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Office of the Director Publications: 1999
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This page lists publication titles, citations and abstracts produced by NERL's Office of the Director for the year 1999, organized by Publication Type. Your search has returned
8 Matching Entries.
See also Office of the Director citations with abstracts:
1999,
2000,
2001,
2002,
2003,
2004,
2005,
2006,
2007,
2008
Technical Information Manager: Janice Sims - (706)-355-8011 or sims.janice@epa.gov
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Presented/Published |
| BOOK CHAPTER |
Statistical Disclosure Limitation |
02/01/1999
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Cox, L. H. Statistical Disclosure Limitation. Samuel Kotz, Campbell B. Read, and David L. Banks (ed.), Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences, Update Volume 3. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated, New York, NY, 693-697, (1999).
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| Abstract:
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There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact field.
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| BOOK CHAPTER |
Critical Health Issues of Criteria Air Pollutants |
02/25/1999
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Graham, J. A., L. J. Folinsbee, J. M. Davis, J. Raub, AND L. D. Grant. Critical Health Issues of Criteria Air Pollutants. , 3., Chapter 13, Donald E. Gardner, Ph.D., James D. Crapo, M.D., and Roger O. McClellan, D.V.M. (ed.), Toxicology of the Lung. Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, 365-397, (1999).
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This chapter summarizes the key health information on ubiquitous outdoor air pollutants that can cause adverse health effects at current or historical ambient levels in the United States. Of the thousands of air pollutants, very few meet this definition. The Clean Air Act (CAA) of the United States requires that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identify such pollutants (called criteria pollutants) and set standards (National Ambient air Quality Standards [NAAQS]) to protect sensitive subpopulations from the adverse effects of these compounds. The criteria pollutants are ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and lead. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed air quality guidelines (AQG) for Europe in reference to the health effects of these pollutants (WHO, 1999).
Exposures to these pollutants are widespread because of the wide diversity of their sources (Table 1). Table 2 shows their major classes of effects, susceptible subpopulations, the U.S. NAAQS, and the WHO AQG. The NAAQS are set according to a complex process involving substantial review of the literature and several reviews of the resultant interpretations by committees of experts, environmental groups, industry groups, and the interested public. The CAA requires that the NAAQS be set to protect susceptible subpopulations with an adequate margin of safety, without regard to the economic impact, and it requires they be reevaluated every 5 years. The WHO AQG are set by panels of experts with subsequent peer review. The AQG are not standards, per se. Rather, they provide guidance to many nations and the European Community as they seek to develop their own standards for protection of the public health.
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| PRESENTATION |
National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS): Opportunities and Lessons Learned |
09/22/1999
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Graham, J. A. National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS): Opportunities and Lessons Learned. Presented at NIEHS Human Exposure Assessment Workshop, Rockville, MD, September 22-24, 1999.
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The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) in its fullest sense is a conceptual design, which upon implementation, will have long-term implications to exposure research and assessment. The ultimate goal is to document national distribution of human exposure to potentially high-risk chemicals for improving the accuracy of exposure (and risk) assessments, to identify potential mitigation approaches, and to evaluate whether and how exposures (and corresponding risks) are changing over time with the application of risk management steps. However, such an extensive program requires much preparation, including making improvements in the state of exposure science. The Phase I scooping or demonstration projects, which are currently being analyzed, are the beginning. Based on the scientific advances from this first phase of NHEXAS, two follow-up phases are envisioned. One encompasses special studies to test particular hypotheses related to issues. The other is the undertaking of a national exposure survey.
Phase I of NHEXAS (hereafter referred to as just NHEXAS) is perhaps the most ambitious study ever undertaken to evaluate aggregate and cumulative human exposure to multiple chemicals on a community and regional scale. It focuses on the exposure of people to environmental pollutants during their daily lives. To accomplish this, approximately 500 volunteer participants were randomly selected from AZ, IL, OH, IN, MI, MN, and WI to obtain a population-based probability sample. NHEXAS scientists measured the levels of a suite of chemicals to which participants were exposed in the air they breath (indoors, outdoors, and personal), in the foods and beverages they consume, in the water they drink, and in the soil and dust around their homes. Measurements were also made of chemicals or their metabolites in biological samples (including blood and urine) provided by the participants. Finally, participants completed questionnaires to help identify possible sources of chemical exposures, and to characterize major activity patterns and conditions of home environment. The suite of chemicals included metals, VOCs, pesticides, and PAH's. A correlated study in Baltimore investigated temporal relationships of exposure to several of the same chemicals. The data have been collected and are being analyzed; a database is in preparation and will be made publically available.
Because of the increasing need to understand human exposure, we are beginning to create the partnerships needed to build a full survey. For example, such a survey could identify whether people were being exposed to concentrations of chemicals that were likely to cause adverse health effects, identify what sources and pathways of exposure carried most risk (and hence are in need of intervention), and provide measures of the success of exposure interventions(e.g., regulatory reductions in emissions). Details of a national survey must await the analyses of key elements of the NHEXAS pilot study, but as recommended by EPA's Scientific Advisory Board, it is important to initiate planning. We are seeking partners from all sectors: governmental (both other Federal Agencies and the States), academic, non-governmental organizations, industry, and others. The study will be shaped by the stakeholders, but generally will involve a core program that operates over the long-term to provide national status and trends information. Modules, which will be short-term in nature, will be hypothesis-directed and gain economies from association with the core.
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| PRESENTATION |
Ecological Research Networks in the United States |
10/01/1999
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Barnwell Jr., T. O. Ecological Research Networks in the United States. Presented at Workshop on Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals, Durham, NC, October 5-7, 1999.
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There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact field.
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| PRESENTATION |
Overview of Uin/Cec Lrtap Protocols on Pops and Heavy Metals |
10/05/1999
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Foley, G. J. Overview of Uin/Cec Lrtap Protocols on Pops and Heavy Metals. Presented at International POPS Workshop, Research Triangle Park, NC, October 5-7, 1999.
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The purpose of this workshop was to review the current state-of-the-science for persistent organic pollutants and heavy metal compounds, especially additional developments since the conclusion of the negotiations of the Protocols on these compounds under the Convention on Long Range Transboundary air Pollution (LRTAP). These Protocols were structured to allow for the addition of new compounds. One of the purposes of this workshop was to review the evidence on specific compounds with a view toward identifying candidates which would qualify for adding to the Protocols.
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| PRESENTATION |
Examination of U.S. Environmental Regulatory Criteria for Ozone from a Statistical Perspective |
06/03/1999
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Cox, L. H. Examination of U.S. Environmental Regulatory Criteria for Ozone from a Statistical Perspective. Bulletin of the International Statistical Institute, Proceedings of the 52nd Session: Invited Papers.
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There is recent international interest, e.g., by the U.K. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, in using statistics to express and evaluate environmental regulatory criteria (Barnett and O'Hagan, 1997; Cox et al. 1999). In the United States, recent review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards led to revision of the U.S. regulatory criteria for ambient ozone and particulate matter. This in turn led to scientific and policy debates resulting in a decision to postpone implementation of the new regulations pending a second review, scheduled during 2000-2002.
Statistical issues include examining the effects of Types I and II errors arising from sampling and measurement error. Our research is directed at developing a methodology for examining the problem of dealing with uncertainty and variation in environmental regulations and compliance criteria. Our current approach is illustrated through statistical analysis of the recent standard, promulgated in 1979, and the revised (1997) standard for ambient ozone, using data collected at ambient ozone monitors in California's San Joaquin Valley during summer 1990. This paper presents preliminary findings based on quantifying measurement error or precision in terms of small-scale spatial and temporal variability, laying the groundwork for future work.
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| PRESENTATION |
Proceedings of the NHEXAS Data Analysis Workshop |
07/26/1999
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Graham, J. A. AND et al. Proceedings of the NHEXAS Data Analysis Workshop. Presented at NHEXAS Workshop, Raleigh, NC, July 26-28, 1999.
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The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) was developed by the Office of Research and Development (ORD) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) early in the 1990s to provide critical information about multipathway, multimedia population exposure distribution to chemical classes. The first phase consisted of three pilot studies with the objective of (1) evaluating the feasibility of NHEXAS concepts, methods, and approaches for the conduct of future population-based exposure studies; (2) evaluating the utility of NHEXAS data for improved risk assessment and management decisions; (3) testing the hypothesis that the distributions of exposure given by modeling and extant data do not differ from the measurement-based distributions of exposure; (4) defining the distribution of multi pathway human exposures for a relatively large geographic area; and (5) stimulating exposure research and forging strong working relationships between government and nongovernment scientists. NHEXAS began before the enactment of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which was written to ensure accountability in the use of resources. Thus, we add a "new" objective in the form of hypothesis: NHEXAS approaches can be used to develop a "GPRA Report Card" on the efficacy of EPA's regulations to reduce exposure.
As described in the overview (Section 2), NHEXAS is unique and complex study of approximately 550 people in three areas of the United States. The data collection phase of NHEXAS was completed recently, the initial data analyses will be published shortly (see October issue of the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (JEAEE), Appendix 1), and the principal investigators have additional analyses under way (Appendix 1). During a September 1998 review, the Integrated Human Exposure Committee (IHEC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) (U.S. EPA, 1999) praised the NHEXAS pilots and recommended several actions to ensure that as much benefit as possible is derived from this very rich database. One such action was to develop a strategy for completing the analysis of the NHEXAS pilot data. To those ends, a workshop was convened with the goal of obtaining a wide range of expert opinion on which research projects best would ensure the utility of the NHEXAS data. Section 3 provides an overview of the workshop, and as described therein, the workshop projects will be used as information in developing the ORD strategy for analysis of the NHEXAS pilot data.
The workshop was successful in developing and suggesting a relative priority for research projects that covered the range of potential data analyses, including those that will support future exposure assessments, advance the science of exposure analysis, demonstrate lessons learned, and become part of the development of multimedia, mulipathway exposure models. The project descriptions, categorized within the four research areas, are provide in Section 4.
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| PRESENTATION |
Sources and Source Regions Contributing to Atmospheric Deposition of Toxic Pollutants to the Greak Lakes a Case Study for Dioxin |
10/26/1999
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Cohen, M. D., D. M. Meyer, L. M. Mathewson, J. F. McDonald, D. Niemi, AND D. Ratte. Sources and Source Regions Contributing to Atmospheric Deposition of Toxic Pollutants to the Greak Lakes a Case Study for Dioxin. Presented at Emission Inventory: Regional Strategies for the Future, Raleigh, NC, October 26-28, 1999.
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| Abstract:
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There is no abstract available for this product. If further information is requested, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under Contact field.
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