Government Concentrates

EPA Inspector General outlines management challenges at agency

EPA faces a number of management challenges, according to a recent Office of Inspector General (IG) semiannual report to Congress. Chief among those challenges is the agency's lack of methods and deadlines for meeting the goals of its strategic plan. For instance, EPA does not have a coordinated strategy for integrating its goal of protecting children's health into the agency's overall operations, the IG report states. In addition, the report faults EPA for failing to identify or communicate the financial squeeze its Superfund program is in. The report also criticizes the agency's air toxics program, which has finished imposing technology-based standards on industry but has not yet assessed the level of health risks that remain after these controls are in place. EPA also has more work to do in its efforts on homeland security, the report says. The agency needs to better define its role in protecting the air from terrorist attacks; come up with a way to measure security enhancements in drinking water systems; and develop better ways to identify, obtain, maintain, and track equipment needed to respond to attacks. The report is available at http://www.epa.gov/oigearth/reports/2004/20041029-EPA-350-R-04-005-Semiannual-10-29-04.pdf.

OSHA cutting outdated rules

OSHA has published the second phase of its standards improvements project, which revises and removes inconsistent, duplicative, and outdated provisions in the agency's health and safety standards. Many of the revisions deal with rules for chemicals. For example, annual rather than semiannual medical exams will now be required for long-term employees exposed to inorganic arsenic, coke oven emissions, and vinyl chloride, OSHA says. The agency also says employers are still required to establish regulated work areas for vinyl chloride, arsenic, acrylonitrile, and 13 other carcinogens, but companies will no longer have to notify OSHA each time they do. OSHA Administrator John Henshaw says the changes will save companies more than $6.8 million annually in compliance costs. "These changes reduce regulatory burdens on employers while maintaining the safety and health protections to employees," Henshaw says. The final rule is in the Jan. 5 Federal Register, page 1112.

DOE awards $21 million for nuclear R&D

Universities conducting nuclear-energy-related R&D programs received a boost late last month when the Department of Energy announced $21 million in new funds for 35 academic nuclear research projects. The awards will go to 25 universities in 22 states, DOE said, adding that the awards ranged from $299,000 to just under $1 million for mostly three-year research projects. The grants are in support of DOE's nuclear research agenda, the department said, but departing Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham also stressed that the awards will help develop the scientists and engineers needed to keep the U.S. at the forefront of nuclear technology in the years ahead. The department and nuclear advocates have often voiced concern over declining interest and enrollment in nuclear energy academic programs and shrinking funds for university-based nuclear energy research.

NAS urges study of hazardous transportation

A recent National Academy of Sciences study recommends creation of a national cooperative research program to ensure the safe transportation of hazardous materials. The academy report argues that multiple responsibilities shared by federal, state, and local officials, as well as industry and other independent entities, have led to a lack of coordination and complex decision-making in a diverse and constantly changing environment. The report notes that nearly 1 million shipments of hazardous materials take place daily in the U.S., rarely with problems, and it credits thousands of public and private entities for this accomplishment. But the study notes emerging difficulties as new materials are developed, methods of transportation evolve, and new concerns arise. It supports creation of a $1 million program to begin a pilot hazardous materials research effort.

GOVERNMENT & POLICY ROUNDUP

Dan E. Arvizu was appointed last week to head the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. Arvizu was formerly senior vice president and chief technology officer for DOE contractor CH2M Hill and a manager and researcher at Sandia National Laboratories.

The international space station's two-man crew closed out 2004 by unloading urgently needed food, fuel, water, and other supplies from the Russian Progress supply spacecraft, which docked with the station on Dec. 25. Included in the cargo was material for student science experiments that involve 20 small, clear vials of seeds and other material. Once returned to Earth, the resulting samples will be compared with those from the students' ground-based experiments. The crew has now turned its attention to fixing the broken oxygen generator, the station's primary source of oxygen.

The House passed rules that will create a new Homeland Security Committee and lay out its jurisdiction. Under the rules, the House Science Committee will retain jurisdiction over homeland security research and development, cybersecurity, and fire and earthquake programs.

The Worldwatch Institute published its annual analysis of problems facing the world. Its book, State of the World 2005, focuses on factors that cause world instability, including poverty, disease, and environmental decline. The report is available at http://www.worldwatch.org.