unfavorable and unintended results are figured in. Because of a request by the administration, the commission will also provide guidance on the appropriate use of peer review. Omenn said that the commission will recommend that economic analysis be subjected to the peer review process, including assessment of the uncertainty of cost estimates. The commission's report will probably call for federal administrators to make a formal determiGilbert Omenn, chair of the Commission on Risk Assessment
margin-of-protection approach, he said, using benchmark doses and adding safety factors for carcinogens and noncarcinogens. He stressed the need to develop a metric to compare noncancer to cancer risks from various pollutants. He also cited a growing public concern about endpoints other than cancer. Calculating a margin of safety is one of the thornier issues the commission has wrestled with, Omenn said. As an example, he pointed to immense differences between safety margins used when calculating risk from unacceptable levels of exposure to carcinogenic air toxics and those used when setting unacceptable risk levels for Clean Air Act criteria pollutants, such as ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, particulates, and sulfur oxides. Air toxics regulations for carcinogens aim to reduce high-end risks of cancer below one in a million exposed individuals; for criteria pollutants there is no such buffer and, in some cases, exposure at the standard can result in adverse health effects, Omenn added. The commission also took up economic analysis, which, Omenn noted, is at the core of today's regulatory reform debate. The report will broaden the debate by discussing other forms of economic analysis, such as costeffectiveness, life cycle analysis, and environmental accounting. The commission considered costeffectiveness the most useful economic criterion in achieving a goal, but Omenn added that the cheapest solution may not always be the most cost effective when
nation and present a justification for doing or not doing a risk assessment. Omenn predicted that risk assessment will be required for expensive, far-reaching regulations and projects with a threshold similar to today's $100 million, which triggers a cost analysis. The report can be obtained after April 24 from the commission at (202) 233-9537, and comments will be received until June 15. The report will become final in September. —JEFF JOHNSON
Stronger controls of pesticides urged Stronger government controls and surveillance of pesticide use, especially in developing countries, were among recommendations of a recent World Resources Institute study of pesticides that damage the human immune system. The report is based on a survey of international research, much of which showed that many pesticides alter the immune system in experimental animals and wildlife, making them more susceptible to disease. Epidemiological studies from Canada and the former Soviet Union have also found that children and adults exposed to pesticides suffer immune system alterations and
higher rates of infectious disease. For example, in agricultural areas in central Moldova where pesticides were used heavily, 80% of children had abnormal immune systems and were found to be three to five times more likely to have infectious diseases. The report calls for greater research to be led by the World Health Organization and funded by nations and institutions in the developed world and the pesticide industry. WRI also says government agencies should toughen their regulatory programs and thoroughly test for immuno-toxicity as a requirement for pesticide sale. —JEFF JOHNSON
STATES Integrated regulatory enforcement promotes prevention Recent programs in several states designed to unify the regulation of facilities' emissions, effluents, and waste streams do prevent pollution and increase regulatory efficiency, according to the General Accounting Office. "The integrated approaches are beneficial to the environment, achieve regulatory efficiencies, and reduce costs," a recent GAO report states. The GAO studied state programs that integrate the regulation of a facility's pollution across all media to determine if the programs promote prevention. Current regulation focuses on a specific medium and promotes pollution control. The GAO studied programs instituted by three states. Since 1993 Massachusetts has conducted facility-wide inspections for all media, with inspectors following materials through the entire production process. New York in 1992 targeted 400 facilities responsible for 95% of the state's pollution and assigned each a facility manager from the Department of Environmental Conservation to coordinate simultaneous inspections by state regulators. New Jersey started a voluntary pilot program in 1991 under which all environmental reguirements are written into a single permit. Results show a trend toward prevention, the GAO found. For example, two Massachusetts firms reported source reductions resulting from the inspections; a New York manufacturer cited process changes resulting from the program; and a New Jersey pharmaceutical maker, in obtaining a facility-wide permit, eliminated an ozone-depleting chemical. —DANIEL SHANNON
VOL. 30, NO. 4, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 1 5 9 A
