United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Issue No. 24
April 4, 1983
Page 91
VP
EFA TIMES
A Publication for EPA Employees
Verstandig Serves as
EPA Head Pending
Confirmation of Ruckelshaus
Lee Verstandig
Lee M. Thomas
EPA Employees
Cheer Return of Ruckelshaus

Lee Verstandig has been named by President
Reagan as Acting Administrator of EPA,
pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate
of William D. Ruckelshaus, who has been
designated by the President to serve as the
Agency's leader.
Verstandig, former Department of Transpor-
tation Assistant Secretary for Governmental
Affairs, was selected by the President as
EPA's Assistant Administrator for Govern-
mental Affairs on Feb. 24.
Chosen by the President to serve as EPA's
Acting Deputy Administrator was Lee M.
Thomas, who since Feb. 24 has been acting
as the Agency's Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste and Elnergency Response.
In the Deputy Administrator post, Thomas
succeeds Dr. John W. Hernandez, Jr., who
has resigned.
Other high-ranking officials at EPA who
have resigned recently include Dr. John A.
Todhunter, Assistant Administrator for
Pesticides and Toxic Substances; Robert
1 M. Perry, Associate Administrator and
General Counsel; and Paul C. Cahill,
Director of the Office of Federal Activities.
John E. Daniel, tormerly Chief ot Staff
in the Office of the Administrator, has been
continued to back page
Ruckelshaus Responds to Crowd
William D. Ruckelshaus returned to EPA
headquarters recently to tell a large and
cheering group of EPA employees what he
believes must be done to carry out the
Agency's environmental mission and to
perserve the public's trust.
Ruckelshaus, who served as EPA's first
Administrator from 1970 to 1973, has been
nominated by President Reagan to again
assume leadership of the Agency.
"Public trust will only ccme if the people
believe we are trying our very best to do
our job and that we are trying to serve
the public interest," he told employees the
day after his nomination. "That trust is
sacred between us and the public and it must
never be broken."
"This Agency," he said, "has always oper-
ated openly with Congress, with the general
public, with the environmentalists and with
continued to back page

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92
EPA Research Prizes Announced
Science prize winners are (standing) Carol
Pesch and A. Russell Malcolm and (seated)
Gerald Pesch.
Three scientists, a husband, wife and a col-
league, all stationed at EPA's Environmental
Research Laboratory in Narragansett, R.I.,
have been awarded first prize in the Agency's
Scientific and Technological Awards Achieve-
ment program for 1982.
Members of the winning team are Carol and
Gerald Pesch, research aquatic biologists,
who each received $2,000, and A. Russell
Malcolm, a research chemist, who won $1,000.
The title of their paper is "Neanthes aren-
aceodentata, a Cytogenetic Model for Ma> ine
Genetic Toxicology." It involves research on
a method to use certain marine worms to test
whether toxic wastes can cause genetic damage
to these and other creatures living in coastal,
oceanic and estuarine environments.
The importance of genetic damage from marine
pollution has been recognized by the Inter-
national Council for the Exploration of the
Seas, which has recommended increased re-
search in this area.
At present no genetic tests are included in
permit programs governing waste disposal in
coastal and ocean waters.
Other winners in the program include:
Second Prize awards— John A. Couch, Lee
A. Courtney, and Steven S. Foss, of EPA's
Environmental Research Laboratory at Gulf
Breeze, Fla., who shared a $2,500 prize
for a report on "Laboratory Evaluation of
Marine Fishes as Carcinogen Assay Subjects."
Vernon A. Benignus and David A. Otto of
the Health Effects Research Laboratory at
Triangle Park, N.C., who won a $2,500 award
for a study on "Effects of Age and Body Lead
Burden on CNS function in Young Children."
Thomas G. Dzubay and Kenneth w. Clubb of
the Environmental Research Laboratory at Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C., received
$1,250 in recognition of their report on
"Comparison of Telephotometer Measurements
of Extinction Coefficients with Scattering
and Absorption Coefficients."
Leon W. Betowski and Andrew D. Sauter of
the Environmental Monitoring Services Lab-
oratory in Las Vegas, Nev., who won $1,250
for a paper on "Fused Silica Capillary Column
GC MS for the Analysis of Priority Pollutants.
D.J. Hansen and M.E. Tagatz of the Envi-
ronmental Research Laboratory in Gulf Breeze,
Fla., who won $1,250 for a report entitled
"A Laboratory Test for Assessing Impacts of^
Substances on Developing Communities of
Benthic Estuarine Organisms."
Teams and individuals who won $500 third
place awards are: A.G. Stead, Victor
Hasselblad, J.P. Creason, and Larry Claxton
of the Health Effects Research Laboratory at
Research Triangle Park, N.C., for their re-
port on "Modeling the Ames Test."
G.E. Hatch, Ralph Slade, F.J. Miller, and
D.E. Gardner of the Health Effects Research
Laboratory at Research Triangle Park, N.C.,
for a paper on "Correlation of Effects on In-
haled Versus Intratracheally Injected Metals
on Susceptibility to Respiratory Infections
of Mice."
W.T. Joines and C.F. Blackman of the Health
Effects Research Laboratory at Research Tri-
angle Park, N.C., for a report on "Power
Density, Field Intensity, and Carrier Fre-
quency Determinants of RF-Energy-Induced
Calcium-ion Efflux Fran Brain Tissue."
J.A. Graham, F.J. Miller, J.W. Illing, and
D.E. Gardner of the Health Effects Re-
search Laboratory at Research Triangle, N.C.,
for their report on "Influence of Ozone on
a phenobarbital-induced Sleeping Time in
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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93
Mice, Rats and Hamsters."
S.W Karickhoff of the Environmental Re-
search Laboratory at Athens, Ga., for a re-
port on "Semi-empirical Estimation of
Sorption of Hydrophobic Pollutants on
Natural Sediments and Soils."
V.J. Bierman Jr. and D.M. Dolan of the En-
vironmental Research Laboratory in Duluth,
Minn., for a report on "Modeling of Phyto-
plankton-nutrient Dynamics in Saginaw Bay,
Lake Huron."
F.M. Black and L.E. High, of the Environ-
mental Sciences Research Laboratory at Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C., for their report
on "Composition of Automobile Evaporative
and Tailpipe Hydrocarbon Emissions."
J.A. Glaser, D.L. Foerst, G.D. McKee, S.A.
Quave, and W.L. Budde of the Environmental
Monitoring and Support Laboratory in Cinci-
nnati for their report on "Trace Analyses
for Wastewaters."
C.W. Lewis of the Environmental Sciences
Research Laboratory at Research Triangle
Park, N.C., for a paper "On the Proportiona-
lity of Fine Mass Concentration and Extin-
ction Coefficient for Bimodal Size Distri-
bution."
R.R. Arnts and S.A. Meeks of the Environ-
mental Sciences Research Laboratory at Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C., for a report on
"Biogenic Hydrocarbon Contribution to the
Ambient Air of Selected Areas."
H.H. Tabak, S.A. Quave, C.I. Mashni, and
E.F. Barth of the Municipal Environment Re-
search Laboratory-Environmental Monitoring
and Support Laboratory in Cincinnati, for a
report on "Biodegradability Studies with
Organic Priority Pollutant Compounds."
L.E. Sparks, G.H. Ramsey, and B.E. Daniel
of the Industrial Environmental Research
Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, N.C.,
for a paper on "Particle Collection by a
Pilot Plant Venturi Scrubber Downstream from
a Pilot Plant Electrostatic Precipitator."
G.S. Logsdon, J.M. Symons and T.J. Sorg
of the Municipal Environmental Research Lab-
oratory in Cincinnati, for a report on "Moni-
toring Water Filters for Asbestos Removal."
A Early Water Pollution Fighters
Leaders of EPA's predecessor agencies
conferred at a recent reunion of
present and retired EPA water pollution
control officials at the Navy Yard in South-
•east Washington. They are Joe Moore and
James M. Quiqley (left and right), former
Commissioners of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration, and Gordon McCallum
(center), former Assistant Surgeon General,
The water pollution control responsibilities
of the Federal Government were first vested
in the Public Health Service, then moved to
the Federal Water Pollution Control Admin-
istration which later became the Federal
Water Quality Administration. These pollu-
tion control duties were taken over by EPA
when it was formed in 1970. Approximately
200 persons attended the reunion luncheon at
the Navy Yard Officers Club.

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94
RUCKELSHAUS (continued)
those we regulate, and we will do so now."
Ruckelshaus, who is awaiting confirmation
by the U.S. Senate, told the employees
gathered at the Agency's headquarters at
Waterside Mall that "we will be adopting
guidelines for how we ccnmunicate with the
public, with those we regulate and with
those who consider themselves constituents
of this Agency. We must operate with all in
the open so that trust is always part of our
heritage."
The former Administrator said that he also
believes that EPA must do a better job of
educating the public about its activities.
"No one knows better than you the complex-
ity of the problems you face, what levels of
a given pollutant cause health or environ-
mental effects, how to measure substances in
the environment, what technologies are avail-
able to abate pollution, how good they are,
and how much they cost."
Ruckelshaus also emphasized that EPA "needs
to adhere to an iron integrity." He recalled
that when he first arrived at the Agency 12
years ago that he used to tell his staff:
"Picture what you are doing or saying as
being on a billboard that you pass on the
way to work. As you pass that billboard, if
you look up and see what you are doing or
saying and it embarrasses you, then don't do
it or don't say it."
He added that "we will follow that advice
again."
Ruckelshaus told the employees that "the
issue today isn't whether we are going to
clean up, but how. The how is where you and
soon, hopefully, I ccme in. In discharging
our responsibilities, we must never, never
forget we are public servants. Our job is to
serve the people. Not condemn, not bully than."
He recalled that when he was first con-
firmed Congressman Jamie L. Whitten of
Mississippi, chairman of the House Appropri-
ations Ccrmittee, commented that the EPA Ad-
ministrator would have more power than a good
man would want or a bad man ought to have.
"Well, he's probably right," Ruckelshaus
said, "and, therefore, we can afford to
walk softly and fairly."
The former Administrator, who estimated
that it would take "at least four to five
weeks" before he could complete conflict
of interest forms, financial forms, FBI
checks and obtain Senate confirmation, said
that he had agreed to return to EPA's top
leadership post because "The President has
convinced me that he wants no abandonment
of the goals of protection of the public
health and of our natural environment.
"He has asked me, with your help, and
it can only be done with your help, to
examine the means to achieve these goals.
And where we find, or where we believe that
better means can be used, then we should ask
the Congress for the authority necessary to
adopt those means. In the meantime, we will
administer and enforce the laws as they are
written by Congress."
VERSTANDIG (continued)
reassigned as a special assistant to the
Administrator. He will serve Acting
Administrator Verstandig and Administrator-
designate Ruckelshaus in a transition role.
Ms. Courtney Price, an Associate Adminis-
trator of the Department of Transportation's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-
tion, has been named Acting General Counsel
in place of Perry. Pasquale A. Alberico,
a career EPA employee, has been named to
replace Cahill on an acting basis as head
of the Office of Federal Activiies. Don R.
Clay, Director of the Office of Toxic Sub-
stances, has been named Acting Assistant
Administrator for Pesticides and Toxic
Substances.

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