cytometer and a flow injection analysis instrument, and it uses antibodies to detect pathogens, according to its inventor, Dan Buttry, who heads the University of Wyoming's chemistry department. What makes the instrument unique is the way its laser hits the sample and how this information is delivered to the detection region, Buttry said. Its sensitivity is what sets apart the RDB-2000 from other equipment on the market, Dufour said. Unfortunately, Whitman spent much of the summer trying to overcome the instrument's problems with algae, which are abundant in Lake Michigan and interfere with the sampling process. Although the device can make E. coli measurements in about 30 minutes, preparing the sample takes another hour, Whitman said. Because bleaching the algae adds yet another hour to the time required to process a water sample, the total time is about twoand-a-half hours, although this does not include how long it takes to get a sample to the testing lab. Although the instrument's $70,000 price tag is also an obstacle, Steve Lasky, a salesman for Advanced Analytical Technologies, Inc., the company marketing the RDB-2000, said that the price is likely to go down as the device becomes more popular. His organization is also exploring leasing options that could reduce the initial price, he added. Whitman expects to field-test the RDB-2000 next summer. As part of the Beach Action Plan, Whitman has been evaluating samples of wet beach sand this summer, recording E. coli levels that are 10 times as high as in Lake Michigan, he said. EPA wants to determine what pathogens may be associated with that E. coli because the sand "is where litde kids play, and they put their hands in the sand, and then in their mouths," Dufour said, hypothesizing that pathogens from the water could become lodged in the sand as a result of wave action. The presence of E. coli in beach sediment could confuse tests for sleuthing out the sources of groundwater contamination, Whitman noted. And it may
sharpen the call for alternative tests to indicate the presence of pathogens by scientists like researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's University of California Sea Grant program, who recently released a study showing that the presence of E. coli in coastal waters is not always correlated with the presence of pathogenic viruses. They are calling for the use of tests specifically aimed at detecting viruses like ones that cause polio and hepatitis A. EPA researchers are also investigating ways to speed up the conventional coliform tests, which are based on the presence of the marker enzymes glucuronidase and galactosidase, by using technologies like spectrophotometers that can recognize their hallmark
color changes more quickly. They are also looking into developing tests to detect the presence of chemicals associated with human waste, such as caffeine. Because the presence of E, coli in beach waters has been shown to be related to rainfall, wind direction, and temperature, the Beach Action Plan is also funding research into creating a computerized model for predicting coliform levels, Whitman said. In the meantime, recognizing that the primary culprit behind coliform counts high enough to close beaches is runoff from storm sewers in the aftermath of rainstorms, a few states and municipalities have begun issuing "preemptive" closings and advisories, according to Chasis. —KELLYN BETTS
HEALTH Environmental research budget needs $1-billion boost, NSF says The National Science Foundation (NSF) needs to triple its $600 million budget for environmental research, education, and scientific assessment, according to a draft report released at the end of July. NSF is the main supporter of environmental research in academia. It also funds much of the federal government's environmental science and technology research, providing grants to other federal agencies, including EPA and the Department of Energy. "Basic environmental research is essential to the nation's well-being and economic growth," said Jane Lubchenco, chair of NSF's Task Force on the Environment. The product of an extensive, yearlong evaluation by the task force, Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century: The Role of the National Science Foundation calls for amplifying NSF's environmental research funding to $1.6 billion over the next five years. Given the magnitude of the federal government's $1.7 trillion budget, $1 billion is not an inordinate request, stressed Rita Colwell, NSF's director. Humans are altering the planet's life-support systems "in unprecedented ways, at unprecedented rates, and at unprecedented scales," Lubchenco said, stressing that "new discoveries are revealing formerly unappreciated connections between the environment and . . . human health, national security, social justice, and the economy." Recent breakthroughs in environmental technologies such as gene probes, biosensors, and in situ monitoring put the nation in "a unique position in place and time to gain a better understanding of the complexity of environmental systems," Colwell added. When the report's findings were presented at NSF's headquarters in Arlington, Va., on July 30th, Colwell and Lubchenco said that they were already pursuing opportunities to lobby Congress to beef up funding beginning in 2001. Half of the funding increase called for in the report would be used to strengthen research in existing disciplines, Lubchenco said; the rest would be used to foster interdisciplinary research that "cuts across" the NSF's seven research directorates. No funding will be redirected from the other agencies that pay for environmental research, she stressed. To find the report on the Web, go to www.nsf.gov and click on National Science Board. The task force is currently soliciting comments and expects to produce a final report before the end of the year. —K.B.
3 5 4 A • SEPTEMBER 1, 1999 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
