United States Environmental Protection Agency Issue No. 26 May 2, 1983 Page 99 SEPA TIMES A Publication for EPA Employees Chisholm Deplores Underutilization of Women Former Congress- woman Shirley Chisholm told a group of EPA employees recently that the "underutili- zation of the American woman is one of the most senseless wastes in this country—and one that our society cannot afford." Speaking at a program sponsored by EPA's Federal Women's Program, Shirley Chisholm Chisholm declared: "People—men and wcmen—desire to make their contribution to this Nation on the basis of their God-given talents, their aptitudes, their capacities and their abilities. Any kind of discrimination against a person, whether it is on the basis of the person's 1983 Savings Bond Campaign Begins The 1983 campaign to encourage purchase of Federal savings bonds starts Monday, May 2, and runs through May 31. Highlights about the new bond program include: • All new EE Bonds held at least five years frcm November 1, 1982, and most E Bonds will earn the market-based interest rate, compounded semi-annually. The market-based rate guarantees a min- imum of 7.5% per year. Bonds are now paying a market-based rate of 11.9% for Continued to back page sex, race, or what have you is ultimately anti-human." Chisholm, now a professor at Mt. Hoiyoke College in Massachusetts, was introduced by EPA's Acting Administrator Lee Verstandig, who said that Chisholm "has not really retired from public life and is here to revitalize and reinvigorate our thinking." A former candidate for President, Chisholm received standing ovations and end of her talk, which was part of the Wcmen's Week observation at EPA. She traced the history of prejudice against wcmen in every aspect of society and said that one of the hardest tasks that workers in the women's movement face is to convince "middle America that women are really very serious" about their quest for equal treatment. Chisholm said that as a wcman—"and an assertive wcman at that"—she had found "greater prejudice in the political arena because of her sex than because of being black." She said that American history is "steeped in this kind of sexism. Consider that not one wcman signed the Declaration of Independence. And only a handful down through the years have served in the U.S. Congress." Discussing affirmative action, Chisholm said that positive and deliberate efforts must be made by every institution and agency to rectify existing inequities resulting frcm past discrimination. "Our Nation needs the collective talents of those individuals who can bring about an amelioration of the human condition," she ccnmented. Chisnolm said that America needs a new state of mind that demands peace, prosperity and equality for all citizens. Chisholm, who in addition to teaching is lecturing around the Nation, was frequently applauded by a standing-room-only audience. ------- 100 EPA Testing Impact of Carbon Monoxide A program for monitoring cardiac changes in volunteers undergoing physical stress tests while exposed to carefully controlled low levels of carbon monoxide is being operated by the Research Triangle Institute for EPA in Chapel Hill, N.C. The project is part of a program being conducted by EPA's Health Effects Research Laboratory at its Clinical Studies Facility in Chapel Hill. Research Triangle Institute is doing the study under a $248,815 contract with EPA. Mathew L. Petrovick, EPA project officer for the contract, said much of the work will support an EPA cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Bioengineering Research and Development Laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md. The contract involves the validation of a mathematical model for estimating the amount of carboxyhemoglobin formed in blood during inhalation of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas emitted frcm a variety of sources, in- cluding engine exhausts and the propellants used in weapons systems, such as tanks, personnel carriers and helicopters. It displaces oxygen in the blood and, at high enough levels, can affect heart, lung and physiologic motor functions, especially during stressful situations. The level of carbon monoxide in the blood is measured by the amount of carboxy- hemoglobin, which is formed when inhaled carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin in the blood. Petrovick said RTI's primary responsi- bilities include: assuring validation and accuracy of cardiac stress measurements, coordinating data base design, and report- ing experimental results. The EPA-Army study is designed to simu- late carbon monoxide exposure conditions experienced by crewmen enclosed in military vehicles and aircraft. The Army will use the test results in designing new military systems and eguipment. EPA views the project as an opportunity to increase scientific understanding of potential impacts of carbon monoxide in a variety of environments, data that can provide a foundation for future air quality decisions aimed at protecting public health. The EPA Health Effects Research Laboratory in North Carolina conducts human studies and biological research to determine the health effects of exposure to air pollutants, pesticides, toxic substances and non-ionizing radiation. A volunteer exercising in a pilot chamber planned for full-scale pulmonary and cardiovascular performance tests in EPA's human health studies at Chapel Hill, N.C. ------- Campaign Against Contract Abuse Pays Off at EPA Bid-riggers, contractors with poor per- formance records, and recipients who abuse EPA grant agreements are now encountering stringent preventive measures, the Agency's Grants Division has reported. The division's compliance staff has opened cases involving 119 contractors and other parties to EPA grants since a new program to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse was initiated last fall. Six contractors have been debarred frcm participation in EPA-funded projects and another 11 have been suspended temporarily or proposed for debarment. Twelve con- tractors have entered into settlements with EPA or have voluntarily withdrawn fran participating in Agency-funded projects. Sixty-five cases are still under investiga- tion, 22 others are being processed and three have been dismissed. The ccmpliance staff also is conducting seminars to inform grant recipients and others of the regulations and procedures to guard against contract abuses, according to acting director Belle Davis. EPA Employees Win New Jobs Under Mobility Program Fifteen EPA employees have found new posi- tions within the Agency so far as a result of the intra-agency mobility program. The following will be the first to relocate: Steve Blczyk frcm Region 3, Philadelphia, to Region 1, Boston; Laurie Cohen frcm Headquarters to Region 10, Seattle; Audry Davis frcm Ann Arbor, Mich., to Region 5, Chicago; Kevin Dyer fran Region 5, Chicago, to Region 10, Seattle; Rene Fuenotes frcm Region 9, San Francisco, to Region 10, Seattle; Brian McKeoun frcm Headquarters to Region 9, San Francisco; Tony Medrano from Region 8, Denver, to Region 10, Seattle; Terry Moan frcm Region 5, Chicago, to Region 10, Seattle; Christine Parker from Region 8, Denver, to Region 10, Seattle; Richard Parkin frcm Region 5, Chicago, to Region 10, Seattle; Francine Pollack from Headquarters to Region 5, Chicago; Robert Robichaud frcm Region 5, Chicago, to Region 10, Seattle; Keith Silva frcm Headquarters to Region 9, 101 Adamkus Wins Awards Valdas Adamkus, EPA's Region 5 Adminis trator, has won the Lake Michigan Federation1s 1983 Rachel Carson Great Lakes Award. The Federation, a citizens' group organized to protect water quality in the Lake Michigan Basin, presents the award annually to an outstanding environmentalist. Judith Kiriazis, reueLdLiun exeuuLivti director, said that Adamkus was selected because of his long record of service to the Great Lakes and his efforts to clean up PCB's in Waukegan Harbor. Adamkus was also honored recently at the State Department where he was given a plaque recognizing his contribution to achievements by the American-Canadian International Joint Commission in protecting the Great Lakes. Adamkus is the American co-chairman of the IJC's Water Quality Board. Also presented plaques at this meeting for their efforts on IJC programs were two other Region 5 officials, David Kee, Director of the Air Management Division, and David M. Wagner, Chief of the Environmental Monitor- ing Branch. Kee is the American co-chairman of the IJC's Michigan-Ontario Air Pollution Board and Wagner is the American co-chairman of the Rainy River Board. San Francisco; John Taylor from Region 4, Atlanta, to Region 5, Chicago; Gary Voerman frcm Region 8, Denver, to Region 10, Seattle. Information on current vacancies is available through the Intra-agency Mobility Coordinating Office, 8/382-7067. The program to encourage intra-agency transfers was set up because of an Agency- wide limitation on hiring from outside EPA. Valdas Adamkus ------- 102 I.G. Finds Deficiencies in Office of Federal Activities Lee L. Verstandig, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced that he was making public an audit report of a recently ccmpleted survey of the Office of Federal Activ- ities prepared by Acting Inspector General Charles L. Dempsey. The report resulted frcm allegations of mismanagement of the agency's responsibilities as detailed in Section 309 of the Clean Air Act. Verstandig said he and his management team had established a need "early on to correct problems of operations and man- agement within the Office of Federal Activities." The resulting I.G. report, which was initiated by a hotline canplaint, identifies problems and makes specific recommendations for correction. Verstandig SAVINGS BONDS (continued) the first six-month period. Bonds held less than five years earn interest on a fixed graduated scale. • Interest earned on Series E and EE Bonds is not subject to state or local income tax. Federal income tax may be paid currently or deferred until bonds are cashed or reach final maturity, which- ever ccmes first. Series HH Bond inccme is not subject to state or local taxes, but Federal income tax must be paid currently. • Series EE Bonds accrued interest is paid when the bond is cashed. Bonds may be redeemed at any time after the first six months. 0 At any time after six months, EE bonds, which can be purchased for as little as $25, may be exchanged in multiples of $500 for "current-inccme" HH Bonds, which pay interest every six months by Treasury check. ® E Bonds issued between 1941 and 1952 have begun reaching their final maturities. They cease drawing interest exactly 40 years frcm their respective issue dates. As bonds reach maturity, they may be cashed or exchanged for HH Bonds. Further information on savings bonds may be-obtained from your Personnel Office. 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''"wiTfi-tfiree "(To les for binding Tor future reference. said the agency was now in the process of implementing those recamiendations. Dempsey stated that a follow-up study would be performed in six months to insure the recommendations had been acted upon and that the problems had been corrected. Many of the ccmplaints revolved around delays in reviews of environmental impact statements and other major federal actions. To correct these deficiencies, Dempsey recatmended the appointment of a permanent director of the Office of Federal Activ- ities who can provide necessary direction and oversight and ensure established controls of the Section 309 process. His report also stressed the need for proper maintenance and documentation of files. Dempsey's report was praised by Verstandig "as a significant step in our process of management review." The Acting Director of the Office of Federal Activities is Pasquale Alberico, who replaced Paul Cahill March 25. EPA Oil Experts Return Two EPA officials have returned frcm a three-week assignment in the Middle East counseling United Arab Emirates officials on how to deal with a Persian Gulf oil spill threatening this country's coast. They are Kenneth Biglane, Director of the Hazardous Response and Support Division, and Steve Dorrler, Chief of the Environmental Response Branch, who flew to the Middle East as part of an EPA^U.S. Coast Guard team. They made the trip in response to an urgent request from the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The team conducted aerial surveys in the Gulf off the United Arab Emirates coast, held training seminars in oil cleanup techniques and made recommendations on development of response strategies. The oil spill, fed by thousands of barrels of oil a day from leaking Iranian off-shore wells, was caused primarily as a result of bombs dropped in the war between Iraq and Iran. Biglane said that when the team left officials of the United Arab Emirates seemed confident they could handle the oil if the spill reaches the shores of their country. ------- |