Science provides the foundation for credible decision-making. Only
through adequate knowledge about the risks to human health and ecosystems,
and innovative solutions to prevent pollution and reduce risk, can
we continue to enjoy a high quality life. With a better understanding
of environmental risks to people and ecosystems, EPA can target
the hazards that pose the greatest risks and anticipate environmental
problems before they reach a critical level. Although all of EPA
uses science for policy and regulatory decision-making, and various
EPA offices perform research, the responsibility for leadership
in science at EPA resides in EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD).
Although it is important that ORD's scientific research and development
be integrated with and responsive to the Agency's regulatory needs,
it is vital that the conduct of the research itself be independent
and of the highest quality. Over the past 4 years, ORD has taken
major steps to ensure that it carries out a program of sound science
to inform Agency decisions without allowing regulatory objectives
to distort scientific findings or analyses. These steps have included
open, transparent, and peer-reviewed research planning; competitively
awarded extramural research grants; independent peer review of ORD
science publications, assessments, and documents; and rigorous peer
review of ORD's research laboratories and centers.
In its recent report, Evaluating Federal Research Programs: Research
and the Government Performance and Results Act, the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) identified
three questions as important for evaluating federally funded research
programs:
- Is the program of high quality?
- Is the program's work relevant to the Agency's mission?
- Is the program performing leading-edge science?
High Quality Scientific
Research
ORD works in several areas to provide high quality research to
support EPA's mission. For its major scientific research activities,
ORD writes forward-looking research strategies and plans that address
those problems that pose the greatest risks to human health and
the environment. ORD evaluates the plans and strategies periodically
and adjusts them if warranted by new research results, by changes
in EPA or national priorities, or by emerging issues and concerns.
These plans and strategies are subjected to rigorous peer review.
To complement its in-house research program, ORD leverages its resources
by partnering with other federal agencies on the interagency Committee
on Environmental and Natural Resources. In addition, ORD has created
the Science to Achieve
Results (STAR) program, an extramural research program that
includes the best of this country's scientists through targeted,
competitive, and peer-reviewed grants that are focused on the most
important environmental science issues facing our nation and the
world.
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Relevance
To maintain both short- and long-term relevance to EPA's mission,
ORD balances its scientific research activities across the two broad
categories of problem-driven research (to solve current environmental
problems of high risk and high scientific uncertainty) and core
research (to improve the underlying scientific foundation for understanding
and protecting human health and the environment). These two aspects
of ORD's research program at times overlap, and can be mutually
reinforcing--work on a particular problem can lead to a fundamental
breakthrough, and discoveries made while conducting core research
can solve a particular environmental problem. EPA needs both types
of research, and the synergy between them enhances ORD's overall
research program.
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Leading-Edge Research
EPA is a leader in many areas of environmental science, and ORD's
work in the area of endocrine disrupting chemicals illustrates this
leadership. EPA has been studying the effects of these chemicals
for many years, and took the lead in convening experts from around
the world to develop an international research strategy, partnering
with other federal agencies and the President's Office of Science
and Technology in an effort that has now resulted in a broad, internationally
integrated research program to study the effects and risks of these
chemicals. For example, as part of this program an ORD scientist
has discovered a unique protein in male animals, including humans,
that is a marker for reproductive fertility. ORD is studying the
usefulness of this marker as a diagnostic tool for assessing fertility
following exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.
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Role and Use of
Science at EPA
The role and use of science at EPA are determined by the nature of
scientific information and how it fits within the context of Agency
decision-making. Scientific information of the type described above--whether
it comes from ORD, other agencies, academia, the regulated community,
or other sources--always includes some degree of uncertainty and is
subject to varying interpretations. For example, assessments of risks
to humans from exposure to chemicals are often based on tests in which
laboratory animals are given high doses of a chemical. Effects seen
in the animals may or may not appear in humans, who are typically
exposed to much lower doses and whose bodies may metabolize the chemicals
differently. In addition, there are often different scientifically
justifiable ways to conduct risk assessments, and the method chosen
by the assessor can significantly impact the risk estimate.
Scientific knowledge is not only uncertain, but also dynamic.
Through research that is designed to reduce uncertainties, our understanding
increases and, as a result, we change our assumptions about the
impacts of environmental problems and how they should be addressed.
For example, for many years we have been concerned mainly with removing
large particles of toxic pollutants from airborne emissions. Now,
however, research indicates that small particles of air pollutants
may cause greater damage to human lungs than larger particles. This
new information not only changes our understanding of the effects
of air pollution, but also may significantly impact future pollution
prevention and removal strategies.
Science does not drive EPA's policy and regulatory decisions,
but rather, along with other relevant factors, informs and supports
those decisions. Implementation costs and technological feasibility,
local autonomy versus federal control, and justice and equity--all
of which impact our quality of life and standard of living--are
among the considerations that need to be factored into EPA's decisions
without compromising scientific integrity, the Agency's mission,
or statutory mandates. The impacts or limitations of these non-science
factors, as well as the current state-of-the-science, will influence
how scientific considerations are brought to bear on a particular
environmental problem facing the Agency.
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Conclusion
ORD's research program is of high quality, relevant to the Agency's
mission, and at the leading edge of knowledge in many areas of environmental
science. ORD's approach to measuring the strength of its research
program is in accord with the most recent NAS recommendations for
evaluating federal research programs. ORD continually looks for
ways to build on its strengths, so that EPA's decisions and actions
continue to be informed by the best available science. As we move
into the 21st century, ORD's research program remains focused on
providing high quality, relevant support for the Agency's activities,
and is well positioned to keep EPA at the forefront of addressing
the next environmental problems over the horizon.
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