86 



183 



ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 



Icms identified by OTA siiU exist. The Task Force endorses the conclusions 

 and recommendations presented by the NRC and OTA and encourages USDA 

 ro take deliberate steps to continue to strengthen its environmental R&D 

 programs. 



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL LABORATORIES 



■ The R&D activities of the Department of Energy National laboratories 

 should be evaluated to determine their potential to make future contribu- 

 tions to national and international environmental R&D programs. 



As recognized in the Carnegie Commission's report £'; Organizing 

 for Environment, Energy, and the Economy in the Executive Branch of the 

 U.S. Government, 



institutions must be designed to embrace environmental, energy, and economic 

 goals harmoniously and coherently and to perform at the highest capability 

 the functions of securing the knowledge base, assessing impacts, and for- 

 mulating and implementing policies with both national and international 

 dimensions.'^ 



The Department of Energy has a large environmental R&D program, and 

 its national laboratories have played and should continue to play a central 

 role in the department's research activities. In keeping with the new vision 

 called for above, the missions, organizational positions, and activities of DoE's 

 National Laboratories should be reexamined and direaed toward environ- 

 mental, energy, and economic objectives. 



The Department of Energy's R&D efforts are supported by several 

 national laboratories, including Oak Ridge (in Tennessee), Argonne (in 

 Illinois), Lawrence Livermore (in California), Los Alamos (in New Mexico), 

 and Brookhaven (in New York). Historically, the primary mission of these 

 laboratories has been to design and provide prototypes of nuclear weapons 

 and reactors and to suppon the mission of the Depanment of Defense. In 

 carrying out this mission, the laboratories have developed unique capabil- 

 ities that can contribute to the nation's environmental protection efforts. 

 For this to happen, however, fundamental operational changes will have 

 to be made. 



Some of the national laboratories already have environmental R&D 

 programs in place. For example, Argonne National Laboratory is working 

 in the area of land use and restoration; BrtKtkhaven National Laboratory 

 has conducted research in acid rain for many years and houses a significant 

 program on greenhouse gases; Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing 



