Environmental Protection Agency

The Environmental Protection Agency's Arctic research focuses on ecosystem protection, primarily in the areas of contamination, global climate change, risk assessment and environmental technology.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Arctic research is designed to protect the region's environment and to minimize environmentally related human health impacts. The EPA is pursuing specific research foci such as environmental transport, fate and effects of contaminants; land use, habitat and climate change; risk assessment for more defensible, credible and cost-effective risk management; and the development of environmental technology.

The EPA's Arctic research activities in FY 96 and 97 had the following broad goals:

• To estimate the extent of Arctic ecosystem contamination brought about by multimedia transport and ecosystem stress arising from human activity, and to investigate in a more comprehensive manner the effects of a variety of contaminants in Arctic ecological systems and in Arctic human and wildlife food webs;
• To provide risk-based assessment technology and other information for use by Arctic stakeholders such as Native Alaskan organizations, state environmental programs, and industries developing Arctic ecological resources; and
• To complete work on estimating the condition of two northwestern Alaska estuaries using the scientific methods developed by the multiagency Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program.

These goals have been pursued across three dimensions of primary activity: research and development, regional activities and international activities.

Intramural and extramural research, both basic and applied, is developed according to the results of priority-setting screenings conducted under the risk assessment/risk management paradigm. Investigator-initiated research proposals submitted cover a wide range of disciplines and research interests (and are reviewed, and in some cases funded, in cooperation with other Federal partners). Some areas applicable to potentially supportable Arctic research have included exposure to endocrine disruptors (and such other environmental stressors as hazardous or toxic chemical substances, land use or land cover change, and habitat loss), ambient air quality, environmental engineering (and technology for sustainable development), bioremediation, and social sciences research. Also, partial support has been provided for Arctic issue-specific workshops and research planning meetings.

Regional activities are undertaken through close cooperative planning and implementation with the states and local communities, and have addressed such issues as waste and chemicals management and education; contaminant studies at specific locales; and environmental technology demonstrations.

International activities, undertaken among the circumpolar nations, are designed to provide forums for dialogue, as well as the conduct of bilateral and multinational projects, concerning human health protection, environmental stewardship and security in the Arctic.

Health and Ecological Stressors

Increasingly there is recognition that human activities are significant influences on the ecological systems of the Arctic regions and the health of people living there. The Arctic has been shown to be a concentration area for locally and globally generated contaminants and pollutants, and such industries as agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining may compound important health and environmental impacts.

The Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), along with the National Park Service, is investigating the phenomena of Arctic haze and trophic nutrient cascade at Denali National Park. While not Arctic, Denali experiences real and perceived problems regarding deposition of atmospheric contaminants, and its nitrogen-poor and nitrogen-limited aquatic ecosystems raise questions about the impacts on wildlife such as caribou, moose, wolves and bears of trophic cascade from excess nitrogen deposition. Also, EPA interest extends to the biological ramifications of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) exposure at Denali's high latitude and altitudes, and the development and validation of an index capable of reflecting the condition (that is, ecosystem health) of freshwater benthic communities at Denali. An air quality station was operational in FY 96 and 97, and a UV-B monitoring site was established in September 1997. A final report on the development of the freshwater benthic index is expected in late FY 98. Also, in investigating contaminant inputs to the Arctic, the Great Lakes National Program Office of the Agency's Region V Office maintains the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network. The network monitors, among a variety of pollutants, air toxics that may accumulate in the Arctic, and it indicates possible U.S. sources of these contaminants.

The Office of Research and Development's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) provided support in FY 96 to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program's (AMAP) efforts to draft chapters on heavy metals and the characteristics of ecosystems and human populations relevant to pollution issues for AMAP's State of the Arctic Environment report, which contains the findings of six years of evaluation of the status of and trends and changes in the condition of Arctic ecosystems. Also, researchers at the University of Washington have received limited support from the NHEERL's Western Ecology Division to establish a database and to continue to analyze data from that laboratory's prior Arctic Contaminants Research Program. These data arise from analyses of heavy metals and trace elements in Arctic lichens, mosses and soils. A draft database was submitted to the Division in February 1997, and a subset of these data was deposited with the AMAP.

The Source Apportionment and Characterization Branch (Atmospheric Processes Research Division) of the EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) has conducted mobile source studies in Alaska. The work, done in cooperation with the State of Alaska, Environment Canada, the Coordinating Research Council, General Motors and the cites of Fairbanks and Anchorage, was undertaken to determine the effects on ambient levels of carbon monoxide (CO) from the use of oxygenates in gasoline (oxyfuel) in Anchorage and Fairbanks; both have exceeded the CO ambient air standard. In the winter of 1992-93, an oxyfuel program was introduced to the two cities. A number of health-related complaints were received by the State, prompting a study in Fairbanks by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study was inconclusive but provided information that led the Governor of Alaska to suspend the use of oxyfuel with the oxygenate MTBE. The question of the effects of oxyfuels on CO reduction, vehicle performance and human exposure under Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions was raised. In FY 95 the Congress funded investigation of the impact of oxyfuels in Arctic and sub-Arctic winter conditions, and the EPA and the State of Alaska began running a low-temperature study on vehicle emissions in Fairbanks and at NERL in North Carolina. The EPA's portable dynamometer was shipped to Fairbanks, and several vehicles were tested in low temperatures. To check on the Fairbanks results, three of the vehicles and the Fairbanks test gasolines were shipped to North Carolina and run in EPA's low-temperature dynamometer. Papers describing the effects of MTBE and ethanol on vehicle emissions at low temperatures have been published and the data presented at several scientific meetings; the publication on the MTBE work is a joint effort with Environment Canada.

The Exposure Methods and Monitoring Branch (Air Measurements Research Division) of the EPA's NERL, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), has investigated exposure to jet fuels in the Arctic. JP-8 jet fuel has become the standard military fuel for all types of vehicles including aircraft. Because of its low vapor pressure emissions during cold weather, aircraft starts are higher in aerosols and vapors, and fueling crews in colder climates have reported strong jet fuel odors and "drenching" by exhaust when working behind aircraft. The USAF and EPA are developing and using novel sampling and analytical methods to characterize JP-8 human exposure in cold climates that include new techniques for exhaled breath measurement and microenvironmental air sample collection. Work at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska, has shown ubiquitous human exposure to JP-8 using EPA's breath measurement methodology and battery-operated air sampling instrumentation. Research publications and presentations are in preparation. To date, measurements at 0, -10 and -20F do not support the severity of exposure described anecdotally.

Measuring JP-8 aerosols and vapors in KC-135 exhaust at Eislsen AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska, March 1997.

EPA Region 10's Office of Environmental Assessment, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, provided support for a study of snow contamination at two estuaries near Barrow, Alaska. The work, conducted at the Kasegaluk and Elson Lagoons at the Dease Inlet of Admiralty Bay, is part of EPA's Regional EMAP and involves ultratrace analyses on snow samples expected to reflect atmospheric input to the lagoons. Snow from five lagoon sites was sampled in April 1996 and analyzed using ultraclean methods. Several heavy metals had elevated levels in the snow. Particularly high concentrations of mercury were found in Kasegaluk Lagoon, and chlorpyrifos, endosulfans, chlordanes and dacthal were also detected. A report on the results of metals analyses was completed in December 1996, and a report on pesticide analyses was completed in September 1997. An article, to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, is in preparation.

In FY 96, EPA Region 10's Office of Waste and Chemical Management supported a grant to the University of Alaska Anchorage for a study called Alaska Native Use of Local Food Resources: Harvests, Contaminants, Concerns and Cultural Importance. The work focuses on developing an easily accessible database concerning the contamination of subsistence resources in Alaska. The dynamic database will be available to 226 Alaska tribes and other interested parties. The project is compiling information on:

• The contribution of different local food resources to the diets of Alaska Natives;
• Measured levels of contaminants in these local food resources and what is known or not known about the health effects of ingesting these foods;
• The cultural importance of local resource foods that are most likely to contain contaminants at levels posing a threat to human health;
• Alaska Native concerns about contaminants and Alaska Native ideas on how these concerns can be handled most effectively through informed risk management; and
• Research needed to better understand contamination to Alaska Native subsistence harvests.

The University has submitted a continuation proposal to Region 10 that has been evaluated by some IARPC agencies. It is hoped that these agencies will join with EPA in continued support of the work.

In coordination with the IARPC initiative on Assessment of Risks to Environments and People in the Arctic, EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment is now planning and scoping work for an Integrated Response Assessment for the Pribilof Islands and Bering Sea. Of necessity, the work is multidisciplinary and is being designed and will be conducted with the cooperation of the Agency's Region 10, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the City of St. Paul, the Tanadgusix Corporation, the Aleutian-Pribilof Island Association, the St. Paul Tribal Government, the Aleut Corporation and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Considerable networking is ongoing to foster cooperation among relevant international, Federal, state and local organizations including environmental and commercial interests. The work recognizes that the Arctic Bering Sea region is a valuable natural marine resource of tremendous ecological and cultural importance and economic potential. The Pribilof Islands represent terrestrial jewels within the region. Both ecological systems are highly sensitive to ever-increasing anthropogenic challenges, including environmental contamination, global climate change and fisheries exploitation. Significant effort has been directed toward research prioritization in the region by national and international organizations. The project recognizes that while research efforts to promote better scientific understanding of Bering Sea resources are of tremendous value, scientific understanding alone is not enough to manage these resources wisely. The work is designed to explore the inter-dependencies of ecological and human systems and to generate the kind of research questions and management options that promote long-term protection of all values in the Arctic Bering Sea region.

The concept of integrated response assessment involves a process designed to transform scientific data into meaningful information about the potential for change and about the possible risks of human activities on ecological, human health, economic and sociocultural values of importance in the region. The work differs from other current research prioritization efforts because of its primary focus on establishing management goals; integrating ecological, economic, cultural and human health issues; and applying the rigor of ecosystem-level risk assessment to allow integration of results for more practicable management. Principal accomplishments this fiscal year include obtain-ing commitments to participate in the process by local Aleut communities in the Pribilof Islands and Federal agencies with jurisdiction on the Pribilofs, and networking with the state and academic communities. A grant has been awarded to the St. Paul Tribal Government to survey the community for development of management goals. Two intramural interdisciplinary work proposals are in preparation to support aspects of the work.

Other Projects

EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment and its National Exposure Research Laboratory, in cooperation with the Agency's Office of International Activities, continue to support a project called Environmental Risk Assessment for Arctic and Subarctic Energy Development. This Arctic oil and gas risk assessment project is being conducted under the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission's (GCC) Environmental Working Group, the mission of which is to apply intelligence technologies to civilian-sector environmental problems. Information derived from intelligence satellites and other classified sources, both in Russia and in the U.S., have been combined with civilian data and used to create "derived products" (that is, unclassified, publishable maps). Geographic information system maps of an area in Siberia have been prepared and merged, and these products are being used in the design and conduct of oil and gas energy development models and risk assessments. The models and assessments are intended to allow specific Arctic energy projects to be realized and undertaken far more effectively than would otherwise be the case. Energy activities in the Arctic are extremely difficult, are prone to accident, and have a history of extensive environmental damage that has affected Russian rivers, their tributaries and the Arctic Ocean. The activity will allow development to be far more environmentally sensitive than it is currently by providing tools that preclude or minimize such damage. A White Paper was prepared for presentation at a September 1997 GCC meeting in Moscow, and a field visit is scheduled for December 1997 to meet with local Siberian representatives.

Another annually convened GCC activity (that is, its Environment Committee) facilitated by the EPA provides a forum for ongoing U.S.-Russian dialogue and policy consultations on environmental stewardship and security in the Arctic. Work under the Committee led to the 1994 U.S.-Russia Arctic Pollution Prevention Agreement. This agreement promoted garnering financial and policy support for expanding a low-level liquid radioactive waste treatment facility in Murmansk. Also, a trinational project among the U.S., Norway and Russia (that is, Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation) is focused on the development and manufacture of a prototype transportable interim storage container for damaged and undamaged spent naval nuclear fuel.

In FY 96 the EPA Region 10's Office of Waste and Chemicals Management (OWCM) funded production of a documentary called "Koyukon World View and Arctic Contamination Issues." With a grant to the Louden Village Council Tribe of Galena, Alaska, the film depicts a model, community-wide strategy for solving chemical and waste management problems. The model strategy is intended to:

• Identify chemical and waste management problems and potential risks in the Galena community;
• Develop a collaborative method for solving these problems among agencies or governments with differing cultural perspectives and environmental priorities;
• Identify specific actions or solutions to more effectively manage contaminant issues; and
• Transfer lessons learned via the documentary to other Alaska Native communities.

Also, OWCM has awarded the Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB) funds to help demonstrate solutions to Arctic waste problems and to enhance waste management capacity among Alaska Native villages. In addition, the ANHB will host two Alaska Tribal Conferences on Environmental Management to disseminate information on environmental issues in Alaska. Finally, in FY 96, OWCM supported the development of a contaminated-site brochure describing agency programs and key contacts and distributed it to Alaskan tribes. The same effort provided logistic support to the Bristol Bay Native Association to host a contaminated-sites workshop, the goals of which were to:

• Foster information exchange and coordination among the Federal agencies (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Defense, the EPA, the Alaska State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Federal Aviation Administration) responsible for the clean-up of contaminated sites; and
• Provide communities affected by contaminated sites with clear, incisive information.

EPA Region V's Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis, under its National Environmental Policy Act Tribal Program (and in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Forest Service), provided training for Native Americans in Fort Yukon, Alaska, on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Course work was conducted by representatives of the EPA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Forest Service. The course provided an overview of the act and agency regulations, and students conducted field surveys and developed case environmental assessments for relevant Arctic projects that would require NEPA compliance. The course offered over 40 Native Americans, representing six villages, a strong understanding of the purpose of NEPA and when it applies. This understanding is enabling them to be better informed and to engage appropriately in the NEPA process.

The Agency's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air initiated in FY 97 a cooperative agreement with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation focused on developing a case study for the establishment of ECOMAP to assist with monitoring activities at Amchitka, Alaska. Now in its initial stage of activity, the work is expected to increase the level of awareness in the Alaska Native community regarding the nature of risk from radiological contamination on Amchitka Island.

Under the Agency's Environmental Technology Initiative (and in cooperation with the Department of Energy, the Alaska Division of Energy, and Kotzebue Electric), Region X and the Office of Research and Development are supporting a project for replacing diesel fuel with wind energy in rural Alaskan villages. This project focuses on determining the effectiveness of using community heating loads as a dump load for a high-penetration wind/diesel system. It may demonstrate the capability to minimize the human health and ecological risks associated with the use of diesel fuels. The system is scheduled for construction in 1997.