates. It was reported that the localized levels of
sulfuric acid aerosols emitted from catalyst-equipped
vehicles, after two model years were so equipped,
would exceed the threshold adverse health effects
levels on several days per year on or near the country's
major expressways.
It was determined, by both EPA and industry
studies, that the emission levels of sulfuric acid from
oxidation-catalyst-equipped vehicles increase with in-
creasing amounts of sulfur in the gasoline. One
obvious control option, then, would be desulfurization
of gasoline. The Control Systems Laboratory insti-
tuted a contract late in 1973 to examine the technical
feasibility, cost, and impact of gasoline desulfuriza-
tion. Preliminary findings indicate that desulfuriza-
tion of gasoline is technically feasible. The oil re-
fineries, however, would require 4 to 6 years to install
the necessary equipment. It is estimated that the
total cost to the refining industry would be between
$2 and 3 billion depending on the level of sulfur re-
duction required and on the number and sizes of the
refineries involved. The estimated cost to the con-
sumer would be between 1 and 2 cents per gallon.
The problem relative to the emission of catalyst
materials themselves was far more complex. Al-
though the emission levels of platinum and palladium
(the catalyst active ingredients) were extremely low,
it was quickly determined that these metals are
essentially not present in the public environment to-
day. Thus, the use of catalysts might result in the
introduction of "new" pollutants into the ecosystem.
An extensive search of the available literature by the
Experimental Biology Laboratory and the Human
Studies Laboratory indicated that extremely little
work has been reported on the toxicology and/or
human effects from exposure to these metals. The
information available is based upon industrial ex-
posures in the few processing plants that exist, and
these studies suggest that noble metals probably are
allergens. Adverse allergenic reactions were reported
at very low exposure levels. I n addition, a preliminary
study suggested that these metals may methylate in
the water ecosystem in much the same fashion as
mercury.
These findings indicated a need for substantially
more information on the potential of noble metals to
adversely affect public health. Accordingly, extensive
toxicological, biological, and physcological studies
were funded both in-house and under contract by the
Human Studies Laboratory and the Experimental
Biology Laboratory in Fiscal Year 1974.
The concerns voiced by NERC-RTP regarding the
potential adverse effects associated with the use of
oxidation catalysts resulted in am extensive Agency re-
view of the problem and, finally, in hearings con-
ducted by the Senate Public Works Committee on
November 5 and 6, 1973.
The issues involved were indeed complex. The use
of oxidation catalysts offered, on one hand, a very
definite benefit to public health through the reduction
of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and organic
emissions. Yet, to what extent was the benefit
26
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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threatened by the potential adverse effect associated
with exposure of the public to sulfuric acid emissions
and/or noble metals?
Participate sulfate compounds, of which sulfuric
acid is one, are currently present in ambient air. In
fact, many urban areas have levels that exceed the
health effects threshold now on many days of the
year. Sulfur in gasoline is emitted from our current
vehicle population as sulfur dioxide, which disperses
and reacts in the atmosphere to form sulfates. The
automotive-generated sulfur dioxide amounts to about
1 percent of the man-made sulfur dioxide emissions
on a national basis. The automotive catalyst, there-
fore, causes an immediate conversion of some of this
gas to sulfate, resulting in increased concentrations on
and near areas of high vehicle density. The public
health problem, then, is one of adding an increased
localized concentration of sulfate to existing ambient
sulfate concentrations.
In testimony before the Senate in November 1973,
the Administrator of EPA voiced his decision regard-
ing the catalyst issue:
• EPA will permit the use of catalysts on 1975
model year vehicles.
• EPA will conduct an expanded and accelerated
research and monitoring program to ascertain
the validity of projected health and early
emissions data.
• EPA will conduct an appropriate program to
consider control options if the predictions are
borne out.
The initial part of the expanded monitoring pro-
gram was begun in the spring of 1974 by NERC-RTP's
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring
Laboratory. This program is directed toward the
gathering of base-line information at selected highway
sites in Southern California concerning the amount,
types, and concentration profiles of sulfur emissions
from the current vehicle population. The research
and monitoring program will greatly expand in Fiscal
Year 1975 and will include most NERC-RTP labora-
tories in a program directed by the Special Studies
Staff within the Fuel and Fuel Additive Registration
program.
The objective of this program is to gather the
necessary information to ensure that the use of
oxidation catalysts on future passenger vehicles re-
sults in a net benefit to public health. The results
from this program are distributed to and used by
other Agency offices, the Administrator and his staff,
and the Congress of the United States.
Energy and the
Environment
THE PROBLEM
The fundamental energy problem facing the
United States is the growing gap between energy
consumption and domestic energy production. In
1950, the United States was self sufficient in energy
production; in 1973, 76 X 1015 Btu of energy was
consumed, of which 62 X 1015 Btu was produced
domestically. (The use of imported oil represented
the major difference between production and con-
sumption.) Today 15 percent of our total energy
needs, and 35 percent of our oil, is imported. Energy
consumption in the United States is increasing at an
annual rate of almost 4.5 percent; whereas, the rate of
domestic energy production has been at a standstill
since 1970.
The oil embargo directed by Middle Eastern oil-
producing countries forced recognition of the serious-
ness of the energy gap before American dependence
on imported oil presented an unmanageable problem.
There is still time, therefore, to evolve a national
energy program of conservation and development that
will make us independent of foreign supply. Al-
though environmental regulations may have made
the energy problem more severe or precipitated it
somewhat earlier, the basic problem is that the U.S.
cannot sustain the rate of increase in energy consump-
tion experienced during the last few years.
Energy production and use and the environment
are inextricably intertwined: the major source of air
pollution is fuel combustion either in furnaces or in
internal combustion engines. Thus, the control of
emissions both from these sources and from the
related extraction, processing, and handling of fuels is
the major means of controlling air pollution.
Pollution costs are difficult to measure in monetary
terms. EPA estimated that air pollution damage in the
U.S. in 1968 amounted to:
$6.1 billion for damage to human health.
$5.2 billion for residential property damage.
$4.7 billion for damage to inert materials.
$0.1 billion for vegetation damage.
Pollution control activities since 1968 have re-
sulted in a reduction in pollution damage, however.
Another potential long-range problem is the possi-
bility of changes in climate as carbon dioxide and fine
particulates build up in the air. Some scientists be-
lieve this problem already exists to some degree.
Dr. Reid Bryson, director of the University of
Special Features
27
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Wisconsin's Institute of Environmental Studies, states:
"Up to 50 years ago man's influence on the climate
was negligible. Then it started to increase. Over the
past century it has worked out to 16 to 20 percent
compared with natural influences. But this means it
has been very high in recent years, because it was so
low earlier. Today it is quite comparable to natural
causes."
A key to solving the energy problem may be
found by analyzing the nature of energy consumption.
Approximately 50 percent of the energy produced in
the United States is wasted. This makes a strong case
for conservation as the prime element in energy
management. Because air pollution is directly propor-
tional to the amount and type of fuel consumed,
energy conservation also promotes environmental
goals. For example, solar energy is "free" and
environmentally clean; heat pumps are both efficient
and non-polluting (especially from an area source
standpoint). Although add-on pollution control de-
vices usually increase energy consumption by 5 to 10
percent, on balance there is more commonality than
disparity in energy and environmental goals.
Table 3 shows that substantial energy savings can
be realized in industrial, commercial, residential, and
transportation applications if new technologies are
employed. The achievement of energy self sufficiency
will not be easy, but zero energy growth can be
reached while still enjoying the "good life." If
Americans discipline themselves to some changes in
their way of life, and demand a sound national
energy policy, the problems can be solved.
ERA'S ROLE
EPA's research and development role in the
national energy/environmental program is not com-
pletely defined, nor will it be until the proposed
Energy Research and Development Agency structure
is clearly established by the Congress. It is generally
agreed, however, that effects research (health and
welfare) and the assessment of the pollution charac-
teristics of the various energy extraction, transporta-
tion, preparation, and transformation technologies are
part of EPA's charter.
Table 3. POSSIBLE ENERGY SAVINGS THROUGH USE OF CONSERVATION
TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE IN 1985 AND 2000a
Sector
Residential-
commercial
Transportation
Industrial
Total
% of
total
demand
35
25
40
100
1985
Method
Heat pumps, total energy
system, solar heating
and cooling systems, better
insulation, tighter building
construction, more effici-
ent furnaces and air condi-
tioners
Cars with fuel economy of
25 mi/gal, improved air-
craft load factor and ,
efficiency, short-haul air
freight shifted to rail.
truck freight shifted to rail
Improved maintenance (e.g.
steam leaks fixed), energy-
using systems turned off
when not needed, heat
loss eliminated from
buildings, more efficient
electric/steam systems
Savings,
%
6
20
25
17
2000
Method
Catalytic combustion
processes, advanced
fuel conversion
systems, advanced
total energy systems
i
Electric vehicles
(fuel cell and battery).
improved mass transit
systems
Full use of total
energy systems (com-
bined steam/electric),
heat pumps, solar
heading and cooling
systems
Savings,
%
45
50
50
48
istorical growth: 1972-100 percent, 1985-160 percent, 2000-255 percent.
aBased on hi
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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There is some question whether EPA will retain
its capability to develop pollution control technology
for energy processes—a capability that is the key to
environmental protection. Energy developers will
probably be interested mainly in developing the most
efficient energy processes with concerns for adequate
environmental control technology of secondary im-
portance. EPA must have the authority to develop a
better pollution control system in those cases in
which the pollution control measures taken by the
energy developer are considered inadequate by EPA.
The problem of energy and the environment be-
comes even more acute when it is realized that the
main energy utilization systems for the forseeable
future are to be developed within the next 5 years by
a massive, government-financed research and develop-
ment program. Within this brief period of time, it
will be impossible to quantify adequately the pollut-
ants of concern and to assess their associated health
effects. It will thus be impossible to accurately define
the pollutant control levels required. Furthermore,
once the energy technologies are in place it will be
difficult and expensive to retrofit them with im-
proved pollution control equipment: retrofit may
cost three times as much as that of installation of
original equipment. The best means of protecting
the public's health is to have an active pollution con-
trol program to develop new and improved control
methods for these energy systems that will provide
the minimum pollution levels that can be achieved
technically at an acceptable cost.
PRESENT AND FUTURE
PROGRAMS AT NERC-RTP
Of primary concern to EPA is the protection of
the health and welfare of people. Therefore, a major
portion of NERC-RTP's program is directed toward
minimizing the effects of air pollution on health. Two
broad areas of research are being given special
emphasis: studies of the human response to exposure
to specific pollutants (singly or in combination) that
are likely to be emitted to the atmosphere in larger
quantities because of the fuels used and programs for
the development of methods for controlling emissions
from both stationary and mobile power generating
facilities.
Within NERC-RTP, the Human Studies Laboratory
(HSL) and the Experimental Biology Laboratory
(EBL) have primary responsibility for studying the
health impact of policy decisions concerned with
energy production. These Laboratories conduct a
comprehensive program of lexicological, clinical, and
epidemiological studies to assess the effects of air
pollutant exposure on human health. The Control
Systems Laboratory (CSL) has the main responsibility
within NERC-RTP for developing technology to con-
trol air pollution.
It is acknowledged that the greatest increases in
human health risks will be associated with increased
pollution resulting from the greater use of coal to
fuel power-generating facilities. The pollutants of
primary concern are sulfur oxides and trace sub-
stances that contaminate the coal. The sulfur oxides
are emitted as gases as the coal is burned, but in the
atmosphere they are transformed at a regular rate to
sulfuric acid mist and particulate sulfates. HSL stud-
ies, therefore, attempt to develop information relative
to adverse health effects associated with exposure to
ambient concentration of total suspended particulates.
(Fine sulfates and nitrates are particularly suspect.)
EBL has initiated studies in laboratory animals to
determine the relative toxicity of various metallic
sulfates. HSL, as part of its responsibility, conducts a
continuing program of studies to determine the
adequacy of all established ambient air quality
standards. During the fiscal year, more than $1 mil-
lion was spent for this purpose on studies of the ef-
fects of SOX and particulate matter on human health.
In addition, $3.4 million was allocated to HSL from
the energy program to study the health impact of
decisions concerning the alternative strategies for
power production. These funds were used to support
contract studies of the effects of sulfates, nitrates, or
total respirable particulates on human health. The
funds also supported a $1 million interagency agree-
ment with the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences to provide additional information
(from a non-EPA source) on the effects of energy-
related pollutants. These separately collected data
sets are expected to verify EPA studies and provide
greater overall support to policy decisions made
within the Agency. One of the major objectives
of the program in Fiscal Year 1975 will be the
development of more precise measurements of human
exposure in ambient situations to permit the es-
tablishment of relationships with air monitoring
data as well as closer coordination between the field
epidemiological efforts and the carefully controlled
clinical laboratory studies. Other studies will expand
the effort to obtain data on human response to
specific particulates both in a clinical setting and in
ambient air situations.
The financial support given to research into issues
raised by the energy problem will first of all provide
for a more rapid development of health effects data.
It is likely, however, that the financial support will
also intensify the energy problems because additional
study is expected to show that relaxation of efforts to
reduce air pollution levels may well result in significant
increases in the incidence of adverse health effects-
effects that can be measured by increased mortality
Special Features
29
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rates, increased prevalence of chronic respiratory
illness, poorer pulmonary function, and increased
aggravation of symptoms in asthmatics or individuals
with cardiac illness. The trade-off of increased health
risk to meet ever-increasing energy demands may well
be a point on which individuals with diverse interests
will find it difficult to agree.
For the long term, however, the increased effort
at this time will provide a stronger basis on which
decisions can be made that may change our attitudes
about energy conservation, the degree of pollution
control required, and (to some extent) our life style.
This increased effort will ultimately assure a healthier
environment for all of us.
The Control Systems Laboratory program includes
several projects that will have a major impact upon
the availability of clean energy. The projects under
development, although generally not specifically re-
lated to the energy production process, are focused
upon the control of emissions of harmful pollutants.
Because of simularities in control requirements and
processes, methods developed for the control of
industrial emissions may be applicable to energy-
related processes; for example, research and develop-
ment on scrubbers would be applicable to electric
utilities as well as to chemical plants, pulp and paper
plants, oil refineries, and steel mills.
Perhaps EPA's most significant contribution to
clean energy production is flue gas cleaning: about
80 percent of CSL's expenditures to date have been
concentrated in this area. CSL's early efforts helped
develop the limestone scrubbing process, and its
present efforts are helping to lower costs and increase
effectiveness and reliability. CSL is participating in
the development of many other advanced flue gas
cleaning prototype demonstrations including magne-
sium oxide scrubbing, catalytic oxidation, sodium ion
scrubbing with thermal regeneration, and sodium
hydroxide scrubbing with electrolytic regeneration.
Clean fuels and flue gas cleaning are the only tech-
niques expected to be applied to a large extent in con-
trolling sulfur oxides emissions during the next 10
years. With the probable shortage of clean fuels
(clean coal will amount to about 20 percent of the
demand), flue gas cleaning will apparently have to be
applied widely.
With respect to energy production processes, CSL
is currently developing technology for the control of
sulfur oxide', fine particulate, and nitrogen oxide that
will be applicable to both combustion and non-
combustion sources. Projects to assess and ultimately
control the environmental impact of new energy
processes have already begun. Finally, activities have
recently been initiated for the characterization of
potentially hazardous pollutants from combustion
and other sources. This program will lead to new
control technology development as additional source
and pollutant information becomes available.
As part of the concerted Federal effort to solve
the energy crisis, EPA's Office of Research and
Development-with substantial support from NERC-
RTP's Control Systems Laboratory-participated fully
in the Energy Research and Development Program
Task Force effort that produced A Report to Richard
M. Nixon, President of the United States-The Nation's
Energy Future. This interagency effort and sub-
sequent evaluation, planning, and coordination with
the Office of Management and Budget resulted in a
$186 million supplement to EPA in Fiscal Year 1975
to address the important areas of environmental assess-
ment and control technology development.
As part of an effort to develop and coordinate an
EPA-managed environmental research and develop-
ment program to interface with the Federal energy
program, EPA's Office of Research and Development,
with substantial support from NERC-RTP, undertook
a matrix planning exercise to prepare specific program
objectives. The four major energy research and de-
velopment areas covered were fossil fuel combustion
and conversion, fossil fuel extraction, conservation,
and nuclear and advanced systems. To define the
environmental impact of energy technologies in these
four areas, EPA's contribution to the complex re-
search and development matrix included environmen-
tal information systems development, measurement
and monitoring efforts, health efforts research,
ecological processes and effects research, social effects
and policy implementation studies, air pollution
control, industrial water control, and non-point
source control.
EPA's overall aim is to provide increasingly ac-
curate and comprehensive information to permit
environmental impact assessment and environmental
policy formulation relative to a specific energy
technology. Before actual commercial application of
energy technology, it is EPA's aim to have the
national environmental impact defined and the siting
criteria developed to the point where they can be
utilized to provide a basis for evaluating the environ-
mental suitability of sites throughout the United
States. This definition will allow comparison of
alternate energy technologies on the basis of their
overall environmental impact.
Substitute Pesticide
Chemicals
NERC-RTP's Pesticides and Toxic Substances Ef-
fects Laboratory (PTSEL) is involved in studies in
two major areas relating to substitute chemicals. The
30
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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first area relates specifically to pesticides and pesticides
substitutes; the other relates more generally to toxic
substances.
PESTICIDE CHEMICALS
PROGRAM
The 1972 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, places an in-
creased emphasis on EPA to regulate pesticide chemi-
cals through full consideration of the consequences on
human health and on the environment from the use
of pest control products. The determination to
cancel or suspend a product registration is made after
exhaustive review of the pesticide and of the potential
harm of pesticide materials designated as potential
substitutes. Recognizing the enormity of the program
to evaluate the hazard of a pesticide and to assess the
acceptability of a substitute if removal is indicated, a
$5 million, 50-position program to study pesticides
and feasible substitute chemicals was included as part
of the proposed Agricultural, Environmental, and
Consumer Protection Appropriation Bill for 1974.
Three integrated strategies were considered neces-
sary to implement this program: (1) scientific review
of known registered pesticides, (2) establishment of a
cooperative liaison with industrial research and de-
velopment to expedite the development of pesticides
as substitutes for those removed from use, and (3)
generation of data relative to the problem of a
pesticides hazard asa function of toxicity, persistence,
and potential for eliciting an undesirable response.
The review processes will define data gaps in back-
ground information that can be filled by initiating
research, monitoring, and testing programs.
PTSEL maintains several broad areas of responsi-
bility, including inhalation toxicology; toxicity screen-
ing and testing; chemical determination of toxicologi-
cally significant impurities in commercial prepara-
tions of pesticides; and multiresidue methods for
detection of pesticides. Primary programs are being
designed to satisfy the questions arising in the review
process of pesticides and to allow a rapid response to
all inquiries and thus permit the review and admini-
strative actions to be completed in a minimum of time.
It is anticipated that this program will allow EPA to
expeditiously remove materials from the market that
are designated as harmful to humans or the environ-
ment, and will further allow EPA to rationally assess
materials designated as substitute chemicals.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES EFFECTS
PROGRAM
PTSEL has an expanding role in assessing the
toxicity of synthetic organic compounds, metals, and
metallic compounds and in developing sensitive
analytical methods for measuring toxic substances in
the environment. Currently, approximately two
million chemical compounds are known; several
thousand new compounds are synthesized annually.
Each year, several hundred of these new chemicals are
introduced into commercial use even though their
potential impact on health and the environment in
most cases is not known.
The pending Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
is an important legislative approach to control the
introduction of toxic substances into the environ-
ment. Rather than focusing on pollutants in the
media (e.g., air and water), the TSCA relies on under-
standing the flow of potentially toxic substances
throughout the entire range of activity—from extrac-
tion (or synthesis), through production and consumer
use, to disposal. Of particular concern are the
potentially deleterious effects on health resulting from
long-term exposures to low levels of these chemicals,
alone or in combination.
PTSEL projects over the past year have supported
the research needs of EPA's Office of Toxic Sub-
stances. Animal model studies were completed on
the effects of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds,
hexachlorobenzene, cadmium, and TCDD (2, 3, 7, 8-
tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin). Preparing for public
hearings, PTSEL carried out over 300 ultra-trace
(ppb) determinations of TCDD in a variety of environ-
mental samples (including human adipose tissue and
agricultural products) utilizing an improved sample-
preparation procedure followed by high-resolution
mass-spectrometry analysis.
Future research on toxic substances will include
development of rapid toxicological screening methods;
determination of toxic impurities in commercial
chemicals; development of a tissue bank to assess the
accumulation of toxic substances in human tissue
over long time periods; and the development of
chemical analytical methods for the determination
of trace levels of metals, metallic compounds, and
synthetic organic compounds. PTSEL is also planning
to develop a rapid-respones capability to address
environmental crisis situations that will involve short-
term sample collection, chemical analysis, and toxico-
logical assessment.
Special Features
31
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RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES
-------
VJ:
-------
Special
Studies
Staff
-------
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Special
Studies
Staff
OVERVIEW OF SSS MISSION
The Special Studies Staff, located in the Office of
the NERC-RTP Director, is engaged in activities
in three major technical areas: (1) preparation of air
quality criteria documents and scientific and technical
assessment reports involving pollutant characteriza-
tion, (2) fuel and fuel additive registration and
vehicular emission research, and (3) participation in
or coordination of NERC-RTP international activities.
In addition, the Staff carries out various ad hoc,
short-term projects.
NERC-RTP
DIRECTOR
SPECIAL STUDIES
STAFF
Scientific and Technical Assessment Reports, which
serve as a basis for determining pollutant control
strategies in EPA, are produced by the Special Studies
Staff.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
The legislative mandate upon which the Special
Studies Staff's programs are based and the various
sections of the Clean Air Act requiring Staff support
are shown below with a brief description of the types
of activities engaged in to support the mandate and
the Act.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (a) The Administrator shall establish a national
research and development program for the prevention
and control of air pollution ....
"(b) In carrying out the provisions of the preceding
subsection the Administrator is authorized to—
"(1) collect and make available . . . the results of
and other information, including appropriate recom-
mendations by him in connection therewith, per-
taining to such research and other activities;.
"(7) collect and disseminate . . . basic data on
chemical, physical, and biological effects of vary-
ing air quality and other information pertaining to
air pollution and the prevention thereof;. .
"(c) In carrying out the provisions of subsection
(a) of this section the Administrator shall conduct
research on, and survey the results of other scientific
studies on, the harmful effects on the health or
welfare of persons by the various known air
pollutants . . .
"AIR QUALITY CRITERIA AND CONTROL TECH-
NIQUES
"Sec. 108. (a) . (2) The Administrator shall issue air
quality criteria for an air pollutant Air quality
criteria for an air pollutant shall accurately reflect
the latest scientific knowledge useful in indicating the
kind and extent of all identifiable Effects on public
health or welfare which may be expected from the
presence of such pollutant in the ambient air, in vary-
ing quantities . . .
"(b) (1) Simultaneously with the issuance of
criteria under subsection (a), the Administrator shall. . .
issue . . . information on air pollution control tech-
niques . . . Such information shall include such data
as are available on available technology and alternative
methods of prevention and control of air pollution . . .
"(c) The Administrator shall from time to time
review, and, as appropriate, modify, and reissue any
criteria or information on control techniques issued
pursuant to this section . . .
Research Activities
37
-------
"ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS
"Sec. 313 the Administrator shall report to the
Congress on measures taken toward implementing the
purpose and intent of this Act including, but not
limited to (2) the development of air quality
criteria and recommended emission control require-
ments ... (4) the status of State ambient air standards
setting, including such plans for implementation and
enforcement as have been developed. . ."
As indicated above, Sections 103, 108, and 313 of
the 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments permit EPA's
Administrator to require the preparation of scientifi-
cally sound assessment or criteria documents to serve
as the legally defensible basis for both the develop-
ment of control strategies and the promulgation of
standards. The preparation of criteria documents and
scientific and technical assessment reports by this
Staff contributes to the requirement of these sections
of the Act.
Characterization of pollutants consists of critically
reviewing, evaluating, comparing, and interpreting
pertinent literature to revise present, or prepare ad-
ditional, air quality criteria documents and prepare
scientific and technical assessment reports that serve
as the scientific basis of control strategies and related
standards. These documents are also required to
identify the need of additional research for producing
adequate criteria for issuing or revising standards.
"REGULATION OF FUELS
"Sec. 211. (a) The Administrator may by regulation
designate any fuel or fuel additive and ... no manu-
facturer or processor of any such fuel or additive may
sell, offer for sale, or introduce into commerce such
fuel or additive unless the Administrator has registered
such fuel or additive in accordance with subsection (b)
of this section.
"(b) (1) For the purpose of registration of fuels
and fuel additives, the Administrator shall require—
"(A) the manufacturer of any fuel to notify him
as to the commercial identifying name and manu-
facturer of any additive contained in such fuels;.
"(B) to furnish . such other information as is
reasonable and necessary to determine the emissions
resulting from the use of the fuel or additive con-
tained in such fuel, the effect of such fuel or additive
on the emission control performance of any vehicle or
vehicle engine, or the extent to which such emissions
affect the public health or welfare . . .
"(c) (1) The Administrator may, from time to
time on the basis of information obtained under
subsection (b) of this section control or prohibit
the manufacture, introduction into commerce, offering
for sale, or sale of any fuel or fuel additive for use in a
motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine . . "
Sections 211 (a) and (b) of the 1970 Clean Air
Act Amendments permit the Administrator to require
the registration of fuels and fuel additives as a
prerequisite to sale. These sections also permit the
Administrator to require, as a prerequisite to registra-
tion, that tests be conducted by the manufacturer to
determine the effect of such fuels or fuel additives on
38
emissions (regulated and non-regulated), the perform-
ance of emissions control devices, public health, and
public welfare. Such tests are to be conducted on the
basis of protocols established by the Administrator.
Section 211 (c) provides that any registered fuel or
fuel additive may be restricted or prohibited based
upon adverse effects observed from such tests or
from other such information available to the Admin-
istrator.
The Special Studies Staff's fuel and fuel additive
program consists of registration and information
retrieval activities in addition to conducting research
programs to develop protocols that will allow the
valid assessment of the effect of fuel components and
fuel additives on emission products (both regulated
and non-regulated), performance of emission control
devices, atmospheric loadings and transformations,
and public health and welfare.
By contractual agreement with the World Health
Organization (WHO), EPA was established as WHO's
International Reference Center for Air Pollution
Control (IRCAPC). The responsibility for responding
to WHO requests was assigned to NERC-RTP by
EPA's Assistant Administrator for Research and
Development who is also the Director of WHO-
IRCAPC.
The Special Studies Staff's international activities
consist of providing direct technical assistance and
liaison to international organizations in preparing
international environmental pollutant criteria and
guidelines as well as coordinating other NERC-RTP
involvement with the WHO, Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
NATO's Committee for the Concern of Modern
Society, Special Foreign Currency Program, World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), Economic
Commission for Europe, and the Council of European
Communities.
Information concerning fiscal and personnel re-
sources, presented in Table 4, includes funds and
personnel within the Agency and on contract.
Table4. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL
STUDIES STAFF FOR FISCAL YEAR 1974
Section of
Clean Air
Act sup-
ported
103
108
211
313
Totals
Funds,
$103
156
158
718
10
1042
Positions
3
3
12
1
19
Approximate
percent
15
15
69
1
100
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
ORGANIZATION
The Special Studies Staff, functioning under the
genera] guidance of a Director, concentrates on two
subject areas—Pollutant Characterization and Fuel
and Fuel Additive Registration.
To meet its responsibilities in pollutant characteri-
zation, fuel and fuel additive registration, and inter-
national activities, the Special Studies Staff emphasizes
both extramural tasks with supporting in-house
activities to obtain basic and background information,
and direction and coordination of in-house NERC-
RTP task force activities concerning preparation of
multidisciplinary and multimedia environmental pol-
lutant scientific and technical assessment reports.
Pollutant Characterization
Personnel involved in Pollutant Characterization
produce technical documentation to be used in
decision-making regarding pollution control. This
group assists international organizations in preparing
similar technical documentation. Involvement begins
with a search for basic information, and extends
through publication of the document. The Staff
Director coordinates NERC-RTP's international ac-
tivities.
Fuel and Fuel Additive
Registration
The Fuel and Fuel Additive Registration group is
involved in receiving and storing information from
manufacturers as required by law and registering their
products. Personnel also assist in the development of
related regulations and guide research carried out
external to the immediate group.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Pollutant Characterization
The Pollutant Characterization activities of the
Special Studies Staff provide documentation critically
reviewing, evaluating, comparing, interpreting, and
summarizing pertinent literature and reports. This
documentation leads to the (1) revision of existing
criteria documents or the preparation of additional
scientific and technical assessment reports for air
quality of currently non-regulated environmental
pollutants, (2) identification of the need for additional
research required to produce adequate criteria for
issuing or revising standards, and (3) preparation of
briefing reports that address new areas for environ-
mental concern that are not already part of an inte-
grated program.
Air quality criteria, as defined by the Clean Air
Act, are compilations of the latest available scientific
information on the sources, prevalence, and manifes-
tations of recognized air pollutants. Most importantly,
these criteria describe the effects that have been
associated with, or may be expected from, an air
pollutant level in excess of a specific concentration
for a specific time period. Such effects generally
involve visibility reduction, damage to materials,
economic costs, vegetation damage, nuisance aspects,
and adverse effects on the health and well- being of
humans and animals. Air Quality Criteria serve as the
basis for national ambient air quality standards.
The scientific and technical assessment reports
serve two very important purposes. They summarize
the scientific knowledge base for administrative
decisions regarding the need and strategy for control;
and they provide important input for research and
development program plans. In view of their wide-
spread distribution, these documents also serve as an
important communications link with other EPA
offices, other agencies, and special-interest groups.
In order to serve these purposes, they must be
functional documents, clearly and concisely written.
Assessment reports are prepared under the super-
vision of the Special Studies Staff by task forces
made up of staff members from the laboratories of
NERC-RTP and from the other NERCs. The reports
are based on standard outline to ensure inclusion of
available information on the following items:
• Chemical and physical properties.
• Measurement techniques applied to various
environmental compartments (e.g., air, water,
and soil), sources, and (when pertinent)
biological samples.
• Origin and abundance.
• Concentrations in air, water, soil, plants, animals
and humans, and microorganisms.
• Transformations and transport.
• Environmental exposure.
• Mechanisms of exposure.
• Physiological response.
• Undersirable effects on humans, animals, vegeta-
tion, materials, weather, visibility, climate, and
land and water resources.
• Control technology and remedial actions.
• Current research and development activities.
These reports are generally based on review
material provided by panels of experts assembled
by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
under contract with the Special Studies Staff,
although other organizations have provided
similar resources. Supplementary information
is used as available and required. When no
basic review document is available, the basic
literature is searched.
Research Activities
39
-------
Basic review documents are being prepared by
NAS on vapor-phase organic matter, chlorine, sele-
nium, copper, zinc, arsenic, and the platinum-group
heavy metals. In keeping with timely review of
criteria documents, NAS is preparing reviews on
carbon monoxide, photochemical oxidants, nitrogen
oxides, and fine particulate matter. NAS recently
submitted to the Special Studies Staff reports on
nickel, chromium, and vanadium. Task forces are
currently preparing reports on vadium, chromium,
nickel, and nitrates.
Reports on particulate polynuclear organic matter,
sulfates and sulfuric acid aerosols, polychlorinated
biphenyls, cadmium, and manganese are now being
finalized prior to publication.
The Special Studies Staff completed a review and
revision of the vegetation effects chapter of Air
Quality Criteria for Sulfur Oxides in 1973, requiring
EPA review of the secondary standards for sulfur
oxides that led to the standards' revision. The
Special Studies Staff has also prepared and presented
briefings for EPA's Office of Research and Develop-
ment (ORD) on fine particulate matter and nitrates.
Scientific and technical assessment reports are to
be prepared for selenium, chlorine/hydrochloric acid,
arsenic, vapor-phase organic matter, copper, zinc, and
platinum-group heavy metals. A briefing document
on particulates from mobile emissions is also to be
prepared. The air quality criteria documents for
nitrogen oxides, photochemical oxidants, hydro-
carbons, sulfur oxides, particulates, and carbon mon-
oxide are to be updated and/or revised.
Fuel and Fuel Additives
Registration
The Fuel and Fuel Additives Registration program,
reorganized in Fiscal Year 1974 involves registration,
emissions characterization, toxicological testing,
human studies, fuel surveillance and analysis, health
and welfare effects, and the development of related
effects protocols. These subject areas provide a
complex, interrelated, multidisciplinary technical
program, the objective of which is to ensure the
continued protection of the public health and
welfare as it relates to the mobile source emissions
control program, and the effects that fuels, fuel
additives, advanced control devices, and alternate
power systems have thereon. The development and
review of this integrated program, which is the
responsibility of the Special Studies Staff, includes
the review, evaluation, and reporting of data collected
and proposals for necessary action.
Registration—Additives used in gasoline introduced
into interstate commerce must be registered with
EPA. At the present time, more than 325 such
additives are registered in a number of chemical
classifications.
Emission Characterization—Characterization of
both regulated and non-regulated exhaust pollutants
and the effect of fuel components and fuel additives
thereon are essential to provide the preliminary
information required to assess potential adverse
effects of such fuel components or additives on
emissions and emission control device performance.
In addition, detailed characterization of exhaust prod-
ucts resulting from combustion of fuels with and
without additives and products emanating from
catalytic control devices and alternate power systems
is essential in order to provide the data necessary to
conduct meaningful health effects studies.
A result of this program has been a reassessment
of the public health benefit related to the use of
oxidation catalysts on mobile sources and the attend-
ant increase in levels of potentially hazardous non-
regulated emissions.
The past efforts and future research emphasis
related to emission characterization are presented in
Table 5.
Emissions Effects Protocols— EPA may require that
tests be conducted by any fuel or fuel additive
manufacturer to ascertain the effects of such fuel or
fuel additive on both emissions and control device
performance. Such tests are to be based on protocols
specified by the Administrator and are largely ex-
tensions of the research programs outlined previously
under Emission Characterization.
The past efforts and future research emphasis
related to emissions effects protocols are presented in
Table6.
Surveillance—Collection of commercial fuels, crank-
case oils, and diesel fuels, and their subsequent
analysis are essential to ensure both the validity of
the registration information upon which the research
program is based and the dependable performance of
consumer-operated advanced control systems that
already have been shown to be sensitive to particular
fuel and oil components and additives. This activity
is just getting under way.
Health Effects Assessment-Tbe Agency is
developing the health intelligence necessary to ensure
that public health is protected by the mobile source
emissions control program. Available serviceable
toxicologic models and human exposure study tech-
niques can provide a reasonable data base for decision-
making. Although a hierarchical screening system
has not been developed, there is no doubt that such a
system would be most valuable in obtaining answers
40
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
Table 5. EMISSION CHARACTERIZATION MILESTONES
Major program component
Quarter of calendar year
1972
1234
1973
1234
1974
1234
1975
1234
1976
123
Characterize gaseous emissions—current vehicles—
as function of fuel and fuel additive composition
Characterize gaseous emissions—rotary engines
Characterize gaseous emissions-diesel engines
Characterize gaseous emissions as function of fuel
and fuel additive composition—advanced proto-
type vehicles
Operate in-house engine and chasis dynamometers
Characterize particulate emissions as function of
fuel and fuel additive composition—current
vehicles
Characterize particulate emissions as function of
fuel and fuel additive composition—advanced
prototype vehicles
Characterize particulate emission—rotary engines
Characterize particulate emissions—diesel engines
Survey and characterize 1975 model California
vehicles
Effect of fuel composition and fuel additives on
atmospheric visibility
— — — — o-
Planning
Implemented o
Completed
Continuing
Table 6. EMISSION EFFECTS PROTOCOL MILESTONES
Major program component
Emission control device performance protocol
Regulated emissions (HC, CO, I\IOX) protocol-
LDMV3
Particulate emissions protocol LDMV
Non-regulated emissions protocol— rotary
engines
Visibility effects protocol
Gaseous emissions protocol diesel engines
Particulate emissions protocol diesel engines
Quarter of calendar year
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1234 1234 1234 1234 1234
A
Initial .Update
o *
o
Planning
Implemented o-
Completed
Continuing >-
aLDMV-Light Duty Motor Vehicle
Research Activities
41
-------
to key health questions more rapidly. The program
gives immediate priority to toxicologic assessment
(using simple and relatively rapid techniques) of
compounds of palladium, platinum, and ruthenium
believed most likely to occur in auto emissions,
since this information needs to be available before the
large-scale introduction of catalytic converters with
the potential for introduction of novel pollutants into
the environment. The currently funded 3-year pro-
gram is summarized in Table 7.
International Activities
The Special Studies Staff serves as a focal point
for coordinating the international activities of NERC-
RTP. In addition, it provides direct assistance con-
cerning criteria and other documentation.
World Health Organizat/on-Tbe WHO has desig-
nated EPA/ORD as its International Reference Center
for Air Pollution Control. The Assistant Administra-
tor has delegated the responsibility for meeting this
obligation to NERC-RTP
In meeting this obligation, NERC-RTP's Quality
Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory
serves as an International Aerometric Data Bank,
receiving, processing, analyzing, and publishing data
received from international laboratories via WHO. In
cooperation with the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, QAEML assists and
directly participates in the development of WHO
standardized measurement methodology for moni-
toring air pollution.
The Special Studies Staff, at WHO'S requests,
contributed to WHO air criteria and guideline docu-
ments via annotated outlines and draft manuscripts.
The staff provided draft annotated outlines for
Air Quality Criteria and Guides for Nitrogen Oxides
and Guidance Manual for Planning, Implementing and
Evaluating Air Pollution Regulations and Control
Programs, Draft documents were also provided
representing the U. S. contribution to WHO for
environmental health criteria for manganese and
polychlorinated biphenyls. Additional documents of
this nature are to be provided on a requested basis.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Dei/e/op/7?e/7f-NERC-RTP's Deputy Director is the
official U. S. delegate to the OECD Air Management
Sector Group. Activities of this group concern air
pollution problems that transcend international
frontiers, the international interchange of air pollution
monitoring and research data, the economics of air
pollution control policies and their implications
relative to international trade, and needs for additional
research and international cooperation to meet these
needs.
The Special Studies Staff assisted OECD in 1973
by evaluating WHO'S Air Quality Criteria and Guides
for Urban Air Pollutants and by preparing, with
cooperation from OAQPS, a case history on the use
of criteria in developing standards for the control of
sulfur dioxides in the United States.
NATO's Committee on the Challenges of Modern
Society—The NATO Committee on the Challenges of
Modern Society (CCMS) conducts eight designated
pilot studies, one of which deals with air pollution.
The United States is the pilot nation for this study,
with the Federal Republic of Germany and Turkey as
co-pilot nations. The following four major tasks were
concluded in May 1974:
Task I. Assessment of ambient levels of sulfur
oxides and particulate pollution and sources for both
present conditions and projected growth. (NERC-
RTP's Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitor-
ing Laboratory)
Task II. Selection of appropriate mathematical
diffusion modeling techniques to relate source
emissions to ambient air levels. (NERC-RTP's
Meteorology Laboratory)
Task III. Development of air quality criteria
documents for sulfur oxides, particulates, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and photochemical oxi-
dants and related hydrocarbons. (NERC-RTP's
Special Studies Staff)
Task IV. Development of control technology
documents for pollutants cited above. (NERC-RTP's
Control Systems Laboratory)
The Director of the Special Studies Staff is
chairman of the air quality criteria panel. The
required documents in Task 111 were formulated by an
international panel with the U. S. representatives being
responsible for drafting the documents and the
Special Studies Staff having responsibility for having
the documents reviewed and completed to publishable
form.
In 1973, the NATO/CCMS document Criteria for
Nitrogen Oxides was completed and published;
Criteria for Photochemical Oxidants and Related
Hydrocarbons was begun in 1973 but was not
published until early in 1974.
The commitment to this project has been met;
future activity is expected to be minimal.
World Meteorological Organization-The NERC-
RTP's Meteorology Laboratory works closely with the
World Meteorology Organization (WMO). WMO is
now utilizing QAEML's aerometric data bank for
storage and retrieval of aerometric data concerning
rainfall and atmospheric turbidity.
42
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
Table 7. ACHIEVEMENT MILESTONES FOR TASKS TO ASSURE THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS PROTECTED
Research and development task grouping
Estimate LD$Q and LC$Q doses of noble &
and in appropriate concentrations
Identify organs and tissues that may be at
risk through single and repeated exposures
of rodents via ingestion and inhalation of
noble metal compounds
Estimate no-effect level of noble and base-
metal compounds on allergic disease and
immunologic competence:
• immediate and delayed by hypersensi-
tivity in animals
• small airway resistance in guinea pigs as
a model for pulmonary irritation and
aggravation of asthma
Estimate no-effect level of noble-and base-
metal compounds on irritation of eye and
respiratory tract:
• in vitro assay using conjunctiva! and
respiratory cell structures
• in vivo test using rabbit tear lysozyme
or corneal models
Compare pulmonary carcinogenicity of base-
or noble-metal compounds and of lead com-
pounds in association with polynuclear aro-
matics:
• develop in vitro screening systems
• test with in vivo hamster intratrachial
model
Compare no-effect levels of lead and noble-and
base-metal compounds on acute infectious
respiratory disease
• in vitro alveolar macrophage screening
• in vivo mouse pulmonary infectivity
Compare relative mutagenic potential of base-
or noble-metal compounds with lead com-
pounds:
• in vivo screen using hamster cytogenic
model
• in vivo screen using host-mediated assay
• in vivo dominant lethal test in mice
Compare relative toxicities of noble-and base-
metal compounds with lead compounds using
selected enzymatic assays
Assess embryotoxicity potential for noble-and
base-metals on gross developmental anomalies in
mice
Document any changes in human pollutant bur-
dens
Quarter of calendar year
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1234 1234 1234 1234 1234
II 1
1 1 4
1 1 1
4 1 4
444
4 4 4
4 4
4 444
4 4 4
0 44 4 4
0 4 4 4 4
4 4 4
4 4 1
4 4 4
4 4 4
Research Activities
43
-------
Table 7. ACHIEVEMENT MILESTONES FOR TASKS TO ASSURE THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS PROTECTED
(cont.)
Research and development task grouping
Investigate subtle physiologic changes (including
enzyme activity, hypersensitivity, and cyto-
genetic anomalies) induced by exposure to
catalyst attrition products
Investigate irritation effects of catalyst attrition
products in humans
Test protocol to assure public health
Quarter of calendar year
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1234 1234 1234 1234 1234
* 1 1
4 1 *
°
Implemented t> OomnlPtion T
Special Foreign Currency Program—The Special
Foreign Currency Program (SFCP) provides for con-
tracts for cooperative research. Contracts exist
between NERC-RTP(via EPA'sOffice of International
Affairs (OIA)) and institutions in Poland, India, and
Yugoslavia. In Poland, SFCP studies are being done
on control systems and biological effects related to
effluents from coal-fired boilers and on biological
action of radionuclides. In India, radionuclide effects
are also being studied. There is interest in studies on
air pollution control and on biological response to
manganese. In Yugoslavia, studies are under way
relative to biological effects of several metals and
pesticides. There is interest in studying emissions and
pollution control in selected industries.
NERC-RTP's staff participates as members of OIA-
SFCP project teams. These teams have been engaged
in such scientific fields as health effects, monitoring,
modeling, and control technology. Team members
have visited Yugoslavia, Poland, and Pakistan.
Internationa/ Cooperative Agreements—Since 1969,
there has been a cooperative agreement between the
Federal Republic of Germany and the United States
to coordinate research in five specified areas: health
effects of automotive exhaust on humans; health and
environmental effects of lead, including monitoring
programs; effects of airborne nitrogen oxides; effects
of airborne carcinogens; and health effects of asbestos,
including the development of monitoring methods.
Since 1961, there has been a United States-Japan
Cooperative Science Program. NERC-RTP is involved
with both a working group on trace metals and a proj-
ect on comparison of cardiorespiratory illness in
matched groups in the two countries.
In February 1972, the protocol for a cooperative,
tri-partite, cadmium-health effects project was
developed and agreed upon for the United States-
Japan-Sweden Tri-Partite Studies. This protocol
requires each country to conduct research, on a
collaborative basis, on measurement and biomedical
aspects of exposure to cadmium.
A United States-U.S.S.R. Environmental Agree-
ment, established in 1972, relates in part to biological
and genetic effects of pollutants.
Initial discussions and scientific information ex-
change will involve epidemiology, mutagenesis, and
heavy metals. NERC-RTP and other United States
agencies will participate.
The overall U. S. objectives of all three programs
would be to make it possible to get the maximum
information input from the ongoing research in these
area in the Soviet Union. It is clearly possible that the
United States, by working with the Soviets, can both
encourage an increase in the quality and quantity of
environmental health research in both countries and
have access to the research results produced by the
Soviet scientists. This would significantly increase
the research data base upon which all regulatory
decisions are made. The long-term benefit, both to
the United States and to the Soviet Union, would be
a broadened information base on effects to environ-
mental chemicals and physical factors on humans so
as to permit the best possible regulatory decisions.
Another part of the Agreement deals with
stationary source air pollution control technology.
It is desirable to have exchanges of air pollution
research and development information on the
following subject areas:
• Sulfur oxides and particulate from thermal
power plants.
• Gasification of coal and oil.
• Demetallization of residual fuel oil.
44
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
• Economic studies of desulfurizing methods.
• Physiochemical analysis of components in
emissions from the iron and steel industry.
• Ice fog control.
• Catalytic oxidation process for sulfur oxide
control.
• Control of emissions from coke ovens.
• Desulfurization and ash removal from coal by
mechanical cleaning.
• Identification and control of emissions from
coal- and oil-conversion processess.
It was agreed that, on problems requiring negotia-
tions with industry groups or other government
agencies in the United States, EPA would be respon-
sible for coordination.
There is a United States-France cooperative pro-
gram on "Physical Modeling Tests" with the French
Meteorological Service and NERC-RTP's Meteorology
Laboratory.
There is also a United States-Spain study, the
Almaden Project, aimed at evaluating the effects of
mercury, including the study of biological and
environmental aspects. The project is just getting
under way.
Economic Commission for Europe—The Control
Systems Laboratory has cooperated with the ECE
in conducting a seminar on air pollution control in
the non-ferrous smelting industry.
Other Foreign Contracts—The Special Studies Staff
is also involved with contracts involving Holland, The
United Kingdom, and Sweden:
• A contract with the International Flame Re-
search Foundation at its Research Station in
Ijmuiden, Holland, relates to control of emis-
sions from coal combustion. Programmed
through Fiscal Year 1975, the contract involves
NERC-RTP's Control Systems Laboratory.
• A contract with the Esso Petroleum Company
Research Center, Abingdon, Berkshire, U.K.,
involves the chemically active fluid-bed com-
bustion process. Programmed activity will con-
tinue through Fiscal Year 1975, possibly into
Fiscal Year 1976, with NERC-RTP's Control
Systems Laboratory.
• A contract with the Karolinska Institute in
Sweden involves annual updating, via supple-
ment, of the document, Environmental
Cadmium. NERC-RTP's Special Studies Staff is
party to the contract.
The Special Studies Staff will prepare periodic
status reports for describing and summarizing all
international activities associated with NERC-RTP.
It is anticipated that there will be increased activity
with WHO, SFCP, and cooperative agreements.
Research Activities
45
-------
Human
Studies
Laboratory
-------
•
- . *» • *cT' ^» •
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• '• rjy."f "Y' - "i^»v '
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-; *%
ftt^
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Human
Studies
Laboratory
HUMAN STUDIES
LABORATORY
•••
•^
m^m
•m
EPIDEMIOLOGY BRANCH
BIOMETRY BRANCH
BIO-ENVIRONMENTAL
MEASUREMENT BRANCH
BIO-ENVIRONMENTAL
LABORATORY BRANCH
-
CLINICAL STUDIES
BRANCH
Studies of the cardiopulmonary, psychophysiologic,
metabolic, and immune responses of humans in con-
trolled environmental laboratories are conducted at
the Human Studies Laboratory branch located in the
University of North Carolina Medical Center.
OVERVIEW OF HSL'S MISSION
The mission of the Human Studies Laboratory is to
define the influence of environmental stress on human
health so that appropriate steps can be taken to meet
the requirements of the Clean Air Act. The
Laboratory must also recognize and define new prob-
lem areas in environmental health as new technologies
emerge. In addition, it must provide technical assist-
ance to the Agency during pollution emergencies and
during public hearings on control activities.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
HSL's research program is designed to meet the
legislative mandate expressed in Section 103 of the
Clean Air Act and in Section 241 of the Public
Health Service Act. Specific sections of the Acts are
shown below followed by brief descriptions of the
types of actions taken by HSL in support of the
mandates.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (f) (1) In carrying out research pursuant to
this Act, the Administrator shall give special emphasis
to research on the short- and long-term effects of air
pollutants on public health and welfare. In the
furtherance of such research, he shall conduct an
accelerated research program—
"(A) to improve knowledge of the contribution of
air pollutants to the occurrence of adverse effects of
health, including, but not limited to, behavioral,
physiological, lexicological, and biochemical effects;
and
"(B) to improve knowledge of the short- and long-
term effects of air pollutants on welfare.
"(2) In carrying out the provisions of this sub-
section the Administrator may—
"(A) conduct epidemiological studies of the effects
of air pollutants on mortality and morbidity;
"(B) conduct clinical and laboratory studies on the
immunologic, biochemical, physiological, and the toxi-
cological effects including carcinogenic, teratogenic,
and mutagenic effects of air pollutants;. . ."
In support of Section 103, HSL develops and
conducts studies designed to define relationships
between specific undesirable health effects and en-
vironmental pollutants, either individually or in
combination. This research includes biochemical
laboratory studies, clinical studies on human subjects,
and epidemiological studies of human populations.
Knowledge of the effects of short- and long-term
exposure to environmental pollutants provides a
basis for establishing national environmental or emis-
sion standardsfor those pollutants or source categories
that endanger human health or welfare, In addition,
the HSL research program is designed to evaluate the
health benefits of improved air quality resulting from
Human Studies Laboratory
-------
the establishment of emission standards. This pro-
gram is also concerned with the decrement in health
resulting from any future relaxation in air quality
standards in response to the energy crisis. Analysis
of the economic costs resulting from adverse health
effects of pollution is an integral part of the HSL
program.
Epidemiologic studies on the effect of radiation
on humans come under the broad mandate of
Section 241 of the Public Health Service Act, which
is quoted in part below.
"THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT"
"Sec. 241. Research and investigations generally.
"The Surgeon General shall conduct in the Service,
and encourage, cooperate with, and render assistance
to other appropriate public authorities, scientific
institutions, and scientists in the conduct of, and
promote the coordination of, research, investigations,
experiments, demonstrations, and studies relating to
the causes, diagnosis, treatment, control, and preven-
tion of physical and mental diseases and impairment of
man . . . ."
Under the broad mandate of Section 241, HSL
studies the effects of ionizing radiation exposure on
humans in cooperation with the Atomic Bomb
Casuality Commission research program in Japan.
HSL places major emphasis on evaluating the risk of
adverse irreversible biological effects from exposure
to various levels of different pollutants and in
delineating the time lapse between exposure and
disease (latent effects). Other studies conducted by
the laboratory are concerned with the effects of
non-ionizing radiations to which the general popula-
tion is exposed. HSL resources committed in
support of these acts are shown in Table 8.
ORGANIZATION
The HSL is divided into the Office of the Director
and five Branches. The Office of the Director
coordinates all Laboratory activities, develops long-
and short-term research goals, and periodically reviews
the progress of Laboratory programs.
The Epidemiology Branch studies the effects of
pollution on human health and searches for predis-
posing factors that worsen or contribute to the
development of various diseases. In addition, the
Branch assesses the impact upon health and welfare
of improvements in environmental quality resulting
from efforts to control pollution.
The Biometry Branch is responsible for the design
and analysisof research studies and provides statistical
design and analysis, computer programming, and data
processing services. The Branch conducts research in
statistical and'computer-oriented areas related to the
mission of the Laboratory.
TableS. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR HUMAN
STUDIES LABORATORY FOR FISCAL YEAR 1974a
Category
Clear Air Act,
Section 1 03
Public Health
Service Act,
Section 241
Total
Funds,
$103
8461.0
299.0
8760.0
Positions
104.0
9.0
113.0
Approximate
percent
97
3
100
aDoes not include $3.4 million of special energy appropria-
tions.
The Bio-Environmental Measurement Branch con-
ducts a comprehensive program of environmental
measurements of pollutants in controlled laboratory
environments and in ambient polluted environments.
These measurements are related to the physiological
and pathological responses of human subjects exposed
to environmental pollutants in bio-medical laboratory
studies and of selected segments of the populations
in epidemiologic studies.
The Clinical Studies Branch conducts laboratory
studies to detect and define effects of environmental
pollutants on human health, to verify correlative
epidemiological findings, and to develop or improve
methodology for application to human health effects
studies in the laboratory and in community settings.
The Bio-Environmental Laboratory Branch (BELB)
works in cooperation with the other Branches of
HSL to describe human metabolic response to pollut-
ant exposure. The BELB program includes performing
chemical analyses of environmental and biological
samples, as well as conducting research to determine
appropriate methodology for the analyses of trace
environmental or biological specimens. The Branch
is also developing methods for determining the level
of human exposure to various pollutants. The
objective is to demonstrate a dose/response relation-
ship for exposure to a given pollutant species and a
specific metabolic parameter prior to permanent or
serious injury.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
The Human Studies Laboratory has facilities at
NERC-RTP and in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Laboratories in both locations are equipped with the
most modern analytical instruments, including gas/
50
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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liquid chromatographs, an atomic absorption spectro-
meter with heated graphite atomizer, ultra-centri-
fuges, disc gel and slab electrophoresis devices, radio-
active strip scanning devices, and liquid scintillation
spectrometers.
Twenty-three Community Health and Ambient
Monitoring Program (CHAMP) stations are being up-
dated and equipped with the best technology avail-
able in sensors complemented by automatic electronic
data acquisition with remote magnetic tape storage
and "on-call" telemetric output and visual field data
inspection.
The Clinical Studies Branch is located in the
Clinical Environmental Research Laboratories build-
ing on the periphery of the University of North
Carolina Medical Center complex in Chapel Hill.
This special-purpose building was constructed specifi-
cally to assist in fulfilling EPA medical research
objectives and to provide special-purpose laboratories
and support areas. These special-purpose laboratories
include:
• Controlled human exposure facilities in which
varied exposures to air pollutant concentrations
or noise levels can be produced.
• Cardiovascular research facilities for validating
measurement techniques and for obtaining car-
diovascular data from studies on animals and
humans.
• Psychophysiology facilities in which human be-
havioral and psychophysiologic studies are con-
ducted.
• Microbiology facilities in which effects of en-
vironmental stress and human immune mech-
anisms are studied.
• Pulmonary physiology facilities in which new
techniques for human pulmonary function meas-
urement are developed and validated.
• Clinical metabolism facilities in which routine
and specialized human clinical chemistry
analyses are performed.
• Pulmonary research facilitiesat the Frank Porter
Graham Child Development Center in Chapel
Hill, the exercise physiology laboratory, and the
pathology laboratories in which specialized
research is conducted.
In addition to the above facilities, HSL has an
optical reader for directly processing health question-
naire data onto magnetic tape and computer terminals
that provide direct access to EPA's Computer Center
atNERC-RTP.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
HSL research activities are in two major program
areas: field epidemiological studies in ambient pollu-
tion exposure situations and clinical (laboratory)
studies on human subjects under experimentally
produced exposure conditions. The various studies
are integrated or complementary in a manner designed
to provide the broadest possible response to the needs
of the Agency.
Epidemiological Studies
Current Activities— Studies conducted in 13
communities of the Community Health and Environ-
mental Surveillance System (CHESS) provide gradients
of exposure to total suspended particulate, respirable
suspended particulate, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, suspended nitrates, suspended sulfate, and
photochemical oxidants. Also, autopsy tissues were
collected in each of the CHESS cities to derive new
health intelligence concerning the levels of trace
metals and other multimedia toxic substances in
humans. Those epidemiological activities consist of
measurements of sensitive, acute, and chronic health
indicators in demographically similar populations
exposed to a gradient of ambient levels of specific
air pollutants. Because data are being collected
during years in which communities achieve state
implementation plans, these studies may document
the health benefits of pollution control. CHESS may
also assess the health impact of changing energy
patterns as power plants shift from low- to high-sulfur
fuels, and from gas and oil to coal.
Epidemiological studies also involve the orderly
installation, check-out, calibration, and maintenance
of the Community Health Air Monitoring Program
(CHAMP) measurement devices. CHAMP is a key
element of the CHESS program and is designed to
provide short-term measurements of air quality ex-
posures within the CHESS areas. Data are recorded
on site by automated methods compatible with EPA
computer standards and are retrieved through a sys-
tem employing sequential, automatic polling of all
field stations. If emergency atmospheric conditions
exist in any area at the time of polling, an alarm is
sounded and the emergency condition is displayed
for reporting to Federal and local agencies.
Two computerized, mobile clinical laboratories
have been designed and are now being constructed.
They will give a new level of sophistication to
epidemologic studies in Fiscal Year 1975.
Major Accomplishments—Ma]or field study
accomplishments during the fiscal year period of this
report involved the CHESS program. The CHESS
program included 31 neighborhoods in 6 areas of the
country: the interurban area of New York and New
Jersey; the State of Utah; the cities of Chattanooga,
TN, Birmingham, AL, and Charlotte, NC; and the Los
Human Studies Laboratory
51
-------
Angeles basin. The six health indicators under sur-
veillance in these neighborhoods included chronic
respiratory disease in adults, acute lower respiratory
disease in children, frequency of daily asthma attacks,
pulmonary function of school children, residue of
cumulative pollutants in human tissue, and daily
aggravation of symptoms in subjects with pre-existing
heart and lung disease.
Major research involving a specific group of pollut-
ants culminated in the publication of the EPA
monograph, Health Consequences of Sulfur Oxides:
A Report from CHESS, 1970-1971. (EPA-650/1-
74-004).
Draft reports from field studies of the CHESS
program for 1971-1972 for the CHESS neighborhoods
in New York and in the Southeastern cities were
completed on the effects of respirable particu lates.
These studies reflected the benefits of improved air
quality as pollution control plans were implemented.
Analyses and preparation of reports pertaining to
nitrogen dioxide and oxidants are underway for
1971-1972 in the Los Angeles Basin and in
Chattanooga.
Data from the Southeastern cities suggest that
particu lates in the presence of low levels of sulfur
dioxide are associated with decrements in pulmonary
function and increases in lower respiratory disease
morbidity in school children. The most important
finding resulting from the New York-New Jersey
area studies was that the health indices of chronic
respiratory disease in adults, lower respiratory disease
in children, and pulmonary function results did not
vary across the four New Jersey communities exposed
to similar long-term pollutant levels. The finding
confirmed the belief that people living in areas with
similar pollution levels would demonstrate similar
health indices.
The first phase of an epidemic logic study confirmed
that an increase in congenital anomaly rates had
occurred at a military base at which a significant
amount of radar surveillance is used. This study will
be expanded to obtain data on factors other than
Blood sample for chromosome analysis is drawn from volunteer exposed to ozone in laboratory test.
52 ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
radar exposure that might explain the observed
increase.
Future Research Emphasis-Jhe CHESS program
will continue to seek data delineating the dose/
response effects of exposure to pollutants and
describing the human health benefit of control
actions. Timely reporting of CHESS results will
enable the Agency to evaluate the impact of existing
standards, the need for revised standards, and the
desirability of taking new control action.
The completion of a new research facility will
facilitate rapid dose/response studies of human ex-
posure to gaseous pollutants, and particulates.
Other major efforts will be directed toward:
• Completion of reports on the health
consequences of exposure to respirable
particulates, nitrogen dioxide,carbon monoxide,
and oxidants.
• Completion of analyses of health and exposure
data collected under CHESS field studies during
1972-1973.
• Cooperation with National Science Foundation,
National Bureau of Standards, and Atomic
Energy Commission in establishing a National
Tissue Bank.
• Refining the estimate of the dose/response
curve relating to the development of thyroid
tumors in children exposed to diagnostic doses
of radioactive iodine.
• Preparation of a report on the benefits of con-
trolling automobile pollution that will include
a review of past studies and propose research to
obtain better benefit estimates.
• Investigation of the health effects associated
with the normal operation of sewage plants and
the application of effluents in agriculture.
• Completion of installation and conversion to the
Univac 1110 computer system to increase the
quantity of data processed per unit of time.
Clinical Studies
Current Activities—Human clinical studies include
investigations of the effects of short-term, low-level
exposure to carbon monoxide, ozone, and nitrogen
oxides. Physiological measurements include cardio-
vascular response to pollutant exposure under varying
degrees of physical stress (exercise).
Clinical studies have been initiated to investigate
growth and development of children's lungs in low
pollution environments using pulmonary function
measurements. The results of this study should pro-
vide a baseline for comparing pulmonary function in
clean versus polluted environments.
Volunteer is asked to exercise during exposure to
ozone in environmental chamber to test pollutant
effects.
Other studies have been initiated to measure
changes in pulmonary function and to identify
chromosomal aberrations from controlled short-term,
low-level exposure to the photochemical oxidants
(nitrogen oxides and ozone) that are known to be
present in the polluted atmospheres of our cities.
The effects of noise levels on humans is also under
investigation.
The Clinical studies program also involves the
design, procurement, fabrication, and installation of
human exposure facilities and the equipping of a
mobile clinic. The facilities allow researchers to con-
trol temperature and humidity and to maintain the
desired levels of aerosols and gases, either singularly or
in combination.
Physiological sensors incorporating most recent
advances in the state-of-the-art have been incorporated
in these facilities. The operation of these physiological
monitors requires the combined talents of physicians,
engineers, biologists, psychologists, and technicians.
Human Studies Laboratory
53
-------
Pulmonary function of volunteer exposed to ozone in laboratory is tested to evaluate pollutant effects.
Clinical Study Major Accomplishments—Studies
of non-smokers exposed to 0.5 ppm of ozone for 6
hours indicate a significant decrement in ventilatory
function measurements. A high positive correlation
was found between severity of irritation symptoms
(chest pain, cough, phlegm, etc.) and decrement in
ventilatory function measurements. These findings
reflect results similar to those from animal exposure
studies. Smokers, on the other hand, showed no
decrement in ventilatory function after exposure to
0.5 ppm of ozone for 6 hours.
Preliminary results from controlled exposure to
oxidants suggest that ambient air concentrations of
the pollutants in a number of our cities could be
sufficiently high to cause identifiable chromosomal
aberrations in humans.
54
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Experimental
Biology
Laboratory
-------
-------
Experimental
Biology
Laboratory
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
LABORATORY
•«
^•n
•••
PATHOBIOLOGY RESEARCH
BRANCH
TOXICOLOGY BRANCH
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
BRANCH
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND
BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
BRANCH
TECHNICAL STUDIES
BRANCH
Studies to determine biological effects of low-level
microwave irradation are conducted by the Experi-
mental Biology Laboratory.
OVERVIEW OF
EBL'S MISSION
Experimental Biology Laboratory research is di-
rected toward studies relevant to the development
of environmental standards for the protection of hu-
man health and welfare, particularly as such standards
relate to gaseous and particulate air pollutants, to
ionizing and nonionizmg radiation, and to interactions
among pollutants. Studies using laboratory animals or
biological preparations complement human epidemi-
ological and clinical programs by validating data from
human studies, providing clues to new human studies,
developing toxicitydata for extension to humans, and
indicating the potential harmful effects of new pollu-
tants. These studies require the coordinated contribu-
tion of chemists, engineers, and representatives of a
wide variety of biological disciplines. The Laboratory
possesses particular expertise in the areas of animal
toxicology, radiation biology, neurobiology, and mi-
crowave engineering.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
EBL's programs support Section 103 of the Clean
Air Act and Section 241 of the Public Health Service
Act. The relevant sections of the Acts are shown be-
low followed by brief descriptions of the types of ac-
tions taken by EBL to support them.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (f) (1) In carrying out research pursuant to the
Act, the Administrator shall give special emphasis to
research on the short- and long-term effects of air pol-
lutants on public health and welfare. In the further-
ance of such research, he shall conduct an accelerated
program—
"(A) to improve knowledge of the contribution of air
pollutants to the adverse effects of health, including,
but not limited to, behavioral, physiological, toxico-
logical, and biochemical effects; and
"(B) to improve knowledge of the short- and long-
term effects of air pollutants on welfare.
"(2) In carrying out the provisions of this subsec-
tion the Administrator may —
"(A) conduct epidemiological studies of the effects of
air pollutants on mortality and morbidity;
"(B) conduct clinical and laboratory studies on the
immunologic, biochemical, physiological, and the toxi-
cological effects including carcinogenic, teratogenic,
and mutagenic effects of air pollutants; . . . ."
EBL programs in support of Section 103 include
studies on the effects of the regulated pollutants
(ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and particu-
lates) and the non-regulated pollutants (particulate
sulfate and nitrate, fine particulates from industrial
Experimental Biology Laboratory
57
-------
sources, trace metals, etc.) using appropriate whole
animal, organ, cellular, or sub-cellular models. Particu-
lar emphasis has been given to the effects of pollutants
on pulmonary defense mechanisms and pulmonary
carcinogenesis and to the influence of interactions
between coexisting pollutants and various physical
factors upon these pulmonary responses. The poten-
tial mutagenicity of photochemical oxidants is also
under investigation. Programs are under development
to examine the effects of prenatal and neonatal, as
well as adult, exposure to photochemical oxidants and
carbon monoxide upon subsequent growth and devel-
opment (including development of behavioral pat-
terns).
"THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT
"Sec. 241. Research and investigations generally
"The Surgeon General shall conduct in the Service,
and encourage, cooperate with, and render assistance to
other appropriate public authorities, scientific institu-
tions, and scientists in the conduct of, and promote the
coordination of, research, investigations, experiments,
demonstrations, and studies relating to the causes, diag-
nosis, treatment, control, and prevention of physical and
mental diseases and impairment of man, including water
purification, sewage treatment, and pollution of lakes and
streams . . . ."
The "causes of diseases" cited in Public
Health Service Act Section 241 include ionizing and
non-ionizing radiation. The responsibility to provide
Federal guidance on all radiation matters affecting
health and the authority to establish environmental
standards for the protection of the general environ-
ment from radioactive material rests with EPA. EBL
programs related to ionizing radiation are centered on
tritium and krypton-85, two of the major effluents
from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, and are de-
signed to provide a more secure data base for
prediction of potential health effects than is currently
Table9. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR EXPERI-
MENTAL BIOLOGY LABORATORY FOR FISCAL
YEAR 1974
Category
Clean Air Act,
Section 103
Public Health
Service Act,
Section 241
Total3
Funds,
$103
1896
1180
3076
Positions
20
47
67
Approximate
percent
62
38
100
aDoes not include $0.5 million of special energy appropria-
tions.
available. The Laboratory also conducts an extensive
program on the health effects of electromagnetic
non-ionizing radiation. Emphasis is placed on the
potential mutagenic, teratogenic, and neurobiological
effects-and mechanisms of interaction at the cellular
and subcellular level-of radiations of frequencies
ranging from 500 megahertz (MHz) to 10 gigahertz
(GHz). Table 9 presents a summary of resources
employed for EBL during Fiscal Year 1974.
ORGANIZATION
The Office of the Director ensures integrated
application of the multi-disciplinary expertise avail-
able within the five branches in research projects
designed to develop information pertinent to formu-
lation and revision of environmental quality criteria
in support of human health studies.
The Pathobiology Research Branch is primarily
concerned with the investigation of air pollutants as
they relate to acute and chronic respiratory disease
and pulmonary carcinogenesis, and as they affect an
organism's mechanisms of defense against infectious
agents, using whole animal and in vitro model
systems. Particular emphasis is given to interactions
between chemical, biological, and physical insults.
The Branch also has responsibility for development of
rapid throughout in vitro screening systems for
determining the relative toxicity of gaseous and
particulate air pollutants.
The Toxicology Branch investigates the gross
teratologic, reproductive, developmental, and genetic
effects of a variety of environmental pollutants,
together with late effects such as tumor production
and life span shortening. Originally concerned largely
with the toxicology of radioactive materials, the
Branch has extended its activities to studies of the
biological effects of nonionizing radiation and of the
interactions between radiation and other existing
environmental pollutants.
The Molecular Biology Branch's principal interest
is the interaction of radio frequency and microwave
radiation with biological systems at the subcellular
and molecular level, with particular attention being
given to effects on the genetic material and other
macromolecules and on the organelle and cell mem-
branes. The Branch's expertise in microbiology, bio-
chemistry, and physical chemistry and in electron
spin resonance techniques is also being applied to
studies on the toxicity of tritium and heavy metals
and on the extrapulmonary toxicity of photochemi-
cal oxidants.
The Neurophysiology and Behavioral Research
Branch investigates possible adverse effects of envi-
ronmental contaminants on the nervous system in
58
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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animal models and develops research methodology in
the area of neurobiology applicable to the study of
human populations. The members of the Branch
function as an interdisciplinary team to study re-
sponses of behavioral, electrophysiological, neuro-
humoral, and related physiological parameters to
exposure to chemical and physical stressors including
air pollutants, pesticides, and ionizing and non-
ionizing radiation. The Branch serves as the focal
point for coordination of neurobiologic research for
NERC-RTP.
The Technical Studies Branch provides support to
the Laboratory through the development and mainte-
nance of equipment and instrumentation necessary
for biological effects research, particularly in the area
of electromagnetic non-ionizing radiation. The Branch
also coordinates the Laboratory's computer services
and provides computer programs to support biologi-
cal activities. The Branch conducts research in the
dosimetry of non-ionizing radiation and the applica-
tion of dosimetric techniques to biological studies.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
The Laboratory possesses facilities for exposure of
laboratory animals (via inhalation) to gaseous materi-
als and aerosols under controlled conditions of air
flow, temperature, and humidity and for exposure
(via inhalation and whole-body exposure) to radio-
active gases (currently krypton-85) over long periods
under beta-infinite cloud conditions.
Facilities that permit exposure to a range of radio
and radar frequency radiations are available or under
construction. These facilities include two large ane-
choic chambers for use at S- and X-band frequencies,
both with environmental control systems; a strip-line
facility for whole-body exposures of small mammals
over the VHP, TV, and UHF ranges; and numerous
custom-built airline systems for irradiation of cellular,
subcellular, and molecular preparations at frequencies
upward from 200 MHz.
Electrophysiological recording instrumentation
and behavioral testing chambers (housed in RF-
shielded and/or sound-attenuated rooms), with associ-
ated laboratory computers, are available for neuro-
biological studies.
For measurement of concentrations of paramag-
netic species and free radicals, an electron spin
resonance spectrometer with a 9-inch electromagnet
and a double cavity is available. The system also
includes frequency measuring equipment for precise
g-value determinations to characterize and identify
unknown species. Additionally, the associated vari-
able temperature unit permits determination of free
radical reaction rates and matrix trapping ability from
80° K to 370° K.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Air Pollutants
Research on pulmonary defense mechanisms
utilizes animal model systems to investigate effects of
air pollutants on the upper and lower respiratory
system as reflected by such parameters as physical
clearance rates, persistence of bacteria, and exacerba-
tion of existing infections. EBL research has shown
that hydrogen chloride gas has no effect upon the
aforementioned parameters but does produce ana-
tomical changes in the nasal cavity. In relation to
pulmonary infection, EBL studies show that the
concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is of much
greater importance than the time of exposure to the
pollutant. Exercise was found to enhance the suscep-
tibility to pulmonary infection of mice exposed to
ozone. During a sequential exposure to ozone and
No2, when ozone was given first, there was no
additive effect of N02; whereas, when NO2 was given
first, there was an additive effect to ozone. This result
suggests an immediate tolerance development wherein
the ozone has a stronger tolerance-inducing effect
than does N02- In another EBL study, N02 in
concentrations of greater than 10 ppm for 30 minutes
failed to alter complement or immunoglobulin levels
in rabbits, either in vivo or in vitro. An antialveolar
macrophage serum was successfully developed, but
preliminary results have indicated that its non-specific
serum effect may override its specific effect upon
macrophages.
Extramural research in support of EBL activities
includes studies designed to evaluate the relative
effects of exposure of mice to peak versus continuous
concentrations of NO2- Parameters studied have
included resistance to viral and bacterial infection,
immunoglobulin and complement levels, antibody
titers, and pulmonary pathology. Currently, effects
on cell-mediated immunity are under investigation.
Longer term studies in rats and monkeys are being
extended to newborn animals to examine the effects
of age on the genesis of emphysema from N02
exposure.
Reports on the potential mutagenic role of ozone
have led to reevaluation of its extrapulmonary ef-
fects. Initially, confirmation of ozone's apparent
ability to induce chromosome aberrations in circulat-
ing lymphocytes is being sought. Following this
study, effects on transmissable translocations will be
examined. A limited experiment to examine the
potential for induction of extrapulmonary tumors is
also being conducted.
Implication of acid mists and sulfate particulates
as correlates of respiratory disease through human
epidemiological studies led to the development of a
program to evaluate factors affecting the toxicity of
Experimental Biology Laboratory
59
-------
Patterned behavior in rats exposed to pollutants is analyzed using closed circuit television coupled with computer
methodology.
Small animal exposure facilities are used to test the health effect of gaseous and paniculate pollutants,
60 ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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fine particulate materials. The role played by particle
size and composition, and by interacting factors such
as humidity, temperature, and the presence of sodium
chloride is being studied in suitable animal models
using sulfates of known composition and mixtures
generated through the interaction of sulfur dioxide,
ozone, and olefins.
Benzo[a] pyrene (BaP) is being used as a model
compound in studies of the part played by environ-
mental polycyclic hydrocarbons in the induction of
pulmonary cancer. Preliminary studies have involved
endotracheal administration of BaP, either alone or
combined with metallic oxides. Parallel studies
employ airborne particulates containing hydrocar-
bons collected from ambient air.
Work on the effects of oxidant gases on rabbit
alveolar macrophages in vitro led to the development
of systems, using alveolar macrophages and human
lung fibroblasts in tissue culture, for the rapid
evaluation of the relative cytotoxicity of environmen-
tal pollutants. Originally applied to trace metals
(cadmium, vanadium, nickel, manganese, and chro-
mium) known to occur in fine particulates in ambient
air, these evaluative systems are now being used to
examine fly ash and other fine parciculates from
industrial effluents, and noble metal compounds and
other attrition products from automobile catalytic
converters. The systems have also proved useful in
permitting rapid identification of biochemical and
cytological lesions that might impair critical cell
functions such as biosynthetic or phagocytic activity.
Future plans call for expansion of studies on the
extrapulmonary effects of three regulated air pollu-
tants, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
These studies will concentrate initially on the effects
of prenatal and neonatal exposure on growth and
functional development, particularly of the cardiovas-
cular and central nervous systems, of small laboratory
animals. Research at EBL will continue to be focused
on the elucidation of the health effects of pollutant
interactions, expanded to include such pollutants as
particulate sulfate and particulate nitrate. Such
studies are needed to permit the continued assess-
ment of the adequacy of environmental standards and
to provide assurance that new technologies present no
environmental health hazards.
Ionizing Radiation
Programs in radiation health effects research are
presently confined to tritium and krypton-85, two
major effluents from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel.
Tritium— The principal areas of research on tritium
during the reporting period have been the effects of
tritiated water (HTO) on embryos, on the central
nervous system, and on tumorigenesis, life span, and
reproduction. The common focus of this research is
to determine the adequacy of the existing standards
for the exposure of the population to tritium.
The embryonic and fetal stages are considered the
most radiosensitive periods of life. A current extra-
mural study using pre-implantation mammalian em-
bryos is designed to identify the radiosensitive stages
in the developmental process and to correlate pre-
implantation and developmental anomalies with post-
implantation death. The early zygote stage has been
shown to be the most sensitive. Comparisons of the
relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of tritium and
strontium beta radiations, X-radiation, and cobalt-60
gamma radiation in producing these end-points have
shown that the RBE for tritium is unity.
During early development, the central nervous
system is particularly vulnerable to irreversible dam-
age. Previous work has shown that the brain size and
weight of new-born laboratory animals continuously
irradiated during the gestation period were signifi-
cantly lower than in unirradiated controls and that
the reduction was linearly proportional to dose. A
study has now been undertaken to determine if there
are associated neurochemical changes—specifically in
levels of the neurotransmitters, norepinephrine (NE)
and dopamine (DA) and in concentrations and
activities of the enzymes, monoamine oxidase (MAO)
and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). MAO, AChE, and
DA contents of the brain were unaltered by HTO
treatment. The NE concentration in brains from
irradiated animals increased significantly between 2
and 45 days after birth at total doses as low as 66
rads. Increased NE levels have been associated with
behavioral abnormalities such as hyperactivity.
Production of tumors and non-specific shortening
of life are two of the principal delayed effects of
whole-body irradiation. A long-term, dose/response
study of female rats exposed continuously to HTO
over the gestation period and of their offspring has
been underway for more than 2 years. During the
reporting period, data collection on the parental
generation was completed. The life span of dams
receiving total doses of from 66 to 660 rads was
significantly shortened over that of unirradiated
female rats. An increased incidence of mammary
neoplasia following doses of 330 and 660 rads was
also observed.
In real life, humans are exposed to environmental
tritium from conception throughout the life span, a
period that would normally include the production of
another generation. Genetic damage resulting from
continuous low-level radiation may accrue and pos-
sibly be manifested and magnified in subsequent
generations. Studies involving the continuous expo-
sure of rats to HTO from conception through
production of the third (F2> generation have been
Experimental Biology Laboratory
61
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performed. The exposure levels used were 2, 20, 200,
and 2000 times the standard (MPCW) for continuous
exposure to HTO by an individual in the general
population. The results of the rat study showed that
lifetime parental exposure produced effects in the ^2
generation at levels 10 to 100 times lower than those
required for the same effects after in utero exposure
alone. Statistically significant reductions in the rela-
tive brain weights of F2 neonates were noted at doses
as low as 20 times the MPCW.
Behavioral studies are planned to complement the
gross teratologic and neurochemical research de-
scribed above. Studies are underway to ascertain the
age segment of the population most sensitive to
chronic HTO irradiation using reproductive, hor-
monal, and neurochemical end points.
Krypton-85— Research into the physiological be-
havior and radiation effects of krypton-85 is designed
to provide data for a realistic assessment of the
hazards of exposure to this noble gas.
Whole-body partition coefficients and kinetic be-
havior of 85Kr are being studied in several species. In
guinea pigs, the saturation and desaturation curves
have been shown to be multi-exponential, usually
with 4 components with half-times of 0.25 to 2.2
minutes, 6 to 12 minutes, 21 to 42 minutes, and 88
to 178 minutes. The whole-body weight partition
coefficient [(^Ci85Kr/g guinea pig)/(,uCi85K.r/cm3
air)] for adult guinea pigs was found to be 0.1444
(Standard Deviation = 0.0148). Comparison with
preliminary data from rats and fragmentary partial
body data from humans indicates that saturation/de-
saturation rates are inversely related to the size of the
animal.
The equilibrium concentrations of 85Kr in various
organs and tissues of guinea pigs and hamsters
breathing 85Kr at known concentrations are being
determined to evaluate radiation doses delivered to
radiosensitive tissues. In vivo weight partition coeffi-
cients have been obtained for blood and 22 organs
and tissues in guinea pigs. The highest coefficients
(for bloodless tissue) were: omental fat, 0.4213;
subcutaneous fat, 0.4056; thymus, 0.2588; lymph
nodes, 0.1375; bone marrow, 0.1342; and adrenals,
0.1017.
The median lethal exposure for 85Kr administered
to guinea pigs by inhalation with the outside of the
body protected, together with the associated hema-
tology and pathology, is being studied to correlate
tissue distribution findings with effects. The 30-day
median lethal exposure has been determined to be
4450 microcuries per cubic centimeter per hour,
which corresponds to estimated doses of 316 rads to
bone marrow, 340 rads to whole body, and 7876 rads
to lung. The gross clinical and necropsy observations
were consistent with death from the hematopoietic
syndrome, but lung injury was dominant in animals
that survived for more than 30 days.
Guinea pigs (in the natural state or clipped), rats,
and Chinese hamsters are being exposed to Kr in
beta infinite geometry to determine the acute median
lethal exposure for each species and the associated
hematological and pathological changes. The skin
dose necessary to cause clinically observable damage
is of particular interest. To date, guinea pigs have
been exposed at surface doses up to 15,000 rads. The
only effects observed were some erythema, mild to
severe beta burns on the ears, and mild burns on the
nose. The animals are being retained for long-term
observation.
Future plans call for chronic exposure studies
designed to develop a dose/effect relationship for
induction of skin cancer in rats and, possibly, Chinese
hamsters.
Nonionizing Radiation
EBL's programs in non-ionizing radiation research
are conducted as part of a multi-agency "Program for
Control of Electromagnetic Pollution of the Environ-
ment: The Assessnr 3nt of Biological Hazards of
Non-ionizing Elect-omagnetic Radiation" coor-
dinated by the Offict of Telecommunications Policy.
Animal models (whole animals and cellular, sub-
cellular, or molecular preparations as appropriate) are
used to investigate potential damage—including
genetic, biochemical, immunological, and neurobio-
logical effects—from exposure to radio and micro-
wave frequencies similar to those found in the
environment. Studies are designed to identify poten-
tial harmful effects, to establish the exposure levels at
which these effects are elicited, and to delineate the
mechanisms of physical alterations. These studies will
provide a data base for the promulgation of standards
governing the exposure of the population to non-
ionizing radiation.
Attempts have been made to confirm reports that
microwave radiation will inhibit the growth of bac-
terium, E. co//'. The phenomenon, if real, is of great
potential significance. No inhibition or enhancement
of growth that could not be attributed to tempera-
ture changes could be demonstrated in studies of £
co// exposed at 1.7, 2.45, and 68 to 74 GHz. The
effects of changing the substrate and the strain of
bacteria are now being examined.
Isolated rat liver mitochondria have been irradi-
ated with 2.45 GHz of radiation at power densities of
10 and 50 milliwatts per square centimeter
(mW/cm2) to determine if an effect could be de-
tected on respiration and oxidative phosphorylation
(ATP synthesis). No effect was found. The available
exposure facilities, however, dictated irradiation at
62
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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0.4 C, a temperature at which mitochondria are
biochemically inactive. A coaxial airline exposure
system is now being developed to allow exposure at
25°Cor37°C.
The possibility of interaction of microwave radia-
tion with macromolecules has been examined using
bovine serum albumin as the test material. Because
transient effects can be most readily observed as the
sample is being irradiated, a cross-beam apparatus
consisting of a waveguide irradiation system inte-
grated with the UV spectrophotometer used to detect
structural changes has been developed. No significant
effect was observed at 1.7 or 2.45 GHz.
An increase in the percentage of chromosome
aberrations has been observed in kidney, lung, and
thyroid cells cultured from Chinese hamsters irradi-
ated with 2.45 GHz of radiation at a power density of
200 mW/cm2 for varying times-and at 25, 50, 100,
150, and 200 mW/cm2 for a constant time. The per-
centage of aberrations scored was dependent upon
time of exposure but apparently not dependent upon
power density. No dependence upon body tempera-
ture was observed.
The range of frequencies over which exposures can
be made continues to expand. Ongoing research using
a time domain reflectometer system is attempting to
identify anomalous absorption characteristics of bio-
logical materials at specific frequencies. In any event,
future work will ensure that FM, VHP TV, and UHF
TV frequencies, as well as the S- and X-microwave
bands, receive adequate coverage. These work areas
along with an examination of potential teratologic
and neurobiologic effects and non-ionizing radiation
represent the major areas of effort in the immediate
future.
Multiple, Coexisting
Environmental Stressors
Standards for the protection of the public against
toxic environmental agents do not usually consider
the implications of the coexistence of multiple,
potentially synergistic stressors. The Experimental
Biology Laboratory's program has been limited to
studies on interactions between two potentially syn-
ergistic pollutants from among the multitude of
potentially toxic agents and combinations thereof in
existence.
Evidence suggested that cadmium and whole body
radiation may act synergistically upon the hemato-
poietic system. Coinsult studies in rats involving
intraperitoneal injection of cadmium chloride and
exposure to X-rays showed that the LDgo/so values
for 250 kVp X-rays decreased linearly with increasing
amounts of cadmium from 695 rads (in animals
receiving no cadmium) to 491 rads (in a group
receiving 250 micrograms of cadmium chloride twice
weekly for 30 days). Coinsults drastically altered the
number of circulating red and white blood cells and
significantly lowered the lymphocyte/neutrophil ratio
for extended periods of time. Cadmium chloride
definitely is a radiosensitizing agent and its biological
effect is synergistic.
Currently underway is a study of the long-term
effects of continuous exposure to lead and tritium,
two pollutants possessing characteristics that suggest
that they may act synergistically. Both are transpla-
centally transferred; the embryo and fetus are par-
ticularly sensitive to both, and exposure can result in
reduced litter size, stunted new-borns, sterility, and
mental retardation. Rats in EBL studies are being
exposed to lead, tritiated water, and combinations of
the two from conception, through the production of
a new generation, to the adulthood of the P^
generation. Lead levels of 5 to 50 ppm (100 and 1000
times the Public Health Service standards for drinking
water, respectively) and tritium levels that are 2 to
200 times the standard (MPCW) for individuals in the
general population are used in the study. The F-|
generation is being observed for growth and for the
development of reflexes and spontaneous motor
activity. The f~2 generation will be examined for gross
teratologic manifestations including pathology, and
for postnatal development in terms of reflex develop-
ment, spontaneous motor activity, coordination,
learning, and social behavior.
Future plans call for studies of more complex
exposure situations that can be expected to occur in
the environment; for example, the neurobiologic
consequences of simultaneous exposure to 60-Hz
radiation, high frequency noise, and ozone, a condi-
tion found in the vicinity of high voltage electrical
transmission lines.
Experimental Biology Laboratory
63
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Pesticides
and
Toxic
Substances
Effects
Laboratory
-------
-------
Pesticides
and
Toxic
Substances
Effects
Laboratory
PESTICIDES AND TOXIC
SUBSTANCES EFFECTS
LABORATORY
•••
•••
•M
CHEMISTRY BRANCH
TOXIC EFFECTS BRANCH
BIOCHEMISTRY AND
PHYSIOLOGY BRANCH
ANIMAL RESOURCES STAFF
Studies to determine the effects of pesticides are
conducted in the field using a self-contained, portable
electroencephalograph. The EEC data are recorded on
tape cassette for computer processing at the Pesticide
and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory.
OVERVIEW OF PTSEL'S MISSION
EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs is responsible
for registering pesticides for use in the U.S. and for
establishing tolerance levels of pesticide residues in or
on raw agricultural products. All research conducted
at NERC-RTP's Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Effects Laboratory (PTSEL) is designed to provide a
foundation for decisions made by EPA's registration
offices. Data from acute, subacute, and chronic
studies in laboratory animals and examinations of
occupationally exposed individuals are used to aug-
ment the basic scientific knowledge that establishes
the need for continued registration of pesticides or
toxic substances in use in the U.S. Analytical chemis-
try research is directed toward the detection of
toxicants in biological samples.
Included among the basic research goals and
objectives of the PTSEL is the development, evalua-
tion, and application of instrumental techniques in a
program of basic and applied research in two general
areas:
• Elucidation of the mechanism of action of
pesticides and their metabolic products in a
variety of biological substrates and in appropri-
ate model systems. This research is accom-
plished through the use of magnetic resonance
and spectrophotometric techniques.
• Development of a methodology and capability
for the isolation, detection, characterization,
identification, confirmation, and/or quantita-
tion of pesticide residues, metabolites, and
other chemical contaminants in human, animal,
and environmental media. This research is
accomplished, in part, through the use of
magnetic and quadrupole resonance methods,
spectrophotometric techniques (including infra-
red, ultraviolet, and atomic absorption), gas and
liquid chromatography, and combinations of
chromatographic separations with sensitive and
specific detection systems and low- and high-
resolution mass spectrometry.
Newer and more comprehensive analytical meth-
ods for the determination of residues of pesticides
and their metabolic products are being developed to
permit effective monitoring of the total environment.
The continued development of analytical methods in
pesticidal research is a necessary component of
efforts to minimize human and animal exposure and
to preserve the quality of the environment.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
Public law and policy and the traditions of many
decades have directed governmental efforts to assure
that the Nation's food supply is safe, clean, and
Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory
67
-------
wholesome. EPA, committed to full enforcement of
these laws, has developed criteria and protocols for
pesticides and toxic substances that are effective,
workable, and enforceable. The wholesomeness of
any food supply depends in part on the quality of the
total environment: the soil, water, and air in which
the food is grown, processed, and consumed. Contam-
ination of these basic natural resources by pesticide
residues and other pollutants can affect not only the
safety of food products but also other environmental
values such as water quality, wildlife preservation,
and outdoor recreation. EPA is actively seeking to
protect and manage these resources in the interest of
greater human safety and welfare.
The statutory authority for the regulation of
pesticides and pesticide residues delegates the respon-
sibility for the registration of pest control materials
to EPA. In addition, the establishment of tolerances
for pesticides in or on human food and feed for
animals has been delegated in part to EPA and in part
to the Food and Drug Administration of the Depart-
ment of Health, Education, and Welfare.
If the proposed use of a pesticide will result in
residues on a food or feed crop, a registration for its
use is granted provided a tolerance has been estab-
lished by the regulatory authorities within EPA. The
regulation of pesticide and pesticide residues by the
Federal government encompasses those pesticides or
residues involved in interstate commerce. Pesticides in
food supplies produced and used within a State are
under the jurisdiction of that State. The various
Federal agencies work closely with their State coun-
terparts in pesticide regulation and control, however.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenti-
cide Act (FIFRA), enacted in 1947, regulates the
marketing of economic poisons and devices. This act
was amended in 1959, 1964, and more recently in
1972 to include the Federal Environmental Pest
Controls Act (FEPCA).
The term "economic poison" is defined as any
substance or mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating forms
of plant and animal life (such as insects, rodents,
fungi, and weeds) or viruses (except viruses on or in
living humans or other animals) and any substance or
mixture of substances intended for use as a plant
regulator, defoliant, or dessicant. Under this act no
pesticide chemical may be legally shipped in inter-
state commerce for general use until it is known to be
safe when used as directed and effective for the
purpose claimed on the label. Also, any residues that
may remain in or on feed or food must not exceed
the safe tolerance levels established under the Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). FIFRA prohibits
the shipment in interstate commerce of products that
are not registered or are adulterated or misbranded.
Products that are in violation of the Act may be
seized and criminal action instituted against the
shipper of such products. In the more recent amend-
ment (FEPCA), in addition to directing labeling
restrictions for pesticide registration, EPA is responsi-
ble for: prescribing standards for the certification of
applicators of pesticides; administering the use per-
mits system; registering pesticide producers including
the examination of records and books and the
inspection of plants; conducting research and moni-
toring activities including monitoring air, water, soil,
humans, plants, and animals; and regulating pesticides
imported to or exported from the country.
EPA's authority for the establishment of toler-
ances for pesticides in or on foodstuffs or raw
agricultural products is provided by the Pesticide
Chemical Amendment (PCA) of the FDCA. The
paramount purpose of this Act is to assure the safety
of the Nation's food supply. In part, this assurance is
provided by ensuring that the residues remaining on
the food are safe for consumption and by requiring
government clearance before a pesticide is used. This
Act further provides for seizure and destruction of
agricultural commodities that contain pesticide resi-
dues in excess of established tolerances. Where no
tolerance has been established, commodities carrying
residues in excess of established working levels are
also subject to seizure and destruction. This Act also
provides both for criminal penalties for violation and
for legal injunctions to halt use. The FDCA outlines
the data and information to be furnished and the
procedures to be followed for obtaining a pesticide
tolerance. Additional procedures and more specific
data requirements in the regulations ensure that food
safety requirements are met prior to establishing a
tolerance. As provided under Section 408 of the
FDCA, tolerances are established for raw agricultural
commodities, not for processed food. If the residues
remaining in a processed food have been removed to
the fullest extent possible through good manufactur-
ing processes and do not exceed the tolerances on the
raw product, the processed product complies with the
law. In general, the residues in processed food are a
fraction of the amount permitted on the raw agricul-
tural product. To cover the residues of pesticides
applied to or concentrated in processed foods, toler-
ances may be established under Section 409 of the
Food Additives Amendment of the FDCA, adminis-
tered by the Food and Drug Administration. Because
the major use of pesticides in the U. S. is on raw
agricultural commodities, the overwhelming majority
of established tolerances are on these products.
Ideally pesticide residue tolerances should apply to
ready-to eat food on the dinner plate because it is the
quantity of pesticide actually consumed that has
health significance; however, tolerances established at
this point in the food chain would not be practical.
Therefore, a point in the distribution system where
68
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
meaningful, corrective action can be taken to prevent
the consumption of unsafe amounts of pesticide
chemicals has been selected. The tolerance concept
does not anticipate, as a practical matter, that all
foods will contain residues of all chemicals as high as
the established tolerance level, or even that all of a
single food will always contain a residue at the
tolerance level.
Within the framework of registration of pesticides
and of establishment of a tolerance for pesticides,
several considerations must be advanced: the regis-
tered use and the tolerance level must be safe for the
applicator, the consumer, and the environment; the
level of residue must be safe if all of a particular raw
food containing residues at the tolerance level is
always consumed; the tolerance will not reflect the
average residue on a commodity but will represent
the maximum residue that will remain under good
agricultural practice; the tolerance generally is estab-
lished on raw agricultural commodities and does not
realistically reflect the residue in or on food as eaten;
and the tolerance will be set only at levels reasonably
required to cover the residue likely to occur as a
result of good agricultural practice. In the regulation
of pesticides. EPA's policy is to minimize the
exposure of the consumer and the environment to
pesticides and their residues in the interest of safety
and reduced environmental contamination.
To register a pesticide and to establish tolerances
for the pesticide in or on raw agricultural commodi-
ties, toxicity tests on the proposed material must be
conducted to show that the directed use of the
product would not be injurious to humans, other
animals, or the ecological system when warnings and
cautions are carefully heeded. The extent of toxico-
logical data required to fulfill these requirements
varies with the nature and proposed use of the
product. Biological tests under field and laboratory
conditions must be conducted to determine if the
product will control the pests named on the label
when used as directed without causing a significant
adverse effect to the crop or the property being
treated. The basic requirement for registering pesti-
cide chemicals and establishing tolerances is that the
data and other information, when evaluated as a
whole, will establish the safety of the proposed
pesticide usage. This judgment is made by personnel
qualified by training and experience to evaluate the
safety of pesticide residues in or on food. In addition
to toxicological requirements, suitable methods of
analysis must be available for monitoring and enforc-
ing the proposed registration. Sensitivity, accuracy,
and precision in available analytical methods must be
evaluated in relation to the proposed use and toxicity
of the pesticide chemical. Extraction and clean-up
procedures must efficiently remove and recover resi-
dues from treated samples from suspected cases of
contamination.
Data requirements for registration and for the
establishment of tolerances are subject to continual
review in light of new scientific data and information.
Specifically, advances in scientific knowledge are
continually evaluated to provide the necessary criteria
for the conclusions made concerning the safety of
pesticides.
Table 10 is a summary of the resources employed
by PTSEL for Fiscal Year 1974 under the Federal
Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972, Sec-
tion 20.
Table 10. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR PESTI-
CIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES EFFECTS LAB-
ORATORY FOR FISCAL YEAR 1974
(Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of
1972a-Section20)
Category
Pesticides
health effects
research
Pesticide iden-
tification
methodology
Toxic sub-
stances health
effect research
Quality assurance
Substitute pesti-
cides program
Totals
Funds,
$103
1539
335
180
257
830
3141
Positions
51
11
7
10
12
91
Approximate
percent
49
11
6
8
26
100
Includes Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
ORGANIZATION
The Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Labo-
ratory consists of two main functioning laboratory
groups: biological and physical.
Physical research is conducted by the Chemistry
Branch, which is responsible both for the study of the
metabolism of pesticides, their metabolites, and
residual products in a variety of biological and
environmental substrates and for the development of
methodology for the determination of pesticide
residues. In addition, quality assurance for methods
used by EPA and other laboratories is maintained
through the use of a standard reference repository
and an instrumental workshop for maintenance of
equipment.
Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory
69
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Biological research is conducted in two branches:
the Toxic Effects Branch and the Biochemistry and
Physiology Branch. The Toxic Effects Branch is
responsible for investigating short- and long-term
effects (including reproductive hazards) of pesticides.
Teratogenesis and mutagenesis potentials of pesticides
are principally addressed in this area as are acute,
subacute, and chronic studies on laboratory animals.
Complete pathological facilities are available for
examination of tissues and organs of test subjects.
The Biochemistry and Physiology Branch predomi-
nantly investigates the mode of action of pesticides
on a cellular and subcellular basis using laboratory
animals. Epidemiological investigations on occupa-
tionally exposed workers are carried out in the
Branch's Field Studies Section located at Wenatchee,
Washington. Field investigations on the biological
effects of pesticides and toxic substances are also
carried out at Wenatchee. The Animal Resource
Facility maintains the animal quarters for the entire
NERC-RTP. Small laboratory animals, primates, and
selected unusual experimental animals (e.g., voles) are
maintained for use in pesticide and toxic substances
research.
Effects of pesticides and toxic substances are studied
using laboratory animals.
Test dose of pesticide is administered to pregnant rat
using intubation technique.
The basic purposes of these facilities are to
maintain both a level of applied research in EPA's
areas of responsibility and the means to respond to
high priority problems. The maintenance of several
fundamental areas of investigation allows the scien-
tists to respond quickly to inquiries either through
personal experience or by initiating programs to
resolve the issues.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
The physical facilities of the Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Effects Laboratory, located both at
NERC-RTP and in Wenatchee, are superior to most
laboratories of comparable size and function. These
facilities provide instruments for magnetic resonance
studies using spectrophotometry, for atomic absorp-
tion studies, for mass analysis studies, and for
combinations of chromatographic and mass spectro-
scopy techniques with integrated computer analysis
for efficient, reliable analysis of pesticide residues. To
maintain the sophisticated electronic instruments, a
maintenance group provides repair and modification
services to the laboratory, to EPA pesticide contract
laboratories, to other Federal and State facilities, to
the World Health Organization, and to research
laboratories of foreign governments. The PTSEL
70
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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,
- --
MM «• -•«•>»- JM _ _;jg_^ 'B«i I . .^M
• •—- ••- *---•'•-
• • i^^ra^i*- —•• ^ ,_^ ^MB^—
r
Teratogenic effects of pesticides are studied through
fetal necropsy.
repository, containing approximately 450 standard
reference pesticides, provides high-grade analytical
standards for U.S. and foreign laboratories conduct-
ing a wide variety of studies. To support biological
studies, radioactivity tracer equipment for measure-
ment of low- and high-energy emitters is available.
Complete facilities are available for the preparation
and analysis of radioactive samples.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Health effects research on pesticides, toxic sub-
stances, and their residues includes: establishing the
chemical identity of residues, with emphasis on
significant conversion products; developing, improv-
ing, and validating residue measurement methodol-
ogy; and conducting a biological research program
aimed at evaluating the hazards of pesticides and their
residues and conversion products by acquiring infor-
mation on the effects of these materials on animals
and (ultimately) on humans.
Pesticide Identification
Methodology
Tin,' development of adequate methodology for
the analysis of pesticides and then lesidues is a
continuing problem requiting continual upgrading as
new pesticides are introduced or usage patterns
change. Multiple residue techniques that will detect
many pesticides simultaneously have simplified the
regulatory analytical problems; but, they have also
greatly complicated research and development pro-
grams. It is often difficult to fit a pesticide into a
multiple-residue detection scheme without complicat
ing the scheme with the pesticides for which it was
originally developed. A large group of pesticides
coming into increasing use is the anticholmesterase
agents, that is, the carbamates and organophosphates.
These agents are just now being fitted into such
multiple-residue techniques. Furthermore, multiple-
residue detection techniques alone do not establish
unequivocally the identity of the pesticide residue,
particularly if artifacts or interferences are encoun-
tered. Identity of the residue must be confirmed by
other methods, and a variety of such confirmatory
methods must be available for the many different
pesticides in use.
Pesticide-caused malformations in rat fetus are often
revealed through tissue magnification.
Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory
71
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In addition to the adaptation of present methods
to new chemicals and the development of new
methods, improvements in the sensitivity, efficiency,
rapidity, and simplicity of existing methods are
needed to improve the effectiveness of a monitoring
program. A quality control manual for pesticide
monitoring is being developed to assure the proper
analytical control of the use of pesticides. This
analytical manual incorporates collaboratively tested
methods for determining pesticides and other chemi-
cal residues in air, water, and food; in human and
animal tissues; and in other environmental media. At
the present time this manual has been prepared for a
limited number of substrates and pesticide com-
pounds; it is continually being upgraded. New and or
improved analytical methods and detection systems
for pesticides are being developed and published
continually. Certain of these methods show promise
regarding their suitability for analysis of substrates
Electroencephalogram changes have occurred in labo-
ratory monkeys after long-term, low-level exposure to
some pesticide.
relating to humans and the environment and are being
evaluated for inclusion into the analytical quality
control manual.
In an effort to establish the identity of a residue in
the presence of interfering materials, confirmatory
methods such as mass spectrometry are being utilized.
A high resolution mass spectroscopy laboratory has
begun operation, and new methods for determining
trace metals in human tissues and excreta that
combine mass spectroscopy with other analytical
tools including gas chromatography and atomic ab-
sorption have been developed. Through the applica-
tion of gas-chromatography/mass-spectroscopy tech-
niques, various pesticides have been identified in
human tissues, including Mirex, Oxychlordane, HCB,
Nonaclor, and other chlorinated pesticides and con-
taminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls.
Current methodology for determining pesticides in
air is inadequate both for sampling and for identifica-
tion purposes. Studies are currently in progress to
correct this situation by amplifying the sampling
phase of the methodology. A new trapping system for
the further determination of pesticides in air samples
has been laboratory tested and is being examined in
the field.
Improved methodology for the determination of
low-level organo-phosphate exposure in humans has
been developed and is currently being field tested in
occupationally exposed and normal populations. The
urinary alkylphosphate method has been shown to be
sensitive and reproducible for the determination of
low-level exposure in humans and is expected to be a
welcome addition to the analytical methodology
currently available for defining such exposure.
Environmental samples (e.g., human tissues, wild-
life, plants, and water) of dioxin contamination of
range land and other areas from 2,4,5-T exposure
have been analyzed to assure that this environmental
contaminant has not been introduced to the U.S.
through the normal use of herbicides.
In many cases, residue from the use of a pesticide
comprises not only the chemical applied but also
toxic degradation or other conversion products that
may be formed on exposure to light and weathering.
Metabolic products may be formed in animals and
deposited in edible tissues or milk. This phase of the
research program ensures that the composition of
residues has been established and that the analytical
methodology developed will measure all lexicologi-
cally significant residual chemicals. Metabolic studies
of chlorinated pesticides have established the occur-
rence of a series of metabolites of the pesticide
Lindane for which analytical methodology is cur-
rently being developed. The occurrence of these
metabolites of Lindane, formed in the liver by the
drug metabolizing system, forms the basis of an in
vitro screening procedure for examining the biological
72
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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effects of pesticides and other exogenous materials on
drug metabolizing enzymes.
Quality Assurance
A quality control program currently in operation
includes: the calibration and upgrading of instrumen-
tation, the standardization and distribution of materi-
als for the determinative and clean-up steps in
pesticide analyses, the distribution of standard refer-
ence material for use in quality control, and the
evaluation of laboratory procedures and perform-
ances on standard reference materials. This program
continually upgrades methodology and laboratory
capability in the 15 U.S. laboratories involved in the
study of health effects of pesticides. Each year, over
3000 analytical standards are shipped to approxi-
mately 420 laboratories around the world. All EPA
laboratories routinely draw samples from a repository
of standard reference materials for pesticide measure-
ment that includes over 400 currently available
analytical standards.
Quality control studies for clinical biochemistry
and pesticide analytical determinations to assure
reproducibility in data from various laboratories and
various sections of the country give assurance that
analytical methodology will be available to measure
all toxicologically significant pesticides and that
variations will be minimal.
Health Effects of Pesticides
and Toxic Substances
PTSEL's biological research program is directed
toward evaluating the hazard of pesticide residues and
their conversion products by acquiring information
on the effects of these materials on animals and
(ultimately) on humans. This applied research is
directed to establishing the safety of pesticides and
developing the scientific foundation for EPA pesti-
cide policies. The research effort includes: develop-
ment of data on new types of pesticides to facilitate
EPA guidance of commercial work, more detailed
examination of specific toxicological effects for their
impact on safety evaluations, examination and devel-
opment of new toxicological methods for evaluating
product safety, and resolution of conflicting or
equivocal data for a sounder evaluation of the safety
of pesticides and their residues. With this informa-
tion, environmentally safe pesticides can be regis-
tered, and safe tolerance levels and reliable enforce-
ment policies can be established. In all cases, animal
experimentation should produce measurable param-
eters that can be used for logical prediction of
toxicity in humans. It is highly desirable to determine
how toxic substances affect humans so that an animal
species that will provide corresponding data useful in
the safety interpretation can be obtained.
In brief, EPA's health effects research includes
studies of the physiological and metabolic effects of
pesticides in biological systems including: the meta-
bolic fate of the compounds and their biochemical
reactions, the nature of the metabolic pathways and
an evaluation of their effects in terms of toxic action,
and the development of data on the direct effect of
pesticides on humans. In this regard, previous primate
studies on the effect of carbaryl, a carbamate
insecticide, have shown that the EEC is a sensitive
tool for measuring biological effects. The effect of
several pesticides on EEC parameters in squirrel
monkeys was investigated and several points of
interest emerged: the magnitude of alteration of the
EEC did not correlate with the relative toxicity of
the compound, similar EEC alterations were induced
by chemically unrelated compounds, and carbaryl
was effective in altering the EEG of squirrel monkeys
at a dose that approximates the incidental or back-
ground exposure levels in humans. This low-level
exposure to carbaryl was also responsible for certain
changes in animal behavior. To correlate these effects
and to determine if they can be duplicated in
humans, portable EEG units were constructed and are
being field tested in studies of people who are
occupationally or incidentally exposed to pesticides.
The delayed neurotoxic demyelinating potential of
several organophosphate pesticides was examined in
animals. High concentrations of an experimental
organophosphate insecticide were found to induce
demyelination in the central and peripheral nervous
systems causing irreversible paralysis in the animals.
The significance of this unusual effect from a
potentially commercial organophosphate pesticide is
being further investigated to determine its signifi-
cance to humans with regard to occupational expo-
sure and ingestion of residues in food.
In a further effort to examine the physiological
effect of pesticides, the impact of several chlorinated
pesticides and contaminants on reproduction was
examined in laboratory animals. Studies of the
teratological significance of exposure to dieldrin,
Mirex, photodieldrin, dioxin (several different isom-
ers), and 2,4,5-T were evaluated. In addition, in vivo
and in vitro screening techniques were developed for
the evaluation of both the neurotoxicity and the
biological effects of pesticides on liver function.
These techniques have been useful in the screening of
new pesticides prior to the initiation of long-term
studies to evaluate their toxicological significance.
Extramural Program
The extramural research grant and contract pro-
gram authorized in part by FIFRA and n part by the
Pesticides and Toxic Substances Effects Laboratory
73
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Public Health Service Act continues to support
pesticide research activity at universities and non-
profit research organizations. The following program
titles indicate areas of extramural study that provide
data to augment PTSEL's research supporting the
regulatory activity of EPA:
• Mode of Action of Cyclodiene Insecticides-
University of Arizona
• Metabolic Interactions of Hormonal Steroids
and Chlorinate Hydrocarbons—University of
Michigan
• Mechanisms of Pesticide Degradation-
University of Wisconsin
* The Study of the Ecology of Pesticides-
University of Miami
• Actions of Pesticides and Other Drugs on Male
Reproductive Organs—West Virginia University
Medical Center
• Effect of Duck Hepatitis Virus on Pesticide
Toxicity—University of Georgia
• Chemistry and Mode of Action of Insecti-
cides—University of California (Riverside)
* Biological Hazards of Phototransformed Pesti-
cides-Stanford Research Institute
• Metabolism of Carbamate Insecticides-
University of Kentucky
• Role of Mixed Function Oxidases in Insecticide
Action—University of Illinois
• Pesticide Epidemiological Field Studies-
University of Miami
• N.M.R. Studies on the Molecular Interactions
of Pesticide of Environmental Concern—Oregon
State University
• Investigation of Pesticides in Human Milk—
Meharry Medical College
• Sensitive Specific Fluorescence Immunoassay
Methods for Detecting Organic Contaminants—
IntelCom-RadTech
• Analysis of Clinical Specimens—University of
Miami
Because PTSEL was recently relocated from
Florida to North Carolina, accomplishments outlined
in this report effectively cover only the period of
January through September 1973; except for the
extramural program, which was consistent over the
entire year.
74
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Chemistry
and
Physics
Laboratory
-------
-------
OVERVIEW OF
CPL'S MISSION
Chemistry
and
Physics
Laboratory
AND PHYSICS BRANCH
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
LABORATORY
••
«•
••
AIR QUALITY MEASUREMENT
METHODS BRANCH
EMISSION MEASUREMENTS
RESEARCH BRANCH
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
Studies, including simulations, of photochemical air
pollution are conducted using environmental chambers
and high sensitivity instrumentation at the Chemistry
and Physics Laboratory.
NERC-RTP's Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
(CPL) manages and conducts an intramural and extra-
mural research program that provides (1) techniques
and instrumentation for the measurement of atmos-
pheric pollutants, (2) information on the chemical
and physical transformations that pollutants undergo
in the atmosphere, and (3) information on the effects
of atmospheric pollutants on materials. While each of
these program areas contributes directly to the air
pollution control program, all are also closely interre-
lated: air pollution measurement techniques and in-
strumentation research support atmospheric chemistry
and physics studies; atmospheric chemistry and
physics studies provide information on what measure-
ment techniques are needed; and studies of the effects
of atmospheric pollutants on materials provide infor-
mation on mechanisms whereby pollutants can be
removed from the atmosphere.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
The program of the Chemistry and Physics Labora-
tory is totally responsive to the legislative mandates of
the Clean Air Act of 1970. The research and develop-
ment program relates to many of the sections of the
Act as specifically detailed below.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (a) The Administrator shall establish a na-
tional research and development program for the preven-
tion and control of air pollution and as part of such
program shall —
"(1) conduct, and promote the coordination and ac-
celeration of, research, investigations, experiments,
training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating
to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, and control
of air pollution; . . .
"(3) conduct investigations and research and make sur-
veys concerning any specific problem of air pollution
in cooperation with any air pollution control agency
with a view to recommending a solution of such pro-
blem, if he is requested to do so by such agency or if,
in his judgment, such problem may affect any com-
munity or communities in a State other than that in
which the source of the matter causing or contribut-
ing to the pollution is located;"
Each year the Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
conducts one or more field studies of air pollution.
During 1973 a field study was conducted in Denver,
Colorado, in cooperation with the EPA Regional Of-
fice and the State air pollution control agency. The
study was part of a continuing effort to determine the
nature and source of the Denver "Brown Cloud."
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
77
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Field studies were also conducted in Houston, Texas,
and Phoenix, Arizona, on photochemical oxidant, and
in St. Louis, Missouri, on photochemical oxidant and
sulfur oxides air pollution.
Analysis of the data for the Denver field study in-
dicated that the "Brown Cloud" is a two-component
plume: one part, close to the ground, contains major
amounts of aerosol from stationary sources; and a
second part, above the first, contains aerosol largely
from automotive sources.
In 1973 the Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
developed specialized gas chromatographic instrumen-
tation to measure "reactive" hydrocarbons in auto-
motive exhaust. This equipment was put into use in
EPA's Mobile Source Pollution Control Laboratory in
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Also in 1973, work was started
on additional engine dynamometers and a stationary
source simulator to increase the facilities which sup-
port research to develop instrumentation and tech-
niques to measure pollutants emitted by these sources.
"(4) establish technical advisory committees composed
of recognized experts in various aspects of air pollu-
tion to assist in the examination and evaluation of re-
search progress and proposals and to avoid duplication
of research . . . ."
The Chemistry and Physics Laboratory provides
administrative management of the Air Pollution
Chemistry and Physics Advisory Committee. The
Committee met twice in 1973: first in St. Louis,
where the principal agenda item was the Regional Air
Pollution Study (RAPS) in progress there; and second
at the University of Minnesota, where the main sub-
ject was atmospheric aerosols.
"(f) (1) In carrying out research pursuant to this
Act, the Administrator shall give special emphasis
to research on the short- and long-term effects of
air pollutants on public health and welfare. In the
furtherance of such research, he shall conduct an
accelerated research program . . .
"(B) to improve knowledge of the short- and long-
term effects of air pollutants on welfare."
Research on the effects of air pollutants on mate-
rials and on atmospheric visibility is part of the pro-
gram of the Chemistry and Physics Laboratory. In
1973 an experiment was begun in which several criti-
cal materials are exposed to simulated polluted atmos-
pheres in chambers. The first phase of this work will
be completed in 1974 and will eventually provide
quantitative dose/response information.
"RESEARCH RELATING TO FUELS AND
VEHICLES
"Sec. 104. (a) The Administrator shall give special
emphasis to research and development into new and
improved methods, having industrywide application,
for the prevention and control of air pollution result-
ing from the combustion of fuels . . .
"(b) In carrying out the provisions of the section,
the Administrator may—
"(1) conduct and accelerate research and develop-
ment of low-cost instrumentation techniques to facili-
tate determination of quantity and quality of air
pollutant emissions, including, but not limited to,
automotive emissions; . . .
"(3) establish and operate necessary facilities and
test sites at which to carry on the research, testing,
development, and programming necessary to effectuate
the purposes of this section;
"AIR QUALITY CRITERIA AND CONTROL TECH-
NIQUES
"Sec. 108. (a) (1) For the purpose of establishing
national primary and secondary ambient air quality
standards . . .
"(2) The Administrator shall issue air quality cri-
teria for an air pollutant within 12 months after he
has included such pollutant in a list under paragraph
(1). Air quality criteria for an air pollutant shall accu-
rately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable ef-
fects on public health or welfare which may be ex-
pected from the presence of such pollutant in the
ambient air, in varying quantities. The criteria for an
air pollutant, to the extent practicable, shall include
information on—
"(A) those variable factors (including atmospheric
conditions) which of themselves or in combination
with other factors may alter the effects on public
health or welfare of such air pollutant;
"(B) the types of air pollutants which, when present
in the atmosphere, may interact with such pollutant
to produce an adverse effect on public health or wel-
fare; and
"(C) any known or anticipated adverse effects on
welfare . . .
"(c) The Administrator shall from time to time
review, and as appropriate, modify, and reissue any
criteria or information on control techniques issued
pursuant to this section . . . ."
CPL initiated a program on analytical methods and
instruments to be used as portable analyzers (dosi-
meters) in health studies to aid in revision of air
quality criteria. Effects of air pollutants on organic
and inorganic materials are investigated in environ-
mental chambers to supply input to development
or modification of secondary standards for the cri-
teria pollutants. Research on new particulate mass
monitoring instrumentation is in progress to provide
a more acceptable reference or equivalent method for
total suspended particulates. Considerable effort is
going into the development of the measurement tech-
nology for fine particles and for other pollutants that
may be considered candidates for air quality criteria.
The formation and decay of such non-criteria pollut-
ants also are under investigation.
"NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
"Sec. 109. (a) (1) The Administrator-
"(A) within 30 days after the date of enactment of the
78
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
-------
Clean Air Amendments of 1970, shall publish pro-
posed regulations prescribing a national primary am-
bient air quality standard and a national secondary
ambient air quality standard for each air pollutant for
which air quality criteria have been issued prior to
such date of enactment; and
"(B) after a reasonable time for interested persons to
submit written comments thereon (but no later than
90 days after the initial publication of such proposed
standards) shall by regulation promulgate such pro-
posed national primary and secondary ambient air
quality standards with such modifications as he deems
appropriate . . .
"(b) (1) ...Such primary standards may be re-
vised in the same manner as promulgated."
Considerable efforts in support of present national
ambient air quality standards (particularly those for
hydrocarbon/oxidants and nitrogen dioxide) are in
progress in CPL to further define the atmospheric re-
lationships involving hydrocarbons and oxidants.
Evaluation of the reference method for nitrogen
dioxide was made, and the 24-hour average colori-
metric method was improved;continuous instrumenta-
tion was also developed.
"IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
"Sec. 110. (a) (1) Each State shall, after reasonable
notice and public hearings, adopt and submit to the
Administrator, within nine months after the promul-
gation of a national primary ambient air quality stan-
dard (or any revision thereof) under section 109 for any
air pollutant, a plan which provides for implementa-
tion, maintenance, and enforcement of such primary
standard in each air quality control region (or portion
thereof) within such State. In addition, such State
shall adopt and submit to the Administrator (either as
a part of a plan submitted under the preceding sen-
tence or separately) within nine months after the pro-
mulgation of a national ambient air quality secondary
standard (or revision thereof), a plan which provides
for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of
such secondary standard in each air quality control re-
gion (or portion thereof) within such State. Unless a
separate public hearing is provided, each State shall
consider its plan implementing such secondary stand-
ard at the hearing required by the first sentence of
this paragraph."
CPL is involved in a considerable effort to support
development of chemical and physical air pollution
models for reactive pollutants for use in implementa-
tion plans, including site criteria of large area sources.
The transport of oxidants and the rural oxidant prob-
lem are under investigation. Empirical relationships
between hydrocarbons and oxidants (such as upper
limit curves) and relationships between hydrocarbons
and nitrogen dioxide are being reviewed and evalu-
ated. Reactivities of hydrocarbons and other organics
have been evaluated for organic solvent regulations
and transportation plans.
"STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR NEW
STATIONARY SOURCES
"Sec. 111. (b) (1) Within 120 days after the inclusion
of a category of stationary sources in a list under sub-
paragraph (A), the Administrator shall publish pro-
posed regulations, establishing Federal standards of
performance for new sources within such category.
The Administrator shall afford interested persons an
opportunity for written comment on such proposed
regulations. After considering such comments, he shall
promulgate, within 90 days after such publication,
such standards with such modifications as he deems
appropriate. The Administrator may, from time to
time, revise such standards following the procedure re-
quired by this subsection for promulgation of such
standards. Standards of performance or revision there-
of shall become effective upon promulgation."
Extensive support is provided by CPL in verifying
and improving the reference methods for Category I
and II new source performance standards. Perform-
ance criteria have been developed for extractive and
in-situ instrumentation for determination of compli-
ance with sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and opacity
standards for a number of the Category I sources.
Methods development continues on the reference
methods required for Category III, IV, and V new
source performance standards.
"NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR
HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS
"Sec. 112. (b) (1) (B) Within 180 days after the inclu-
sion of any air pollutant in such list, the Administrator
shall publish proposed regulations establishing emission
standards for such pollutant together with a notice of
a public hearing within thirty days. Not later than 180
days after such publication, the Administrator shall
prescribe an emission standard for such pollutant, unless
he finds, on the basis of information presented at
such hearings, that such pollutant clearly is not a
hazardous air pollutant. The Administrator shall es-
tablish any such standard at the level which in his
judgment provides an ample margin of safety to pro-
tect the public health from such hazardous air
pollutant."
CPL is responsible for developing the analytical
methodology for the national emission standards for
hazardous pollutants. Improved methods of sampling
and analysis are under investigation or evaluation for
asbestos and mercury. There has been extensive de-
velopment of X-ray flourescent methods for use in
analyzing a number of elements possibly having a
hazardous nature. Improved sampling and more rapid
analysis methods for polycyclic organic matter are
under development.
"PART A-MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSION AND
FUEL STANDARDS
"Sec. 202. (a) Except as otherwise provided in sub-
section (b) —
"(1) The Administrator shall by regulation pres-
cribe (and from time to time revise) in accordance
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
79
-------
with the provisions of this section, standards appli-
cable to the emission of any air pollutant from any
class or classes of new motor vehicles or new motor
vehicle engines, which in his judgment causes or
contributes to, or is likely to cause or to contribute
to, air pollution which endangers the public health
or welfare . . .
"(b) (2) Emission standards under paragraph (1),
and measurement techniques on which such stan-
dards are based (if not promulgated prior to the
date of enactment of the Clean Air Amendments of
1970), shall be prescribed by regulation within 180
days after such date.
"(e) In the event a new power source or propulsion
system for new motor vehicles or new motor vehi-
cle engines is submitted for certification pursuant
to section 206 (a), the Administrator may postpone
certification until he has prescribed standards for
any air pollutants emitted by such vehicle or en-
gine which cause or contribute to, or are likely to
cause or contribute to, air pollution which en-
dangers the public health or welfare but for which
standards have not been prescribed under sub-
section (a)."
Measurement technology is being developed and
evaluated for regulated and non-regulated emissions
from on-the-road vehicles and advanced power sources.
Improved optical-measurement instrumentation has
been developed for the regulated pollutants. Measure-
ment techniques were developed to support a reactiv-
ity type hydrocarbon standard if undertaken. Exten-
sive research has been done on sampling techniques
for particulate emissions from light-duty vehicles
operated on leaded and non-leaded fuels using test
vehicles with and without catalytic devices.
"REGULATION OF FUELS
"Sec. 211. (b) (2) For the purpose of registration of
fuels and fuel additives, the Administrator may also
require the manufacturer of any fuel or fuel additive—
"(B) to furnish the description of any analytical
technique that can be used to detect and measure
any additive in such fuel, the recommended range
of concentration of such additive, and the recom-
mended purpose-in-use of such additive, and such
other information as is reasonable and necessary to
determine the emissions resulting from the use of
the fuel or additive contained in such fuel, the ef-
fect of such fuel or additive on the emission control
performance of any vehicle or vehicle engine, or
the extent to which such emissions affect the
public health or welfare . . .
Tests under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted in
conformity with test procedures and protocols estab-
lished by the Administrator. The result of such tests
shall not be considered confidential.
"(c) (1) The Administrator may, from time to time
on the basis of information obtained under subsec-
tion (b) of this section or other information avail-
able to him, by regulation, control or prohibit the
manufacture, introduction into commerce, offering
for sale, or sale of any fuel additive for use in a
motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine (A) if any
emission products of such fuel or fuel additive will
endanger the public health or welfare, or (B) if emis-
sion products of such fuel or fuel additive will im-
pair to a significant degree the performance of any
emission control device or system which is in
general use, or which the Administrator finds has
been developed to a point where in a reasonable
time it would be in general use were such regulation
to be promulgated.
"(2) (C) No fuel or fuel additive may be prohibited
by the Administrator under paragraph (1) unless he
finds, and publishes such finding, that in his judg-
ment such prohibition will not cause the use of any
other fuel or fuel additive which will produce emis-
sions which will endanger the public health or wel-
fare to the same or greater degree than the use of
the fuel or fuel additive proposed to be prohibited."
CPL provides support in development of emission
protocols for fuel additives effects. CPL also performs
the emission characterization of non-regulated emis-
sions from advanced alternate power systems. In
1973 nonregulated emissions from advanced alternate
power systems were investigated. In 1973 con-
siderable work was done on the problem of sulfate
formation by exhaust oxidation catalyst systems.
Work was begun on alternate automotive power
systems such as the Wankel engine and the passenger
vehicle diesel engine.
"ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS
"Sec. 313. Not later than six months after the effective
date of this section and not later than January 10 of
each calendar year beginning after such date, the Ad-
ministrator shall report to Congress on measures taken
toward implementing the purpose and intent of this
Act including, but not limited to, (1) the progress and
problems associated with control of automotive ex-
haust emissions and the research efforts related there-
to; (2) the development of air quality criteria and
recommended emission control requirements; (3) the
status of State ambient air standards setting, includ-
ing such plans for implementation and enforcement as
have been developed; (5) the extent of development
and expansion of air pollution monitoring systems;
(6) progress and problems related to development of
new and improved control techniques; (7) the develop-
ment of quantitative and qualitative instrumentation
to monitor emissions and air quality; (8) standards set
or under consideration pursuant to title II of this Act;
(9) the status of State, interstate, and local pollution
control programs established pursuant to and assisted
by this Act; and (10) the reports and recommendations
made by the President's Air Quality Advisory Board."
Technical support is provided by CPL in develop-
ment of air quality criteria documents and progress
reports required by Congress on air quality, emission
instrumentation, and emission standards for moving
vehicles.
Table 11 contains a summary of resources em-
ployed by CPL for Fiscal Year 1974 in support of
applicable sections of the Clean Air Act.
80
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Table 11. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR CHEM-
ISTRY AND PHYSICS LABORATORY FOR FISCAL
YEAR 1974
Section of
Clean Air
Act sup-
ported
103
108
109
110
111
112
202
211
313
Total3
Funds,
$103
536
1587
562
2393
1847
330
636
780
59
8730
Positions
5
22.5
9.1
12.5
17.2
5.1
13 5
5
2.1
92
Approximate
percent
6
18
6
28
21
4
7
9
1
100
aDoes not include SO.5 million of special energy appropria-
tions.
ORGANIZATION
The Chemistry and Physics Laboratory is organized
into ihree branches. One of these deals with the prob-
lems of the physical and chemical transformations of
pollutants in the atmosphere, and the other two are
concerned with the development of techniques and
instrumentation for the measurement of air pollution.
All three branches are involved in both laboratory and
field research and implement their programs through
in-house projects and extramural research grants and
contracts.
Atmospheric Chemistry
and Physics Branch
The program of the Atmospheric Chemistry and
and Physics Branch involves both laboratory and
field studies. Laboratory studies are conducted in
clean glass chambers with synthetic mixtures and in
large irradiation chambers with real mixtures such as
motor vehicle exhaust. Hypotheses developed in these
laboratory studies are tested in the field by analysis of
the atmosphere at critical sites chosen on the basis of
the pollution sources, meteorology, and topography
of the area. All of this information is used to choose
appropriate air pollution strategies as well as to
develop mathematical models of atmospheric photo-
chemical reactions. Although the atmospheric chemis-
try and physics program previously concentrated on
atmospheric reactions of gaseous pollutants such as
are involved in the formation of ozone, research now
includes studies of atmospheric reactions involving
aerosols. The Branch also conducts research to deter-
mine the effects of environmental pollutants on
materials. These capabilities in atmospheric chemistry
are used in the Laboratory's participation in the
Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS) and in the Fuel
and Fuel Additive Registration Program.
Air Quality Measurement
Methods Branch
The Air Quality Measurement Methods Branch
conducts research operations providing EPA with the
capability of assessing environmental quality. This re-
search is designed to produce and evaluate new and
improved techniques for the identification and quan-
tification of contaminants in the environment for field
and laboratory use. The Branch develops instruments
for performing continuous or periodic monitoring of
the environment with minimal human attendance,
and develops sensor systems for air quality measure-
ment of pollutants in ambient air. Staff personnel
provide methods for the analytical extraction of
contaminants from the environment and for the
qualitative and quantitative analysis of said contami-
nants after transport to the laboratory.
Emission Measurements
Research Branch
The Emission Measurements Research Branch con-
ducts research and development activities to provide
analytical techniques and instruments for the identifi-
cation and precise measurement of environmental
pollutants in emissions discharged from all types of
sources, both mobile and stationary. These activities
are carried out primarily to support the implementa-
tion of national emission standards for mobile sources,
performance standards for new stationary sources,
and national emission standards for hazardous air
pollutants as required under the provisions of the
Clean Air Act of 1970. This Branch also conducts
studies for the chemical and physical characterization
of pollutants emitted from various sources.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
A research prototype lidar system, designed speci-
fically for particulate emission measurements from
stationary sources, is housed in a mobile van to facili-
tate field studies now in progress.
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
81
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Pollutant emission patterns from exhaust stacks of stationary sources are simulated using NERC-RTP's wind
tunnel. Test automobiles are used in developing measurement methods for mobile sources.
Other research prototype systems include two re-
search infrared spectrophotometers for the remoie
sensing of emissions from stationary sources. These
instruments are also capable of long-path measure-
ment of extended source emissions. The Bendix
spectrophotometer is presently computer-programmed
to monitor ozone in the atmosphere. The Convair
spectrophotometer has scanning capability in the
3-to-5and 7-to-14 micron wavelength range and much
higher resolution (1.0 cm~1) than the Bendix (10
cm-1).
An experimental stationary source simulator is in-
stalled in a leased facility at the Beaunit Corporation
Technical Center in the Research Triangle Park. This
facility is used to generate test flue gases with partic-
culate matter, moisture, and other pollutants under
defined conditions—conditions that must be known
so that sampling and analysis methods can be evalu-
ated under controlled experimental situations before
actual field testing is undertaken. This equipment pro-
vides a 2 by 3 by 35 foot test section, up to 450°F
(233°C) flue gas temperature, and 80 ft/sec (24m/sec)
flow velocities to simulate conditions encountered in
typical power plant operations. Both extractive and
cross-stack optical instruments are tested at this facil-
ity before actual installation or field testing at com-
bustion sources.
The electron optical facilities include scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron
microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction equipment.
The SEM, used for morphological studies of stationary
and mobile source particulate emissions, is equipped
with two X-ray spectrometers that give it a capa-
bility for quantitative and qualitative chemical analy-
sis as well. The wavelength X-ray spectrometer allows
conversion of the SEM to an electron microprobe for
quantitative chemical analysis of particles smaller than
1 micron in diameter. The energy dispersive X-ray
spectrometer allows qualitative chemical analysis, for
elements beyond sodium, of particles only a few
hundred angstroms in diameter. The TEM is used for
examination of particles smaller than 0.1 micron in
diameter where crystal structure is an important con-
sideration. Electron diffraction techniques afford a
means of identifying the compound species of the
particles being examined. X-ray diffraction is used for
identification of crystalline material or mixtures.
Quantitative analysis is possible from observation of
82
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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.
Atmospheric photochemical reactions of pollutants are studied in NERC-RTP's small "smog chamber.'
intensities of X-ray maxima as a function of percent-
age composition of a crystalline phase.
The mobile source emissions laboratory is used for
the observation and delineation of the emissions of
mobile sources, their characterization and quantifica-
tion, and the development of the most precise techni-
ques for their analysis. The wide range of analytical
capability includes particulate and gaseous compo-
nents such as sulfates, fuel additive components,
and other nonregulated emissions. This general
capability is provided by analytical facilities that
include;
• Hitachi RMU-6L mass spectrometer coupled to
a Perkin-Elmer 990 gas chromatograph. The
mass spectrometer accurately measures the
atomic mass of molecules presented to it while
the gaschromatograph provides fractionation by
the principle of absorption. The mass spectro-
meter can also analyze gaseous and liquid
samples to provide unique information on the
molecular weights of the chemical species pre-
sent.
• Gas chromatography capability for separating
and analyzing automotive exhaust by its indi-
vidual components. This capability typically
results in over 100 hydrocarbons and many sub-
stituted organic components, and is being ex-
panded to higher molecular weight components.
The principles involve selective absorption,
elution, and detection using flame ionization
detectors that respond with extreme sensitivity
to individual carbon atoms. Typical sensitivities
are about 0.01 ppm. Special techniques allow
these limits to be extended approximately an
order of magnitude.
• Other general analytical equipment including
NMR (Varian T60), infrared spectrophotometer
(P-E 180), UV-visible spectrophotometers (Gary
Model 14 and Beckman Model B), chemilumi-
nescent equipment, atomic absorption, micro-
balances, liquid chromatographs, and other
modern analytical laboratory instruments.
The mobile source testing facility is installed at
Beaunit's Technical Center in Research Triangle Park.
Installed equipment includes a water brake certifica-
tion dynamometer complete with a constant-volume
sampler and a particulate sampling tunnel. Also avail-
able for installation are two engine dynamometers for
light-duty engines and one engine dynamometer for
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
83
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Elemental analyses of atmospheric aerosols are conducted using X-ray fluorescence techniques.
heavy-duty engines. Dilution-tunnel and constant-
volume samplers are available to allow the measure-
ment of gaseous and particulate emissions. This equip-
ment allows vehicles and engines to be operated under
conditions that simulate those encountered by the
general population.
These facilities allow the operation of vehicles and
engines to permit evaluation of control devices (such
as catalysts) and the characterization of non-regulated
emissions caused by unusual operating conditions or
the use of the other fuel components—either fuel addi-
tives or unusual fuels.
The analysis of air for pollutants by long-path in-
frared spectroscopy was used by the early workers in
the field of air pollution to detect ozone as a constit-
uent of smog. A new system, capable of detecting frac-
tional parts per billion (by volume) pollutant con-
centrations, is operated by CPL personnel. This new
long-path irradiation chamber has a basic length of
approximately 30 feet; mirrors on each and provide
an optical path of over 3000 feet. When this effective
path length of air is analyzed with a Fourier Trans-
form Infrared Spectrometer and a computer for nearly
instantaneous data analysis, pollutants at concentra-
tions of a fraction of a part per billion (by volume)
can be identified and measured. The system is now
used to detect pollutants that have not been measured
or that have been measured only with difficulty,
both in the laboratory and field.
Several mobile laboratories are used for field
studies of atmospheric chemistry and physics. These
laboratories are equipped with gas chromatographs
and ozone, sulfur dioxide, and NOX analyzers. Aerosol
sampling and sizing equipment is available, as well as
weather monitoring equipment.
Two smog chambers, soon to be operational, will
permit simulation of polluted atmospheres for study
of aerosol formation and growth and hydrocarbon/
nitrogen-oxide/oxidant reactions. Five chambers are
in use for simulating polluted atmospheres to study
the effect of such atmospheres on critical materials.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Principal efforts of personnel of the Chemistry and
Physics Laboratory are aimed in two directions:
studies of the physical and chemical transformation
of atmospheric pollutants, and development of tech-
niques and instrumentation for measuring air pollu-
tion. The former includes the interaction of air pollu-
tants with materials and the consequent effects.
Pollutant Transformation
Among ongoing studies in the area of pollutant
transformation are those on (1) formation and
removal of noxious gases in the atmosphere, (2) effects
of aerosol composition on visibility, (3) oxidant/
precursor relationships for control strategies, (4) the
Regional Air Pollution Study, relating to air quality
characterization, (5) the character and origin of
84
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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aerosols, and (6) effects of air pollutants on organic
and inorganic materials.
Formation and Removal of Noxious Gases in the
Atmosphere— Transformations of sulfur oxides, nitro-
gen oxides, and organic pollutants are being identified
and described quantitatively. Gas- and condensed-
phase processes are both under investigation. Reac-
tivities and reaction paths are being established.
Intermediate chemical species as well as final oxida-
tion products are being identified and measured. Real
atmospheres are studied with mobile equipment at
selected locations. Simulated polluted atmospheres
are studied under controlled conditions in the labora-
tory. Results, being fit into chemical mechanisms, are
yielding parameters for the mathematical modeling of
the atmospheric transformation processes. The results
are disseminated in reports on the chemical and
physical processes involved in the formation, trans-
port, and removal of toxic and noxious substances in
the atmosphere. Technical papers are published which
provide insights into the self-cleansing properties of
the atmosphere. Rate and mechanism data are pro-
vided for the mathematical modeling of the reactions
in the polluted air. Relationships between pollutant
emissions and adverse effects are described. Advice is
given as to control strategies for minimizing the
formation of noxious gases in the atmosphere. Nearly
all of the nine atmospheric noxious gas tasks under
way are multi-year projects which will be continued.
Three of these tasks are described below.
Field Studies of Gaseous Pollutants—The objec-
tives of these studies are to characterize the St. Louis
and Houston atmospheres. CPL interest includes
compositional differences as well as similarities of air
samples as a function of time of day and sample site
location. Of principal interest is the hydrocarbon
distribution, NOX concentration, and oxidant produc-
tion in these two cities. Future work of this type will
involve vinyl chloride and other halogenated pollu-
tants in Houston, and oxidant transport in the
Ohio/Indiana area.
Los Angeles Reactive Pollutant Study—This study,
a cooperative program with the Coordinating Research
Council, is now in its data analysis and reporting
phase; it may be concluded next year. An attempt is
being made to develop a model of a reacting and
moving parcel of polluted air in the Los Angeles area.
Measurements were made on such pollutants as NO,
N02, 03, CO, and hydrocarbons. Samplers were both
airborne and groundbased. Air movements were
tracked with tetroons and radar.
Halogenated Compounds in the Atmosphere— This
research grant task at Rutgers University is
concerned with the measurement, tropospheric reac-
tions, and lifetime of freons. In the past several
years, the use of fluorinated hydrocarbons has in-
creased considerably. Lovelock's tropospheric mea-
surements show that levels of Freon 11 and 1 2 in the
atmosphere are increasing almost proportionately to
the emission rates. This work will look into possible
removal processes for the freons. If no removal
processes can be found, then recommendations will
probably have to be made on the wisdom of the
buildup of non-reactive halocarbons in the atmos-
phere. Work during the coming year will be expanded
to allow increased field measurements, using a mobile
laboratory.
Effects of Aerosol Composition on Visibility—Visi-
bility reduction is the most obvious effect of atmos-
pheric pollution, but ironically it is not well under-
stood. It is recognized that visibility is spoiled by
light scattering from aerosol particles, but the physics
of the scattering phenomenon and the chemistry of
the formation and growth of the scattering particles
have not been adequately explained. In order to bring
visibility loss under control, further scientific study
of its causes is required.
The output of the program will include (1) optical
properties of primary and secondary aerosols; (2) rela-
tionships between visibility loss and aerosol char-
acteristics such as size, shape, and chemical
composition; (3) effects of relative humidity on
aerosol properties; (4) scientific data for visibility
criteria and standards; and (5) data from which to
derive pollution control strategies that will improve
atmospheric visibility.
Determination of Oxidant/Precursor Relationships
for Control Strategies-Ox'\dants are legally controlled
pollutants, but they are not emitted directly to the
atmosphere. An oxidant is formed in the air by
photochemical reactions involving NOX, oxygen, and
hydrocarbons. The word oxidant designates material
that causes an oxidation reaction in certain test
procedures. Oxidant generally consists of about 90
percent ozone and 10 percent peroxyacyl nitrates.
Control of oxidants follows from control of their
precursors—NOX and hydrocarbons. Permissible
limits of the precursor concentrations must therefore
be based on knowledge of the photochemical proc-
esses in the air. The oxidant/precursor relationships
must be determined in quantitative detail.
The problem is studied in laboratory simulations
that yield precise but indirect determination of the
oxidant/precursor relationships. Field studies are also
being carried out for approximate but direct determi-
nation of the relationships. From the results of all the
studies, empirical relationships between the chemical
variables are derived.
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
85
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Regional Air Pollution Study: Air Quality Charac-
terization—The monitoring network of the RAPS will
measure gaseous pollutant concentrations and meteo-
rological variables for use in modeling the transport
of the pollutants in the urban air mass. The network
will have little impact on describing and modeling the
transformations of the pollutants, however, especially
aerosol formation and growth. It has therefore been
necessary to establish this subprogram which ad-
dresses atmospheric chemistry problems.
A team of experienced aerosol scientists was
assembled in St. Louis in the summer of 1973 to
conduct an intensive aerosol characterization pro-
gram. Previous experience with the California aerosol
was the basis for the development of the aerosol
study. Special EPA mobile facilities were used for
aerosol characterization. The results of the study are
currently being analyzed and developed for publi-
cation. Two gaseous pollutant transformation pro-
jects have been under way: the first is the study of
the transformations of NOX and SOX in power plant
plumes; the second is laboratory verification of the
kinetic models that are to be applied to the network
data.
The program output includes: identification of
sources of visibility loss in St. Louis; specifications of
particle sizes, size spectra, and chemical composition;
fine-particle spatial distribution; identification of
gas/particle interactions for development of visibility
reduction models; data on choice of tracer substances
for study of regional atmospheres; and chemical
inputs to the photochemical modeling effort.
Character and Origin of Aerosols—Physical and
chemical properties of source, ambient, and natural
aerosols are being determined. Aerosol generation
rates for various sources are being established. The
major sinks for aerosol pollutants are being identified
and the removal rates are being defined. The effects
of the aerosols on gas-phase atmospheric chemical
reactions are under investigation, along with the
gas/particle conversions and the particle-removal
processes. The results of the research are being used
to establish the contribution of the various sources to
the ambient atmospheric aerosol loading; characterize
urban, natural, primary source, and secondary source
aerosols; develop quantitative descriptions of genera-
tion and removal rates associated with each major
aerosol source and sink; and quantify aerosol effects
on atmospheric chemical reactions. The scientific
data are basic to the promulgation of fine-particle
criteria and standards and to the development of
effective control procedures.
Relating Fine-Particle Aerosols to Sources-The
pollution aerosol is a dynamic system whose physical
and chemical characteristics depend in a complex way
On-the-scene research into atmospheric aerosol be-
havior is performed using NERC-RTP's mobile labo-
ratory.
on the background aerosol and on particle and gas
emissions. The goal of this research is to develop
experimental and theoretical methods for relating the
properties of the pollution aerosol to the characteris-
tics of emission sources. This is being accomplished
by (1) beginning with the observed characteristics of
the pollution aerosol and formulating a set of
hypotheses relating the aerosol to the sources of
particles and gases; (2) carrying out laboratory
experiments and theoretical calculations aimed at
testing these mechanisms; and (3) arriving at a tested
quantitative understanding of the origins of the smog
aerosol. Experimental studies include investigations
of the conversion of organic gases and SC>2 to
particulate matter in an ozone-rich atmosphere.
Air Pollutant Effects on Organic and Inorganic
Materials— The interaction of gaseous and particulate
pollutants with material surfaces is of vital interest
from two points of view: (1) the damage inflicted on
man-made materials by acidic vapors, soot, and other
airborne matter is of concern, and (2) the uptake of
pollutants by the surfaces is a major removal path and
86
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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must be understood quantitavely for development of
atmospheric models and control plans.
Statistically designed, controlled-environment lab-
oratory experiments are being used to establish
cause/effect relationships between pollutants and
materials. Laboratory experiments with S02, NO2,
and 03 are being carried out on an intramural basis.
The results of these studies will include reports and
documents on the direct and synergistic effects of air
pollutants on nine classes of sensitive, economically
important materials, Final reports will contain dose/
response data, at pollution levels below primary
standards, that may be used to set secondary air
quality standards. Quantitative data will be generated
on the rates of uptake of individual pollutants by
surfaces of various types.
In the materials-damage survey, an evolved, two
level, fractional, factorial experiment has been con-
ducted, using controlled-environment chambers, to
screen and assess the damaging effects, both direct
and synergistic, of SC>2, NC>2, 03, and climatic
parameters on steel, galvanized aluminum, tires,
paints, plastics, fabrics and dyes, marble, and con-
crete.
Based on the results of this experiment, a more
definitive orthogonal-square, controlled-environment
experiment will be designed and conducted during
the coming year to produce dose/response relation-
ships for materials found to be sensitive to air
pollution, both directly and synergistically.
Two additional programs will be undertaken in
1974. The first will be a multi-year field study of
pollutant effects on materials, to be conducted in St.
Louis with the assistance of Rockwell personnel who
are contractors for the RAPS. Materials will be
exposed at selected locations and examined periodi-
cally for damage. An effort will be made to correlate
observed damage with measured pollution levels. The
second new undertaking will be a laboratory investi-
gation of the uptake of pollutants by various types of
materials.
Pollutant Measurement
Work relating to air pollution measurement, the sec-
ond of CPL's two major functional work areas (the first
is pollutant transformation studies), includes (1) new
and improved methods for measuring and analy-
zing ambient air particulates, (2) personal exposure
dosimeters, (3) fine particulate methodology, (4) the
RAP's gaseous pollutants in ambient air, (5) mobile
source emissions, (6) gaseous pollutants emitted from
stationary sources, (7) criteria for selection of station-
ary source measurement strategies or methodology
and instrumentation, and (8) particulates and hazard-
ous substances emitted from stationary sources.
Ambient Air Paniculate Measurement and Analy-
sis Methods —The aim of this project is to provide
EPA with the capability for measuring parameters
judged to be relevant to pollution of the atmosphere
by suspended particles. Parameters of present concern
include mass, particle-size distribution, elemental
composition, and visibility attenuation.
Considerable progress has been made in the design
of collectors capable of segregating particles in two
sizes regimes (0 to 3.5 and 3.5 to 20 microns) on a
Teflon surface. Exposed filters are examined for mass
determination by Beta-ray attenuation, and for ele-
mental composition by X-ray fluorescence. Filters,
filter holders, filter transport mechanisms, and identi-
fication coding and decoding devices have been or are
being designed for total compatibility, resulting in a
system geared to the handling of large numbers of
samples with minimum opportunity for human error.
A major step forward was the development of a
simple, sensitive, and reasonably specific device for
the automated collection and quantification of sul-
furic acid mist. Early evaluation is planned. A similar
device capable of measuring particulate nitrate is also
being developed.
The X-ray fluorescence technique for measure-
ment of trace elements in airborne particles has been
notably improved through updated computer pro-
gramming that eliminates inaccuracies previously in-
curred as a result of variations in particle size.
Future efforts will include further improvements
in collection, sizing and analyzing techniques, and
development of objective methods of assessing visibil-
ity reduction.
Important progress was made toward development
of a rapid method for the measurement of benzo-
(a)pyrene, an important carcinogenic component of
pollutant particles.
Personal Exposure Dosimeters— This program,
new in 1973, is aimed at providing simple devices that
will record the exposure of individuals to specific
pollutants, independently of movements of those
individuals within and between areas of differing
pollutant levels.
A major initial contract-procurement effort is
directed toward preparation of a state-of-the-art
survey to identify available measurement techniques,
to clarify uncertainties in informational needs (e.g.,
time resolution, sensitivity, and precision) and to
assess the degree to which it may be reasonably
assumed that existing miniaturization techniques can
be applied to the several candidate measurement
methods. Concurrently, procurement is being sought
for a small number of prototype sensors for pilot use
and evaluation. Such pilot use will aid in establishing
realistic design criteria for future prototype procure-
ments.
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
87
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Fine-Paniculate Methodology—The objective of
this program is to develop a simple, low-cost, 2- or
3-stage device that will effect the dichotomous
collection of respirable and non-respirable particles
from ambient air in a manner compatible with
subsequent assessment of their mass and chemical
composition.
During 1973, laboratory and preliminary design
work led to initiation of a procurement for the
fabrication of prototype 2-stage collection devices
that will be fieldworthy yet amenable to production
at moderate ($2,000) cost. Design criteria include an
intake section whose performance will not be seri-
ously affected by wind direction or speeds of up to
15km/hr.
Future activity will include field evaluation of the
product of the procurement described above and
fabrication of improved second-generation proto-
types. Every effort will be made to provide the
capability of real-time assessment of fine-particle
burden in the final product. A corollary activity is the
development of reliable methods for generating
monodisperse aerosols of precisely known particle
size for use in the calibration of sizing instrumenta-
tion.
A gas-chromatographic instrument capable of meas-
uring acetylene at levels of 0.1 ppb was fabricated
under contract. This capability will be used in studies
applying acetylene as an intrinsic tracer substance
indicative of automotive traffic.
Further work in this task will consist largely of
field trials and applications of the techniques des-
cribed above.
Instruments for Measuring Gaseous Pollutants in
Ambient Air—Jhe objective of this program is to pro-
vide EPA with both instrumental and laboratory
methods for the measurement of important gaseous
pollutants such as ozone, NOX, SOX, CO, and hydro-
carbons. Its aims are: to provide measurement capa-
bility for a specific pollutant where a need is known
to exist; to improve that capability to an EPA-
acceptable level of reliability; to simplify the hard-
ware resulting from initial efforts to a degree permit-
ting routine operation of the method or instrument by
personnel available to enforcement agencies; and to
seek design optima (or alternate methods/instruments)
that will facilitate proliferation at costs commensurate
with EPA resources.
RAPS Measurements and Instrumentation—The
objective of this program is to provide measurement
capabilities necessary to complete the Regional Air
Pollution Study. The major accomplishment in 1973
was the awarding of a contract for activation and
operation of Regional Air Monitoring System (RAMS)
to Rockwell International.
An X-ray flourescence analyzer was fabricated,
providing RAPS with the capability of analyzing col-
lected particulate samples for up to 30 elements.
Sensitivity and analysis time are sufficient to handle
large numbers of samples collected over periods of 2
hours or more.
Twelve automated dichotomous samplers were
fabricated to collect particulate samples, segregating
respirable from non-respirable fractions. A Beta-gauge
was developed to assess the mass of particles in each
fraction collected. This gauge will be fabricated to
handle the same samples collected for X-ray analysis.
Two separate, laser-powered, long-path spectro-
photometers were developed for use in RAPS for
determining gaseous pollutant burdens, averaged over
line-of-sight paths of up to 1 kilometer. Results will
be utilized in improving pollution-transport modeling
capability. These instruments are capable of analyzing
for CO, 03, SO2, and other pollutants.
A contract was let for fabrication of a fluorescence
instrument for measuring N02- This, a direct measure-
ment, will assist in confirming data generated by
chemiluminescence (indirect) instruments in RAMS.
Atmospheric particulate matter is analyzed using
liquid chromatography.
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Benzofajpyrene in atmospheric paniculate matter is measured using a CPL-developed instrument
Mobile Source Emissions
Activities encompassed in this task include the
definition, description, and measurement of emissions
from all mobile sources. Possible emissions are in-
vestigated and techniques for their measurement are
developed. The operational parameters of this meas-
urement are defined so that the critical health-related
questions can be investigated. Physical and kinetic
considerations are addressed in order to define
practical limits of consideration. Emphasis is on cur-
rently nonregulated emissions that might have the
greatest impact on our environment. Techniques for
the measurement of regulated emissions are continu-
ally reviewed to ensure their efficacy.
In the past year, methodology has been delineated
to routinely perform analyses of hydrocarbons, non-
reactive hydrocarbons, and diesel odors. Methodology
is being developed to assess sulfate emissions and to
measure SO2 in exhaust.
Major efforts have been expended to define partic-
ulate emissions and the technology for measuring
them. This work has led to the measurement of partic-
ulates from a wide variety of light-duty vehicles,
including vehicles operated on nonstandard fuels,
with and without catalysts, and with and without
other novel control systems. Projects are currently
under way to extend these techniques to heavy-duty
vehicles and other mobile sources.
Gaseous Pollutants Emitted
from Stationary Sources
The objectives of this project are to develop and
evaluate measurement techniques and monitoring
systems for gaseous emissions in support of control
regulations for selected industrial sources. The research
and development program consists of one or more of
the following efforts to meet the required needs:
Chemistry and Physics Laboratory
89
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establish the state-of-the-art, conduct feasibility stud-
ies of new or improved concepts and evaluate their
application to specific gas pollutants, develop and
evaluate field prototypes, and evaluate commercially
available prototype systems. Methods and measure-
ment systems include improved manual methods,
in-stack instrumentation, and remote sensors for
sulfur-containing compounds, NOX, halides, CO, hy-
drocarbons, and odorous materials. Also involved is
the development of supporting technology including
both flow and temperature measurements as well as
sample-conditioning mechanisms.
Selection of Criteria for Stationary-Source Measure-
ment Strategies--The objectives of this activity are to
develop performance criteria for prescribed methods
and monitoring systems and to establish test proce-
dures by which criteria can be verified. These criteria
and procedures provide the technical data to support
the prescribed methods and monitoring requirements
and to assess the capability and accuracy of equivalent
or alternate measurement methods.
Compliance test methods for NOX and S02 were
evaluated at coal-burning power plants; monitoring
systems for these pollutants were tested under field
operating conditions. A technical document was com-
pleted on performance specifications and test proce-
dures for monitoring systems for NOX, SC>2, and
visible emissions from Group I stationary sources.
Particulates from Stationary
Sources
The objective of this project is to develop and eval-
uate measurement techniques and monitoring systems
in support of regulations for selected industrial
sources. The research and development program con-
sists of one or more of the following efforts to meet
the required needs, establish the state-of-the-art, con-
duct feasibility studies of new or improved concepts
and evaluate their application to specific particle
parameters, develop and evaluate field prototypes,
and evaluate commercially available prototype sys-
tems.
Hazardous Substances Emitted
from Stationary Sources
The first group of substances designated for national
emission standards for hazardous air pollutants in-
cludes asbestos, beryllium, and mercury. Future
designations may include such materials as toxic
metals (Pb, Cd, V, Ni, Co, Cr, Mn, As, and Se) or
groups of polycyclic organic matter (POM). The pur-
pose of this work is to develop measurement methods
to obtain reliable emission data and to support emis-
sion standards for these substances. The program con-
sists of one or more of the following approaches to
achieve a working method or system: feasibility study
of new concepts and their evaluation for specific pol-
lutants, development and evaluation of a research
prototype, development and evaluation of a field pro-
totype, and evaluation of commercial prototype
systems.
90
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Quality
Assurance
and
Environmental
Monitoring
Laboratory
-------
-------
Quality Assurance
and Environmental
Monitoring
Laboratory
QUALITY ASSURANCE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING LABORATORY
^•i
t^m
^^
I^H
METHODS STANDARDIZATION
AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
BRANCH
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
BRANCH
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
BRANCH
QUALITY ASSURANCE STAFF
STATISTICAL SERVICES STAFF
Studies to determine the chemical and physical
composition of fuel additives are conducted by the
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring
Laboratory. Research techniques include the analysis
of gasoline for lead using an atomic absorption
spectrophotometer
OVERVIEW OF QAEML'S
MISSION
The mission of the Quality Assurance and Envi-
ronmental Monitoring Laboratory (QAEML) is to
obtain the data needed to reach and support deci-
sions concerning environmental quality, particularly
in the air medium. Such data are needed in a variety
of activities such as air quality management, criteria
development, standards setting, compliance and en-
forcement, emergency episode control, and source
emission control strategy.
In carrying out its mission, QAEML provides
monitoring services that range from the first steps of
any monitoring effort—selecting field sites for moni-
toring and making measurements on such sites—to
the final steps of data evaluation, summarization,
and dissemination. Quality assurance is practiced to
control and document the quality of the data ob-
tained. Although the use of standardized methods is
an important aspect of quality assurance, such meth-
ods are not always available.
To supplement the use of standardized methods,
QAEML maintains expertise in analytical chemistry,
instrument electronics, and statistics to ensure that
method development and evaluation, formal testing
(including collaborative testing in the community of
users), and quality control procedure development
can be carried out effectively. Quality control pro-
cedures are formalized and disseminated for use
within EPA, by the states, and by other interested
groups.
Data evaluation and summarization of information
routinely obtained in the environment and of infor-
mation about analytical methods are provided for the
community of users by appropriate statistical analy-
ses and summaries. Data are entered into the National
Aerometric Data Bank or are published through ap-
propriate channels.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
The mission of QAEML responds to eight sections
of the Clean Air Act (103, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113,
211, and 313). The various sections are shown below
with brief descriptions of the types of supportive
activities.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (a) The Administrator shall establish a
national research and development program for the
prevention and control of air pollution and as part of
such program shall—"(1) conduct and promote the
coordination and acceleration of, research, investiga-
tions, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys.
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory
93
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and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, pre-
vention, and control of air pollution;... (3) conduct
investigations and research and make surveys concern-
ing any specific problem of air pollution in coopera-
tion with any air pollution control agency with a view
to recommending a solution of such problem, if he is
requested to do so by such agency or if, in his judg-
ment, such problem may affect any community or
communities in a State other than that in which the
source of the matter causing or contributing to the
pollution is located;. . .
"(b) In carrying out the provisions of the preced-
ing subsection the Administrator is authorized to—
"(1) collect and make available, through publications
and other appropriate means, the results of and other
information, including appropriate recommendations
by him in connection therewith, pertaining to such
research and other activities; . . . ."
QAEML responds to Section 103 by evaluating,
testing, and standardizing methods. Quality control
procedures for relevant methods are also developed.
Material samples involved in lawsuits are carefully
handled to maintain chain-oi'-custody requirements
and are sealed in locked storage cabinets (inset).
Surveys and investigations are undertaken, both of
the general extent of air pollution and of specific
problems. The voluminous data that result are appro-
priately summarized, analyzed, and disseminated.
"AIR QUALITY CRITERIA AND CONTROL TECH-
NIQUES
"Sec. 108. (a) (2) The Administrator shall issue air
quality criteria for an air pollutant within 12 months
after he has included such pollutant in a list under
paragraph (1). Air quality criteria for an air pollutant
shall accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge
useful in indicating the kind and extent of all identi-
fiable effects on public health or welfare which may
be expected from the presence of such pollutant in
the ambient air, in varying quantities . . .
"(c! The Administrator shall from time to time
review, and, as appropriate, modify and reissue any
criteria or information on control techniques issued
pursuant to this section
QAEML responds to this section of the law by
standing ready to evaluate methodology used to ob-
tain scientific information or to undertake surveys
to obtain information needed by those who must
develop criteria documents.
"IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
"Sec. 110. (a) (1) Each State shall, after reasonable
notice and public hearings, adopt and submit to the
Administrator, within nine months after the promul-
gation of a national primary ambient air quality
standard (or any revision thereof) under section 109
for any air pollutant, a plan which provides for imple-
mentation, maintenance, and enforcement of such
primary standard in each air quality control region.
(or portion thereof) within such State. In addition,
such State shall adopt and submit to the Adminis-
trator ... a plan which provides for the implementa-
tion, maintenance, and enforcement of such second-
ary standard . . .
"(2) . . . The Administrator shall approve such plan . . .
if he determines that it was adopted after reasonable
notice and hearing and that—. . . (C) it includes pro-
vision for ... appropriate devices, methods, systems,
and procedures necessary to (i) monitor, compile, and
analyze data on ambient air quality
This section of the law is supported by QAEML's
activities in the evaluation and standardization of
methods for the criteria pollutants and in the devel-
opment and dissemination of quality control proce-
dures for standardized methods. Use of the stand-
ardized methods with quality assurance documenta-
tion provides the ability to meaningfully compare
data collected routinely by many unrelated State
agencies.
"STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR NEW STA-
TIONARY SOURCES
"Sec. 111. (b) (a) (B) . . . the Administrator shall pro-
pose regulations, establishing Federal standards of per-
formance for new sources . . .
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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"(c) (1) .. If the Administrator finds the State
procedure is adequate, he shall delegate to such State
any authority he has under this Act to implement and
enforce such standards . . . ."
This requirement is analogous to that of Section
110 of the Act; QAEML supports this section simi-
larly.
"NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARD
OUS AIR POLLUTANTS
"Sec. 112. (b) (1) (B) ..the Administrator shall pre-
scribe an emission standard for such (hazardous)
pollutant . . .
(d) (1)...lf the Administrator finds the State
procedure is adequate, he shall delegate to such State
any authority he has under this Act to implement and
enforce such standards . . . ."
This requirement is similar to those of Sections
110 and 111 of the Act. QAEML's support is also
in terms of methods standardization, evaluation, and
quality control procedure development. Some tech-
nical assistance is also rendered to obtain data to
assist the Administrator in making judgments as to
what constitutes a hazardous pollutant.
"FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT
"Sec. 113. (a) (1) Whenever, on the basis of any informa-
tion available to him, the Administrator finds that any
person is in violation of any requirement of an applica-
ble implementation plan . . . the Administrator may
issue an order requiring such person to comply with
the requirements of such plan or he may bring a civil
action . . ."
QAEML maintains a limited rapid-response capabil-
ity to assist in the collection of data for purposes of
Federal enforcement.
"REGULATION OF FUELS
"Sec. 211. (a) The Administrator may by regulation
designate any fuel or fuel additive and, ... no manu-
facturer or processor of any such fuel or additive may
sell, offer for sale, or introduce into commerce such
fuel or additive . . ."
QAEML's support of the law consists of the de-
velopment and evaluation of methods of analyses
and of the collection and analysis of fuel samples as
required.
"ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS
"Sec. 313 ... the Administrator shall report to the Con-
gress on measures taken toward implementing the
purpose and intent of this Act . . ."
When the inclusion of data or method develop-
ments developed by QAEML is relevant, the infor-
mation is provided to support this provision of the
Act.
Table 12. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR QUAL-
ITY ASSURANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONI-
TORING LABORATORY FOR FISCAL YEAR 1974
Section of
Clean Air
Act sup-
ported
103
108
110
111
112
113
211
313
Total
Funds,
$103
833
90
1182
405
274
103
225
112
3224
Positions
28
3
14
10
8
3
1
6
73
Approximate
percent
26
3
37
13
8
3
7
3
100
ORGANIZATION
The Quality Assurance and Environmental Moni-
toring Laboratory conducts its activities through four
technically oriented branches and a statistical group,
all of which report directly to the Office of the
Director. All activities are coordinated through the
Office of the Director, which also serves as the inter-
face with other EPA units for which QAEML pro-
vides technical support. Table 12 shows the percent-
ages of funds and personnel used by QAEML in
Fiscal Year 1974 to support various sections of the
Clean Air Act.
Quality Control Branch
The Quality Control Branch (QCB) provides guid-
ance on development and implementation of quality
assurance programs to NERC-RTP laboratories, EPA
Regional Offices, and State and local laboratories to
ensure that all aerometric data used in the various
decision-making processes are valid and comparable.
The Branch develops standard reference samples and
delivery systems for use in quality control and cer-
tification programs.
Methods Standardization Branch
The Methods Standardization Branch (MSB) de-
velops and conducts a methods standardization pro-
gram involving laboratory evaluation, procedure
revision, and collaborative testing. The end products
are standard analytical methods for the measurement
of pollutant concentrations in ambient air and those
emitted from sources. The Branch develops standard
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory
95
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reference materials for methods standardization and
calibration.
Environmental Monitoring
Branch
The Environmental Monitoring Branch (EMB) is
responsible for the installation, calibration, operation,
and maintenance of special multipurpose pollutant
monitoring stations and networks such as the tur-
bidity, precipitation, and membrane-filter particulate
networks, and for providing guidance to other govern-
mental agencies in the design and operation of moni-
toring stations and networks. The Branch provides
specialized field monitoring support (including activi-
ties during emergency episodes) to the Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, the Office of En-
forcement and General Counsel (OEGC), and the
Regional Offices. It is also responsible for the deter-
mination of equivalency of candidate methods and
instruments for published reference methods, and for
the in-house and field evaluation of commercially
available environmental monitoring instrumentation.
Analysis of phosphorus in gasoline is included in fuel
tests conducted at NERC-R TP.
Analytical Chemistry Branch
The Analytical Chemistry Branch (ACB) provides
analytical capability to NERC-RTP for the measure-
ment of trace elements and other pollutants present
in various environmental, bioenvironmental, source,
and fuel samples. The Branch provides technical sup-
port and specialized training to EPA Regional, State,
and local laboratory personnel. As required, the ACB
develops new methods, modifies existing methods,
and provides analytical services in support of ongoing
studies including research monitoring. The Branch
is also responsible for maintaining liaison with and
giving technical assistance to the Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards with respect to source sam-
pling and analysis methodology for trace elements
and other pollutants to provide valid data for de-
velopment of source performance standards. ACB
personnel provide analytical laboratory services to
OAQPS, OEGC, or other EPA programs for short-
term and special environmental studies in support of
trend monitoring in such areas as State Implementa-
tion Plans and enforcement actions.
Statistical Services Staff
The Statistical Services Staff (SSS) provides statis-
tical competence to QAEML by participating in the
statistical design, execution, and analysis of quality
assurance, methods standardization, and monitoring
studies. Personnel carry out mathematical and statis-
tical evaluation and report on internally generated
data. The Staff is a focal point within NERC-RTP
for handling, processing, and reporting aerometric
data received from the World Health Organization
and the World Meteorological Organization.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
QAEML personnel are housed at NERC-RTP, in
Monsanto's Research Building (located at RTP), and
in the Durham Air Monitoring and Demonstration
Facility (DAMDF). The Laboratory either owns or
has access to a number of special instruments and
facilities to support its mission.
The Durham Air Monitoring and Demonstration
Facility is a specially designed and equipped multi-
purpose facility utilized for the following functions:
• To demonstrate advanced air monitoring
techniques.
• To test and field-evaluate commercially avail-
able ambient air monitors, calibration tech-
niques, and data acquisition systems.
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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• To gather pollutant concentration data gener-
ated from special intermethod comparability
studies.
• To provide capability for methods and instru-
ment equivalency testing.
• To provide on-the-job-training.
For special field studies, vans are available to carry
calibration and maintenance equipment or to be con-
verted on short notice into air monitoring stations.
For projects requiring more elaborate air monitoring
equipment, mobile laboratories are utilized which,
when fully equipped, are able to monitor for the
criteria pollutants and common meteorological pa-
rameters.
Laboratory facilities used for the analysis of am-
bient, source, fuel, and fuel additive samples by opti-
mized procedures include specialized space that
allows analysis of fuels and fuel additives under safe
conditions.
The analysis of samples by neutron-activation
techniques is made possible by use of facilities leased
from North Carolina State University. The Univer-
sity's pulstar reactor is used (under control agree-
ment) to irradiate the samples, which are later
counted with QAEML-owned equipment located in
the rented space.
The 25-channel, direct-reading optical emission
spectrometer has been optimized for the determina-
tion of trace elements in particulate matter. A spark-
source mass spectrometer that can be used to measure
small concentrations of trace elements of possible
health significance is being activated to permit analy-
sis of environmental samples of interest and to com-
plement the neutron-activation capability.
Development of an Automated Laboratory Data
Analysis System, nearing completion, will allow rapid
output of validated laboratory analyses—a capability
not now possible.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Methods Standardization
Methods standardization, which directly supports
Sections 103, 110, 111, and 112 of the Clean Air
Act, is an important component of the quality assur-
ance system necessary to generate valid data. The
standardization process is being applied to all refer-
ence methods given in regulations for primary and
secondary national ambient air quality standards.
QAEML is also attempting to standardize some of
the methods specified in regulations for new sta-
tionary sources and for two of the hazardous pollut-
ants designated thus far—beryllium and mercury.
Evaluations by the standardization process are being
Fuel additive samples are carefully catalogued prior to analysis and registration.
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory
97
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carried out for some methods not specified in regu-
lations, and the laboratory is also investigating new
techniques for the evaluation of air pollution meas-
urement methods.
Measurement methods are standardized in a two-
step process. First, the candidate method is examined
in depth in a single laboratory for the purpose of
identifying and correcting errors, omissions, ambigui-
ties, and other inadequacies. Second, the candidate
method is examined in several laboratories by an
interlaboratory collaborative test in which each par-
ticipant uses the method to measure pollutants con-
tained in a reference material. In this way, the pre-
cision and accuracy of the method are measured, and
the capabilities of the method in the hands of typical
users are estimated.
The levels of ambient air quality for each of the
criteria pollutants must be measured by the appro-
priate reference method (those that were previously
discussed with regard to standardization or by an
equivalent method). In 1972, a project was initiated
to establish definitive requirements and test proce-
dures to determine whether methods of sampling and
analyzing the ambient air may be designated "equiv-
alent methods." During this project, continued
through 1973, performance specifications and test
procedures were developed for three pollutants, car-
bon monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide. The pro-
cedures were tested thoroughly both in-house and by
an independent contractor for workability and tech-
nical adequacy.
In 1973, numerous achievements were accom-
plished in methods standardization. The following
specific reference materials, required before any col-
laborative testing of a method (part of the standardi-
zation process) can begin, were developed:
• A significant portion of the work to develop a
reference material for ambient N02 measure-
ments was completed.
• Ozone reference materials were supplied to par-
ticipants in the collaborative test of the refer-
ence method to measure ambient ozone.
• Beryllium reference materials were supplied to
participants in the collaborative test of the
regulatory method to measure beryllium emis-
sions.
• The Federal reference method for ambient
N02 was withdrawn during 1973. QAEML
assisted in the search for an evaluation of a new
method. In partial response to these needs,
single-laboratory evaluations of the sodium
arsenite procedure, the TGS-ANSA procedure,
and a significant portion of the triethanolamine
procedure for ambient IM02 were completed,
and a substantial portion of the work required
to collaboratively test the sodium arsenite and
TGS-ANSA procedures for ambient N02 was
accomplished.
• The collaborative test of the chemilumines-
cence reference method for ozone was com-
pleted.
• The collaborative test of the 24-hour version of
the reference method for measuring ambient
S02 was finished.
• The collaborative test, in a power plant and in
a nitric acid plant, of the regulatory method for
measuring NOX emissions was finished. This
method was found to be reliable.
• The collaborative testing of the regulatory
method for measuring S02 emissions was com-
pleted in a power plant and found reliable. A
significant portion of the collaborative testing,
in a sulfuric acid plant, was also finished.
• A significant portion of the collaborative test-
ing, in a power plant, municipal incinerator,
and cement plant, of the regulatory method to
measure particulate emissions was completed.
• A significant portion of the evaluation and col-
laborative testing of the method that measures
CO, C02, and 02 in source emissions was
completed.
• A portion of the collaborative test of the
method to determine visual opacity was fin-
ished.
• The field portion of the collaborative test, in a
ceramic plant, of the regulatory method to
measure beryllium emissions was finished.
• A new technique based on the ganged-probe
concept was applied to the evaluation of the
method for measuring particulate emissions
from stationary sources. This was found to be
a useful technique with potential for wide
application.
• A program was initiated to evaluate the pro-
posed method to measure H2S emissions from
refineries.
• Test procedures for the determination of equiv-
alent ambient air monitoring methods were
developed and tested. The procedures were
published as Proposed "Ambient Air Monitor-
ing Equivalent and Reference Methods," Fed-
eral Register, Vol. 38, No. 197, October 12,
1973. Comments were considered, and appro-
priate changes were made to the proposed regu-
lations. The regulations are currently being
considered for final promulgation.
Plans for future methods standardization follow
the same general direction as in the past, but involve
new methods.
Programs for single-laboratory evaluations of at
least two ambient sulfate methods, and for collabora-
tive testing of at least one of these, are being devel-
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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oped. The collaborative testing should be completed
in late 1975. In 1975 the standardization process
for methods to measure benzo(a)pyrene will begin.
Completion of the standardization of the reference
method for measuring photochemical oxidants (cor
rected for interferences due to SO2 and N09) and
the beryllium and mercury methods is planned.
The single-laboratory evaluation of the reference
method for measuring hydrocarbons should be com
pleted and a decision reached with respect to the
methods suitable for standardization.
Completion of the collaborative testing of the
method for measuring S02 and acid mist emissions
from sulfuric acid plants is planned as is further eval-
uation of the method for measuring particulate emis-
sions. This is a very difficult area and will require
examination of the method at a variety of sources
subject to regulations.
Evaluation and collaborative testing of the regula-
tory methods for measuring CO, S02, and acid mists
from smelters; particulate matter from asphalt con-
crete plants; particulate matter and lead from lead
smelters; fluoride emissions from aluminum reduction
plants and phosphate fertilizer plants; total reduced
sulfur from Kraft pulp mills; and hydrocarbons from
fuel conversion units are planned.
New methods for measuring NOX and S02 emis-
sions from stationary sources will be evaluated if
possible.
Future work in the area of equivalency determina-
tions will involve the implementation of the regula-
tion requirements, such as reviewing applications for
equivalency determinations, testing new and exist-
ing air monitors to determine if they meet the re-
quirements of the regulations, publishing a list of
acceptable "equivalent" methods, and developing
regulations for NO2 and nonmethane hydrocarbon
instruments.
Quality Assurance
QAEML's quality assurance program, in direct sup-
port of Section 110 of the Clean Air Act, involves the
development of guidelines describing techniques that
can be used to:
• Provide routine indication, for operating pur-
poses, of satisfactory or unsatisfactory perform-
ance of personnel or equipment.
• Provide for prompt detection and correction of
conditions that contribute to the collection of
poor-quality data.
• Collect and supply information useful to suc-
cessfully describe the quality of the data.
Four guidelines, each specific to one method, were
developed and published for the reference methods
Laboratory tests are used to evaluate various methods for measuring ambient pollutant concentrations.
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory gg
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for ambient air. Similar documents are being de-
veloped for stationary sources reference methods,
hazardous pollutant methods, fuel and fuel additive
reference methods, and mobile source emission tech-
niques.
Functioning of any quality assurance program re-
quires the routine use of reliable materials of known
composition, called "reference materials." Such ma-
terials are obtained, and procedures are developed for
their use in the calibration of equipment, in quality
control checks of components of the measurement
process, and in activities that document the data
quality. Interlaboratory performance surveys are
conducted periodically using these materials. These
surveys evaluate overall performance of those organi-
zations participating.
Among QAEML's major accomplishments during
the reporting period was the initiation of work on
guidelines for the development of quality assurance
programs, for use with the new stationary source per-
formance reference methods, and for the reference
methods for the hazardous pollutants, mercury and
beryllium.
Reference samples were developed for use in qual-
ity control programs for measuring SO2, CO, and
particulates in ambient air. Several interlaboratory
performance surveys were conducted with the par-
ticipation each time of about 100 Federal, state, and
local laboratories. Surveys were for measuring S02,
CO, and particulates in ambient air.
Guidelines for quality assurance program develop-
ment for the method for measuring ozone, CO, SO2,
and TSP in the ambient air were published and
distributed.
Future QAEML research will be aimed at develop-
ing quality assurance guidelines for newly designated
reference methods and revising previously published
documents. Test materials for use in interlaboratory
quality control performance testing activities con-
ducted by EPA will continue to be developed and
refined; interlaboratory performance surveys will be
continued, perhaps at an expanded rate.
National Air Surveillance
Network
The National Air Surveillance Network (NASN),
operation of which supports Clean Air Act Section
103, is a network of about 250 sampling sites dis-
tributed all over the nation. Routinely, once every
12 days during 1973, the air at each site was sampled
for particulates, S02, and N02. The amount of par-
ticulate matter collected on glass-fiber filters was
measured, and the filters were stored in a sample
bank. Liquid samples taken to measure N02 and S02
were analyzed promptly.
A direct-reading emission spectrometer, used to
determine simultaneously some 25 trace-element
levels in environmental particulate samples, has been
modified, greatly improving its precision and lowering
detectability limits for most elements.
Several programs for automated data acquisition
and analysis, with built-in quality assurance checks,
have been constructed, including numerous regression
analyses for determining precision.
Among the year's major accomplishments was the
analysis of particulate matter samples collected in
1970 and 1971 for some 25 metals, using the im-
proved optical emission spectrometer; the use of a
computer reduced the time necessary to process the
162,250 data points produced. Some 300 particulate
matter samples from selected sites were taken from
the particulate matter sample bank and analyzed for
benzo(a)pyrene.
Personnel, resources, and responsibilities for rou-
tine NASN monitoring for TSP, SO2, and NO2 were
transferred to the regions with minimal adverse ef-
fects. This transfer was accomplished through train-
ing of regional personnel both at NERC-RTP and in
the field, and by furnishing complete written instruc-
tions in all phases of the NASN activities. Sites were
visited, and equipment was replaced and/or updated
as needed. Quality assurance assistance was rendered
to all of the EPA regional laboratories during this
transfer of responsibilities. Performance audits for
analytical portions of the S02 and NO2 analyses
were conducted. QAEML provided in quantity the
samples whose concentrations were unknown to the
recipients on a schedule such that the quality of the
performance of the routine analyses can be estimated.
This activity was begun in 1973 and continued As-
sistance in quality control of the NASN techniques
was also begun in 1973 and will continue.
Although routine operation of the NASN for
analysis of the weight of TSP, S02, and N02 has
been transferred from QAEML to the regions, por-
tions of exposed glass-fiber filters collected under re-
gional auspices are still being received and placed in
the sample bank. Portions of archived filters will be
analyzed for sulfates, nitrates, trace metals, and or-
ganic and inorganic constituents to meet the require-
ments of QAEML's mandate.
Co n tin uousAir Mo n ito ring
Program
The Continuous Air Monitoring Program (CAMP),
in support of Clean Air Act Section 103, provides a
current and ongoing source of information relevant
to a wide range of problems associated with air moni-
toring and surveillance, including operation, mainte-
nance, calibration, and evaluation of air monitoring
100
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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equipment. This program provides demonstration
and on-site training in the use of sophisticated state-
of-the-art instrumentation and procedures throughout
the United States.
Continuous air monitoring instruments were evalu-
ated and optimized during the year, and calibration
techniques were developed to support regional needs.
CAMP stations in Philadelphia, Denver, and Chicago
were transferred to appropriate regional offices.
Immediately before the transfer, the equipment was
serviced, the instruments were calibrated, and the
operators were trained. The exterior of the St. Louis
station was replaced and incorporated into the Re-
gional Air Monitoring System (RAMS). The Cincin-
nati station was disassembled and removed because
the site lease could not be renewed.
The Durham Air Monitoring and Demonstration
Facility (DAMDF) was utilized to conduct an N02
methods comparison study and to evaluate the pro-
posed equivalency regulations. Four methods, cur-
rently being considered as candidates for a new refer-
ence method for measuring N02, were extensively
evaluated during November and December of 1973
to determine the comparability of data collected by
each method. The study was conducted at the
DAMDF utilizing a special ambient air manifold sys-
tem from which duplicates of each of the four meth-
ods could simultaneously sample ambient air spiked
with various levels of N02. Data were collected con-
tinuously for 36 days under various conditions of
N02 and other ambient pollutant levels. Results of
this study are currently being evaluated and will be
used to assist in the selection of a new reference
method for N02.
The DAMDF is now being remodeled to include
an improved system for environmental control and
general building maintenance.
The latest available continuous monitoring instru-
ments are to be installed at DAMDF This special
multipurpose facility will then be utilized to demon-
strate advanced air monitoring techniques, to test
and field-evaluate commercially available ambient air
monitors and associated calibration and data acquisi-
tion techniques to gather pollutant data, to conduct
intermethod comparability studies, to provide on-the-
job training, and to conduct equivalency testing.
Operation of the Washington, D.C., station will con-
tinue, and updating of the station will be initiated
(within resource availability).
Fuels Surveillance Network
Fuels and fuel additives are collected nationally
and analyzed for physical characteristics and chemi-
cal composition in support of Clean Air Act Sections
211 and 313.
During the past year, fuels and fuel additives were
collected and analyzed routinely. Analyses of the
1500 samples collected in 1972 were completed in
1973. Some certified fuel standards were developed.
A round-robin test of the trace-element content of
fuels was conducted by some four dozen laboratories
using various methods. A paper, "EPA's Fuels Sur-
veillance Network: Trace Elements in Gasoline," was
published. The collection and analysis of fuels and
fuel additives is an ongoing effort. Results will be
made available promptly to appropriate decision-
making organizations.
QAEML contributed to the development of a
simple, but accurate field test for detecting lead, an
atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for
detecting lead in gasoline (ASTM-D3237), and a
method for detecting phosphorus in gasoline (ASTM-
D3231).
Fuel and fuel additive samples were analyzed for
possible enforcement actions. Chain-of-custody was
maintained so that samples could meet legal eviden-
tiary tests. Samples for possible enforcement were
analyzed as received (in most cases, a rapid response
was necessary.) Programs for automated data acqui-
sition and analysis have been constructed, including
numerous regression analyses for determining preci-
sion for internal quality control.
Areas of future study include improvement of
techniques for trace-element definition by spark-
source mass spectrometry, neutron-activation analy-
sis, and X-ray fluorescence. A computer program to
support neutron-activation analysis is being devel-
oped, and work is continuing on methodology for
analysis for sulfur, lead, and phosphorus in fuels in
support of the fuel regulations for OEGC.
Membrane Filter and
Precipitation Networks
In support of Clean Air Act Section 103, opera-
tion of the 55-station membrane filter network for
particulates was maintained; samples were collected
and analyzed for atmospheric pollutants of interest.
QAEML supported a 20-station Precipitation Net-
work operated jointly by EPA, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, and the World Me-
teorological Organization (EPA-NOAA-WMO); sam-
ples were analyzed for trace contaminants- Several
programs were developed for automated data acquisi-
tion and analysis, some of which include built-in
quality control checks.
During the year, archived samples collected by the
55-station membrane filter network were analyzed
for asbestos. Some 7,000 analyses were performed
on precipitation network samples, and the data were
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory
101
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provided to interested parties. Membrane filter and
precipitation monitoring will be maintained roughly
at present levels.
Technical Assistance and
Rapid Response Sampling and
Analysis
Much of QAEML's activity is prompted by needs
for technical assistance in other portions of EPA. For
purposes of this report, QAEML's responses to these
"outside" needs are described as a group.
During the past year, QAEML developed and opti-
mized methodology for assessment of levels of mer-
cury that may have an adverse effect on human
health. The Laboratory also developed and published
a method for the sampling and analysis of ambient
elemental mercury.
At the request of EPA's Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, several special studies were
conducted to determine the levels of criteria pollut-
ants. For example, EPA disapproved State Imple-
mentation Plan smelter regulations; therefore, a spe-
cial network was implemented to determine the levels
of S02 in the vicinity of 1 2 smelters to provide infor-
mation unon which to base a control strategy to meet
the national secondary ambient air quality standards.
Specifications were developed for the monitoring
equipment, sites were selected, stations were in-
stalled, standard operating and quality control proce-
dures were developed, operators were trained, and
instruments were calibrated. The network consisted
of 23 sites with continuous analyzers, 40 sites with
integrating samplers, and 12 meteorological stations.
Integrated samples were taken daily, and some
30,000 samples were analyzed for S02 under con-
tract. The validated data were submitted to OAQPS
and to appropriate Regional Offices.
The levels of N02 are being determined at 20
selected stations in Air Quality Control Regions
(AQCRs) that may need to be reclassified. The
latest state-of-the-art continuous monitoring instru-
ments for N02 were used at 42 sites in selected
AQCRs. Mandated reclassifications were promul-
gated based on the decision-making data gathered by
this operation. The present network now consists of
the 20 stations chosen for continuing evaluation in
areas of elevated ambient NO2 levels. All equipment
is calibrated at 4- to 6-week intervals. The validated
data are utilized to reclassify the appropriate AQCR
with respect to the primary ambient NO2 standard.
QAEML responded to a request by OEGC for
assistance in gathering air quality data for asbestos
in the city of Duluth and in the vicinity of the Erie
Mining Company and the Reserve Mining Company
for possible enforcement action. From June 17 to 30,
1973, a total of 11 sites were monitored in the above
areas. QAEML calibrated samplers, trained personnel
doing the sampling, and provided technical assistance
in chain-of-custody procedures.
OEGC later requested a second extensive asbestos
air monitoring study. The August 7-16, 1973, study
consisted of monitoring asbestos levels in Metropoli-
tan Duluth, the iron ore loading.dock in Duluth, and
the vicinity of Erie Mining Company's site at Hoyte
Lake. This time QAEML provided equipment opera-
tion and data reduction. Chain-of-custody proce-
dures were used for all asbestos samplers at the nine
sites.
QAEML's technical assistance rendered in initiat-
ing the Southwest Energy Study consisted of develop-
ing equipment specifications, procuring hardware,
selecting sites, and preparing operating instructions.
Installation and calibration assistance was also pro-
vided on-site by field personnel.
At the request of OAQPS, a complex source study
to obtain ambient CO concentrations was conducted
at various shopping centers. Indoor and outdoor
levels of CO were determined and compared.
Environmental samples, including those of biologi-
cal origin, were analysed for trace-metal constituents.
Instrumental techniques (including atomic-absorption
spectroscopy, spark-source mass spectroscopy, neu-
tron-activation analysis, and optical-emission spec-
trometry) are used for trace-constituent analyses in
animal and plant tissues, soil and water samples,
particulates, and fuels. Services being performed in-
clude analysis of biological tissues exposed to metal
aerosols, preparation of metal aerosol samples by
particle size fractions, development of the Anodic
Stripping Voltameter for analysis of trace metals,
and development of atomic-absorption spectrometric
techniques for analysis of serum and tissue samples.
An impaction collector, for collecting particulate
matter according to particle size, was evaluated in
the field; results were submitted to the Emissions
Measurement Branch of OAQPS.
QAEML personnel assisted OAQPS in making on-
site analyses and in obtaining source samples that
were analyzed to determine data necessary for the
setting of standards of performance for new station-
ary sources. Sources involved in this effort have
been kraft mills and refineries.
Source samples obtained from chloro-alkali plants
and from phosphate fertilizer plants were analyzed
for mercury and fluorides, respectively.
Future work will include determination of atmos-
pheric levels of TSP, sulfate, nitrate, platinum, pal-
ladium, and ruthenium in special samples taken in
Southern California before and after introduction of
catalytic converters on automobiles.
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Methods will be developed for the determination An experimental network for the determination
of trace elements of interest in biological matrices of elemental mercury in ambient air will be imple-
such as serum and tissue. Technical assistance will be mented in the coming year.
provided in analyzing both special samples and NASN Research and development will be conducted to
samples for metal and non-metal inorganics. Special determine the precision of sampling and analysis of
networks will be developed and maintained to gather precipitation and the effects of storage of samples on
data to show the influence of the automobile cata- the analytical data obtained.
lysts on the nature and extent of sulfur species in the
air and to define background levels of ozone and the
patterns of transport of ozone through the air.
Quality Assurance and Environmental Monitoring Laboratory 103
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Meteorology
Laboratory
-------
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OVERVIEW OF ML'S MISSION
Meteorology
Laboratory
METEOROLOGY
LABORATORY
•••
•am
•••
•••
REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION
STUDIES BRANCH
MODEL DEVELOPMENT
BRANCH
ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS
BRANCH
CLIMATIC ANALYSIS
BRANCH
SPECIAL PROJECTS
BRANCH
Studies of the flow and diffusion of pollutants around
building, highway configurations, and complex terrain
are conducted in a wind tunnel by the Meteorology
Laboratory.
The Meteorology Laboratory (ML) provides an
accurate description of the role and interrelationships
of atmospheric processes in effective air, water, and
land resource management. It provides direct consul-
tation and technical meteorological services; and,
through grants, contracts, and personal contacts, pro-
motes meteorological research in concert with EPA's
efforts to improve and protect public health and
welfare.
ML's contribution to efforts to control air pollu-
tion lies in the delineation of the effects of weather
and climate on air pollution as well as the effects of
air pollution on weather, visibility, and climate. Theo-
retical and experimental research into the physical
processes that affect the transport, diffusion, trans-
formation, and disposition of air pollutants in and
from the atmosphere leads to improved techniques
for determining and forecasting meteorological as-
pects of air pollution on a local, regional, or national
basis. To this end, the Laboratory develops, evaluates,
and disseminates analytical diffusion models, which
are used to predict the temporal and spatial distribu-
tion of air pollutants. ML also develops sensing tech-
niques for measuring meteorological parameters in
urban and rural areas and provides meteorological
support to EPA offices and activities in their abate-
ment and compliance efforts.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
The major Laboratory effort is directly related to
the requirements of Section 103 of the Clean Air Act;
however, efforts are also in support of Sections 110,
303, and 313. Pertinent portions of these Sections are
quoted below, followed by brief discriptions of the
types of supportive actions taken by ML.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Sec. 103. (a) The Administrator shall establish a national
research and development program for the prevention
and control of air pollution and as part of such
program shall—(1) conduct, and promote the coordi-
nation and acceleration of, research, investigations,
experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and
studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, preven-
tion, and control of air pollution; . . ." (3) conduct in-
vestigations and research and make surveys concerning
any specific problem of air pollution in cooperation
with any air pollution control agency with a view to
recommending a solution of such problem, if he is re-
quested to do so by such agency or if, in his judgment,
such problem may affect any community or communi-
ties in a State other than that in which the source of
the matter causing or contributing to the pollution is
located; .... "(b) In carrying out the provisions of the
preceding subsection the Administrator is authorized
to-
Meteorology Laboratory
107
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"(1) collect and make available, through publications
and other appropriate means, the results of and other
information, including appropriate recommendations
by him in connection therewith, pertaining to such
research and other activities.
"(2) cooperate with other Federal departments and
agencies, with air pollution control agencies, institu-
tions, and organizations, and with any industries
involved, in the preparation and conduct of such
research and other activities;
"(3) make grants to air pollution control agencies, to
other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions,
and organizations, and to individuals, for purposes
stated in subsection (a) (1) of this section;
"(4) contract with public or private agencies, institu-
tions, and organizations, and with individuals . . .;
"(7) collect and disseminate, in cooperation with
other Federal departments and agencies, and with
other public or private agencies, institutions, and
organizations having related responsibilities, basic data
on chemical, physical, and biological effects of varying
air quality and other information pertaining to air
pollution and the prevention and control thereof; . . .
"(f) (1) In carrying out research pursuant to this Act,
the Administrator shall give special emphasis to
research on the short- and long-term effects of air
pollutants on public health and welfare. In the
furtherance of such research, he shall conduct an
accelerated research program— ... (B) to improve
knowledge of the short- and long-term effects of air
pollutants on welfare.
"(2) In carrying out the provisions of this subsection
the Administrator may— . . . (C) utilize, on a reimburs-
able basis, the facilities of existing Federal scientific
laboratories and research centers; (D) utilize the au-
thority contained in paragraphs (1) through (4) of
subsection (b); and (E) consult with other appropriate
Federal agencies to assure that research or studies
conducted pursuant to this subsection will be coord-
inated with research and studies of such other Federal
agencies."
EPA's research responsibilities, as outlined in the
portions of the Clean Air Act cited above, constitute
the Meteorological Laboratory's principal mission.
The Laboratory also provides direct assistance in the
evaluation of environmental impact statements.
"IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
"Sec. 110. (a) ... (2) The Administrator shall . . . approve
or disapprove such (state-submitted implementation)
plan or any portion thereof. The Administrator shall
approve such plan, or any portion thereof, if he
determines that it was adopted after reasonable notice
and hearing and that— . . . (C) it includes provision for
establishment and operation of appropriate devices,
methods, systems, and procedures necessary to
(i) monitor, compile, and analyze data on ambient air
quality . . ."
Laboratory assistance provided by the Meteoro-
logical Laboratory in support of the evaluation and
enforcement of state implementation plans by EPA is
a component of Section 110 of the Clean Air Act.
"EMERGENCY POWERS
"Sec. 303. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, the Administrator . . . may bring suit ... to
immediately restrain any person causing or contribut-
ing to (the) alleged pollution to stop the emission of
air pollutants causing or contributing to such pollution
or to take such other action as may be necessary."
"ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS
"Sec. 313 ... the Administrator shall report to Congress
on measures taken toward implementing the purpose
and intent of this Act . . ."
The Meteorological Laboratory provides direct
support to EPA's exercise of emergency powers under
Section 303 of the Clean Air Act. The Laboratory's
assistance is also provided in support of Section 313
of the Clean Air Act to prepare meteorological
portions of reports to Congress.
Table 13 contains a summary of the resources
employed by ML for Fiscal Year 1974 in support of
the applicable sections of the Clean Air Act.
ORGANIZATION
The Meteorology Laboratory consists of five
Branches: Model Development. Environmental Ap-
plications, Climatic Analysis, Regional Air Pollution
Study (RAPS), and Special Projects. The activities
and research programs of these five Branches in
furtherance of the Laboratory's mission are described
briefly below.
Table 13. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR METE-
OROLOGICAL LABORATORY FOR FISCAL YEAR
1974
Section of
Clean Air
Act sup-
ported
103
110
303
313
Totals3
Funds,
$103
5940
275
36
50
6301
Positions
49
12
—
—
61
Approximate
percent
94
4
1
1
100
aDoes not include $0.5 million of special energy appropria-
tions, but includes 47 positions loaned under interagency
agreement with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration.
Model Development Branch
The Model Development Branch develops the
analytical and numerical formulations (i.e., meteoro-
logical dispersion and statistical techniques models)
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Solar tracking instruments are used to track the sun. measure the intensity of solar radiation, and indirectly
provide a measure of atmospheric aerosol concentration.
that are used to estimate relationships between source
emissions having any specified distribution and the
resultant air quality throughout any specified region.
The Branch also conducts theoretical and experimen-
tal studies to improve the understanding of physical
processes affecting the transport, diffusion, transfor-
mation, and ultimate disposition of pollutants in and
from the atmosphere.
Environmental
Applications Branch
The Environmental Applications Branch evaluates
new and existing meteorological dispersion and statis-
tical techniques and models and adapts them to
recurring user applications. The Branch maintains
liaison with groups applying and developing models
to provide guidance and advice and to ascertain
future model needs at the user level.
Climatic Analysis Branch
The Climatic Analysis Branch develops and applies
techniques of meteorological data analysis and pre-
sentation to provide information on the potential for
atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants in a specific
geographical area. The Branch determines empirical
relationships between air quality data, meteorological
parameters, physical processes governing observed air
quality, and site characteristics. Through a national
and international cooperative network. Branch per-
sonnel monitor atmospheric turbidity and establish
seasonal values, geographical variations, and long-term
trends. Field experiments are designed and conducted
to determine the radiant energy balance of earth-
atmosphere systems in both urban and rural loca-
tions. The Branch evaluates and studies the collected
data by incorporating them into radiation transfer
theories for variously polluted and clean atmospheres,
and thereby establishes effects of pollutants on the
energy balance, which then affects pollutant distribu-
tion.
Regional Air Pollution Studies
(RAPS) Branch
The Regional Air Pollution Studies Branch devel-
ops, implements, and manages a comprehensive re-
search program to define and describe air pollution
Meteorology Laboratory
109
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transport and transformation processes in the atmos-
phere on a regional scale. It coordinates the activities
of other agencies, both public and private, that are
conducting field experiments pertinent to RAPS to
ensure that the broad program of research, develop-
ment, and field experimentation directed toward the
acquisition, verification, and evaluation of basic data
for models used to describe and predict the transport,
dispersion, and concentration of pollutants in the
regional area is conducted in an appropriate and
economical manner.
Special Projects Branch
The Special Projects Branch provides continuing
technical guidance and staff support to EPA com-
ponents, including the Regional offices, to ensure
that appropriate meteorological information is pro-
vided in abatement, compliance, and other opera-
tional activities. The Branch collects and evaluates
environmental quality and meteorological-climato-
logical information appropriate for application to
power plant or industrial engineering requirements,
design of monitoring networks, support of legal
actions, and studies of possible effects of air pollu-
tion. In support of EPA Regional Offices, consulta-
tion and other meteorological assistance is provided
to State and local air pollution control agencies. Field
support is provided in air pollution emergencies.
Liaison is maintained with the National Weather
Service through participation in the work of inter-
agency committees.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
In addition to the usual meteorological instrumen-
tation, the Laboratory possesses a mobile lidar
(laser-radar) unit, a microwave thermosonde system,
special meteorological sensors for studying surface
energy fluxes, special equipment for sensing short-
and long-wave radiation, and a small wind tunnel. The
sunphotometers used in the national and interna-
tional turbidity networks are tested, repaired, cali-
brated, and occasionally built in the Meteorology
Laboratory. The Laboratory's small wind tunnel is
used to physically demonstrate the dispersal of a
pollutant from a scale-model source. A large, sophis-
ticated wind tunnel is expected to be in operation by
early 1975. This new device initially will be an
open-return, non-stratified tunnel with a test section
that is 3.66 meters (12 feet) wide, 2.13 meters (7
feet) high, and 18.29 meters (60 feet) long with a
maximum air flow speed of 7.62 meters (25 feet) per
second.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
Meteorology Laboratory activities can be function-
ally divided into five areas: development, evaluation,
and validation of air quality models; innovative
development in air quality simulation models; deter-
mination of patterns and levels of pollutant emissions
from large power plants; determination of pollutant
and thermal emission effects on visibility, weather,
and climate; and meteorological support for abate-
ment and compliance efforts.
Unless indicated otherwise, the research activities
discussed in the following paragraphs represent con-
tinuing efforts by ML or its contractors in support of
Section 103 of the Clean Air Act.
Air Quality Models
Information on the meteorological effect of pollu-
tant concentrations on prospective control strategy
decisions and land-use plans is provided by models
describing temporal and spatial variations in air
quality. To facilitate the application of models, the
air quality simulation models and related data for
various pollutants are stored at a central computer
facility, called the User's Network of Applied Models
of Air Pollution (UNAMAP).
• APRAC—Provides the hourly average carbon
monoxide level as a function of extraurban
diffusion from automotive sources in upwind
cities, intraurban diffusion from roadway
sources, and local diffusion within a street
canyon.
• HI WAV-Estimates highway-related air pollu-
tion for receptor locations that are downwind
of at-grade and cut highway sections.
• COM—Provides long-term average pollutant
concentration.
• PTM AX—Estimates the maximum hourly
average ground-level concentration from a
single stack as a function of stability and wind
speed.
• PTDIS—Estimates the hourly average ground-
level concentration from a single stack at a
specified downwind distance.
• PTMTP-Estimates the average hourly concen-
tration at up to 30 receptors from up to 25
sources.
Reactive pollutants and inert pollutants are the
two major areas of concern in efforts to model
transport and dispersion characteristics from single-
line and area sources.
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Reactive Pollutant Models
Additional Modeling Work
Three private research organizations under con-
tract to ML developed separate air quality simulation
models for reactive pollutants. Two of the models,
one by Pacific Environmental Services (PES) and one
by General Research Corporation (GRC), are quasi-
lagrangian or ''trajectory" models. These models
follow an air parcel, a body of air within which
chemical processes occur as the air moves over various
emission sources. PES assumes that the atmosphere
consists of a single well-mixed vertical layer between
the surface of the earth and the top of the mixing
layer; GRC assumes a multilayered vertical structure.
PES uses a 33-reaction kinetic module; GRC uses a
16-reaction kinetic module. The basic difference
between the two models lies in the handling of the
hydrocarbon reactions.
System Applications, Inc. has developed a "grid"
or Eulerian model that is basically a three-
dimensional multi-box representation. This model
divides the mixing layer into a maximum of 10 layers,
the horizontal scale is 2 miles by 2 miles for a grid
square. The 15-reaction kinetic module is similar to
the GRC model.
In each of these three models the meteorological
parameters are input; they are not predicted by the
model. All three are single-day, daylight models and
all are relatively crude first generation efforts.
Inert Pollutant Models
The Meteorology Laboratory's effort in inert
pollutant modeling includes: modification and testing
in the Los Angeles basin of the urban meteorology
and pollutant model developed by the Center of
Environment and Man; evaluation of Northern En-
gineering Research Corporation's airport model by
Geomet, Inc., based on observations made at Wash-
ington National Airport; development and use of a
computational procedure for estimating maximum
24-hour concentrations that occur once per year from
a single power plant emitting pollutants from one to
six stacks; initial development of a versatile short-
term model for urban areas with a stagnation sub-
model for use in episode control; development and
use of a screening procedure to evaluate in broad
terms the impact (relative to the air quality standard)
of a point source releasing a nonreactive pollutant;
evaluation by Geomet of a gaussian plume urban
diffusion model; development and testing by Los
Alamos Scientific Laboratory of a numerical model
of air pollution transport in street canyons; and
evaluation of an analytical and experimental study of
diffusion in the turbulent surface layer.
Pennsylvania State University, under an EPA
grant, conducted studies on the development of a
three-dimensional meteorological and air quality pre-
diction mesoscale model, on a parameterization
scheme for incorporating the effects of sub-grid
fluxes into a regional model, on the modeling of
sub-grid turbulent transport applicable to microscale
modeling of the urban environment, and on the
interpretation of remote sensing data with emphasis
on interpretation of acoustic radar signals to deter-
mine vertical wind and temperature profiles.
Stanford Research Institute conducted two stud-
ies: one to observe the photochemical smog over San
Francisco by attempting to track an air parcel
crossing San Francisco Bay; and the other, to measure
the geophysical characteristics and energy budget of
the urban surface in the St. Louis area.
A study of the dispersion, transport, and removal
of airborne pollen was conducted by the State
University of New York at Albany. Preliminary
results suggest that source configuration and local
meteorology are critical factors. The University of
Wisconsin at Milwaukee is studying the transport of
pollution by and within lake-breeze circulation.
In September and October of 1973, a field
program—Los Angeles Reactive Pollutant Program
(LARPP)—was conducted in the Los Angeles basin to
obtain air quality and meteorological data for the
development and evaluation of "trajectory" air qual-
ity simulation models for reactive pollutants. Work is
also being conducted at the University of California
at Los Angeles, using a wind tunnel, cloud chamber,
and rain chamber, to determine the scavenging
efficiencies of precipitation for atmospheric aerosols.
The first generation air quality simulation models
for reactive pollutants previously mentioned and
other existing photochemical models are being
analyzed and evaluated. A second generation model
that will include revision of the chemical reaction
module, provision for multi-day simulation, inclusion
of the sulfur reactions, and improvements in the
meteorological components is under development.
Innovative Air Quality Models
New and improved concepts and methodologies
for use in the development and evaluation of air
quality simulation models having a broader, more
comprehensive capability to predict the air quality
distribution under various emission, topographic, and
meteorological conditions are being developed.
Among the technologies applied to the solution of
practical problems will be the fluid modeling facility.
Meteorology Laboratory
111
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(The wind tunnel for the facility is currently under
construction.)
Efforts, most of which are now in progress,
include the development of a three-dimensional
model of the wind and temperature field, as a
function of time and space, in a region extending
about SOX 30 kilometers horizontally and 2 kilo-
meters vertically. Currently, work on this model
concerns: specifying boundary conditions that will
allow nesting of the model in a larger scale model;
incorporating a meaningful surface balance; and
developing additional equations for the generation of
turbulent dissipation and turbulent energy required
for parameterizing the subgrid scale dynamics.
Aeronautical Research Associates of Princeton,
Inc., under contract to EPA, is applying its invariant
modeling concept to the analysis of diffusion under
three conditions: in an unstable surface atmospheric
layer capped by temperature inversion, from a point
source in three spatial dimensions, and in the Ekman
spiral of the planetary boundary layer.
Large Single-Source Models
The transport and dispersion characteristics of
pollutants from large single sources have been studied
and modeled. Field studies were conducted to pro-
vide data for the evaluation of plume dispersion
models capable of calculating ground level concentra-
tions of effluents from single sources with tall stacks.
Information on the chemical transformation of pollu-
tants within the plume was also collected to assist in
modifying the plume dispersion models. These
models will be used to determine the impact of large
single sources on a region's air quality.
The large power plant effluent study (LAPPES) in
Western Pennsylvania was completed in 1970. Analy-
sis of the data is continuing, with current emphasis on
the analysis of observed plume dispersion parameters.
The observations were made in the vicinity of three
large, coal-burning, mine-mouth power plants as each
plant was constructed, came on-line, and went into
full operation.
Preliminary work has been done on the problem of
integrating the emissions from a large single-point
source of reactive pollutants into an air quality
simulation model for reactive pollutants in a region.
Field studies are underway in cooperation with the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to measure chemi-
cal transformation in a fossil-fuel power plant plume.
The study is concerned with the dispersion and
interaction of sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, nitrogen
oxide, ozone, and particulates in stack emissions from
coal-fired power plants. Analysis of the data has
begun.
By use of a water channel, Flow Research, Inc.,
under an EPA contract, is examining the effects of
terrain features on the dispersion of plume pollutants.
Initial work dealt with the dispersion of a plume in
the vicinity of two hills joined by a saddle.
Climatic Effects
This work area encompasses the analysis of pollu-
tant effects of physical processes in the atmosphere,
the comprehensive examination and statistical anal-
ysis of air pollution meteorology parameters, and the
assessment of the effect of meteorological and clima-
tological parameters on air quality. Statistical, numer-
ical, and experimental methods were used to investi-
gate the effects of air quality on meteorology and
climatology, and to assess the effects of meteorology
and climatology on air quality.
Work in this area included: analysis of U.S.
rawinsonde data to obtain meteorological data perti-
nent to the preparation of dispersion estimates for
large single-point sources, initiation of an investiga-
tion to develop an objective technique for determin-
ing hourly mixing heights, and studies of atmospheric
turbidity and urban radiation.
A study of the worst air stagnation episodes lasting
1,2,3, 4, and 5 days at 62 rawinsonde stations in the
contiguous United States was conducted using mixing
height and wind speed data covering a 5-year period.
This information can be applied to models of
atmospheric transport and diffusion processes during
episodes of extremely slow dilution (air stagnation).
A turbidity network of 80 stations, 50 in the U.S.
and 30 in other countries, is maintained by EPA. The
instrumentation, instrumentation calibration, and
instrument repair is provided by EPA. Data reduction
and publication is performed by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with qual-
ity control assistance from EPA.
The difference in the radiation budget between
rural and urban sites was examined in the St. Louis
area. Observations were made of the incident global
and direct solar radiation, of atmospheric turbidity,
of downward-directed long-wave irradiance, and of
the particle content of the atmosphere. Preliminary
evaluation of the data indicates that 6.5 percent less
total solar energy is received at the urban site than at
the rural site.
An examination is underway to evaluate the
relative importance of interurban and interregional
transport of air pollutants and to identify the
meteorological conditions associated with significant
long-distance transport (greater than 100 kilometers).
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ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Meteorology Support
In support of Sections 110, 303, and 315 of the
Clean Air Act, Meteorology Laboratory provides
technical services to various EPA offices and pro-
grams, and to State and local agencies. The Labora-
tory also supplies meteorological field support to
EPA's Emergency Team during critical air pollution
incidents, such as the chloride barge accident at
Morgan City, LA. NOAA meteorologists were as-
signed to the Monitoring and Data Analysis Division
and the Control Programs Development Division of
EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
and to the Quality Assurance and Environmental
Monitoring Laboratory and the Human Studies La-
boratory of NERC-RTP.
OAQPS Support
During 1973, the Laboratory provided meteoro-
logical support for three major studies conducted by
OAQPS. First, the impact of smelting operations on
sulfur dioxide concentrations in the Rocky Mountain
area was examined. Second, the effects of granting
variances to large, non-urban power plants, if ambient
air quality standards were not violated, were ex-
amined. Results of applying ML's 24-hour single-
source model to three Air Quality Control Regions in
Indiana indicated that large power plants could be
allowed to burn coal temporarily at the 1970 sulfur
levels without violating either annual or 24-hour
primary ambient air quality standards. Third, an
investigation of possible intermittent control systems
showed that such systems were viable control meas-
ures, but only for large, isolated, elevated sources of
sulfur dioxide.
In addition to reviewing Environmental Impact
Statements and providing expert testimony in court
suits, ML personnel assigned to OAQPS analyzed air
quality trends using data from the National Aero-
metric Data Bank. Initial trend analysis focused on
isolating meteorological parameters that may cause
short-term trends. Thus far only heating degree-days
and rainfall have been associated with the short-term
trends. A trend toward increasing suspended particu-
late levels was found to be associated with decreased
rainfall between 1968 and 1971 in the western states.
Two meteorologists, assigned to the Air Pollution
Training Institute presented the meteorological por-
tions of the Institute's courses. In addition, they
conducted three courses during the year: Air Pollu-
tion Meteorology, Diffusion of Air Pollution—Theory
and Application, and Meteorological Instrumentation
in Air Pollution. They also conducted a 2-week
training course for NOAA meteorologists responsible
for preparing Air Stagnation Advisories.
Solar radiation measurements are taken using instruments mounted on a meteorological tower near the Meteorolog-
ical Laboratory. A crank-up tower and a temperature shelter can be seen to the left of the tower.
Meteorology Laboratory
113
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NERC-RTP Support
\
Atmospheric turbidity is measured using a portable
sunphotometer developed at Meteorology Laboratory.
Meteorological personnel assigned to other labora
tories within NERC-RTP provide assistance and guid-
ance on meteorological and climatological criteria and
instrumentation. In addition, daily summaries of
atmospheric stagnation conditions were prepared for
the Community Health and Environmental Surveil-
lance Study (CHESS) in New York, NY; Birmingham,
AL; Charlotte, NC; and Los Angeles, CA. A proto-
type continuous monitoring station was installed at
Chapel Hill, NC, to determine the best instrumenta-
tion for measuring temperature, dewpoint, and wind
velocity. This instrumentation will be part of the
Community Health Air Monitoring Program
(CHAMP). Climatological assistance was provided for
an asthma study in southern California. Studies are
underway on the relationship between mortality
statistics and maximum temperatures, and the rela-
tionship between extremely high nitric oxide and
nitrogen dioxide concentrations in Chattanooga, TN,
and atmospheric conditions in the area.
114
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Control
Systems
Laboratory
-------
-------
OVERVIEW OF CSL'S MISSION
Control
Systems
Laboratory
CONTROL SYSTEMS
LABORATORY
^•i
^•i
••
ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
BRANCH
GAS CLEANING AND
METALLURGICAL PROCESSES
BRANCH
CLEAN FUELS AND
ENERGY BRANCH
PARTICULATE AND CHEMICAL
PROCESSES BRANCH
Studies of the operation of lime/limestone flue gas
scrubbing processes are conducted at a prototype test
facility by the Control Systems Laboratory. The
facility (TVA's Shawnee Steam Plant, Paducah, Ken-
tucky) employs three types of 10-MW equivalent
scrubbers: the hydrofliter, the turbulent contact
absorber, and the venturi.
The Control Systems Laboratory (CSL) of NERC-
RTP is involved in a variety of technical and
management functions directly related to the re-
search, development, and demonstration of equip-
ment and systems designed to abate, in a timely and
cost-effective manner, the emission of atmospheric
pollutants from stationary sources to a level that
protects public health and welfare, and to do so
within the framework of our nation's energy and
environmental mandates. Included in this mission is
the goal of developing a complete data base of
stationary source emissions and demonstrating ade-
quate technology to control pollutant emissions so
that effective New Source Performance Standards and
Hazardous Pollutant Standards can be promulgated.
CSL has a high degree of expertise in the manage-
ment of complex engineering research and develop-
ment projects; additionally, as the result of 10 years
of experience as an organizational entity, the Labora-
tory has developed other major capabilities in efforts
to fulfill its mission:
• The Laboratory has established a technical
information data base to support EPA's deci-
sion-making capabilities in the area of station-
ary source air pollution control.
• The Laboratory has proven its ability to recon-
cile environmental and industrial requirements
in a cost-effective manner by working with
industry on joint programs to solve environ-
mental problems.
• The Laboratory has become an international
forum for communication concerning available
technology through its recognized ability to
objectively evaluate new concepts and to share
research results.
LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
The legislative mandates upon which CSL's several
programs are based and the various Sections of the
Clean Air Act requiring Laboratory support are
shown below with a brief description of the types of
actions taken to support that mandate or Section.
"RESEARCH, INVESTIGATION, TRAINING, AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
"Sec. 103. (a) The Administrator shall establish a national
research and development program for the prevention
and control of air pollution and as part of such
program shall —
"(1) conduct and promote the coordination and accel-
eration of research, investigations . . . demonstrations,
surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects . . .
prevention, and control of air pollution. . . .
Control Systems Laboratory
117
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"(b) In carrying out the provisions of the
preceding subsection, the Administrator is authorized
to-
"(1) collect and make available, through publications
and other appropriate means, the results of and other
information . . . pertaining to such research. . . .
"(8) develop effective and practical processes, meth-
ods, and prototype devices for the prevention or
control of air pollution."
In support of Sections 103 (a) and (b) of the Clean
Air Act (cited above), CSL conducts studies and
investigations to characterize emissions of pollutants,
to evaluate control technology, and to predict the
impact of and need for controls in the future. The
Laboratory conducts research to develop cost-
effective controls for pollutants from stationary
sources and demonstrates the most promising control
methods. Finally, CSL disseminates the research,
development, and demonstration results to the public
through seminars, professional meetings, and appro-
priate publications.
"RESEARCH RELATING TO FUELS AND VEHICLES
"Sec. 104. (a) The Administrator shall give special empha-
sis to research and development into new and im-
proved methods, having industry-wide application, for
the prevention and control of air pollution resulting
from the combustion of fuels. In furtherance of such
research and development he shall —
"(1) conduct and accelerate research programs di-
rected toward development of improved low-cost
techniques for—
"(A) control of combustion byproducts of fuels,
"(B) removal of potential air pollutants from
fuels prior to combustion,
"(C) control of emissions from the evaporation
of fuels,
"(D) improving the efficiency of fuels combus-
tion so as to decrease atmospheric emissions, and
"(E) producing synthetic or new fuels which,
when used, result in decreased atmospheric emissions.
"(2) provide for Federal grants . . . and contracts . . .
for payment of (A) . . . cost acquiring . . . for research
and development purposes, new or improved devices
or methods having industry-wide application of pre-
venting or controlling discharges into the air of various
types of pollutants. . . .
"(3) determine, by laboratory and pilot plant testing,
the results of air pollution research and studies in
order to develop new or improved processes and plant
designs to the point where they can be demonstrated
on a large and practical scale;
"(4) construct, operate, and maintain, or assist in
meeting the cost of ... new or improved demonstra-
tion plants or processes which have promise of
accomplishing the purposes of this Act. . . ."
Through efforts provided for under Section
104 (a) of the Clean Air Act (cited above), CSL has
brought flue gas cleaning to the stage of commercial
development, has developed techniques for the reduc-
tion of nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from combus-
tion processes by as much as 50 percent; has
currently under demonstration a commercially feasi-
ble means of reducing carbon monoxide, hydrocar-
bon, and particulate emissions from coke ovens by 90
percent; has identified promising new combustion
techniques such as the advanced power cycle and
fluidized-bed combustion; and has developed effec-
tive, low-cost processes for cleaning coal.
"AIR QUALITY CRITERIA AND CONTROL TECH-
NIQUES
"Sec. 108 . . . (b) (1) Simultaneously with the issuance of
criteria under subsection (a), the Administrator shall
. . . issue . . . information on air pollution control
techniques, which information shall include data
relating to the technology and costs of emission
control. Such information shall include such data as
are available or attainable technology and alternative
methods of prevention and control of air pollution.
Such information shall also include data on alternative
fuels, processes, and operating methods which will
result in elimination or significant reduction of emis-
sions."
In support of Section 108 (b) of the Clean Air Act
(cited above), CSL is continually evaluating new and
existing stationary source control procedures in an
effort to develop and maintain a comprehensive data
base related to air pollution control techniques.
"(STATE) IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
"Sec. 110. (a) (1) Each State shall . . . adopt ... a plan
which provides for implementation, maintenance and
enforcement of such primary (and secondary) stand-
ard. . . .
"(a) (2) (B) it (the plan) includes emission limi-
tations, schedules, and timetables for compliance. . . .
"(e) (1) Upon application of a Governor . . . the
Administrator may . . . extend (compliance period)
... if ... the Administrator determines that—
"(A) One or more emissions sources . . .
are unable to comply with . . . standard because the
necessary technology or other alternatives are not
available. ...
"(f) (1) . . . The Governor . . . may apply to the
Administrator to postpone the applicability of such
requirement to such source. ... If the Administrator
determines that—
"(B) such source (or class) is unable to
comply with such requirement because the necessary
technology or other alternative methods of control are
not available or have not been available for a sufficient
period of time . . .
"(D) . . . then the Administrator shall
grant a postponement of such requirement."
The Laboratory's role in the procedures required
by Sections 110 (a), (e), and (f) of the Clean Air Act
(cited above) is primarily that of providing expert
testimony relating to the availability of air pollution
control technology. CSL's research, demonstration,
and other evaluation tools provide the most compre-
hensive data base available concerning the state-of-
the-art of air pollution control technology.
118
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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"STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR NEW STA-
TIONARY SOURCES
"Sec. 111. (b) (3) The Administrator shall, from time to
time, issue information on pollution control tech-
niques for categories of new sources and air pollutants.
"(d)(1)... each State shall submit to the
Administrator a plan which (A) establishes emission
standards for any existing source for any air pollu-
tant. . . ."
CSL, in support of Sections lll(b) and (d) of the
Clean Air Act (cited above), evaluates the state-of-
the-art of air pollution control technology for various
stationary sources and, based on projected future
control needs, develops new control technology. The
predicted new developments and schedules provide a
basis upon which EPA can set future New Source
Performance Standards. For non-criteria pollutants,
the Laboratory's data base related to control capabil-
ity and emission levels provides a basis upon which
States may set emission standards for any pollutant
from stationary sources.
"NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARD-
OUS AIR POLLUTANTS
"Sec. 112. (b) (2) The Administrator shall, from time to
time, issue information on pollution control tech-
niques for air pollutants subject to the provisions of
this section.
"(c) (2) The President may exempt any station-
ary source ... if he finds that the technology to
implement such standards is not available. . . ."
In support of Sections 112 (b) and (c) of the Clean
Air Act (cited above), CSL's programs will identify all
air pollutants from stationary sources. As the need
for control of these pollutants is indicated, through
its related research and development program, the
Laboratory will be able to identify not only the
specific sources requiring control, but also the most
cost-effective approach for achieving that control.
"COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COST STUDIES
"Sec. 312. (a) ... The Administrator . . . shall make a
detailed estimate of the cost of carrying out the
provisions of this Act . . . and a comprehensive study
of the economic impact of Air Quality Standards on
the Nation's industries, communities, and other con-
tributing sources of pollution, including an analysis of
the national requirements for and the cost of control-
ling emissions to attain such standards of air quality.
Among the activities of the CSL, related to
Section 312 (a) of the Clean Air Act (cited above),
are research and demonstration projects leading to
the development of comprehensive data relating to
the cost of various air pollution control techniques.
Because CSL's programs simultaneously support
numerous sections of the Clean Air Act, it is
impossible to allocate a given resource to only one
Section of the Act. For example, a CSL flue gas
cleaning demonstration project supports Section 103
(Research, Investigation, Training, and Other Activi-
ties); Section 104 (Research Relating to Fuels and
Vehicles); Section 108 (Air Quality Criteria and
Control Techniques); Section 110 (State Implementa-
tion Plans); Section III (Standards of Performance for
New Stationary Sources—in this case for electric
utilities); and Section 312 (Comprehensive Economic
Cost Studies).
Thus, although Table 14 does not display a direct
one-to-one relationship between projects and individ-
ual sections of the Clean Air Act, it does convey the
general level of support that CSL's program provides
to various sections of the Act.
Table 14. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES FOR CON-
TROL SYSTEMS LABORATORY FOR FISCAL
YEAR 1974
Section of
Clean Air
Act sup-
ported
103
104
108
110
111
112
312
Totals3
Funds,
$103
4,030
3,546
1,934
1,934
3,675
967
32
16,118
Positions
24
21
11
11
22
6
-
95
Approximate
percent
25
22
12
12
22.8
6
0.2
100
aTotal is for CSL's "base program"; it does not include
approximately $10.2 million of supplemental energy research
and development funds received during FY 1974.
ORGANIZATION
The Control Systems Laboratory consists of four
main Branches. Its Engineering Analysis Branch func-
tions as a program monitoring and evaluation group.
The other three Branches are engaged in projects
ranging from small-scale experimental studies and
exploratory research, through pilot-plant-size experi-
mental work, to prototype evaluations of equipment
large enough to permit confident scale-up to full-size
commercial installations.
Gas Cleaning and Metallurgical
Processes Branch
The Gas Cleaning and Metallurgical Processes
Branch directs and manages a broad-based research,
Control Systems Laboratory
119
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development, and demonstration program aimed at
developing processes and equipment for the removal
of gaseous pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion
effluents and of all pollutants from primary and
secondary operations in the ferrous and non-ferrous
metals processing industries.
Much of the work of this Branch relates to flue gas
scrubbing processes: lime/limestone wet scrubbing, at
both TVA's Shawnee Plant and in Key West; double
alkali scrubbing, using a soluble alkali (usually
sodium) solution; Chemico Mag-Ox, a regenerable
approach utilizing magnesium oxide; Wellman-Lord,
utilizing a sodium sulfite/bisulfite solution with
thermal regeneration; Stone and Webster/Ionics, uti-
lizing sodium hydroxide solution with electrolytic
regeneration; Monsanto Cat-Ox, a catalytic oxidation
adaptation of the contact sulfuric acid process; and a
completely cyclic ammonium sulfite/bisulfite process
with bisulfate regeneration. The Branch's metallurgy-
related activities include such iron and steel industry
areas as coke ovens, sinter plants, basic oxygen
process (BOP) furnaces, and iron foundry cupolas, as
well as work with pollutants from copper, lead, and
zinc smelters.
Clean Fuels and Energy Branch
The Clean Fuels and Energy Branch is responsible
for research, development, and demonstration (in-
cluding evaluation) studies relating to processes for
the production or utilization of clean fuels or clean
energy as a means of air pollution control. Among its
activities are: evaluation of systems for removing
potential pollutants from coal and oil; critical air
pollutant emission assessment and review of new
energy technologies; development of generalized con-
trol technology for air pollutant emissions from fossil
fuel combustion and conversion processes; evaluation
and development of combustion modifications for
abating the emission of nitrogen oxides and other
combustible pollutants from all stationary combus-
tion sources; and evaluation, environmental assess-
ment, and/or development of new pollution-free
methods of generating and utilizing energy.
Combustion modifications for the control of
nitrogen oxides and other pollutants have been (and
continue to be) the target of significant efforts of
Branch personnel. Modifications being investigated
include: combustion with low excess air, recirculation
of flue gas, staged combustion, combustor redesign,
and fluidized-bed combustion. Investigations of fuel
cleaning have included fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas)
and waste products such as municipal refuse.
Paniculate and Chemical
Processes Branch
The Particulate and Chemical Processes Branch is
active in three major areas: it identifies, develops, and
demonstrates generalized particulate control technol-
ogy to support the needs of CSL for technology to
control patriculate emissions from specific industries;
it identifies, develops, and demonstrates technology
for controlling pollutant emissions from the chemical
process industries; and it provides process measure-
ment services to all CSL Branches.
The Branch's work in the area of particulate
control technology development has included studies
not only to improve such conventional particulate
control equipment as electrostatic precipitators,
fabric filters, and wet scrubbers, but also to identify
and further develop such completely new control
approaches as the Sonic Agglomerator, Steam-Hydro
Scrubber, and Pentapure Impinger. Its activities re-
lated to the control of air pollution from chemical
process industries include studies of a wide range of
organic and inorganic manufacturing processes, com-
bustion processes, and open sources. The Branch's
process measurement activities encompass the selec-
tion, verification, and further development of
sampling methods, analytical procedures, and process
instrumentation required for CSL's internal and
external research, development, and demonstration
activities.
Engineering Analysis Branch
The Engineering Analysis Branch is the Labora-
tory's program planning and evaluation coordination
facility. Additionally, it is responsible for technical
and editorial services that are more effective when
they are provided centrally. Branch personnel provide
cost control and contract management services to
individual project officers and assist in the evaluation
of unsolicited proposals as well as in the review of
on-going programs. Staff specialists are available for
consultation on specific technical matters.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
Final relocation of all CSL personnel to NERC-
RTP from several scattered locations was effected by
the end of the fiscal year. CSL's laboratory facilities
include a flue-gas generator; bench-scale scrubbing
equipment; laboratories for odor problem studies and
for the physical characterization of particulates; an
electronics shop; and equipment for wet and instru-
mental analyses. CSL also maintains and operates a
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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self-propelled van and a trailer (both 40 feet in
length) that are equipped to conduct full-scale investi-
gation of process streams.
Pilot-size equipment in the NERC-RTP High Bay
Areas (Wings G and H-300) includes a model wet
scrubber; four baghouses for fabric filtration studies;
a laboratory for the evaluation of novel particulate
control devices; and a variety of experimental and
commercial combustion systems including furnaces,
boilers, and a gas turbine instrumented for most
gaseous pollutant emission measurements. (Fuels
being investigated are coals, oils, gases, and other
liquid and gaseous materials.)
The Laboratory's in-house capability to support
measurements programs recently took a significant
step forward with the installation, at NERC-RTP, of
the first aerodynamic test facility specifically de-
signed for studies requiring large gas volumes (up to
15,000cfm) with carefully controlled velocity pro-
files and known chemical composition.
MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS
The accompanying diagram, showing air pollution
control technology interactions, presents an overview
of the Control System Laboratory program. Because
of the way various laws are written, and because of
EPA's planning system, CSL's program is divided into
elements based on the control of individual pollu-
tants. Obviously, however, to control ambient con-
centrations of pollutants, the industries producing the
pollutants must be controlled.
The first five industries to which New Source
Performance Standards were applied are shown at the
top of the diagram. The methods that CSL is
improving or developing for air pollution control are
shown at the bottom of the diagram. Inevitably, there
is significant overlap between industry, pollutant, and
control method descriptions of CSL's program. For
example, work directed toward controlling sulfur
oxides (SOX) may involve clean fuels, gas scrubbing,
or advanced power cycles. On the other hand, SOX
gas scrubbing may be applicable to power plants,
sulfuric acid plants, and non-ferrous smelters; and
smelters may emit trace hazardous elements as well as
SOX.
For purposes of discussion, this portion of the
Report is organized by control of specific pollutants.
The broad applicability of a control method for more
than one pollutant, from more than one source,
should be kept in mind when analyzing the program.
This interdependence of CSL program components
highlights an important synergistic characteristic: for
example, a change in the Laboratory's combustion
control research program, to reflect changes in the
nitrogen oxides (NOX) program philosophy, will also
affect CSL's program to control combustible particu-
lates—particulates which may include carcinogenic
hydrocarbons, possibly the most hazardous of pollu-
tants.
A strong cooperative effort has been fostered
between industry and government: CSL's major
control technology development/demonstration proj-
ects have been cost-shared approximately equally by
both sectors. Industrial studies conducted by the
Laboratory have resulted in initiation of such promis-
ing projects as various flue gas desulfurization sys-
tems, advanced power cycles, low-Btu gasification,
and coke pushing and charging demonstrations. Be-
cause many aspects of air pollution control are nearly
equal in importance, CSL's efforts are not (and
cannot be) concentrated in any single area.
GAS
FUEL
COMBUSTION
FLUID-BED
Air pollution control technology interactions among
sources to which new source performance standards
were first applied.
Particulate Control
The most pressing need in particulate control
technology is the development of commercially avail-
able and widely applicable fine particulate (microm-
eters in diameter) control technology to support the
establishment of Fine Particulate Ambient Air Qual-
ity Standards. Such technology is generally inade-
quate and currently in the early stages of develop-
ment under EPA sponsorship. This technology is also
Control Systems Laboratory
121
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acutely needed to achieve Hazardous Pollutant
Standards and associated New Source Performance
Standards for trace metals, which have already been
established or are planned for the near future. In an
effort to develop this technology as rapidly as
possible, CSL is currently working with many (nearly
70) contractors, grantees, and consultants.
Scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, and fabric
filters are currently the major particulate collection
devices. These devices are being up-graded by projects
concerned with decreasing costs, increasing applicabil-
ity of these devices to a wider range of sources, and
extending their range of particle collection capability
to smaller particle sizes. In addition, entirely new
concepts of particle collection are being investigated.
System studies, completed for each of the conven-
tional devices, define potential areas of improvement
and new applications. Long range projects include:
development of generalized models for existing col-
lectors, identification and laboratory scale testing of
totally new concepts in particle control technology,
and pioneering work in small particle detection and
small particle generation equipment.
Electrostatic Precipitation—\n an electrostatic pre-
cipitator (ESP), dust suspended in the gas stream is
electrically charged and passed through an electric
field where electrical forces cause the particles to
migrate toward a collection electrode. The dust,
separated from the gas by being retained on the
collection electrode, is subsequently removed from
the device. In a conventional ESP, the dust is
removed mechanically. In a wet ESP, the dust is
removed by continuous washing of the collection
electrode.
CSL is conducting field tests of industrial ESP's to
determine the fine particle collection efficiency and
economics of ESP systems. Recent results indicate
that properly designed and operated ESP's are
capable of controlling flyash from coal-fired utility
boilers at an overall mass efficiency in excess of 99
percent. These same efficiency measurements indicate
that these ESP's are more than 90 percent efficient
on a mass basis in collecting all particle size fractions
down to about 0.01 micrometer in diameter.
ESP's are being redesigned to improve their par-
ticulate collection efficiency, especially for fine parti-
cles and high resistivity dusts. This work includes
development of special dust-conditioning methods,
particle charging procedures, and collection section
designs. The work on conditioning has resulted in the
discovery of the current-carrying mechanism in flyash
at high temperatures and the demonstration of a new
conditioning agent.
Fabric Filtration-k typical fabric filter consists of
a flexible layer of porous cloth through which a
dust-laden gas is passed to separate particles from the
gas stream. Fabric filters have been used successfully
for many years to collect dusts at temperatures as
high as about 290°C; however comparatively little
scientific effort has been expended to develop higher
temperature filtration technology. Fabric filtration is
one of the few techniques now capable of collecting
very small particulate matter. Fabric filters are
usually flat or tubular bags suspended in a structure
known as a baghouse (see accompanying figure).
CLEAN AIR
OUTLET
DIRTY AIR
INLET
CELL
PLATE
Typical fabric filter baghouse.
One product of a fabric filter systems study,
completed for CSL in 1970, is a technology hand-
book intended as a guide in the design, development,
application, and operation of fabric filter systems.
The study also recommended research and develop-
ment for possible funding by EPA.
Products of that research over the period of this
Report have been publications that relate woven
fabric structure to filtering performance and evaluate
122
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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new spunboncied nylons as filter media. Experimental
work to aid in selecting optimum filter cleaning
methods has been completed: a report of that work
will be issued late in 1974.
Major effort has been directed toward characteriz-
ing and improving fabric filter system performance
for capture of fine particulates. Tasks in this area
have been awarded to contractors and grantees, as
well as being pursued in-house. Specific programs
involve the development of non-woven media; the
development of high-velocity, high-efficiency filtra-
tion techniques; and the construction of a portable
baghouse system for on-site field testing.
Novel Paniculate Collection Dei//ces-The cost of
high-efficiency particle collection from industrial
sources by conventional equipment of all types
(scrubbers, filters, ESP's) is high, in large part because
the efficiency of most collectors decreases in the fine
particulate range. This performance loss must, there-
fore, be offset by large size or high-energy input.
Devices or systems based on new collection principles
or on radical redesign of conventional collectors are
sometimes offered by private developers. Presently
proposed systems include sonic agglomeration, granu-
lar bed filtration, foam scrubbing, and several types
of steam or high-pressure water ejector scrubbers.
Entirely new concepts utilizing new mechanisms have
the potential for providing high-efficiency fine parti-
cle collection or for permitting the growth of
particles by agglomeration for subsequent more effici-
ent collection. New concepts that have been advanced
include charged droplet scrubbing and collection of
charged particles by fiber beds.
All known novel devices and new collection
concepts are being reviewed by EPA. Those showing
potential for fine particle collection will be evaluated
for performance and related cost. Systems showing
promise of high-efficiency fine particle collection at
reasonable cost and meriting further development
will, if necessary, be further supported by CSL.
Wet Scrubbing—\n a wet scrubber, both gaseous
and particulate pollutants are transferred from the gas
to the scrubbing liquid. The availability of a wide
variety of scrubber types and scrubbing liquids gives
wet scrubbers the potential for satisfactorily remov-
ing many pollutants.
Sulfur Oxides Control
In the area of sulfur oxides (SOX) control,
achievement of Ambient Air Qi ;lity Standards de-
mands the control of industrial combustion, indus-
trial processes, ana area sources, as well as utility
combustion. Natural low-sulfur fuels are only suffici-
ent to satisfy about 40 percent of the demands of
State Implementation Plans. The remainder must be
supplied by control technology in the form of
effluent desulfurization, fuel cleaning, or process
modification. Although the currently defined SOX
control technology program contains developmental
projects of sufficient diversity to ensure the achieve-
ment of Ambient Air Quality Standards, a substantial
EPA research and development investment will be
required to bring this technology to commercial
fruition. Only in the case of effluent desulfurization
technology for electric utility applications will the
control technology achieve widespread commerciali-
zation within the next few years.
Consistent with Congressional guidelines, CSL's
major concern has been the control of sulfur oxides
from fuel combustion. About 80 percent of the
Laboratory's total expenditures to date have been in
this area and have been concentrated on flue gas
cleaning. Flue gas cleaning devices are now being
installed on commercial power plants in this country.
The prototype demonstrations that CSL has under-
way are shown in Table 15. Except for clean fuels,
flue gas cleaning is probably the only sulfur oxides
control technique that will have widespread applica-
tion within the next 10 to 15 years. With the
expected shortage of clean fuels (amounting to about
Table 15. PRESENT AND PROJECTED FLUE GAS
CLEANING DEMONSTRATIONS
Process and
application
Wet limestone
scrubbing
Shawnee-
TVA (30
MW, coal)
Key West
(40 MW, oil)
MgO scrub-
bing (Chemi-
cal: 155
MW, oil)
Cat-OX (Mon-
santo: 100
MW, coal)
Wellman-Lord
(115MW,
coal)
Stone & Web-
ster/Ionics
(70 MW,
coal)
Startup
April 1972
January 1974
May 1972
June 1972
July 1975
November 1975
Removal
efficiency, %
75-90
60-80
85-90
85-90
90-95
90-97
Control Systems Laboratory
123
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Wet limestone scrubbing system for sulfur dioxide removal is in operation at TVA's Shawnee coal-fired power
plant in Paducah, Ky.
20 percent of the coal demand), flue gas cleaning
should find wide application.
The need to develop techniques to permit the use
of eastern and midwestern coal is shown clearly in the
accompanying figure. Only about 7 percent of this
coal is usable under New Source Performance Stand-
ards. Because of physical and contractual limitations
it is not possible to mine all the low sulfur coal first.
(That is, the mining will proceed from left to right,
not from bottom to top.) Thus a native resource
approximating the GNP will not be available for use if
cleaning techniques are not utilized. It had been
projected that this would cause economic dislocations
and unemployment, substantial increase in the flow
of dollars outside the country, and increased depend-
ence of the security of our country on mid-eastern
oil; current events substantiate that projection.
13
-------
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
ESSENTIALLY ALL KNOWN RESERVES
MADE AVAILABLE BY 95% EFFICIENT
FLUE GAS CLEANING PROCESSES
(EXAMPLES: SODIUM ION SCRUB-
BING WITH THERMAL REGENERA-
TION, AND SODIUM HYDROXIDE
SCRUBBING WITH ELECTROLYTIC
REGENERATION)
ADDITIONAL RESERVES (TO 2.5% S)
MEETING NSPS MADE AVAILABLE BY
75% EFFICIENT FLUE GAS SCRUBBING
PROCESSES NOW BECOMING COMMER-
CIALLY AVAILABLE (EXAMPLE: WET
LIMESTONE SCRUBBING)
NATURALLY OCCURRING LOW-
SULFUR COAL (<0.7%S) THAT MEETS
NSPS
Value of eastern and central coals meeting new source
performance standards as a function of efficiency of
flue gas cleaning processes (value of coal resources at
$4 per ton).
and cleaning, and pollutant control evaluation and
optimization. The most recent work is aimed at
chemical desulfurization of coal and the problems of
hazardous pollutants in fossil fuel.
Two factors—the major contribution of small coal-
and oil-burning sources (area sources) to the degrada-
tion of ambient air quality and the severely limited
supplies of low-sulfur fuels—indicate a need for clean
fuel or coal conversion processes. CSL has provided
funds to both the Bureau of Mines and the Office of
Coal Research to assist in both the development of
conversion and gasification processes that can provide
clean fuels and the determination of environmental
controls that will be required for these techniques.
Since 1967, CSL has been actively developing
several versions of the fluidized-bed process for
combustion of coal and residual oil as a means of
economical pollution control in low cost steam and
power generation. This combustion process has the
capability of reducing pollutant emissions 95 percent
for S02, 80 percent for NOX, and 99 percent for
particulates. In addition, the capital costs for such a
plant would be 10 to 20 percent less than a
conventional facility, and thermal discharge to water-
courses can be reduced by 10 to 60 percent.
Fluidized-bed combustion represents an attractive
long-range solution to the control of pollutants from
utility boilers.
The Laboratory is also conducting research into
the control of emissions from smelters, iron and steel
operations, kraft wood pulping mills, iron foundries,
secondary aluminum furnaces, and other industrial
sources of SOX.
Nitrogen Oxides Control
On a National basis, 65 percent of the emissions of
nitrogen oxides (NOX) are from combustion sources
other than motor vehicles. For this reason, the CSL
program is oriented heavily in the direction of
combustion control. Control of stationary sources of
NOX will be necessary for achieving and maintaining
Ambient Air Quality Standards as well as for estab-
lishing future New Source Performance Standards.
The main approach has been modification of the
combustion process to reduce NOX formation.
Bench-scale work and field testing indicate that
necessary control for the immediate future can be
achieved by this method. In addition, stack gas
cleaning processes are being evaluated and investi-
gated on a small scale; results in this area, however,
are not encouraging thus far.
A further complication in nitrogen oxides forma-
tion is that not only is nitrogen fixed in the air, but
also some fuel nitrogen is converted to nitrogen
oxides. Some success in controlling NOX from fuel
nitrogen has been achieved, however. Whether control
of fuel nitrogen by combustion modification alone
will be adequate has not yet been determined.
The accompanying figure shows another area in
which CSL has made a major contribution—nitrogen
oxides control in coal combustion, the most difficult
area. The field testing program, which has been
underway since the beginning of calendar year 1971,
has been more effective than anticipated and is
substantially ahead of schedule. The second part of
Control Systems Laboratory
125
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NOX CONCENTRATION (ppm, 3% 02 DRY)
M A O) OO 0
0 0 0 0 0
O 0 0 O 0 0
t>
*£*?•
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\ \
,S * ^ PROJECTED
\4 *- -AHTIIAI (RESULTS OF FIELD TFSTINfi)
FIELD TESTING (700 ppm"'---...
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^^^ "\
O x —
\
Vy NSPS (525 ppm)
X
ENGINEERING R&D (300 ppm) *>**-- ^^
'
FUNDAMENTAL COMBUSTION RESEARCH (150 ppm) ^17;
k
1
1969
70
71
72 73 74 75
76
77 1978
CALENDAR YEAR
Control of nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired utility boilers.
the NOX program, engineering research and develop-
ment began in calendar year 1974 and is expected to
furnish technology permitting the attainment of
National New Source Performance Standards by the
beginning of calendar year 1975. It should ultimately
allow the attainment of average emissions of less than
300 ppm of NOX.
The basic research, which got underway at the
beginning of calendar year 1974, is expected to
provide technology to allow average emissions of
150 ppm NOX to be obtained in 1978.
Primary efforts during Fiscal Year 1974 will be the
development and demonstration of modified operat-
ing procedures for NOX control on pilot- and com-
mercial-scale boilers. The efforts of the overall com-
bustion research and development program are
classified under the main areas of fundamental studies,
fuels research and development, process research and
development, and field testing.
Fundamental Studies—A number of projects classi-
fied as fundamental research studies are directed at
providing a basic understanding of the important
phenomena involved in the formation and destruction
of pollutants during the combustion process. This
understanding can then be used to improve existing
combustion control techniques and to suggest other
techniques with even greater promise for control of
pollutants. The fundamental studies cover three
categories of work: the chemistry of pollutant forma-
tion and destruction, the physical processes of com-
bustion, and the mathematical simulation of combus-
tion.
The actual conditions existing within the flame
zone are a function of the physical processes of
combustion. Most combustors operate with diffusion
flames where fuel and air are introduced separately
and mixing is dependent on the manner of introduc-
tion. Because the flame zone is not of homogeneous
composition, it is necessary to understand the role of
combustion aerodynamics in pollutant formation. A
contract with United Aircraft Research Laboratories
has as its objective the establishment by detailed
velocity mapping of the flow-field properties in an
idealized single-burner combustor as a function of
fuel and air inlet parameters. The local chemical com-
positions and the exhaust product composition will
be monitored to show the effect of aerodynamic and
mixing conditions. Future work in this area will in-
clude a study of the role of flame interactions in
multiple-burner systems on the emission properties of
the systems.
Because the chemical and physical effects of actual
combustion are closely related, it is essential to pro-
vide a method of tying these effects together and
generalizing the results for a variety of systems.
126
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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•
*• ^'^
i
Catalytic oxidation process for sulfur dioxide removal is in operation at Wood River Power Station in A /ton, IL.
Mathematical simulation of combustion by modeling
is the tool used for this purpose. In the past year,
work has been directed toward developing the neces-
sary components of the model. Major effort has been
expended in the development of a rapid computerized
technique to allow evaluation of combustion kinetics
of numerous simultaneous reactions, incorporation in
the model of simplified flow fields, improvement of
the turbulence model, and comparison of model pre-
dictions with cold- and hot-flow furnace data using
simple chemical kinetics. Ultimately, the kinetics and
fluid-flow programs must be applied together to give
a realistic description of any practical system.
Fuels Research and Development-Fuels research
and development studies are conducted on versatile
experimental combustion systems. The studies are de-
signed to develop generalized combustion control
technology that is applicable to the control of NOX
and other combustion-related pollutants from con-
ventional fuels, waste fuels, and future fuels. Studies
conducted to date have been designed to develop
combustion control technology for a specific fuel
through single-burner design criteria on combustion
modification techniques. These studies provide the
future goals for NOX control and will generate the
necessary technology to be applied in the process
research and development area.
Contracted studies with the Institute of Gas Tech-
nology (IGT) have been directed toward the relation-
ship between combustion, aerodynamics, and pollu-
tant emission characteristics of industrial gas burners.
A recently initiated study with IGT will further inves-
tigate specific burner and process parameters and
Control Systems Laboratory
127
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Wet limestone (coral) scrubbing system for sulfur dioxide removal is in operation at oil-fired power plant in Key
West, FL.
evaluate and optimize burner design to minimize NOX
emissions from natural gas firing. A new experimental
furnace has been built for this program. The detailed
experimental program will evaluate three classes of
industrial gas burners. Detailed in-the-flame probing
will be conducted to better understand the role of
aerodynamics in pollutant formation. The experimen-
tal program and final report are scheduled for com-
pletion late in 1974.
The International Flame Research Foundation is
under contract to develop combustion system design
criteria for heavy oil- and coal-fired furnaces. Two
series of experimental trials have been conducted to
relate burner design parameters to pollutant emis-
sions, flame configuration, and combustion effici-
ency. These trials have consisted of input/output
measurements followed by detailed flame probing for
a limited number of cases. Results to date have
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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identified the types of flow conditions required to
control formation of NOX from pulverized coal.
Process Research and Development—CSL's process
research and development work involves studies with
commercial and prototype combustion systems for
the application of optimum NOX control technology.
Results of these studies will provide the basis for the
demonstration of combustion control technology. To
date, the studies have considered ail conventional
fuels and combustion systems. The major emphasis,
however, is in controlling IMOX emissions from coal-
fired utility boilers.
Two major programs that will have significant
beneficial impact are those related to combustion
modifications of a 125-MW, tangentially coal-fired
utility boiler (Combustion Engineering, Inc.) and a
125-MW, wall coal-fired utility boiler (Tennessee
Valley Authority). Both programs will evaluate staged
combustion as a control technique for NOX with
special emphasis on unit performance and fire-side
corrosion.
ing 60 to 70 percent were achieved with gas-fired
units, and 50 to 60 percent with oil-fired units:
initially, reductions with coal-fired units were not as
successful. NOX reductions on the gas- and oil-fired
units were primarily achieved through low-excess-air-
firing and staged combustion. In the past 2 years,
emphasis has been placed on coal-fired boilers. Esso
was recently able to reduce NOX emissions by an
average of 40 to 50 percent by using low excess air
and staged combustion on 12 coal-fired units without
increasing other omissions or significantly affecting
boiler performance. However, more information is
needed to determine the effect of combustion modifi-
cation with coal-fired units and tube-wall corrosion.
In the future, new burner designs will be tested in
industrial and utility boilers, and testing will be
conducted on such techniques as increasing fuel
richness during staging of combustion. The effect on
emissions of mixed-fuel firing and fossil-fuel/waste-
fuel firing will be determined. Also, the effect of
firing coal-derived fuels, such as low-Btu gas, will be
investigated.
Field Testing-CSL has sponsored several field test
programs, with boilers ranging from residential to
utility size, to determine what can presently be done
to control NOX and combustible emissions. This work
is done on commercial equipment and is generally
performed by research and development organiza-
tions familiar with the specific combustion systems
being studied using the financial and technical assist-
ance of manufacturers, users, and trade associations.
In addition to developing trends and providing
directional recommendations for industry to use to
minimize emissions with today's technology, the
work also defines where the research and develop-
ment efforts should be concentrated by developing
emission factors as a function of equipment type and
size, and fuel consumed. The field testing studies are
the initial efforts in the development of control
technology and are designed to provide the state-of-
the-art in control of NOX and combustible emissions
from existing commercial combustion systems.
A study with residential (up to 30,000 Btu/hr) and
commercial (300,000 to 10,000,000 Btu/hr) boilers
was jointly sponsored by the American Petroleum
Institute (API) and EPA. Battelle Laboratories, the
contractor, concluded that emissions from this size
range of equipment can be controlled best by proper
burner design and proper maintenance.
Field tests with utility (500,000,000 Btu/hr and
greater) boilers have been performed by Esso Re-
search and Engineering Co. During 1971, the first
year of the tests, 17 boilers (25 boiler/fuel combina-
tions) that fired coal, oil, and/or gas were tested.
Depending on boiler design, NOX reductions averag-
NOX Program Summary—Jo date, it has been
shown: that flue gas recirculation is the most effec-
tive combustion control technique for NOX emission
from nitrogen fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, and
that staged combustion is the most effective control
method for NOX emissions from fuel nitrogen conver-
sion. The development of this technology by the EPA
has allowed the control of NOX emission from gas-
and oil-fired utility boilers to a level of 150 to
250 ppm. In short-term testing, combustion modifica-
tions have also resulted in NOX reductions of up to
50 percent in commercial coal-fired utility boilers. In
addition, burner and furnace design variables have
been shown to cause widely varying NOX emission
levels in all boiler categories. Current efforts are
directed toward the continued development and
demonstration of modified operating procedures for
NOX control in pilot- and commercial-scale utility
and industrial boilers. Future work will support the
establishment of New Source Performance Standards
by applying the control technologies, developed as a
result of this research and development effort, to
pilot- and commercial-scale demonstration of com-
bustion control of NOX for existing and new combus-
tion sources in all size categories. In addition, the
research and development effort will be extended to
develop control technology applicable to the combus-
tion of additional fuel types (including coal-derived
fuels such as low-Btu gas, mixed fuels, waste fuels,
and methanol) and covering a wider range of com-
bustion equipment (e.g., stationary gas turbines,
internal combustion engines, and industrial process
furnaces).
Control Systems Laboratory
129
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Hazardous and Other
Pollutant Control
As EPA's regulatory program has developed, the
number of pollutants requiring control has expanded
to include more than 30 potentially hazardous and/or
annoying air pollutants. The overall goal relating to
hazardous and other (other than SOX, NOX, and
particulates) pollutants involves demonstration of the
"best" technology for controlling pollutant emissions
from specific combustion and industrial processes to
such a degree that a net health benefit is realized with
the least economic impact. Established technology
can lead to setting New Source Performance Stand-
ards or Hazardous Emissions Standards.
Each of several hundred different industrial source
types has a different degree of adverse environmental
impact. The data base describing many of these
source types is either non-existent or not in a form
suitable for deciding on the need to develop control
technology for the sources. A major effort is under-
way in CSL to generate the needed data base so that
the environmental impact of the sources can be
assessed accurately. Where currently installed control
technology does not reduce emissions sufficiently for
them to be of insignificant environmental impact,
control technology must be developed. All opti-ons,
including add-on devices, process changes, and raw
materials changes, are considered in selecting the
most attractive approach for technology develop-
ment. The programs in the "hazardous' element then
involve either source assessment or technology devel-
opment.
The goal of CSL's highly source-oriented con-
trol program for hazardous and other pollutants is to
control all pollutants from a given source. For
convenience in presentation, the extremely diverse
program can be divided into six source categories:
organic chemical processes, inorganic chemical proc-
esses, ferrous metals processes, non-ferrous metals
processes, open sources, and hazardous pollutants
from combustion sources.
Organic Chemical Processes—In the area of organic
chemical processes, CSL has three source characteri-
zation (assessment) programs underway: acrylonitrile
manufacture, petrochemical flares, and hexachloro-
benzene sources. The Laboratory also has four
technology development programs underway involv-
ing: catalyst regenerators at refineries, pulp mill
recovery furnaces, rendering plants (odor control),
and ethylene dichloride plants. Projects are also
underway to assess the economics of various sulfur
control options at petroleum refineries.
Inorganic Chemical Processes—Relating to CSL's
work with inorganic chemical processes, a program is
underway to determine the need to develop control
technology for fluoride emissions from gypsum ponds
at fertilizer plants. Another ongoing project will
provide data to quantify the capability of control
equipment for enclosed asbestos sources: hopefully,
this data will be used to strengthen the equipment
standards for asbestos control.
Ferrous Metals Processes—The ferrous metals in-
dustry converts iron ore and scrap iron into useful
iron and steel products. At large integrated steel
plants, iron ore, limestone, and coke are charged to a
blast furnace where the iron ore is reduced to molten
metal, which is periodically tapped. The iron from
the blast furnace is saturated with carbon that must
be removed to change it into steel. The iron from the
blast furnace, usually molten, is generally mixed with
cold scrap in a steelmaking furnace where it is blown
with air or oxygen, which burns the carbon, to
produce steel. It is in the steel furnace that the
carbon level is reduced to the required level, impuri-
ties are removed, and alloying agents are added.
(Other, less important, steel-making furnaces are the
open-hearth and the electric arc.) The steel from the
furnace is poured into ingots that solidify. The ingots
are then adjusted to proper and uniform temperature
and physically squeezed into the desired shape in
rolling mills.
This sounds simple, but in reality it is rather
complex as there are many ancillary processes and
operations to contend with; e.g., sintering, coke
production, scarfing, and galvanizing.
The iron and steel industry is not limited to large
integrated plants: small iron and steel foundries are
spread throughout the country. In these foundries
scrap iron or steel is melted in electric arc and
induction furnaces or in cupolas with little or no
refining, then poured into molds to solidify into the
desired shape.
Production of coke in conventional oven batteries
has traditionally been a major source of particulates,
SOX, odors, carcinogens, and hazardous trace metals.
It has been shown that top-side coke oven workers
have a substantially higher risk of lung cancer than
the average worker, probably from carcinogenic
materials associated with the particulate fraction of
the emissions. Until recently, emissions from this
source have been relatively uncontrolled. Because the
majority of existing cokemaking facilities will be
operable for the next 25 years and because most
facilities built in the next 10 years will feature
conventional oven batteries, CSL has had to concern
itself with developing control technology for conven-
tional batteries in order to meet pollution control
guidelines until the end of the century.
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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Present indications are that, even though pollution
control technology may be developed for conven-
tional batteries, equipment will probably be expen-
sive and have high-maintenance cost, yet may not be
able to control all pollutants. The expected long-term
solution to the coking problem is a continuous coking
process that emits pollutants in a more controllable
form. CSL's involvement in coking is ultimately
expected to encompass continuous cokemaking.
Specific coke oven emission control projects with
CSL involvement include: smokeless coke charging,
enclosed coke pushing and quenching, smokeless coke
pushing, and improved coke oven door seals. As
shown in the accompanying figure, CSL's prototype
demonstrations are expected to permit reduction of
coke oven emissions from coke production, CSL is
now expanding its outlook-initiating projects in
other areas of the industry, in addition to coke-
making. Other major CSL ferrous emission control
projects are related to sinter plant windboxes, basic
oxygen process (BOP) furnaces, and iron foundry
cupolas.
Non-Ferrous Metals Processes—CSL's activities
relating to non-ferrous metals processes—particularly
relating to air pollution problems associated with
primary copper, lead, and zinc production in the
U.S.—began late in 1967 with a survey of sulfur
oxides and particulate matter emitted by those
industries. The study by Arthur G. McKee and Co.,
completed early in 1970, gave a general qualitative
and quantitative status of emissions in the smelting
industry.
The "McKee" effort was followed by another
general study—this one to appraise the suitability of
Monsanto's Cat-Ox process and the Well man-Lord
process for controlling sulfur oxide emissions from
copper, lead, and zinc smelters. The study was
performed by Stanford Research Institute.
Because U.S. copper smelting exposes a significant
segment of the population to a multiplicity of
pollutants whose effects have not yet been deter-
mined, efforts are underway to evaluate emissions
from such plants. CSL has also initiated a set of
development projects. Two new efforts currently
being mounted have as their respective objectives:
• Providing smelter-by-smelter information to
EPA on the optimum application of currently
demonstrated technology to simultaneously
control all smelter streams containing S02 and
particulates. The output will be in the form
currently being accepted by the courts as
demonstration by means of technology trans-
fer.
• Assessing the environmental considerations of
emerging technology for metal-winning in the
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CARBON HYDROCARBONS
ONOXIDE (INCLUDING
CARCINOGENS)
Contra/ technology demonstration—coke making.
primary non-ferrous industry. In this project,
consideration will be given to hydrometallurgy
as a new smelting process.
CSL and Phelps Dodge Corporation started a cost
sharing study in July 1971 on a new SOX control
method based on reacting the S02 with h^O, with
sulfur values recovered as elemental sulfur. Initial
attempts to generate the needed H2S by roasting
available copper ore with steam at 800°C showed
that, although it was technically feasible, the econom-
ics were prohibitive. The emphasis has now shifted to
leaching the concentrate with hydrochloric acid,
which decomposes the pyrite and/or pychloric in the
concentrate and releases ample quantities of h^S.
Preliminary results are promising; however, tests are
required to understand the observed variations in h^S
generation as a function of the concentrate source.
EPA has entered into two separate Public Law 480
Agreements (excess foreign currency program) with
Yugoslavia: one with the Institute for Copper, in Bor;
and the other with the Lead and Zinc Institute in
Trepca. The Bor project is a 3-year investigation
(begun in May 1971) being carried out at an
American-engineered copper smelter, the largest in
Europe. The Trepca project is a similar 3-year effort
(started in October 1971) being carried out at a lead
and zinc smelter.
Objectives of both projects are:
• To characterize, quantitatively and quali-
tatively, all air pollutant emissions from this
type of smelter.
Control Systems Laboratory
131
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• To relate air pollutant emissions to the smelter
feed and to feed changes so that data will apply
to other smelters.
• To relate air pollutant emissions to operational
changes (changes in smelter configuration) so
that data will apply to other smelters.
• To determine the effects of controlling sulfur
dioxide and particulates on the emission of all
other pollutants, especially of the "hazardous"
heavy metals.
The relationships that are being developed in these
two Public Law 480 projects are expected to be
applicable to the domestic non-ferrous smelting in-
dustry.
CLS's interest in hazardous and other emissions
from the non-ferrous metals industry prompted a
study being performed at the South Dakota School of
Mining under a research grant. The hazardous element
of interest in this study is the mercury vapor or
metallic mercury found in smelter or power plant flue
gases.
Another CSL-funded effort relating to mercury
and other hazardous pollutants (e.g., arsenic, cad-
mium, selenium, antimony, beryllium, copper, zinc,
and lead) is a study by Monsanto Research Company
to ascertain concentrations of these metals in
smelter-produced sulfuric acid. Such a survey is
intended to help predict the fate of hazardous
pollutants produced by smelter sulfuric acid distribu-
tion to, and consumption by, different industries.
Open Sources—CSL's open sources program is a
broad-based source characterization program, initi-
ated to characterize all major sources of toxic
emissions from mining and materials handling opera-
tions for the metallic ores and non-metallic minerals
industries. Studies are underway: to identify hereto-
fore unrecognized major sources of asbestos; to assess
the importance of and develop control technology for
asbestos mining sites; and to assess the importance of
and develop control techniques for industrial wastes
containing asbestos.
Hazardous Pollutants from Combustion Sources—
CSL's program relating to the control of hazardous
pollutants from combustion sources is closely coor-
dinated with the Laboratory's particulate control,
NOX combustion, and SOX flue gas cleaning pro-
grams. Because the initial emphasis is upon characteri-
zation of emissions from the most significant sources
of pollution, the approach of the program is similar
to that for industrial process control programs.
Coal-fired utility and industrial boilers were se-
lected as being of highest priority. Midwest Research,
selected as the contractor to characterize these
sources for hazardous emissions, has developed a
comprehensive test program covering all significant
parameters that might affect toxic pollutant emis-
sions. The program was prepared during 1973 with
actual sampling beginning early in 1974.
In addition to the characterization of utility and
industrial boilers, studies are being initiated to
identify control alternatives for open combustion
sources.
Energy Research and
Development
A major effort has been underway since July 1973
to develop a plan for increased Federal support of
energy research and development. As noted in the
special Energy and the Environment section of this
Report, the Control Systems Laboratory has provided
substantial support to this planning activity and is
expected to assume a major role in the implementa-
tion of the new energy programs. The accelerated
development of new energy processes will require an
extensive technology assessment function within
EPA.
The expanded control technology research and
development program will require increased budgets
for EPA starting in Fiscal Year 1975. CSL is expected
to assume the lead in managing these funds; the
program will be implemented through interagency
agreements and activities conducted by other EPA
laboratories that are coordinated by CSL, as well as
through direct contracts to the private sector.
The significance to EPA of this energy research
and development function cannot be overemphasized.
During the next 5 years, decisions will be made and
technology will be developed that will firmly estab-
lish the basis for the generation of energy for decades
to come. These new energy technologies must be
environmentally sound if the future health and
welfare of the Nation is to be protected. Although
environmental considerations may be subjugated to
short-term energy needs, there must ultimately be a
reconciliation of energy and environmental considera-
tions.
Active involvement by EPA will ensure that
environmental control systems keep pace with new
energy processes.
132
ANNUAL REPORT 1973
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