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of unusually heavy winter snow accumulations, followed by early warm weather in the spring, causing fast melting. We do not, however, address the environmental factor, per se, either in our regular program or in the study cited above. It does not appear that our activities fall within the category of "research programs in environmental science and technology" on which you request information.

Sincerely,

G. A. LINCOLN, Director.

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
Washington, D.C., June 10, 1971.

Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution,
U.S. Senate,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: You recently wrote to us asking for information about our research programs in environmental science and technology.

As I am sure you know, as an officer in the Executive Office of the President, we are a staff operation and do not participate in or support directly any research programs. Thus the questions you ask do not seem to apply to our Office.

Sincerely yours,

EDWARD E. David, Jr., Director.

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
Washington, D.C., June 16, 1971.

Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Committee on Public Works, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: Your letter of May 14, 1971, requested the answers to a number of questions regarding details of active research programs in environmental science and technology, in connection with S. 1113, 92nd Congress. The General Services Administration is not conducting specific environmental research programs to which your questions would be applicable.

Laboratories operated by our Federal Supply Service do not perform environmental research of the nature described in your letter. They do, however, engage in product testing to determine whether products meet procurement specifications and whether specification changes are warranted. Any environmental control requirements which are incorporated in procurement specifications are in implementation of standards prescribed by legislation or policies established by the Council on Environmental Quality or the Environmental Protection Agency.

GSA's Public Buildings Service has no facilities specifically directed toward environmental research. Its activities involve applied research on building products, components, and systems as a basis for criteria furnished to architectengineers for use in the design of buildings. Environmental considerations are resolved on an informal basis with other Federal agencies having special expertise, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

A dual-fuel program administered by the Transportation and Communications Service would come under the heading of technology assessment. In this program, a certain number of vehicles procured for motor pool use are converted to a system in which compressed natural gas, liquid natural gas, or liquid petroleum gas are used as a substitute for gasoline.

The vehicles are used in normal motor pool operation to determine their economic feasibility. We make use of technology presently available from private industry, through purchase of conversion kits. The testing of emissions is accomplished through informal arrangement with the Environmental Protection Agency. No GSA laboratories are involved in the program.

If further information is desired regarding any of the above-described activities, we shall be pleased to provide it.

Sincerely,

HAROLD S. TRIMMER, Jr.,

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Assistant Administrator.

DEPARMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE,
Washington, D.C., July 2, 1971.

Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Committee on Public
Works, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: It is my pleasure to transmit the answers to questions raised in your letter of May 14. The replies to each question are identified on the enclosed report by the agency responding.

I hope the report supplies the necessary information for use by the Subcommittee and inclusion in the Hearing Record.

With best regards,
Sincerely,

Enclosure.

ELLIOT RICHARDSON, Secretary.

Questions and Answers on details of existing active research programs in environmental science and technology that might be considered to be in conflict with or a complement to the mandate of the National Environmental Laboratories-requested by Senator Muskie in letter to Secretary, DHEW, May 14, 1971. Answers are by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Health Services and Mental Health Administration (HSMHA).

Question 1. What is the organizational structure of your environmental research program? How many separate laboratories or installations in your agency are engaged in this research? What is the size and composition of the staff of each? Answer. FDA: With the exception of the National Center for Toxicological Research, the component units of the Food and Drug Administration do not conduct environmental research programs. The National Center for Toxicological Research consists of one installation. The size and composition of the staff are not as yet fixed.

NIH: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is one of the ten Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is located in a single installation, the National Environmental Health Sciences Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This Institute uses the usual NIH mechanisms-grants, contracts, and intramural research in carrying out its mission, the study of the effects of various environmental agents on man's health. The staff of the Institute is composed of the following full-time, part-time, and temporary personnel :

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HSMHA: In HSMHA there are a variety of research efforts that concern themselves with the adverse effects of environment on the health of man. It is not possible to delineate a specific organizational structure for these efforts. They are located in conjunction with other health programs such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Bureau of Community Environmental Management (BCEM), and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). No laboratory is engaged completely in environmental research. The laboratory under construction at Morgantown, West Virginia, is the only laboratory most directly involved in environmental research. It is not yet occupied or staffed. Current funding will allow a staff of 75 to 100 to work on health problems associated with coal mining. The laboratories in Salt Lake City are concerned with the health problems of uranium miners, the laboratories in Cincinnati are concerned with health problems that arise from the work environ(1223)

ment, and the laboratory in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the health problems peculiar to Alaska. It is not possible to identify in a meaningful way the strictly environmental aspects of the activity.

Question 2. What are the fields of specialization of the scientific investigators in your laboratories? What advanced degrees do they hold?

Answer. FDA: In general, scientists in the FDA include specialists in various aspects of chemistry, medicine, physics, mathematics, and related sciences. With the exception of the National Center for Toxicological Research, the programs employing these scientists do not perform environmental research.

NIH: The scientific investigators listed below are all trained at the doctoral level and are engaged in laboratory research in NIEHS. These are in addition to scientists engaged in program planning, program direction, and management of extramural programs as well as engineers who do not possess doctoral degrees.

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HSMHA: The fields of specialization cover medical science, sanitary engineering, industrial hygiene, psychology, and sanitary science.

Question 3. What is your present level of funding for environmental research? What is your present level of authorization for environmental research? For how many years?

Answer. FDA: The FDA has no present level of funding or authorization for funds for environmental research. We are administering the National Center for Toxicological Research on funds (1.4 million dollars) from the Environmental Protection Agency.

NIH: For FY 71 NIEHS appropriation, which is made for one year only, is approximately $20 million. There is no authorization limitation on the activities of the Institute. The Institute's functions are carried out under the broad authority contained in Section 301 of the PHS Act.

HSMHA: See comments under the answer to Question 1.

Question 4. What kinds of prolems are you addressing under the category “environmental" research? What proportion of this work would you consider “basic" research, defined as research producing fundamental, theoretical knowledge which was not sought for immediate problem-solving purposes? What proportion is devoted to technology development? To technology assessment?

Answer. FDA: The National Center for Toxicological Research will be engaged in the following problem areas:

A. Evaluation of methods

Current methods of carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, and mutagenesis will require further evaluation, correlations, and modification as our sophistication increases in certain areas, to provide clearer understanding of dose-response interrelationships (i.e. mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and teratogenesis). Also included will be comparisons on in vivo and in vitro metabolic-biochemical-toxicological response studies in animals and correlations with such studies in man.

B. Application of methods

The credibility of current procedures in terms of adequate assessment of safety and/or toxicity will be studied.

C. Development of methods

Newer biomethodological approaches will be explored to detect early warning signs of impending hazards. Comparative metabolism relevant to inter and intra species responses and development of preclinical sensors and biochemical profiles are envisioned as program components for emphasis. This phase of the program will also include development of suitable species and strains of animal and studies on experimental variants (diet and other interactants) which require standardization.

D. Exploitation of interrelationships between epidemiology projects (human toxicology) and toxicology projects in animals systems

From data banks on human disease incidence (cancer, metabolic disease, chromosomal and teratogenic effects, etc.) such information will be correlated where possible to observe effects in experimental animals to adapt certain approaches and guide the development of project protocols. Conversely, data elicited from animal experimentation will be examined and adapted to the development of epidemiological studies on human population laboratories by collaborative effort with other agencies or local and State health facilities or hospital groups which present such important resources.

E. Specific approaches in toxicology projects

Ancillary to and predicated on the development of standard biomethodological procedures, the Center will be responsible for assessment of the potential toxicity of a wide spectrum of environmental agents as previously described, which encompass the following testing:

1. Short term studies.-To include acute and subacute evaluations. This will encompass LDso determination (if not reported elsewhere), determination of teratogenic and mutagenic response, reproductive performance and physiologic, biochemical and metabolic effects (effect of chemical on the test system or effect of test system on the chemical). Where indicated, studies on microbiologic aspects will be undertaken.

2. Long term studies.-To include acquisition of data on longevity, tumorigenic response and other chronic effects.

3. Supportive resources in methodological studies.-If chemically unidentified, the stress agents will be characterized either as parent substrates, metabolites (endogenous) or as exogenous agents environmentally produced (i.e. marine biotoxin, mycotoxin, etc.). Facilities will provide for essential instrumentation and laboratory equipment for chemical identification and analyses. Studies on metabolic fate will be conducted using radiolabeled compounds (radioisotope facility).

NIH: The program of the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences is oriented primarily to the development of scientific information relevant to the identification, evaluation, and resolution of environmental health problems. The Institute program is directed to the identification of chemical, physical, and biological environmental factors which affect human health, determination of the mode of action of such factors, and development of a scientific basis for implementation of appropriate control measures. Of particular consequence are those human health problems attributable to environmental stressors acting in combination at low levels over long periods of time.

The emphasis in the program of NIEHS is on producing fundamental, theoretical knowledge on the health effects of exposure to environmental agents, but with consideration for its ultimate relevance to the solution of practical environmental problems. This is extended when necessary, in collaboration with the control agencies, into immediate problem-solving activities. None of the program is devoted to technology development or technology assessment. HSMHA: All work is of an applied nature.

Question 5. List your current research projects on ecosystem structure and function, if any.

Answer. FDA: The Food and Drug Administration has no research in this

area.

NIH: The scientific staff of NIEHS is engaged with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in formulating a systematic survey of potential stressors and their distribution in the ecosystem.

HSMHA: None.

Question 6. How much of your environmental research is conducted at your own facilities? How much is done by contract to other institutions? Please indicate the proportion of contract work assigned to each of various types of institutions (university, independent research firm, industry, etc.).

Answer. FDA: The FDA will conduct environmental research only at the National Center for Toxicological Research. It is envisioned that special competence and resources in academic and consulting research laboratories will be utilized through contract supported research projects to augment the program of the Center. Special consideration will be given to the adaptation of such extramural resources for studies on non-human primates.

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