The report, which was directed by Congress, describes EPA's strategy for ensuring that there is an adequate supply of trained professionals to meet the environmental workforce needs in the U.S. The report describes EPA's mission and gives a historical perspective of graduate training support provided by EPA and its predecessor agencies. In describing EPA's priorities among various types of workforce development activities, the report cites conclusions reached in a 1977 study by the National Academy of Sciences on pollution control manpower and discusses factors affecting EPA support of academic training. One section discusses issues concerning academic training in toxic substances and related fields. EPA workforce activities proposed in the study include: assessing the environmental job market and publishing 5-year forecasts of the needs in the environmental field, examining the use of State-EPA agreements to encourage professional workforce planning; determining shortages of trained professionals in toxicology and related fields; supporting university centers of excellence in the research fields of epidemiology, ground water protection, and advanced waste treatment techniques; establishing area training centers at selected educational institutions; testing combining selected research and training activities at a single location; establishing priorities among workforce development activities; and encouraging State sufficiency in environmental programs.