EPA SAB: advisory cmtee reinvention; dioxin reassmsnt

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

See the 3 rd p'graph of the 2 snip from EPA's SAB n-ltr for a clue about
the fate of the dioxin reassessment (at this date, apparantly a political
hostage?!).  The first item is a general discussion of EPA reinventing its
advisory cmtees
---


Happenings                                             at the Science
Advisory Board
                    ...insuring a solid technical basis for environmental
protection

                        Vol. E4    No. 2
                         February 1999

**********

1.EDITORIAL
              REINVENTING/INTEGRATING ADVICE AT EPA

     The EPA has more than two dozen advisory committees operating
under the structure and stricture of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA).  Taken together, these FACA committees bring more than
1000 of the finest minds in America to bear on a wide range of
issues confronting the environmental problems facing the country.
Increasingly, efforts are being made to coordinate the advice from
this disparate group of experts in a more synergistic and more
informed fashion.

     More than a third of the Agency's FACA committees -- of which
the SAB is only one -- deal with scientific and technical issues.
Many of these committees look at similar or overlapping issues, but
from different perspectives.  For example, the SAB's Environmental
Health Committee, the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP), and
the Children's Environmental Health Protection Advisory Committee
(CHPAC) are all concerned about the Agency's cancer risk assessment
guidelines (Ca RA GLs) and children.  The advice rendered to the
Agency will be enriched by having those perspectives informed by
one another when the three FACA committees meet together later this
year to address the Gls.

     The SAB is reaching out to involve other FACA committees in
its activities, as well.  For several years, the Chair of the FIFRA
SAP has regularly accepted a standing invitation to sit with the
SAB Executive Committee.   Dr. Eugene McConnell has served well in
this capacity and we expect that his successor Dr. Ron Kendall will
be able to do the same.  Dr. Costel Denson, Chair of the ORD Board
of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), has also been a regular and valued
guest participant at SAB EC meetings since the inception of BOSC
years ago.  The Chair of the CHPAC (Dr. Routt Reigart) is being
added to the list of invitees to future EC meetings, with the
hope/expectation that both groups will be enhanced by the
information and input they receive from the other.

     The SAB is also reaching out to involve in other advisory
groups both inside and outside the Agency.  For example, the DWC
regularly has one of its members participant in meetings of the
National Drinking Water Advisory Committee (NDWAC).  By design, a
member of the SAB's Environmental Engineering Committee has also
been a member of the DOE Environmental Management Advisory Board
(EMAB).  In recent years, there has often been an SAB presence on
panels of the SAP when they address non-propriety, fundamental
toxicological issues.  At the last EC meeting, representatives of
the Agency's Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) reported
on their successful approach to bringing focused, technical advice
to local communities, an issue that the SAB is considering, as
well.  Reaching even further, a recent EC Subcommittee was
augmented by the participation of the Vice President of the Health
Council of the Netherlands, a venerable (90 year-old) SAB-like
organization that advises the government of the Netherlands.

     Future collaborations of the SAB with other FACA committees
will likely include review of endocrine disruptors and of the ORD
grants program.

     At the operational level, the SAB Staff is working with the
Agency's Committee Management structure to increase further the
interaction between related FACA Committees.  The goal is to
provide more informed, more relevant, more integrated advice to the
Agency in a timely manner.

     Clearly, advice at EPA is being reinvented.  Suggestions for
further experiments and improvements are always welcome.

                    Donald G. Barnes, PhD
                    SAB Staff Director


[SNIP]


**********
7.  THE BOARD'S BIO


     Dr. Morton Lippmann is sometimes referred to as "the Dean of
the SAB", in recognition of his long service and valued leadership
on the SAB.  He first joined the Board in the 1970s.  He became
Chair of the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee (CASAC) in 1983
and served in that capacity until 1987, when he became chair of the
Indoor Air Quality and Total Human Exposure Committee (IAQC), which
has since be re-named the Integrated Human Exposure Committee
(IHEC).  When he stepped down as Chair of IAQC in 1993, he accepted
an appointment to serve on the Executive Committee, which continues
to this day.

     Because of his broad knowledge and demonstrated skill as a
chair, Dr. Lippmann has been asked to serve in a wide variety of
important positions across the Board.  For example, he chaired the
ad hoc Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Review Panel that dealt
with one of our most contentious issues.  He chaired the SAB's most
recent review of the Agency's dioxin reassessment, another high-profile
topic.  He has served as a consultant on several other
panels, including subcommittees of the Environmental Health
Committee (EHC) and of the Council on Clean Air Act Compliance
Analysis (Council).  During his tenure he has been directly
involved in helping the Board produce roughly 40 reports and he has
reviewed countless others in his capacity as an EC member.  To give
some perspective, consider that during his SAB career, Dr. Lippmann
has advised four different Administrators.

     Some have ascribed this longevity to the Kingston Trio and the
Agency's dioxin reassessment.  You see, his appointment to the SAB
extends until such time that the Board's review of the Agency's
reassessment of dioxin is completed.  And, just like the Kingston
Trio's Charlie on the MTA, "Mort's fate is still unlearned; as he
may ride forever on the SAB if dioxin is never returned"!:)
Seriously, we anticipate, with regret and deep appreciation, that
he will complete his service sometime in the next fiscal year.

     Dr. Lippmann also cites good industrial hygiene as
contributing to his longevity.  He should know whereof he speaks,
since he holds a Bachelor's of Chemical Engineering degree from the
Cooper Union (1954), a Master's degree in industrial hygiene from
Harvard (1955), and a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from
NYU (1967).  He is a diplomate of the American Board of Industrial
Hygiene, with certification in the engineering aspects and
comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene.  He is an active,
recognized, and honored member of a number of professional
organizations, including the American Academy of Industrial Hygiene
(AAIH), the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH),
the American Association for  Aerosol Research (AAAR), the
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), and
the International Society of Exposure Analysis (ISEA).

     By day, Dr. Lippmann is a Professor of Environmental Medicine
at the New York University School of Medicine where he directs a
research program on Human Exposure and Health Effects.  By night,
he serves as a  member of several journal editorial advisory
committees, in addition to his work on the SAB and numerous
National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committees.

     His 240+ research papers, critical reviews, and occasional
textbooks, command both shelf space and respect from workers in his
field.  Watch for the second edition of Environmental Toxicants -
Human Exposures and Their Health Effects that will be available
from Wiley-Interscience just in time for that hard-to-shop-for
someone on your gift list next December!