ORD research grant funding increases The Office of Research and Development solicited proposals for extramural projects March 8 under its investigator-initiated grants program for 1996 {Federal Register r196, 6i(47), 9451). ORD has solicited proposals in three areas including highpriority extramural research projects in endocrine disruptors, contaminated sediments, and human susceptibility to cancer, according to Assistant Administrator Robert Huggett. ORD also would jointiy fund bioremediation research with the National Science Foundation Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research. Huggett said these the agency's top research priorities The program is the agency's fastest growing research program, Huggett said. It was funded at $22 million two years ago and at $44 million in FY 1995. Under the FY 1996 budget passed by Congress April 24, the program will receive $85 million. The Clinton administration has requested $100 million for FY 1997.
Revised ozone standard clears CASAC An advisory panel has cleared the way for EPA to propose a revised national ambient air quality standard for ozone. The Clean Air Science Advisory Committee (CASAC) recommended that EPA develop a secondary standard at its March 21 meeting, ending a nearly one-year CASAC review, said an air office official. Noting ozone's adverse effects on crops and vegetation, CASAC recommended that, in addition to revising the health-based primary standard, EPA set a separate secondary standard that minimizes ecological effects. David McKee, an air office scientist, said EPA staff would select one of two proposed secondary standards. The first sums the hourly violations of a threshold, which must remain under a specified total during a season. The other sets a secondary standard at the same level as the proposed revised primary standard. Currently, the primary and secondary standards are the same, allowing one violation of an hourly measurement above 0.12 ppm. The secondary standard was the
last ozone issue requiring CASAC action. EPA now can move forward with a proposal, and McKee said the agency expects to propose the revision in July. He expects the proposal will set a primary standard that averages a region's ozone levels over eight hours, which CASAC recommended last fall. CASAC members formed no consensus on a threshold, however, but indicated a preference for 0 08 or 0 09 ppm Revising the primary standard to 0.08 ppm averaged over eight hours and allowing a region to exceed the threshold five times per year would increase the number of regions out of attainment, said Ron White of the American Lung Association. Industry estimates it would increase the number by 60%.
strategies. In a related action, EPA also revoked 13 uses of five pesticides covering mostly spices and nuts, (Federal Register 1996, 6i(57) 11993-12009) with nominal expected impact, Nazmi said. EPA must reassess by next April another 40 pesticide uses, which Stolte said are used on crops such as citrus, corn, soybeans, and rice.
EPA, Customs broaden border enforcement
A new agreement with the U.S. Customs Service will broaden enforcement activities to include illegal imports of hazardous wastes and other environmental pollutants into the United States. A memorandum of understanding between the two agencies announced March 13 will Agency proposes revoking take a comprehensive approach to pesticide uses enforcing import and export provisions of all environmental laws, said A court decision that requires strict Mike Penders, special counsel for enforcement of the Delaney Clause the Office of Criminal Enforcement, has led EPA to propose revoking the Forensics, and Training. use of several pesticides on specific crops, according to EPA. The agency The agreement supersedes a 1987 recently reassessed about 40 pestiagreement that covered only exports cide uses, called tolerance, and proof hazardous waste regulated under posed revoking nine [Federal Register the Resource Conservation and Re1996, 61(42), 8173-83)) covery Act, EPA said. Now, Customs and EPA will jointly enforce import The Delaney Clause of the Fedand export violations of a wider areral Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act ray of substances including pestiprohibits the presence of any detectcides, toxic substances, ozone-deable carcinogen in processed foods. pleting chemicals, and motor "Delaney doesn't let us consider vehicles that do not have sufficient risk," said Niloufar Nazmi, of the Ofpollution controls. fice of Pesticides Programs. Revoking a tolerance means that the pesticide Under the agreement, EPA officannot be used on the specified cials will assist in monitoring and crop, she said, adding that growers spot-checking shipments, train Cuswill have four years to find alternatoms inspectors to identify hazardtives. ous waste and other environmentally harmful substances, and notify In 1992, the 9th Circuit Court Customs officials of suspect shipruled that EPA was not complying ments. The two agencies will intewith the Delaney Clause. EPA would grate databases and develop methapprove uses of a carcinogenic pestiods to cross-reference the Customs cide if, after raw foods were proService's tariff codes against waste cessed, the residues posed less than codes, Penders said. Customs offia one-in-a-million cancer risk, cials also will give EPA copies of imNazmi said. Now, EPA must reconport manifests of legal hazardous sider tolerances to determine if any waste shipments enabling the residues remain after processing. agency to track them The proposed revocations cover Import and export violations have pesticides used on such crops as apbeen very difficult to investigate in ples, grapes, plums, wheat, and sugthe past, Penders said. Transboundarcane. EPA expects adverse effects ary environmental law violations to be limited and regionally based, have increased in recent years, EPA according to Nazmi. However, Densaid. According to the Customs Sernis Stolte of the American Farm vice, CFCs were second only to Bureau Federation, believes the redrugs in quantity of illegal materials vocations will disrupt environmenconfiscated in 1995. tally beneficial pest management VOL.30, NO. 6, 1996/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY/NEWS « 2 3 7 A
