United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Research and Development
&EPA
The Office of
Research and Development
1989
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November 1988
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Office of Research and Development
1989
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC, 20460
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Contents
EPA Organization Chart iv
ORD Organization Chart v
Office of Research and Development 1
Office of Research Program Management 5
Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support 9
Center for Environmental Research Information 13
Office of Exploratory Research 17
Risk Assessment Forum 21
Senior Official for Research and Development-Cincinnati, OH 25
Senior Official for Research and Development-Research Triangle Park, NC 26
Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance 27
Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory 33
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Cincinnati, OH 37
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas, NV 41
Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration 45
Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory 49
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory 53
Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research 57
Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory - Ada, OK 63
Environmental Research Laboratory-Athens, GA 67
Environmental Research Laboratory-Corvallis, OR 71
Environmental Research Laboratory-Duluth, MN 75
Environmental Research Laboratory-Gulf Breeze, FL 79
Environmental Research Laboratory-Narragansett, RI 83
Office of Health Research 87
Health Effects Research Laboratory 91
Office of Health and Environmental Assessment 95
Exposure Assessment Group 99
Human Health Assessment Group 101
Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office-Cincinnati, OH 105
Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office-Research Triangle Park, NC 109
iii
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U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Organization Chart
Staff Offices
Administrative
Civil Rights
Small & Dlsad\
Business Utiliz
Administrator Associate Administrator
Law Judges lor International Activities
/antaged , . Associate Administrator
.. Administrator . _ . . _
ation tor Regional Operations
1
r
Assistant
Administrator for
Administration and
Resources Management
Office of
' the Comptroller
Office of
Administration
Office of Information
' Resources Management
Office of
Human Resources
Management
Office of
Administration &
" Resource Management
RTP, NC
Office of Administration
Cincinnati. OH
Assistant General
Administrator for Counsel
Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring
Office of Criminal
Enforcement
Office of Senior
Enforcement Counsel
Assistant
Administrator for
Water
Office of Water
. Enforcement and
Permits
Office of Water
. Regulations and
Office ol Municipal
Pollution Control
Office ol
Drinking Water
Ollice o
Protect
Marine and
es
on
Ollice ol Ground
Water Protection
Office ol Wetlands
Protection
Assistant
Administrator lor
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Ollice ol
Solid Waste
Ollice ol
Emergency and
Remedia Response
Office ol Waste
. Programs
Enforcement
Office ol
L Underground
Storage Tanks
|
Assistant
Administrator for
Policy, Planning
and Evaluation
Office of
Policy Analysis
Office of Standards
and Regulations
Office ol Management
Systems and Evaluation
1 1
Assistant
Administrator tor
External Affairs
Office ol
" Congressional Liaison
Oltice of
Federal Activities
Office of
Legislative Analysis
Office ol Community
. and Intergovernmental
Relations
Office ol
Public Affairs
1
Assistant
Administrator lor
Air and Radiation
Olfice ol Air
_ Quality Planning and
Standards
Oltice of
Mobile Sources
Office ol
Radiation Programs
Inspector
General
Office of
" Audit
Olfice ol
Investigations
Office of Management
- and Technical
Assessment
1
Assistant
Administrator for
Pesticides and
Toxic Substances
-
-
-
Office of
Pesticide Programs
Office ol
Toxic Substances
Office of
Compliance
Monitoring
1 1 1
Region 1
Boston
Region II Region III Region IV Region V Region VI Region VII
New York Philadelphia Atlanta Chicago Dallas Kansas City
Assistant
Administrator tor
Research and
Development
Ollice ol
Modeling. Monitoring
Systems and
Quality Assurance
Environmental
Engineering and
Technology
Demonstration
Oltice of
Environmental
Processes and
Effects Research
Office ol
Health Research
Office ol Health
and Environmental
Assessment
1 1
Region VIII
Denver Sc
Region IX Region X
in Francisco Seattle
IV
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Office of Research and Development Organization Chart
Otfice ot Research
Program Management
Office of Technology
Transfer & Regulatory
Support
J
Assistant Administrator lor Research
and Development
Deputy Assistant Administrator
_L
Office ot Modeling,
Monitoring Systems &
Quality Assurance
Program Operations
Staff
Quality Assurance
Management Staff
Modeling &
Monitoring Systems
Staff
Atmospheric
Research & Exposure
Assessment
Lab..Research
Triangle Park, NC
Environmental
Monitoring Systems
Lab., Cincinnati, OH
Environmental
Monitoring Systems
Lab ,Las Vegas. NV
_L
Office ot Environmental
Engineering & Technology
Demonstration
Program Development
Staff
Program Management
Statt
Air » Energy
Engineering Research
Lab., Research Triangle
Park. NC
Risk Reduction
Engineering Lab,
Cincinnati, OH
Center lor Environmental Research
Information Cincinnati, OH
Office of Exploratory
Research
Risk Assessment
Forum
Office of Environmental
Processes & Effects
Research
Program Operations
Staff
Terrestrial & Ground
Water Stall
Marine, Freshwater &
Modeling Staff
R. S Kerr Environmental
Research Lab .Ada, OK
Environmental Research
Lab .Athens, GA
Environmental Research
Lab .Corvallis, OR
Environmental Research
Lab .Dululh. MN
Environmental Research
Lab ,Gull Breeze. FL
Environmental Research
Lab .Narragansett. Rl
Office of Health
Research
Program
Operations Staff
Environmental
Health Research
Staff
Olfice of Health &
Environmental
Assessment
Program Operations
Staff
Program Liaison
Staff
Technical
Inlormation Stall
Exposure Assessment
Group
Human health
Assessment Group
Environmental Criteria
& Assessment Office,
Cincinnati, OH
Environmental Criteria
& Assessment Office,
Research Triangle Park,
NC
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Office of Research and Development
Erich W. Bretthauer is the Acting
Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Research and Development. From September
1987 through October 1988, he was the Deputy
Assistant Administrator. Within EPA he has
served as the director of both the Environmental
Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, and
the Office of Environmental Processes and
Effects Research, Washington, DC. In 1962 he
began his career in scientific research with the
Public Health Service. He received bachelor's
and master's degrees in Chemistry from the
University of Nevada, Reno. He has authored
many technical papers and has received the
EPA Gold Medal.
Mission
Introduction
The primary goal of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is to mitigate the adverse
impacts of pollution on human health and the
environment. Toward that end, Agency
management must make decisions regarding the
development of policy, guidance, standards,
regulations, and the appropriate tools for
implementing pollution abatement strategies. It is
the primary mission of the Office of Research and
Development (ORD) to provide high quality, timely
scientific and technical information in the service of
Agency goals. The Agency's research program is
conducted through 12 environmental laboratories
across the country, employing some 2000 people,
with an annual budget of $380 million. The
research focuses on areas targeted by the planning
process as needing additional emphasis in order to
provide the information required for Agency
decision making.
Research Perspectives
The overall planning process engenders an
applied research and development program focused
on answering key scientific and technical questions
related to EPA's decision making, short-term
scientific and technical studies supporting
immediate regulatory and enforcement decisions,
and a longer-term research program that extends
the knowledge base of environmental science and
anticipates environmental problems.
The core research and development program is
focused on the following functional areas:
Health effects research - to determine the
adverse effects of pollutants on human
health
Ecological effects research - to determine
the adverse effects of pollutants on
ecosystems
Environmental processes and fate
research - to understand how pollutants are
transported and modified as they move
through soils, ground and surface waters,
and the atmosphere
Environmental monitoring research - to
develop methods of identifying pollutants in
the environment and measuring exposure
to such substances
Risk assessment research - to develop
methods to integrate information on
pollutant sources, fate and transport,
exposure, and health and ecological effects
in order to assess the overall risk posed by a
pollutant or a group of pollutants
Risk reduction research - to develop control
technologies to treat, destroy, or contain
pollutants and methods to reduce or
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Office of Research and Development
eliminate the sources of pollutants or to
prevent exposure to pollutants.
In addition to functional areas, several cross-
media problems also categorize the total ORD
program. Those cross-media problems receiving
special emphasis at present and for the foreseeable
future and the Agency programs most concerned
are:
Global climate change (air, water,
hazardous waste);
Total and human exposure assessment (air,
water, hazardous waste/Superfund,
pesticides/toxic substances)
Wetlands (water, hazardous waste and
Superfund);
Accidental releases (air, water, hazardous
waste and Superfund);
Comparative risk for complex mixtures (air,
water, hazardous waste and Superfund,
pesticides/toxic substances);
Technology Transfer (all);
Biotechnology (air, water, pesticides/toxic
substances).
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Office of Research and Development
FY 89 Resources
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
S&E
R&D
Total Full Time Employees:
Total Budget:
A&C
1,857
SF
Salaries and Expenses (S&E) $109,799,000
Research and Development (R&D) 200,500,000
Abatement and Control A&C/Leaking Underground
Storage Tanks (LUST) 1,768,000
Superfund (SF) 68.224.000
Grand Total $380,291,000
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Office of Research Program Management
Clarence E. Mahan has been the Director
of the Office of Research Program Management
since April 1986. From 1983 to 1986, he was
Associate Comptroller for EPA. Before that, he
spent a year as the Director, Office of Fiscal and
Contracts Management. He held several
positions with the Army, the Air Force, and the
Department of Energy. Mr. Mahan received an
MBA degree from Syracuse University, a
master's in History from American University,
and a bachelor's from the University of
Maryland. He has received the Presidential
Rank of Meritorious Executive Award.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$3,700,000
45
Program
Coordination
Staff
382-7468
Evaluation and
Review Staff
382-7500
Planning Staff
382-2597
Program and
Information
Management
Staff
382-7462
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Office of Research Program Management
Functions
The Office of Research Program Management
(ORPM) is the principal staff office to the Assistant
Administrator on matters of budgeting, account-
ability, program planning, analysis, review,
integration and coordination, resource manage-
ment, organizational and manpower management,
environmental compliance, policy development and
analysis, and administrative management services.
The Headquarters Staff Offices responsible to
ORPM are required to:
recommend ORD policies, procedures and
resource targets;
administer planning, budgeting, reporting and
review systems;
determine ORD program responsiveness to
Agency goals and measure performance;
provide administrative support services to ORD
Headquarters components;
allocate resources, as directed by the Assistant
Administrator;
operate ORD fiscal and manpower controls.
oversee ORD's information resources
management activities, which includes all ADP
management.
throughout the nation. If the Agency is to be
effectively served by ORD, it is essential that the
inhouse research program be supported by an
adequate infrastructure of research facilities,
scientific equipment and supplies, as well as a
highly trained and motivated scientific workforce.
Beginning in the mid to late 1970's, ever
increasing mission demands and increasingly
constrained intramural resource availability has
caused the quality of the ORD infrastructure to be
eroded. The majority of ORD laboratory facilities
are mostly over 25 years old. Things are beginning
to break down, some roofs have actually fallen in
and nearly all physical plants are in need of
renovation and modernization. Industry standards
for the replacement of scientific equipment is 7
years. By such a standard, over 60% of ORD's
scientific equipment is either obsolete or in need of
upgrade at a cost which will approach $84 million.
While ORD has recently invested in a
contemporary computing and telecommunications
network, capacity remains a problem and with the
increasing need for large environmental models it
is essential that ORD acquire a "super computing"
capability. With respect to the workforce, the
current ORD investment in training and career
development averages approximately $240 per
employee per year. When compared to as much as
$1500 per employee by many technically
sophisticated industries, we do not stand in very
good stead.
Issues
Reinforcing the ORD Infrastructure
If the EPA is to be successful in its mission of
protecting public health and the environment, its
regulatory decisions and control strategies must be
firmly grounded in the best possible scientific and
technological base. This scientific mission within
the Agency is carried out by ORD through a major
inhouse research and development program
supported by an extensive extramural program of
research contracts and various cooperative
agreements with academic institutions.
The inhouse research program is conducted by
ORD scientists and engineers in 12 major
laboratories and 7 other field installations
In response to the problem, ORPM has taken
the lead in chairing a new Intramural Task Force
consisting of the ORD Deputy Office Directors.
During the past year, that committee fashioned a
series of 1990 intramural budget initiatives which
total in excess of $56.8 million. This would include:
Inflationary Adjustment
of intramural account $4.5M
Human Resources
(training & development) 1M
Scientific Instrumentation
(New: $5M Replacement: $15M) 20M
Facilities and Equipment ($1M Repair/
Maintenance Under $25K;
$1.2M Bldg.Equipment Replacement;
$8.5M Operate New Facilities) 10.7M
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Office of Research Program Management
Travel 1.2M
Super Computer 19.4M
In addition to the requested dollars, the budget
proposal also included increased flexibility which
would enable ORD management to use different
appropriations for dealing with priority
infrastructure problems.
These budget initiatives for ORD were
incorporated into the Agency FY 1990 budget
request to OMB.
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Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support
Peter W. Preuss has been the Director of
the Office of Technology Transfer and
Regulatory Support since 1988. From 1985 to
1988, he was the Director of the Office of Health
and Environmental Assessment. Dr. Preuss
began his career with the Boyce-Thompson
Institute for Plant Research. He received a
Ph.D. and master's degrees in Plant Physiology
and Biochemistry from Columbia University
and a bachelor's in Chemistry and Mathematics
from Brooklyn College.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$6,900,000
61
DIRECTOR
382-7669
Regional Operations
Staff
382-7667
Regulatory Support
Staff
382-7669
Regional Scientist
Program
382-7667
Technology Transfer
Staff
382-7671
Center for Environmental
Research Information
684-7391
Air Team
382-7669
Water Team
382-7669
Toxic/Pesticide
Team
382-7891
Hazardous
Waste Team
382-7669
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Office of Technology Transfer andRegulatory Support
Functions
Technology Transfer (TT) Staff Functions:
The Office of Technology Transfer and
Regulatory Support (OTTRS) has three main
functions:
analysis and integration of science in the
development of regulations,
technology transfer on behalf of the Office of
Research and Development, and
channels information exchange and technology
transfer of ORD risk assessment activities,
develops and manages a TT program,
promotes transfer of information to state and
local users and ensures that ORD products
deliver results from analysis and communica-
tion,
maintenance of a network of scientists in each
of the EPA Regions to provide ORD expertise
for regional programs.
OTTRS has a staff of about 70 people and a
budget of about $6 million. It integrates and
disseminates ORD's scientific and engineering
information and expertise into regulatory decision-
making and transfers information and technology
to state and local organizations involved in
environmental protection. The Director advises the
Assistant Administrator on regulatory support
provided to Program Offices by ORD scientists and
engineers, on methods for enhancing program
effectiveness through technology transfer and
ORD-specific implementation of the 1986
Technology Transfer Act, and on increased
attention to Regional Office needs and networking
of national issues. OTTRS will have the lead role
for technology transfer within ORD, will provide
technical and policy assistance to ORD laboratories
and serve as a focal point for communication and
coordination with EPA program offices, EPA
regional offices, and non-EPA organizations.
Regulatory Support Staff Functions:
assesses TT needs, and
manages the Center for Environmental
Research Information (CERI) to:
implement a comprehensive national
program,
facilitate dissemination and exchange of
scientific or technical information resulting
from ORD research and development
programs.
Regional Operations Staff Functions:
assists regions with short- and long-term
research,
identifies and integrates regional research
requirements,
represents regional interests in planning and
budgeting,
rotates ORD scientists through regional offices,
and
analyzes, integrates and communicates policy
issues and research requirements,
makes sure ORD evaluates and contributes to
basis of scientific issues, and
coordinates ORD's involvement in issues.
serves as a liaison between regional offices and
ORD offices and laboratories.
10
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Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support
Program Activities
Historically, ORD's expertise has not been fully
utilized in the development of Agency policy,
despite the fact that a large part of the ORD
program is directed at regulatory issues. The
OTTRS regulatory support function ensures that
scientists in all ORD offices and laboratories review
the scientific and technical basis of Agency
regulatory approaches. As a result, technical
weaknesses are identified, cross-disciplinary issues
are reviewed in an integrated fashion, and ORD
positions are clearly communicated. We provide
early and active analysis of legislation that may
affect ORD programs and provide feedback on
research needed to execute specific regulatory
approaches.
Scientist Program. We have assigned four senior
ORD scientists to work in EPA regional offices, and
we plan to select six more within the year. Regional
Scientists will broker technical assistance to the
regions and will champion regional research needs
within ORD. Cooperative agreements with the
National Governors' Association; the National
League of Cities; and the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials, provide us with
additional insight with respect to better serving
state and local clients.
ORD's efforts in technology transfer are well
received by our EPA headquarters and regional
clients but have not been directed at state and local
governmental agencies. Many complex
environmental issues facing states and
municipalities, lend themselves to solutions that
can be provided through an aggressive EPA
technology transfer program. These issues include:
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST);
Municipal Waste Management and Incinerator
Siting Decisions; Toxic Chemical Releases and the
Community's "Right to Know;" and Indoor Air
Pollution. OTTRS has formulated a new program of
"Cooperative Environmental Management" that is
designed to ensure that the scientific and technical
information that ORD generates is shared with the
broadest possible audience. This program will
refocus ORD's research effort to respond to the
needs of a decentralized environmental program;
give ORD resources leverage by joining efforts with
states and municipalities; and provide leverage for
ORD resources through joint efforts with the
private sector - stressing the goals of the
Technology Transfer Act of 1986.
There is general agreement among ORD senior
management that we need to improve
communication between ORD and the EPA
regional offices. Although we have been responsive
to ad hoc requests for technical assistance, regional
research needs have not received the priority
attention that they deserve in the ORD planning
process. In order to foster a more interactive
relationship we have established the ORD Regional
11
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Center for Environmental Research Information
Calvin O. Lawrence has served as the
Director of the Center for Environmental
Research Information since 1980. He was the
Deputy Director of CERI for three years. Mr.
Lawrence worked for ORD in Washington,
D.C. from 1972 - 1977 ending his tenure there
as Technical Assistant to the Assistant
Administrator for ORD. He began his Federal
career in 1963 as Mathematician and
Electrical Engineer at the Naval Ordinance
Laboratory, White Oak, Maryland. Mr.
Lawrence was awarded a EPA Bronze Medal
in 1973. He has a bachelor's in Mathematics
from Lamar University and a master's in
Numerical Science from John Hopkins
University.
Functions
The Center for Environmental Research
Information (CERI) is a focal point for the exchange
of scientific and technical information both within
the Federal government and to the public. CERI's
Technology Transfer and Technical Information
staffs coordinate a comprehensive technical
information program in support of the activities of
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD)
and its laboratories nationwide.
The Technology Transfer Staff is responsible for
working with the Program Offices and Regions to
produce Technology Transfer products that aid
states, local governments, and the regulated
community in complying with EPA regulations.
This information is based upon the latest
technology and is in a form that is easily
understood as well as comprehensive in coverage.
CERI's technical information components are
responsible for the production and distribution of
ORD scientific and technical reports, responding to
requests for publications and the quality control of
all ORD's information products through the
application of standard procedures for the
production of documents and through a review and
sign-off mechanism to insure that the science has
met applicable standards.
FY88 Products
Emerging Technologies for Upgrading Existing or
Designing New Drinking Water Treatment
Facilities
Assessment and Management of Drinking Water
Contamination
Assessment and Management Workshop
National AWWA Meeting, Orlando, FL, June 20-
23,1988
Constructed Wetlands and Aquatic Plant Systems
Requirements for Hazardous Waste Landfill Design,
Construction, and Closure
Model on Exposure and Bioaccumulation of
Toxicants in Surface Waters
Model for Metals Equilibrium Speciation
(MINTEQAI)
Transport and Fate of Contaminants in the
Subsurface
Leak Detection Methods for Underground Storage
Tanks
13
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Center for Environmental Research Information
Field Evaluations of Municipal Wastewater
Treatment Technologies
APCA Meeting
WPCF Meeting
Alternative Treatment Technologies for Superfund
Sites
Compendium of Technologies Used in the
Treatment of Hazardous Wastes
Guide to Technical Resources for the Design of Land
Disposal Facilities
Community Relations in Superfund
Field Screening Methods Catalog
Superfund Exposure Assessment Manual
Guidance Document for Providing Alternative
Water Supplies
Technical Approaches to Cleanup of Radiologically
Contaminated Superfund Sites
Technology Screening Guide for Treatment of
CERCLA Soils and Sludges
Assessment of International Technologies for
Superfund Applications
Most Important Publication
Constructed Wetlands and Aquatic Plant Systems
for Municipal Wastewater Treatment
14
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Center for Environmental Research Information
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$3,684,000
27
DIRECTOR
684-7391
Environmental Control Systems Staff
684-7354
Publications Production
684-7555
Environmental Assessment Staff
684-7358
ORO Research Information
684-7562
Editorial Support
684-7551
I 5
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Office of Exploratory Research
Roger S. Cortesi has been the Director of
the Office of Exploratory Research since 1984.
From 1972 to 1984, he held supervisory
positions in several Agency programs,
including the Office of Health and Ecological
Effects, the Environmental Research Center,
and the Office of Planning and Evaluation.
Dr. Cortesi began his career as an advisory
engineer with Westinghouse. He received a
Ph.D. in Physics from the University of
Virginia and a bachelor's degree in
Mathematics from Harvard University.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$26,266,000
14
DIRECTOR
382-5750
Research Grants Staff
382-7445
Senior Environmental
Employment and
Workforce Development
Staff
382-5750
Centers and Special
Programs Staff
382-7473
17
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Office of Exploratory Research
Functions
The Office of Exploratory Research (OER) is
responsible for planning, administering, managing
and evaluating EPA's exploratory research
program in general and, in particular, its
extramural grant research in response to Agency
priorities as established by Agency planning
mechanisms. It supports fundamental research
aimed at developing a better basic scientific
understanding of the environment and its inherent
problems and entails close relations with the
American environmental research community.
OER's main goals are:
to have the environmental research community
aware of and working on problems of interest to
EPA;
to promote close interaction and mutual
awareness between EPA researchers and the
environmental research community;
to provide general support to the research
community for work on fundamental
environmental research, thereby promoting a
solid foundation of knowledge for the country's
large applied environmental research program,
a cadre of scientific and technical personnel in
the environmental sciences, and an "over-the-
horizon" capability for identifying problems
and solutions.
OER's goals are accomplished primarily
through four core programs: (a) a competitive
investigator-initiated research grants program, (b)
an environmental research centers program, (c) a
visiting scientists program, and (d) a small business
innovation research (SBIR) program.
Program Activities
areas of particular interest to the Agency such as
global climate change and hazardous substances.
All proposals received in response to either
mechanism are subjected to external peer review.
In an effort to provide more support to minority
institutions for the conduct of basic environmental
research, the Research Grants Program makes
available pre-application assistance for minority
faculty at Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) through its Minority
Institutions Assistance Program.
The Research Centers Program (RCP)--
supports multidisciplinary research, which is
conducted in a university setting and focused in
areas of priority interest to EPA. Research centers
are supported in the areas of: waste elimination,
intermedia transport, ecosystems, marine sciences,
advanced control technology, ground water,
epidemiology, and hazardous waste. In FY88, the
RCP initiated the establishment of five hazardous
substance research centers.
The Visiting Scientists Programhas two
components: a competitive visiting scientists and
engineers program and a summer fellowship
program. The objective of the Visiting Scientists
and Engineers Program is to attract accomplished
visitors into ORD laboratories for 1 to 3 years to
strengthen the Agency's research program by
fostering better exchange between EPA researchers
and the rest of the environmental research
community. The Summer Fellows Program is
carried out in cooperation with the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and
sponsors the assignment of post-doctoral
environmental science and engineering fellows to
EPA facilities for the summer months to conduct
environmental research and policy projects.
The Research Grants Program (RGP)-supports
research initiated by individual investigators in
areas of interest to the Agency. Research proposals
are solicited via two mechanisms: (1) the general
"Solicitation for Research Proposals," which is
published each year and invites proposals in five
broadly defined areas of environmental science and
engineering; and (2) the Request for Applications
(RFA) which is a more targeted solicitation
mechanism that requests proposals in well-defined
The Small Business Innovation Research
Program-is mandated by Public Law 97-219 which
requires EPA to devote 1.25% of its extramural
research and development budget to Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR). The SBIR
Program funds, via contracts, small businesses
with ideas relevant to EPA's mission. The program
focuses exclusively on projects in control technology
or process instrumentation development.
18
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Office of Exploratory Research
In addition to the above core programs, OER
administers other programs which are also
important to the accomplishment of its goals. They
include:
a Minority Fellowship Program, which awards
fellowships to college seniors and graduate
students enrolled on a full-time basis at
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
and majoring in curricula that could be applied
to the solution of environmental problems.
a Minority Summer Intern Program, which
extends to recipients of fellowships under the
Minority Fellowship Program the opportunity
for hands-on experience in the area of their
academic training by way of a summer
internship at EPA or some other environmental
organization.
the Agency's Senior Environmental
Employment Program (SEE), which utilizes the
skills and talents of older Americans to meet
employment needs of environmental programs
throughout EPA.
the Federal Workforce Training Program,
which coordinates ORD's participation in
workforce training programs used by state and
local governments.
the Scientific and Technological Achievement
Awards Program, which gives recognition and
makes monetary awards to EPA/ORD
laboratory scientists and researchers for
outstanding contributions to environmental
research.
(Last year of commitment is FY90 for seven of
the centers and FY91 for the other.)
In the proposed FY90 budget forwarded to OMB
by EPA, the need for and funding of a federal grants
program in the general area of environmental
science and technology is discussed. The rationale
is:
The federal government needs such a program
(1) to support its large environmental applied
research program, (2) to have adequate manpower
for future environmental research and
management needs and (3) to provide an "over-the-
horizon" capability to get an early start on
environmental problems and their solutions. The
program should be at least $50 million/yr. This
would support 40 new starts a year in each of the
five general areas of the program's research. This
level was chosen as probably the lowest level that
would let competent researchers "bet their careers"
on reliable funding. EPA should run the program
(1) because it has a good record in running a grants
program and (2) because the other agencies who
would be candidates have their own priorities and
would not fund in a way efficiently useful to EPA's
needs.
The future of the environmental research
centers program does not need immediate action or
decisions. Currently we are evaluating the program
with the help of an outside contractor with a report
due in early 1989. Included in the evaluation are:
(1) what has worked in the current EPA program
and why, (2) what has worked in other agencies'
center programs and why, (3) political resistance to
closing a center, and (4) how the center program
would fit if more legislated centers (e.g., ground
water) are added to the five Superfund centers.
Issues
There are two main programatic issues (August
1988) relating to OER. They are:
the desirability and size of the investigator-
initiated competitive grants program, and
the future of the Environmental Centers
program when the current commitment is over.
19
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Risk Assessment Forum
Dorothy E. Patton has been the Executive
Director of the Risk Assessment Forum since
1985. From 1976-1985, she was an attorney for
EPA in the Air Division and Pesticides and
Toxic Substances Division. She has received two
EPA Bronze Medals. Before coming to EPA, Dr.
Patton held consulting positions at Columbia
and Tufts Universities. She began her career as
an instructor in cell biology at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine. Dr. Patton received a J.D.
degree from Columbia University School of Law,
a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology at the
University of Chicago, and a bachelor's degree
in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin.
RISK ASSESSMENT
COUNCIL
RISK ASSESSMENT
FORUM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
475-6743
_L
Guidelines
Work Groups
Technical
Panels
1
Special
Subcommittees
21
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Risk Assessment Forum
Functions
EPA's Risk Assessment Forum is
responsible for scientific and science policy
analysis of precedent-setting or controversial
risk assessment issues of Agency-wide interest.
The primary objective is to promote Agency
consensus on risk assessment and to ensure that
this consensus is incorporated into appropriate
guidance for Agency scientists and managers.
To fulfill this purpose, the Forum assembles risk
assessment experts from throughout the Agency
to study and report on the issues formally and
from an Agency-wide scientific perspective.
Forum activities include developing
scientific analyses, risk assessment guidance,
and risk assessment methodology for use in
ongoing and prospective Agency actions; using
scientific and technical analysis to propose risk
assessment positions for Agency programs; and
fostering consensus on these issues. Generally,
the Forum focuses on generic issues
fundamental to the risk assessment process,
analysis of data used in risk assessment, and on
developing consensus approaches. Peer review
and quality assurance of completed risk
assessments or review of non-scientific risk
management issues are not standard Forum
functions. Risk Assessment Forum reports and
actions are referred to the Risk Assessment
Council for consideration of policy and
procedural issues, and Forum scientific analyses
become Agency policy upon recommendation by
the Risk Assessment Council and concurrence
by the EPA Administrator.
As the administrative arm of the Forum, the
ORD's Forum Staff is responsible for
coordinating and implementing the work of the
Forum. Accordingly, the staff assists and
contributes to scientific analyses, coordinates all
activities involving the Forum and its Technical
Panels, and manages all interaction between the
Forum and senior EPA management, peer
reviewers, and the public. At any one time, the
Staff is working with a total of 40-60
participants on Technical Panels, Colloquia, and
Workshops from all parts of the Agency. In
addition, the Forum-sponsored Guidelines
Implementation Program involves a separate
group of approximately 60 people, again from all
parts of the Agency.
Issues
The issues before the Risk Assessment
Forum vary as risk assessment issues become
prominent or controversial within the Agency or
in the larger scientific community. Issues
currently before the Forum fall into three
general categories:
Carcinogen Risk Assessment. Recently
concluded or ongoing Forum analyses on
carcinogen risk assessment include:
the relationship between ingested inorganic
arsenic and skin cancer;
policy guidance on the use of neoplastic
nodules found in rat liver tissue;
guidance on the use of non-tumor end points
for assessing cancer risk in follicular cells of
the thyroid gland;
toxicity equivalency factors for dioxins other
than 2,3,7,8-TCDD; and
general topics under study for revisions of
EPA's carcinogen risk assessment
guidelines (classification system weight-of-
evidence scheme, policy on use of benign and
malignant tumors, etc.).
Health Effects Other Than Cancer. Recently
completed or ongoing Forum projects relating to
health effects other than cancer include:
risk assessment guidelines for male
reproductive effects;
risk assessment guidelines for female
reproductive effects;
a report on cholinesterase inhibition as an
adverse toxicologic effect;
risk assessment guidelines for neuro-toxic
effects;
amendments of EPA's 1986 guidelines for
developmental toxicity (additional guidance
on use the of data on maternal toxicity and
on quantification for devel-opmental
effects);
22
-------
Risk Assessment Forum
workshop report on the use of one- and two-
generation reproduction studies;
developmental and reproductive toxicity
studies involving dermal exposure; and
general risk assessment guidelines for
health effects other than cancer.
Exposure Guidance. Ongoing Risk
Assessment Forum projects on exposure issues
include:
exposure measurement guidelines to
supplement EPA's exposure guidelines
issued in 1986;
uncertainty analysis in exposure
assessment;
exposure validation models; and
guidance on standard factors for use in
exposure assessment.
FY88 Products
Special Report on Ingested Inorganic Arsenic:
Skin Cancer; Nutritional Essentiality
Thyroid Follicular Cell Carcinogenesis:
Mechanistic and Science Policy Considerations
Proposed Guidelines for Assessing Female
Reproductive Risk
Proposed Guidelines for Assessing Male
Reproductive Risk
Notice of the Intent to Review the 1986 Guidelines
for Carcinogen Risk Assessment
Most Important Publication
Special Report on Ingested Arsenic: Skin Cancer;
Nutrition Essentiality
23
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Senior Official for Research and Development
Cincinnati
Francis T. Mayo assumed the position of
Senior Official for Research and Development
(SORD) at the Andrew W. Breidenbach
Research Center (AWBERC) in August 1988
after having served as the Director of the Water
Engineering Research Laboratory since 1976.
Prior to 1976, he served for five years as the
U.S.. EPA's Regional Administrator for Region
V. Mr. Mayo began his federal career with the
Federal Water Pollution Control Administra-
tion in 1966. He holds a bachelor's degree in
Civil Engineering from the University of Utah
and is an Adjunct Professor of Environmental
Science at the University of Cincinnati. Mr.
Mayo was awarded two bronze metals for
Meritorious Service by the U.S.. EPA in 1982
and 1986.
Functions
The Office of the Senior Official for Research
and Development-Cincinnati is a field element of
the Immediate Office of the Assistant
Administrator for Research and Development
(AARD). The Office functions as the official
spokesperson for ORD and the Agency in
Cincinnati and has the lead responsibility for
coordinating with Region V and with ORD's lead
region, with Headquarters, and with program
offices on all appropriate matters. The Office also
has the lead responsibility for the planning and
coordination of outreach programs at the Andrew
W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center
(AWBERC) including local Congressional affairs,
public affairs and community relations, academia
and training, media relations, international and
domestic visitors, intergovernmental relations,
support services, and related programs.
Specifically, the Office is responsible for
initiating and directing programs of:
Federal Technology Transfer Act
ORD Training Focal Point
Regulatory Compliance
Congressional Relations
Academic Relations
Public Affairs and Community Outreach
Technical Assistance
Support Services
Senior Official for Research
and Development
684-7951
Support and Public Affairs
Office
684-7966
-------
Senior Official for Research and Development
Research Triangle Park
Functions
The Senior Office of Research and Development
Official (SORDO) acts as the spokesperson for ORD
at the Research Triangle Park. His responsibilities
include coordinating with Region IV, the lead ORD
region, headquarters, and program offices on
matters that affect ORD/RTP. Through the Support
Services Office (SSO), the SORDO provides the
EPA-RTP, N.C. laboratories with a range of
administrative and management services which
are more appropriately centralized than secured by
each laboratory individually.
SSO provides:
Public awareness and information
Facility and equipment use
Frank T. Princiotta assumed the duties as
Senior Office of Research and Development
Official at RTP in March 1988. He also serves as
the Director, Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory at RTP. His prior work
with EPA includes five years (1975-1980) in the
Office of Environmental Engineering and
Technology at EPA Headquarters. Prior to
joining EPA, he worked with Hittman
Associates (1966-1971) and at the Office of the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (1962-1966).
Mr. Princiotta holds a B.S. degree in Chemical
Engineering from City College, New York and a
certificate in Nuclear Engineering Graduate
Studies from the Oak Ridge School of Reactor
Technology, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He has
received three EPA Bronze Medals and a Gold
Medal for management and technical
performance and a President's Meritorious
Executive Award for contributions to EPA's
energy research program.
Environmental compliance and occupational
health and safety program implementation
Radiation safety program management
Committee responsibilities on Human
Resources Mini-Council, Union-Management
Committee, EEO Council, FWP, Training,
Advisory and Facility Management
Handling of outside audit visits, Confidential
Business Information, and health maintenance
examinations
Project officer responsibilities on incineration
operation, chemical storage and issue, and
audiovisual services support
Senior Official for Research
and Development
629-2821
Support and Public Affairs
Office
629-2613
26
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Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
Rick A. Linthurst is the Acting Director
of the Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems
and Quality Assurance. Dr. Linthurst joined
the Agency in 1985 as Director of the Acid
Deposition Aquatic Effects Research
Program. Before joining the Agency, he was
the Director of Ecological Services for
Kilkelly Environmental Associates and
managed the Acid Deposition Research
Program at North Carolina State University.
He has received two Bronze Medals. Dr.
Linthurst received his Ph.D. degree in Botany
and a master's degree in Ecology at North
Carolina State University and a bachelor of
science degree in Biological Sciences from
Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL
$87,200,000
470
DIRECTOR
382-5767
Quality Assurance Management
Staff
382-5763
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH
684-7301
Program Operations
Staff
382-5783
Modeling and Monitoring Systems
Staff
382-5776
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas, NV
545-2525
Atmospheric Research and
Exposure Assessment
Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, NC
629-2106
27
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Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
Functions
The Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems
and Quality Assurance (OMMSQA) is responsible
to the Assistant Administrator for Research and
Development for planning, managing and
evaluating a comprehensive program for:
characterizing the sources, atmospheric
transformations and pathways, and the
physical, chemical, and biological
properties of pollutants stressing human
and ecological systems;
determining the status and trends in
pollutant concentrations and ecosystem
condition;
quantifying the exposure of humans and
ecosystems to pollutants and to support
exposure assessments essential to the
Agency risk assessment program;
developing and validating models to
estimate the atmospheric sources,
transport, fate and concentrations of
pollutants for use in exposure and risk
assessments and in the development of
effective control strategies for risk
reduction;
developing the measurement techniques,
analytical tools and quality assurance
protocols necessary to characterize,
monitor, and assess pollutant exposure and
ecosystem condition;
developing and supporting implementation
of Agency-wide policies, procedures, and
management systems aimed at assuring the
quality of data procedures, produced by
Agency programs. OMMSQA has a primary
responsibility for generating research tools
and data necessary for the Agency to
predict air pollutant source to receptor
relationships, and to conduct hazard and
exposure assessments for developing risk
management strategies for verifying their
effectiveness.
In carrying out these responsibilities, the
Office:
identifies specific research, development,
demonstration and service needs and
priorities;
establishes program policies and guidelines;
develops program plans including objectives
and estimates of resources required to
accomplish objectives;
administers the approved program and
activities;
assigns program responsibility and resources
to the laboratories assigned by the Assistant
Administrator;
directs and supervises assigned laboratories in
program administration; and
conducts reviews of program progress and
takes action as necessary to assure timeliness,
quality and responsiveness of outputs.
Program Activities
Air
National Ambient Air Quality Standards -
Evaluate, test, improve and standardize
monitoring methodology and systems for
measuring criteria pollutants in ambient and
personal air including the development of
quality assurance procedures. Develop a data
base of information to support the
development and evaluation of secondary
(welfare) national ambient air quality
standards especially in the areas of air
pollutant effects on visibility reduction and
material damage.
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
and State Implementation Plans (SIPs) -
Develop and evaluate monitoring
methodology in support of NSPS and SIPs
including remote monitoring methods,
compliance methods and appropriate quality
assurance procedures. Develop and evaluate
air quality models that can be used in
assessing the effectiveness of abatement
control strategies on reducing ambient air
concentration of pollutants, including ozone
and particulate matter.
Hazardous Air Pollutant Regulatory
Activities - Develop, evaluate and validate
monitoring methodology for hazardous air
pollutants (HAPs) including source, ambient,
and selected urban atmospheres. Also,
determine the impact of HAPs on humans by
the Total Exposure Assessment Methodology
(TEAM) field studies. Conduct transport and
fate studies to determine the concentrations,
28
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Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
transformation products and removal rate of
HAPs in the atmosphere.
Mobile Source Pollutant Regulatory
Activities - Determine population exposure to
mobile source pollutants. Validate the
exposure - human activity pattern models.
Characterize the tailpipe evaporative
emissions of motor vehicles using both
conventional gasoline fuels and alternative
fuels such as methanol and ethanol. The
characterization studies will be conducted to
determine the effects of driving conditions and
seasonal conditions (winter vs summer) on
motor vehicle emissions.
Indoor Air Quality Research - Investigate
sources, exposures, health effects and
mitigation of pollutants in indoor air
environments with other Federal agencies
through the Committee on Indoor Air Quality
(CIAQ).
Stratospheric Ozone - Air modeling analysis
will be conducted to predict the influence of
increasing ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation on
ambient ozone formation in attainment and
non-attainment urban areas. Controlled
chamber and field studies will be conducted to
determine UV-B effects on selected materials.
This work is an integral component of ORD's
stratospheric ozone program.
Global Warming - Develop, evaluate and
improve measurement statistical methods and
air quality models to detect and predict the
impact of the emissions of trace gases on
regional climate and the resulting impact on
regional ambient air quality levels. This work
is an integral component of ORD's global
climate program.
Water Quality
Water Quality Based Approach - Permitting.
Provide assurance that ambient water quality
monitoring data for regulation setting,
enforcement, or compliance purposes are
scientifically valid and legally defensible.
Conduct interlaboratory validation studies to
obtain precision and accuracy data for each
monitoring method. Promulgate "Analytical
Methods for the Analysis of Pollutants" as
required by Section 304(h) of the Clean Water
Act.
Waste Water Treatment Technology - Provide
quality control materials and calibration
standards for regulated CWA analytes.
Conduct performance evaluation studies of
EPA, EPA Contractor/Grantee, state and local
laboratories. Evaluate and revise data quality
criteria and develop reference materials as
needed.
Drinking Water
Drinking Water Technology - Provide
analytical procedures for use by the Agency,
States, municipalities, and system operations
to monitor contaminants to assure compliance
with maximum contaminant levels pursuant
to Section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water
Act and provide quality assurance/quality
control programs for on-site evaluation and
certification of drinking water monitoring
laboratories. Provide support to laboratories
and offices involved with data collection in
support of regulations and standards. Provide
for methods development and analytical
procedures to produce precise and accurate
total measurement systems for chemical,
radiochemical, and microbiological analysis.
Develop and distribute QC and PE samples for
drinking water laboratory certification
program.
Groundwater - Develop accurate and reliable
total measurement systems by providing
standardized methods, laboratory evaluations,
performance evaluation and quality control
samples, sample testing, and verification.
Develop methods for locating abandoned
wells, geophysical methods to detect and
evaluate underground movement of fluids
from injection wells, provide quality control
procedures and guidelines to support
Agencywide QA program, and develop
methods for well head protection.
Hazardous Waste
Waste Identification - Provide for evaluation
and modification of analytical .techniques for
hazardous waste characterization so they are
scientifically accurate and legally defensible.
Develop and evaluate subsurface monitoring
methods, including statistical sampling
designs, summary methodologies and
29
-------
Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
monitoring strategies for use at RCRA waste
sites.
Quality Assurance - Provide support to assure
the quality of the RCRA data generated by the
USEPA regions, contractors and state and
local agencies.
Releases - Provide aerial photography,
satellite imagery, and multispectral scanner
support to assist Regional Offices in Spill
Prevention, Control and Counter-measure
(SPCC) surveys, planning, and emergency
response activities. Develop protocols for
external monitoring around underground
storage tanks (UST). Evaluate procedures for
site characterization both to determine active
leaks and the boundaries for corrective action.
Provide methods to monitor UST cleanup
progress.
Pesticides
Health: Markers, Dosimetry, and
Extrapolation - Systematically evaluate the
potential for use of biomarkers in exposure
monitoring from an evaluation of the
literature and pilot studies of pesticide
exposure.
Exposure Monitoring - Application of Total
Exposure Assessment Methodology to
investigate human exposure to household
pesticide usage.
Support - Operation of the pesticides and
industrial chemical repository
Radiation
Manage Off-Site Radiation Monitoring
Program for DOE including hydrologic and
human surveillance monitoring. Maintain
quality assurance support program for
measurement of ionizing radiation
contaminants in air, water, milk and food.
Interdisciplinary
Manage the Agency-wide mandatory Quality
Assurance Program - Provide central
management and oversight of the Agency's
quality assurance program for environmental
data operations. Key program elements
include: development of QA Program Plans
covering all Agency organizations with
environmental data operations; conduct of
Management Systems Reviews of selected
program; implementation of the Data Quality
Objectives process; and management of an
Agency-wide QA training program.
Toxics
Analytical Methods Development for Toxic
Substances - Develop immunoassays for
measurement of organic compounds in
biological and environmental samples and
investigate new separation procedures for
analysis including chemometric approaches.
Health: Markers, Dosimetry, and
Extrapolation - Evaluate DNA and protein
adducts for use in human exposure monitoring
studies.
Exposure Monitoring Systems Development -
Using available data and results from specific
microenvironment studies, develop predictive
models for human exposure and conduct
microenvironment studies to categorize
human activity patterns.
Biotechnology/Microbial and Biochemical
Pesticides Control Agents - Develop
guidelines and processes for monitoring the
release of genetically engineered
microorganisms (GEMS) in the environment.
Conduct laboratory studies for determination
of half-life in bacterial aerosols.
Support - Provide quality assurance and
reference standards and develop guidelines to
govern routine exposure and environmental
monitoring for toxic chemicals.
Multi-Media Energy
Develop and apply the Eulerian Regional Acid
Deposition Model (RADM) as an assessment
tool.
Provide quality assurance for wet/dry
deposition measurements and methods
development for monitoring and assist in the
establishment of wet/dry deposition
monitoring network.
National Surface Water Survey - assist in
determining the normal, seasonal variability
in surface water chemistry.
30
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Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
Provide long-term monitoring support to
detect changes in surface water through
development of aquatic methods.
Evaluate atmospheric exposure in the Forest
Effects Research Program.
Operate field test sites for monitoring air
quality to understand and quantify effects on
materials and cultural resources. Determine
the effects of acid deposition on metals and
painted surfaces.
Superfund
Provide techniques and procedures for site and
situation assessments. Provide monitoring
techniques and procedures for site assessment;
geophysical methods; remote sensing; soil
sampling methods and survey designs.
Assist in site-specific, monitoring and
characterization in support of Superfund
investigations.
Develop and evaluate monitoring techniques
and systems which are rapid and inexpensive,
integrate monitoring systems into multi-
media site assessments.
Provide quality assurance/quality control
support for the Superfund Contract
Laboratory Program; to provide identification,
assessment, and improvement of methods for
evaluation of Superfund sites; and provide an
independent QA laboratory to support
monitoring activities.
Evaluate, validate, and demonstrate newly
developed techniques and systems for
characterization and assessment of
contamination at Superfund sites.
Issues
Expanding Environmental Characterization
Research
Environmental characterization is essential to
determining what pollutants are released into the
environment, their transport, transformation
products, and fate. This information is the
foundation of hazard identification and
consequently the risk assessment process.
Unfortunately, the increasing pressure to
investigate pollutants of visible importance has
eroded efforts to identify potentially damaging
pollutants as is needed to guide monitoring,
assessment, and dose-response research.
OMMSQA is responsible for developing
methods and quality assurance programs for
environmental characterization. While having
some of the best environmental chemists in this
country, OMMSQA has maintained only a modest
program in this research area that includes source
characterization, atmospheric transport,
transformation, and pollutant fate modeling, media
characterization, and methods development. To
remain on the cutting edge of remote
characterization techniques and analytical
chemistry will require increased attention to
characterization studies and, as importantly, state-
of-science analytical instrumentation.
OMMSQA has recently chosen to make
environmental characterization one of three
primary areas for research emphasis. This will
require a revitalization of the methods development
programs, and they will be focused on supporting
our efforts in environmental trends monitoring.
The long-term goal of this research is to ensure that
in-house capabilities are maintained to continue
meeting the methods development needs of the
Program Offices and Regions.
Environmental Status and Trends Detection
Reports of ecosystem degradation are appearing
with increasing frequency and suggest that
cumulative, chronic, insult from multiple
pollutants is likely to be the cause. Addressing
emerging problems on a case-by-case basis with the
resources available is an ineffective means of
getting ahead of the problems, bounding them and
knowing precisely where research should be
conducted. A fundamental limitation of the
Agency's approach to dealing with emerging
problems is the absence of a regional scale,
integrated environmental monitoring program that
generates the data essential to improve our ability
to address large scale, complex environmental
issues, verify the effectiveness of control programs,
or quantify, with known certainty, changes in
ecosystem condition and pollutant exposures.
Designing and implementing such a program
will require interagency cooperation, new
approaches to statistical designs for ecological
monitoring, development of indicators of ecological
condition and, most importantly, a long-term
commitment to the effort. OMMSQA and OEPER
31
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Office of Modeling, Monitoring Systems and Quality Assurance
have jointly been leading the Agency in developing assessments and, consequently, risk management
a program (the Environmental Monitoring and strategies developed for the Agency.
Assessment Program: EMAP) to define the current
status and trends in the environment. Capitalizing
on the success of the Acid Deposition Research
Program, both in terms of advancements in
monitoring design and interagency cooperation,
ORD is changing the way scientists are thinking
about the approach and chances for success of such
a program. Recent support from the Science
Advisory Board, the USDA Forest Service, NOAA,
USGS, and CEQ continues to improve the potential
for implementing EMAP and moves the Agency
closer to making this essential element of our
research a reality that will serve all Offices of EPA.
The Program will require substantial in-house
and extramural funds for implementation and the
Administrator and the AA for ORD will need to
continue visible support within the scientific
community and with other agencies to ensure the
success of this program.
Total Human Exposure
The Science Advisory Board identified human
exposure as one of the 10 areas of research that
needs to be expanded. Since a knowledge of human
exposure to pollutants through multiple pathways
is critical to assess risk, this program is designed to
generate the data required both to measure human
exposure and to develop exposure models. The
program includes the development of exposure
measurement methods, human exposure
monitoring, microenvirqnmental studies,
development and validation of human exposure
models, identification of sensitive and selective
exposure biomarkers and preparation of exposure
assessment documents. OMMSQA's environmental
characterization, fate and transport modeling also
supports human exposure Studies.
OMMSQA is currently developing a strategic
research plan that over time will significantly
advance this area of research within the core
expertise of the OMMSQA laboratories. Major
exposure studies in several cities within the U.S.
demonstrate the applicability of the approaches
being used. OMMSQA will now begin to work
toward regional and national scale efforts to better
quantify exposure. It is expected that the scientific
advancements being made and those expected over
the next few years will be a key to improved risk
32
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Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
Gary J. Foley is the Acting Director of
the newly formed Atmospheric Research and
Exposure Assessment Laboratory at Research
Triangle Park, NC. He has served as Staff
Director for ORD's Acid Deposition Research
Program and Acting Division Director,
Energy and Air, for ORD's Office of
Environmental Processes and Effects
Research. Dr. Foley began his career with
EPA in 1973 as a Senior Chemical Engineer.
Before joining the Agency, Dr. Foley served
as a Project Manager for the American Oil
Company. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical
Engineering from the University of
Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Foley has been
awarded 3 Bronze Medals by EPA.
Functions
The Atmospheric Research and Exposure
Assessment Laboratory (AREAL), Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina conducts intramural
and extramural research programs, through
laboratory and field research, in the chemical,
physical, and biological sciences designed to:
characterize and quantify present and future
ambient air pollutant levels and resultant
exposures to humans and ecosystems on local,
regional,and global scale;
develop and validate models to predict
changes in air pollution levels and air
pollutant exposures and determine the
relationships among the factors affected by
predicted and observed change;
determine source-to-receptor relationships
relating to ambient air quality and air
pollutant exposures, developing predictive
models to be used for assessments of
regulatory alternatives derived from these
relationships, directly or indirectly;
provide support to Program and Regional
Offices and to state and local groups, in the
form of technical advice, methods research
and development, quality assurance, field
monitoring, instrument development, and
modeling for quantitative risk assessment and
regulatory purposes;
develop and carry out long-term research in
the areas of atmospheric methods, quality
assurance, biomarkers, spatial statistics,
exposure assessment, and modeling research
to solve cutting edge scientific issues relating
to EPA's mission;
collect, organize, manage, and distribute
research data on air quality, human and
ecosystem exposures and trends for Program
and Regional Offices, ORD, the scientific
community, and the public at large.
The Laboratory is composed of the following
major components: Office of the Director, Program
Design and Integration Staff, Program Operations
Staff, Chemical Processes and Characterization
Division, Methods Research and Development
Division, Exposure Assessment Division, Quality
Assurance Division and the Atmospheric Sciences
Modeling Division.
FY88 Products
"Phase Distribution and Artifact Formation in
Ambient Air Sampling for Polynuclear Aromatic
Hydrocarbons," Atmospheric Environment
Evaluation of Sampling and Analytical Methods for
Nicotine and Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons
in Indoor Air
33
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Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
Supercritical Fluid Extraction - Gas
Chromatography of Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) from Tenax Devices
QA Support for the National Atmospheric
Deposition Program and National Trends Network
Monitoring Activities from 1984 -1987
"An Evaluation of the Semi-VOST Method for
Determining Emissions from Hazardous Waste
Incinerators," JAPCA
"Measurement of Atmospheric Concentrations of
Common Household Pesticides: A Pilot Study,"
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
"Mutagenic Atmospheric Aerosol Sources
Apportioned by Receptor Modeling"
"Field Comparison of Nitric Acid Measurement
Methods During the 1986 California Carbon Study"
"ASRL-RTP-J-1034 Rate Constant for the Reaction
of NO2 with Sulfur (IV) over the PH Range 5.3-13"
User's Guide to the Complex Terrain Dispersion
Model Volume 1. Model Description and User
Instructions
"Development and Evaluation of the Regional
Oxidant Model for the Northeastern United States"
Improved Parameterization for Surface Resistance
to Gaseous Dry Deposition in Regional Scale
Numerical Models
Most Important Publication
Proceedings of the 1988 Symposium on
Measurement of Toxic and Related Air Pollutants
34
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Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$42,041,000
181
DIRECTOR
629-2106
Program Design and
Integration Staff
629-2188
Program Operations
Staff
629-1357
Chemical
Processes
&Characterization
629-2194
Methods Research
& Development
629-2454
Exposure
Assessment
Research
629-2346
Quality Assurance
629-2198
Atmospheric
Sciences
Modeling
629-4542
35
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Cincinnati
Thomas A. Clark is the Director of the
Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory. He previously served as its
Deputy Director since 1985. From 1973 -
1981, Mr. Clark worked in the Quality
Assurance Division of EMSL-RTP in various
supervisory positions and also served as
Deputy Director of that Laboratory from
1981 - 1985 before moving to Cincinnati. He
was awarded a Bronze Medal in 1986. Mr.
Clark began his career as an Analytical
Chemist at the Matheson Company in
Norwood, Ohio. He has a bachelor's in
Chemistry from Xavier University.
Functions
The Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory - Cincinnati (EMSL-Cincinnati) has as
its primary mission to conduct research in
development, evaluation, and standardization of
chemical and biological methods for environmental
assessments; to conduct research for detecting,
identifying, and quantifying microbial pathogens
found in environmental media; and to operate the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Quality Assurance (QA) Program for maintaining
the scientific credibility of the Agency's water,
wastewater, and solid wastes/Superfund/ toxics
data bases.
Developed and standardized methods are used
to identify inorganic and organic pollutants and to
detect and identify bacteria, viruses, parasites, and
aquatic organisms in the environment. Analytical
methods for effluent compliance monitoring
[304(h)] are improved, modified and updated on a
regular basis. These methods include procedures for
inorganic, organic and biological pollutants.
Research is conducted on biotechnological
methods for determining the occurrence,
distribution, transport, and fate of human
pathogenic parasites in the environment. Methods
are developed and evaluated for the detection,
enumeration, and identification of indicator and
pathogenic bacteria in environmental media.
Methods for sample handling, transport, and
preservation are also developed. Field methods and
advanced state-of-the-art approaches are developed
to be applicable to drinking water, ambient water,
raw and treated wastewaters, sediments, sludges,
and biological samples.
The QA program involves method confirmation
and validation studies to establish the precision
and bias of USEPA's selected analytical methods,
QA manuals and guidelines, quality control (QC)
samples, and calibration standards for all analytes
regulated under water and waste programs.
Performance evaluation studies and laboratory
certification activities are conducted to evaluate
and report on the competency of analysts and
laboratories. A QA monitoring program is
maintained for both biology and chemistry, which
evaluates the adequacy of promulgated analytical
methods and procedures.
FY88 Products
Draft Methods for Synthetic Organic Chemicals
in Drinking Water:
"Method 505 - Analysis of Organohalide
Pesticides and Aroclors in Water by
Microextraction and Gas Chromatog-raphy"
"Method 507 - Nitrogen- and Phosphorus-
Containing Pesticides in Water by Gas
37
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Cincinnati
Chromatography with a Nitrogen-
Phosphorus Detector"
"Method 508 - Determination of Chlorinated
Pesticides in Water by Gas Chromatography
with an Electron Capture Detector"
"Method 515.1 - Determination of
Chlorinated Acids in Water by Gas
Chromatography with an Electron Capture
Detector"
"Method 525 - Determination of Organic
Compounds in Drinking Water by Liquid-
Solid Extraction and Capillary Column Gas
Chromatography/MassSpectrometry"
"Method 531.1 - Measurement of N-
Methylcarbamoyloximes and N-
Methylcarbamates in Water by Direct
Aqueous Injection HPLC with Post-Column
Derivatization"
"Determination of Non-Volatile Toxic Organics in
Aqueous Environmental Samples Using Liquid
Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry," Analytical
Chemistry.
"Report on the Determination of Lead in Solders
and Drinking Water," Response to Office of
Drinking Water Request.
"Determination of Mercury (II) and Organomercury
Compounds by Reversed-Phase Liquid
Chromatography with Reductive Electrochemical
Detection," Analyst.
Short-Term Methods for Estimating the Chronic
Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to
Marine and Estuarine Organisms (304(h) Test
Method)
"Toxicity Reduction at Municipal Wastewater
Treatment Plants," J. Water Poll. Contr. Fed.
Revision of two chapters in the "USEPA Manual of
Methods for Virology,"
Chapter 11 (Revised March 1988). Virus
plaque confirmation procedure.
Chapter 10 (Revised December 1987). Cell
culture procedures for assaying plaque-
forming viruses.
"Assessment of Recovery Efficiency of Beef Extract
Reagents for Concentrating Viruses from
Municipal Wastewater Sludge Solids by the
Organic Flocculation Procedure," Appl. Environ.
Microbiol.
"Statistical Comparison and the Precision of the
Membrane Filter and Most Probable Number Total
Coliform Methods and the Heterotrophic Plate
Count Used for Water Analyses." Submitted to the
Office of Water.
"Precision and Relative Accuracy of the Membrane
Filter and Most Probable Number Total Coliform
Methods with Several Water Types," Submitted to
the Office of Water.
Annual Report to the Office of Water and
Enforcement Permits on the Discharge Monitoring
Report-Quality Assurance Performance
Evaluation Study 7
Individual and Summary Reports to about 1400
local, state, and regional laboratories in Water
Pollution Performance Evaluation Studies 19 and
20.
Most Important Publication
"Final National Pesticide Survey Methods"
38
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory- Cincinnati
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$9,994,000 i
98 :
Senior Science Advisor
684-7364
Microbiology Research
684-7218
Virology
684-7334
DIRECTOR
684-7301
Program Oper
684-73
Chemistry Research
684-7309
ations Staff
30
Quality Assurance Research
684-7325
Inorganic Chemistry
684-7372
Bacteriology
684-7384
Parasitology and Immunology
684-7385
Development and Evaluation
684-7325
Organic Chemistry
684-7315
Aquatic Biology
684-8114
Project Management
684-7325
39
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
Robert N. Snelling is Acting Director of
the Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, where he had
previously served as Deputy Director since 1985.
From 1970-1985, Mr. Snelling held various
technical and managerial positions within lEPA.
A career Public Health Service Officer
commissioned in 1963, Mr. Snelling began his
professional activities as an instructor in
Environmental Radiological Health at the Taft
Engineering Center in Cincinnati. He received a
master's degree in sanitary engineering from
the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor's
degree in civil engineering from Tufts
University.
Functions
The Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory-Las Vegas develops methods, systems
and strategies for monitoring the environment with
the primary purposes of assessing the exposure of
man and other receptors in the environment to
polluting substances, characterizing the status of
environmental quality, and identifying the trends
in environmental quality.
The Laboratory develops and applies field
monitoring techniques, analytical methods, and
remote sensing systems for monitoring
environmental pollutants. It field tests,
demonstrates and applies these systems, and
initiates transfers of operational systems to Agency
user organizations. It provides technical support to
Agency, Regional and Program Offices in response
to their requests for pollutant monitoring, testing
and surveillance assistance.
The Laboratory develops and operates quality
assurance programs for radiation, hazardous
wastes, and toxic/pesticide monitoring. This
includes the development and maintenance of
reference standards, preparation of performance
evaluation materials, and the conduct of
performance audits for EPA as well as other
Federal, state, and local laboratories.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with
the Department of Energy, the Laboratory collects
radiological surveillance data and performs
pathways research to determine the actual and
potential radiation exposure to man and his
environment from past and present testing of
nuclear devices.
FY88 Products
Application of Remote Sensing Techniques for
Estimating Spatial Variability of Dry Deposition of
Acidic Pollutants
"Bromo- and Bromochloro-polynuclear Aromatic
Hydrocarbons, Dioxins and Dibenzofurans in
Municipal Incinerator Fly Ash," Biomedical and
Environmental Mass Spectrometry
Characterization of Household Hazardous Waste
from Marin County, California, and New Orleans,
Louisiana
"Estimation of Pollutant Transport and
Concentration Distributions Over Complex Terrain
of Southern California Using Airborne Lidar,"
Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
Evaluation of Existing Total Human Exposure
Models
41
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
Field Comparison of Ground-Water Sampling
Methods-Interim Report
Geophysics Advisor Expert System
"Immunoassay Techniques for Pesticide Analysis"
"Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric
Determination of Lead Isotopes," Analytical
Chemistry
"Ion Abundance Criteria for Gas Chromatographic/
Mass Spectrometric Environmental Analysis," J.
Association of Analytical Chemistry
Most Important Publication
"Estimation of Pollutant Transport and
Concentration Distributions over Complex Terrain
of Southern California Using Airborne Lidar,"
Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
42
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Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$31,944,000
162
QA and Methods
Development
545-2103
Advanced Monitoring
Systems
545-2237
Methods Research
545-2609
Quality Assurance
Research
545-2383
Aquatic and Subsurface
Monitoring
545-2368
Remote and Air
Monitoring
545-2260
Environmental
Photographic
Interpretation Center
557-3110
Nuclear Radiation
Assessment
545-2305
Dose Assessment
545-2538
Field Monitoring
545-2158
Radioanalysis
545-2136
Exposure Assessment
Research
545-2203
Ecosystems Monitoring
Program
545-2203
Exposure Monitoring
Program
545-2203
-------
Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration
John H. Skinner is the Director of the
Office of Environmental Engineering and
Technology Demonstration. He has been the
Director of several Agency programs,
including the Office of Solid Waste, the State
Programs and Resource Recovery Division,
and the Land Disposal Division. Before
joining the Agency in 1972, Dr. Skinner
managed the Energy and Environmental
Programs for the General Electric Research
and Development Center. He received a Ph.D.
and master's degree in Aeronautical
Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and a bachelor's degree in
Engineering from Hofstra University. He has
received the EPA Gold Medal and
Presidential Meritorious Executive Award.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$84,114.000
356
DIRECTOR
382-2600
Program
Development
Staff
382-5747
Program
Management
Staff
382-2583
Risk Reduction
Engineering
Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH
684-7418
Air and
Energy
Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle
Park, NC
629-2821
45
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Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration
Functions
The Office of Environmental Engineering and
Technology Demonstration (OEETD) is responsible
to the Assistant Administrator for planning,
managing, and evaluating a comprehensive
program of research, development, and
demonstration of cost effective methods and
technologies to:
Control and manage hazardous waste
generation, storage, treatment and disposal;
Provide innovative technologies for response
actions under Superfund and technologies for
control of emergency spills of oils and
hazardous waste;
Control environmental impacts of public
sector activities including publicly-owned
waste water and solid waste facilities;
Improve drinking water supply and system
operations, including improved understanding
of water supply technology and water supply
criteria;
Characterize, reduce, and mitigate indoor air
pollutants including asbestos and radon; and
Characterize, reduce, and mitigate acid rain
precursors and other pollutants from
stationary sources.
OEETD is also responsible for the development
of engineering data needed by the Agency in
reviewing premanufacturing notices relative to
assessing potential release and exposure to
chemicals, treatability by waste treatment systems,
containment and control of genetically engineered
organisms and the development of alternatives to
mitigate the likelihood of release and exposure to
existing chemicals.
In carrying out these responsibilities, the Office:
Develops program plans and manages the
resources assigned to it;
Implements the approved programs and
activities;
Assigns objectives and resources to the
OEETD laboratories;
Conducts appropriate reviews to assure the
quality, timeliness, and responsiveness of
outputs; and
Conducts analyses of the relative
environmental and socioeconomic impacts of
engineering methods and control technologies
and strategies.
The Office of Environmental Engineering and
Technology Demonstration is the focal point within
the Office of Research and Development for
providing liaison with the Department of Energy on
issues associated with clean coal and energy
development. It is also the focal point within the
Office of Research and Development for liaison with
the rest of the Agency on issues relating to
engineering research and development and the
control of pollution discharges.
Program Activities
Air
SOX and NOX control technologies (LIMB,
AD VAC ATE, REBURNING)
Hazardous air pollutant control
technologies
Indoor air source characterization and
control technologies
Ozone attainment - control of VOC
emissions from products
SARA Title III - Release prevention
techniques
Global Climate - Stratospheric
Modification
Water Quality
Municipal sewage innovative and
alternative wastewater and sludge
technologies
Toxicity treatability protocols for
wastewater treatment processes
Storm and combined sewer overflow control
technologies
Drinking Water
VOCs, pesticides, and radionuclides
treatment technologies
Disinfection technologies, including
evaluation of by-products
Water quality problems in distribution
systems, e.g. lead solder
46
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Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration
Hazardous Wastes/Superfund
Pretreatment technologies for land disposal
Waste minimization technologies and
clearinghouse
Land disposal technology, including air
emissions
Incineration of hazardous wastes and
municipal solid wastes
Cleanup technologies for leaking
underground storage tanks
Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluations program (SITE)
Develop cleanup technologies for Superfund
sites
Operate Superfund Test & Evaluation
facility
Municipal solid waste and sludge
innovative technology evaluations (MITE)
Pesticides
Indemnified pesticide disposal technologies
Protective clothing for pesticide
applications
Radiation
Radon mitigation technologies for schools
Radon innovative technology evaluations
(RITE)
Toxic Substances
Treatability of toxic substances for
premanufacturing notices
Asbestos abatement technologies for
schools and tall buildings
Release prevention technologies for
biotechnology products
Issues
Municipal Solid Waste Research Redirection
The Nation's mounting problem of how to
manage municipal solid waste (MSW) requires
reevaluation of MSW practices and
identification of new, innovative technologies
for management of waste material. A major
challenge over the next six months will involve
determining how to effectively incorporate
these needs in reauthorization legislation for
RCRA. It is clear, however, that the law must
encourage the evaluation of alternative MSW
practices relating to source reduction and
recycling which can reduce the amount of
residuals for disposal, and to conserve raw
materials and land disposal capacity. New
technologies for waste management associated
with combustion and composting also need to be
investigated. Technical information and
guidance for use by municipal officials,
designers, engineers, and owners and operators
responsible for solid waste management needs
to be developed.
To accomplish these goals, EPA has
proposed the Municipal Waste Innovative
Technology Evaluation (MITE) program,
which would evaluate new, privately developed
technologies. Goals for the MITE program
would be to foster development of improved
product substitution, provide up-to-date
cost/effectiveness information on innovative
new equipment and techniques for managing
wastes, and accelerate commercialization of
these techniques and technologies.
EPA Mobile Incineration System
The EPA Mobile Incineration System,
presently located at the Denney Farm site in
Missouri, has treated 8.5 million pounds of
waste material from the eight dioxin sites in
southwestern Missouri as of October 1988.
Ongoing budgeted incineration activities are
projected to be completed in mid-December
1988. In addition, an application to permit the
incineration of EPA-owned, cancelled 2,4,5-T
and silvex pesticides at the Denney Farm site
has been submitted by EPA to the State of
Missouri. This request has neither been
approved nor denied; however, a recent letter
from the Director of the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources states that the request will
not be granted without the concurrence of the
local communities, which are currently opposed
to the activity. In either event, when
incineration activities at Denney Farm are
complete, the site must be closed. The system
will then be transported from the site to
another as yet undetermined location. The cost
for closure activities is estimated to be between
47
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Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration
$1.4 and $2 million, and the cost for
transportation of the unit to its next destination
is estimated to be $50K. Before mid-December,
it must be decided how the site will be closed
and how the closure costs will be covered.
Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation
(SITE) Demonstration Program
The SITE demonstration program
represents a unique partnership between the
USEPA and technology developers. The
objective of this program is to encourage the use
of improved technologies for the permanent
remedy of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
through the development of objective cost and
performance information on developing and
emerging cleanup technologies. Congressional
oversight hearings on the SITE program may
be forthcoming in FY 89. The program has
focused along three lines: (1) a full-scale
demonstration program; (2) an emerging
technologies development progam; and (3)
innovative technologies development within
the USEPA. Twenty-eight technologies have
been selected for demonstration, six of which
are completed; the remaining technologies
should be demonstrated in FY 89. An additonal
ten or more new technologies will be selected in
1989. The emerging technologies program has
selected seven technologies that are currently
undergoing testing. A second solicitation has
been made, and 16 technologies are undergoing
review. As part of the innovative technologies
program, three technologies developed by EPA
have been selected for transfer to commercial
use that will benefit both the hazardous waste
industry and the American public. EPA will
enter into a partnership with commercial users
to further develop and commercialize these
three mobile systems. A major focus of the SITE
program is the rapid dissemination of
demonstration results to the EPA Regions and
States via the Superfund Clearinghouse.
To make the SITE program more timely,
institutional barriers within EPA that cause
great time delays in conducting demonstrations
must be minimized or eliminated. Now that
results of the demonstrations are becoming
available, effective means must be found to
transfer this information to the Regions, States,
and individuals making cleanup decisions. New
and innovative ways to encourage further
development of new technologies that can
ultimately be demonstrated in the program
need to be put into action. The EPA funds
should be leveraged with State and other
Federal Agency programs in order to attract
more technologies at a lower cost to EPA.
48
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Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
Frank T. Princiotta is the Director of
the Air and Energy Engineering Research
Laboratory (AEERL), Research Triangle
Park, NC. He has served as a Division
Director of ORD's Office of Environmental
Engineering and Technology. Prior to going
to EPA Headquarters in 1975, he was Chief of
AEERL's Engineering Test Section.
Princiotta's career includes engineering
positions with Hittman Associates and the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's New York
Operations. EPA has awarded him a Gold
Medal, three Bronze Medals and the
President's Rank of Meritorious Executive.
Princiotta has a B.S. in Chemical
Engineering from City College of New York.
Functions
The mission of the Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory (AEERL) is to research,
develop and demonstrate methods and technologies
for controlling air pollution from stationary
sources. Among these stationary sources are
electric power plants, manufacturing and
processing industries, and incinerators. The
Laboratory does not deal with pollution from
mobile sources or nuclear power plants.
Staffed primarily by engineers, the Laboratory
creates and improves air pollution control
equipment, seeks means of preventing or reducing
pollution through changes in industrial processes,
develops predictive models and emissions
inventories, identifies and assesses the importance
of air pollution sources, and conducts fundamental
research to define the mechanisms by which
processes, equipment, and fuel combustion produce
air pollution.
Currently, AEERL is concentrating its efforts
in eight main program areas, which are briefly
described below:
Acid Rain: Developing means of controlling
acid rain precursors, SO2 and NOX, including
the Limestone Injection Multistage Burner;
developing models that will identify the best
possible control alternatives for various
scenarios, and developing inventories of acid
rain precursor emissions.
Air Toxics: Developing control technologies
for volatile organic compounds (VOCs);
identifying sources of VOCs; developing
improved designs that will achieve better
control of woodstove emissions; and
developing computerized advisory systems
that will, for instance, assist permit writers in
making decisions about new industries or that
will assist local emergency planning
committees in preparing for accidental
releases of hazardous chemicals.
Hazardous Wastes: Studying the fundamental
combustion mechanisms that influence
thermal destruction of hazardous wastes.
Included are studies of droplet atomization of
liquid wastes, failure modes in a small pilot-
scale rotary kiln, and small pilot-scale studies
of fluidized-bed incineration.
Indoor Air Quality: Developing and
demonstrating means of reducing the entry of
naturally occurring radon into houses, schools
and other public buildings. Studying building
materials and consumer products as sources of
indoor air pollution.
Municipal Waste Combustion: Developing
means of minimizing pollutant formation
during combustion, and determining the
effectiveness of various devices in controlling
air pollution from municipal waste
incinerators.
49
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Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
Ozone Non-Attainment: Developing
strategies, process modifications and
improved technologies that will prevent, or
reduce, the emission of hydrocarbons, nitrogen
oxides and VOCs.
Stratospheric Ozone: Evaluating the
importance of various chlorofluorocarbons and
other substances in depleting the Earth's
protective ozone layer, and seeking to identify
and recommend substitutes for depleting
substances that are now in use.
Global Climate Change: Evaluating the
importance of various substances (carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) as causes of
global climate change and seeking innovative
solutions to the problem. Also planned is the
development of predictive models and
inventories of emissions that are contributing
to global climate change.
FY88 Products
1987 Assessment Models: AUSM (Advanced Utility
Simulation Model), ICE (Industrial Combustion
Emissions Model), PROMPT, and VOC
Controllability of Toxic Metal Emissions by Particle
Controls
Application of Radon Reduction Methods
(companion to "Radon Reduction Techniques for
Detached Houses - Technical Guidance ")
Radon Reduction Methods - A Homeowner's Guide
Organic Emissions from Indoor Materials and
Factors Affecting Emission Rates and Composition
Organic Emissions from Unuented Space Heaters
Mutagenic and Tracer Emissions from Phase II
Indoor Air Cancer Project Wood Stove Field Study
Nationally-Oriented Prevention Reference Manuals
for Three to Six of the High Hazard Air Toxic
Chemicals
Reduction of VOC Emissions from Surface Coating
Operations via Process Modifications
Field Study of Efficiency Degradation of Wood Stove
Catalysts
Control ofEthylene Oxide Emissions from Hospital
Sterilizers
Scale-up Criteria for LIMB Tangentially-Fired
System
Most Important Publication
Radon Reduction Techniques for Detached Houses -
Technical Guidance (Second Edition)
50
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Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
FY89 BUDGET: $18,332,000
PERSONNEL: 97
Combustion and
Indoor Air
629-2918
DIRECTOR
629-2821
Program Operations
629-2924
Engineering
Applications
629-3443
Air Toxics Research
629-4134
Combustion
Research
629-2477
Indoor Air
629-2746
Technology
Development
629-2612
Technology
Applications
629-2973
Acid
Deposition
629-3019
Air Toxics
Control
629-2818
Industrial
Processes
629-2853
51
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Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
E. Timothy Oppelt has been the Acting
Director of the Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory since August 1988. From 1979 to
July 1988, he held supervisory positions within
EPA in the Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory, Hazardous Waste Engineering
Research Laboratory, and Waste Management
Division, Region V. He received an MBA degree
from Xavier University and two degrees in Civil
Engineering from Cornell University: a
bachelor's and master's. He was awarded the
EPA Bronze and Silver Medals.
Functions
The mission and function of the Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory (RREL) is to provide an
authoritative, defensible, engineering basis in
support of the policies, programs and regulations of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with
respect to drinking water, hazardous wastes,
pesticides, Superfund, toxics, and wastewater.
Research and technical assistance/support are
conducted in the following specific areas:
Drinking Water: Engineering solutions for
the treatment, distribution, and
preservation of public drinking water
supplies.
Hazardous Wastes: Research in
incineration, land disposal practices, and to
determine existing and emerging
alternatives for treating, detoxifying,
volume reduction and waste minimization
of hazardous materials and municipal solid
wastes.
LUST Trust Fund Technical Support:
Technical assistance on corrective action,
site assessments, decision tools and cleanup
technologies to LUST Trust Fund
administrators and implementors.
Pesticides: Technical support to the Office
of Pesticide Programs for technological
alternatives for disposal of cancelled and
suspended pesticides, and to provide data
and guidance on the capabilities of
protective clothing for reducing working
exposure to pesticides.
Superfund: Technologies for response and
remedial action for supporting enforcement
actions and protecting personnel involved
in cleanup. Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SITE) program to
enhance development and demonstration of
innovative technologies as alternatives to
containment.
Toxics Chemical Testing and Assessment:
Alternatives for regulating the
manufacture and use of existing chemicals
(including asbestos); assessing release and
exposure in review of Pre-manufacturing
Notices (PMNs) for new chemicals; and
techniques and devices to contain and
destroy genetically engineered organisms.
Wastewater (Municipal and Industrial):
Cost-effective methods for the prevention,
treatment and management of municipal
wastewater, sludges and urban runoffs, and
industrial processing, manufacturing, and
toxic discharges.
53
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Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
FY88 Products
Completed evaluations of five technologies for the
Superfund Best Demonstrated Available
Technology (BDAT) program for contaminated
soils.
Completed tests of Best Demonstrated Available
Treatment (BDAT) technologies for two hazardous
waste streams in support of OSW regulatory
development.
Completed six Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluations (SITE) program demonstrations and
admitted nine new technologies into the
demonstration program.
Completed Technical Resource Document update
on "The Lining of Waste Impoundments and
Disposal Facilities."
Developed a Treatability Data Base.
Developed a Municipal Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation (TRE) Protocol.
Field Studies of the Effectiveness of Protective
Clothing for Agricultural Pesticide Operations.
Report on Assessment of Asbestos Removal Under
Latest Guidance Conditions.
Report on Azo Dye Adsorption Isotherm Method
Development and Validation.
Report on the Destruction of Organics in Co-Fired
Boilers.
Report on All Virus Inactivation Data Developed to
date on the Inactivation of Hepatitis A Virus (HAV).
Report on Removal of Radon with Low Cost/Low
Technology Treatment Techniques.
Most Important Publication
The EPA Manual for Waste Minimization
Opportunity Assessments
54
-------
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$60,141,000
185
DIRECTOR
RREL-CINCINNATI
684-7418
Drinking Water
Research
684-7201
Inorganics and
Participates Control
684-7370
Superfund
Technology
Demonstration
684-7861
Water and
Hazardous Waste
Treatment
Research
684-7601
Site Demonstration and
Evaluation
684-7696
Waste Minimization
Destruction and
Disposal Research
684-7528
Hazardous Waste
Treatment
684-7519
Microbiological
Treatment
684-7345
Releases Control
8-340-6635
Municipal Wastewater
684-7655
Municipal Solid Waste
and Residuals
Management
684-7871
Organics Control
684-7342
Toxics Control
684-7509
Thermal Destruction
684-7504
Systems and Field
Evaluation
684-7460
Treatment
Assessment
684-7629
Waste Minimization
684-7529
55
-------
Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
Courtney Riordan is the Director of the
Office of Environmental Processes and Effects
Research. His prior experience with EPA
includes Director, Office of Acid Deposition,
Environmental Monitoring and Quality
Assurance; Acting Assistant Administrator,
Office of Research and Development;
Director, Office of Monitoring Systems and
Quality Assurance; Associate Director, Office
of Air, Land, and Water Use. Dr. Riordan
received a bachelor's degree in Civil
Engineering from Northeastern University in
Boston, a Ph.D. in Regional Planning and
Systems Analysis from Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York, and a J.D. from George
Washington University.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$86,600,000
449
DIRECTOR
382-5950
Terrestrial & Ground Water
Effects Staff
382-5600
QA & H&S Officer
382-5975
Program Operations Staff
382-5962
Marine, Freshwater &
Modeling Staff
475-8930
Robert S. Kerr
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Ada, OK
743-2224
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Athens, GA
250-3134
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Corvallis, OR
420-4601
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Duluth, MN
780-5702
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Gulf Breeze, FL
686-9011
Environmental
Research
Laboratory
Narragansett,
Rl
838-6001
57
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Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
Functions
The Office of Environmental Processes and
Effects Research (OEPER) develops from an
ecosystems perspective data and scientific and
technological methods necessary to understand,
predict, and manage the entry, movement, and
disposition of residuals (including biologicals) in
the environmental mediaatmosphere, soil, ground
water, and surface water-and in the food chain,
and to determine'their effects on organisms and
higher levels of integration. Programs range from
fundamental process research critical for defining
the ecological effects of microbial and chemical
pollutants, acid deposition, products of
bioengineering, global climate changes, and loss of
stratospheric ozone, to systems and decision
modeling, wetlands, marine systems, terrestrial
and surface freshwater environments, and
ecological risk assessment methods. Another
emphasis area focuses on the determination of the
status of and changes in critical ecological
resources, as represented by landscape systems in
the United States and internationally. OEPER
provides technical support to the regions and the
states in environmental science and technology to
assist in problem solving and transfers information
and technology to users.
the United States. The Agency's research and
development program plays a vital role in
generating the scientific information that is
critically important for the risk assessments
and regulations being promulgated by policy-
makers both domestically and internationally.
Water Quality Based Approach - In the
transition from a technology based control of
toxics to a Water Quality Based Approach
(WQBA) control of toxics in water many
problems/issues have been addressed but
others still remain. The research supporting
the WQBA to the permitting of pollutant
discharges into freshwater, estuarine and
marine aquatic environments has two major
approaches: (1) developing water quality
criteria for individual contaminants, adapting
the criteria to site-specific or ecoregional
conditions, and developing modeling
techniques to relate criteria to allowable
discharges; and (2) developing methods for
evaluating the toxic components of complex
effluents and predicting maximum safe
chronic contaminant levels using
environmental endpoints.
Program Activities
Global Warming - The potential effects of a
global warming induced by radiatively
important trace gases are both drastic and
uncertain. The range of consequences may
well affect all factors of human existence,
including air and water quality, distribution
or even survival of vegetation types and
wildlife, shifts or loss of marine and
freshwater fisheries, and productivity of
agricultural and forested lands. The Global
Climate Change Research Program will
investigate and estimate the likely
magnitude, timing and regional expressions of
these effects, including their relationships to
sources and sinks of the trace gases associated
with climate change.
Stratospheric Ozone - For the newly ratified
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete
the Ozone Layer to be successful on a global
scale, it is essential that EPA provide
scientifically credible input into the risk
characterization and scientific assessment
mandated by the Protocol and supported by
Marine, Estuaries and Great Lakes -
Methodologies and information are needed for
the development of responsive and
scientifically valid ocean disposal (ocean
dumping and discharge through outfalls),
estuarine and Great Lakes programs.
Research focuses on developing methodologies
for predicting contaminant movement and
fate, exposures, and effects of contaminants on
organisms, communities, and ecosystems in
sediments, freshwater, marine, and estuarine
environments to permit better evaluation of
pollutant impacts and make regulatory
decisions.
Ground Water - There is much uncertainty as
to the exposure of humans to contaminated
ground water and the effects of the exposure
on human health. Unregulated contaminants
that pose a hazard to human health are being
identified and analyzed for as an ongoing
activity and studies on the fate and transport
of contaminants will continue. There is a
continuing need to understand the
58
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Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
relationship of ground water contamination to
the human health issue in order to decrease
the uncertainties linking contaminants to
human health.
The clean-up and restoration of contaminated
ground water is an issue of prime importance.
One mode of clean-up utilizes natural
processes, such as bacterial degeneration of
contaminants. The manipulation of natural
process for ground water clean-up is an
application that requires ongoing research
and development.
Waste Characterization - Waste
characterization research is conducted under
the hazardous waste research program to
provide information on the fate and effects of
these chemicals in the environment. The
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response uses this information in its risk
assessment listing, siting, and land disposal
restriction programs.
Ecological Systems
Field Validation: To determine if laboratory
methods, results and simulation models
reflect the; true impacts of pesticides and toxic
substances in natural situations, field
validation studies are necessary. These
studies,, conducted in marine/estuarine,
freshwater and terrestrial habitats,
incorporate data on biotic responses,
interactions and on ecological processes that
prove or disprove laboratory approaches and
findings and form the basis for suggestions on
alternative or modified evaluative
approaches.
Ecotoxicity: To evaluate toxic substances
under TSCA and to register pesticides under
FIFRA it is necessary to understand how the
toxicant moves into or through the biotic and
the physical portion of an ecosystem, the
duration of exposure of the biota, the mode of
toxicological action, the residues, the response
of the receptor biota, ecosystem composition
and processes and the eventual dispersion of
the toxicant in the general matrix where the
biota reside. Research is addressing these
problems through development of testing
schemes and protocols, physiological
experimentation, exposure studies, and
comparative toxicological and ecosystem level
studies.
Risk Assessment: When pesticides or toxic
substances are used or accidentally released
into the environment there is a need to be able
to evaluate the risks to our ecosystems.
Research is providing validated methods,
predictive mathematical models, exposure and
effects data, applications and consultations.
Using these tools, assessments can be
conducted for a given situation that indicates
the degree of risk that can be expected. This
information factors into Agency regulatory
decisions.
Reducing Uncertainties in Risk Assessment
(RURA): There is a need for improved risk
assessments across many programs. This
research proposes to incorporate monitoring
and trend status with ecological evaluations of
selected critical ecosystems and thus be able to
predict the impacts (risk) of cumulative and
multiple contaminant sources on ecosystem
structure and function. Presently, risk for
portions of systems can only be determined. To
ensure that predictions and findings are
reliable requires that extensive studies start
by covering important key items such as
hazards and exposure and response
assessments and risk characterization with
improvements at the ecosystem level.
Biotechnology Risk Assessment: The
development of the biotechnology industry has
raised many questions about potential adverse
effects on ecology and ecosystems as a result of
industrial utilization and release of
genetically engineered organisms. The
Agency is presently involved in establishing
regulations for use of such organisms under
TSCA and FIFRA. The research program is
providing the Agency with methods for
assessing the potential risk resulting from
introducing engineered microorganisms into
the environment. The three program areas
being investigated are: (1) exposure - detection
and enumeration under field conditions,
transport in the environment, survival and
colonization, genetic exchange; (2) effects on
ecosystem processes, on higher organisms
59
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Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
(animals and plants); and (3) risk control -
design of field release, mitigation of adverse
effects in field situations.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Program (EMAP): To prevent unwanted or
irreversible damage to our ecosystem, EPA
must know their current status, be able to
determine trends in their health or
deterioration and be in a position to manage
these systems to realize continued benefits.
Research is proposed that will classify,
characterize and monitor status and trends of
important ecosystems and their subclasses.
Additionally, ecological research will
commence on agricultural, forest, freshwater
wetlands, near coastal and water quality
limited stream/lake systems. Studies would
include selecting systems and critical
indicator endpoints, identifying hazards,
assessing exposure, and applying state-of-the-
art approaches for risk evaluations and
reduction at regional levels. Applying this
information augmented by other data bases
will offer management options.
Structure Activity Relationships (SARs) -
Evaluation of each chemical is required under
TSCA and FIFRA. These evaluations can
require extensive time and resources. An
alternate, more rapid approach is to compare
the chemical with those of its chemical class
having known similar molecular structure
and chemical activity. Using a computerized
data base and SAR models has proven to be of
great value for the Agency. The data base and
the system are undergoing expanded
application to accommodate increasing
numbers of new chemicals, reevaluation of old
chemicals and enhancements to handle
complex SARs for evaluating the fate and
toxicity of chemicals in the environment.
Many of the models will be available to States
and Regional EPA offices in the coming year
over the Office of Information Resource
Management Network. A new program for the
development of advanced SAR techniques,
particularly in the area of quantitative
molecular similarity analysis, is being
planned to further decrease the man-hours
involved in chemical evaluations.
Acid Deposition - EPA's Acid Deposition
Research Program includes research to
1) estimate emissions from manmade
sources, 2) understand atmospheric processes,
3) establish deposition monitoring data
bases, 4) understand and quantify aquatic
effects, 5) understand and quantify
terrestrial effects, 6) understand and quantify
the effects on materials, and 7) evaluate
control technologies (to fulfill the needs
expressed in the Energy and Security Act of
1980, Title VII).
In 1990, EPA in conjunction with the National
Acid Precipitation Assessment Program
(NAPAP), an interagency research
coordination and assessment group chaired by
the Administrator of EPA, will produce a final
assessment of the sources, extent, and
magnitude of environmental effects due to acid
deposition, and the scientific uncertainties
associated with acid deposition cause-effect
relationships. The 1990 assessment will provide
a better basis upon which to evaluate the needs
for as well as the effectiveness and efficiencies
of proposed abatement and control programs (in
accordance with the Acid Precipitation Act of
1980, P.L. 96-294).
Issues
Stratospheric Ozone
For the Montreal protocol to be successful on a
world-wide basis, it must be demonstrated to
China, India, and other non-signatory, newly
industrialized and lesser developed countries that
depletion of stratospheric ozone will have an impact
on their citizens. Also, even if a total phase-out of
regulated CFCs occurs, there will be some depletion
of the ozone layer. Research is required to provide
impact scenarios for mitigative options.
Global Warming
Although research to date has suggested that a
rise in the earth's temperature will occur, we only
know what the average change may be. We must
develop the ability to predict climatic changes on
regional levels. In addition, changes of the
magnitude predicted will have dramatic effects on
air and water quality. We must develop a sound
scientific understanding of the mechanisms and
subsequent potential implications of global climate
change so that we can prepare to adjust both our
regulatory and non-regulatory strategies to be
responsive to different fundamental environmental
conditions.
60
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Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
Ground Water Research
We understand that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture intends to increase its ground-water
contamination research by $10 million. We need to
assure this is closely coordinated with research in
EPA. In addition, in the past session of Congress, a
number of bills were introduced dealing with
ground-water research, not only in EPA but also in
the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of
Agriculture. These need to be watched closely.
Waste Characterization
We need to make sure that improved cleanup
technologies resulting from ongoing research are
implemented as soon as possible. Currently,
millions of dollars are being spent annually on
cleaning up contaminated ground water by
pumping out the liquid and treating it chemically,
physically, or biologically on the surface. Not only
is this expensive, but recent studies have indicated
how ineffective this technique can be. Many organic
contaminants bind tightly to soil particles and
resist removal when the contaminated ground
water is pumped.
Pollution situations such as these may best be
remedied by treating the contaminants in situ, that
is, right in the soil matrix without attempts at
excavation or pumping, by using microorganisms
for biodegradation. Such techniques are applicable
to hazardous waste and Superfund sites and to
leaking underground storage tank contamination
situations.
Ecological Systems
The successful determination of the ecological
status and future trends in biological systems
requires a management commitment of resources
for periods of 10 or more years. This commitment is
necessary because perturbations in biological
systems often are of long-term developmental
duration. In order to accomplish these objectives,
extramural assistance from other governmental
programs and academic institutions will be
required. There is considerable suspicion in many
sectors about whether EPA can, in fact, make such
long-term commitments. Past performance has not
been convincing.
Marine Estuaries and Great Lakes
The current ocean disposal research program
responds to program office and regional needs as
they relate to ocean dumping and to needs
associated with ocean discharges through ocean
outfalls. Recently Congress passed a ban on the
ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial
wastes. Although this ban does not impact the
ocean dumping of dredged material, ocean dumping
monitoring activities, or activities associated with
the discharge of wastes through ocean outfalls, it is
expected that attempts will be made to eliminate or
reduce ORD's entire ocean disposal research
program.
Water Quality Based Approach
Although contaminated sediments are
frequently identified as major environmental
problems, concern has been expressed that effective
regulatory tools or strategies (e.g., water quality
criteria) are not available to address the
contaminated sediment problems. This issue is
likely to put significant demands on ORD research
programs.
Recent amendments to the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SOWA)
have required EPA to expand or start new
programs and regulatory efforts. These
requirements will place many demands on the
associated research programs, and some of these
demands will not be met. For example, the CWA
Amendments require significant involvement in
non-point sources of pollution (NPS). Currently,
ORD does not have a NPS research program. This
will continue to be an important issue.
Acid Deposition
The question of acid rain control has been a
major environmental issue during the 1980's, with
significant implications relative to U.S. - Canadian
relationships. Significant research progress has
been made on this issue, most notably a 10-year
U.S. interagency effortthe National Acid
Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP)--
scheduled for completion in 1990. We know more
about this issue now than we have known in the
past. The most comprehensive assessment will be
the 1990 NAPAP assessment. Significant
environmental and economic implications are
involved in any decisions of how to control acid
deposition. However, in order to obtain maximum
environmental benefits from minimal costs, acid
rain research will need to be continued even after a
national acid rain control program is implemented.
Such research will need to address:
updates of emissions inventories
verification, maintenance and application of
emissions, deposition, and effects models
61
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Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research
deposition and environmental effects and
trends monitoring.
Biotechnology Risk Assessment
The use of bioengineered organisms is a unique
and rapidly evolving technology, and the research
program has evolved correspondingly to meet the
Agency's need in evaluating a diverse array of
biotechnology products. With the introduction of
transgenic plants (genes from a wide variety of
organisms are being inserted into crop plants),
questions of human health and impact on
ecosystems arise necessitating continued
cooperation among regulatory agencies.
62
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Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory
-,
Clinton W. Hall is the Director of the
Environmental Research Laboratory, Ada,
Oklahoma, in which capacity he has served
since 1980. From 1971 to 1979, Mr. Hall
served in many Agency programs. Before
joining EPA, he was a hydrologist for the
Defense Intelligence Agency. He received a
bachelor's degree from the University of
Delaware and a master's degree in
Groundwater Geology from the University of
Connecticut. He participated in Advanced
Graduate Study in Geophysics/ Geochemistry
at Florida State University. He was awarded
the EPA Bronze Medal in 1978.
Functions
The Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research
Laboratory (RSKERL) serves as U.S. EPA's center
for ground-water research, focusing its efforts on
studies of the transport and fate of contaminants in
the subsurface, development of methodologies for
protection and restoration of ground-water quality,
and evaluation of the applicability and limitations
of using natural soil and subsurface processes for
the treatment of hazardous wastes. The Laboratory
has a long history of research responsibilities
related to the use of soils and subsurface for waste
treatment and to the protection of the soil, ground
water and surface water. These responsibilities
have included the development and demonstration
of cost-effective methods for land treatment of
municipal wastewaters, animal production wastes,
and petroleum refining and petrochemical wastes,
as well as the development of technologies for the
protection of ground-water quality.
RSKERL carries out research through in-house
projects and cooperative and interagency
agreements with universities, national
laboratories, and other research centers. RSKERL
currently has over 80 ongoing or planned
extramural projects at approximately 40 research
institutions in 25 states.
An examination of the environmental
legislation that relates to ground-water quality
protection reveals four common regulatory or
management requirements:
Establishment of criteria for location, design,
and operation of waste disposal activities to
prevent contamination of ground water or
movement of contaminants to points of
withdrawal or discharge.
Assessment of the probable impact of existing
pollution on ground water at points of
withdrawal or discharge.
Development of remediation technologies
which are effective in protecting and restoring
ground water quality without being
unnecessarily complex or costly, and without
unduly restricting other land use activities.
Regulation of the production, use, and/or
disposal of specific chemicals possessing an
unacceptably high potential for contam-inating
ground water when released to the subsurface.
These requirements translate into a need for
definitive knowledge of the transport and fate
characteristics of contaminants in subsurface
environments, without the risk of (1) under-control
resulting in excessive ground-water contamination,
63
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Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory
or (2) over-control resulting in uneconomical under-
utilization of the subsurface as a treatment
media.The mission of the RSKERL is to develop
that data base.
FY88 Products
DRASTIC: A Standardized System for Evaluating
Ground Water Pollution Potential Using
Hydrogeologic Settings
"Equivalence of Microbial Biomass Measures Based
on Membrane Lipid and Cell Wall Components,
Adenosine Triphosphate, and Direct Counts in
Subsurface Aquifer Sediments," Microbial Ecology
"Macromolecules Facilitate the Transport of Trace
Organics," The Science of the Total Environment
"Organic Cation Effects on the Retention of Metals
and Neutral Organic Compounds on Aquifer
Material," Journal of Environmental Science and
Health
Interactive Simulation of the Fate of Hazardous
Chemicals During Land Treatment of Oily Wastes:
Ritz User's Guide
Physics of Immiscible Flow in Porous Media
Bioplume II: Computer Model of Two-Dimensional
Contaminant Transport Under the Influence of
Oxygen Limited Biodegradation in Ground Water
A Field Evaluation of In-Situ Biodegradation for
Aquifer Restoration
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks: Remediation
with Emphasis on In Situ Biorestoration
"Decay of Dissolved Substances by Second-Order
Reaction. Problem Description and Batch-Reactor
Solutions," Journal of Environmental Science and
Health
Most Important Publication
"Sorption Nonequilibrium During Solute
Transport," Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
64
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Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory
FY89 BUDGET: $8,434,000
PERSONNEL: 55
DIRECTOR
743-2224
Processes and Systems Research
743-2210
Subsurface Processes
743-2314
Subsurface Systems
743-2334
Extramural Activities and Assistance
743-2212
Extramural Activities and Assistance
743-2216
Application and Assistance
743-2308
r
65
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Athens
Rosemarie C. Russo is the Director of
the Environmental Research Laboratory at
Athens, GA. She started with the Agency in
1978 as a Research Chemist at Duluth and
later became Associate Director for Research
Operations. Her career includes. Adjunct
Professor and Associate Director at Montana
State University; Senior Research Chemist,
Colorado State University; Assistant
Professor, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA;
Assistant Professor, Gettysburg College ; and
Instructor, University of Minnesota-Duluth.
She received her B.S. in Chemistry from the
University of Minnesota-Duluth and her
Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the
University of New Hampshire.
Functions
The Environmental Research Laboratory at
Athens conducts and manages fundamental and
applied research to predict and assess the human
and environmental exposures and risks associated
with conventional and toxic pollutants in water and
soil. The research focus is predictive ecological
science.
This research identifies and characterizes the
natural biological and chemical processes that
affect the environmental fate and effects of specific
toxic substances, such as pesticides or metals. The
results are applied in state-of-the-art mathematical
models for assessing and managing environmental
pollution problems.
Lab-developed data and assessment techniques
support EPA's major programs in hazardous waste,
pesticides, toxics, Superfund, and water quality.
Staff expertise includes chemistry, computer
science, ecology, engineering, and microbiology.
EPA's Center for Exposure Assessment
Modeling (CEAM), an internationally known
center of modeling expertise located at the Athens
Lab, provides models, training, and support in
exposure evaluation and ecological risk
assessment. CEAM assists the Agency and States
in environmental risk-based decisions concerning
the protection of surface water, soil, groundwater
and air.
FY88 Products
Application of Expert Systems Technology in Water
Quality Modeling
Characterizing Pesticide Distribution in
Agricultural Settings
Estimating Sample Requirements for Field
Evaluation of Pesticide Leaching
MINTEQA1, an Equilibrium Speciation Model
Modeling the Impact of Conservation Tillage
Practices on Pesticide Concentrations in Ground
and Surface Waters
Physiologically Structured Population Models in
Risk Assessment
Predicting Chemical Reactivity by Computer
Risk of Unsaturated-Saturated Transport and
Transformation Interactions for Chemical
Concentrations (RUSTIC)
r,7
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Athens
SARAH2, a Surface Water Assessment Model for Most Important Publication
Back Calculating Reductions in Abiotic Hazardous
Waste
., . . . . , . . , f n ... ., , ,. FGETS (Food and Gill Exchange of Toxic
Uncertainty Analysis in Water Quality Modeling Substances), a Simulation Model for Predicting
Bioaccumulation of Nonpolar Organic
WASP4, a Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model Pollutants by Fish
68
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Athens
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$8,168,000
67
Office of Research
Operations
250-3127
DIRECTOR
250-3134
Chemistry
250-3145
I
Office of Program
Operations
250-3430
Biology
250-3103
Measurements
250-3183
Assessment
250-3160
Center for
Exposure
Assessment
Modeling
250-3549
69
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Corvallis
Thomas A. Murphy is the Director of the
Environmental Research Laboratory at
Corvallis, Oregon. He has been in Agency
programs since 1970, including Nonpoint Source
Division and Air, Land, Water Use. From 1967-
1970 he was with the Federal Water Quality
Administration. He received a master's degree
in zoology and a Ph.D. degree in Biology from
Yale. He received a bachelor's degree in biology
and chemistry from Knox College, and a
certificate in animal physiology from Glasgow
University.
Functions
The Corvallis Laboratory conducts research
and assessment on the effects of pollutants and
other human stresses on inland ecological systems
that include: plant and wildlife populations; soils
and other microbial systems; forests, grasslands
and agricultural systems; wetlands; watersheds;
and regional landscapes. It also develops and
evaluates methods for mitigating effects on and
restoring inland ecological systems. The
Laboratory provides the Agency's primary
scientific expertise in terrestrial ecotoxicology and
terrestrial, watershed and regional ecology.
Current Laboratory activities include:
effects of acidic deposition on surface waters
and forests
effects of tropospheric ozone on crops and
forests
effects of global climate change and
stratospheric ozone depletion on ecological
systems
effects of toxic chemicals on wildlife and
plants
effects of genetically engineered organisms
and microbial pest control agents on
terrestrial ecological systems
hazardous waste site ecological impact
evaluation
evaluation of cumulative wetland loss
mitigation of wetland loss
uptake, movement and metabolism of
chemicals in plants
regional analysis of ecosystem conditions
and trends
FY88 Products
"Action Spectra and Their Key Role in Assessing
Biological Consequences of Solar UV-B Radiation
Change"
"Analysis of Crop Loss for Alternative Ozone
Exposure Indices"
"Atmospheric Wet Sulfate Deposition and
Lakewater Chemistry"
.1
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Corvallis
Characteristics of Lakes in the Western United
States
Revised Protocol for Bioassessment of Hazardous
Waste Sites
"Database Assessment of Phytotoxicity Data
Published on Terrestrial Vascular Plants"
"Ecoregions: An Approach to Surface Water
Protection"
"Evaluation of Cumulative Effects on Wetland
Functions"
Lake and Reservoir Management: A Guidance
Manual
"Measuring Genetic Stability in Bacteria of
Potential Use in Genetic Engineering"
"Role of Dietary Choices on the Ability of Bobwhite
to Discriminate Between Treated and Untreated
Food"
"Statistical Analysis of Reported Growth Decline of
Pine Species in the Southeast"
The Release of Ice Minus Recombinant Bacteria at
California Test Sites
Most Important Publication
Chemical Characteristics of Streams in the Mid-
Atlantic and Southeastern United States
72
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Corvallis
! FY89 BUDGET: S
: PERSONNEL:
24,326,000 i
71 :
Ecotoxicology
420-4672
Wildlife Team
420-4672
Plant Team
420-4672
Microbiology Team
420-4672
DIRECTOR
ERL-CORVALLIS
420-4601
Terrestrial
420-4673
Ozone Team
420-4673
I
Forest Team
420-4R73
|
Global Team
420-4673
Watershed
420-4666
Aquatic Team
420-4666
Watership Team
420 4666
Wetlands Team
420-4666
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth
Oilman D. Veith has been the Director of
the Environmental Research Laboratory at
Duluth (ERL-D) since 1987. He was Associate
Director of Research from 1984-1987; Chief,
Toxic Substances Research Branch, 1981-1984;
and Research Chemist, 1972-1981. He began
his career as an Assistant Professor of the
Water Chemistry Program at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. He was the
Chemical Advisor on Environmental Criteria,
World Health Organization, Geneva,
Switzerland, and founder of the People's
Republic of China/ERL-Duluth Scientific
Exhcange Program. Dr. Veith received his B.S
in chemistry from Augustana College and his
Ph.D. in Water Chemistry from the University
of Wisconsin. He has authored or co-authored
nearly 50 scientific papers.
Functions
The Environmental Research Laboratory at
Duluth (ERL-D) conducts research to advance our
fundamental understanding of aquatic toxicology
and freshwater ecology. Its mission is to develop a
scientific basis for EPA to create environmental
policies concerning the use of freshwater resources.
To accomplish this, ERL-D conducts the research,
development, and technical assistance programs
described below.
Researchers are studying complex effluents and
are developing cost-effective methods for managing
their toxicity in wastewaters. An ongoing project is
the development of numerical water quality
criteria for industrial chemicals to protect aquatic
life and its uses. ERL-D scientists also develop
sediment criteria for chemicals which pose long-
term contamination problems and describe the fate
and effects of pollutants in waters of the Great
Lakes.
Pesticide scientists conduct research with both
biological and chemical insecticides. The biological
agent research is developing tests that will assess
the virulence, survival and distribution of these
unique forms in natural and laboratory systems.
Field studies are conducted to verify earlier results
from laboratory studies. Methods developed in both
research areas are being incorporated into the
Federal pesticide registration process.
Toxic substances research specializes in
developing methodology for conducting aquatic
toxicity tests and in predictive aquatic toxicology.
The data base produced is being modeled using
computers so that predictions of toxicity can be
made from physical/chemical properties and
chemical structure. Scientists are also developing
procedures to define the mode of toxic action and
understand the metabolism of chemicals. Studies to
determine the ecological significance and adequacy
of existing laboratory-derived toxicity testing
methods for protecting aquatic life are being
conducted.
Other researchers are investigating a series of
industrial chemicals to determine how fish absorb,
distribute, metabolize, and excrete chemicals. ERL-
D is participating in a national study that
determines the levels of dioxin in fish, water, and
sediment samples from across the country. In
addition to analyzing field samples, ERL-D is
conducting laboratory studies on the bioavailability
of dioxin.
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth
FY88 Products
"Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Pyrethroid
Insecticides in Fish"
"Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos, Endrin, or Fenvalerate to
Fathead Minnows Following Episodic or
Continuous Exposure"
"Environmental Contamination by Polychlorinated
Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans Associated
with Pulp and Paper Mill Discharge"
"Response of an Alaskan Wetland to Nutrient
Enrichment"
"Structure-Toxicity Relationships for Industrial
Chemicals Causing Type (II) Narcosis Syndrome"
"Fish Population Changes and Mechanisms
Associated with Changes in an Acidified Lake"
The Impact of Chlorine/Ammonia on Ecosystem
Structure and Function in Experimental Streams
Survival and Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var.
israelensis Introduced into Aquatic Microcosm
Communities
Development of Ecosystem Resiliency Data Base
Factors Controlling Recovery of Aquatic Systems
from Disturbance
Methods for Aquatic Toxicity Identification
Evaluations: Phase I. Toxicity Characterization
Procedures
Most Important Publication
Enclosures for Aquatic Field Testing of Pesticides:
The Effects of Chlorpyrifos on a Natural System
76
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$7,765,000
88
Associate Director for
Research Operations
780-5572
Toxic
Substances
Research
780-5574
Pesticides
Research
780-5552
Hazardous
Waste
Research
780-5567
Associate Director for
Program Operations
780-5548
Large Lakes
Research
313-675-
7704
Monticello
Research
777-2491
77
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Gulf Breeze
Raymond Gene Wilhour was named
Acting Director of the Environmental
Research Laboratory at Gulf Breeze in April
1988. Before this appointment he had served
as Acting Deputy Director at ERL-Gulf
Breeze since August 1987. Dr. Wilhour has
served as scientist and team leader at EPA
laboratories in Research Triangle Park, NC,
and Corvallis, OR . As Chief of the Air
Branch, he was responsible for EPA research
on effects of air pollutants, acidic deposition,
and UV-B radiation on agriculture, forests,
and fresh waters. Dr. Wilhour received his BS
and MS degrees in Forest Management and
his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from
Pennsylvania State University.
Functions
The Environmental Research Laboratory at
Gulf Breeze develops and analyzes scientific data
on the impact of hazardous materials released in
marine and estuarine environments. Scientific
investigations primarily involve chemical
compounds and biological products regulated by
EPA's Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances,
the Office of Water Programs, and the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
Laboratory scientists develop and evaluate test
systems to (1) evaluate and define mechanisms that
affect biodegradation and accumulation of toxicants
in aquatic food webs; (2) define procedures and
evaluate protocols for biological treatment of
hazardous wastes; (3) determine effects of
carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens in aquatic
species; (4) develop principles and applications of
ecotoxicology, including measurement and
prediction of fate and effect of chemicals and
synthetics on estuarine species and environments.
Methods also are under development to apply
laboratory observations to field situations and to
evaluate potential risks from the release of
biotechnological products in the marine
environment.
Information from laboratory research is used to
establish guidelines, standards, and strategies for
management of hazardous materials in the near-
coastal marine environment, to define and predict
its ecological health, and describe cause(s) of
aberrant conditions or changes in its ecological
status.
FY88 Products
"Adaptation of Aquatic Microbial Communities to
Pollutant Stress," Microbiol. Set.
"Constructing Microbial Strains for Degradation of
Halogenated Aromatic Hydrocarbons,"
Environmental Biotechnology: Reducing Risks from
Environmental Chemicals Through Biotechnology
"Comparison of the Seagrass Thalassia testudinum
and Its Epiphytes in the Field and in Laboratory
Test Systems," Environ. Exp. Bot.
"Inclusion Body Viruses. II. Baculoviruses of
Invertebrates Other Than Insects," Atlas of
Invertebrate Viruses
"Biological Containment of Genetically Engineered
Microorganisms," Classical and Molecular Methods
to Assess Environmental Applications of
Microorganisms
"Tumors of the Cardiovascular System" Natl.
Cancer Inst. Monogr.
-------
Environmental Research Laboratory - Gulf Breeze
"Field Sampling in Estuaries: The Relationship of
Scale to Variability," Estuaries
"Alterations in Growth, Reproduction, and Energy
Metabolism of Estuarine Crustaceans as Indicators
of Pollutant Stress," IUBS Methods Manual.
International Union of Biological Sciences
"Potential for Transfer and Establishment of
Engineered Genetic Sequences," Trends Ecol. &
Evol.
Effects of Physico-Chemical and Biological Factors
on Genetic Exchange in Aquatic Environments
"Trichloroethylene Metabolism by Microorganisms
That Degrade Aromatic Compounds," Appl.
Environ. Microbiol.
Acute Toxicity of Two Generic Drilling Fluids and
Six Additives, Alone and Combined, to Mysids
(Mysidopsis bahia).
Most Important Publication
Detection of RNA Sequences to Characterize
Natural Microbial Populations
80
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Gulf Breeze
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$3,846,000
55
Program Support Staff
686-9011
Ecotoxicology
686-9011
DIRECTOR
686-9011
Microbial Ecology &
Biotechnology
686-9011
Research Support Staff
686-9011
1
Pathobiology
686-9011
HI
-------
Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett
Norbert A. Jaworski has been the Director
of the Environmental Research Laboratory in
Narragansett, Rhode Island, since 1986. From
1970 to 1985, he was the director of several
Agency research laboratories, including
Corvallis, OR; Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina; and Duluth, Minnesota. Before joining
the Agency, he was a deputy director in the
Department of Interior. He received a Ph.D.
degree in Water Resources Management from
the University of Michigan and bachelor's and
master's degrees in Civil Engineering from the
University of Wisconsin (Madison). He has
written over 50 publications and technical
reports. He has received an EPA Gold Medal and
the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive.
Functions
The Environmental Research Laboratory at
Narragansett, Rhode Island, along with its Pacific
Coast laboratory in Newport, Oregon, is the
Agency's National Marine Environmental Quality
Research Laboratory. The Laboratory's research
supports primarily the EPA Office of Water, Office
of Emergency and Remedial Response, and the
Office of Air and Radiation. The Laboratory's
efforts respond to legislative requirements of the
Clean Water Act, the Marine Protection, Research
and Sanctuaries Act, and the Superfund
Reauthorization Act. Major emphasis is placed on
providing the scientific base for environmental
criteria, waste disposal practices, environmental
analysis/ impacts, assessments, and marine and
estuarine risk assessments for regulatory activities
of responsible offices.
The Laboratory's principal themes are:
Environmental Chemistry, Transport and Fate,
Biological and Ecological Effects, Biomonitoring,
Ecological Risk Assessment, and Multidisciplinary
Information Management.
The Laboratory is responsible for the following
research program areas: (1) marine and estuarine
disposal, discharge of (and recovery from) complex
wastes, dredged material, and other wastes;
(2) water use designation and derivation of criteria
for marine and estuarine water and sediment;
(3) environmental assessment of ocean disposal and
discharges of waste and wastewaters; (4) technical
and research support for evaluating remediation
options at proposed and designated
marine/estuarine superfund sites; and (5) research
on the effects of global warming and the depletion
of stratospheric ozone on marine systems. Technical
assistance, technology transfer, and investigations
of an emergency nature, e.g., spills of toxic
materials, also are provided to aid EPA offices in
evaluating environmental threats posed by
toxicants, other pollutants, and physical
modifications along the Mid- and North Atlantic
Coast, the West Coast, and other geographic
locations. Technical assistance is also provided to
other federal agencies, states, municipalities, and
industry.
FY88 Products
"Biological Effects, Bioaccumulation, and
Ecotoxicology of Sediment Associated Chemicals"
"Efficiency of Uptake of Hexachlorobenzene from
Water by the Tellinid Clam, Macoma nasuta,"
Aquatic Toxicology
"Hypoxia-Induced Respiratory Changes in English
Sole (Parophrys uetulus Girard)," Comp.
Biochemistry and Physiology
- :
-------
Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett
"Four Independent Approaches to Developing
Sediment Quality Criteria Yield Similar Values for
Model Contaminants," Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry
"A Hazard Assessment Research Strategy for
Ocean Disposal," Oceanic Processes in Marine
Pollution, Volume 3, Ocean Waste Management
Policy and Strategies
Guidelines for Deriving Ambient Aquatic Life
Advisory Concentrations
Ambient Aquatic Life Water Quality Advisories for
Tributyltin, Saltwater Coordinator
"Use of Bioassays in Determining the Toxicity of
Sediment to Benthic Organisms," Advances in
Environmental Sciences and Technology
"The Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Ammonia to
Marine Fish and a Mysid," Environmental
Contamination and Toxicology
"Ambient Aquatic Life Water Quality Criteria for
Ammonia (Saltwater)," Saltwater Coordinator
"The Acute Toxicity of Sewage Sludge to Marine
Fish, Mysids, and Copepods. in Oceanic Processes,"
Marine Pollution; Urban Wastes in Coastal Marine
Environments
"Responses of Polychaetes to Cadmium
Contaminated Sediment: Comparison of Uptake
and Behavior," Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry
"Case Study of a Marine Discharge: Comparison of
Effluent and Receiving Water Toxicity," Aquatic
Toxicology and Hazard Assessment
"Selected Chemical Contaminants in Surface
Sediments of Commencement Bay and the Tacoma
Waterways, Washington, USA," Marine
Environmental Research
"Toxicological Methods for Determining the Effects
of Contaminated Sediment on Marine Organisms"
Report on the Assessment and Application of
Pollutant Biomagnification in Near Coastal Waters
Most Important Publication
Short Term Methods for Estimating the Chronic
Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to
Marine andEstuarine Organisms
84
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Environmental Research Laboratory - Narragansett
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$6,788,000
71
DIRECTOR
ERL-NARRAGANSETT, Rl
AND
NEWPORT, OR
833-6001
Marine Effects
(Narragansett, Rl)
838-6000
Marine Processes
(Narragansett, Rl)
838-6037
Pacific Division
(Newport, OR)
503-867-4040
Biological Effects
838-6027
Physiological Effects
838-6055
Field Effects
838-6078
Environmental
Chemistry
Exposure Assessment
838-6037
J
Ecosystems Analysis
838-6056
Physical and Chemical
Processes
503-867-4038
Bioaccumulation
503-867-4042
Benthic Effects
503-867-4031
85
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Office of Health Research
Ken Sexton received a bachelor's degree
from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's
degree in both Environmental Engineering and
Sociology from Washington State University
and Texas Tech University, respectively. His
Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences is from
Harvard University. From 1983 to 1985, Dr.
Sexton was Director of the Indoor Air Quality
Program for the State of California, and from
1985 to 1987, he was Director of Scientific
Review at the Health Effects Institute in Boston,
MA. He has published extensively in the
scientific literature on human exposures to air
pollution.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$57,800,000
307
Environmental
Health Research
Staff
382-5893
Health Effects
Research
Laboratory
Research
Triangle Park, NC
629-2281
& Cincinnati, OH
684-7401
Program
Operations Staff
382-5891
87
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Office of Health Research
Functions
The Office of Health Research (OHR) is
responsible for planning, implementing, and
evaluating a comprehensive, integrated human
health research program. This program:
documents adverse effects to man from
environmental exposure to pollutants which
ORD uses to support the Agency's regulating
activities;
develops test systems, methods, and protocols;
conducts laboratory and field research studies;
develops interagency programs which
effectively use pollutants;
offers technical assistance to the Regions and
program offices;
develops health science policy for the Agency;
and
provides a focal point for the effects of human
exposure to environmental pollutants.
The Program Operations Staff:
administers the ORD planning, reporting and
review system;
develops management systems necessary to
support programs, personnel and budgets of the
office and associated laboratories;
reviews plans, progress, and resources for
compliance with ORD, Agency and legislative
requirements; and
recommends planning and programming
activities of the office to the Office of
Administration and Resources Management
and the Office of Policy, Planning and
Evaluation.
The Environmental Health Research Staff:
plans, manages, and evaluates research
programs dealing with health impacts of
exposures to criteria and non-criteria air
pollutants, emissions from mobile sources,
drinking water, and ambient water pollutants,
solid and hazardous wastes and toxic chemical
substances (including pesticides) and
Superfund;
develops health research policy, priorities and
program plans;
determines resource allocations to carry out the
health research program;
provides program implementation guidelines to
the Health Effects Research Laboratory;
assures effective integration of all laboratory
health research activities; and
reviews laboratory management practices and
research activities to determine progress
toward program objectives.
provides health research information and
advice to steering committees, regulation
review committees, interagency committees,
and domestic and international organizations
which request such assisstance.
Program Activities
The Office of Health Research (OHR) supports a
research program that has three main goals:
1) Develop, improve and validate toxicological test
methods for use by the Agency's programs,
2) Produce dose-response data that will allow the
Agency to perform the necessary risk assessments,
and 3) Conduct a research program to improve the
Agency's ability to assess health risks from
environmental exposures. These three goals serve
as the core around which each of the media specific
programs are planned and implemented. Below is a
brief description of the health issues which are
being addressed in OHR's research program.
Air
In the air health research program major efforts
are being directed at providing dose-response
data for use in risk of the six criteria pollutants.
This research is being conducted using animal
toxicology studies and both human clinical and
epidemiological studies and both human
clinical and epidemiological studies and
develops data describing the effects of exposure
to these pollutants on pulmonary function,
changes in host defense functions
(immunotoxicity), cardiovascular disease, and
neurological function. Research is also
developing better methods to determine the
deposition of pollutants in the lung in order to
88
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Office of Health Research
improve our risk assessment capabilities.
Research on hazardous air pollutants is focused
on determining the potential mutagenic and
carcinogenic hazard of VOC's and mixtures of
air pollutants. The indoor air health effects
research program is focusing on developing
methodology and data to evaluate the effects,
both cancer and non-cancer, from exposure to
combustion emissions from kerosene heaters,
wood stoves, environmental tobacco smoke, and
other sources of indoor air pollution.
Water
The drinking water health effects research
program primary programmatic focus is to
determine the health effects from the use of
various drinking water disinfectants (chlorine,
chloramine, ozone). Human clinical and
epidemiology studies are being planned and
conducted to determine the relationship
between water disinfection and both cancer and
cardiovascular disease. A major effort to
develop in vitro and in vivo test methods for use
in screening concentrated drinking water
samples and complex mixtures for potential
health effects is underway. These methods are
used to identify and isolate the biologically
active components or chemicals from drinking
water concentrates for further in depth health
characterization. Dose-response studies are also
being conducted on specific drinking water
disinfection by-products to support the
development of drinking water standards.
Pesticides and Toxics
The pesticides and toxic substances research
program focuses on developing test methods for
determining the health effects from pesticides
and commercial chemicals, developing both
animal and human biomarkers to improve our
understanding of exposure-dose relationships
and to apply these methods in biochemical
epidemiology studies, research to determine the
potential health effects from microbial
pesticides and genetically engineered
organisms and research to develop structure
activity relationship models to support TSCA
section 5.
Hazardous Waste/Superfund
The major programatic issue being addressed in
the hazardous waste health research program is
to develop a test methodology for comparing the
potential cancer and non-cancer health risks
from hazardous waste incineration and
municipal waste combustion.
Finally, the health effects Superfund research
program is conducting research to develop test
methods to screen and evaluate the potential health
hazard from exposure to waste mixtures.
Issues
Relationship Among EPA, NIEHS, and ATSDR in
Superfund Health Research
The Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 addressed the issue of
support to Superfund in the area of health effects
assessment by authorizing a broad based Federal
program of research. The operating environment
created by this broad mandate is complex, having
many participants and many interrelated
activities. Major participants include EPA/ORD
(both OHR and OHEA), EPA/OSWER (OERR,
OWPE, and many contractors), NIEHS, and
ATSDR.
Requirements for health related activities
derive from the Act and are further provided for
and clarified in the National Contingency Plan for
Oil and Hazardous Materials Release (NCP), the
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study guidance
document, the Superfund Public Health Evaluation
Manual, and the ATSDR Health Assessment
guidance manual. NIEHS is required to establish a
university-based basic research program. ATSDR is
to prepare qualitative Health Assessments and
Toxicological Profiles on the most hazardous
substances found at Superfund sites, perform
various health/epidemiologic studies on exposed
populations, establish exposure and disease
registries of certain at-risk populations, and
implement a research program for each
Toxicological Profile chemical. EPA is responsible
for establishing a quantitative program for
detecting, assessing, and evaluating the effects on
and risk to human health of hazardous substances.
There exists a wide lack of understanding of
how health information is brought into and made a
part of the Superfund site decision-making process,
what the various steps are, what products are used
in the process, who prepares the individual
products and the impact of each product on the
decision-making process.
89
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Efforts will be needed to coordinate the
programs and the exchange of information that
results from them. We need to show that each of the
participants fills a niche not filled by others and
that the research results from each of the programs
are generally useful to the others.
Development of effective interactions with the Health
Effects Institute (HEI) for both mobile source and
asbestos issues
The HEI is a non-profit organization founded in
1980 to assure that credible, objective, and high-
quality scientific studies are carried out on the
potential health effects of motor vehicle emissions.
EPA's Office of Research and Development
contributes $3 million per year to HEI, which is
matched by $3 million from the automotive
industry. Although both sponsors make
recommendations about relevant research needs,
HEI makes an independent decision about
appropriate research to address key questions. HEI
makes no recommendations on regulatory or social
policy.
In the FY 1989 Report of the House
Appropriations Committee, EPA is directed to give
HEI $2 million, to be matched on at least 50-50
basis by contributions from private sources, for the
study of asbestos exposures and their significance
in buildings. HEI was directed to submit a plan on
the organization, staffing, and peer review
structures, the research work plan, and financial
commitments before any funds are obligated for
research.
The challenge for EPA is to evaluate the HEI
experiment in regard to research on the health
effects of automotive emissions and determine what
changes, if any, are needed to improve the
effectiveness of the current arrangement, and work
with HEI and the private sector to construct an
appropriate research program that addresses the
important issues associated with asbestos exposure
in buildings.
Decision about the productive use of the Task Force
on Environmental Cancer and Heart and Lung
Disease
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977
established the Task Force and charged it with
promoting cooperation and coordination among
Federal agencies concerning environmental health
issues, including research. The EPA Administrator
is Chairman of the Task Force, while the Director of
EPA's Office of Health Research is the Working
Group Chairman. The Task Force meets at the
discretion of the Administrator, while the Working
Group meets quarterly. In accordance with the
provisions of the law, the Task Force submits an
annual report to Congress on research
recommendations.
The EPA should decide how the Task Force can
best be used to promote interagency coordination on
important environmental health issues.
Specifically, a review of Task Force activities
should be undertaken with an eye toward deciding
1) whether to recommend continuation, and 2)
given an affirmative response, how to go about
maximizing the effectiveness of the Task Force.
90
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Health Effects Research Laboratory
Functions
The Health Effects Research Laboratory
(HERD is one of the 12 Office of Research and
Development (ORD) laboratories within EPA.
HERL provides the health data base which
serves as the foundation for the health-related
regulatory decisions of the Agency. In building this
foundation, evidence is gathered, not only from
internal research studies, but also from cooperative
agreements and contracts with universities and
private institutions, and through agreements with
other governmental agencies.
Wide ranges of pollutants known or suspected
to cause health problems are studied. The research
focuses on air pollutants including indoor air and
mobile source pollutants, water pollutants, toxic
substances, pesticides, and hazardous wastes.
The major mission of HERL is to provide hazard
assessment-related research in support of risk
assessment. To achieve this in a fashion compatible
with the water, solid waste, air and radiation, and
pesticides and toxic substances program offices
requires major research emphasis on hazard
identification, dose-response studies, extrapolation,
and dosimetry. In most instances, providing the
necessary responsiveness to the Program Offices
requires HERL to make major advancements in the
Lawrence W. Reiter has been the Director
of the Health Effects Research Laboratory since
April 1988. Prior to being named Director of the
Laboratory, Dr. Reiter was Director of HERL's
Neurotoxicology Division. Earlier in his career,
he was responsible for centralizing the
neurotoxicology research program for the
Agency and received an EPA Bronze Medal in
1979 for his role in this effort. Additional
awards Dr. Reiter has received include two
Special Achievement Awards and the Agency's
Scientific and Technological Achievement
Award. Dr. Reiter serves on the editorial board
of three professional journals and is an
internationally recognized neurotoxicologist
who has been involved in a variety of activities
to define and implement national priorities for
environmental health research in this area. He
earned his Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from
the University of Kansas Medical Center in
Kansas City. Before joining EPA in 1973 as a
research pharmacologist, he was post-doctoral
fellow and lecturer in environmental toxicology
at the University of California-Davis.
state-of-the-art, especially for model development
and extrapolation. The diversity of the needs of
EPA has resulted in the development of a broad-
based HERL program with multiple high priorities.
This has led to HERL's unique capability to conduct
research using oral, dermal, and inhalation routes
of exposure; in vitro, animal toxicology, human
clinical, and epidemiological approaches; and a full
range of toxicological disciplines including
neurotoxicology, reproductive toxicology,
teratology and perinatal toxicology, geriatric
toxicology, pulmonary toxicology, immunotoxi-
cology, cardiovascular toxicology, genotoxicology,
hepatotoxicology, other target organ toxicology,
dosimetry, and microbiology.
Organizationally, HERL consists of six
research divisions. While most of the research
facilities are located in the Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, HERL has one division, the
Toxicology and Microbiology Division, located in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Also HERL has one of the
nation's few sophisticated human inhalation
exposure facilities which is located on the campus of
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
-------
Health Effects Research Laboratory
FY88 Products
"Effects of Inhalation of 0.25 PPM Ozone on the
Terminal Bronchioles of Juvenile and Adult Rats,"
Experimental Lung Research
"An A2-Adrenergic Mode of Action of
Chlordimenform on Rat Visual Function,"
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
"Developmental Effects of Maternal Stress in the
CD-I Mouse Induced by Restraint on Single Days
During the Period of Major Organogenesis,"
Toxicology
"Prenatal Dinocap Exposure Alters the Swimming
Behavior of Mice Due to Agenesis of Otholiths in
the Inner Ear," Toxicology and Applied
Pharmacology
"Studies on the Potent Bacterial Mutagen 3-Chloro-
4-(Dichloro-methyl)-5-Hydroxy-2(5-H)-Furanone:
Aqueous Stability, XAD Recovery and Analytical
Determination in Drinking Water and in
Chlorinated Humic Acid Solutions," Mutation
Research
"Comparison of Chlordimeform and Carbaryl Using
a Functional Observational Batter" Fundamental
and Applied Toxicology
"A Case-SAR Study of Mammalian Hepatic
Azoreduction," Journal of Toxicology and
Environmental Health
"Acute Exposure of the Neonatal Rat to Triethyltin
Results in Persistent Changes in Neurotypic and
Gliotypic Proteins,". Journal of Pharmacology and
Experimental Therapeutics
"Effects of Ambient Ozone on Respiratory Function
in Active Normal Children," American Review of
Respiratory Disease
Most Important Publication
"Pulmonary Function and Symptom Responses
After 6.6 Hour Exposure to 0.12 PPM Ozone with
Moderate Exercise," Journal of the Air Pollution
Control Association
"Chemical Reactivity, Cytotoxicity, and
Mutagenicity of Chloro-propanones," Toxicology
and Applied Pharmacology
"Genotoxicity of Acrylic Acid, Methyl Acrylate,
Ethyl Acrylate, Methyl Methacrylate, and Ethyl
Methacrylate in L5178Y Mouse Lymphoma Cells,"
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis
92
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Health Effects Research Laboratory
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$46,224,000
286
DIRECTOR
HERL-RTP & CINCINNATI
629-2281
I
Inhalation
Toxicology
629-2655
Genetic
Toxicology
629-2537
I
Clinical
Research
919-
9(56-6200
1
Neuro-
toxicology
629-2671
Mutagenesis &
Cellular
Toxicity
629-3933
I
Toxicology
629-2531
Behavioral
Toxicology
629-2671
Carcinogenesis
& Metabolism
629-3847
1
I I
Developmental
and Cell
Toxicology
629-2771
Reproductive
Toxicology
629-2782
Neuro-
physiology
629-2760
Genetic
Bioassay
629-3849
System
Engineering
629-2617
Environ-
mental
Epidemiology
& Biometry
629-2330
I
Biostatistics
629-2598
Toxicology
& Micro-
biology
684-7401
Microbiology
& Hazard
Assessment
684-7870
I I
Perinatal
Toxicology
629-2327
Data
Management
629-5054
Environmental
Toxicology
684-7211
I I I
Cell Biology
629-2541
Epidemiology
629-1963
Biochemical
& Molecular
Toxicology
684-7411
93
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Office of Health and Environmental Assessment
William H. Farland is the Director of the
Office of Health and Environmental
Assessment. He has been with EPA since
1979, and served as Deputy Director, Health
and Environmental Review Division, Office of
Toxic Substances before joining ORD in 1986
as Director of the Carcinogen Assessment
Group. He received a Ph.D. and master's
degree from University of California, Los
Angeles, and a bachelor's degree in biology
from Loyola University. He was a National
Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
(National Research Service Awardee), at the
University of California, Irvine, California,
and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton,
New York.
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$18,304,000
136
DIRECTOR
382-7317
Technical
Information
Staff
382-7345
Program
Operations
Staff
382-7311
Program Liaison
Staff
382-7343
I
Human Health
Assessment Group
382-5898
Exposure
Assessment Group
475-8909
Environmental
Criteria
and
Assessment Office
Research Triangle
Park, NC
629-4173
I
Environmental
Criteria
and
Assessment Office
Cincinnati, OH
684-7531
95
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Office of Health and Environmental Assessment
Functions
The Office of Health and Environmental
Assessment (OHEA) is the focal point within the
Environmental Protection Agency for the scientific
assessment of the degree of risks imposed by
environmental pollutants in varying exposure
situations on human health and ecological systems.
OHEA occupies a critical location in the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) between: (1) the
researchers in other ORD components who are
generating new findings and data, and (2) the
regulators in the EPA program offices and regions
who must make regulatory, enforcement, and
remedial action decisions. In support of its mission
to provide the Agency with the best possible
scientific assessments of risk to human health and
the environment, OHEA carries out three
functions:
Preparing human health risk assessments to
meet specific information needs of the EPA
regulatory program offices. The risk
assessments performed by OHEA serve as the
scientific basis for regulatory and enforcement
decisions.
Helping promote Agency-wide coordination and
consistency of risk assessments through the
preparation of guidelines; providing expert
advice, reviews and data analysis; and
participation in the regulatory decision process.
Planning and conducting research leading to
the reduction of uncertainties in risk
assessment. As the primary client for the
results of this research, OHEA cooperatively
plans research projects which are carried out by
other ORD organizations (e.g., Health Effects
Research Laboratory) as well as its own
selected extramural projects.
Providing information on Reference Doses
(RfDs) or Agency agreed-upon Risk Estimates
of Carcinogenicity (RECs) through the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).
In addition, OHEA is "home" to the Risk
Assessment Forum.
Program Activities
Air
Evaluate research findings concerning the
health effects of hazardous air pollutants
emitted from restricted stationary sources or
their transformation products, as well as
background information on physical and
chemical properties, sources, emissions,
transport and transformation, and ambient
concentrations. Such assessments also
evaluate chemical compositions of fuel
additives, diesel and gasoline exhausts,
human exposure to motor vehicle pollutants,
and evidence of resulting health effects.
Review and revise criteria for setting National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for
sulfur oxides, particulate matter, nitrogen
oxides, ozone and other photochemical
oxidants, carbon monoxide and lead.
Develop an exposure assessment/risk
characterization framework, updating and
revising the Indoor Air Pollution Information
Assessment and the Indoor Air Reference
Data Base, determine the extent of population
exposure to indoor air pollutants, and develop
biological contaminant measurement
methods.
Water
Assess the health effects of exposure to
contaminants in drinking water, specifically
evaluating relevant scientific data describing
the physical and chemical properties, the
pharmacokinetics, the health effects in
animals and humans, and the mechanisms of
toxicity.
Provide guidance for assessing the risk of
human exposure to mixtures of toxic
chemicals, and evaluate site-specific health
hazards for ambient waters as required by the
states and EPA.
Provide risk assessment methodologies for
chemicals and pathogens in support of
regulatory decision making on the use and
disposal of municipal sludge.
Hazardous Waste
Reduce the uncertainties in dioxin risk
assessments by analyzing soil ingestion
patterns in children, and investigating the
pharmacokinetics of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in rhesus
monkeys as a model for pharmacokinetics in
humans.
Develop a comprehensive risk assessment
methodology for municipal waste incineration
to include the appropriate methods for
assessing the risks resulting from the use of
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Office of Health and Environmental Assessment
municipal waste incineration as well as the
risks remaining after the waste has been
burned.
Provide chemical-specific health and
environmental effects documents to support
RCRA 3001 listing decisions and support to
the land disposal restriction program in the
form of reference dose (formerly Acceptable
Daily Intake) documentation.
Toxic Chemical Testing/Assessment
Provide evaluations and assistance to the
Office of Toxic Substances in the area of
health risk assessments for cancer,
mutagenicity, reproductive and develop-
mental effects and exposure to support
decision-making under TSCA (i.e., existing
chemicals program, PMN review, and test
guidelines and test rules development).
Develop assessment methods for cancer/non-
cancer effects in humans caused by exposure
to environmental chemicals.
Pesticides
Provide evaluations and assistance to the
Office of Pesticide Programs in the area of
health risk assessments for cancer,
mutagenicity, reproductive and develop-
mental effects and exposure.
Intermedia
Provide uniform Agency-wide guidance on,
and assures the consistency of, exposure and
risk assessments that support regulatory
decision-making by EPA through risk
assessment guidelines, the Risk Assessment
Forum, and the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS).
Superfund
Review and prepare site-, chemical- and
situation-specific exposure and risk
assessments to assist the program office and
Regions in evaluating the alternative courses
of action and regulatory strategies that might
be applied at uncontrolled Superfund sites.
Provide site- and chemical-specific health
assessments to support enforcement office
needs for the remedial planning and cost
recovery efforts.
Develop data and procedures to fill
information and assessment gaps that exist in
the various phases of the Superfund public
health evaluation process, e.g., toxicity
assessment, risk characterization, and
exposure assessment.
Provide chemical-specific data on
carcinogenicity and chronic effects to support
program office activities necessary to adjust,
by regulation, the Reportable Quantities (RQ)
for hazardous substances. These include
completion of the original CERCLA hazardous
substance list and the Extremely Hazardous
Substances List, as well as listings in
association with Section 3001 of RCRA
support for designation of new substances, and
review of old RQ calculations.
Issues
OHEA's role in the Agency has been evolving
from an office that performs risk assessments to an
office that is a major force in assuring the
consistency and high scientific quality of risk and
exposure assessments conducted in other parts of
the Agency. This evolution will continue, and
OHEA must find ways of successfully fulfilling
these broader responsibilities.
Research/Risk Assessment
OHEA should continue its program, begun in
1987, to influence research efforts to reduce
uncertainties in risk assessment. OHEA has the
unique capability to provide direction, priority, and
scientific expertise to such research, and must
develop the means, working with other ORD offices,
to incorporate the results of these research efforts
into its ongoing agenda of risk assessment
documents, its assessment guidelines, and the data
bases used throughout the Agency. ORD is
pursuing major research efforts in understanding
ecological risk and in improving exposure
assessment. Pharmacokinetics, model validation,
and reducing the uncertainty in exposure
assessment are areas of future research. As the only
human health risk assessment group within ORD,
OHEA is working to reduce uncertainty in risk
assessments through the validation of assumptions
about the species-to-species extrapolation, dose-
rate effects, dose-response models, biomarkers, and
gender equivalence and must continue to develop
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Office of Health and Environmental Assessment
and evaluate new methods for improving
carcinogen risk assessment.
OHEA is an important client for research
conducted by the other ORD offices. OHEA needs to
develop its effectiveness in helping to plan needed
research to be conducted by other parts of ORD. The
ultimate result of such enhanced planning will be
research findings that are targeted to the needs of
the risk assessors.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
The major scientific assessment issues
associated with NAAQS are as follows:
Acid Aerosols are emerging as a major ambient
air quality issue. In June 1988, the Science
Advisory Board's Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC) recommended that the
Agency consider listing acid aerosols as a criteria
pollutant for NAAQS regulation. If such a listing
decision is made, then the Clean Air Act requires
criteria review and proposal of NAAQS within one
year.
NAAQS review of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and
Nitrogen Oxide (NO) will present additional major
issues during the next several years. Preparation
of revised criteria documents is underway. The
major controversial issue is with CO. The CO issue
to be resolved focuses on whether previously
reported (but partially suspect) findings indicating
cardiovascular effects at 2-3% carboxyhemoglobin
(COHB) levels are substantiated by better-
conducted, newer studies by (1) EPA/ORD Health
Effects Research Laboratory (HERD; and (2) a
Health Effects Institute (HEI) sponsored "three-
center study" being cooperatively carried out by
three major academic research groups.
Indoor Air
The assessment of the microenvironment,
especially indoor air, is an emerging EPA activity.
A key issue is the merging of ongoing indoor air
research and assessments with traditional
assessments of the ambient environment, i.e.,
assessing the risks of indoor exposures in relation
to the outside environment. To date, exposure
assessments for air pollution have not considered
the fact that most people spend about 90% of their
time indoors exposed to concentrations of
"hazardous" air pollutants that are 3 to 10 times
higher than those found in the ambient
environment. OHEA expects to continue to play a
key role in matrix management
coordination/integration of ORD indoor air
research efforts during the foreseeable future.
Work has begun to standardize the procedures for
risk assessments of various indoor air pollution
scenarios. This work and OHEA's approaches to
assessing other environmental problems such as
waste incinerators should be coordinated with the
objective of arriving at consistent risk assessment
approaches.
Toxicological Profiles
OHEA participates in a cooperative effort with
the EPA Office of Toxic Substances (OTS) and the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) to both develop and review Toxicological
Profiles as mandated by the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).
This mandate requires ATSDR to prepare profiles
for each substance included on the first priority list
of 100 chemicals, which both the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and EPA
determined posed the most significant potential
threat to human health, found at facilities on the
CERCLA National Priorities List. Beginning in
1989, profiles will be developed for the second list of
100 chemicals. This is a major emerging issue that
is expected to continue for the next several years in
that it is a resource-intensive activity competing
with site-specific assessment issues and Superfund-
related research.
New Directions
The issues here concern a change in the way
OHEA does business, e.g., we are moving from an
office preparing chemical-specific health
assessments to an office developing new and
improved risk assessment methodology, and
providing review and oversight for consistency in
risk assessment approaches and in EPA's risk
assessment activities. As research needs are
defined through risk assessment activities, OHEA
must find better ways to alert the research
community to these research needs.
Most Important Publication
Integrated Risk Information System Database. A
Summary of Risk Assessment and Regulatory
Information on Chemicals
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Exposure Assessment Group
Michael A. Callahan has been the
Director of the Exposure Assessment Group
since 1986. His prior experience at EPA
includes positions in the Office of Toxic
Substances and the Office of Water. He began
his career as a chemist with the U.S. Army
Research and Development Center. He has
been awarded three EPA Bronze Medals for
Commendable Service. He received a master's
degree in organic chemistry from George
Washington University and a bachelor's
degree in chemistry from Northwestern
University.
Functions
The Exposure Assessment Group provides
advice on the exposure characteristics and factors of
agents that are suspected of causing detrimental
health effects; provides state-of-the-art
methodology, guidance, and procedures for
exposure determinations; and prepares
independent assessments of exposure and
recommendations concerning the exposure
potential of specific agents. The Exposure
Assessment Group consists of the following two
branches:
The Exposure Assessment Application Branch
is responsible for performing exposure assessments,
applying exposure assessment methods to site-
specific cases, reviewing Regional Superfund risk
assessments, and reviewing exposure assessments
prepared by other organizations.
The Exposure Assessment Methods Branch is
responsible for developing methods for use in
exposure assessments, chairing Agency-wide work
groups on subjects such as guidelines development
and related Risk Assessment Forum topics,
performing exposure assessments, and reviewing
exposure assessments prepared by other
organizations.
These branches provide state-of-the-art
methodology, guidance, and procedures as well as
plan and execute research in the area of exposure
assessment.
FY88 Products
"Reference Physiological Parameters
Pharmacokinetic Modeling"
i n
"Estimating Exposures to 2,3,7,8-TCDD"
(External Review Draft)
"Selection Criteria for Mathematical Models
Used in Exposure Assessment - Surface Water
Models"
"Selection Criteria for Mathematical Models
Used in Exposure Assessments: Ground-Water
Models"
Most Important Publication
Selection Criteria for Mathematical Models Used in
Exposure Assessments: Surface Water Models and
Ground-Water Models
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Exposure Assessment Group
DIRECTOR
475-8909
Exposure Assessment
Applications
475-8909
Exposure Assessment
Methods
475-8909
100
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Human Health Assessment Group
Charles H. Ris has been the Acting
Director of the Human Health Assessment
Group since September 1988. His prior
experience in EPA was in the Office of Health
and Environmental Assessment and the Office
of Planning and Review. He began is career as a
sanitary engineer with the U.S. Public Service,
Water Supply Systems. He received two degrees
from Georgia Tech: a bachelor's in Civil
Engineering and a master's in Sanitary
Engineering. He was awarded the EPA Silver
Medal.
Functions
The Human Health Assessment Group provides
advice on the health risks associated with suspected
cancer-causing agents and the risks associated with
chemicals that are suspected of causing detrimental
reproductive effects, including mutagenic,
teratogenic, and other adverse reproductive
outcomes and reduced fertility. The Group is
composed of four branches:
The Reproductive and Developmental
Toxicology Branch is responsible for advising the
Agency on the health risks associated with
suspected reproductive and developmental
toxicants as interpreted from in vitro, experimental
animal, and human data.
The Genetic Toxicology Assessment Branch
advises the Agency on the health risks associated
with suspected genotoxins as interpreted from in
vitro, experimental animal, and human data.
The Carcinogen Assessment Toxicology Branch
is responsible for advising the Agency's operating
programs on the health risks associated with
suspected cancer-causing agents as interpreted
from animal toxicology and pathology data.
The Carcinogen Statistics and Epidemiology
Branch advises the Agency on the health risks
associated with suspected cancer-causing agents as
interpreted from epidemiology data and the
statistical analysis of both epidemiologic and
animal data.
These branches provide state-of-the-art
methodology, guidance, and procedures for the
evaluation of carcinogenic, mutagenic,
reproductive, and developmental effects; assure
quality and consistency in the Agency's scientific
risk assessments; make recom-mendations on
testing requirements (research) needed for
adequate risk assessments; prepare independent
assessments of risk and make recommendations
concerning the nature and extent of health hazards
associated with specific substances; and, plan and
execute research in the areas of carcinogenicity,
mutagenicity, and reproductive and developmental
effects.
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Human Health Assessment Group
FY88 Products
"Proposed Guidelines for the Assessment of Male
Reproductive Risk," Federal Register
"Proposed Guidelines for the Assessment of Female
Reproductive Risk," Federal Register
Research program to improve health risk
assessment by identifying and reducing
uncertainty. Specific projects are:
Physiologically based pharmaco-kinetic models
Biologically based dose-response models
Analyses of uncertainty
"Proceedings of the Workshop on One- vs. Two-
Generation Reproductive Effects Studies," J. Am.
Coll. Toxicol
"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Guidelines
for Mutagenicity Risk Assessment and Some
Comments on Aneuploidy," Aneuploidy, Part B:
Induction and Test Systems
Most Important Publication
Human Health Risk Assessment Guidelines:
Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, Developmental
Toxicants, Male and Female Reproductive Risk
Cancer assessments written or reviewed to meet
regulatory needs of program offices.
Special report on inorganic arsenic
CERCLA Reportable Quantity Methodology
194 CERCLA Reportable Quantity Profiles
Lead carcinogenicity assessment
PCB Drinking Water Criteria Document
Styrene Drinking Water Criteria Document
Phthalic Acid Esters Health and
Environmental Effects Profile (HEEP) and
Health Effects Assessment (HEA)
Dieldrin Health Effects Assessment (HEA)
EDB Health Effects Assessment (HEA)
Lindane Drinking Water Criteria Document
Perchloroethylene Health Effects Assessment
(HEA)
DBCP Drinking Water Criteria Document
Explanations and defenses of cancer
assessments in scientific and regulatory areas;
meetings and workshops.
Presentations to the Science Advisory Board on
PCBs, styrene, and acrylamide
Workshop on DEHP
Presentations to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) on CERCLA reportable
quantity methodology and assessments
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Human Health Assessment Group
Carcinogen
Assessment
Toxicology
382-5898
Carcinogen
Assessment
Statistics and
Epidemiology
382-5898
Genetic
Toxicology
Assessment
382-5898
Reproductive and
Developmental
Toxicology
382-5898
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Cincinnati
Steven D. Lutkenhoff is the Acting
Director of the Environmental Criteria and
Assessment Office in Cincinnati, OH (ECAO-
Cin). He previously served as Deputy Director
from 1984 to 1987. Lutkenhoff came to the
Agency in 1972 as a Research Scientist for the
Health Effects Research Laboratory
Cincinnati and worked in that position until
he came to ECAO-Cin as a Staff Physiologist
in 1979. He began his career as Medical
Laboratory Technician at St. Luke Hospital
Laboratory. He was the recipient of a Bronze
Medal in 1980 and is a member of numerous
professional organizations. Lutkenhoff is a
graduate of Thomas More College with a B.S.
in Biology.
Functions
The Environmental Criteria and Assessment
Office in Cincinnati, Ohio (ECAO-Cin) is
responsible for preparing criteria and assessment
documents and developing risk assessment
methodology and guidelines. The ECAO-Cin (1)
prepares and publishes new or revised criteria
documents when needed as input for setting
environmental standards, (2) prepares and
publishes scientific assessment documents/health
risk assessment reports, which will serve as a basis
for decisions by the EPA Administrator regarding
the listing of pollutants for standards and control
under various legislative authorities, and (3)
develops risk assessment methods, which provide
guidance for evaluating potential risks to human
health from exposure to environmental pollutants.
The ECAO-Cin has three branches:
The Chemical Mixtures Assessment Branch
provides support for the development of
background documentation and technical
support necessary in the formulation of
human health risk assessment activities as
mandated by both the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA). These assessments establish the
basis for regulatory activities associated with
the potential human exposure to
environmental pollutants, particularly
chemical mixtures.
The Methods Evaluation and Development
Staff coordinates the development of risk
assessment methods for chemical mixtures
and systemic toxicity and reviews new
methods in response to identified Agency
needs. The branch also coordinates the
Agency's Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS). This activity helps ensure that the
Agency's risk assessments remain credible
and that state-of-the-art methods are
continuously developed.
The Systemic Toxicants Assessment Branch
(STAB) provides support for the development
of background documentation necessary in the
formulation of human health risk assessment
activities as mandated by the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and the Solid Waste Disposal Act
(SWDA). Specific outputs include criteria
documents, health advisories, position papers
for variance requests, and disposition
documents.
The purpose of the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS) is to provide information on
Reference Doses (RfDs) or risk estimates of
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Cincinnati
carcinogenicity (RECs) for which consensus across
the Agency has been achieved. This consensus has
been reached through the work of the Intra-Agency
Reference Dose Work Group or the Carcinogen Risk
Assessment Verification Endeavor Work Group,
both of which are chaired by ECAO-Cin scientists.
This endeavor has eliminated the confusion gen-
erated by use of differing risk assessment values by
various Program Offices and ORD and has
identified issues regarding risk assessment
methodologies used and the data bases available.
The development of qualitative or quantitative
risk assessment methodologies for municipal
sludge disposal/reuse will directly influence the
Office of Water Regulations and Standards (OWRS)
in regulating the impact of sludge on the
environment.
The final "Guidelines for the Health Risk
Assessment of Chemical Mixtures" and the
development of the "Risk Assessment Guidelines
for Noncarcinogenic Health Effects" benefit the
entire Agency by providing definitive
methodologies to determine the impact of
pollutants on human health.
ECAO-Cin played a direct part in the decision
process of OWRS as to the most efficient and
effective procedure to update the 1980 Ambient
Water Quality Criteria as mandated by the 1987
amendments to the CWA. ECAO-Cin will be
responsible for developing these updates.
OHEA/ECAO-Cin is responsible for developing
risk assessment criteria, in the form of Health and
Environmental Effects Profiles/Documents, Health
Effects Assessments, and Reportable Quantity
Documents for chronic toxicity, that will be used for
regulatory purposes by the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (OSWER) as mandated
byRCRAandCERCLA.
OHEA/ECAO-Cin participates in a cooperative
effort with the Office of Toxic Substances (OTS) and
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) to both develop and review
Toxicological Profiles as mandated by the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
(SARA). This mandate requires ATSDR to prepare
profiles for each substance included on the first
priority list of 100 chemicals, which both the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) and the U.S. EPA determined posed the
most significant potential threat to human health,
found at facilities on the CERCLA National
Priorities List.
OHEA/ECAO-Cin participates directly with
OSWER in preparing Listing/ Delisting Packages.
This procedure involves the scientific evaluation of
specific chemicals to either be added or deleted from
the List of Hazardous Wastes under RCRA.
OHEA/ECAO-Cin participates directly with
OTS to determine Test Rule Development for
specific chemicals under TSCA.
FY88 Products
Public Comment Draft Toxicological Profiles for 12
chemicals (beryllium, chloroform, chromium,
nickel, N-nitrosodiphenylamine, PCBs, dioxin,
cyanide, lead, vinyl chloride, tetra-chloroethylene,
trichloroethylene); intra-Agency effort with OTS
and ATSDR as mandated by SARA.
Development of Reportable Quantity (RQ)
documentation for Extremely Hazardous Substance
List (116 chemicals) under Sections 101-102 of
CERCLA/Superfund.
Public release of the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS) containing 380 assessments. In
addition, the verification of 100 Reference Doses
(RfDs) and risk estimates for carcinogenicity
(RECs) for IRIS.
Sponsorship of the International Symposium on
Chemical Mixtures: Risk Assessment and
Management (June 1988).
Preparation of Guidelines for the Development of
Ambient Water Quality Health Advisories under
the CWA.
Final Public Comment Drafts for 30 Phase II
Drinking Water Criteria Documents and External
Review Drafts for 15 Phase V Drinking Water
Criteria Documents under the Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA).
Final Drafts for 30 Drinking Water Health
Advisories and 10 Water Quality Health Advisories
for the Office of Drinking Water's (ODW) and
OWRS's nonregulatory Health Advisory Program.
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Cincinnati
Completion of 50 Health and Environmental
Effects Documents for OSWER under RCRA and
CERCLA.
Development of 80 Reference Doses (RfDs) in
support of the Land Disposal Ban.
Final Draft of the Technical Support Document on
Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures to
supplement the 1986 Guidelines for the Health
Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures.
Internal Review Draft of the Risk Assessment
Guidelines for Noncarcinogenic Health Effects in
collaboration with the Risk Assessment Forum.
Finalization of Development of a Qualitative
Pathogen Risk Assessment for Ocean Disposal of
Municipal Sludge and Sludge Landfilling; and
Development of Risk Assessment Methodology for
Land Application and Distribution and Marketing
of Municipal Sludge, Municipal Sludge
Incineration, Municipal Sludge Landfilling, and
Ocean Disposal of Municipal Sludge for OWRS.
Development of Methodology for the Assessment of
Health Risks Associated with Multiple Pathway
Exposure to Municipal Waste Combustor (MWC)
Emissions for OAQPS.
Availability to the public by the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS) of approximately 100
Health Effects Assessment documents and
approximately 200 Health and Environmental
Effects Profiles. Previously these documents were
only available from the RCRA docket and OSWER's
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
(OERR) and not listed on any public data base. This
action both informs the public sector and relieves
the Program Offices of responding to requests.
Most Important Publication
Proceedings of International Symposium on
Chemical Mixtures Risk Assessment and
Management. Special Monograph Issue of
Toxicology and Industrial Health
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Cincinnati
FY89 BUDGET: $5,395,600
PERSONNEL: 36
DIRECTOR
684-7531
Chemical Mixtures
Assessment
684-7534
Systemic Toxicants
Assessment
684-7523
Methods Evaluation and
Development
684-7544
108
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Research Triangle Park
Lester D. Grant has been the Director of
the Environmental Criteria and Assessment
Office in Research Triangle Park (ECAO-
RTP) since 1978. From 1970 to 1980, he rose
from Instructor to Associate Professor in the
departments of Anatomy and Psychiatry at
the University of North Carolina. He was
awarded two EPA Bronze Medal Awards and
one EPA Gold Medal Award. He received a
Ph.D. and master's degree in
Organizational/Physiological Psychology
from Carnegie-Mellon University and a
bachelor's degree in Social Psychology/ Pre-
Med Program from the University of
Pittsburgh.
Functions
The Environmental Criteria and Assessment
Office at Research Triangle Park is primarily
responsible for preparing criteria and other
assessment documents for use in Agency regulatory
activities. The primary activities consist of
preparing and publishing (1) revised or new criteria
documents when prescribed by legislation or
requested by national decision- makers, (2) health
and environmental assessment documents that
serve as a basis for decisions by the EPA
Administrator regarding the regulation and control
of pollutants, and (3) special health-related reports
as required by the Agency's various legislative
activities or as especially requested by other
governmental authorities. The ECAO-RTP carries
out these functions through its Environmental
Media Assessment Branch, Hazardous Pollutant
Assessment Branch, and Technical Services Staff.
The Environmental Media Assessment Branch
develops broad (usually multi-disciplinary)
assessments of widespread pollutants or classes of
pollutants. These assessments require substantial
evaluation and integration of information not only
on health effects, but also on ecological or other
environmental effects. Additionally, they include
background information on sources, emissions,
transport and fate, and exposure aspects. Activities
include the preparation of air quality criteria
documents and the preparation or review of cross-
media pollutant assessments.
The Hazardous Pollutant Assessment Branch
conducts detailed studies of health (lexicological)
effects associated with specific individual
pollutants or classes of pollutants. A principal
activity is the review or preparation of health
assessments for particular pollutants under
consideration for possible listing as Hazardous Air
Pollutants. Another is the review or preparation of
assessments of the health effects of specific
substances or classes of substances evaluated for
regulation under Superfund or water quality
statutes.
The Technical Services Staff provides literature
searches and retrieval, reference verification, and
bibliographic database management; editing and
graphics services; automated system support;
conference support services, and distribution and
printing. TSS also maintains docket and project
files, and assures ECAO-RTP conformance to
Agency and ORD policies for peer and
administrative review, ADP and quality assurance.
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Research Triangle Park
FY88 Products
"Proceedings of Symposium on Lead-Blood
Pressure Relationships, Special Monograph Issue of
Environmental Health Perspectives"
"Acid Aerosols Issue Paper"
"Report to Congress EPA Indoor Air Quality
Implementation Plan: Appendix A: Preliminary
Indoor Air Pollution Assessment Appendix E:
Indoor Air Reference Data Base "
"Health Assessment Document for Beryllium"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with Naphthalene"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with Propylene"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with M'onoehloroethame"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with Sodium Hydroxide"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with Propylene Oxide"
"Summary Review of Health Effects Associated
with Zinc and Zinc Oxide"
"Referee: Bibliographic Database Manager "
"Establishment of Air RISC Hotline"
"Indoor Air Reference Data Base"
"Technical Assistance/Physical Production of
ATSDR/EPA Report to Congress on Nature and
Extent of Childhood Lead Poisoning in the United
States"
Most Important Publication
Proceedings of Symposium on Lead-Blood Pressure
Relationship. Special Monograph Issue of
Environmental Health Perspective
110
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Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office - Research Triangle Park
FY89 BUDGET:
PERSONNEL:
$3,510,000 i
28 i
Hazardous Pollutants
Assessment
629-4173
Environmental Media
Assessment
629-4173
111
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