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NHEERL on the Road
Tampa, Florida
NHEERL Scientist Presents ORD Research at a Regional Green Building Workshop
Marc Russell of NHEERL’s Gulf Ecology Division spoke at a Green Workshop organized by the West Florida Regional Planning Council on June 20. The overall premise of the workshop was to discuss green building design, green infrastructure, native landscaping, sustainability, walkable communities, etc. Speakers included a Green Infrastructure Representative from EPA Region 4 and representatives from the Northern Gulf Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Sustainable Initiative Program. Dr. Russell’s talk was entitled “Ecological Services―Tampa Bay Demonstration Project.” This project, part of EPA’s Ecological Research Program, is a challenging mix of ecological, economic, and social sciences at multiple scales.
The presentation covered ecological services in urban environments: problems, some proposed solutions, and an approach for determining the production of ecological services from urban-influenced ecosystems in the Tampa region. The talk also suggested how this research is applicable to many regions around the Gulf of Mexico. There was a focus on the effects of placing people on the landscape in a more sustainable manner.
NHEERL Scientist Wins SETAC Founders Award
Gerald Ankley, NHEERL Mid-Continent Ecology Division, received the prestigious Founders Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in a ceremony on November 16, 2008, at the annual SETAC North America meeting in Tampa, FL. SETAC is an international professional society with thousands of members involved in the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems; management and regulation of natural resources; and environmental education. The Founders Award is a lifetime achievement recognition that has been presented annually since1980. It is the highest SETAC award and is presented to individuals with outstanding careers in the environmental sciences who have made clearly identifiable contributions to the field. Previous Founders Award winners from EPA include William Ruckelshaus (1986), Donald Mount (1987), Samuel Karickoff (1991), and Glenn Suter (2004).
NHEERL Researcher Organizes and Co-Chairs SETAC Session on Nanomaterials Science
NHEERL Mid-Continent Ecology Division researcher Steve Diamond organized and co-chaired a full-day session entitled “Environmental Toxicity of Nanomaterials” at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in Tampa, FL, November 16-20, 2008. Dr. Diamond co-chaired the session with Linda Ziccardi, Exponent, Inc., and also presented a paper entitled “An Evaluation of Regulatory Ecotoxicity Test Guidelines: Their Adequacy for Nanomaterials.” That presentation summarized the work of nine international scientists who comprised a review panel that evaluated 30 toxicity test guidelines. Dr. Diamond chaired the work group for the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials. The findings of this work group suggest that current test guidelines do not provide adequate guidance for the preparation and quantification of nanomaterial media for toxicity testing.
MED Researcher Represents NHEERL Ecology Divisions at Nanomaterials Grantees Workshop
NHEERL Mid-Continent Ecology Division (MED) researcher Steve Diamond represented the NHEERL Ecology Divisions’ research in nanomaterials ecotoxicity at the Interagency Nanomaterials Grantees Workshop held in Tampa, FL, November 19-21. Dr. Diamond discussed ongoing and planned research at the Atlantic, Mid-Continent, and Western Ecology Divisions. The grantees workshop provided an opportunity for STAR-funded researchers from academia to interact with other scientists and representatives from as many as 25 government agencies currently involved in nanotechnology research. Dr. Diamond discussed how NHEERL’s Ecology Divisions are addressing EPA’s regulatory needs in their research and how they are contributing to international efforts within the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials guidelines.