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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 14 June 1985
Coping With a Burning Issue
In a dim cafe, Bette Davis
and Paul Henreid gaze into
each other's eyes. Are these
two in love? Paul lights two
cigarettes, inhales deeply on
both of them, and tenderly
places one between Bette's
lips. Now the audience
knows they're in love.
They don't make scenes
like that any more.
For good reason. These
days smoking has become a
major health and safety issue,
turning friends, families, and
colleagues against each other.
It certainly has become an
economic issue as courts and
workman's compensation
plans have increasingly
honored disability claims by
employees exposed to others'
smoking.
Both as an environmental
institution and as an
employer, EPA certainly
hasn't been exempt from the
controversy. How has it faced
the problem of
accommodating some 13,000
environmentally-conscious
employees spread out in ten
regional offices and a score of
laboratories and research
centers?
According to Bob Magor,
Director of EPA's
Occupational Health and
Safety staff, Agency policy is
moving to a consensus that
smoking should be treated as
an occupational health issue.
"Previous EPA policy
addressed smoking primarily
as a fire hazard/nuisance
problem," says Magor.
"When co-workers differed, it
set up supervisors as
mediators, but a failure to
reach some agreement
favored the smoker. But if
you treat smoking as a health
issue, it's going to favor
non-smokers." Magor's staff
has just circulated a draft
smoking policy for review
within the Agency. It offers
general guidelines, but at a
minimum would require all
EPA locations:
•	To adopt policies that
protect employees from
direct, involuntary exposure
to others' smoking.
•	To promote, at Agency
expense, smokers'
involvement in recognized
smoking clinics and other
stop-smoking programs.
At headquarters, the
policy would ban all smoking
in auditoriums, classrooms,
conference rooms, corridors,
walk-in service areas, and
any offices or open spaces
where employees object to
smoking by other employees
in the same room.
Supervisors may try to
improve the situation by
changing work locations and
using fans or air purifiers,
but if the non-smokers
continue to object, smoking
would be banned.
Regions 1 and 3 have
already implemented more
stringent rules. Region 1 has
banned all smoking in the
building, with the exception
of two designated restrooms;
Region 3 not only banned
smoking everywhere except
for some designated vending
rooms, it has also instituted
penalties to enforce the ban.
Penalties range from official
reprimand to dismissal,
depending on the
circumstances.
Regional officials feel that
their policies are working
well. "People are basically
honoring the rules," says
James Marks of Region 3.
"What I've observed is that
people pretty much are trying
to stick with it. I know one
real chain smoker—a
five-pack a day man—and
I've not seen him smoke in
his office. I've seen him in
the vending room, but not
smoking in his office. In fact,
smoking employees are
taking their work to the
vending areas and setting up
shop there."	\ /
()()
To help employees cope
with the ban, both regions
have subsidized
stop-smoking help. In Region
1, employees chose the clinic
or method they felt would
work best, with the Agency
paying up to $100 of the cost.
They also were allowed to
attend classes during normal
work hours. Region 3 also
paid for employee courses.
Region 10 has one
designated smoking space,
which also is set up as an
eating area. In addition, all
job announcements for the
region notify applicants that
smoking is prohibited. It's
not quite yet a job
qualification to be a
non-smoker, but it's getting
close.
Region 9 was the first to
have a smoking policy based
on health. "The city of San
Francisco asked for a copy of
our order when it was
developing its municipal
policy," says Ray Ramos, "so
I guess people were
interested in it, but at first
we were in limbo all by
ourselves."
Smoking is banned in all
Region 9 classrooms,
corridors, conference rooms,
restrooms, part of the
employee lunchroom, and in
offices and open spaces.
Employees are permitted to
smoke at their work stations
if all employees within a
radius of about 25 feet do not
object. Smoking in private
offices also is permitted if
authorized by the office
director, but Ramos says that
most employees have just
tried to avoid smoking. "All
of our smokers have been
very considerate," he says,
and he credits Region 9's
success to good employee
involvement and strong
union/managemeni support.
"Before we published our
order, we circulated a draft to
every employee and asked for
comments. We got a lot of
response and incorporated a
lot of ideas. But our success
is also due to the California
attitude that health is
important and we should
enjoy it while we've got
it." ~

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People
Recipients of Unusually Outstanding awards for
performance leading to major progress for the Agency are:
Joseph Carra, OPTS, for leadership of the OTS Quality
Assurance Program . . . Linda Fisher, Office of the
Administrator, for performance as OSWER's principal point of
contact for the Congress during the reauthorization of RCRA
and CERCLA . . . Carl Kohnert, Region 9, for enhancing the
presentation and understanding of the national air pollution
problem through state-of-the-art computer graphics . . . Susan
Lepow, Office of General Counsel, for contributions to the
promulgation of technically sound and legally defensible
effluent guidelines . . . David Stonefield, Air and Radiation,
for contributions to the revision of regulations limiting
emissions of air pollution at industrial plants with tall
smokestacks. The five were selected by the Administrator and
EPA's Awards Board from nominations submitted by Regional
and Assistant Administrators.
J
"Unusually Outstanding" award recipients (Left to RighfJ Carl
Kohnert, Jr., (Administrator Lee Thomas) Linda Fisher, Susan
Lepow, Joseph Carra. and David Stonefield.
Bronze Medals awarded to: Joe Lowry, Douglas Kendall.
and Richard Garnas, Enforcement and Compliance
Monitoring . . . Pamela Harris, Lorie Roeser, James Littell, Jo
Ann Semones, and Charles Lincoln, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances.
Quality Step Increases awarded to: Keith Onsdorff,
Rebecca Pacheco, Johnny Lee, Janice Vega, Susan Ritta,
Gloria Hunt, Dixon McClary, Robert Laidlaw, James
Slovinski, and Konrad Nottingham, Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring . . . Sarah Black and Minerva Corsey,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Susan Tejada, External
Affairs . . . Mahesh Podar, Policy, Planning and Evaluation.
Special Act Awards presented to: Charles Nauman, Paul
Des Rosiers, Michael Dellarco, and Lisa Gray, Research and
Development . . . Stephen Weil and Leonard Fleckenstein,
Policy, Planning and Eveluation . . . Gloria Hamm, Water . . .
Ann Stavala, Carol Nielsen, Karl Arne, Richard Balcomb,
Geraldine Fristrom, John Jordan, Thelma Resper, Daniel
Rieder, Charles Adams, Patricia Ott, Richard Stevens, Lori
Tripoli, Richard Farringer, Charles Lewis, Richard Morash,
Alison Kerester, Stuart Cohen, Steve Johnson, Elizabeth
Leovey, Orville Payntner, John Seitz, Frederick Betz. and
John Davidson, Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Dixon
McClary, Geraldine Hilden, William Graff, Douglas Kendall,
Jane Chadbourne, William Steakley, William Gillespie, Earl
Beam, Marcia Colvin, Gary Young, Rebecca Pacheco, Ella
Pike, Patricia Miller, Peter Rosenberg, and Larry Wilbon,
Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring . . . Betty Mingo,
Nellie Gales, William English, Faith Samples, Joseph
Sullivan, Janice Wingfield, Carol Crumby, and Henry
Washington, Administration and Resources Management . . .
Margaret Lee, Air and Radiation . . . Cynthia Brown, Water . .
Brenda Green, External Affairs.
Sustained Superior Performance Awards presented to:
Willie Staton, Shirley Jackson, Broam Smith, and Michael
Shamus, Administration and Resources Management . . .
Sharon Payne, Mattie Bright, and Sylvia Correa, Air and
Radiation . . . Ellen Spitalnik, Russell Forba, Eugene
Lubieniecki, Bruce Binkley, Elizabeth Leaird, Patricia Fisher,
Clayton Clark, and Robert Boodey, Enforcement and
Compliance Monitoring . . . Virginia Garvin, Irving Mauer,
Clinton Fletcher, Sarah Heath, Stephen Dapson, Kristallo
Pappajohn, Norma Shea, Rebecca Torchia, Louis Kasza,
Richard Lee, Daniel Saunders, Curtis Laird, Belinda Jones,
Francis Mann, Leslie Touart, Susan Lawrence, Nancy
Landreville, Russell Cook. Pamela Hasty, Joseph Jamison.
John Quest. Robert Hoist, Mario Fiol, Catherine Colleli, Mary
Radzikowski, John Chen, Brian Dementi, Joan Moyer Marion
Copley, Christine Giles, Rose Jackson, and Shirley Waugh,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances . . . Robert Steward, Brian
Smith, William Whitehouse, and Shirley Jackson,
Administration and Resources Management . . . Barry Elman,
Zenita Thompson, and Ann Fisher, Policy, Planning and
Evaluation . . . Judith Hamilton and Anne Brent, Research
and Development . . . Louise Wise, Office of the General
Counsel.
Correction: In the May issue. Tribute of Appreciation
recipient Tom Hadd was mistakenly listed as Jim Hadd. n
Available Information
Available now from the National Technical Information
Service is the EPA Publication Bibliography. PB84-158500.
1977-1983. For further information call 800-336-4700.
Proceedings of the National Conference on Wasfe
Exchange, held on March 5-6, 1985, in Tallahassee, Florida
are available from the National Conference on Waste
Exchange, P.O. Box 6487, Tallahassee, Florida 32313. The
price is $13.50 per copy.
Selections from EPA Library holdings which may be of general interest.
Gaining Access to U.S. Government Information on the
Environment and Natural Resources. Bv F.M. O'Hara, Jr.. and
Laura O'Hara. REF JK8731. 037. 1984.
High-Technology Policies: A Five-Nation Comparison. By
Richard R. Nelson. HD 9696. A2N45. 1984.
Improving Environmental Cooperation: the Holes of
Multinational Corporations and Developing Countries: the
Report of a Panel of Business Leaders and Other Experts
Convened by the World Resources Institute. HC79. E5I46.
Improving World Health: A Least Cost Strategy. By
William U. Chandler. RA 410. 5.C47. 1984.
The National Energy Policy Plan: A Report to the
Congress Required by Title VIII of the Dept. of Energy
Organization Act (Public Law 95-91 J. HD 9502. U52E5261.
1983.
Third Annual Report on Carcinogens: Summary,
September, 1983. By U.S. Dept. of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service. RC 268.6. T44. 1983.
Vital Statistics on Congress. By Norman J. Ornstein, et. al.
JK 1041.V58. 1984. ~

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Agency Activities
"intinued use of the pesticide dinocap allowed by EPA
d on Agency's review of new laboratory studies
undertaken to determine the product's potential risks.
Dinocap (trade name Karathane) is primarily a fungicide, but
it has limited use for controlling mites. Approximately 91
percent of it is used on apple trees to control powdery
mildew and mites. EPA's concerns about the health risks of
dinocap are presently limited to those who mix, load and
apply the chemical. The Agency has found that dietary
exposure to humans through food crops on which dinocap is
applied is not significant.
Final rule issued by EPA requiring large underground
uranium mines to install bulkheads to reduce the release of
radiation into the air. EPA has set a work-practice standard
that requires inactive mine areas to be sealed off (a procedure
called "bulkheading") to reduce the levels of radon-222 (a
uranium decay product). The bulkheading would allow
radon-222 to decay in the closed-off areas rather than be
discharged into the atmosphere.
Region 3 has determined that Union Carbide's plans to
resume production of methyl isocyanate at its plant in
Institute, W. Va. should not endanger the residents of the
Kanawha Valley.
Pilot program launched by Agency to speed up the process
of collecting the data it needs to re-register the non-food uses
of pesticides. Under this program, the Agency is requiring
registrants to review all available data and to provide the
Agency with a complete data base to support the registration
of their products. This "data call-in" program covers 31
non-food use pesticides in an estimated 2,500 products.
^Klean Sites Inc., a private organization created to expedite
]Wvate-party cleanup at abandoned hazardous waste sites, has
been authorized by EPA to begin considering whether and
how the group should get involved in the cleanup of 19 sites.
Clean Sites requested authorization to evaluate these 19 sites
under an earlier agreement in which EPA said it would
indemnify the group against third-party liability.
EPA has granted a conditional registration for the pesticide
Larvadex, which is used to control fly larvae in the manure of
egg-producing chickens. Larvadex (chemical name
cyromazine) is a feed-through insecticide mixed with the
chicken feed. The registration is for use only with caged layer
hens.
EPA releases its annual air pollution trends report showing
that America is continuing to make progress in improving its
air quality. Sulfur dioxide ambient air quality levels have
improved 36 percent; ambient carbon monoxide levels have
improved 33 percent; ambient particulate levels have
improved 20 percent; lead levels in the ambient air have
improved 67 percent; ambient nitrogen dioxide levels have
deteriorated from 1975 to 1979 and then began improving,
resulting in an overall improvement of 4 percent; ozone levels
actually increased from 1982 to 1983, although there was
still an 8-percent overall improvement during the period from
1975 to 1983.
EPA has announced that it will encourage the use of
alternatives to land disposal for sites cleaned up under the
Superfund program. Under the new policy, the Agency
must consider treating the hazardous wastes as an
alternative to disposal for both short-term and long-term
response actions. If treatment is unavailable—or if it is not a
cost-effective solution for long-term cleanup—and offsite land
disposal is necessary, the Agency will require the disposal
facility to meet current federal requirements for safe
management of hazardous wastes.
Effective May 7, service stations and certain other small
businesses, industries and individuals may no longer install
many types of commonly used underground storage tanks
containing petroleum products and hazardous substances.
Only underground storage tanks that are constructed of a
noncorrosive material, are cathodically protected, are steel
clad with a non-corrosive material, or are designed to prevent
releases of stored substances may be installed.
Speaking Out; "The content of press releases is an EPA
internal matter at all times. It is against EPA policy to
negotiate the Agency's option to issue press releases, or the
substance of press releases, with parties outside of EPA,
particularly those parties involved in settlements, consent
decrees or the regulatory process . . . An agency with a
significant enforcement role such as EPA or Justice could not
fulfill its function if it were to allow the regulated community
to determine the content of its public reports."—Deputy
Administrator Jim Barnes, in a memorandum to Agency
management. ~
Conferences, Etc.	
A conference on "Telephone Communications in the
Federal Government" will be held June 24-26, 1985, in
Washington, DC. The conference will examine what
managors, supervisors and users need to know about
telephone communications in the Federal government. For
more information, contact U.S. Professional Development
Institute, 1620 Elton Road, Silver Spring, Md. 20903
telephone 301-445-4400.
The Municipal Construction Division of EPA's Office of
Water is conducting its 1985 Annual GICS User Group
Meeting in Boston July 10-11. The meeting will consist of
headquarters, regional, and state managers and users
responsible for managing the Grants Information and Control
System (GICS) which is the data base used for monitoring all
aspects of the construction grants program. For more
information, contact Rick Martin at 382-5837 or Walter
Johnson at 382-7282.
National Water Well Association (NWWA) is sponsoring the
second annual "Eastern Regional Ground Water Conference"
July 16-18, in Portland, Maine. For more information, contact
Lisa Ammerman or Paula Williams at NWWA, 500 W. Wilson
Bridge Rd., Worthington, Ohio 43085. Telephone 614-846-9355.
EPA's Health Effects Research Laboratorysin Cincinnati is
sponsoring a "Symposium on Health Effects of Drinking
Water Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products" August
27-29 in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, contact
Andrea Donoghue at 617-661-3700. ~
Thp FPA Times is published monthly to provido nowc and information for and about EPA omploycco Roadors arc encouraged to submit nevvo of
themselves and of fellow employees, letters of opinion, questions, comments, and suggestions to: The EPA Times, Office of Public Affairs (A-107)
Telephone 475-6642. Information selected for publication will be edited as necessary in keeping with space available
Features Editor- Margherita Pryor Columns Editor Marilyn Rogers

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Around EPA	
Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) will
again conduct the GEICO Public Service Award Program in
1985 to honor four federal employees for outstanding
contributions in Alcoholism, Fire Prevention and Safety,
Physical Rehabilitation, and Traffic Safety and Accident
Prevention. In addition, one retired federal employee will be
honored for contributions made since retirement in one of
these four areas. For more information, contact G.T. Jackson,
GEICO, GEICO Plaza, Washington, DC 20076. Telephone
301-986-2039.
On March 7 and 8, EPA participated in the 1985 Blood
Drive sponsored by the American Red Cross. This Drive
provided an opportunity for Agency employees to donate
blood for people in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The
Personnel Management Division would like to thank the
recruitment committee and all employees who gave blood.
The agency collected 172 pints, which was 86 percent of the
goal. The next Blood Drive is scheduled for June 13-14.
The Audio-Visual Division of EPA is looking for
volunteers who might wish to be part of the EPA Chorus, and
any instrumental groups that may be formed. If you are
interested call Ruth on 382-2044.
A "Support Careers Advisory Committee" is being
established to advise the Office of Human Resources
Management of ways to increase productivity, satisfaction,
and growth through work, and improve the quality of life of
support positions such as clerks and secretaries at EPA. The
recommendations from this Committee will aid the Office of
Human Resources Management in developing EPA's career
management system to aid employees in choosing appropriate
development options to enhance their career planning. For
more information, call Sandy Bembry or Carolyn Scott on
475-8833. ~
Deputy Administrator James Barnes (left) discusses the exhibits
at the Washington Information Center Open House with Ed
Han ley (OIRM DirectorJ and Lou Garrett (WIC Open House
Coordinator). More than 800 EPA headquarters employees
participated in the recent two-day event. Co-sponsored by the
Of/ice of Information Resources Management and WIC, the
32-exhibit activity offered demonstrations and displays ranging
from the Chesapeake Bay Program and the extensive database
search capability of the headquarters' library, to the availability
of such equipment as the Laser Printer and the Optical Character
Reader.
Open Season for FEGLI
by Jueiee Street
From June 1 through July
1, 1985, employees eligible to
participate in the FEGLI
Program will be given an
opportunity to submit a new
life insurance election. Only
employees who wish to
change their participation
status or level of coverage
will have to complete a
SF-2817. Employees satisfied
with their existing coverage
need take no action. Previous
waivers or declinations of
coverage will remain in effect
unless the employee submits
a new election.
Changes will be effectiv
August 4, 1985. Basic life
insurance coverage rates will
change from 22 cents per
thousand dollars of coverage
to 20 cents per thousand of
coverage. All optional
insurance rates will remain
the same.
A "FEGLI 85" open
enrollment booklet (FE 74-A),
which provides instructions
and describes the open
enrollment period, is
available from Administrative
Officers in Headquarters and
Personnel Officers in the
Regions. ~
Environmental News
A selection of noteworthy lines chosen from the 300-400 newspaper and
magazine articles on environmental mailers which we receive every (wo
weeks.
"An area site off the New Jersey coast in which the
Environmental Protection Agency wants specially equipped'
ships to burn toxic wastes has been found an important
habitat of the endangered sperm whale and other marine
mammals. The finding by the National Marine Fisheries
Service was reported to the environmental agency last month,
and could delay or prevent use of the area for testing
incineration as a method of disposing of dangerous chemicals.
It is about 140 miles southeast of New York harbor and 115
miles east of Atlantic City."—New York Times, 4/2.
"Sweden has discovered a method of turning dirty,
sulphurous coal into a clean substitute for oil— an ideal fuel
for the ecological age. This spring the world's first
commercial 'fluid-carbon' refinery in the city of Malmo began
producing a mixture of coal, water and chemicals —its exact
composition is a closely-guarded secret -as a cheap substitute
for heating oil."—Boston Sunday Globe. 4/28.
"When California officials were considering how they
would cope with Los Angeles' notorious smog during the
Olympic Games last summer, they looked to an unlikely
source for help— the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. Specifically, they were interested in the laser
technology of Edward V. Browell and his little-known group
of government scientists, technology that is slowly enabling
man to measure better the hazardous particles and gasses in
the atmosphere."—Wall Street Journal, 4/5.
"Restocking lakes and streams with fish bred at hatcheries
is a time-tested practice with a proven record of success. But
a group of marine biologists are embarking on uncharted
water as they attempt to restock Pacific Ocean coastal wattj|
with two species of fish whose numbers have declined
drastically in recent years. If the $500,000, state-funded
restocking program is successful, the biologists say,
sport fishermen and commercial fishermen in Southern
California could begin finding larger schools of white sea bass
and California halibut in coastal waters."—Los Angeles
Times, 4/1. ~

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