CHAPTER V 

 RESEARCH NEEDS AND REXXMMENDATTONS 



5.1 DIFORMATION NEEDS AND LEVELS OF INFORMATION 



Numerous meetings, workshops and symposia have been held over the past 3 

 years, all attempting to bring together researchers and policy and 

 decision makers to identify, review and discuss information and research 

 needs for understanding and regulating the use of organotin compounds in 

 the environment. To date over 300 papers, reports or articles have been 

 published related to some aspect of organotin compounds. However, most of 

 these papers have not been prepared to advise Federal and/or State 

 researchers, regulatory and/or policy and decision makers on research and 

 information gaps. Degrees of scientific unoertainity have always reduced 

 the confidence of Federal and State Agencies and have sensitized them to 

 the use of safety factors in making regulatory or policy decisions in the 

 absence of unrefutable scientific data. There are basically two levels of 

 information needs: 



(1) short-term data collection needs relative to immediate regulatory 

 or policy and decision-making actions. 



(2) long-term research as related to basic scientific understanding. 



Short-term data collection needs are usually standardized laboratory 

 studies, chemical analyses, monitoring efforts (field effects studies) , 

 etc. Long-term research projects are designed to test an hypothesis and 

 are usually cause and effect relationship studies in the laboratory and/or 

 the field. In Chapter II, we identified and discussed the short-term data 

 collection activities that EPA has requested in its Data Call In Notices. 

 These for the most part are standardized test response measurements 

 (release rates, toxicity tests, etc.) except for the required monitoring 

 studies. Therefore, this Chapter will identify and recommend the longer 

 term research information needs. 



5.2. RESEARCH NEEDS 



For the International Organotin Symposium (OCEANS '87) , a series of 

 fundamental-basic research questions were posed and papers were presented 

 to focus attention on understanding and predicting the implications of TBT 

 in the marine environment (Champ and Pugh, 1987) . 



V-l 



