UNITED STATES ENVIROfcCNTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region II, New York, New York 10271
DATE
SUBJECT
FRCM
November 14, 1988
Risk Assessment Review
Deputy Region*I Administrator
Office of Regulatory Support
and Scientific Assessment
Attached is a copy of the Risk Assessment Review, a bimonthly
publication that is a cooperative effort between the Office
of Research and Development and the Regional Risk Assessment
Network.
The Review serves as a focal point for information exchange
among the EPA risk assessment conxnunity on both technical
and policy issues related to risk assessment. It is currently
in its second year of publication, and we are pleased at the
positive feedback we've received on the Review's usefulness
to staff across the Agency.
Thanks to all of you who continue to contribute articles
and are involved with production efforts. If you have an
article to contribute or any suggestions for future issues,
contact one of the Committee members listed on page 1 of
the review.
At t achment

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October 1988
Highlights
•	More on EPA's Risk Communication Activities p. 1
•	Region lll/OPPE/Slate of Maryland
Radon Risk Communication Project .... p. 1
•	Site-Specific Risk Assessment Database p. 1
•	News From Risk Assessment Forum	 p. 3
•	IRIS Update	 	 p. 4
•	First Symposium on In Situ Evaluation of
Biological Hazards of Environmental
Pollutants 	 p. 7
I. Special Features
More on EPA's Risk Communication Activities
by Ann Fisher (FTS 332-5500}
The joint EPA/Public Health Service announcement in
September of the health advisory about radon highlights
the importance of risk communication, as does the
recent Agency rulemaking on the use of tributyltin in
boat hull paints. Beginning in October 1987, Risk
Assessment Review (RAR) has covered the Risk
Communication Program (RCP), which is coordinated
by OPPE and serves the entire Agency. The RCP has
four components: methods development, problem-
specific consulting and analysis, training, and outreach.
The emphasis is to learn more about what risk
communication approaches are effective (and what
techniques to avoid!) and to enhance the capability of
the Agency to use more effective risk communication.
Projects are chosen tor the RCP on the basts of
program office interest and the potential to transfer
findings to other risk communication activities across
the Agency. Priorities for FY'89 are now being
developed and refined. Please get your ideas to your
Office's Workgroup member (listed below) or to Ann
Fisher (FTS 382-5500, PM-221). Your input will have
more impact if it is received very soon, and will be
easier for the Workgroup to digest if it appears in the
following format:
Title:
Program area:
Objective:
Description/rationale/additional information:
Estimated cost:
User office:
User office contact:
Submitted by (name and phone):
Irttra-Agency Risk Communication Workgroup:
Derry Allen
OPPE
FTS 382-4012
PM-221
Lisa Sarrera
OW
FTS 382-5410
WH-556
Vicki Arroyo
OAR
FTS 475-7360
ANR-443
Karen



Eltenberger
OSWER
FTS 382-4617
WH-562A
Peter Preuss
ORD
FTS 382-7669
RD-672
Hank Schilling
OEA
FTS 382-5414
A-102
Mike Stahl
OPTS
FTS 382-3790
TS-799
(See Activities p. 2)
Risk Assessment Review Committee
Peter Preuss - ORO, FTS 382-7669
Sally Edwards - Region I, FTS 835-3387
Maria Pavlova - Region II, FTS 264-0764
Marian Olsen - Region II, FTS 264-5682
Suzanne Wuerthele - Region VIII, FTS 564-1714
Dana Davoli - Region X, FTS 399-2135
Region IliiOPPEiState of Maryland Ration Risk
Communication Project
by Nancy Zahedi (FTS 382-5355)
A year-long radon risk communication project
conducted jointly by Region III, the Office of Policy,
Planning & Evaluation, and the Maryland Department of
the Environment, is now completed. The purpose of this
project was to:
-	Produce and test innovative and cost-effective
radon risk communication methods and materials.
•	Evaluate the effectiveness of these methods and
materials.
-	Share the results of the study and make available
samples of the prototype materials to EPA Regional
and State radon offices.
(See Project p. 3)
Region II
Site-Specific Risk Assessment Database
by Marian O/sen (FTS 264-5682)
On September 22, 1988 Bill Muszynski, Region li s
Acting Regional Administrator, previewed the Site-
Specific Risk Assessment Database for the Risk
Assessment Council. As indicated in the May 20, 1988,
issue of the Review the basic concept of the Database
is to provide an easily accessible, user-friendly system
that will allow EPA staff to identify staff in other regions
working on similar site-specific risk assessment
projects, i.e., the same chemical contaminants,
exposure routes, facilities or contaminated areas At the
meeting, the Council approved a six-month pilot
project to test the usefulness of the system.
For the pilot project, the system will be tested on the
Electronic Mail System Bulletin Board since it is
available to all EPA staff. Regional coordinators have
been selected by the Deputy Regional Administrators.
The coordinators are responsible for selecting risk
assessments for inclusion on the database. The criteria
for selecting abstracts include:
•	Unique RfD's,
•	New risk methodologies,
•	Sampling techniques and methods,
•	Implications for risk management decisions, and
•	Applicability to other sites. (See Database p. 5)
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Activities {Continued from p. 1)
Prior RAR issues focused on the four components of the
RCP and included brief descriptions of projects
completed or underway. There has been a substantial
increase in the number of Agency risk communication
projects. Additions and important changes (since
October 1987) to the project list for consulting and
analysis are given below. Note that each one lists a
contact person who can provide more information.
Forthcoming issues of RAR will update the other three
components of the RCP. (The entire list is available on
the E-Mail Risk Assessment/Risk Management Bulletin
Board. Once in E-Mail, type "PRPOST" at the >
prompt and "RISK" when asked for a category.)
Urates for Risk Communication Project
Problem-specific Consulting and Analysis
Completed:
1.	Community response to radon information:
Evaluating different reactions in Boyertown, PA,
Vernon Township, NJ, and Clinton, NJ, drawing
lessons about how to design a risk communication
strategy that leads people to test and mitigate
appropriately. (Ann Fisher, FTS 382-5500)
2.	Citizens' guide, "Lead and Your Drinking Water,"
April 1987 (OW, OPPE, OEA, OA). (Jeanne Briskin,
FTS 382-5456)
3.	Toms River, NJ, Superfund site: Risk com-
munication demonstration study (Region II, with
OERR and OPPE). (Maria Pavlova, FTS 264-
7364)
4.	Case studies on air pollution risk communication: a
review of three cases where state or local air
pollution control agencies communicated the results
of a source-specific risk assessment to the public.
The emphasis is on what was successful and what
was not, and was summarized in the National Air
Toxics Information Clearinghouse Newsletter.
(Karen Blanchard, OAQPS, FTS 629-5503)
5.	Guidance for developing Toxic Profile Summaries:
Focus groups were used in evaluating a draft tox
profile summary. The results could be used for
training and guidance of contractors who will write
the tox profiles. (EPA--OPA, OSR, OTS--and
ATSDR) (Mel Kollander, FTS 382-2734)
Ongoing:
6.	Geographic Mapping of Radon Data: Developing a
computerized geographic display of Region I radon
data for use in communicating about radon risk.
(Tom D'Avanzo, FTS 835-3222)
7.	Community Right to Know:
a) OTS focus groups to identify community needs
for information about data collected under Title
III of SARA, especially for the routine release
data of Section 313. (Maria Pavlova, FTS 284-
7364)
b)	Transferring natural hazards risk communica-
tion lessons for technological hazards. (Janice
Quinn, FTS 475-8600)
c)	OSWER/ORD study of how Title III is creating
incentives for companies to reduce risks and
communicate the results to communities.
(Elaine Davies, FTS 475-9323)
d)	Common Ground. To establish and maintain a
national working group on Title III, that will
serve as a sounding board and source of ideas,
and establish evaluation criteria for measuring
accomplishments. (Charlie Osolin, FTS 382-
4075)
e)	OTS pilot communities to evaluate draft
materials for interpreting the routine chemical
release data collected under Title III. (Julie
Winters, FTS 382-3949)
f)	Municipal officials and Title III: Region I
examination of what methods local officials see
as viable for informing the public about the
existence and potential use of Local
Emergency Plans and Section 313 data. (Tom
D'Avanzo, FTS 835-3222)
g)	In-place sheltering vs. evacuation: to develop
criteria for deciding to shelter people in place
or evacuate them, based on expected response
as informed by risk communication literature.
(John Gustafson, FTS 382-3411)
h)	Testing the effectiveness of citizen-derived
risk information: using citizen groups enhanced
with scientific experts and representatives of
local facilities to study the dynamics of learning
about risks and implications for Title III.
(Margaret Chu, FTS 382-7305)
8.	Baseline study of public knowledge and
perceptions of chemical risks. Combines data on
general questions for nationwide sample with in-
depth questions (especially related to Title III and
Superfund sites) for six communities. Follow-up
will allow evaluation of how effective risk
communication activities have been. (OSWER,
OTS, OPPE) (Keith Hinds. FTS 245- 3567)
9.	Measuring changes in risk beliefs: Examining how
risk beliefs of public officials and community
leaders change as a result of participating in one of
the Integrated Environmental Management Projects
(IEMP). (Alan Carlin, FTS 382-5499)
10.	Evaluation of risk communication efforts at IEMP
sites. (Art Koines, FTS 382-2700)
11.	Public response to environmental threat:
examination of public opinion in three types of
communities (those currently at risk, those currently
at alarm, and those facing no known environmental
threat) to learn about how the level of knowledge
and basic perceptions change as the community
goes through different stages. The goal is to
suggest how the different actors in environmental
conflicts can communicate better with one another.
(Margaret Randol, FTS 264-4535)
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12.	Informing the public about the risks of low-level
radioactive waste disposal options: to determine
baseline level of knowledge about such wastes and
perceptions of their risks; to compare perceptions
of the risks of various disposal options with
technical risk assessments; to design and evaluate
messages for informing people about the risks and
benefits of various disposal options. (Larry
Zaragoza, FTS 382-4617)
13.	Evaluating the effectiveness of alternative training
material formats (e.g., posters, handbooks, video
tapes, slide tapes) for training agricultural workers
about the hazards of pesticide exposure. Also to
develop and evaluate pictograms for use as national
symbol prohibiting re-entry into areas treated with
pesticides. (Allie Fields, FTS 557-7666)
14.	Profiling community characteristics for
communicating about the risks of hazardous waste
facilities: Both siting and remediation of hazardous
waste facilities lead to community concerns. This
work will develop an index based oh social,
economic, financial and environmental
characteristics of communities for predicting their
response to Superfurtd and RCRA sites, depending
on the specific characteristics of the hazardous
waste site. (Larry Zaragoza. FTS 382-4617)
15.	Developing Superfund indicators for communicating
about the risks and results at Superfund sites. (Ruth
Chemerys, FTS 382-4906)
Project (Continued from p. 1)
Combinations of three different outreach approaches - a
media approach, unsolicited mailings, and a community
approach - were tested in two Maryland communities. A
radon public awareness campaign sponsored by a local
Washington, DC, television station, WJLA, coincided
with the project outreach and was also evaluated.
Specific materials developed for this project, in
conjunction with the Office of Radiation Programs,
were:
-	Five radio public service announcements.
-	A radon leaflet used in utility bill inserts.
-	Four radon posters.
-	A 15-minute radon slide show with audio track,
also available in video.
The findings of the project are described in a report that
will be distributed to EPA regional and state offices in
November 1988. These findings are briefly summarized
here.
1.	A communication strategy that includes media and
community outreach can be an effective means of
increasing radon awareness, knowledge, and
testing.
2.	Television and newspapers are the most effective
media for promoting radon awareness. Radio will
not reach as many people as TV or newspapers,
but can be used fairly easily and at little cost by
radon programs to supplement other radon
communications.
3.	A well-designed television public awareness
campaign, like WJLA's, particularly when combined
with the sale of radon test kits in a convenient
location at a low price, can lead to increased radon
testing.
4.	Utility bill inserts are, for EPA and states, an
inexpensive and relatively easy means of reaching
a large number of people. Though such unsolicited
mailings will not produce the widespread exposure
to radon information that news media will, these
mailings can reinforce other radon communications
and motivate people to seek additional
information.
5.	A community outreach approach can be more
resource intensive than may be realistic for EPA
and states. However, other groups, or
intermediaries, can be successfully used to carry
out a community outreach strategy. These groups
can help reproduce and distribute materials such as
the radon slide show, posters and leaflets. This
community approach, may be an effective means of
personalizing the risks of radon and thus motivating
people to take appropriate action.
6.	Informal communication channels - people talking
to others about radon - appears to be an important
element in explaining why certain individuals were
more aware, knowledgeable, and concerned about
radon. Such informal channels may help people to
personalize the risk, i.e., feel that they are
potentially at risk. Communication activities on the
part of the EPA and states which help increase
informal communications and personalization of the
risk will be most effective in promoting greater
concern and testing for radon.
II. Headquarters
News From the Risk Assessment Forum
By Unda C. Tuxen (FTS 475-6743)
1988/89 RISK ASSESSMENT FORUM • The following
information on Risk Assessment Forum members and
projects gives a picture of Forum activities for the
1988-1989 Forum year:
Membership - The Risk Assessment Forum Charter
provides for staggered three-year terms and
annual selection of members to fill expired terms.
Consistent with this, on September 22, the Risk
Assessment Council selected four Agency scien-
tists for the Risk Assessment Forum. The members
selected are William H. Farland, Office of Health
and Environmental Assessment; Edward Ohanian,
Office of Drinking Water; Robert Dyer, Office of
Health Research; and Roy Smith, Region III.
Selection of the 13 Forum members is based on
experience and expertise in risk assessment and
underlying disciplines and not on office affiliation.
The overall composition of the Forum attempts to
reflect a balance of scientific disciplines and
Agency experience. However, any risk assessing
office not represented on the Forum for any one
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year may select a designated representative who
receives all Forum mailings and may attend
meetings as observers. The makeup of the 1988-
1989-Forum is as follows:
FORUM MEMBERS
Name
Location
Term Ex
Michael Callahan
Headquarters
1989
Michael Dourson
Cincinnati
1989
Penny Fenner-Crisp
Headquarters
1989
Richard Hill
Headquarters
1989
Peter Preuss
Headquarters
1989
Donald Barnes
Headquarters
1990
Elizabeth Bryan
Headquarters
1990
lla Cote
RTP
1990
Lee Mulkey
Athens Lab.
1990
Robert Dyer
RTP
1991
William Farland
Headquarters
1991
Edward Ohanian
Headquarters
1991
Roy Smith
Region III
1991
DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES
Affiliation/Location	Name
Region I
Region II
Region III
Region IV
Region V
Region VI
Region VII
Region VIII
Region IX
Region X
OPPE
OGC
OSWER
Vacant
Marian Olsen
(Forum Member)
Elmer Akin
Milton Clark
Vacant
Jaci Schlachter
Suzanne Wuerthele
Arnold Den
Dana Davoli
Timothy Barry
Patricia Roberts
Reva Rubenstein
Activities - Activities on the Forum's 1988-89 agenda
fall into the following four broad functional categories:
(1)	Guidelines activities - These dominate the Forum
agenda this year, with seven guidelines, new and
old, in various stages of Agency and public review;
(2)	Follow-up on Forum projects • In response to
comments from the Risk Assessment Council, the
Science Advisory Board, or public comments, the
Forum is finishing work on such projects as thyroid
neoplasia, dioxin toxicity equivalence factors, and
cholinesterase inhibition;
(3)	Current projects - Technical Panel work on
established Forum projects is continuing on such
topics as male rat kidney tumors and exposure
model validation; and
(4)	Development of potential new projects - New
projects are being considered in areas such as soil
ingestion and showering risk.
RISK ASSESSMENT FORUM COLLOQUIUM - On
September 20, the Risk Assessment Forum sponsored
an all-day colloquium on "Aspects of Model Validation
for Predictive Exposure Assessment." The meeting was
well attended, with representatives from many EPA
program offices and several outside experts including
Thomas Nicholson, Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
Donald MacKay, University of Toronto; and Paul van der
Heijde, Holcomb Research Institute, Butler University.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather information in
suppiort of a current Forum project on the subject.
Questions discussed included: Are specific Agency-
wide guidelines on validation needed? and Can generic
procedures be defined and implemented? The
colloquium results will be used by the Forum Technical
Panel in developing the Forum's report on model
validation.
IRIS Update
By Rick Plcardl (FTS 382-7315)
The following sections provide an update on the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) activities and
plans for the future.
Availability to the Public
IRIS was made available to interested parties outside
the Agency in April. To date, several hundred parties
have requested accounts through Dialcom, the EPA
electronic mail vendor. Since requests for information
have quadrupled, IRIS User Support has been increased
to two and one-half people.
Interim Solution to Backlog
While the IRIS workload has mushroomed in the past
year, the size of the staff and funding has remained the
same, causing a significant backlog of chemicals. I hope
to obtain sufficient funds to hire a contractor to prepare
each IRIS chemical file as a substance is about to be
verified by the RfD and CRAVE Workgroups. This would
allow us to load a chemical file to IRIS within 4-6
weeks after the chemical is verified.
As the backlog of verified chemicals continued to grow,
a decision was made to add what are being called
"shells" to IRIS rather than wait for the resources to
produce complete chemical files. These "shells" will
have only the RfD or carcinogen assessment and
synonym sections. A number of these shells have been
prepared during the past two months, and the IRIS staff
hopes to add shells for the total backlog of 120
chemicals by the end of the fiscal year.
As an interim measure, we will continue to add shells
until there is sufficient extramural funding to complete
chemical files retroactively for the shells on IRIS as well
as to begin preparing complete chemical files for newly
verified chemicals. We hope to award a contract for this
purpose in FY'89 and, as soon as possible after that,
begin training the contractor to regularly produce all the
chemical file sections other than the RfD or carcinogen
assessment sections.
The addition of new information to IRIS, such as
ecological risk data, will probably be delayed until the
contract is in place.
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Mainframe Version Focusing on Ease of Use
To improve user's ability to access IRIS information,
preparation of a mainframe version of IRIS will soon be
started. The searching and printing of IRIS sections will
be significantly easier on this system. A timetable for
development of this system has not been completed,
but work is planned to begin in October or November.
This system will be available to EPA staff and all states
that have access to the EPA mainframe. Other parties
must continue using the E-mail version of IRIS or
subscribe through one of the other firms that are making
IRIS available. These firms include DIALOG, the
Chemical Information Service (CIS), and others.
Toxnet
I have been working with the National Library of
Medicine (NLM) to make IRIS available on TOXNET.
TOXNET is a highly regarded network of chemical-
specific databases, the best known being NLM's own
Hazardous Substances Database (HSDB). I hope that
IRIS will be available on TOXNET by October or
November. To obtain a TOXNET account call one of
these numbers:
FTS 496-1131 or (301)496-1131
FTS 496-6531 or (301) 496-6531
User's Guide
I am currently drafting a new user's guide for IRIS,
which covers EPUB and CROSSTALK commands. A
finalized draft and printing are anticipated in the next
few months.
Training Package
Funds permitting, I hope to have the IRIS case study
and facilitator's handbook revised. This effort would
include a brief training package to support those who
perform IRIS training sessions.
Selection of Chemical by Regions
If you are an employee in an EPA region and there are
RfD or carcinogen assessments for which you have a
great need, send their names and CAS numbers to your
program representative on the relevant workgroup.
These substances will be given a higher priority in the
workgroup queues of chemicals to be reviewed,
especially if several Regional staff ask for the same RfD
or carcinogen assessment. Preparation of an RfD or
carcinogen assessment is, of course, dependent upon
the availability of resources as well as health effects
information on a chemical. The tallowing is a list of the
program office representatives on the workgroups and
their FTS phone numbers:
Reference Dose Workgroup:
FTS Number.
Chair:
Michael Dourson (ORD)	684-7544
Charles Abernathy (OW)	382-5374
Eric Clegg (ORD)	475-8914
Christopher DeRosa (ORD)	684-7534
Reto Engler (OPTS)	557-7491
Penny Fenner-Crisp (OPTS)	382-4241
George Ghali (OPTS)	557-7490
Susan Griffin (OPTS)	382-4295
Stephanie Irene (OPTS)	382-5219
Susan Perlin (OPPE)	382-5873
Aggie Revesz (OPTS)	382-3998
Reva Rubenstein (OSWER)	382-4798
Harry Teitelbaum (OPTS)	382-3949
Diane Courtney (ORD)*	629-2370
Mark Greenberg (ORD)*	629-4156
Daniel Guth (OAR)*	629-5344
Annie Jarabek (ORD)*	629-2517
William Pepelko (ORD)*	382-5898
' Representatives for inhalation RfD reviews.
Carcinogen Risk Assessment &
(CRAVE) Workgroup:
Chair:
Rita Schoeny (ORD)
Larry Anderson (OW)
Diane Beal (OPTS)
Chao Chen (ORD)
Linda Cullen (OSWER)
Theodore Farber (OPTS)
William Farland (ORD)
Herman Gibb (ORD)
Daniel Guth (OAR)
Richard Hill (OPTS)
Elizabeth Margosches (OPTS)
Robert McGaughy (ORD)
Peter Preuss (ORD)
John Quest (OPTS)
Reva Rubenstein (OSWER)
Dorothy Wellington (OPPE)
Verification Endeavor
FTS Number.
684-7814
382-7587
382-4256
382-5719
475-9494
557-7351
382-7315
382-5720
629-5344
382-2897
382-3511
382-5898
382-7669
557-7468
382-4798
475-8204
As a final note, if you wish to obtain the names of other
vendors, besides DIALOG and CIS, who have bought
IRIS disks from the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS), contact Stu Wiseman at NTIS. His
number is FTS 737-4807 or (703) 487-4807. The IRIS
information on the PC disks sent to NTIS is in ASCII
format. Since most vendors purchasing the IRIS disks
wish to load IRIS on their own database software, only
the data itself, and not a database front-end, is on the
disks. NTIS has set the cost of the IRIS disks at
$125.00. The IRIS disks will be updated quarterly, thus
the total costs of the disks is $500.00 per year.
These are the major activities, ongoing and planned, for
the near future. If you have any questions give me a call
at FTS 382-7315.
III. Around the Regions
Reg/on II
Database (Continued from p. 1)
The criteria are purposely broad to insure that the
largest number of abstracts are included.
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The database structure includes four summary
documents followed by the actual abstracts. The
summary documents are:
•	Instructions on using the system,
•	Listing of abstract number, date entered and title,
•	Summary of abstract keywords, and
•	Categorization of contaminants by abstract number
and contact person.
Following the summary documents, the remaining
documents are one- to two-page abstracts of the risk
assessments for specific sites. Key abstract elements
are: site location, contact person, contaminants,
"numbers" (e.g., oral RfD, inhalation RfD, CRAVE),
keywords, and the abstract describing the development
of the risk assessment.
To access the database simply logon to the Electronic
Mail system. Once logged on the system will display a
" > ". At the prompt, " > ", type in PRPOST and press
the enter (or return) key. The screen will display
"SEND, READ OR PURGE:". At the prompt, type in:
READ and press the enter key. The screen will display
"CATEGORY.." At the prompt type in: SITESPECIFIC
and press enter. The screen will display the subject
heading for the first document of the database followed
by the "- MORE prompt. To see 23 lines of
text press the enter key. To bypass a document and go
directly to the next document simply type in: NO and
press the enter key. The heading of the next document
will be displayed. Continue to respond NO and press
the enter key until you reach the heading of a document
that you wish to review. At that point press the enter (or
return) key and the first 23 lines of the document will be
displayed. Continue to press the enter (or return) key at
each MORE --" prompt until you have
completed reading the entire document. Continue
pressing Y and the enter key to display text or type NO
and press the enter (or return) key to skip documents.
When you are finished looking at the documents) on
the system, type in "Q" at any MORE
prompt and press the enter key. The screen will display
a " >" sign. To logoff type "OFF" and press the enter
(or return) key at the " > " sign. This will disconnect you
from the system.
If you are interested in contributing abstracts to the
database please contact Marian Olsen at FTS 264-
5682. She will provide you with the name of the regional
coordinator. Also contact Marian if you have any
questions concerning the use of the system.
Contact: Marian Olson (FTS 264-5682)
Ecotoxicity Subcommittee
The Ecotoxicity Subcommittee of the Risk Assessment
Council (RAC) completed a three day workshop on
Ecological Risk Assessment in Harpers Ferry, West
Virginia, during September. The Workshop focused on
identifying appropriate endpoints of concern and
developing a conceptual framework for assessing risks
at two levels of ecological organization: population and
community. The Subcommittee will be presenting its
conclusions to the RAC in the near future.
Contact: Harvey Simon (FTS 264-1361)
Public Education on Toxic Substances
As indicated in prior issues of the Risk Assessment
Review EPA's Office of Toxic Substances and the
Institute for Health Policy Analysis at Georgetown
University are studying public awareness, interests, and
concerns regarding the potential release of toxic
substances into their communities under SARA Title III
(Section 313). Recently the committee developed a
bibliography of public education materials relevant to
toxic substances.
The annotated bibliography, titled "Public Education on
Toxic Substances" lists booklets, fact sheets,
brochures, videotapes and other materials. Brief
descriptions of the materials are summarized under the
following subheadings:
•	Toxic Substances (in general),
•	Specific Toxic Substances,
•	Risk Assessment,
•	Risk Communication,
•	Emergency Planning in Communities,
•	Title ill and Other Federal Programs,
•	State and Local Programs,
•	Waste Minimization,
•	Other Sources of Information,
•	Resources on Occupational Exposure, and
•	EPA materials.
A copy of the bibliography is available from Maria
Pavlova, who can be reached at FTS 2640764.
Future issues of the Review will provide updates on
other aspects of the project including: a review of public
opinion polling data regarding toxic chemicals and
related environmental issues, recommendations to EPA
regarding risk communication messages and a
communication manual for local use.
Contact: Maria Pavlova (FTS 264-0764)
Region X
Estimation of the Cancer Risk from PAHs from
An Aluminum Smelter
One of the largest sources of toxic air emissions in the
state of Washington is aluminum plants. Rough
calculations estimate that the seven aluminum plants in
Washington emit about 900 tons of PAHs (polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons) each year, compared to the 600
tons per year emitted by woodstoves in the state. The
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation in Tacoma
has contracted with ICF-Clements to perform a risk
assessment on the emissions of PAHs from their plant
in Tacoma. The work plan proposes a spectrum of
approaches to be used in assessing the risk, including
several which are not normally used by EPA.
Direct exposure to PAHs in air from the Kaiser facility
will be estimated as well as indirect exposure pathways,
if possible. These indirect pathways include incidental
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ingestion of soil and dust and ingestion of vegetables
and locally caught seafood. For the air route of
exposure, maximum exposure estimates will be
adjusted to account for differences in indoor-outdoor
concentrations and for the mobility of the population
around the Kaiser plant.
Four separate methods will be considered in assessing
cancer risks;
1.	Development of an upper-bound respiratory
cancer potency value, using data from negative
mortality studies of aluminum plant workers. This
potency factor will be used to develop dose-
response information based on a two-stage
carcinogenicity model, instead of the linear multi-
stage now being used by EPA.
2.	Use of mutagenicity data to calculate a potency
value for abminvm plant emissions. This potency
value will be calculated relative to other complex
PAH mixtures /e.g., coke oven emission, coal tar
pitch) that have both mutagenicity data and human
dose response models associated with them.
3.	Use of the results of skin painting experiments on
aluminum plant emissions to obtain a potency value
for these emissions relative to benjo-la]-pyrene
(B(a)P).
4.	Use of the comparative potency method that ICF-
Clements has drafted tor EPA's Office of Health and
Environmental Assessment (OHEA), fn this method,
potency values for each of the suspected
carcinogenic PAHs in Kaiser's emissions will be
derived relative to B(a)P and the combined 8(a)P
exposure units used to estimate risk.
Several offices within EPA, Headquarters (OHEA, Office
of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS),
Environmental Criteria and Assessment, Research
Triangle Park) are providing comments to Region X and
the Washington Department of Ecology on this work
plan through the coordination of the AirRISC group in
OAQPS.
Contact: Dana Oavoli (FTS 399-2135)
IV. Announcements
First Symposium on In Situ Evaluation of
Btologicai Hazard* of Environmental Pollutants
The first symposium on in Situ Evaluation of SioiogicaJ
Hazards of Environmental Pollutants will be held at the
Omni Europa Hotel, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
on Monday December 5 through Wednesday,
December 7,1988.
Adverse biological effects result mostly from the
complex interaction of chemical and physical
components in a given environment. Such interactions
that exist in the complexity of the environment cannot
be reproduced in the laboratory, but must be assessed
biologically where they occur. In recent years increased
emphasis has been placed on the utilization of plants,
terrestrial and aquatic animals for in situ environmental
assessment.
The purpose of this symposium is to discuss the
application of the currently available bioassays for in
situ environmental assessment and to evaluate the
utility of the integrated chemical and biological data
obtained under real world conditions for the assessment
of human hearth effects from exposure to a given
environment.
The symposium will review the regulatory aspects
related to industry and hazardous waste programs;
address the application ol in situ bioassay and chemical
analyses for assessing hazards to the ecological health
in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments; and
discuss the application of in situ monitoring to human
health in the work place and living place. The
symposium will also discuss models for the movement
of chemicals in the ecosystem, the utility of sentinel
surveillance systems and the global perspective on the
application of in situ environmental assessment
technologies.
The symposium is sponsored by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency, National institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute oi
Occupational Safety and Health, U. S. Army and Proctor
and Gamble Company. Proceedings from the
symposium will be published by Plenum Press. New
York, as a volume of the Environmental Science
Research Series.
For further information concerning the symposium
please contact Or. Shah beg Sandhu, Symposium
Chairman at U. S. EPA, MD-88, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina 27711, or (919) 541-3850. To
register for the conference please contact Barbara M.
Andon, Symposium Coordinator, EHRT, P. O. Box
12199, Research Triangle Park 27709, or (919) 541-
7532. Hotel rooms are available from the Omni Europa
Hotel, Europa Drive. Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514,
or (919) 968-4900. The toll free number at the hotel is
1-800-334-4280.
American Public Health Association Meeting
The 118th Annual Meeting of the American Public
Health Association is scheduled for November 13 - 17,
1988 in Boston, Massachusetts.
A listing of the date, time, title and presider of each of
the Environmental Sessions is provided below;
Monday. November 14,1988
2:00-3:30 P.M. Communicating Risk I: Technol-
ogies to Discover and Disseminate,
Presider: Rebecca Head. PhD
4 00-5.30 P.M. Environmental Epidemiology of
Toxic Chemicals and Sites,
Presider Charles O. Treser, MPH
4:00-5:30 P.M. Management Information Systems;
Technology for Improved Environ-
mental Health Services, Presider;
Roger L. DeRoos, MPH, PhD
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Tuesday, November 15,1988
8:30-10:00 A.M. Environmental Epidemiology of In-
door Air Pollution, Presider:
Thomas Holm-Hansen, MSPH
8:30-10.00 A.M. Municipal Incinerators: Technol-
ogies and Problems,
Presider: Daniel Wartenberg, PhD
8:30-10:00 A.M. Public Education and Involvement
Through Marketing and Media
Technology,
Presider: Alana Rae Eager, SM
2:00-3:30 P.M. Siting Hazardous Waste Incin-
erators: A Report on the
Massachusetts Experience,
Presider: Anita M. Flanagan, SM
2:00-5:00 P.M. Radon: Current Knowledge and
Controversies. Presider: Donna M.
Lacombe. MSPH
2:00-5:00 P.M. Developing the Environmental
Health Work Force,
Presider: Barry S. Stern, MPH
4:00-5:30 P.M. Air Pollution: Inside and Out,
Presider: Laura Bowers, RS
4:00-5:30 P.M. Food for People: New
Technologies, New Problems,
Presider: Charles W. Felix, MPH,
Colette Syrkowski
Wednesday, November 16. 1988
8:30-10:00 A.M. Communicating Risk II:
Technologies to Discover and
Disseminate,
Presider: Sanford Brown, PhD
8:30-10:00 A.M. Pediatric Environmental Epidemi-
ology I.
Presider: Jack Mayer, MD
2:00-3:00 P.M. Environmental Politics and Policies,
Presider: Barry Rabe, PhD
2:00-3:30 P.M. Community and Employee Right to
Know,
Presider: David McSwane, PhD
2:00-3:30 P.M. Pediatric Environmental Epidemi-
ology II,
Presider: Sophie J. Balk, MD
4:00-5:30 P.M. Molecular Epidemiology: Future
Potential of Biological Markers,
Presider: Frederica P. Perera,
DrPH
4:00-5:30 P.M. Managing Hazardous and Toxic
Materials,
Presider: Chris J. Wiant, MPH
For additional information on the meeting please contact
the American Public Health Association, 1015 15th
Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20005. The telephone
number is (202) 789-5674.
Schedule for Risk and Decision-Making
Courses
The following is the schedule for the Risk and Decision
Making Courses through December.
Region VII	October 25-26
Region IX	October 31- November 2
Region III
Region IV
Region X
Region VII
Region V
Region III
Region X (Idaho)
November 2 • 3
November 15-17
November 16-17
November 30 - December 1
December 6 - 7
December 7 • 8
December 15 • 16
Contact: Mary Setnicar (FTS 382-2747)

~ ~
~

Contacts:



Jerome Puskin
OAR-Rad.
FTS
475-9640
Linda Tuxen
ORD-RAF
FTS
475-6743
Dick Hill
OPTS
FTS
382-2897
Don Barnes
SAB
FTS
382-4126
Dean Hill
NEIC
FTS
776-8138
Marian Olsen
Region II
FTS
264-5682
Roy Smith
Region III
FTS
597-6682
Elmer Akin
Region IV
FTS
257-2234
Dave Oolan
Region V
FTS
886-6195
Jill Lyons
Region VI
FTS
255-7208
Bob Fenemore
Region VII
FTS
757-2970
Arnold Den
Region IX
FTS
454-0906
Dana Davoli
Region X
FTS
399-2135
If you would like to receive additional copies of this and
subsequent Reviews or to be added to the mailing list,
contact:
CERI Distribution
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Need Help?
If your office needs help in finding information or
assistance on a specific risk assessment problem,
you can announce that need on the Risk
Assessment/Risk Management Bulletin Board now
available on E-Mail. Your colleagues from other
offices who have information or advice will be able
to contact you with assistance. For assistance in
posting announcements or reading entries on the
Bulletin Board, contact Electronic Mail User's
Support at FTS 382-5639. Your colleagues from
other offices who have information or advice will be
able to contact you with assistance.	
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