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Performance Results
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G o a l 8 - S o u n d S c i e n c e
PROGRESS TOWARD THE STRATEGIC
GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
EPA continued to address current and futureenvironmental challenges in FY 2002 by developing the best available science andadopting new and innovative approaches forenvironmental protection. Specifically, the Agency completed an analysis of acid depositiontrends in U.S. lakes and streams that providesevidence of the success of currentenvironmental policies and contributes to thescientific understanding needed to maintain andrestore these highly valued ecosystems.
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Thedevelopment of new methods to assesspesticide-related health impacts in youngchildren similarly strengthens the Agency’sability to effectively prevent and manage risks tohuman health, particularly for those mostsusceptible to the effects of environmentalcontaminants.
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Improved methods for quantifyingmercury emissions from man-made sources andother research to reduce and preventenvironmental and human exposure to endocrinedisruptor chemicals (EDCs), mercury, andbiological agents will enhance EPA’s ability toanticipate and respond to environmentalchallenges.
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Environmental decision makers also haveaccess to improved pollution prevention toolsand technologies, including software to evaluatethe inhalation impacts of metal finishing facilitieson workers and nearby residents and protocolsto verify the performance of new pollutionprevention technologies with applicability tomultiple economic sectors.
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In FY 2002 EPAcontinued to encourage the use of expert reviewand collaborative partnerships to ensure thehighest level of quality in its work. Building onits scientific, economic, and regulatory researchand analysis activities, EPA is makingenvironmental protection more flexible,efficient, and effective, while minimizing theburden on the regulated community.
FY 2002 PERFORMANCE
Sound Science
The American public, EPA, Congress, and theresearch community have expressed growingconcern about the effects of acidic deposition onthe lakes and streams of the United States. TitleIV of the Clean Air Act Amendments sets targetreductions for sulfur and nitrogen emissions fromindustrial sources as a means of reducing theacidity of deposition and thereby improving thebiological condition of surface waters. InFY 2002 EPA produced a report
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on trends inacid deposition and the acidity of lakes andstreams in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, andupper Midwest regions of the United States.The report provides evidence that aciddeposition controls are working. Researchersfound that all regions except the Blue Ridgearea have experienced significant declines insulfate concentrations in surface waters,consistent with a decline in sulfateprecipitation. Nitrate concentrations decreasedin two regions. The highest nitrateconcentrations were found in the Adirondacksand northern Appalachian plateau; however,acid-neutralizing capacity increased in the Adirondacks, northern Appalachian plateau,and upper Midwest, and modest increases inneutralizing capacity have reduced the number
GOAL 8: SOUND SCIENCE, IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK, AND GREATER INNOVATION TO ADDRESS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
EPA will develop and apply the best available science for addressing current and
future environmental hazards, as well as new approaches toward improving
environmental protection.
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EPA’s FY 2002 Annual Report
www.epa.gov/ocfo
G o a l 8 - S o u n d S c i e n c e
of acidic lakes and streams in some of theseregions. For example, the number of acidic lakesin the upper Midwest fell from 251 to 80between 1985 and 2001. Acid-neutralizingcapacity is a key indicator of recovery becauseit reflects the capacity of watersheds to bufferinputs of acidity. The National AcidPrecipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) willinclude the results of this analysis in its reportto Congress and will be available at http:// www.oar.noaa.gov/organization/napap.htmlhttp:// www.oar.noaa.gov/organization/napap.html. Another significant FY 2002 achievementinvolved the completion of a framework thatprovides the Agency with the necessary components to determine the routes, magnitude,and variability of human exposures to variousmultimedia pollutants (e.g., pesticides, air toxics,metals). Through the framework, EPA willadvance the science of human exposure anddose assessment by helping to answer key questions regarding pollutants that posesignificant risk to children and other susceptiblesubpopulations. In response to recommendationsfrom the Science Advisory Board (SAB),
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EPAalso completed analyses of the National HumanExposure Assessment Survey,
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a programinvestigating critical information gaps aboutpopulation-scale distributions of humanexposures to contaminant mixtures. Theseanalyses provide aggregate exposure data toevaluate many multimedia and media-specificrisk management issues and to improveexposure methods and models.EPA developed two new protocols for use inthe Agency’s endocrine disruptors screening andtesting program, which were authorized by theFood Quality Protection Act of 1996
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and theSafe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996.
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The protocols will help EPA identify areas in which technologies can be applied to reduceand/or prevent human and environmentalexposure to endocrine disruptor chemicals. Inaddition, EPA improved methods for quantifyingmercury emissions from manmade sources. InFY 2002 the Agency produced a report
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(
appendix:
R-01-109A.pdf )on the parameters that affectboth the species of mercury in coal-fired utility boiler flue gas and the performance of promising mercury control technologies. Thisreport will be used to help plan futureresearch needed to outline, by December 2003,the Maximum Achievable Control Technology Requirements. This work supports EPA’sDecember 2000 decision to regulate mercury emissions from coal-fired electric utility steam-generating plants. Releasing about 43 tons of mercury each year, coal-fired power plants arethe largest source of human-caused mercury emissions in the United States. EPA has foundthat there are cost-effective ways of controllingmercury emissions from power plants.
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Technologies available today and technologiesexpected to be available in the near future caneliminate most of the mercury from utilities at acost far lower than 1 percent of utility industry revenues.In the area of pollution prevention research,EPA developed improved pollution preventiontools, including (1) computer software that canestimate the potential environmental impact of chemical process designs, (2) a pest resistancemanagement framework to delay or prevent theemergence of resistance in target insects to thetoxins in transgenic crops, and (3) software toevaluate the inhalation impacts of metal finishingfacilities on workers and nearby residents.Industry and state and local decision makerscan use these tools to evaluate pollutionlevels, impacts, and costs of product, process,or system redesigns that will in turn informdecisions that better protect human health andthe environment. In addition, EPA’sEnvironmental Technology Verificationprogram completed 20 stakeholder-approvedand peer-reviewed testing protocols forcommercially ready environmentaltechnologies in 6 categories (environmentalmonitoring, air pollution control, drinking water treatment, greenhouse gas reduction,pollution prevention, and water quality protection). EPA will use the protocols toobjectively evaluate a wide variety of environmental technologies so that purchasersand permitters will have an independent andcredible assessment of the technologies they arebuying or permitting. EPA is also developing
www.epa.gov/ocfo
Performance Results
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G o a l 8 - S o u n d S c i e n c e
outcome-oriented goals and performancemeasures in these areas.In FY 2002 the SAB issued 17 reportsadvising EPA on a broad range of scientific andtechnical issues.
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One major report,
A Framework for Assessing and Reporting on
Ecological Conditions
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(http://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal02.htmhttp://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal02.htm), provided guidance thatcontributed to the Agency’s design of its reporton the environment, which the Agency plans torelease in draft during FY 2003. The SABguidance highlighted EPA’s emphasis onmeasuring the impacts of Agency programsthrough scientifically credible indicators, and onprotecting ecological resources. Other SAB peer-reviewed reports addressed environmentalagents and cross-media issues, such as thereview of particulate matter(http://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal02.htmhttp://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal02.htm) and the trichloroethylene healthrisk assessment
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(http://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal03.htmhttp://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal03.htm). This last report will help EPAaddress an environmental contaminantaffecting air, water, and multiple Superfundsites and improve the Agency’s approach toseveral important areas in risk assessment, suchas protection of children and other vulnerablepopulations, and cumulative risk.In FY 2002 the Regional Science andTechnology organizations provided fieldsampling, analytical and data managementsupport, and quality assurance to Agency programs nationwide and continued to expandthe number of Centers of Applied Science(CASs). CASs support the development andapplication of new and innovative technologiesby developing sampling, quality assurance, andanalytical methodologies. These methodologiesand technologies are shared both within EPA and with the Agency’s partners. Some examples are(1) developing polymerase chain reaction as ananalytical tool that would improve EPA’s ability to detect protozoan parasites and other targetorganisms in drinking water and (2) developinga qualitative method of compound identificationby X-ray diffraction, which, when combined with chemical analysis, has been valuable indetermining the fate and transport of compoundsin the environment. Advances in compoundidentification will help environmental decisionmakers determine the most effective remedies atSuperfund sites and assess water quality impactsfrom proposed or operating mineral resourcefacilities.
Greater Innovation
The Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI)Program (http://www.epa.gov/regional/rgi.htm)
is one of the most effective tools to help EPAregions achieve a balance between respondingto state and local needs and national priorities.
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In FY 2002 the 124 projects funded through theRGI Program provided EPA with flexibility toachieve environmental results by responding tostrategic regional, state, and local priorities.
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EPA fostered regional solutions to cross-programmatic environmental problems,promoted innovation, built partnerships,developed holistic approaches and, of particularsignificance, leveraged additional funds fromstate, local, and non-governmental organizationsources. For example, Region 3’s “LivableNeighborhoods for Philadelphia” project engagescitizens to promote the conservation of municipal resources and initiate actions that willresult in increased neighborhood safety,environmental and human health protection,greening, and capacity building.
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Similarly,Region 7’s “Kansas City WildLands” projectinvolves citizen volunteers in conserving,
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Environmental Protection Agency: ar02 goal8
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| Upload Date: | 01/26/2008 |
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