221 



APPENDIX A ,1^ 



lives, a widely distributed peer-reviewed jourrial that deak with both longstandmg 

 and newly discovered problems. Finally, NIEHS supports pre- and postdoctoral 

 training in environmental health sciences. 



The National Center for Toxicology Research (NCTR) in the Rx)d and Drug 

 Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 

 the Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control (CEHIC) and the National 

 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both within the Centers 

 for Disease Control, all have research programs in environmental health. Located 

 in Jefferson, Arkansas, the National Center for Toxicology Research (NCTR) serves 

 as the basic research arm for the Food and Drug Administration. Its primary mission 

 is to study the biological effects of potentially toxic chemical substances found in 

 the environment, emphasizing the determination of the health effects resulting 

 from the long-term, low-level exposure to toxicants and the basic biological pro- 

 cesses for chemical toxicants in animal organisms. One of the major goals of NCTR 

 is to test the assumptions of underlying toxicological risk assessments. Another par- 

 ticipant in the effort to assess the impact of toxic chemicals on human health is 

 CEHIC. ATSDR is mandated by the Superfund laws to examine the health effects 

 of exposure to hazardous substances. It also publisiics toxicological profiles, health 

 assessments, exposure assessments, and community registries. 



The National Toxicology Program, established in 1978 and administered 

 by the director of NIEHS, aims to coordinate the \-arious toxicological programs 

 within HHS and serves as the principal toxicological testing program. The program 

 is designed to evaluate the effects of potentially toxic compounds and to develop 

 and validate new and better toxicological test methods. It also disseminates the 

 results to the academic, commercial, and regulatory communities and to the public. 



Another aspect of health research is those activities that have an impact 

 on the day-to-day occupational environment of workers in the U.S. The mission 

 of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is to manage "a na- 

 tional program of occupational safety and health research ... to estimate and dis- 

 seminate scientific and public health information to ensure safe and healthful working 

 conditions. . . .""° The work at NIOSH supports the Occupational Safety and 

 Health Administration. Engineers, epidemiologists, physicians, and toxicologists 

 seek to identify work-related injuries and illness, assess the toxicity of hazardous 

 material found in the workplace, and evaluate the causes of the ten leading work- 

 related diseases and injuries. The ultimate goal of the NIOSH research program 

 is to provide the basis for preventing occupational illness and injury. In 1991. $9} 

 million was spent on research at NIOSH. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) houses environment-related research 

 in two divisions: the U.S. Forest Service and the Agricultural Research Service. The 

 U.S. IxDrest Service (USES), as part of its mission to oversee the management and 



