United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Issue No. 14
November 8, 1982
Page 53
SEPA TIMES
A Publication for EPA Employees
Personnel
Assessing Emerging Technology
Life Insurance
Some EPA employees may be
eligible to enroll in the
Federal Employees' Group Life
Insurance (FEGLI) Program, or
to increase the coverage they
presently have.
If it has been a year since
an employee waived basic in-
surance or optional coverage,
those under age 50 who can
furnish proof of medical
insurability may now be elig-
ible to enroll in FEGLI, or to
increase existing coverage.
Employees who have married or
had a child within the past
60 days may be eligible to
increase or add to their ex-
isting Option B or C coverage
by meeting certain required
age and medical criteria.
Your Personnel Office can
advise you on the specific
eligibility rules and can pro-
vide you with the necessary
forms. Since opportunities
to add coverage have strict
time limits, be sure to act
promptly.
Use It or Lose It
The official 1982 leave
year ends January 8, 1983.
Federal and Agency reg-
ulations permit employees
to carry over a maximum of
240 hours of annual leave
from one leave year to
continued on page 56
This subscale rotary cement kiln, operated at a California
cement plant under EPA funding, is helping in research to
reduce industrial air pollution through improved design.
(Editor's note: This is another in a series of articles on
EPA's Office of Research and Development.)
America's high standard of living is attributable primarily
to the increasing sophistication of industrial production.
Unfortunately, many of the industries that have helped make
our way of life possible also produce unwanted by-products,
often in the formof air md water pollutants or solid wastes.
With the rapid urban and suburban growth associated with
industrialization also have come a variety of municipal
waste and drinking water problems.
Over the past decade the Nation has come to rely heavily on
innovative new technology as a key for solving industrial
and municipal pollution problems. Responsibility at EPA for
assessing emerging technology rests with the Office of
Environmental Engineering and Technology (OEET) within the
Office of Research and Development.
OEET and its three laboratories work on pollution controls
for industry, mining, electrical utilities, and munici-
palities .
Donald J. Ehreth is Acting Director of OEET. Two of OEET's
laboratories are located at Cincinnati, Ohio; the third is
at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
continued on page 56

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54
The Market-Based Rata on U.S. Savings Bonds ... A Briefing
The Department of the Treasury has a new
interest computation system for Series
EE Savings Bonds (and most Series E Bonds
and U.S'. Savings Notes), effective Nov-
ember 1, 1982. The major provisions of
the change are outlined below.
How Market - Based Interest Works
Every six months, the Treasury Depart-
ment compiles the average market
interest rate on all Treasury marketable
securities that are five years from
their maturity during the previous half
year. The rate on new Series EE Savings
bonds for the following six months is 85
percent ot that market average. At the
end of five years the 10 semiannual
averages are added, averaged, and the
average is compounded on a semiannual
basis to determine a bond's five-year
yield. EE Bonds held longer than five
years have additional semiannual market
averages computed in and compounded.
Minimum Guaranteed Yield
The minimum yield on new EE Bonds held
five years or longer is 7.5 percent per
annum, compounded semiannually.
Statement by The President
I have announced that beginning November
1, a new market-based interest rate
formula will be effective for Series EE
U.S. Savings Bonds.
All Series EE bonds purchased on and after
November 1, 1982, and held at least five
years, will earn at least 85 percent of
the average yield during the holding period
on outstanding Treasury marketable securit-
ies with approximately five years remaining
to maturity. New bonds held less than five
years will continue to earn interest on a
fixed, graduated scale.
This major change in the way Savings Bonds
interest is computed will help return bonds
to the forefront of savings instruments.
Savings Bonds will now be able to keep pace
with other investments, and their owners
are guaranteed a competitive return regard-
less of market conditions. This is another
important step in our effort to encourage
added savings, which are a key to our
country's economic growth.
Bonds Eligible for Market - Based Interest
All Series EE Bonds issued on or after
November 1, 1982, are eligible to
receive market-based interest if held
five or more years. In addition,
outstanding Series'E and EE Bonds and
Savings Notes that are still outstanding
and earning interest on and after
November 1, 1987, will earn market-based
interest effective November 1, 1982.
Bonds Not Eligible
® Series E Bonds issued from May 1941
through October 1947 will reach final
maturity, and stop earning interest,
before November 1, 1987, and are not
eligible for market-based interest. They
receive their guaranteed yields to final
maturity.
© Series E and EE Bonds and Savings
Notes held less than five years after
November 1, 1982. New EE Bonds earn
interest on a fixed, graduated scale
(beginning at 5.5 percent after one year)
if held less than five years. Older EE
Bonds and all Series E Bonds and Savings
Notes retain their guaranteed yields as
a minimum to the end of their current
initial or extended maturity periods.
© All Series H and HH Bonds. These
Bonds will continue to pay a fixed yield.
What the changes mean to consumers
Bond owners and bond buyers are now
guaranteed to receive 85 percent of the
average return on five year Treasury
marketable securities if they hold their
bonds at least five years after November
1, 1982 (or 7.5 percent, whichever is
more). This will keep their interest
return competitive during periods of
changing market conditions. There will
be no change in the ways Savings Bonds can
be purchased (payroll savings at companies
Bond-A-Month or over-the-counter at banks),
or in the way bonds are redeemed.
Additional Information
Details on the market-based interest rate
will be issued by the Department of the
Treasury. Questions ,about any aspect of
the new rate structure can be addressed
to the Office of Public Affairs,
U.S. Savings Bonds Division, Department
of the Treasury, Washington, D.C. 20226

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Toxicity Expert Visits EPA
ftSew Travel Service	55
for EPA Headquarters
Dr. Adrien Albert, Professor Emeritus,
Australian National University in Canberra, '
|s lecturing this month at Headquarters on
the use of structure activity relationships
in screening for potentially toxic sub-
stances. He is visiting at the request
of the Health and Environmental Review
Division of the Office of Toxic Substances.
Structure activity describes the influence
of the molecular structure of a chemical
compound in relationship to its biological
action.
Dr. Albert also is conducting seminars on
the subject this month for scientists in
the Office of Toxic Substances. Copies
of the seminar schedule may be obtained
from Robert Lipnick (Tel: 382-4274).
f^ews Briefs
gm
Recal1
EPA has ordered General Motors Corpora-
tion to recall approximately 609,000 1978
giodel year vehicles that are exceeding
fthe Federal nitrogen oxides emission
standard for that year. The models
affected are Buick LeSabre, Skylark,
Century, Regal and Skyhawk; Oldsmobile
Delta 88, Cutlass, Omega and Starfire;
Pontiac Catalina, Phoenix, Firebird,
LeMans, Grand Prix and Sunbird; and
Chevrolet Monza and Monte Carlo, not
including California models.
Generators Agree
to Cleanup
Twenty-four generators whose industrial
wastes were among the hazardous wastes
sent to the former Seymour Recycling
Corp. in Seymour, Ind., have agreed to
provide $7.7 million to undertake a
complete surface cleanup at the site.
According to Administrator Anne. M.
Gorsuch, this is the largest voluntary
cleanup commitment in the country.
Rita Lavelle, Assistant Administrator for
Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said
Jliscussions continue with 340 other gen-
erators, businesses, and individuals who
remain liable under State and Federal
regulations for costs incurred to correct
the existing situation at the Seymour
The Air Transport Association of America
(ATA) has replaced a previous contractor
and is providing a new travel service at
EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the
Office of Administration announced.
ATA brings to the agency years of exper-
ience in government travel service. The
Departments of Treasury and Transporta--
tion and other Federal agencies have b-een
ATA's clients for years. The 'new service
will provide EPA employees with full
travel service and will book travellers
by air, bus, or train, as well as arrange
accommodations and car rental if desired.
The services are being performed without
cost to the government. Officials point
out that use of the service will save
government funds since the system
automatically selects and quotes
travellers the lowest fare available on a
contract airline. Where this is not
available or cannot be used, government
discount fares on other carriers are
quoted. Since ATA employees do not
depend on commissions for their live-
lihood, their motivation is simply to
serve clients with the most appropriate
and lowest cost possible.
The ticketing machine and computer have
been hooked up on EPA's own premises,
thereby providing rapid service between
the time a ticket is requested and its
delivery. Employees are reminded that
they should bring the pink copy of the
Travel Authorization (TA) with them when
picking up tickets.
The ATA service was brought in by the
General Services Administration after
numerous complaints about the previous
contractor, operating under a pilot project,
had been received by the Office of Admin-
istration and its Client Services staff.
The new service is located in Room 3405
in the Mall and is open Monday through
Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
site. The Agency's position is that
negotiations with the remaining genera-
tors for voluntary cleanup must yield the
desired results within a reasonable period
of time. Otherwise, the Agency will
aggressively enforce the law where parties
either bargain in bad faith or are
unwilling to come to agreement.

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56
Personnel (continued)
Assessing Emerging Technology (continued)
tne next (except for those
entitled to a higher max-
imum carryover as a result
of duty outside the United
States).
Unused annual leave in
excess of the maximum
carry-over will be for-
feited, unless the for-
feiture results from
administrative error,
sickness, or exigencies of
the public business. In
EPA, only the Deputy Ad-
mi nistrator/AA/RA/ DRA/OD/
and Staff Office Directors
have the authority to
determine when an exigency
of the public business
exists, and what circum-
stances would require
cancellation of an em-
ployee's scheduled and
approved leave.
The Office of Personnel
Management has stringent
requirements for restora-
tion of any forfeited
leave. Among other
things, 0PM stipulates
that restoration can only
be considered when the
annual leave has been
formally scheduled and
approved at least three
pay periods prior to the
end of the leave year.
Under this requirement,
the last date for approval
of potentially restorable
leave would be Saturday,
November 27, 1982.
Employees who are employed
in the SES are exempt frcm
the 240-hour carry-over
for the duration of their
SES appointment.
I ERL — Research Triangle Park
The Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory (IERL) at
Research Triangle Park studies pollution from energy pro-
duction and industrial processes. It also helps industry
develop pollution controls to meet environmental standards.
The focus is on the electric power generation, synthetic
fuels, petroleum refining, petrochemical, iron and steel,
ferroalloy, pesticide and textile industries. In-house
studies on nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, and particulate
control technologies are carried out in extensive com-
bustion research facilities.
Frank T. Princiotta is the Director of IERL-Research Tri-
angle Park. The laboratory has approximately 80 permanent
employees and its FY 1982 budget was approximately $23
million.
I ERL — Cincinnati
The IERL at Cincinnati carries out research on emissions
from the organic and inorganic chemical, nonferrous metals,
metal finishing, minerals, and oil shale industries.
A major focus at this laboratory is on processes for the
thermal destruction of hazardous wastes; i.e., incinerators.
It also includes studies using existing high temperature
processes such as lime and cement kilns for hazardous waste'
destruction and other advanced destruction technologies.
Dr. David G. Stephan is the Director of IERL-Cincinnati.
The laboratory has approximately 70 permanent employees and
its FY 1982 budget was approximately $15 million.
MERL — Cincinnati
The Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory (MERL)
finds ways to deal with pollutants that affect communities.
Major programs include studies on drinking water quality
and treatment, municipal wastewater treatment, oil and
hazardous waste spill prevention and cleanup, remedial
action at hazardous waste dumps, and criteria for land
disposal of solid and hazardous waste.
A significant part of the studies on drinking water and
municipal wastewater technologies is carried out by labor-
atory staff at the new Test and Evaluation Facility in
Cincinnati, which is shared with the Industrial Environ-
mental Research Laboratory there.
Francis T. Mayo is the Director of MERL. The laboratory
has approximately 160 permanent employees and its FY 1982
budget was approximately $33 million.
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 EPA employees. It is
punched with three holes for binding for future reference.

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