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Vol. 6, No. 4
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
April 1977
Intergovernmental
Personnel Act: Title IV
"A Talent Bank"
by Elaine Hyman
When at the University of Cincinnati, Pat Garrett
is Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineer-
ing and Technology. But for today, Pat is on tempor-
ary assignment with the Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory (IERL) working as an Electrical
Engineer—a far cry from the academic world to which
he is accustomed.
After one year, Pat will return to the University
of Cincinnati. How is this all possible? Simple.
The "mobility assignment," a term generally used for
sharing of talent between the Federal Government,
the State and local governments, and institutions of
higher education is authorized by Title IV of the
Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) of 1970.
Pat had many good things to say about the program,
but he is particularly impressed with the Triangle
Area and finds it "very desirable." "The cost of
living is lower," he said, "while the quality of
life is higher." It may not be his Utopia, but
economically the Triangle area has its advantages.
Title IV of the IPA is designed to improve the
delivery of government services to all levels of
government by bringing the specialized knowledge and
experience of skilled people to handle problems that
are of mutual concern. The program also strengthens
intergovernmental understanding, broadens the perspec-
tive of those in the program and increases the person-
nel resources.
Special care is given to preserving the rights and
benefits of IPA employees so they will be better able
to accept temporary assignments.
(Continued on page 2)
Banking on the Environment
by Liz Martin
George Goldstein
Chemicals are an important part of our daily lives.
They make up the food we eat, the clothes we wear and,
in fact, our bodies. Like many things, however, chem-
icals in tiny or "trace" amounts are essential to
human life; others can be deadly.
For example, scientists recently discovered that
asbestos and vinyl chloride, two chemicals commonly
used to make a variety of consumer goods, caused can-
cer in workers some 20 to 30 years after they were
exposed to the substances. And a few months ago, con-
sumers learned that chlorine, which is routinely added
to drinking water in many municipalities to kill dis-
ease-causing bacteria, apparently reacts with chemical
pollutants in the water to form barely detectable, but
potentially dangerous, amounts of cancer-causing agents.
(Continued on page 4)
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Seventh Annual Arts and Crafts Show The EEO Counseling Program
This is the seventh year the Research Triangle
Federal Employee's Association (RTFEA) is sponsoring
an arts and crafts show. It will be held May 10-13,
from noon until 5:30 p.m. and until noon on the last
day, in EPA's Environmental Research Center Auditorium.
All employees in the Research Triangle Park and their
immediate families are invited to participate.
THE RTFEA Annual Poster Contest, held on April 1,
1977, attracted an array of designs from kites to
slot machines. This year's winners are: Charissa
Fulford (Age 4); Cindy Nesnow (Age 4), Larry
Dockery (Age 11); Lawton Dockery (Age 13), and
Suzi DeMarrais (Age 12). The posters will be dis- - .
played in the Research Triangle Park's businesses
to publicize the upcoming Arts and Crafts Show.
In addition to the posters, entries may be sub-
mitted in the following categories: Prints and . - -
drawings; paintings; watercolors; water acrylics;
egg tempura; ink washes; photography; pottery; lapidary
art; ceramics; decoupage; macrame; mosaic; glasscraft;
woodworking; wood inlay or carving; leather craft;
metal craft; jewelry; decorative creations; weaving;
crocheted articles; knitted articles; needlepoint;
crewel/embroidery; cross stitch. First, second, and
third place ribbons will be awarded for each category.
Entry blanks must be submitted by May 4 to Belinda
Trutna, EPA, MD-51, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711.
Phone: 549-8411, ext. 2883.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL....(continued from page 1)
"I see my role in EPA as one of support to on-going
programs that would not otherwise get done," Pat com-
mented. "My biggest project will involve placing the IERL
wind tunnel under computer control," he continued.
Pat admits being three times as busy here as at the
University but considers it challenging.
"I'm not looking for another job, but getting away from
the academic routine has been an enriching experience."
Generally, applicants should have at least four
years of postdoctoral experience, including teaching
and work in the private sector. Candidates should
also have demonstrated an interest in independent in-
vestigation and have a desire to expand professionally.
Assignments are intended to be temporary and are
generally for a one year period. So, Pat Garrett, EPA
Electrical Engineer, will become Professor Garrett,
Department Chairman, come September 1977.
EPA/North Carolina has approximately 29 IPA employ-
ees on board at this time. It is our hope to intro-
duce you to others as the months go by.
2
While the EEO program is not yet off the ground in
North Carolina, progress is being made. Seven newly
appointed counselors are undergoing an extensive train-
ing program which will enable them to better assist you.
Counseling is the first stage in the discrimination
complaint process. Counselors must try to resolve EEO-
related problems informally in a short period of time
whenever possible. The EEO Counselors, through inter-
views and inquiries, attempt to resolve these problems
in 21 calendar days or less.
EEO Counselors establish open and sympathetic com-
munication channels through which employees may raise
questions, discuss grievances, get answers, and, on an
informal basis, find a resolution to problems connected
with equal employment opportunity. Counselors serve as
bridges between employees and management. They try to
clear up problems which are brought to their attention
by employees. Counselors discuss the employee's prob-
lems with the employee, and with the employee's super-
visors or associates.
EEO Counseling is available to all job applicants
and employees. Men and women who feel they have been
discriminated against because of their race, color,
religion, sex, age, or national origin have equal
access to EEO Counseling.
Applicants for employment with the agency as well
as employees must discuss EEO-related problems with an
EEO Counselor before they may file a complaint of
discrimination.
Conferences
Resource Recovery Technology, an implementation
seminar, will be held April 28-29 at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel, Washington, D. C. The seminar is
pesented by the Resource Recovery Division, Office
of Solid Waste, U.S. EPA, in cooperation with the
National Association of Counties, National League
of Cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The 32nd Annual Purdue Industrial Waste Conference
will be held at Stewart Center, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana, May 10-12, 1977.
The 2nd National Conference on the Interagency
Energy/Environment R&D Program sponsored by EPA
in conjunction with other related agencies, will
be held June 6-7 at the Sheraton-Park Hotel,
Washington, D. C.
The CLEANER TIMES is published monthly by Public Affairs.
Office of Administration. U S Environmental Protection Agency,
Research Triangle Park, N C 27711
Liz Martin
Dorothy Rose .
Elaine Hyman
Editor
Assistant Editor
. . . Reporter
Produced with the assistance of the Word Processing Center.
Graphics, Composition, Printing Sections, and Forms and Publica-
tions Center, GSD
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Who's Up Front?
Our "Up Front" secretaries this month are: Mary
Jane Clark, ESED/OAQPS and Portia Britt, HERL/RTP.
Mary Jane Clark
I
Mary Jane Clark, a Durham, N. C. native, is a
graduate of Northern High School in Durham and
Hardbarger Business College in Raleigh. She is
married to James H. Clark, Jr., sales manager at
Bradley Lincoln Mercury. The couple have just
bought a home and do not have any children as
yet. They do, however, have a dog, an Irish
Setter, who thinks she is a person. Mary Jane
has lived in Durham all her life except for five
years when she traveled with her husband who was
in the Air Force. She obtained her first civil
service position while in the Philippines. When
she returned to Durham she came to work for EPA,
filling in for Bob Neligan's secretary who was
on maternity leave. Her present job is secretary
to Don Goodwin, Director, ESED/OAQPS. Mary Jane
is very close to her family which keeps her busy
because when you have a large family there is
always something going on. She enjoys all outdoor
sports, especially water skiing and softball. She
and her husband are active in all the sports programs
offered by the Durham Recreation Department.
When contacted, Don Goodwin said, "I am continually
amazed at the rapport Mary Jane Clark has developed
with many of this Division's contacts around the
nation. She is the person hundreds of industry,
government, and environmental people contact when
they seek answers to schedules, meetings, and
general information about our work. Because of
her knowledge and willingness to help those seeking
information, on many days she will save me five
to ten telephone calls. She is intelligent,
friendly, and has a real concern that those seeking
information about our regulatory work should receive
courteous consideration and prompt, correct answers
to their questions.
It is always nice to have one of our "customers"
and frequently an adverse customer compliment me on
the work of someone in this Division. This happens
frequently, but it is especially nice to have someone
say -- you certainly are fortunate to have such a
competent secretary -- this also happens frequently.
I have always felt that the most important qualifi-
• cation of a good secretary is a pleasant personality.
Mrs. Clark certainly has a pleasant personality; and
when you add to this her ability, it adds up to a top
professional secretary. We are very fortunate to have
- her in-this Division."
Portia Britt
Portia Britt, a North Carolina native, graduated
from Willis Hare High School in Pendleton, N.C.,
where she was president of her senior class. She
later attended Durham Technical Institute, received
an associate degree in secretarial science, and made
the president's honor list. Portia has worked for
EPA since 1971. At present she is secretary to Carl
Hayes, Chief, Epidemiology Branch. She enjoys
reading and meeting people.
The Epidemiology Branch is very proud of Portia.
When Carl Hayes was asked to comment he said the
Branch would like to reply. Here is what the group
had to say about Portia. "Portia is both an
excellent secretary and a fine personal example for
all the people in our group. She has a most unusual
(Continued on page 8)
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BANKING ON (continued from page 1)
These examples are only two of the discoveries made
possible in part because scientists have developed
more sensitive, accurate ways of detecting and measur-
ing trace chemicals present in very low concentrations
in food, tissues, water and air. Now people are begin-
ning to wonder which of the apparently harmless chemi-
cals in our present day environment might prove to be
health hazards.
Finding an answer to this question is the major
reason that the Environmental Protection Agency, the
National Bureau of Standards (NBS), and the National
Science Foundation are studying the feasibility of a
National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB).
Dr. George M. Goldstein, Chief, Clinical Path-
ology Branch, is coordinating EPA efforts in the devel-
opment of the NESB.
"In EPA's mission of protecting human health, it ij
necessary to control the levels of harmful substances
entering our environment," explained George. "We need
to determine the concentrations of harmful substances
in the environment and estimate their potential dan-
gers. The Specimen Bank will serve as an 'ecological
indicator' or monitoring system by analyzing represen-
tative portions of samples at the time of introduction
into the bank. This real-time monitoring would help us
detect potentially new health hazards and assess the
effectiveness of present pollution control measures."
A major goal of this bank would be to sample and
store for future analysis a variety of environmental
samples from human, animal and plant tissues, sediments,
air particulates and water. The availability of such
samples would enable scientists to rapidly evaluate the
levels of unknown or previously unmeasurable chemicals
in the environment.
"We need this retrospective data," George continued,
"so that when new chemicals are encountered we can go
back in time and measure these baseline concentrations
in the stored samples. This will also enable us to
detect any increases or decreases of particular chemi-
cals in the environment over a period of many years and
help pinpoint potential problem areas."
Another significant outcome of the NESB program
would be to provide the scientific community with
standardized protocols for sample collection, prepara-
tion, storage, and analysis for a diversity of elements
and chemicals in a variety of ecologically-important
materials.
One of the major problems in setting up the NESB is
to establish accurate sampling and storage procedures.
Sampling is an extremely difficult procedure since in
many cases potential contaminants may be introduced in
the same or higher concentrations—parts per billion--
as the substances which scientists are interested in
measuring. In fact, contaminants can be introduced at
almost any stage in the sampling, handling, storage,
preservation and, ultimately, analysis.
The NBS Analytical Chemistry Division is well
equipped for the job since it has an active division-
wide program already underway in trace analysis. For
some time, NBS has been involved in the preparation of
"ultrapure reagents" and Standard Reference Materials
useful in analyzing for trace chemicals. Many sophis-
ticated methods for detecting and measuring trace
chemicals have also been developed.
For example, one NBS chemist has developed a non-
contaminating sampling system for water and another
NBS chemist has developed a monitor which can measure
extremely low levels of chlorine in water.
If it turns out that the bank is a feasible project,
NBS will assist EPA in establishing it.
It is anticipated that this formalized, systematic
approach of the NESB, defining our current environmen-
tal hazards, will replace the present system of random-
ized studies (often without proper validation) used by
many State and Federal regulatory agencies as well as
other interested parties in proposing environmental
quality standards and limits for control technology.
If these types of monitoring programs are to continue,
as they must to protect our environment as well as the
health of our population, then it is necessary to es-
tablish and define the basic scientific information
required to sustain such a specimen banking system.
The NESB, if operational, would provide future genera-
tions with an important resource for evaluating their
current environmental influences.
According to George, "The specimen bank is still in
the future, but," he continued, "the information we're
already collecting about trace chemicals and roles they
play in human health are invaluable."
Portions of this article appeared in Dimensions, the
monthly news magazine of the National Bureau of Stand-
ards.
Have You Moved, Pray Tell?
If you have changed your job, location, or mail drop
number recently, please notify the Public Affairs
office. The only way we can be sure of getting the
Cleaner Times to all employees at their individual
mail drop is if we have the correct MD number. So
please, be sure to let us know if you have made a
change or are planning to make a change.
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Are You a Member
of the Credit Union?
"THE RTP FEDERAL CREDIT UNION has just admitted its
2000th member," according to Jerry C. Husketh, member
of the Board of Directors for the Credit Union. "That,
coupled with the fact that total assets reached the S3
million mark in December 1976, confirms the Credit
Union as a sound business venture now going into its
9th year.
"The 2,000th member, Dr. Neil Carmichael of NIEHS,
joined in February simply because where else can you
get better than 6% return on short term money, borrow
for less than local lending institutions, and get free
loan insurance to boot?
"I'm amazed," Jerry continued, "to find that, for
various reasons, lots of eligible people still have
Shown left to right are John Creason, Gladys Adams,
and Lucy Flagler.
not joined up. Most folks, I'm sure, are just not
aware of their eligibility. Our report indicates
there are 955 potential members still unreached. You
would think that cheaper loan rates and consistently
high dividends would be enough to entice them, but
that's not all we offer. Free title work, notary
public service, night deposit boxes and a great staff--
how could you go wrong?"
According to Jerry, the Board of Directors will soon
act on policies of First Mortgages on home loans which
should round out this long list of services. The next
item of interest to customers that the Board is consid-
ering is a new car buying/leasing arrangement with area
dealers, where, as an information service, the credit
union will help members buying new cars secure the best
new car deals available.
Shown left to right are Wanda Stone and Mary Pollard.
"The list of upcoming services goes on and on and
will increase with time," continued Jerry. "Right now,
of course, we are still interested in preserving our
loss ratio. The dedication of our office staff and the
credit committee has insured investors in the Credit
Union that losses by default will be kept down to neg-
ligible rates. Of course, good salaries, few layoffs,
and credit-worthy clientele have made this job somewhat
easier."
Eligibility for membership, according to the charter,
is allowed any permanent employee of an agency, Federal
or non-Federal, whose office lies within the boundaries
of the Research Triangle Park and is not presently
served by another credit union.
The only requirement is permanent status and a
minimum of one year of employment.
Shown left to right are Wanda Stone, Mary Pollard,
Gladys Adams, and in right foreground, Peggy Clements.
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Meetings and Speaking Engagements Person-to-Person
On March 21, Dr. Norbert Jaworski, Deputy Director,
IERL/RTP, gave an overview of EPA's activities with
specific reference to IERL/RTP, to a seminar at North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, N. C.
Early in April, Bill Hunt, MDAD/OAQPS, briefed
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protec-
tion, Trenton, Mew Jersey, on the Pollutant
Standards Index.
Walter Barber, Director, OAQPS, spoke to the Down-
town Lions Club on "Proposed Future Plans of EPA," at
a luncheon meeting, April 13.
Judy Graham, a microbiologist in the Biomedical
Research Branch, HERL/RTP, addressed a group of approx-
imately 40 students on the "Physiological Effects of a
Number of Pollutants," at the Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania, April 15.
Joe Bumgarner, EMSL/RTP, gave an overview of EPA
in North Carolina to two science classes at Sanderson
High School, Raleigh, N. C., April 18.
John O'Connor, Stan Coerr, Jo Cooper, Bob Kellam,
Joe Padgett, and Patricia Ragan from SASD attended
the Lead Public Meeting held in Washington, D. C.
on April 18. The meeting provided an opportunity
for interested persons to present their views and
submit information for consideration by the Agency
in the development of the National Ambient Air
Quality Standard for Lead.
George Goldstein attended an International Workshop
on Biological Specimen Collection held in Kirchberg,
Luxembourg, April 18-22. He chaired a session on
"Program Design," Sponsors included: EPA, Commission
of the European Communities, and the World Health
Organization.
Bill Hunt, Tom Curran, Bob Faoro, and Jon
Clark, all of MDAD/OAQPS, held a briefing session,
April 20, for representatives of the ten regional
offices at Quail Roost in Durham, on the Air Data
Screening System.
Dr. M. Hadzuka, Clinical Studies Lab/HERL, will
talk to 30 junior nursing students and invited guests
at the Watts Hospital School of Nursing, Durham, N. C.,
May 3. Dr. Hadzuka will discuss the "Effects of Air
Pollution on Health."
At a luncheon meeting of the West Durham Exchange
Club at the Acorn Restaurant on May 4, Norman Childs,
Support Services Office/RTP, will give an overview
of EPA in North Carolina.
Jerry Slaymaker, Chief, Systems Development Section,
OAQPS, will discuss "AEROS Software Development Stand-
ards" at a meeting of the Central Carolina Chapter of
the Association for Computing Machinery on May 10 at
the Triangle University Computer Center.
A strong backhand, impeccable net game, accurate
serve, and smashing overheads—sounds like lots of
EPA tennis players. But Carole Sawicki, ESRL, put
it all together to win the singles AND the doubles
in the North Carolina Heart Association Closed
Tournament. She won the singles 6-4, 6-1. Then
she teamed up with Dottie DuDose, Raleigh City
Champion, to whip the State high school doubles
champions, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0. Carole now moves on to
the Regional competition and after that the State
and National play-offs. And after that? Watch
out Forest Hills!
Elmer and Velma Gray, CMD/OA, are district
directors for the National Campers and Hikers
Association (NCHA). Recently they were honored by
receiving a cash award from Woodall Publishing
Company and a portable color TV set from NCHA.
The award was made to them as directors of a group
whose district met the necessary requirements in
the NCHA membership contest for the month of
February.
Paul and Anne Weaver, field directors under
Elmer and Velma, were also winners for bringing
eleven (11) new members into NCHA.
The awards will be presented to the Grays and
the Weavers at the 1977 NCHA National Campvention
at Duquoin, Illinois in July.
The Grays are residents of Cary and the Weavers
reside in Morrisville, North Carolina.
EPA's Dick Jenkins has done it again. Aside from
being a super skier, Dick is also a track and field
enthusiast. Dick entered the Occidental International
Masters Track and Field Championships held earlier
this month and ran off with two gold medals in the
3000 meter Steeplechase and the Predict Your Time
mile. This is Dick's fourth gold medal in that
event.
There were over 300 athletes from 30 states and
Canada competing in over 1,000 events in this 7th
annual meet. The meet is open to all ages -- in
fact, there are nine categories relating to age
starting with 30 and ending with the over 70 year
olds. Some of the participants were former Olympic
or college stars, but most of the contenders were
"regular" people who have been challenged to improve
their fitness. The track meet is the culmination of
a year of preparation.
This is Dick's fourth meet. Dick stopped smoking
about seven years ago and suddenly found that he had
so much more energy that he took up jogging.
Congratulations, Dick. Most of us are sitting here
in admiration!
Lynn Pendergraft's, IERL, brood mare, Lady Leo
Mar foaled a stud colt on Tuesday, April 5. A
name has not been given to the new colt as yet.
All (including Lynn) are doing well.
Susan Watson, SASD, was married to George Fuller
of Apex on April 16 at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church.
Our heartiest congratulations, Susan.
(Continued on page 7)
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TVA/EPA Report Marks Scrubber Progress
Pilot-scale tests aimed at overcoming reliability
problems with sulfur dioxide scrubbers have shown
promising results, according to a report published
by TVA and EPA.
The tests have been carried out at TVA's
Colbert Steam Plant in northwest Alabama since
July 1975 with 5600,000 in EPA funds as part of a
joint energy-environment research program being
carried out by the two agencies. EPA's Project
Officer is John E. Williams of the Industrial
Environmental Research Laboratory.
The test facility at Colbert was originally
built by TVA for about SI million to supply
operating and design data for a full-scale
scrubber nearing completion at the nearby Widows
Creek Steam Plant.
One of the difficulties in using scrubbers, which
prevent sulfur dioxide formed in coal-fired power
plant furnaces from reaching the air, is to keep
the part called the mist eliminator free from
plugging. Dr. Gerald A. Hoi linden, an air quality
specialist on TVA's Power Research Staff, said
that solids from the lime or limestone scrubbing
process can build up in the mist eliminator.
If this happens, the generating unit may be forced
to shut down while the solids are removed.
Chemical scale is even harder to remove and can
cause a longer outage.
"What we've demonstrated," Hollinden said, "are
effective ways to wash the mist eliminator with
small amounts of water and keep the solids from
building up.
"In principle, the problem can be solved by
washing the mist eliminator with large amounts of
water," he said, "but that would add excess water
to the scrubber that would have to be disposed of as
liquid discharges, so we can only add a little water
at a time.
"When the fresh water allowable isn't enough,"
Hollinden continued, "liquid residue from the
_scrubbing process is recycled to supplement the
water. This generally increases the scaling prob-
lem, but we've had very good results with the
right method of applying the liquid residue followed
by fresh water."
Hoi linden said that the tests were encouraging
and that both TVA and EPA hoped the method would
work with much larger equipment. Full-sized
scrubbers for generating units must handle gas
volumes hundreds of times larger than those used
in the TVA pilot tests.
Electric utilities nationwide will be using
scrubbers to a greater extent in the future to con-
trol sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired
boilers. If mist eliminator performance is proven
out in large-scale testing, TVA said, one more step
will have been taken toward improving the relia-
bility of scrubber operation.
PERSON-TO (continued from paqe 6)
Eldner L. Arrington, a student working in IERL,
was awarded a fellowship for the academic year 1977-78
in the amount of $2,000 plus tuition to attend the
University of North Carolina to earn a Master of
Business Administration degree and eventually assume
a managerial position in business. Upon successful
completion of the first year of graduate business
study, the fellowship will be renewed. The fellow-
ship was awarded by the Consortium for Graduate
Study in Management which is made up of six univer-
sities, one of which is the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. The objective of the
Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is to
hasten the entry of minority men and women into
management positions in business. To attain this
objective, the Consortium recruits capable young
men and women and provides them with the fellowships
to pursue a high quality educational program leading
to a Master's degree. Eldner will be leaving EPA at
the end of the summer. IERL will be sorry to lose
her, but we all wish her the best of luck.
Dr. Julian Hunt of Cambridge University, England,
began a six-month assignment at the Fluid Modeling
Facility. Dr. Hunt, a well-known and widely published
mathematician and fluid dynamicist, will conduct
The following awards were approved during March
1977:
QUALITY SALARY INCREASES:
Franklin C. Pendleton - HERL
Mirdza L. Peterson - HERL
Brenda P. Foil - IERL
Frank M. Noonan - OAQPS
CONTINUED SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE:
Shirley I. Milton - IERL
experiments in the water channel/towing tank and
meteorological wind tunnel in conjunction with a
grant to North Carolina State University. He will
also present a series of lectures on atmospheric
turbulence and diffusion around hills and buildings.
Bill McDowell, Standards Development Branch,
ESED/OAQPS, and his wife Chris are the proud parents
of a baby boy, George Michael. George was born
March 11 at Durham County General and weighed
16.8 kg. or 7 Ibs. 10 ozs.
Terry Adkins is leaving SASD to begin a new job
in ESED. Good luck Terry.
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Women's Health Care
Issues Explored
The future direction of health care for women is
examined in a new publication of HEW's National Center
for Health Services Research (NCHSR), Health Resources
Administration (HRA).
"Women and Their Health: Research Implications for
a New Era" is the result of a two-day conference spon-
sored by NCHSR in cooperation with HRA's Federal Women's
Program and the School of Nursing at the University of
California, San Francisco. . .. .
Dr. Gerald Rosenthal, NCHSR Director and conference
participant, explained, "The conference focused on
women as consumers of health services and provided a
forum for researchers from all over the country to
exchange ideas and to propose vital questions about
issues of women's health care for the future."
Gladys Handy, Deputy Commissioner of Higher Educa-
tion, Pennsylvania State Department of Education, found
that the major issues related to the health of women
have not been adequately investigated; that biases are
reflected in the selection of issues, in research
methods and design, and in the analysis and interpreta-
tion of results; and that the exclusion of women from
the research process, except as objects of research,
has led to a failure to seriously consider certain
issues that are relevant to health care for women.
In a discussion of vital statistics and what they
tell about women and their health, Dr. Jean Lipman-
Blumen, Director of the Women's Research Program,
National Institute of Education, said, "As a brief
overview, women are living longer, marrying later,
remarrying less frequently, having and expecting to
have fewer children, and often planning to have no
children." The sociologist found that women are the
largest consumers of the nation's health services,
averaging 25% more visits to doctors than men. How-
ever, Dr. Joanna Kravits, Director of Information
Services, Massachusetts Hospital Association, pointed
out that childbirth and the fact that more women
survive to old age "wipes out virtually all of the
differences between the sexes in all kinds of health
care use."
Women comprise 70% of all health workers in the U.S.,
yet only 9% of active physicians in the U.S. are women.
The NCHSR publication, (HRA) 76-3138, is available
upon request from the National Center for Health
Services Research, Room 15-30, 5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, Maryland 20857.
Personnel Corner
CONVERSION RIGHTS UNDER THE
FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM
You or any covered member of your family can change
to a nongroup health benefits contract (private policy)
offered by the same company without evidence of
insurability. This option is available to you when
coverage ends for any reason other than voluntary
cancellation or your change to self only.
This provision also applies to your child who
reaches age 22, and to your spouse at the time of
divorce or annulment. It would also apply to your
child who marries prior to age 22, but it would not
apply to the child's spouse in the case of their
application for a private family policy.
If you have any questions concerning health
benefits, please contact the Personnel Management
Division, extension 1321, for assistance.
WHO'S UP (continued from page 3)
ability to work quickly, cheerfully, and well. In
the confusion which so often seems to prevail, she
proves herself again and again to be a force for
order. Her desk gathers more paper than any other
in our group, yet it is one of the neatest.
Portia is an excellent listener, and when she talks
she says something worth hearing. Her excellent
taste in clothes graces the office with a bright-
ness it would not otherwise have. By her nature
Portia has won our affection; by her efforts she
has earned our respect."
CORRECTIONS
Keeping up with EPA's prolific blood donors is a
job, and we goofed. We apologize for errors made in
our letter of March 25.
BERNE BENNETT
6 pints—working on his 4th gallon
GERRY GROON
2 pints—and working on his 4th gallon
ELMER GRAY
3 Pints
EMILE LORES, JR.
2 Pints
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