Recent Additions for 2002

Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, New York State and Federal agencies initiated numerous air monitoring activities to better understand the ongoing impact of emissions from the disaster. This report focuses on these air measurement data, evaluating them in terms of what is typical for New York City or general urban background and interpreting it with regard to the potential for human health consequences.

The EPA is announcing the availability of full-time toxicologist positions at the GS-13 and 14 levels with the Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program. For further information and how to apply for one of these positions, please go to the NCEA Employment Opportunities web page or the IRIS What's New web page.

The National Center for Environmental Assessment has prepared this Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology to serve as a technical guide for EPA's regional offices and the general public who need to read karst literature or interact with karst researchers. It is an update to the previously released lexicon and is a comprehensive listing with definitions of some of the more common and uncommon terms related to caves and karst. It was developed to facilitate reading of the literature because much of the published karst research may often be found only in somewhat obscure journals or reports. In addition, many of these published documents contain terms that are unfamiliar to nonkarst scientists and engineers. In many instances common environmental terms are defined in such a way as to specifically reference karstic phenomena. The lexicon is extensively cross-referenced and includes translations for many of the terms into French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Yugoslavian so that readers of the published literature will be able to better understand that which they have chosen to read.

As part of the U.S. EPA's effort through its Office of Research and Development to recruit post-doctoral candidates to fill positions in EPA, the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) is seeking post-doctoral candidates for the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Division in the following areas: Fuels and Fuel Additives, Toxicology/Health Science, Biostatistics/Epidemiology, and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling. Information about other jobs is available on the Employment Opportunities in NCEA web page.

To assist EPA ecological risk assessors, a Risk Assessment Forum technical panel has drafted a report that presents a set of generic "assessment endpoints" representing valued ecological entities, and their attributes, upon which management actions are focused. The generic assessment endpoints are intended to be a useful starting point that can be applied to many different types of ecological risk assessments. A total of 19 endpoints are proposed at the organism, population, community, and ecosystem levels of biological organization.

A new polynomial model (Version 2.2) is now available that fixes the previous incompatibility with Windows 2000.

The Qtracer2 package, an update to the previously released Qtracer package, is a user-friendly computer tool that runs under Microsoft Windows and allows an individual to quickly evaluate the tracer-breakthrough curve developed from tracer tests conducted in various hydologic systems. It solves the necessary equations from user-generated data input files using robust integration routines and relies on established hydraulic models. Additional features include dynamic memory allocation, the ability to extrapolate late-time data using any one of three different methods, two separate methods for handling oversized time-concentration data files, and a powerful interactive graphics routine. Four other programs are included to facilitate the use of QTRACER2. The user's manual, executable files, sample data files, and source files are all available at this site.

This watershed assessment investigated the causes of declines in fish and mussel populations. GIS and multivariate analyses were used to compare land uses with biological and habitat measures.

The EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment sponsored a two-day peer consultation workshop on October 24-25, 2001, to examine alternative approaches to the health assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mixtures. This summary report provides a general record of discussions and issues raised during the workshop.

In honor of national Children's Health Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Lung Association today announced the Asthma Research Strategy, a new initiative to advance the scientific understanding and prevention of asthma, the most common chronic childhood illness. Approximately 3.8 million children had an asthma attack in the past year. Asthma is more prevalent in low-income and minority communities, and the number of children with asthma is rising. Environmental contaminants such as smoke, air pollution, pollen and particulate matter influence the incidence and severity of asthma. The Asthma Research Strategy will guide EPA research efforts, led by the Office of Research and Development (ORD), to address the significant issues of exposures, effects, risk assessment, and risk management of environmental pollutants relevant to asthma.

This assessment was conducted to review the new information that has become available since EPA's 1985 health assessment of 1,3-butadiene. 1,3-Butadiene is a gas used commercially in the production of styrene-butadiene rubber, plastics, and thermoplastic resins. The major environmental source of 1,3-butadiene is the incomplete combustion of fuels from mobile sources (e.g., automobile exhaust). Tobacco smoke can be a significant source of 1,3-butadiene in indoor air. This assessment concludes that 1,3-butadiene is carcinogenic to humans by inhalation, based on the total weight of evidence.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Center for Environmental Assessment, within the Agency's Office of Research and Development, is announcing a Workshop on GAM-Related Statistical Issues in Particulate Matter (PM) Epidemiology. The workshop scheduled for November 4-6, 2002 is open to the public.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of the final Health Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Exhaust (EPA/600/8-90/057F, May 2002). The document was prepared by the Office of Research and Development's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA). The assessment evaluates the health effects literature to identify the most important exposure hazards to

humans. Secondly, the assessment evaluates the exposure-response characteristics of the key health effects so that information is available for understanding the possible impact on an exposed population.

EPA is hereby providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's health assessment of toluene. These documents are provided for public viewing during an external scientific peer review period

All public comments received on the Draft Action Plan are now available on the Draft Action Plan web page. Included are comments from four industry groups and the Department of Energy.

The Guide to Current Literature on Exposure Factors provides a list of references and summaries of recent studies conducted on exposure factors. This list and summaries will be updated as new data become available. NCEA will update the recommendations in the 1997 Exposure Factors Handbook on a factor-by-factor basis when enough data are available to warrant a revision.

An independent scientific peer review of EPA's draft assessment of health and ecotoxicological effects of perchlorate, entitled "Perchlorate Environmental Contamination: Toxicological Review and Risk Characterization," was organized and convened by the Eastern Research Group (an EPA contractor) for the National Center for Environmental Assessment on March 5 and 6, 2002, in Sacramento, California. This summary report provides a general record of discussions and issues raised during the peer review meeting.

NCEA is requesting applications for partners to conduct research on risk communications and community involvement at Superfund sites.

The purpose of this technical support document is to inform decision-makers, general academia, and the public on the scientific foundation and relevance to the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The Stockholm Convention includes measures to reduce and/or eliminate the production, use, and release of the twelve POPs of greatest concern to the global community, and establishes science-based criteria and procedures for the addition of chemicals to the treaty in the future. The Convention was signed by EPA Administrator Whitman on behalf of the United States in May, 2001, and has been submitted to the U.S. Congress for ratification. This report summarizes data available in the peer reviewed literature on the twelve POPs, and provides an overview of the risks posed to United States ecosystems and the public.

This report presents information and materials from a public meeting organized by Eastern Research Group Inc. (ERG), an EPA contractor. The meeting was held in Washington, DC on February 20, 2002. The purpose of the meeting was to collect comments from the public relevant to development of the framework for metals assessment.

In recognition of the unique assessment issues raised by metals and the complexity of addressing these issues consistently across the Agency's various programs, the Agency's Science Policy Council tasked an Agency work group to devise an Action Plan. The resultant draft document includes brief descriptions of the Agency's metals assessment activities, and identifies critical assessment issues that need to be addressed by the cross-agency guidance.

This report presents information and materials from a peer consultation workshop organized by

Versar, Inc. (an EPA contractor) for EPA's Risk Assessment Forum. The meeting was held in Washington, DC on August 22 and 23, 2001. The meeting discussions focused on the August 2, 2001 draft Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment.

The draft report entitled, A Review of the Reference Dose and Reference Concentration Processes represents an analysis of the current RfD/RfC processes. It summarizes the review and deliberations of the Risk Assessment Forum RfD Technical Panel and presents a number of recommendations to improve the RfD/RfC processes.

The EPA Risk Assessment Forum's Cumulative Risk Technical Panel has been working to develop a Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment. Building from the Agency's growing experiences, this Framework is intended to identify the basic elements of the cumulative risk assessment process. It should provide a flexible structure for the technical issues and define key terms associated with cumulative risk assessment. The April 23, 2002 draft of the Framework is currently undergoing external peer review and is now available for a 30-day public comment period.

EPA is now issuing a third external review draft of Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter for a 60-day public comment period and for review before the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). This draft contains revisions in response to public and CASAC review comments on the March 2001 external review draft.

EPA is hereby providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's health assessment of Boron and Compounds. These documents are provided for public viewing during an external scientific peer review period. While EPA is not soliciting public comments by this action, any scientific views received on the content of the Toxicological Review or IRIS Summary prior to May 30, 2002 will be considered in subsequent drafts.

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effort through its Office of Research and Development (ORD) to recruit post-doctoral candidiates to fill positions in EPA laboratories and centers, the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) is seeking post-doctoral candidates from a wide range of disciplines for its offices in Cincinnati, OH, Research Triangle Park (RTP), NC, and Washington, DC.

In the process of reviewing toxicology testing paradigms currently in use within the Agency for hazard characterization, the Risk Assessment Forum's Reference Dose (RfD) Technical Panel identified aging as an area needing additional consideration within the risk assessment process. The Forum commissioned development of an issue paper to provide background information on the subject.

The Risk Assessment Forum's Reference Dose (RfD) Technical Panel commissioned development of an issue paper on evaluating the current pharmacokinetic data in immature animals, at various stages of development. The paper serves as background information for the Panel in its review of the RfD/RfC processes.

EPA is hereby providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's health assessment of xylenes. These documents are provided for public viewing during an external scientific peer review period. While EPA is not soliciting public comments by this action, any scientific views received on the content of the Toxicological Review or IRIS Summary prior to April 8, 2002 will be considered in subsequent drafts.

An ecological risk assessment was completed for the Middle Snake River, Idaho. In this assessment, mathematical simulations and field observations were used to analyze exposure and ecological effects and to estimate risk.

This project, sponsored by EPA's Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) program, evaluated the ability of an automated biological monitoring system that measures fish ventilatory responses (ventilatory rate, ventilatory depth, and cough rate) to detect developing toxic conditions in water.

An interagency conference sponsored by Tri-Service (Air Force, Army, Navy) Toxicology; the U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Division of Toxicology; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and the Food and Drug Administration. The conference is held with the cooperation of the National Research Council/ National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The Factor Finder is a user friendly searchable CD-ROM used by assessors and researchers to locate exposure related data from the Exposure Factors Handbook (EFH) and its companion document, the Sociodemographic Data Used in Identifying Potentially Highly Exposed Populations. Users can submit queries by entering keywords into a user defined search box or by using pull down menus to target specific information. The pull down menu features general categories such as chemicals of concern, contaminated media, geographic region, exposure pathways and routes, age, food categories, and activities to name a few.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hereby providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's health assessment of hydrogen sulfide (CAS No. 7783-06-4). While EPA is not soliciting public comments by this action, any scientific views received on the content of the Toxicological Review or IRIS Summary prior to April 4, 2002, will be considered in subsequent drafts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hereby providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's health assessment of acrolein (CAS No. 107-02-8). These documents are provided for public viewing during an external scientific peer review period. While EPA is not soliciting public comments by this action, any scientific views received on the content of the Toxicological Review or IRIS Summary prior to March 29, 2002, will be considered in subsequent drafts.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) is an anion that originates as a contaminant in ground water and surface waters when the salts of ammonium, potassium, magnesium, or sodium dissolve in water. One major source of contamination is the manufacture or improper disposal of ammonium perchlorate that is used as the primary component in solid propellant for rockets, missiles, and fireworks. Appreciation of widespread contamination in the United States emerged in the Spring of 1997 when development of an analytical method with a quantitation level at 4 ppb became available. By May of that same year EPA was engaged in developing a targeted testing strategy to evaluate the potential human health and ecotoxicological effects of potential perchlorate exposures. The National Center for Environmental Assessment first released an external review draft in 1998 and recommendations for additional studies and analyses were made at a 1999 scientific peer review. The external review draft of the revised document, "Perchlorate Environmental Contamination: Toxicological Review and Risk Characterization" responds to those recommendations and incorporates results from extensive laboratory and field studies performed since 1999. For more information on perchlorate and the external review draft, including Frequently Asked Questions, see the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water's website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlor/perchlo.html

Ozone is one of six criteria air pollutants whose ambient concentrations are regulated under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by the U.S. Clean Air Act (U.S. Code, 1991). The NAAQS apply to both human health (primary standard) and public welfare (secondary standard). Primary standards protect sensitive members of the human population from adverse health effects of criteria air pollutants, with an adequate margin of safety. Secondary standards protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of a pollutant in the ambient air. Welfare effects include but are not limited to effects on soils, water, crops, vegetation, manmade materials, animals, wildlife, weather, visibility, and climate, damage to and deterioration of property, and hazards to transportation, as well as effects on economic values and personal comfort and well-being.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on the basis of scientific information contained in criteria documents. The previous ozone (O3 ) criteria document, Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants, was released by the EPA in July 1996. This document was used as the basis for a July 1997 decision by EPA to promulgate a new 8-h NAAQS for ground-level O3 . The 8-h O3 standard currently is being litigated; however, the 1-h NAAQS remains in effect. Consistent with statutory requirements to review NAAQS every 5 years, the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) in EPA's Office of Research and Development is proceeding with the next periodic review of the air quality criteria for O3 . NCEA is pleased to announce the availability of its Project Work Plan for Revised Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants.