SKEB&. Times NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES INSIDE: ~ Lee Thomas Named to Replace Ruckelshaus VOLUME 2 NUMBER 5 DECEMBER 19, 1984 Will Rudolph's Nose Be Bright Enough? The next time Rudolph gets a call from the jolly old elf, his illuminatory powers may be sorely tested. It seems that the smoke that encircles Santa's head "like a wreath" has been aug- mented of late by emissions from industrial smokestacks. Would the other reindeer jlaugh once again if our gen- tle childhood friend failed to cope with the sinister SMOG? Will the prancing and pawing of each courser's hoofs be heard midst the coughing and hacking up on the roof? We don't wish to dim anyone's holiday spirit, but we feel duty-bound to relay a story appearing in the Nashville Tennessean which warns that it is "only a matter of time before one of the last refuges from in- dustrial pollution will be fouled." The story tells of a recent meeting in Anchorage Alas- ka at which scientists dis- closed that the Arctic Re- gion contains as much dirt as some rural and suburban areas of the U.S. Pollution is thickest on Alaska's North Slope and extends eastward at least to Norway. The scientists say the Soviet Union is the major polluter of the region with the rest of Europe and the United Kingdom as the next largest sources. North America is not a large con- tributor because of its loca- tion and air flow patterns. "There is little rain or snow in the dark winter months of the far North to wash the pollution particles out of the air," according to the Tennessean. Well folks, it looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us if we don't want our grandchildren gathered round the piano singing "I'm Dreaming of a Beige Christmas." But be of good cheer . . . though the ghosts of Christ- mas Future bring dire warn- ings, the Grinch may yet have a change of heart. ~ ------- People Environmental News Congratulations to Barbara Quesnell on being honored as EPA's Outstanding Federal Handicapped Employee for 1984. Quesnell, who entered the federal workforce in 1960 as a clerk-typist, is currently a Budget Analyst at the Cin- cinnati labs. Her movements have been severely restricted since her spinal cord was damaged by polio when she was 4 years old. Special Act Awards presented to: Sarah Kadec, Judy Earle, Terry Forrest, and Carlyn Perry, Administration and Resources Management. Quality Step Increase awarded to: Richard Friedman. Air and Radiation. ~ Agency Activities Final regulation issued that exempts small chemical manufacturers and importers from most of the reporting and recordkeeping required by section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The exemption standard will balance EPA information needs with the need to minimize the reporting and recordkeeping burden on small man- ufacturers. Agency has used its TSCA section 8(a) report- ing authority to obtain production, use, release, and expo- suie data on many chemicals. Risk assessment guidelines proposed which set out the approach for estimating the public health risk of environmental pollutants . . . Guidelines will be used within the agency to assess the risk of given pollutants in areas of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity (genetic damage), developmental toxicities (birth defects or teratogenicity), chemical mixtures, and exposure. Additional terms and conditions placed on the contin- ued registration of the pesticide alachlor after agency de- termination that current use may result in risks to public health. Alachlor was registered in 1969 and is man- ufactured by the Monsanto Chemical Co. under the trade name Lasso. It is a herbicide that controls unwanted vegetation and is used primarily on corn and soybeans. By volume, alachlor is the largest herbicide used in the U.S. Policy developed on agency relations with Indian tribal governments and administration of agency programs on In- dian lands. Cornerstone of this effort is to give considera- tion to tribal interests in making agency policy, and to in- sure close involvement of tribal government in making environmental decisions on reservation lands, water quali- ty- Environmental Health Committee of the Science Advi- sory Board reviewed an agency analysis of cancer risks associated with gasoline vapors. Committee agreed that wholly vaporized unleaded gasoline vapors should be classified as probably carcinogenic to humans. ~ The EPA Times is published 24 times per year lo provide news and information for and about EPA employees Readers are encouraged to submit news of themselves and of fellow employees, letters ol opinion, questions, comments, and suggestions to- Miles Allen. Editor, The EPA Times, Office of Public Affairs {A -10 7). Telephone :ili2-4394 Information selected for publication will be edited as necessary in keeping with space available A selection of noteworthy lines chosen from 1 he 300-400 newspaper and magazine articles on environmental matters which ive receive every two^ weeks "A new Environmental Protection Agency plan may do more harm than good. The EPA recently announced a plan to remove all the lead from gasoline by 1986 because of its toxicity. But lead has long been used to raise octane, which is a measure of a fuel's energy. And refiners say maintaining gasoline's octane without lead makes the fuel more volatile and therefore more likely to give off gasoline fumes. Gasoline fumes are already a problem . . . They are a particularly tough kind of emission to control because they continue boiling off a car's hot carburetor and fuel line for as long as an hour after the rar is shut off."—Wall St. Journal, 11/7. "The 'Environment Motorbike' is a motorcycle adapted to clean up after dogs. The two-wheeler, recently em- ployed in Dusseldorf, West Germany, has a hydraulic grip- ping device that hovers over the offending spot and pulls the excrement into tanks on the side. Chemicals in the tanks immediately decompose the product."—Commercial Appeal, 10/14. "Health and safety statistics show that chemical work- ers are healthier, live longer, and have fewer on-the-job injuries than almost all other industrial workers . . . [According to] a survey commissioner! by the Chemical Manufacturers Association and conducted by Peat, Mar- wich, Mitchell & Co."—journal of Commerce, 10/29. Around EPA EPA Headquarters library wants to remind all employees of the tour of the Library available every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The tour can be particularly helpful to new employees, but everyone who hasn't visited the li- brary for a while will find it interesting. During the tour you'll hear about the many services available in addition to the traditional offerings of books and magazines. EPA's Center for Environmental Research Information is sponsoring a series of ten seminars on Improving POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works) Performance Using the Composite Correction Program. Seminars will be held across the country, beginning in January 1985. For further information, contact Sheri Marshall, Conference Coordina- tor, Dynamac Corporation, P.O. Box 2198, Kensington, Md. 20895, or phone (301) 468-2500. An EPA film, "Municipal Wastewater. . . America's For- gotten Resource" has won a second place trophy at the First International Agricultural Film Festival "Agrofilm'84" held at Nitra, Czechoslovakia, August 19-24, 1984. The award-winning film describes how land treat- ment is offering new promise to communities besieged by the rising costs of sewage treatment. The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984 sub- stantially changes the basic statutes underlying the Fedf^ al procurement system. Agencies will be required to £3 _ achieve full and open competition by soliciting sealed bras or requesting competitive proposals or by use of other competitive procedures, unless a statutory exception per- mits other than full and open competition. For more in- formation, contact Pam John on 382-5030. ~ ------- "The black peasant seemed proud of his almost com- plete thatched home in the remote mountains of South ¦frica . . . The round hut is plastered with asbestos waste dumped by mining companies. 'The thatch and asbestos are strong, the house will last for 20 years,' said the man . . . Medical opinion is that in 20 years his family, con- stantly exposed to the fibrous material, could be fighting a losing battle against lung cancer."—Tampa Tribune, 10/25. Losing its battle against coastal erosion, New York State is putting regulations into effect that will prevent shore- front homes from being rebuilt if they are destroyed by storms . . . But thousands of homeowners in coastal com- munities have already criticized the regulations at public meetings, charging that their property is being condemned without compensation."—New York Times, 11/10. "The Environmental Protection Agency was within its rights when it conducted aerial surveillance and photog- raphy of a Dow Chemical Company plant six years ago, a Federal appeals court ruled Friday."—New York Times, 11/11. "The Supreme Court was told Wednesday that unless it reverses a lower court ruling, polluters can avoid the cost of cleaning up their dumpsites by declaring bankruptcy. Lawyers for Ohio and the federal government urged the court to reverse a ruling that blocks the state from collect- ing cleanup costs from a bankrupt industrial waste com- pany accused of creating an 'environmental nightmare' in Hamilton, Ohio."—Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/11. "Environmentalist groups, invoking a little-known provi- sion of federal statutes, have quietly begun an effort to police industrial polluters in Texas and throughout the na- tion. . . Nearly all federal environmental laws enacted in the past 15 years contain a provision saying any 'citizen' can sue any other 'citizen' for violating the law . . . The effects of the movement soon will be felt from coast to coast. With more than 200 suits now filed or about to be, and with five-figure settlements typical in the cases re- solved so far, U.S. companies stand to lose millions of dollars as environmentalist plaintiffs press on."—Dallas Morning News, 11/4. "While water wars among Western states have been routine for decades, they have only recently moved East. Droughts, groundwater pollution and development booms are combining in many areas in the East to place unprece- dented demand on what environmentalists say is a limited amount of good drinking water. The result, from the Great Lakes to the Florida Keys, has been an eruption of dis- putes over who owns water and who has a right to use it.—Washington Post, 11/18. "Each fall, beginning in mid-October, thousands of pink- and rust-colored kokonee salmon make their way up the clear and cold McDonald Creek on the edge of Glacier National Park where they will spawn and shortly after- wards, their mission accomplished, die. Beginning a week or so later, when the salmon number in the tens of thousands, bald eagles will begin to gather singly and in pairs in the trees along the creek. Eventually, more than 600 bald eagles will gather to feed on the dead and dying salmon now clogging the stream . . . Last year more than 3000 people, some from as far away as Germany, braved the snow and subfreezing temperatures to observe the avian spectacle."—Boston Globe, 11-18. Thomas Named to Replace WDR Lee Thomas, Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Re- sponse, has been named by President Reagan to succeed Bill Ruckelshaus as Ad- ministrator of EPA. Mr. Reagan accepted Ruckelshaus' resignation on November 28. If approved by the Senate, Thomas will assume his new post on January 5, when Ruckel- shaus leaves. "I couldn't be more pleased with the President's choice," Ruckelshaus said. "Lee Thomas is one of the finest and most able public servants whom I have had the opportunity to work with and know." Thomas served as Acting Deputy Administrator from March 25, 1983 until Al Aim was confirmed. Prior to joining EPA, Tho- mas served as the Executive Deputy Director and the Associate Director for State and Local Programs and Support at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Thomas' career also in- cludes serving as Director of the Division of Public Safety Programs for the Governor of South Carolina. He served two consecutive terms as chairman of the National Criminal Justice Association, and was a councilman on the Ridge- way, S.C., town council. Thomas earned his Mas- ter's in Education from the University of South Caro- lina, where he did post- graduate work in psycholo- gy. He received his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennes- see. A resident of Wood- bridge, Virginia, Thomas is married and has two sons. ~ ------- Sharing Experiences and Visions At the Human Resources Conference In late November repre- sentatives for every EPA program, region, and lab complex gathered at the Hunt Valley Inn, just north of Baltimore. For 3 days their interactions were con- centrated on ways to main- tain and improve the pro- fessionalism, competence, efficiency, and satisfaction of Agency employees. In the following article, Kirke Harper, Director of the Office of Human Resources Management, tells some of the things that happened at the conference. At our first meeting of the EPA Human Resources Council we tapped a vital source of information and energy to change the way we treat people at EPA. Over 50 participants came together to exchange views and present examples of programs that have worked. We learned of Region l's mandatory training for su- pervisors and managers, built around real-life situa- tions, which stresses com- munication skills and a lot of practice. Along the same lines, the Personnel Man- agement Division has launched a pilot program to assess managerial skills, ti- tled the Management Ex- cellence Inventory. The re- suit? Change. Better super- visors, better employee morale and greater produc- tivity. Regions 2 and 3 pre- sented new approaches to employee orientation and development techniques which make it easier for employees to understand where they fit in and how they can grow in their jobs. We heard how rotational assignments are working within the Dallas Regional Office and with state and local agencies in Region 9. this we will be mindful of the need to respect the many dimensions that characterize an employee's life beyond the job itself: family, community, the need for economic security, and the like." Howard Messner, AA for Administration and Re- sources Management, gave a luncheon address which was upbeat, encouraging, and typically insightful. He stressed the critical balance of environmental manage- ment activities and the roles of career employees and political leadership in achieving our goals. He emphasized the positive aspects of forging an en- lightened partnership in moving and managing peo- ple as our principal re- source. Messner com- missioned us to recognize the power we have to s^Bs our own destiny as an Agency and to use that power creatively for change. We in the Office of Hu- man Resources Management held this conference to be- gin to build a communica- tions network which will reach out and touch each and every employee in EPA. Our efforts will suc- ceed only through the ac- tive involvement of em- ployees in all our locations and at all levels in our or- ganization. The Human Resources Council includes broad representation from across the Agency. It will generate ideas, serve as a sounding board, advise our office on strategies and programs, and help turn ideas into reality. We plan to gather the members together again in the Spring, and reguh«U' thereafter, in an effort t^^-- sure their active involve- ment in developing strat- egies to help us reach our vision of a better EPA. ~ Managers and employees alike believe these de- velopmental experiences can benefit them personally and professionally, and help to establish vital com- munication links and better working relationships. Better performance man- agement strategies were dis- cussed by Chicago's region- al representative. Top man- agers there have helped to shape new performance standards which more accurately reflect real-world duties. Region 4 recounted their experience in anticipating changes in the skills needed by Atlanta's staff. It was a self-contained project, from the ground up, with em- ployees analyzing the in- formation and making rec- ommendations about future actions. Similarly, Region 10 and the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances show- cased their innovative efforts to aggressively pur- sue management excellence. They argued convincingly that their employees' morale and productivity have improved and they want to expand their efforts further. Deputy Administrator Al Aim opened the conference, presenting a strategic vision for developing EPA's hu- man resources over the next decade and beyond. Recognizing that "an in- stitution is no better than the people that compose it." Aim said that, "We must revolutionize career pat- terns that have become worn and comfortable, but that impede us from doing the task at hand. In doing Region 2 representative presents innovations in human resource management. Sharing good ideas and good times. ------- |