This feature article outlines the concept and procedures followed in establishing performance standards for new emission sources and summarizes the standards that have been established to date. Five source catagories are enumerated: fossil fuel-fired steam generators, municipal incinerators, Portland cement plants, nitric acid plants, and sulfuric…

Recent national surveys conducted by the Council on Environmental Quality and others uncovered inconsistencies and confusion in the manner environmental quality parameters were used and reported. A standard air pollution index, comparative guide to water quality indicators and biological monitoring information are being developed. (BT)

This article relates the historical origins of the EPA's Priority Pollutants list and the development of the Priority Pollutant Protocol. Then, it summarizes the status of the current analytical procedures in their present and still-developing forms. (BB)

According to Rall, director of NIEHS, the agency is supporting environmental research in the areas of occupational health, epidemiological, carcinogenic and biochemical toxicology, air pollution, food additives and nutrition. Rall's concern is that environmentalists have become sidetracked by the problems of esthetics and wildlife toxicity and…

A new publication service abstracts, indexes, and prepares microfiche of environmental impact statements (EIS). This new service is designed to streamline the EIS process by reducing the cost and time of preparation, by eliminating redundancy of similar statements, and by working with the government to standardize the preparation process. (MA)

Discusses the role of scientific information in four areas: research management, distinctions between science issues and policy issues, criteria development and standard setting, and risk analysis. Recommends ways to improve the process by which scientific data are evaluated and incorporated into standard-setting actions by EPA decision makers.…