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pects of pest management has been a long-term interest of the Environmental Pro- 

 tection Agency's R&D program. 



In addition, the lessening of environmental impact, of the production of most prod- 

 ucts, at least on a unit basis, has been an EPA success story. An additional. example 

 is the tremendous reduction in Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) chemicals by many of 

 the major chemical companies. Programs at EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering lab- 

 oratory in Cincinnati have provided significant support to industry's efforts to re- 

 duce environmental risk. 



If it is true that we ought to be able to provide the goods and services that society 

 needs and wants without undue environmental risk, then Research and Develop- 

 ment must have a central role to play because we do not know how to do this now. 



You may ask why this shouldn't be done by private industry. The answer is that 

 product development is the realm of industry, and should remain so, but the envi- 

 ronment is the realm of EPA and likewise should remain with EPA. Yet in the pro- 

 duction of new products, many steps are generic enough as to be non-proprietary. 

 Research in these areas often has industry-wide impact and may. not be supported 

 by a single company as single company impact may be small. EPA's research func- 

 tion should complement industry's product development function by assuring that 

 the technical understanding of environmental risk does not lag behind the develop- 

 ment of new product technologies. 



It is important to note that EPA's regulatory authority is largely limited to the 

 United States, but the environmental impact of EPA's research and development ac- 

 tivity is global, limited only by our ability to transfer technology. 



While EPA's research function has a broader mission, there are several areas that 

 I view as fundamental to the future: the generation of technology for understanding 

 of risk, the prevention of pollution, and the development of cost-effective "end-of- 

 pipe" technologies for waste disposal and cheap remediation technology. 



The EPA has made an outstanding effort to incorporate risk-based decision mak- 

 ing into its management of environmental problems. Unfortunately, the accuracy 

 and precision of estimates of human and ecc.:gical risk are unduly influenced by 

 a limited knowledge of baseline data and/or of the pertinent environmental param- 

 eters. EPA's research and development efforts are thus fundamental to the reduc- 

 tion of risk to human health and the environment. In the absence of needed risk 

 information, EPA must too often regulate to ensure adequate protection. Thus, ad- 

 vances in understanding of risk and risk relationships may diminish the need for 

 some regulations costly to industry. Indeed, large scale comparison of risk across 

 many programs may give EPA a priority setting capability not available today. 



EPA's Pollution Prevention Programs are rightly receiving high priority under the 

 new Administration. "End-of-pipe" technologies added to manufacturing processes 

 increase manufacturing costs and may make products non-competitive in a world 

 market place. It is particularly distressing that an unprofitable process may shut 

 down in the U.S. and foreign capacity may increase causing a net increase in pollu- 

 tion world-wide. Yet, if a manufacturing process can be developed that does not 

 need end-of-pipe technology, there is no reason that it cannot compete in whatever 

 market it chooses to enter. Please keep in mind that there is no inherent quality 

 in the production of goods and services that requires pollution of the environment. 

 Much of the technology used in production today was invented before environmental 

 pollution became an issue. In addition, programs in life cycle analysis and recycling 

 actually bring the environmentally conscious consumer into the manufacturing par- 

 adigm. 



The third area fundamental to the future is the development of low cost tech- 

 nologies for end-of-pipe control of pollution and low cost remediation technologies. 

 End-of-pipe control of pollution will be with us for some time to come. Since these 

 technologies are not as important to the manufacturer of the product, they often are 

 not used in countries that are less environmentally conscious than the U.S. If end- 

 of-pipe control costs are high, a product can quickly become noncompetitive in the 

 world market place. As the U.S. company becomes non-competitive and goes out of 

 business, the ex-U.S. manufacturer of the product often causes a net increase in pol- 

 lution world wide. The cost of waste site clean-up in the U.S. is enormous, particu- 

 larly with more governmental waste sites being located. Many hazardous waste 



