United States Environmental Protection Agency Issue No. 4 June 21, 1982 Page 13 «EFA TIMES A PUBLICATION FOR EPA EMPLOYEES. Personnel President Commends EPA Client Services Representative The Client Services Staff of the Office of Administra- tion has recently concluded a study which assessed the services the Administra- tion Office provides for the Agency. The study confirmed that employees receiving these services often become frustrated because they are unaware of the services or how they are provided. In an effort to improve serv- ice, the Office of Admin- istration is creating Client Representative positions in its divisions. The Personnel Management Division will be the first Office of Admin- istration unit to have a Client Services Represent- ative. The representa- tive will use his thorough knowledge of personnel operations to respond to service problems encountered by Headquarters' employees. The Client Services Rep- resentative will work with the Personnel team leaders and act as a general trouble shooter on such issues as payroll complications. Richard Lemley will serve as the Client Services Representa- tive with Personnel. Kathy Petrucelli will help handle problems in Lemley's absence. They can be reached at 382- 5217. President Ronald Reagan has written to Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch to thank her "for providing me with the Annual Report of EPA at yesterday's Cabinet meeting." "I have read the Report with a great deal of interest," the President said in his May 21 letter. "You and your colleagues are to be commended for your many accomplishments during the first year of our Administration. We have a great story to tell of 'common sense' environmental progress. I have asked our staff to work with your public affairs people to do every- thing we can to make sure this story gets out to the public. "Please express to all the members of EPA my appreciation of the excellent job you are doing and my best wishes as you continue to keep up the fine work. "Again, my thanks to you personally. "Sincerely, "Ronald Reagan." (EPA Times carried an article about the EPA annual report to the President in the May 24 issue.) EPA Scientists Win Recognition Eight individual EPA researchers and six teams received cash awards ranging from $200 to $4,800 for outstanding contributions to scientific research supporting the Nation's efforts to control environmental pollution. Dr. Courtney Riordan, Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, recently announced the results of the competition. "Our awards program recognizes the exceptional achievements of EPA scientists in environmental science and technology," Dr. Riordan said. "Recipients of the EPA awards have also had their work published in professional journals." Nominations are judged for quality and significance by EPA's Science Advisory Board, a panel of more than 70 preeminent scientists, all from outside EPA, established by Congress four years ago to advise the Agency on scientific issues. Six employees of the Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory at Research Triangle Park, N.C., shared a $4,800 Scientific Achievement Award, the largest presented by EPA this year, for their work on "Characterization of the Aerosol in the Great Smoky Mountains." They are Robert K. Stevens; Thomas G. Dzubay; Robert W. Shaw, Jr.; William A. McClenny; Charles W. Lewis; and William E. Wilson. Continued on page 16 ------- 14 (This regional report and the article on EPA'.s health laboratory on the facing page are the latest in a series of profiles that EPA Times is presenting.) A Report on Region 3 By Regional Administrator Peter N. Bibko Region 3 is an area of contrasts. Compare the megalopolis that extends from the region's headquarters in Philadelphia through Baltimore to Washington with the mountain wilderness of West Virginia. Contrast the region's major steel, oil refining, chemical and mining industries with the rolling farmland of eastern Virginia. Note the difference between the easygoing life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Finally, compare Pennsyl- vania, the fourth most populous State, with Delaware, the fourth least populous State. All these contrasts call for unprec- edented cooperation between EPA and State and local governments. It also calls for continued management improvements and implementation of regulatory reform. Both these goals have been my top prior- ities during the past year. As with most regions, the proper manage- ment of hazardous wastes has become one of the most important pollution control programs in Region 3. In the past year Region 3 has financed emergency cleanup operations under Superfund at seven sites at a cost of just under $2.7 million. Two cleanup operations were notable. Chemical Metals Industries in Baltimore, a site containing hundreds of drums of corrosive chemicals, including cyanides and ammonia, was completely cleaned up during a six- week period late last year. A similar cleanup operation was undertaken this year at Drake Chemical Company in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. In seven weeks EPA contractors removed 35,000 gallons of liquid waste, 200 tons of industrial sludge, and several hundred pounds of acutely toxic gases and explosive compounds. In addition to emergency cleanup work, the region has also obligated Superfund money to five hazardous waste sites for long-term remedial cleanup. Air pollution control remains an important program at Region 3. A year ago the region had a backlog of nearly 200 State implementation plan amendments that had not been reviewed. Today, the backlog is gone, and overall SIP processing time has been reduced from 18 months fo 12 months. Region 3 has also approved six applications of the bubble policy. These bubbles are expected to save area industries $43 million over the next several years while substantially reducing air pollution levels. In major water pollution activities EPA and the City of Philadelphia recently reached agreement on all outstanding issues related to improved sewage treat- ment. When the secondary treatment facilities are completed, we expect major improvements in the water quality of the Delaware River estuary. In the Potomac river basin, Region 3 is develop- ing a state-of-the-art mathematical model of water quality in the Potomac estuary. This model will help EPA and State governments reach important decisions on future water pollution control activities for the river. Region 3 is also moving aggressively to delegate major environmental programs to State governments. Recently, the region delegated the wastewater permit program to West Virginia, the last State in the region to gain such authority. EPA Awards Ceremony The names of the winners of EPA's 1982 Honors Awards will be printed in the next issue of EPA Times. The ceremony was scheduled for Tuesday, June 22, in the Departmental Auditorium in Washington. A total of 65 employees had been recommended by the EPA Awards Board to Administrator Anne M.Gorsuch for recognition. The EPA Times is published every two weeks by EPA's Office of Public Affairs, A-107 Washington, D.C., 20460, to provide current information for all Agency employees. It is printed on paper with three ring holes so that it can be filed in a binder for future reference. ------- 15 EPA's Health Laboratory The Health Effects Research Laboratory, one of the four major laboratories making up the EPA Environmental Research Center at Research Triangle Park, N.C., is the largest of the Agency's 14 research laboratories. The other EPA laboratories specialize in such areas as monitoring, control technology and ecological effects. While most of the health laboratory's facilities are located in the Center itself, the laboratory's Clinical Research Branch is housed in nearby Chapel Hill on the University of North Carolina campus, and its largest division, the Toxicology and Micro- biology Division, is located at Cincinnati, Ohio. The laboratory, with 260 employees and a budget of $40 million for Fiscal Year 1982, is headed by Dr. Gordon Hueter, a research director with many years of experience in environmental health research. A wide range of pollutants known or suspected to cause health problems are studied at this laboratory. The research focuses on: • Air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone and respirable particulates. • Water pollutants, including con- taminants in drinking water, waste water from industry and municipal treatment plants, and waters used for recreation. This work is conducted at the Toxicology and Microbiology Division in Cincinnati. • Toxic substances, hazardous wastes, and their contributions to physiological changes, including reproductive systems, the fetus, the newborn, the nervous system, and behavior. • Pesticides, primarily to gather scientific data useful in making regulatory decisions on the registra- tion of new products or the proposed suspension of environmentally harmful pesticides already in use. • Non-ion:zing radiation, emphasiz- ing the effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation from radio and microwave transmissions. The primary functions of the laboratory include: • Scientific research on the impact of environmental pollutants. • Development and validation of biological test methods. • Research to develop ways to assess risk from pollutants more accurately. • Preparation of scientific documents which critically assess what is known about the health effects of pollutants. • General scientific consultation and support to the Agency on health effects of pollutants. Offices Consolidated Administrator Gorsuch has consolidated the Agency's Office of Congressional Affairs and Office of Legislation and created a Special Assistant for Interest Group Liaison. The two Congressional offices are headed by Leland Modesitt, the former Director of the Office of Legislation. Jack Woolley moved from his position as Director of Congressional Liaison to become the Administrator's special assistant for interest group liaison. "Lee Modesitt brings to his new position nearly 10 years of Congressional experience, as well as an outstanding background in writing and communications," Mrs. Gorsuch said. "Jack Wool ley's wealth of business and government experience will be especially valuable in broadening our external liaison efforts," declared Mrs. Gorsuch. "While employed at the Department of Commerce, Jack was responsible for establishing a program similar to the one we are-initiat- ing today." ------- 16 EPA SCIENTISTS (CONTINUED) Cannon Named to Top Post The appointment of Joseph A. Cannon as EPA's Associate Administrator for Policy and Resource Management has been announced by Anne M. Gorsuch, EPA Administrator. Cannon has been acting in his new post since September 1981. Cannon will be responsible for policy analysis, regulatory reform, the budget, standards, regula- tions, and management systems and evaluation. He joined the Agency in May 1981 as special assist- ant to the Administrator and was responsible for examining directions to be taken by the Agency with respect to regulatory reform. "Joe Cannon is one of the most capable individuals with whom 1 have worked," said Mrs. Gorsuch. Cannon graduated cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1977 where he was an editor of the school's law review. He was associated with the Washington, D.C., office of a Houston, Texas, law firm from 1979 to 1981. Prior to that, he was associated with a Washington, D.C. law office. From 1977 to 1978, Cannon served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He is the author and co- author of law journal articles on natural gas curtailment, land use compatibility and secu- rities law. Cannon, 32, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a member of the district and Utah Bars. Other awards for work done at the Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory at RTP included: Another award to Charles W. Lewis, who, in addition in to his team award, also received a $750 individual award for research on the "Composition of Size-Fractionated Aerosol in Charleston, W.Va." A $200 award to Fred H. Haynie for his work on "Theoretical Air Pollution and Climate Effects on Materials Confirmed by Zinc Corrosion Data." An award of $200 to A. Paul Altshuller for research on "Seasonal and Episodic Trends in Sulfate Concentrations (1963 to 1978) in the Eastern United States." Six scientists from the Health Effects Research Laboratory at Research Triangle Park shared a $1,250 award for their study on "Mutagenesis and Morphological Transformation of Mammalian Cells." They are Stephen Nesnow, Martha Moore, Helen Garland, Barry Howard, Gaynell Curtis and and Deloris Graham. Robert M. Clark, of the Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio, won $750 for his work on "Small Water Systems; Role of Technology." A team from the Health Effects Research Laboratory stationed at Cincinnati, Ohio, won $1,250 for their work on "Thiodiglycolic .Acid: A Major Metabolite of Bis (2-chloroethyl) Ether." The members of this team were: Robert D. Lingg, William H. Kaylor, Steven M. Pyle, and Robert G. Tardiff. David T. Tingey of the Environmental Research Laboratory at Corvallis, Oregon, won $1,250 for his project "The Influence of Light and Temperature on Isoprene Emission Rates from Live Oak." Carol E. Pesch, of the Environmental Research Laboratory at Narragansett also won $1,250 for work on "Influence of Three Sediment Types on Copper Toxicity to the Polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata." Gilman D. Veith and David L. DeFoe, both of the Environmental Research Laboratory at Duluth, Minn., shared a $2,000 award for their project on "Measuring and Estimating the Bioconcen- tration Factor of Chemicals in Fish." Michael R. Schock of the Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory in Cincinnati won a $1,500 award for his project on "Response of Lead Solubility to Dissolved Carbonate in Drinking Water." Victor J. Bierman, Jr., and David M. Dolan shared a $200 award for work they did at the Environmental Research Laboratory in Duluth on "Statistical Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Ratio Chlorophyll A to Phytoplankton Cell Volume in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron." Sharing an award of $200 were John A. Couch and Steven S. Foss, both of the Environmental Research Laboratory at Gulf Breeze, Fla., for their project "The American Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) as an Indicator of Carcinogens in the Aquatic Environment." James L. Lake of the Environmental Research Laboratory at Narragansett won S200 for his project "Origins of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Estuarine Sediments." ------- |