WWC snapshot of http://www.ota.gov/envongo.html taken on Fri May 5 16:36:13 1995

Environment Program


Assessments in Progress:


Technologies for Testing and Review of Chemicals in Commerce (R)

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) enacted by Congress in 1976 gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad authority to review and screen both new and existing chemicals in commerce. Those chemicals found to present an unreasonable risk could be controlled in order to protect consumers, workers, and the environment. Unlike other environmental statutes aimed at a specific media such as air or water, under TSCA a chemical could be regulated at any point in its life cycle from manufacture to disposal. The slow pace for screening the large number of chemicals in use before the Act was passed (existing chemicals) has been a particular concern. The General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that the EPA has reviewed only about 2 percent of the approximately 70,000 existing chemicals in commerce. EPA needs better tools for setting priorities in order to focus attention on those chemicals posing the greatest risk. With increasing emphasis on costs and concern with regulatory burdens it is all the more important to avoid diverting resources toward those chemicals that are without significant risks. OTAs proposed assessment will review current screening technologies for existing chemicals in commerce. The assessment will also examine competing techniques or conceptual approaches that could better establish priorities for further testing or review. It will also review strategies for the overall design of testing procedures. OTA will also examine how such strategies could improve the capability of TSCA to protect public health and the environment.

Project Director: Mark Brown 228-6856.

Estimated publication date: Spring1996.

Requested by: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Toxic Substances, Research, and Development


Safety of Rotary Kiln Incineration Systems at Superfund Sites and Possible Alternative Technologies (R)

In recent years, the use of rotary kiln incineration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to dispose of a wide variety of toxic pollutants, including dioxins and Polychlorinated Biphenyls or PCBs, and to cleanup abandoned hazardous waste sites has increased. The EPAs increased reliance on this technology is of great concern among residents of communities neighboring such contaminated areascommonly known as Superfund sitesbecause of their awareness about the presence of dioxins and PCBs in incinerator emissions. Past accidental releases and the increased information on the toxicity of these pollutants, have only strengthened the publics skepticism about the actual level of safety and emissions control provided by incineration. EPAs success in fostering public confidence about the effectiveness of incineration treatment has been limited. At several Superfund sites, including the Texarkana Wood Processing Company Superfund site (Texas), Times Beach Superfund site (Missouri) and the Baird and McGuire Superfund site (Massachusetts), community residents claim that incineration of even test amounts of materials contaminated with dioxins and PCBs would threaten their health by releasing these pollutants into the air.

OTA plans to address these concerns by 1) reviewing the regulatory and inspection requirements applicable to incineration of dioxin- and PCB-contaminated soils and sludges at Superfund sites; 2) identifying the major engineering and safety features of rotary kiln incinerators and any potential problems associated with these systems; 3) reviewing existing performance and safety standards for protecting public health and the environment from incineration facilities; and 4) identifying those technologies which could be used as alternatives to incineration. Comparisons among various rotary kiln incinerator systems and between rotary kiln incinerators and alternative technologies will be made in reference to their possible application at contaminated sites.

Project Director: German Reyes 228-6851.

Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.

Requested by: House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies


An Assessment of the Agricultural Research System and Conservation Reserve Program (R)

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (Act) will be reauthorized in the next session of Congress and two important titles of that legislation, Research and Conservation, will be the focus of much debate. In the current Act, research policy was broadened to embrace a new agenda that has emerged for American agriculture and encompasses two significant changes. First, research problems were broadened beyond the traditional focus of increased production and competitiveness to also address environmental quality, food safety, sustainability, rural development, and public health. Second, agriculture is entering a new technological erabiotechnology and information eraand these technologies were to be given priority. Concern exists that the traditional research system has not been effective in meeting the demands of this new agenda. Congress created new methods of funding and established new institutions to enhance the relevancy of the research system. This study will assess the effectiveness of these changes and provide policy options for consideration in reauthorizing the Act. It is expected that interim findings from this assessment will be available for Committee use for the reauthorization.

In conservation, the Act established the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as the single largest effort to attack conservation and environmental problems related to agricultural production. Approximately 36 million acres of cropland have been enrolled in the CRP to reduce erosion, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, preserve wetlands, plant forests, and achieve other environmental goals. The temporary retirement of those lands under contract will cost $20 billion over the programs duration. The contracts begin to expire in the near future and many of the lands will likely return to production thus diminishing or eliminating their environmental benefits. Though the environmental benefits are thought to be many, a comprehensive compilation of those effects, including the technology response observed during the contract period, is not available. The problem facing policymakers is whether to re-enroll some or all of the CRP lands, and/or design new programs using different approaches, or eliminate the program altogether. This assessment will bring together disparate estimates of CRP benefits in a consistent and comprehensive framework for the first time and provide alternative policy approaches and their environmental and cost performance compared to the CRP.

Project Director: Michael Phillips 228-6521.

Estimated publication date: Spring 1996.

Requested by: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
House Committee on Agriculture


Technologies to Protect Fish at Dams (R)

Habitat destruction, water quality problems, insufficient water, overharvesting, competition from non-indigenous species, hatchery practices, and obstructions to natural fish movement have all been associated with the Nations declining fisheries. Migratory fish, such as salmon, trout, and shad, are especially vulnerable to riverschanges. Fishwaysboth upstream and downstream passages around damsare used to lower the obstacles that cause high fish mortality and decrease breeding populations. Fishways are often recommended at federal facilities and the privately-owned hydropower sites licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Over three hundred private sites face relicensing in the next 5 years. Thus, this is an appropriate time to reconsider the use, effectiveness, cost, and impact of fishways.

OTAs proposed assessment will focus on three major areas: 1) fish passage technologies; 2) FERC hydropower relicensing and fish protection; and 3) fish passage issues in relationship to the health of the Nations rivers. First, OTA will describe upstream and downstream methods for different species of fish and identify key elements for their success or failure. Also, OTA shall examine methods for monitoring their effectiveness; evaluate the potential for behavioral methods to help guide fish; and evaluate current knowledge of fish behavior and the status of related research. In addition, OTA shall assess research on a fish-safeturbine and describe potential benefits and problems associated with the removal of hydropower damstwo other means for removing obstacles to fish movement. Second, OTA will review environmental documents prepared by FERC prior to its relicensing decisions; evaluate the fate of fish passage recommendations in recent FERC relicensing agreements; and examine the status of fish management planning in relation to fish protection. Third, OTA will assess the role of fish passages at hydropower sites in relation to other problems contributing to the decline of fisheries in the United States. These include, for example, the passage of unwanted species via fishways.

Project Director: Patricia Durana 228-6515.

Estimated publication date: Summer 1996.

Requested by: House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries


Arctic and Other Regional Impacts from Soviet Nuclear Contamination (R)

Recent revelations about nuclear accidents, releases and dumping in rivers, coastal waters and oceans have focused public attention on possible health and environmental impacts from Russian nuclear activities. Nuclear contamination associated with producing and testing nuclear weapons, operating power reactors, ships and disposing of waste is widespread in the former Soviet Union and may affect the Arctic and northern environment far beyond fSU borders. The risks to human health and the environment are currently unknown but substantial work is underway in several countries to investigate known problem areas and understand the consequences. Technologies and methods for cleanup of past waste and for preventing future dumping and discharges need to be identified and applied where applicable. OTAs proposed assessment will review existing data and projects underway, evaluate the reliability and usefulness of existing information and investigate needs for future work in several areas including surveys, monitoring, cleanup technology, and facilities to store and handle wastes. OTA will investigate future environmental and health impacts and analyze U.S. scientific and technical programs.

Project Director: Peter Johnson 228-6862

German Reyes 228-6851

Estimated publication date: Fall 1995.

Requested by: Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense


New Approaches to Environmental Regulation (R)

As U.S. environmental compliance costs have risen, Congress has come under increasing pressure to move away from traditional regulatory programs to newer and more economically efficient or effective approaches. These include: market-based mechanisms (such as the marketable permit program used to control acid rain) and information programs (such as the toxic release inventory under Superfund). This assessment would evaluate how well current command-and-control regulations have worked and the appropriateness of alternative policy instruments for the wide variety of pollution problems we face today.

The theoretical advantages of alternative policy instruments have been discussed for years. The study would systematically evaluate, using a consistent set of Congressionally relevant criteria, the strengths and weaknesses of the full range of choices available: market-based approaches, information programs, technology-based standards, performance-based standards, enhanced monitoring and enforcement, etc. Unfortunately, little effort has been given to such pragmatic issues as implementation, monitoring, and enforcement. The assessment will examine new programs being tried by State and localities, such as the marketable permit program currently being tried to control ozone in Southern California. Other OECD countries have tried nontraditional approaches as well and no doubt will be a source of useful information. Special attention will be paid to how new advances in monitoring, modeling and control technology development have affected the feasibility and costs of the regulatory choices.

Project Director: Robert Friedman 228-6855.

Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.

Requested by: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works


Agriculture, Trade, and the Environment (R)

The 1970s was a decade where profitability and performance of American agriculture became linked to world market conditions and strong foreign demand for agricultural products. When these conditions weakened in the 1980s and contributed to a weakened farm economy, trade and competitiveness issues moved to the forefront of agricultural policy concerns. Understanding the structure of economies, their agricultural and trade policies, and the technological and institutional forces at play were factors critical to understanding the nature of global agricultural markets. As the United States moves into the 1990s, attention has turned increasingly toward a range of environmental issuesa number of which, such as water quality, soil productivity, deforestation, protection of wildlife, and biological diversity are closely related to agricultural production. Consequently, earlier concerns with world trade and competitiveness are increasingly juxtaposed against more recent concerns with the environment. Policy issues surfacing in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and EC-1992 negotiations, for example, suggest that environmental problems related to agriculture may be among the major trade issues of the 1990s.

The linkages between trade and environment have arisen in several areas of agricultural policy concern. For example, trade disputes between suppliers and importers increasingly stem from nationsdifferent standards for environmental and health protection. The United States has found itself on both sides of such issues, as evidenced by a number of recent trade disputes, for example, with Mexico involving U.S. restrictions on tuna caught with nets in dolphin-populated areas; with the EC regarding EC prohibitions on animal growth hormones; and with the EC regarding a U.S. ban on EC wines containing residues of an unregistered fungicide.

As Congress approaches debate on the 1995 Farm Bill, it is clear that two dominant themes will be trade and environmental issues. Understanding the forces at work in developing trade and environmental policy and the role of technology to enhance the environment and increase our competitiveness will be crucial to writing a comprehensive and forward looking bill.

This assessment will: 1) analyze the role technology can play in ameliorating conflicting forces between trade and the environment, 2) assess agricultural trade and environmental policies for the United States and its major trading partners, 3) examine the impact of more liberalized agricultural trade on the environment, and 4) provide policy options that maximize mutual positive attributes between trade and environmental policy.

Project Director: Michael Phillips 228-6510.

Estimated publication date: Winter 1995.

Requested by: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
House Committee on Agriculture
House Committee on Foreign Affairs


Aquaculture: Food and Renewable Resources from U.S. Waters (R)

Farming of aquatic plants and animalsaquaculturewas the fastest growing component of U.S. agriculture during the 1980s, nearly quadrupling production. At the same time, however, the value of imported fisheries products doubled to reach nearly $10 billion in 1989, becoming the largest food and agricultural contributor to the U.S. trade deficit.

Per capita consumption of seafood (from fresh- and saltwater) is forecast to continue to grow, as is nonfood demand for aquatic products to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, giving rise to concern over where the supply will come from. Despite recent growth, aquacultural production accounts for only 10 to 15 percent of U.S. fish and shellfish harvests. Increased wildharvest is unlikely: many capture fisheries are threatened by water pollution and overfishing and are declining, and increased public concern over food safety may constrain markets. Foreign countries already are poised to expand their share of the U.S. market based in part on their own aquaculture production.

It has been the national policy to encourage aquaculture development in the United States since 1980. The 1980 National Aquaculture Act, however, also delivered the primary responsibility for that development to the private sector. The Act has been authorized twice since its original passage, but the implementing agencies have not been appropriated funds to fulfill its goals. Concerns over the trade deficit, food safety, rural development, and water quality have combined to produce a resurgent interest in the potential for aquaculture to ameliorate problems or provide solutions. This has led to reconsideration of the Federal governments goals for and role in U.S. aquacultural development.

In order to assess U.S. aquaculture, OTA will 1) review data and literature on the current state of scientific understanding and technological development in aquacultural production in the United States, 2) identify promising new and emerging technologies with potential to influence U.S. aquacultural development, 3) identify new approaches from case studies of aquacultural production systems and policy structures in select foreign countries, 4) assess current and potential roles of Federal, State, and private organizations in the development and implementation of technologies, and 5) develop policy options for Congress. In addition, OTA will conduct an interim assessment of offshore aquaculture development, and analyze potential regulatory regimes that could be used to guide the leasing and permitting processes for these operations.

Project Director: Alison Hess 228-6516

Estimated publication date: Winter 1995.

Associated publication: "Offshore Aquaculture: Technology and Policy Issues" (BP), Winter 1995.

Requested by: House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries


Biological Pest Control (R)

The nations arsenal of chemical pesticides is expected to decline significantly over the next decade due to regulatory constraints and to growing pesticide tolerance among important pests. The question of what technologies will fill this gap remains unanswered. Biological pest controlmanagement technologies that use biological principles to attack pest vulnerabilitieshas a long history. Interest in this area waned following the chemical revolution of the 1940s when effective and cheap insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides became widely available. Now, the impending pesticide gap is causing numerous experts to call for a renewed examination of the potential of biological pest control in light of recent scientific advances. A number of important questions will need to be resolved, however, before its future role is clear.

In this study, OTA will: 1) evaluate to what extent biological pest control can help fill the expected pesticide gap; 2) examine the relative safety of biological pest control and how some of the problems experienced with large-scale use of chemical pesticides, such as pest resistance, can be anticipated and avoided; 3) determine whether the current system of Federal funding, research, incentives, and regulations helps or hinders the development or use of biologically-based approaches; 4) address the potential for transfer of biological pest control technologies from agriculture to other pest problems, for example, to weeds on Federal lands, lawn care, household pests, and vector-borne human disease; and 5) develop policy options for Congress.

Project Director: Elizabeth Chornesky 228-6517.

Estimated publication date: Summer 1995.

Requested by: House Committee on Agriculture
House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Federal Lands


Risks to Students in School (R)

Measurements and estimates of morbidity and mortality among students and identification of the hazards that cause those effects are necessary for the wise use of limited funds to reduce risks to health and safety. Some risks, such as those from after school athletic programs, are, it is believed, accurately measured. Others, such as the risks that are associated with in-school exposures to asbestos, other fibers, and a wide variety of chemicals, have to be estimated with the still-developing methods of risk assessment. Moreover, the positive association between reduced drug use and reduced pregnancy rates among those children and adolescents who attend school underline the importance of schools in risk reduction.

OTA will study risks to the health and safety of children and adolescents ages 5 to 18, corresponding to grades K through 12. School,of course, extends beyond the classroom doors, and the study will define the school environment as the classroom, the school building and school grounds, and travel to and from school. School-related activities will be defined as those associated with the classroom, school-sponsored events, and social interactions occurring on school grounds and arising from school activities.

Responding to this request will produce a compilation that includes risks from such disparate hazards as automobile accidents, student-on-student violence, and lead in paints and plumbing. The effects of those hazards also range widelyfrom acute, but limited, physical trauma, through disabling injuries and a variety of lasting impairments to various organ systems, to deaths. Moreover, some hazards can produce a spectrum of effects: automobile accidents can cause tiny injuries or deaths; lead exposure is associated with slight decreases in intellectual performance, and, at higher levels, with more serious and obvious neurological effects. If listed together, these risks and effects would be the proverbial mix of apples and oranges.

OTA will not attempt to make comparisons between disparate risks and effects. Instead, we will group hazards together on the bases of their effects, organize the hazards in each group according to the estimated or measured size of their effects, and describe the uncertainties of the estimates or measurements, as well as the technologies used to gather the measures or generate the estimates.

Project Director: Dalton Paxman 228-6695.

Estimated publication date: Winter 1995.

Requested by: House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Health and the Environment
House Education and Labor Committee


OSHA's Choice of Control Technologies and Estimation of Economic Impacts (R)

In the course of its regulatory rulemakings under the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) develops estimates of regulated industries' options for compliance and the economic impacts expected to arise. These analyses are a vital part of OSHA's foundation for promulgating a standard, and also satisfy the several requirements incumbent on federal rulemaking agencies for preparation of "regulatory impact analyses." They generally involve substantial effort and are often subject to extensive review and vigorous debate in the public hearings and comment process.

Despite the importance of these analyses for policymaking, however, little has been done to critically appraise their methods and content. Only a few of the several dozen OSHA health standards promulgated to date, and virtually none of the many more safety standards have been carefully examined with respect to how well the estimates of feasibility and economic impacts at promulgation match what actually happens as regulated industries comply. OSHA's 1974 standard for vinyl chloride was retrospectively reviewed in the later 1970s; the 1978 cotton dust standard was similarly examined in the early 1980s. It is widely recognized that in both these cases the actual costs of compliance were greatly less than had been predicted and that key features of the industry responses (e.g., the emergence of innovative control technology, accelerated investments in plant modernization) were quite different than anticipated. But whether or not these failures of foresight are typical of other standards and likely in OSHA's current efforts in unclear.

This assessment is being conducted to help Congress a) examine the influence of these technological and economic assessments on the content of rulemakings; b) gauge the adequacy of the analytical approaches OSHA currently employs; and c) determine if actions to help improve OSHA's capabilities are warranted. OTA plans to review the methods and knowledge bases on which OSHA typically draws to develop these estimates, as well as conduct estimate vs. actual outcome comparisons for a number of OSHA's past rulemakings--8 to 10 cases, including more recent examples which are illustrative of OSHA's present approaches.

Project Director: Mark Boroush 228-6684.

Estimated publication date: Spring 1995.

Requested by: House Committee on Education and Labor
Senate Committee on Education and Human Resources


Director-Approved Special Responses


Updated: 1/12/95
Questions or comments: netsupport@ota.gov