rt€0 ST4. Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory Las Vegas ------- SECOND QUARTER REPORT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND SUPPORT LABORATORY LAS VEGAS April through June 1977 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND SUPPORT LABORATORY LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89114 ------- CONTENTS Page EVENTS OF GENERAL INTEREST 1 BIOLOGICAL MONITORING 3 MONITORING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT 6 EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES DEVELOPMENT 8 MONITORING 9 QUALITY ASSURANCE 11 TECHNICAL SUPPORT 13 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORTS 17 ------- EVENTS OF GENERAL INTEREST Mr. George B. Morgan, Director of the Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas, attended the Second National Conference on the Interagency Energy/En- vironment Research and Development Program held in Wash- ington, D.C., on June 6 and 7. Mr. Morgan was Rapporteur of Session IV: Measurement and Monitoring. On June 20, Mr. Morgan attended the Program Committee Meeting of the Fourth Joint Conference on Sensing of En- vironmental Pollutants. This meeting, held in Denver, Colorado, was to finalize the program for the Conference to be held in November. Members of the Radiochemistry Subcommittee of the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Work Group met at the Las Vegas Laboratory on May 3. The purpose of the meeting was to review and revise the radiation portion of the criteria and procedures manual in response to public comments. Mr. Arthur N. Jarvis, Chief of the Quality Assurance Branch of the Laboratory's Monitoring Systems Research and Development Division and the chairman of the Radiochemistry Subcommittee of the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Work Group, participated in a training course in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 17 and 18. Mr. Jarvis discussed radiation lab- oratory evaluation procedures. Specific topics of discussion included goals and philosophy, the Interim Drinking Water Regulations for Radiation, and the changes made in the cri- teria and procedures manual in response to public comments. The course was designed to provide sufficient instruction to qualify the attendees to carry out a chemical laboratory certification inspection according to the current criteria and procedures manual. Mr. Lee H. Ziegler, also of the Quality Assurance Branch, attended a meeting of the American National Standards Institute subcommittee in Gaithersburg, Maryland, May 11 and 12. The agenda included writing standards to be promulgated for "lithium-drifted germanium detectors," liquid scintillation counting systems, ion chambers and sodium iodide detectors. On May 13, Mr. Ziegler visited the radioactivity section of the National Bureau of Standards. Discussions involved the 1 ------- development and use of the 1-pi alpha detector built by the Las Vegas Laboratory, the refinement and modifications of the 4-pi beta-gamma coincidence system, the absolute counting techniques using liquid scintillation counting, the EPA/NBS traceability program, and an interagency agree- ment between the EPA and the NBS. 2 ------- BIOLOGICAL MONITORING DAIRY COWS AND GOATS Preliminary analytical data obtained from a previous study on americium transport in dairy cows were presented last quarter. Americium-241 decays through the emission of alpha particles and 36 percent of its disintegrations are accompanied by a 60 kiloelectron-volt gamma ray which was counted for sample analysis. During the 168-hour experi- mental period, approximately 5.5 and 2.8 percent of an intravenous dose (citrate-buffered americium nitrate) was transferred to bovine urine and milk respectively. In the orally exposed cows_famericium nitrate), approximately 1.0 x 10 and 4.0 x 10 percent of the dose was recovered in the urine and milk respectively. As expected, a major portion of the oral dose (about 87 percent) had been re- covered in the feces by the time of sacrifice. Due perhaps to biliary transport, loss from intestinal cells and/or gastrointestinal glandular secretions, 2.8 percent of the intravenous dose was also recovered in the feces during this post-exposure interval. Following the intravenous dose, americium was removed rapidly from the plasma and the extrapolated volume of body plasma contained only 3 percent of the original injection 8 hours after dosing. Less than 1 percent of the dose remained after 48 hours and 5.5 x 10" percent was noted at the time of sacrifice. The gastrointestinal uptake of americium was gradual and this was reflected by similar plasma concentractions from post-dosing hour 24 to hour 72. The total plasma volume never contained more than 5.0 x 10 percent of the oral dose at any given post-exposure collection time. At the time of sacrifice, 1.8 x 10 percent of the dose re- mained in the plasma. The gastrointestinal uptake of americium-241 nitrate in dairy cows appears to be approximately 0.02 percent of the oral dose, but this is a preliminary estimate. Therefore, americium nitrate uptake is apparently similar to the gas- trointestinal uptake value previously reported for citrate- buffered plutonium-238 nitrate in dairy cows. A percentage of samples and standards from the americium study have been submitted for radiochemical analysis. 3 ------- Dairy goats were used in a second study on americium metabolism. Two goats were given intravenous injections of citrate-buffered americium (41.7 microcuries per animal) and two were given single oral americium nitrate doses of 1.91 microcuries. Samples of milk, urine, feces, and blood were collected as before 7 days after dosing. On the 8th day post-treatment, the animals were sacrificed and tissues were collected. The tissues collected were the same type that had been sampled during the cow study and included bone, liver, kidney, spleen, muscle, lungs, gonads, lymph nodes, and blood. When all phases of the study are completed, the degree of gastrointestinal absorption, tissue retention, and rate of americium excretion will be reported for both groups of dairy animals. The alimentary solubility and behavior of neptunium- 234 were studied in an artificial rumen and simulated bovine gastrointestinal fluids. Shortly after the addition of nep- tunium- 234 to rumen juice, an average minimum of 6.4 percent and an average maximum of 31.0 percent remained soluble during three trials. From 3.5 percent to 17.5 percent remained soluble following the artificial rumen incubation period, from 5.0 percent to 9.4 percent following the abomasal period, and from 10.2 percent to 17.9 percent and 10.0 percent to 21.8 percent when held at pH 4.0 and 5.0, respectively, in the duodenal phase. The solubility increased to 45.3 percent to 59.5 percent during the jejunal incubation period and was reduced to 18.5 percent to 19.9 percent during the lower intestinal incubation period. The sharp rise in neptunium-234 solubility during the jejunal incubation period was found to be due mainly to the action of bile. A comparison of these results with those from a previous study with citrate-buffered plutonium-238 solution indicates qualitative similarities in trends, but a moderately lower solubility of neptunium-234 in most digestive stages. The laboratory portion of a study of the solubility of americium-241 in an artificial rumen and simulated bovine gastrointestinal fluids was completed. Preliminary calculations indicate that the qualitative behavior of americium-241 nitrate is generally similar to that of plutonium-238 nitrate. These data can be used to predict the transfer of these actinides to milk and tissues from contaminated environments. 4 ------- BEEF CATTLE The semi-annual sacrifice and necropsy of six animals from the Nevada Test Site beef herd were conducted. Sel- ected tissues were sampled for histopathological and radio- nuclide analyses. In conjunction with this ongoing program to monitor for possible uptake of radionuclides by animals inhabiting the Nevada Test Site, samples for analysis are taken from wildlife collected or found dead as a result of accident. During this period, three golden eagles which were accident victims, two mule deer, and 11 rabbits were collected. Fistulas were created and permanent cannula were in- stalled in four steers in preparation for grazing studies planned for later in the year. MULE DEER The migratory habits of mule deer that reside on the Nevada Test Site are of interest to the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nevada Department of Fish and Game on the possibility that these deer may contain radionuclide concentrations and may be harvested by hunters. Although no significant concentrations of radionuclides have been found in Test Site deer to date, the deer are being equipped with radio transmitter collars and are being tracked weekly via ground and/or aerial reconnaissance. During this period, nearly all of the 11 deer equipped with collars in 1976 returned to the Test Site areas near where they were originally captured. The placement of collars of ten ad- ditional deer has begun with the capture of three deer. 5 ------- MONITORING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT The airborne chlorophyll, algae and dye fluorosensing system has been successfully field tested. Results suggest that a significant refinement could be incorporated into an operational fluorosensor by adding a channel of data that would correct for the effects of water transmission. Ground and flight testing of the earth-reflected dif- ferential absorption device have been completed. Although the results confirm the feasibility for constructing an operational system, the current lasers are not satisfactory in an airborne environment. A new system will be assembled pending the selection of suitable lasers. A feasibility study suggests that a differential ab- sorption system using infrared frequencies for measuring sulfur dioxide has significant disadvantages as compared to an ultraviolet system. Construction of a sulfur dioxide monitor should be directed toward the ultraviolet approach. Data have been collected using the Rapid Scanning Spectrometer in the Lake Powell, Lake Tahoe, and San Fran- cisco Bay areas and data reduction has begun. Although the helicopter used for the suspended sediment study was inactive temporarily for maintenance and repair, enough water samples and data have been collected to assure no schedule slippage in the program. All chemical and physical data and programs have been transferred to the COMNET system and the editing of the in situ data and grab sample data has been completed. The new thermal infrared survey has been implemented using the Daedalus DS-1260 Multispectral Scanner and Data Analysis System computer. Demonstration products of its capabilities were generated and the system is presently on scheduled missions. Technical work on the environmental photo interpreta- tion key for sanitary landfills is completed and a document is being prepared for publication. The light aircraft sensor pod (Enviro-Pod) currently » undergoing operational suitability testing was demonstrated for Region I and IV program offices. Imagery was provided the Regions as part of the demonstration. 6 ------- In the Small-Basin Nonpoint Source Prototype Study, the analysis and compilation of biological data for the compre- hensive report are 90 percent complete in the form of tables of descriptive statistics. The final two sets of biological samples are being reviewed for incorporation of the results into combined tables. This project involves the field testing of nonpoint source water quality monitoring techniques in the oil shale area of eastern Utah, near the White River. The aim is to test and validate monitoring techniques and pro- cedures appropriate to quantitating the contribution of nonpoint source pollutants to surface waters in an area of anticipated oil shale development. A methodology for designing ambient air quality mon- itoring networks was developed. The report, listed in the Publications Section following, presents a methodology for designing a carbon monoxide monitoring network based on the objectives of identifying concentrations that exceed the national ambient air quality standards. Developed for application to reactive or nonreactive pollutant monitoring, the methodology is currently undergoing a field test in the design of a carbon monoxide monitoring network. The field test is being conducted in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. 7 ------- EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES DEVELOPMENT The Western Energy/Environment Monitoring Atlas, present- ing an overview of five minor drainage basins in the Western Energy Resource Development Area, has been completed. Several copies were presented at a conference in Washington, D.C. An Appendix is being prepared. The purpose of the Atlas is to synthesize monitoring information into an inte- grated format wherein both the geographical pattern of sources and the geographical extent of media quality (air, water, and land) can be displayed. A report from IIT Research Institute describing the microscopy on the size-fractionating cascade impactor head for the high volume (Hi-Vol) sampler indicates that soil particulates dominate both size fractions. This unexpected result will require a more thorough investigation before a network of these samplers can be established. In the energy-related western regional air monitoring study, three new air-quality monitoring stations were established to replace the three discontinued sites in the Ute Research Laboratory network. The entering of the Ute network data into the SAROAD system was enhanced by the development of a program which ensures correct coding. Two of the six size-fractionating samplers were located in Utah for activation in characterizing particulates. Samplers in this six-unit network will be operated by personnel of the Ute Laboratory and the National Park Service. An operator's manual for the sampler was published for use by these operators. The Daedalus Multispectral Scanner System was successfully acceptance tested in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The system, designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is being used for monitoring purposes with NASA assistance in technical problem areas. During this phase of the pro- ject, ground truth teams are in the field and the aircraft is collecting data in the Northern Great Plains and Four Corners areas. 8 ------- MONITORING AIR The Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS) in St. Louis, Missouri, ended on June 30. A final report describing the 3-year sampling program and outlining the type of data that is to be in the RAPS helicopter data bank was completed and distributed for scientific review. Data collected by heli- copter platforms will be used to define air quality in the vertical extension over fixed Regional Air Monitoring Stations. These data will be used for validating urban scale air quality models. All data are being provided to the RAPS data base in magnetic tape format. To date, 400 tapes have been processed. The monitoring phase of the Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, study ended June 30. The study, conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineering Center and the Argonne National Laboratory, comprised a five-station (trailer) network to test the ability of existing air quality simulation models to estimate the impact of airport emissions on air quality. Summary tables of hourly averages per month by pollutant and sampling system were generated. Data for the April to June, 1977, and June to September, 1976, mon- itoring are being edited. Also, a short-term gas-filtered correlation spectrometer study was completed to assess vertical jet exhaust rise. An interagency agreement is being reviewed by the EPA to establish a two-trailer network at the Miramar, California, Naval Air Station. RADIATION Radiological safety support was provided for all nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site during this quarter. Prior to each test, the probable location and activities of rural residents at test time were determined and, for each test, mobile monitors and aerial surveillance personnel were deployed in the off-site areas. Other Laboratory personnel served as advisors to the U.S. Energy Research and Develop- ment Administration. Test Controller and coordinated off- site surveillance activities from the Test Site Control Point. No radioactivity was released during the detonation phase of any test. 9 ------- Plans are underway to modify the computer programs for the Air Surveillance Network to expedite the sample-counting process and produce a more useful report format. A major change will permit the use of individual sampler calibration curves for computer calculation of sample volumes instead of an average curve for all samplers. In the Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring Program, 108 water samples were collected including annual samples at the sites of Projects Dribble in Mississippi, Gasbuggy and Gnome in New Mexico, Rulison and Rio Blanco in Colorado, and on the Nevada Test Site; monthly and semi-annual samples on the Test Site; and 16 special samples from two wells under study on the Test Site. To determine the source of occasional high tritium levels in nearby surface waters, 20 water samples and 34 soil samples were collected at the site of Project Dribble. Tritium concentrations as high as 640,000 picocuries per liter of water recovered from the soil were found in areas previously believed to be uncontaminated. Personnel and station thermoluminescent dosimeters were exchanged offsite for the second and third quarter exchanges. Quarterly milk samples were collected from 21 locations around the Nevada Test Site and milk was sampled at 130 locations in the Western U.S. for the annual activation of the Standby Milk Surveillance Network. The annual milk cow survey was completed for California and Utah. The Nevada portion will be completed in August and the new Directory published by October. The deep-well sampling system was used to perform temperature logging at the Faultless Site in the Central Nevada Test Area in support of the U.S. Geological Survey. 10 ------- QUALITY ASSURANCE Standard reference samples of radium-228 prepared by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) under an interagency agreement were received by the Las Vegas Laboratory. These standards are needed for the implementation of the Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations which require that public water systems be monitored for radium. These samples are available for distribution to State health departments and other laboratories involved in monitoring public water systems. A 1-pi alpha particle detector, similar to those currently in use at the NBS, was fabricated, assembled, and calibrated. This detector is for making precise and accurate measurements of alpha particle activity deposited on either planchets or filters. During this quarter, 452 calibrated samples of 26 different radionuclides were distributed to user laboratories. Included in the distributed samples were Mancos Shale, characterized for radium-226 and radium-228 by the NBS and radium-228 solution standards prepared by the NBS. Also included in the distribution were soil samples characterized for uranium, thorium, and their daughter products. Solution standards of plutonium-239 prepared by the NBS were distributed to regular user laboratories and to 28 laboratories partici- pating in a study of plutonium-239 measurements. Final reports were issued to participants in the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory Intercomparison Studies Program for nine different cross-check analysies: December - Gamma in water, tritium in water, radium-226 in water, tritium in urine, and air filter; January - milk, and gross alpha and gross beta in water; February - gamma in water and tritium in water. At the request of the respective Regions, data for the States in Regions I, VII, IX, and X participating in the intercomparison studies were retrieved and summarized and evaluations were provided to the Regions. A new cross-check program for analyzing radionuclides in soil was initiated during this quarter. The types of cross-check analyses and the number of participating labora- tories during this quarter are shown in the following table: 11 ------- Type of Cross-check Participating Laboratories April May June Air filter -- -- 69 Gamma in water 68 -- 77 Gross alpha and gross beta in water -- 65 Milk -- 57 Radium-226 in water -- -- 48 Tritium in urine -- -- 16 Tritium in water 82 -- 71 Food -- 28 Krypton-85 in air 15 Soil -- 16 12 ------- TECHNICAL SUPPORT In the assessment of the extent of lake eutrophication, the following National Eutrophication Survey reports were completed: 4 Phytoplankton State Summaries in the in-depth analyses of lake conditions and 18 reports on individual lakes in Louisiana, 3 in Oklahoma, and 2 in Missouri. The Eastern Lakes report, the Western Lakes report, eight Phy- toplankton State Summaries, Volume I of the Phytoplankton/ Nutrient Relations report and individual lake reports from Arizona and New Mexico, Washington, and Idaho, and Nevada are near completion. Also the computer files with the 1974 Phytoplankton data were completed. Of the 49 on-going technical support projects being conducted for EPA Regional Offices by the Las Vegas Labor- atory's Remote Sensing Division, the following were completed during this quarter. These projects included the acquisition, processing and delivery of data collected from aerial platforms. These data were presented in the form of color and infrared photography, map sheets, annotated overlays or other imagry displays. o locate and document by way of photo-interpre tat ion industrial sludge sites in Region I. o provide prints and attached annotated overlays depicting drainage and agriculture erosion and runoff of Sever and Whitney Brooks areas in Region I. o provide annotated overlays to map sheets and selected photographs depicting environmental conditions along the Lamoille and Winooski Rivers and Lower Otter Creek in Region I. o conduct aerial outfall inventory of Raritan River in Region II. o inventory and inspect oil facilities along the Delaware River in Region II. o provide aerial imagry of selected sites for enforcement-related environmental information in Region III. o locate and inspect oil storage facilities by way of aerial imagry in support of the Spill Preven- tion Control and Countermeasures Program (SPCC) in Region III. o inventory and inspect selected oil facilities in Michigan and Ohio for Region V. 13 ------- o detect and locate seepage from Morgan Lake in Region VI. o collect aerial imagry to document selected uranium mill tailings sites in New Mexico for Region VI. o inventory specialized land use and nonpoint sources in Region VII. o provide annotated overlays to quadrangle map sheets locating nonpoint sources in Region VII. o locate and identify water outfall non-filers of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits in Region VIII. o locate and classify sediment loading in streams in Region VIII. Also in conjunction with Remote Sensing technical support projects the following overhead monitoring reports were pub- lished: o Region II - Oil Storage Facility Inventory, o Region II - Aerial Infrared Survey of Selected Electric Generating Station Thermal Discharges. o Region III - Oil Storage Facilities Inventory Report. o Region V - Aerial Reconnaissance of Selected Oil Refineries and Bulk Oil Storage Facilities in Michigan and Ohio, o Region VI - Aerial Reconnaissance of Oil and Chemical Facilities, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, Volumes I and II. o Region VIII - Waste Water Outfall Inventory. REGION II On request of Region II, Dr. Robert D. Rogers of the Monitoring Systems Research and Development Division prepared a monitoring plan concerning mercury contamination around the site of a defunct chemical manufacturing plant near Hackensack, New Jersey. Dr. Rogers inspected the site in April and in June delivered the plan complete with recom- mendations on the type and number of samples to be collected for the analysis of toxic materials, particularly mercury. The plan includes a grid designating strategic locations for sampling soil and vegetation, suggested locations for drilling wells to collect water and soil core samples, and suggestions for taking sediment samples from a creek in the area. 14 ------- REGION V In the project to determine the trophic state of fresh- water lakes using contact and LANDSAT satellite data, LANDSAT multispectral scanner data for the remainder of the 152 water bodies in Illinois were received from the Jet Propulsion Laboraboty. Correlation and regression analyses were begun to determine relationships between the data and a) tropic ranking derived from contact-sensed data, b) surface area, and c) trophic state indicators. Significant atmospheric effects are evident in the multispectral scanner data. REGION VI In the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana, Water and Land Management Study, an investigation of spoil disposal sites was begun to evaluate their relative suitability as dredge spoil deposition areas. This suitability will be defined in terms of minimal impact on water quality, internal water circulation and management unit integrity. A survey was conducted adjacent to points of major water exchange and highlands and selected possible locations for high mounding of spoil to create upland wildlife refuges. Infrared color photography was obtained for use in defining poor water cir- culation areas. Vital information was obtained from the Corps of Engineers on casements, hydrological surveys, and habitat types adjacent to proposed channelization. Samples for bio-chemical oxygen demand and carbon determinations were collected in backwater areas and in the main channel and final pesticide samples were collected at four sites in an area of extensive agricultural drainage. Data reduction and preparation of the final energetics report on the Basin have begun. Dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, and organic carbon data were compiled in response to the Corps of Engineers request to predict dissolved oxygen levels after creation of the management units in the Basin. Methods to be used for predicting dissolved oxygen and preliminary results were discussed at a meeting with Corp of Engineers personnel. REGION VIII All data have been processed in the Anaconda, Montana, Smelter Study. A target date, September 1, has been set for the final copy of the UH-1 helicopter data report and presenta- tion of a seminar for the Montana Attorney General by the Region and tbe Las Vegas Laboratory. The final copy of the H-34 helicopter data report will be available December I. 15 ------- REGION IX The final report was delivered on the first round audit calibration in the Ambient Air Monitors Program. Modifications to the dynamic calibration system are planned to optimize field performance. Data have been collected continuously for 5 months of the first 6-month period of the Hawaii Power Plant Study re- quested by the Region. This includes an intensive 2-week study of the Maui power plant. Plans for start of monitoring at the Kahe Point power plant on Oahu are near completion. Results to date indicate that use of a commercial sulfur dioxide monitor and correlation spectrometer installed in a moving vehicle can provide valuable data for validating a plume dispersion model. At the request of the Region, Mr. David G. Easterly of the Las Vegas Laboratory's Quality Assurance staff, pro- vided assistance to the California State Department of Health, Sanitation and Radiation Laboratory on June 2 and 3. Items discussed included laboratory facilities, equipment, and instrument requirements; sample collecting, handling and preservation; methodology; quality control; data handling; general laboratory procedures; and personnel requirements. 16 ------- SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORTS EPA PUBLICATIONS "Plutonium Uptake by Plants from Soil Containing Plu- tonium- 258 Particles," by K. W, Brown and J. C. McFarlane. (EPA-600/3-77-052). "Development of a Methodology for Designing Carbon Monoxide Monitoring Networks," by Mei-Kao Liu, James Meyer, Richard Pollack, Phillip M. Roth, and John H. Seinfeld, Systems Applications, Inc., San Rafael, California, and Joseph V. Behar, Leslie M. Dunn, James L. McElroy, Pong N. Lem, Ann M. Pitchford, and Nancy T. Fisher, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas; Edward A. Schuck, Project Officer. (EPA-600/4-77-019). "Air Quality Data for the Northeast Oxidant Transport Study, 1975 final data report," by G. W. Siple, C. K, Fitz- Simmons, J. J. van Ee, and K. F. Zeller. (EPA-600/4-77-020). "Monitoring Environmental Impacts of the Coal and Oil Shale Industries: Research and Development Needs," by D. C. Jones, W. S. Clark, W. F. Holland, J. C. Lacy, and E. D. Sethness, Radian Corporation, Austin, Texas; Robert K. Oser, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas, Project Officer. (EPA-600/7-77-015). "Western Energy/Environment Monitoring Atlas," by Remote Sensing Division and Monitoring Operations Division, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas. (EPA-600/7-77-047a). "Western Energy/Environment Monitoring Atlas: Overhead Monitoring Appendix," Remote Sensing Division, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas. (EPA-600/7-77- 047b). "Capabilities of the Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas," by Stuart C. Black and Geneva S. Douglas, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory- Las Vegas. (EPA-600/9-77-004). 17 ------- PAPERS PRESENTED OR PUBLISHED "Radionuclide and Heavy Metal Transport to Aerial Fungal Sporesan abstract, by F. H. F. Au and W. F. Beckert, was accepted for publication in the abstract book of the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 8 through 13. The paper, "The Role of Remote Sensing in Monitoring Pollution Associated with Energy Development," by J. A. Eckert was presented by the author at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the U.S. Public Health Service Professional Association, San Francisco, California, April 3 through 6. The following papers were presented at the North American Benthological Society meeting in Roanoke, Virginia, April 6 and 7, and at the Arizona Academy of Science, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 15 and 16: "Macroinvertebrate Sampling Techniques Applicable to Streams of Semi-Arid Regions," by C. E. Hornig and J. E. Pollard. "Macrobenthic Communities in Lake Mead, Nevada," by S. M. S. Melacon. The paper, "Detection of Mercury in Soil by Impact on a Hydrogen-Oxidizing Microorganism," by R. D. Rogers, D. V, Bradley, Jr., and J. C. McFarlane, was presented at the Arizona Academy of Science, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 15 and 16. The paper, "Aerial Photographic Survey of Vegetation Damage Caused by an Air Pollution Incident," by D. R. Williams and J. H. Long, was presented at the Remote Sensing of Natural Resources meeting at Utah State University, Logan, Utah, April 21 and 22. The paper, "The U, S. Environmental Protection Agency Program of Environmental Remote Sensing from Aircraft," by S. H. Me1fi, was presented at the Seventh Annual Symposium on the Analytical Chemistry of Pollutants, at Lake Lanier Islands, Georgia, April 25 and 27. The paper, "Remote Sensing of Air Pollution," by J. A. Eckert and R. B. Evans, was presented at the Eleventh Inter- national Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment held at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, April 26 through 29. 18 ------- The paper, "Status of Baseline Sampling for Elements in Soil and Vegetation at Four KGRA's in the Imperial Valley, California," by A. B. Crockett and G. B. Wiersma, was pre- sented at the meeting Geothermal: State of the Art, held in San Diego, California, May 9 through 11. The paper, "Ethylmercury: Formation in Plant Tissues and Relation to Methylmercury Formation," by L. C. Fortmann, D. D. Gay and K. 0. Wirtz, was presented at the Eleventh Annual Conference on Trace Substances in Environmental Health, Columbia, Missouri, June 7 through 9. The following papers were presented at the Second National Conference on the Interagency Energy/Environment Research and Development Program, Washington, D. C., June 6 and 7: "Rapporteur's Summary" for Health and Ecological Effects Measurement and Monitoring, Session IV: Measurement and Monitoring. This summary was presented by G. B. Morgan, Rapporteur of Session IV, and Director of the Las Vegas Laboratory. "Air and Water Quality Data Integration in the Western Energy Resource Development Area," by D. N. McNelis. "Airborne Active Remote Sensing of Pollutants," by J. A. Eckert and M. P. F. Bristow. "Western Coal and Oil Shale Groundwater Monitoring Research and Development," by L. G. McMillion. "Western Energy-Related Overhead Monitoring Project," by E. L. Tilton, III, and R. W. Landers, Jr. The paper, "Comparison of the Efficiency of Macroin- vertebrate Samplers in the White River, Utah," by J. E. Pollard and C. E. Hornig, was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Division of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, San Francisco California, June 12 through 16. The paper, "Some Statistical Concepts New for Quality Control," by R. R. Kinnison and A. N. Jarvis, was presented at the Western Regional Meeting of the American Statistical Association, Stanford University, Stanford, California, June 21 through 23. 19 ------- REPORTS OF ERDA REIMBURSABLE WORK "Five-year Summary Report of an Experimental Dairy Herd Maintained on the Nevada Test Site 1971 through 1975," by E. M. Daley. (EMSL-LV-0539-9). "Off- site Environmental Monitoring Report for the Nevada Test Site and Other Test Areas used for Underground Nuclear Detonations, January through December 1976," Mon- itoring Operations Division, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas. This report is a requirement of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration Manual, Chapter 0513. (EMSL-LV-0539-12). "Animal Investigation Program 1973 Annual Report: Nevada Test Site and Vicinity," D. D. Smith, K. R. Giles and D. E. Bernhardt. (EMSL-LV-0539-12). "Animal Investigation Program 1974 Annual Report: Nevada Test Site and Vicinity," D. D. Smith, K. R. Giles, D. E. Bernhardt and K. W. Brown. (EMSL-LV-0539-10). 20 ------- U S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND SUPPORT LABORATORY P.O. BOX 15027 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89m OFFICIAL BUSINESS PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, S300 POSTAGE AND FEES PAID U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY EPA-335 FIRST CLASS MAIL ------- |