Research
and Monitoring

    Cornerstone for
    Environmental
     ction

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                                                  I
U.  S.  ENVIRONMENTAL  PROTECTION AGENCY
                                                                                        Y\7hat are  the major pollutants that  affect
                                                                                            the elements on which life itself depends?
                                                                                          Where do they come from?
                                                                                          What do they do to our health and well-
                                                                                        being? To  the food chain? To plants,  crops
                                                                                        and trees?  To domestic animals and wildlife?
                                                                                        To fish and shellfish? To man-made materials?
                                                                                          What are the human, social and economic
                                                                                        costs of pollution?
                                                                                          How do we identify, measure and detect

                                                                                  •

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changes in pollutants in our environment?
   How do we best control pollution?
   What are the costs of poDution control?
   What, in total, do we need to know if we
are to protect and enhance oar environment
and quality of fife?                        j;
   These are some of the questions dealt with
each  day by  approximately 2,000  men and
women—the  scientific sleuths—who  staff the
Office of Research  and  Monitoring of  the
U.  S. Environmental  Protection   Agency
(EPA). From agronomists to zoologists, they
represent some 60 different scientific  and pro-
fessional disciplines  and specialties.  Through
their  own work  and through grants and con-
tracts  to universities, industry  and nonprofit
organizations,  they seek answers to the com-
plex problems of air and water pollution, solid
wastes, pesticides, radiation and noise.
   Research and monitoring are not substitutes
for action,  of course. EPA is first and fore-
most a regulatory agency, with responsibilities
for establishing  and enforcing  environmental
standards. But standards cannot be set and en-
forced without an  effective scientific  research
and monitoring program. If pollution cannot
be detected, identified and measured, it can-
not be controlled.
  Effective action  for environmental  quality,
therefore, requires hard  data  on what goes
into the environment, its impact on human and
ecological health and pollution control  tech-
niques. Research and monitoring  thus con-
stitute  die  essential  scientific foundation for
action  to improve environmental quality.
  Through its  coordinated research and raoni-
 scientific knowledge to meet human and  en-
 vironmental needs.  To tfris end, EPA spends
 about $165 million each year—»
   * to expand and improve  environmental
 monitoring  and surveillance so  dial we can
 better understand the condition of die environ-
 ment today and be aware of changes, for better
 or worse, tomorrow;
   * to team die short and long-range effects
 of pollution on humans and other life loons;
   * to unravel the  complicated interactions of
 combined chemical, biological and physical
 stresses and their effects on life;
   • to speed die research,  development and
 use  of new pollution control methods  and
 equipment;
   • to stimulate research, development  and
 use  of  new techniques to  recover  valuable
 resources from so-called "wastes" and pot diem
 back into the production cycle;
   * to  speed research, development and use
 of new  nonpoHuting industrial  methods;
   • to evaluate technical  and social changes
 and their potential  effects on environmental
 quality;                           ***
   * to  improve our knowledge of what hap-
 pens to pollutants in die environment—of how
 tiiey move and might change in their journey
 through die  air, water and on die land;
   * to  gather die  scientific evidence needed
 to set  new and strengthened environmental
 quality  standards.
   EPA's  diversified research  programs  axe
 carried  out dnxnigh four major faculties—the
National  Environmental  Research  Centers
(NERCs) at Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina;  Cincinnati, Ohio; Corvalfis, Oregon,
and Las Vegas, Nevada.
  These four faculties bring together research
on  a broad range of environmental problems.
They coordinate die work of EPA's 36 lab-
oratories  in  IS  states,  ranging from Alaska
to Florida and from Nevada to New Hamp-
shire. Supplementing these facilities  are over
139 related resources including watercraft, air-
craft, field stations and monitoring sites.
  EPA also works with other Federal agencies
which  cany  on environmental research and
monitoring activities. In some instances, joint
projects are  undertaken. EPA also  seeks to
consolidate and evaluate  information  devel-
oped  throughout  die  scientific  community,
pubUc and private, to obtain the best possible
scientific base for action to improve the en-
vironment. In addition, EPA cooperates and
exchanges  findings with scientists is other na-
tions  and  in international organizations  on
common  and worldwide  environmental  re-
search and monitoring problems.
  Has booklet describes some of EPA's  re-
search and monitoring programs and some of
die pollution problems.  We  have already
teamed much about the complexities of pol-
lution,  however,  much more  knowledge is
needed if  we are to protect our environment
and at  die same time  meet our  needs and
  And while this booklet is necessarily brief
and only ondmes the scope of EPA's research
and  monitoring  projects, EPA welcomes  in-
         f HtOIC

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    processes and effects

      EPA researchers seek to identify pollutants
    —including  chemicals,  biological  materials,
    radiation, noise and heat—that require investi-
    gation. They investigate pollution sources. They
    trace the movement  of pollutants  through the
    environment.  They study the  effects  of  pol-
    lutants on  people, on other living  organisms
    and  on  materials.  They  establish  scientific
    foundations for  environmental quality  stand-
    ards  and regulations.

    HEALTH EFFECTS
      One of the prime  study areas is the effects
    of pollutants  on health. Air pollution, for ex-
    ample, is  considered  the greatest single  en-
    vironmental threat  to the  nation's  health.
    Consequently, a nationwide study of the effects
    of air pollution on humans is  underway—the
    Community  Health  and  Environmental  Sur-
    veillance  Studies  (CHESS). The  first of its
    kind,  this  study  is comparing the  health of
    those who breathe polluted air  with the health
    of those who  do not.
      Thirty  communities across the nation  are
    involved in the CHESS program.  Some have
    high  sulfur  and  nitrogen  oxides,  paniculate
    and photochemical pollution levels; others have
    low  levels.  With  the  cooperation  of  38,000
    volunteers, and  schools, hospitals and govern-
j   ment  officials, EPA  researchers  are seeking
b   to determine  how each  pollutant  affects an
g   individual's  health. Eventually,  about 200,000
|   volunteers will be involved.
     Answers are being sought to  such questions
as: what effect does long exposure to polluted
air have on school absenteeism? To what ex-
tent do high  levels of air pollution increase
the frequency  of acute and chronic respiratory
diseases? Do pollutants concentrate in specific
organs and  cause  them to malfunction? Does
the death rate rise and fall with pollution levels?
   When implemented, EPA's national air qual-
ity standards will  bring lower pollution levels
and very  likely improved health.  Data from
the CHESS  program will permit measurement
of  these improvements  and will  enable  the
standards  to be strengthened if necessary.
   EPA researchers are also investigating pos-
               HELP WANTED

     What can the public do to help EPA
   carry out  its research and monitoring ac-
   tivities? While opportunities vary from pro-
   gram to program, as  well as from time  to
   time, here  are a few examples:
     Volunteers are sometimes used  to  take
   samples  in monitoring  programs. Volun-
   teers willing to  have  their health  checked
   regularly are needed for  research studies on
   the  affects  of pollutants on human health.
     Suggestions can  be made  for  research
   projects. Reports of spills of oil or other haz-
   ardous  materials are  helpful.  (And  on a
   negative note, please  do not tamper with
   automatic  monitoring  equipment  should
   you see it in your neighborhood.)
     For  further   information,  contact  the
   research and monitoring staff specialists  at
   the EPA regional office in  your area or the
   nearest  EPA laboratory.

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sible environmental explanations for differences
in death  rates in different  geographic  areas.
Data  on drinking water quality and from  the
CHESS program are being correlated with ill-
ness and death rates. More specific studies will
follow as  leads develop.
  Also under study are the effects of pesticides
on    the    general   population   and    on
people  exposed  to  those  chemicals  under
actual field conditions.  Potentially hazardous
compounds are screened through toxicity tests
in animals.
  Many approaches  are used in research on
the effects of  pollutants  on health—laboratory
studies  of animals  and cell systems, clinical
studies  of  human and animal  subjects  and
epidemiological  studies  of  population groups.
Health research includes measurements of pul-
monary,  cardiovascular, behavioral, biochem-
ical and pathological effects of pollutants.

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
  The ecological  effects of  pollution are  also
being  studied. What,  for example,  are  the
factors in the  complicated process of eutrophi-
cation or  premature aging of whole lakes? Us-
ing mathematical models, EPA researchers sim-
ulate  the  pollution in a living body of water.
They vary the factors, seeking to identify cause-
and-effect  relationships.  Knowing  that  every
lake,  stream and river has a different pollution
tolerance, depending on its  physical, chemical
and-  biological characteristics, researchers  at-
tempt to  determine  which  pollutant or  pollu-
tants will tip the balance and bring on eutrophi-
Auto emissions
synthetically produced
in this photochemical tube
reactor are measured
by an  infrared
spectra photometer
to determine specific
air pollutant
concentrations.

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cation in various  kinds of water bodies.
   With  this information, planners will be able
to select the right site, the right  size and the
right kind of waste water  treatment  plant  to
take key pollutants out of  the  water.
   In a  related program,  researchers use  an
ecosystem simulator to examine the effects  on
waterways  of fertilizers,  pesticides and runoff
from rural  lands, from  industrial, poultry and
animal  processing plants and  phosphate min-
ing. The simulator is  an actual watershed  in
which all variables—aeration, mineral content,
sunlight,  temperature, turbidity, etc.—are con-
trolled,  along with pollutant loads. The factors
are varied  and the effects  on the  waterway,
including its fish and plant life,  are determined.
  The effects of thermal pollution on the en-
vironment are also being  studied.  This is a
problem of growing concern. As more and more
 power  plants  come on  the line,  greater and
 greater quantities of waste  heat are being dis-
 charged into  waterways. To  determine what
 temperature standards should be set, EPA re-
 searchers are investigating the  impact of waste
 heat on water bodies, on fish  and other com-
 ponents of the food chain and on  atmospheric
 conditions.
   Ecological studies are also underway on the
 effects  of  heavy metals, petrochemical wastes,
 PCB's  (Polychlorinated Biphenyls, a toxic and
 persistent  chemical produced in the making of
 plastics, paints, caulking and heat  transfer and
 hydraulic  fuels)  and chlorination  of municipal
 and industrial waste water discharges.
   Studies in atmospheric chemistry and physics,
 as  well as  meteorological  models, are  being
 pursued to predict the movement  of pollutants
 in the air.
                               MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH
        To  get better  understanding  of  the  be-
      havior of  radioactive  material  in  the  en-
      vironment  and its effects on  living things,
      EPA maintains a herd  of Hereford beef
      cattle  and  an experimental dairy  farm  on
      the  Atomic Energy Commission's  nuclear
     test site in  Nevada.
        Five steers are surgically fitted  to serve
      as biological samplers  of the forage grazed
      by the herd  as  it ranges  over the desert
      test  site. Big  Sam is one of them. He  has
      a hole (fistula)  in  his  stomach  (rumen)
      with a tube (cannula) in  his left side. Once
      a month a  food sample in his  stomach is
      removed through the  tube and tested  for
      radioactivity and botanical  species. Changes
      in composition  are  studied in  relation to
seasonal  changes and  nuclear tests.  Twice
a year, animals  from the herd are slaught-
ered and  tissue  and organ  samples  taken,
analyzed for radionuclide content and  sub-
jected to complete microscopic examination.
  The dairy  farm  is used  to  study the
movement  of  radionuclides  through  the
environment  to  man. Cows and crops are
exposed  to  radiation.  Then  radionuclide
concentrations are  measured in the forage,
in the milk and  in  the  animal's organs.  The
information is used  to develop  models to
predict exposure to  man  and to  evaluate
the effectiveness of  protective  actions to
reduce the amount of  radionuclides getting
into food  materials under various  contam-
inating conditions.
EPA's Dauphin Island Laboratory

          RESEARCH  FACILITIES

  EPA's research programs are carried out
through four national research facilities—
the National Environmental  Research Cen-
ters (NERCS). While  each is engaged in  a
variety of work  on pollution,  each has its
own  theme.  The  NERC   in  Cincinnati,
Ohio, places special emphasis on  research
and development  of pollution control tech-
nology. At Research Triangle  Park,  North
Carolina,  emphasis  is on health effects of
environmental pollution. At  Corvallis, Ore-
gon, the major effort is on ecological effects.
The Las Vegas,  Nevada, facility serves as
the national environmental monitoring cen-
ter.
  The four main facilities  direct  and co-
ordinate  research at  satellite laboratories
across the country,  including labs at:  Dau-
phin  Island and  Montgomery,  Alabama;
College, Alaska; Gulf  Breeze  and  Perrine,
Florida;  Athens  and  Chamblee,  Georgia;
Rockville, Maryland; Ann Arbor and Grosse
He, Michigan; Duluth, Minnesota; Edison,
New  Jersey; Ada, Oklahoma;  Narragansett
and West  Kingston,  Rhode Island;  Bears
Bluff,  South  Carolina,  and Gig  Harbor,
Washington.

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                                        technology
Determining the types
and concentrations of effluents
such as these which pollute waterways
are a top research priority.
  In this division, the staff seeks to develop
and demonstrate techniques  and  methods of
preventing, controlling and abating pollution
from all  sources. It strives to advance  air and
water pollution  control technology, to reduce
and manage  solid wastes and to  abate pesti-
cide, radiation and noise pollution.

WATER POLLUTION
  A chief concern is  the development  of new
technology to handle municipal sewage. The
dimensions of the problem are huge. There are
approximately  13,000 sewer  systems  in the
nation. But they serve only about 63  percent
of our population. And  while  many commu-
nities have been installing and improving their
waste treatment systems, some  1,000 commu-
nities outgrow their sewage facilities each year.
As  a result, the kitchen  and  bathroom wastes
generated by millions of Americans still flow
into our  waters  as raw or poorly-treated sew-
age. Moreover, it's  predicted  that municipal
sewage  loads will  increase  nearly four-fold
over the  next 50 years.
  Research to cope with this problem includes
evaluation of biological, physical and chemical
techniques for treatment and  disposal of liquid
wastes and sludges.  Many of  the techniques
studied have  immediate  application for pollu-
tion abatement and will eventually lead to wide-
spread reuse  of water in areas  where water
supplies  are  limited.
  Methods are being developed  to  upgrade
existing treatment plants, to remove phosphorus

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from treatment  plant discharges,  to  contain
and treat combined storm water—sewage over-
flows and discharges—and  to regenerate rivers
and lakes.
   Work is also being done to cope with water
pollution from industrial  sources  (estimated
to equal the pollution caused  by 400 million
people), from  agriculture (animal feedlot run-
offs, nutrients, pesticides and salts) and from
mining  (an estimated four million tons of acids
drain from mines into 4,000 miles of streams
each year).
        ABOUT THOSE PHOSPHATES

    Phosphorus  is identified  as one  of  the
  key factors in the disruption of the ecolog-
  ical balance of streams,  rivers and  lakes.
  Excess phosphorus stimulates the growth of
  algae  and  other  aquatic  life  forms and
  causes them to  grow in great  profusion.
  This, in  turn, degrades water quality, pro-
  duces  objectionable  odors  and  can limit
  or kill off fish populations.
   Research has produced new phosphorus
  removal  technology that  can be applied  at
  existing waste water  treatment  plants.  The
  relatively simple process involves adding
  chemicals  which combine with the  phos-
  phorus and solids,  causing  them  to  settle
  out  of  the waste water  before it is dis-
  charged into a body of water.

   Result: cleaner water.


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AIR POLLUTION
  With automobiles contributing nearly half of
all  air  pollution in the  United States,  EPA
research programs  seek to stimulate develop-
ment of a virtually pollution-free power system
for automobiles.  The objective  is to clean up
the conventional internal combustion engine or
to develop alternative power systems. Research
              CLEAN CAR  R&D
     The Clean Air Act requires sharp reduc-
   tions in emissions of carbon monoxide, hy-
   drocarbons and nitrogen oxides from  1975
   and  1976 automobiles. To help  stimulate
   and speed development of a virtually pol-
   lution-free automobile  power system that
   can meet those goals, EPA is conducting a
   two-part  advanced  automotive power sys-
   tems research and development program.

     1.  Work is being done on three systems
   which offer the potential of early demonstra-
   tion—a gas turbine system, a Rankine cycle
   system, and a stratified  charge system—un-
   der research  and development contracts.

     2.  Some 10 new and unique approaches
   are being pursued  through the clean car
   incentive  program. If  a  pilot car passes
   stringent  emission and performance  tests,
   EPA may lease  the prototype  for  further
   testing  and  then purchase copies  of the
   prototype for demonstration and fleet testing.
and  development is also underway  on new
technology to control air pollution from  sta-
tionary sources,  with major emphasis on  re-
moving sulfur from power plant gases. Other
research projects seek to find ways of remov-
ing sulfur from  coal  before combustion.
   Still other research projects  focus  on con-
trolling air pollution from coke ovens, sinter
plants,  kraft  pulping plants,  iron foundries
and  secondary aluminum  furnaces.

SOLID  WASTE
   Technology researchers are  working to  de-
velop  new  and  improved methods  of  solid
waste  collection, transportation  storage, pro-
cessing and disposal. They conduct experiments
to encourage recycling and resource  recovery
from solid wastes. One  approach being tested
involves  mixing  ordinary municipal solid waste
with coal to fuel an  electric power generating
plant.  Other projects include  experiments to
improve  sanitary landfill techniques, with  em-
phasis  on preventing  ground and surface water
pollution and controlling gases  created  from
decomposing wastes.

OTHER PROJECTS
   Research is being done on new concepts and
hardware for thermal pollution control,  for
preventing and  cleaning up spills of  oil  and
other hazardous materials, for controlling  pol-
lution from small watercraft, for removing and
disposing of sludge from waste water treatment
plants  and  for   removing heavy  metals  and
other toxic materials from waste water.
In Mississippi, a turnabout—automobiles are
used in highway construction. Above: Some
300 cars are shredded daily. The steel, remelted,
is fabricated into reinforcing rods and used
in highway construction.

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 implementation
  This division staff does research on how en-
vironmental protection measures can be imple-
mented.  It  studies  alternative  approaches to
environmental  protection.  It  develops  tech-
niques for  selecting environmental  standards
and  for assessing both the benefits  and  costs
of achieving those standards. It weighs ecolog-
ical,  environmental and human factors, as well
as technical and economic considerations.
  Economic and systems analyses are  used to
evaluate  the costs of  pollution-generating ac-
tivities and the  benefits of different pollution
control methods. Fiscal solutions, more  effec-
tive laws and economic incentives are studied.
This division also explores  the  direct impact
of human activities which degrade the environ-
ment in terms of social, physical and economic
costs. It explores the interactions of population
growth, economic growth and  technological
change, seeking  ways to  avoid  pollution  from
these interactions.
  The division plans a case study  of  the im-
pact of economic development. Using a spe-
cific  region and working with  governmental
and private groups,  researchers will assess the
processes of economic growth and their impact
on the total environment over a period of time.
The case study will  provide general guidelines.
  Researchers also  help review  and comment
on the environmental impact statements which
Federal agencies are  required to  prepare under
the National Environmental Policy Act on any
proposed action which might  significantly af-
fect the environment.
environmental  studies

  This division investigates the broad area of
man's  impact on the  total  environment. It
looks at  the  total  effects of  environmental
policies. It seeks  to  project the  future condi-
tion of the environment in our  cities, metro-
politan   areas   and   other   regions   under
alternative courses of action. The  objective is
to enable EPA  to move from  a  position of
reacting to environmental crises to  anticipating
environmental problems and influencing neces-
sary actions.
  These  studies  will assess the full impact of
pollution control  efforts on both man and the
environment.  They will seek to provide ad-
vance warning of new environmental problems
and  to delineate  areas  of  the country  which
might become  susceptible  to either new or
existing forms of pollution.
  To achieve these  goals,  the division  plans
to create a network  of  study centers to  focus
expertise from many sources on environmental
issues. The  network will include  a national
study center  as  well as several regional and
university centers.
  This division  will also use comprehensive
environmental models  to evaluate the  long-
range impact of pollution abatement strategies.
It will examine the forces  that  create growth
and change in the nation—transportation poli-
cies,  tax policies,  advertising,   government
services, technology, environmental regulations.
  It  will  determine  the impact  of  various
possible changes  in policy  and technology on
institutions and  it will investigate the social
and political implications of these changes.
  It will seek to identify options, devices and
techniques  available  to  policymakers  to  solve
environmental problems, as well as  to develop
methods of measuring environmental, social and
economic quality.
  In sum, the role of the Environmental  Stud-
ies division is to provide advanced  knowledge
of the full implications—ecological, social, eco-
nomic,  political, etc.—of environmental im-
provement  programs, or to put it another way,
it will  determine the total impact of  environ-
mental  protection  on  people,  on  institutions
and on the environment.

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 technology  transfer

   New breakthroughs in pollution control tech-
 nology are of little value if they are not used.
 Too often a gap persists between  new tech-
 nology development for pollution  abatement
 and  its  application.  Closing this  gap  is the
 mission of the Technology Transfer program.
   The program grew out of the  realization that
 the  great amount of technical information gen-
 erated by EPA's own research,  development
 and demonstration projects, plus that developed
 under EPA grants and contracts, was not reach-
 ing  local  governments and  industries  as fast
 as it  should. Reports on new processes were
 printed and made available.  But no concerted
 efforts were made  to get the information out
 to those who could put it to use.

   The problem surfaced when  a  study  of re-
 quests for  grants to help communities  build
 sewage treatment plants  indicated that  avail-
 able,  new  technology was not being  widely
 used. To overcome this, the Technology Trans-
 fer program was launched. First, potential users
 of new sewage treatment technology were identi-
 fied.  Then regional educational  seminars were
 held in cooperation with professional organiza-
 tions  such as  the  Water  Pollution  Control
 Federation, the American Society of Civil Engi-
 neers  and the  Consulting Engineers Council,
 stressing new, proven and available technology.

   The Technology Transfer  program  brings
 up-to-date information on the details and costs
of new waste treatment methods to  these po-
tential users—engineers, city  managers,  local
government administrators and mayors, public
works directors, city councilmen, county  com-
missioners—and to industry.
   The  program includes publication of  basic
design manuals, practical compilations of the
latest technology for specific problems. Manuals
already have  been issued on upgrading existing
waste water  treatment  plants, on phosphorus
removal, on  suspended  solids  removal and on
activated  carbon  adsorption.  Other manuals
are being prepared. A  variety of other infor-
mational techniques, including films,  brochures
and videotapes also are used. And  specialists
in technology transfer  serve on the staffs of
EPA's regional offices.
   The program provides it's users information
they  need  to incorporate  the  best available
technology into their pollution control systems.
It helps them avoid putting money into sys-
tems which might soon  become  obsolete. And
it helps EPA, local communities and taxpayers
get maximum benefits from funds invested in
sewage treatment systems.
   The Technology Transfer program has been
extended to  help  industries obtain  the  latest
available technical information  on  industrial
water pollution control. Similar communications
programs  are planned to bridge the gap be-
tween developing and applying new technology
in other areas of pollution control.
1O

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Restoring the cleanliness and
the beauty of the nation's
waterways demands broad
application of the best
technology available—a major
objective of the Technology
Transfer program.
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                                                     •  '
              WHATS NEW

  What is new  in pollution control  tech-
nology and techniques? What are the costs?
Which firms can plan, design, manufacture
and install the equipment?
  Specialists in technology transfer in EPA's
Office of Research  and Monitoring can help
State and  local governments,  industries and
the general public  get the answers.
  For  information on specific problems,
contact the Technology Transfer Committee
Chairman at the EPA  regional office in your
area,  or  write Technology Transfer,  EPA
Office  of  Research  and Monitoring, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20460.
  TECHNICAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE

  Literally  hundreds of  technical reports
are generated by  EPA-sponsored research
and monitoring programs. These reports are
published and made  available to the public,
generally  through  the   U.S.  Government
Printing Office.
  To help get this information out to the
interested public, EPA issues bibliographies
of new  technical reports  from time to time.
Some examples:
  A  bibliography of research  reports on
water pollution  control  is available,  along
with  other  technical  information,  from
EPA's Office  of Research and Monitoring.
  A bibliography of research reports on air
pollution  control  is  available from  EPA's
Air Pollution Technical Information Center,
Research  Triangle  Park,  North  Carolina
27711.
  And  projects  in the solid waste field are
summarized in a publication available from
the Government Printing Office,  Washing-
ton,  D.C. 20402—it's  titled  Solid  Waste
Management Demonstration Grant Projects,
1971  ($2.).

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                                                 _L/nvironmental monitoring is the difficult task
                                                 of measuring the status of environmental qual-
                                                 ity and the changes and trends in the environ-
                                                 ment.  Monitoring  is the  key  to  effective
                                                 environmental protection programs. It requires
                                                 continual measurements of environmental char-
                                                 acteristics and timely interpretation of those
                                                 measurements. Accurate  and reliable monitor-
                                                 ing data are essential in every step of pollution
                                                 control:
                                                   •  to establish initial baselines from which
                                                 to measure changes;
                                                   •  to identify  pollution problems;
                                                   •  to  provide data  needed  to  define and
                                                 establish  standards;
                                                   •  to provide data needed to evaluate pollu-
                                                 tion  abatement programs results;
                                                   •  to  provide  scientifically valid evidence
                                                 that  will  stand up  in  court  should legal en-
                                                 forcement action be required,
                                                   •  and  to provide an early  warning  system
                                                 for unforeseen problems  so  they can be dealt
                                                 with  before  they reach a crisis stage.
                                                   Monitoring the nation's environmental  quality
                                                 is  the  cooperative  responsibility  of  Federal,
                                                 State and local  agencies.  Its  main objectives
                                                 are to assess existing environmental conditions,
                                                 to identify trends, to evaluate compliance with
                                                 standards and to determine the interchange of
                                                 air, water and soil pollutants and humans and
                                                 other living  organisms. Monitoring seeks  to
                                                 determine our total exposure to  pollutants.
                                                   To meet  air  and water quality standards,
                                                 pollution  control equipment is  being  installed
                                                 and various environmental control plans  are
                                                 being put into effect. But in the final analysis,
the effectiveness of our efforts to control pol-
lution can be  determined only by  measuring
actual improvements in environmental quality.
And  this  can be done only by monitoring the
environment.
   EPA's  monitoring programs are two-fold—
a  national network  of permanent monitoring
stations in urban  and rural  areas and  special
studies. The national  network,  as  yet  only
partially in place, is intended to identify overall
environmental  quality, regional  and national
trends and problem areas. Where the network
does  not  provide  information needed in spe-
cific situations, special studies are performed.
The national network and special studies will
give EPA the environmental quality informa-
tion it needs to carry out  its responsibilities.
   Monitoring  pollution  discharges  at their
source is  essential, of  course. This is basically
the responsibility  of State and local pollution
control agencies and of polluters  themselves—
manufacturers,  power plants, sewage treatment
plants, incinerators, etc.
   A variety of monitoring activities was carried
out independently by the various environmental
protection programs which  were brought to-
gether in  EPA in late 1970.  They are  now
being  integrated into  a unified  program  for
total  environmental  assessment.  When  com-
pleted, expanded  and  improved, EPA's en-
vironmental monitoring systems  will provide,
for the first time,  a comprehensive assessment
of environmental quality.
   Meanwhile, here are the major components
of the nation's  environmental monitoring sys-
tems at the present time.
12

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AIR POLLUTION
   There are some 3,300 air quality measuring
stations in the United States. State and local
agencies operate about 3,000 of them, EPA
the remainder. A few EPA stations are equipped
with automatic instruments which continuously
monitor up to  10  pollutants. Some stations
continuously  telemeter data to a central loca-
tion, but most use simple devices for periodic
sampling.
   Most sampling is done on an intermittent
basis—usually over a  24-hour period at two-
week intervals. Two air pollutants—sulfur di-
oxide and  particulates—are monitored on  an
extended geographical basis.
   Under the Continuous Air  Monitoring  Pro-
gram (CAMP),  six stations  with  highly  so-
phisticated equipment continuously monitor for
particulates, total oxidants, total hydrocarbons,
carbon  monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen di-
oxide and  nitric  oxide.
   In addition, air pollutants dissolved in rain-
water are  monitored  at  16  sites.  Airborne
mercury is monitored  at 53  sites. Monitoring
for airborne radioactive particles and  radioac-
tive contamination of rainwater is done at 73
sites, with continuous daily sampling. And air-
borne  pesticides  are monitored at  12 sites.
EPA expects to expand this program to 40-60
sites as analysis  methods are more fully  de-
veloped.
   In  all,  approximately 40  air pollutants—
particles, gases and liquids—are measured rou-
tinely. As States and cities expand their moni-
toring  of the  more  common air  pollutants,

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EPA's  role  will  be redirected to coordinate
these efforts and to monitor for new and non-
routine air pollutants.
   A  major problem is developing techniques
for monitoring new pollutants. For  example,
techniques do not yet exist to accurately meas-
ure asbestos in the  air. Another major need is
to develop methods  of monitoring air pollutants
in the  upper atmosphere.  Little data is cur-
rently available on  this potential problem.
   In  the special  studies  category,  EPA  has
helped  States obtain information they need  to
plan air pollution control  programs. EPA has
done  this by monitoring for carbon monoxide
and photochemical oxidants hi some 40 major
cities, by  measuring  air quality on and near
major highways,  within  buildings  adjacent  to
expressways and  at  airports.
   Data collecting is only the first step in moni-
toring. Information has to be  stored and an-
alyzed to be of use to EPA and State and local
agencies. To  meet this  need,  EPA recently
established the National  Aerometric Data In-
formation  System (NADIS). Air quality data
previously  collected  have  been put into the
computerized  system,  new data are routinely
added so that  information can  be drawn upon
as needed  for  pollution control.
                                 WATCHING  FOR EMERGENCIES

       One of EPA's monitoring functions is to
     guard  aaginst  air  pollution "episodes"—
     periods  when  adverse  weather conditions,
     usually low winds and a temperature inver-
     sion, produce  stagnant air  and permit ab-
     normally high concentrations of pollutants
     to build up in the air,  creating a threat to
     public health.
       EPA's Emergency  Operations  Control
     Center at Durham, North Carolina,  main-
     tains  a  continuous nationwide  watch of
     meteorological and  air quality  conditions.
     Air  quality reports flow  into the control
     center each day from  a  national network
     of  Federal, State  and local  air  pollution
     monitoring  stations.  Weather  reports  are
reported to the center  from the National
Weather Service's  (NWS)  nationwide  sur-
veillance system.
  If an "air  stagnation  advisory" is issued
by the NWS, or if air quality reports show
an increase in  pollution levels,  the  control
center puts EPA's episode  procedures  into
effect. EPA analyzes actions taken by State
and local control authorities during  the po-
tential and actual  air  pollution episodes,
steps  up pollution monitoring, provides ad-
vice  and assistance—and,  if necessary, in-
stitutes  direct  Federal  action,  including
seeking  court injunctions against polluters,
to prevent emergency pollution  levels from
developing.

                                                                                                   An airborne smog research laboratory,
                                                                                                   this aircraft is equipped with
                                                                                                   sensitive monitoring equipment.
Leaving an EPA laboratory,
staff members will take water and
bottom mud samplings of Mobile Bay.

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WATER  POLLUTION
   The  nation's  water quality monitoring  sys-
tem includes about 900 Federally-funded stream
and open  water stations.  Sixty  are equipped
with automatic  monitors. From 10  to 30  pol-
lutants  are routinely measured at each station.
These  include undissolved solids, temperature,
odor, sediment,  oil, heavy metals, acids,  bases,
nutrients  and  pesticides.  The  sampling  fre-
quency varies from once a year to continuous.
   Short-term water  quality monitoring is  also
performed. Over 5,000 locations are sampled
for periods ranging from several days to several
months each year.  Data obtained are used to
support enforcement actions, to develop mathe-
matical models  for water quality research, to
support research on the fate of pollutants  and
to assess the effectiveness of pollution control
practices.
   In addition, there  are some 1,000 long-term
and 5,000 short-term water  monitoring  sta-
tions operated  by the  states.  Data collected
are put, with EPA's  own data,  into  EPA's
computerized water data storage  and retrieval
system  (STORET).
   EPA considers the  present  water quality
monitoring system inadequate. By 1976, it in-
tends  to increase the number of stream-miles
covered from 44,000  to 100,000;  the  miles
of Great Lakes  shoreline covered from  5,000
to 60,000, and  the miles  of coastlines  and
estuaries covered from 4,000 to 12,000.
   EPA also plans to develop a more extensive
network of mobile laboratories to perform de-
tailed chemical  analyses  of all  major  water
bodies  at least once  every year or two.
  Better monitoring of public drinking water
supplies  is  also  needed.  While  public water
supplies  are  generally treated  to  kill  harmful
bacteria and  routinely tested for bacteria, there
is growing concern  about viruses in drinking
water. Many types of viruses  are believed to
cause inflammation of the stomach or intestines,
hepatitis,  diabetes or heart trouble. A  major
problem  is the difficulty of isolating viruses in
low  concentrations. This  potentially   serious
public health  hazard  requires greater  atten-
tion, for growing population and  water short-
ages are leading to increasing  reuse of water.
  Also needed is  greater  monitoring of radio-
active  wastes in water and of  water tempera-
ture changes at power plants,  which generate
large amounts of  waste heat along  with elec-
tricity. And EPA is also seeking better methods
of detecting  low  levels of mercury in water
causing unacceptable concentrations in fish.
PESTICIDES
  In addition to monitoring air and water for
pesticides, EPA samples soils—crop lands and
non-crop  lands—for  pesticide levels.  Some
3,000 soil samples are tested annually. Fish and
shellfish samples are collected  at over  300 lo-
cations and analyzed for pesticides. And pesti-
cide monitoring also includes routine collection
and  analyses of human tissue and food.

RADIATION
  The radiation monitoring program includes
collection of  air, water, rain, milk,  human bone
and  food  samples for analyses for radioactive
nuclides—plutonium, strontium,  cesium, triti-
um,  etc.  The radiation monitoring stations are

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               PEOPLE AT WORK
      A wide  range  of talents  is  represented
    among  the  2,000 men and women who
    carry out EPA's  research and  monitoring
    programs. They include:

      From the biological  and health  sciences
    —agronomists, aquatic  biologists, biochem-
    ists,   biologists,   biophysicists,   botanists,
    cardiologists,   cytogeneticists,    ecologists,
    epidemiologists,  fishery  biologists, foresters,
    geneticists, histopathologists,  horticulturists,
    limnologists, marine biologists, microbiolo-
    gists, molecular  geneticists, oceanographers,
    pathologists,  pharmacists,  pharmacologists,
    physicians,  plant  pathologists,  radiologists,
    radiation biologists, soil  scientists,  veteri-
    narians,  virologists, zoologists.

      From  the physical,  engineering,  mathe-
    matical  and  computer  sciences—chemists,
    computer scientists, computer programmers,
    computer systems  analysts,  data  processors,
    engineers  (agricultural,  chemical,  civil,
    electronic,  electrical, environmental, indus-
    trial,  marine, materials, mechanical, min-
    ing,   sanitary),    geologists,   hydrologists,
    mathematicians,  meteorologists,  operations
    researchers, physicists,  statisticians,  systems
    analysts.

     From  the social and  behavioral sciences
   —anthropologists,  economists, market an-
   alysists,  psychologists,   sociologists,   urban
   planners.

     Others—accountants, editors, electricians,
   glassblowers,  machinists, management spe-
   cialists,  technicians,  woodworkers, writers.
 nationwide  in  scope  and  serve  as  an  alert
 system to trigger in-depth  studies. EPA also
 monitors underground nuclear tests, using both
 land stations and aircraft to take samples.
   In total, radiation monitoring is done at 180
 air sampling stations, 200 water sampling sta-
 tions and nearly 100 milk sampling stations.
 This system  is being expanded as more nuclear
 power  plants go into operation,  and  EPA is
 seeking to  improve  monitoring  in order  to
 better  compute  the  total radiation dosage  to
 which  people are exposed. EPA is  also in-
 vestigating the  need  for  monitoring radiation
 from radar, television and radio equipment, and
 aircraft gear (non-ionizing radiation, as distinct
 from the  ionizing  radiation from  plutonium,
 strontium, etc.).
 NOISE
   A  national monitoring program for assess-
 ing noise levels and trends  does not yet exist.
 Long-term monitoring stations  are  needed  in
 representative urban and  rural areas to estab-
 lish baseline  information on the  range of noise
 levels normally encountered across  the nation
 and  to  show trends. Special studies  are under-
 way to  identify and characterize specific noise
 sources and  to  develop low cost, reliable de-
 vices for measuring and recording noise from
 various  sources.

SOLID WASTES
   Better management of the nation's mounting
piles  of solid waste requires "monitoring"  of
 a   different    sort.    This  includes   iden-
tifying  the   locations   of  open    dumps.
Standard  methods of determining the amount
and make-up of solid wastes—how much paper,
glass, aluminum, tin, steel, plastics, etc.—have
to be developed. Existing  methods of collect-
ing, transporting,  processing and disposing of
solid wastes  have  to  be  analyzed and new
methods must be developed. EPA is gathering
this and  other information as part of  a na-
tional  data network to  improve  solid  waste
management.
   Whatever  the  pollutant being  monitored,
monitoring data must  be  reliable  and legally
defensible.  This requires  standardized  meas-
urement and  calibration  procedures, an inter-
laboratory quality control program, a laboratory
performance certification  program and  a stand-
ardized laboratory  record-keeping  procedure.
Standardization and quality controls programs
were in different stages of development in vari-
ous environmental  monitoring programs  at the
time EPA  was established. These programs
have been  continued,  and new emphasis has
been placed on integrating them into a total
EPA monitoring system.
   EPA is also seeking to develop and adapt
advanced monitoring techniques, such as aerial
surveillance and remote sensing. Long used to
monitor radiation,  aerial surveillance  is now
being extended to  watch for spills of oil and
other hazardous substances. Aerial photography
is  used to  study  coastal  areas, to determine
the chlorophyll content  of  lakes,  to locate
phosphates  and nitrates in water bodies and to
study oil shale tracts.
   EPA's  monitoring program  in brief is de-
signed  to provide,  in-time, comprehensive in-
formation on the condition of the environment.
16

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               U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                       WASHINGTON, D.C.  20460
     Regional Offices

     Boston, Mass. 02203

     New York, N.Y.  10007

     Philadelphia, Pa.  19106

     Atlanta, Ga. 30309


     Chicago, III. 60606

     Dallas, Texas 75202

     Kansas  City, Mo.  64106

     Denver, Colo. 80203

     San  Francisco, Calif.
     94102

     Seattle, Wash. 98101
States covered

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts.
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia, D.C.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina,  Tennessee
Illinois,  Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio,  Wisconsin
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada,
American Samoa, Guam, Trust Terri-
tories of  Pacific Islands,  Wake Island
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Aerial monitoring
with infrared photography helps detect
changes in the  Colorado River.
                           October 1972

                •{I U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:1972 O—470-874


   For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printin
                   Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 50 cents
                         Stock Number 5500-0073

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