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COMMlSSlON ON NATURAL RESOURCES Gordon J. F. MacDonald, (Chairman), Dartmouth College William C. Ackermann, lllinois State Water Survey Thomas D. Barrow, Exxon Corporation John E. Cantlon, Michigan State University Dayton H. Clewell, Mobil Oil Corporation, retired Harold L. James, U.S. Geological Survey Julius E. Johnson, Dow Chemical U.S.A. Allen V. Kneese, University of New Mexico C. O. McCorkle, Jr., University of California H. William Menard, Scripps lnstitute of Oceanography Norman A. Phillips, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration William K. Reilly, The Conservation Foundation Robert M. Solow, Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology E. Bright Wilson, Harvard University Ex Officio Members Norman Hackerman, Rice University (Chairman, Board on Energy Studies) Elburt F. Osborn, Carnegie lnstitution of Washington (Chairman, Board on Mineral Resources) Gilbert F. White, University of Colorado (Chairman, Environmental Studies Board) Sylvan Wittwer, Michigan State University (Chairman, Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources) Richard A. Carpenter, Executive Director ENVlRONMENTAL STUDlES BOARD Gilbert F. White, (Chairman), University of Colorado Alfred M. Beeton, University of Michigan Jonathan N. Brownell, Patterson, Gibson, Noble, and Brownell Henry P. Caulf ield, Jr., Colorado State University William J. Coppoc, Texaco, lncorporated Robert Dorfman, Harvard University James A. Fay, Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology Estella B. Leopold, University of Washington Perry L. McCarty, Stanford University Dorn C. McGrath, Jr., The George Washington University Norton Nelson, New York University Medical Center Vaun A. Newill, Exxon Research & Engineering Company David Reichle, Oak Ridge National Laboratories M. Gordon Wolman, The Johns Hopkins University Theodore M. Schad, Executive Secretary
.. Analytical Studies for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Effects of a Polluted Environment RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS A Report of the' Panel on Effects of Ambient Environmental Quality to the Environmental Research Assessment Committee 'Commission on Natural Resources National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Washington, D.C. 1977 NAS-NAE JULJ51977 LIBRARY
NOTICE This report is one of several commissioned by the Environmental Research Assessment Commi.ttee for use in its study of the role of research and development in regulatory decision making in EPA. The views expressed herein are those of the Panel on Effects of Environmental Quality and do not necessarily represent those of the Committee, The project of which this is a part was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for the their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors, according to procedures approved by the Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This study was supported by the Environmental Protection Agency.
TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE ............. & PANEL ON EFFECTS OF AMBIENT ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ....... * SUMMARY ................ 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: NEEDS FCR INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS OF A POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT .. ................. 8 An Approach to Assessing Research Needs on Effects..... ................ . ..... 9 The Nature cf Effects of Environmental Pollutants .... ................ 9 The Nature of Research on Effects of Environmental Pollutants ....................... 13 Principles for Establishing Research Priorities ..... 16 References ... ................ 19 CHAPTER 2: GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ....................... 22 Research Strategies for Some Relatively Intractable Scientific Problems ..... ............. ... 22 Importance of Effects on Nonhuman Organisms ......... 24 Economic Measurement of Effects ., ................ ... 25 Establishment of Quick-Response Study Teams , ..... . .. 27 Publication of the Basis for Scientific Judgments ... 28 Notes ......... . ................ 31 References. ------ ...... ................. â ............. 32
CHAPTER 3: EFFECTS ON WEATHER ANC CLIMATE 34 Impacts of Carbon Dioxide Emissions ... 35 Effects on the Ozone Layer 36 Effects of Sulfur Emissions 37 Institutional Arrangements...... 37 References....... 39 CHAPTER 4: EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH 40 Epidemiology 41 The Data Base....... 42 Institutional Arrangements 43 Cancer 44 Birth Defects 45 Mutations... 46 Behavioral Abnormalities ....................... 47 Chronic Degenerative Diseases 49 Toxicology. 50 Short-term Eioassays 51 Effects of Exposures to Mixtures of Agents 52 Eioassays for Mutagenicity 54 Behavioral Effects 54 Teratology 56 Mechanisms of Action.. 58 References 61
CHAPTER 5: EFFECTS ON WILD AND CCMESTIC ANIMALS 64 Epidemiology of Domestic Animals... 67 Toxicological Studies 68 Field Studies on Wildlife 69 Mechanises of Actior 70 Institutional Arrangements 70 References. 72 CHAPTER 6: EFFECTS ON AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST PLANTS 7U Laboratory Studies on Phytotcxicity 76 Field Studies of Vegetation Camage 77 Mechanisms of Phytotoxicity 77 References 79 CHAPTER 7: EFFECTS ON BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS 81 Laboratory Microcosirs 82 Experimental Perturbations of Communities 83 Simulation Models of Ecosystems 84 Monitoring Effects on Ecosystems... 85 Effects on Nutrient Cycles 87 Institutional Arrangements 88 References 90 CHAPTER 8: EFFECTS ON MATERIALS 92 Institutional Arrangements 92 Corrosion of Metals 93 Eeterioration of Organic Materials. 94 . v -
Effects on Irreplaceable Objects 95 Note 96 References 97 APPENDIX: LIST OF WORKING PAPERS PREPAREE BY PANEL MEMEERS 99
£££!££! The Panel on Effects of Ambient Environmental Quality was cne of four panels commissioned by the Environmental Research Assessment Committee (ERAC) to identify scientific and technical information needed for effective regulatory decision making. The reports of the panels are part of the assessment by ERAC of the role of research and develop- ment in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an analytical assessment that is, itself, cne part of a more extensive study by the National Fesearch Council of the acquisition and use of scientific and technical informa- tion by EPA in its regulatory decision making. The prime objective of the EFAC study was to examine the processes by which information is acquired by EPA through research and development. Because these processes have both managerial and scientific aspects, the Committee divided its work into two parts. One part, concerned with the organization, coordination, and management of research and development to support the agency's mission, is the subject of a separate report by the ERAC itself. The other, which deals with the identification of technical opportuni- ties for research and with strategies for guiding research planning, was divided among the four panels. The report of the Panel on Sources and Control Techniques deals with research needed on the generation of residuals and strate- gies for their control. The report of the Panel on Fates of Pollutants deals with research needed on the transport, transformation, and accumulation of pollutants in the envir- onment. The report of the Panel on Environmental Impacts cf Resources Management deals with research needed on the environmental consequences associated with the development and use of natural resources. This report, prepared by the Panel on Effects of Ambient Environmental Quality, deals with the identification of fundamental and important needs for information on the effects of pollutants and other environmental changes on humans, other living things, and the nonliving environ- ment. In its charge to the Panel on Effects of Ambient Environmental Quality, the ERAC asked the panel to recom- mend research strategies and priorities that would produce - vii -
information on the effects of environmental agents on human health and the environment, critical to the EPA's needs in setting ambient standards and other regulatory decisions. The objective of this panels study was, therefore, to identify questions that EPA needs answered and to suggest effective ways to apply the nation's diverse capabilities to the task of finding those answers. The discussion and recommendations presented in this report are a synthesis of the cortributicns of individual panel members. In the course of the study, panel members prepared background papers; these papers are listed in the Appendix of this report. Copies are available upon request from the Environmental Studies Board, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20418. The Environmental Research Assessment Committee wishes to express its appreciation of the contributions made by the members of the Panel on Effects of Ambient Environmental Quality in the preparation of this report, for the cooperation of the members of the various agencies and institutions, and for the assistance and support of Dr. William J. Scott of Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, and Cr. Leroy H. Wullstein of the University of Utah, who served as consultants. It also wishes to acknowl- edge the contributions made by the staff, particularly the dedicated work of Dr. Edward Groth III who, as Staff Officer for this panel, provided invaluable direction, support, and editorial assistance. John M. Neuhold Chairmar Environmental Research Assessment Committee - viii -
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE John M. Neuhold (Chairman), Professor of Wildlife Management and Director of the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan. Bernard B. Berger (Vice Chairman), Director of the Water Resources Research Center and Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Timothy Atkeson, Partner, Steptoe and Johnson, Washington, E.G. Norman H. Brooks, James Irvine Professor of Environmental Engineering Science and Director of the Environmental Quality Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. A.W. Castleman, Jr., Professor of Chemistry and Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Eculder. George M. Hidy, Vice President and General Manager, Environmental Research and Technology, Inc., Westlake Village, California. William B. House, Director of the Biological Sciences Division, Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Kissouri. Paul Kotin, Senior Vice President for Health, Safety, and Environment, Johns-Manville Corporation, Denver. John P. Mahlstede, Professor of Horticulture and Associate Director, of the Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Iowa State University, Ames. Duncan T. Patten, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Botany and Microbiology, Arizona State University, Tempe. Clifford S. Russell, Director of the Institutions and Public Eecisions Division, Resources for the Future, Inc., Washington, D.C. Richard J. Sullivan, Richard J. Sullivan Associates, Hamilton Square, New Jersey. - ix -
PANEL ON EFFECTS OF AMBIENT ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Paul Kotin (Chairmar) Senior Vice President for Health, Safety, and Environment, Johns-Manville corporation, Denver, Colorado. Jay S. Jacobson (Vice Chairman) Plant Physiologist, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Yonkers, New York. Timothy Atkeson, Partner, Steptoe and Jchnson, Washington, E.C. William E. Cooper, Professor of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, A. Myrick Freeman III, Professor, Department of Economics, Eowdcin College, Brunswick, Maine; and Fellow, Resources for the Future, Washington, E.C. William B. House, Director, Eiolcgical Sciences Division, Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Missouri. George D. Robinson, Research Fellow, center for Environment and Man, Inc., Hartford, Conrecticut. Joan M« Spyker*, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Director of Interdisciplinary Toxicology, Graduate Training Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock. Lucille F. Stickel, Director, Patuxent Wildlife research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. Laurel, Maryland. H. Eldon Sutton, Professor of Zoclogy and Vice President for Research, University of Texas, Austin. Carl J. wessel. Vice President, Tracer Jitco, Inc., Pcckville, Maryland, Warren Winkelstein, Jr., Professor of Epidemiology and Cean of the school of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Edward Groth III, staff Officer. * During the greatest portion of this study. Dr. Spyker was Assistant Professor of Anatomy, University of Virginia Medical School, charlottesville.
