AUGUST 1, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ■ 283A

To successfully monitor fecal pollu-tion at America’s beaches, healthofficials need a versatile “toolbox”of measurement techniques that in-cludes new indicators for rapid de-tection, according to a report fromthe National Research Council (NRC).

Officials have long relied on in-dicator organisms to judge the qual-ity of water, but recent advances inanalytical chemistry have spurredscientists to reassess these tech-niques, which take about 24 hoursto produce a result (Environ. Sci.Technol. 1999, 17, 353A–354A).

The NRC report, which was re-leased May 19, outlines a frameworkfor addressing the wide range of sit-uations that can lead to unhealthylevels of disease-bearing bacteria atU.S. beaches.

“The first phase is an earlywarning,” explains Steve Weisberg,executive director of the SouthernCalifornia Coastal Water ResearchProject (SCCWRP) and also a mem-ber of the NRC committee. “A prob-lem is there that you just don’t knowabout, so you want to monitor a lotof places, a lot of times, with a lotof speed.”

The SCCWRP is finalizing a studycomparing five new rapid tests, whichare based on such techniques as fluo-rescence, polymerase chain reaction,and magnetic bead separations.

In the longer term, the NRCcommittee envisions methods thatcan distinguish between humanand animal feces, such as tech-niques based on microfluidics andmicroelectromechanical systems(MEMS). Applying these “lab-on-a-chip” technologies to beach mon-

itoring poses many challenges,of which sensitivity is the biggest.“Because you’re measuring proper-ties on individual molecules, youhave to measure very large vol-umes,” Weisberg says. “Yet MEMStechnologies are set up for measur-ing small volumes.” Researchersare developing ways to concentratesamples or run fluids through thesystem faster, and the techniquesshould be available in about fiveyears, Weisberg predicts.

Determining the pollution sourceoffers other advantages. “Whenyou begin to know the source, youcan essentially model the system,”Weisberg says. He points to recentresearch by Stan Grant at the Uni-versity of California, Irvine, whichshowed that pollution levels wereconsistently higher at high tide(Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004, 9,154A–155A).

Likewise, rain events are almostalways associated with more pollu-tion, according to Mark Sobsey, anenvironmental engineer at the Uni-versity of North Carolina, ChapelHill, and a member of the NRCcommittee. And land use can evenbe a good predictor of water qualityproblems, because increased urban-ization can affect pathogen contri-butions within a drainage area.

Great Lakes scientists are alreadyusing models to predict beach waterquality in Chicago and Milwaukee.These sophisticated models use mul-tiple regression techniques to takeinto account factors such as rainfall,wind, solar radiation, temperature,turbidity, and pH.

But less-predictable scenarios—such as a leaky sewer line—are ofgreater concern because they can’t bemodeled, which is why officials stillneed rapid indicators, Weisberg says.

The NRC report also under-scores the need for researchers tohave a clearer understanding ofthe link between exposure to wa-terborne pathogens and disease.Additional data are expected to re-sult from a collaboration betweenthe U.S. EPA and the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,

Room for improvement inEuropeEuropean countries still have a longway to go in managing the impactsof agriculture, transport, and energyuse, as well as influencing changesin consumer behavior, according tothe European Environment Agency(EEA). In its latest annual survey high-lighting key environmental trends, EEAfinds that nitrate pollution from farm-ing continues, most of Europe’s urbanpopulation is still exposed to air pollu-tion above health protection levels,and waste generation—particularlyfrom packaging—is increasing. Thenumber of disastrous weather- andclimate-related events doubled dur-ing the 1990s and now account for¤10 billion in annual cleanup andremediation costs, and the figurecontinues to rise, EEA reports. EEASignals 2004 is at http://reports.eea.eu.int/signals-2004/en.

Energy efficiency = lessair pollutionThe U.S. EPA is expanding its highlysuccessful Energy Star program toinclude new commercial buildings,according to the agency. The pro-gram’s expansion, which was rec-ommended in President Bush’sNational Energy Policy, wasspurred by EPA’s finding thatalthough commercial buildingsare responsible for 20% of thenation’s greenhouse gas emis-sions, newly constructed build-ings are not significantly moreefficient than those constructedyears ago. “EPA hopes to call atten-tion to building design practices thatare expected to deliver high-qualityand energy-efficient commercialbuilding space,” according to theagency. Buildings that meet the des-ignation can display a plaque sayingthat they are “designed to earn theEnergy Star.” For more informationon the 12-year-old Energy Star pro-gram, go to www.energystar.gov.

News BriefsRapid indicators of beach pollution needed

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Safe for swimming? Major changes areneeded in the way beach water health ismonitored, say experts.

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which is combining exposure stud-ies with data from rapid indicatorsto get a clearer picture of the link

between measurements, exposure,and human health. —JASON GORSS

AUGUST 1, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ■ 285A

A series of decisions has raisedquestions about federal and stateenvironmental regulatory oversightof Florida’s waters. In the most re-cent incident, a Florida grand juryblasted U.S. EPA Region 4’s Super-fund program for failing to protectdrinking water in the western partof the state. The jury found thatresidents have unwittingly beendrinking water contaminated withradium, dry-cleaning chemicals,pesticides, and petroleum productsfor at least eight years.

The grand jury—the second inthe past five years to criticize theRegion 4 office—also condemnedthe Florida Department of Environ-mental Protection (FDEP) and thelocal water company for allowingEscambia County’s drinking watersource to become so polluted thatthe area could be forced to find analternative water supply. In a 43-page report released on May 4, thejury described how regulators failedto address pressing drinking waterpollution issues.

Escambia County is one of theUnited States’ most polluted coun-ties, encompassing six Superfundsites, hundreds of petroleum stor-age facilities, and numerous aban-doned sites. The area is at specialrisk because its sole drinking watersource is a shallow aquifer that ishighly susceptible to contamina-tion. Despite this susceptibility, EPARegion 4, based in Atlanta, Ga., ap-proved natural attenuation as theremedy of choice at three Superfundsites. In one case, the grand juryhas charged that ConocoPhillips,the corporate owner of the AgricoChemical Co. Superfund site, avoid-ed paying for cleanup by using aconsultant who persuaded govern-ment officials to approve naturalattenuation.

Florida’s two senators called onthe agency to investigate the grandjury findings. “The EPA must exam-ine its role in prolonging the health

threat posed by the contamination,”Sen. Bob Graham (D) and Bill Nelson(D) wrote. EPA Region 4 is preparinga response to the grand jury’s reportand won’t comment, says spokes-person Laura Niles.

Meanwhile, in a case involvingClean Water Act discharge permits,the Sierra Club and other environ-mental groups have notified EPAthat they intend to sue becauseRegion 4 has turned a blind eye toFlorida’s longstanding failures toobey the act. And, in a March 8 rul-ing on a dairy permitting suit, FloridaCircuit Judge L. Ralph Smith wrotethat the FDEP’s regulation of dairies,which has included voluntary agree-ments to reduce pollution, “is so in-adequate as to closely resemble adelegation of its duties to the in-dustry it is required to regulate.”

“If EPA allows states to pick andchoose when and how they enforcefederal environmental laws, then, ineffect, we have no federal standardsand we encourage states like Floridato ‘race to the bottom’ as a way toplease existing industrial pollutersand attract more,” says Universityof Alabama law professor RobertKuehn. “Failure to enforce standardsalso perversely punishes industriesthat spend the extra money to com-ply,” adds Kuehn.

EPA takes the allegations seriouslyand is currently investigating them,according to a May 13 letter to theenvironmental groups from Region4’s director of water managementJames Giattina.

When it comes to enforcement ofenvironmental regulations, Florida“is pretty third world,” says an en-vironmental scientist who movedsouth several years ago. Linda Young,southeast regional coordinator ofClean Water Network, one of thegroups that brought the dairy law-suit, agrees, “In most cases FDEP’spurpose is to protect illegal pol-luters from the public,” she says.—REBECCA RENNER

Florida, EPA slammed for regulatory failures

Biotechnology for pollutionpreventionGenetically engineered organisms(GEOs) have the potential to dra-matically reduce industrial pollu-tion, according to a report by theBiotechnology Industry Organiza-tion (BIO), an industry group. NewBiotech Tools for a Cleaner Environ-ment, which was released in June,claims that using such organismsand enzymes in place of traditionaltechnologies is a cost-effective wayto prevent the creation of pollution.For example, GEOs can produceethanol from crop residues, and theresulting fuel generates 8–10 timesas much energy as required for pro-duction. The report claims that thebenefits of using GEOs outweightheir risks in industrial settings, be-cause the engineered organisms arecontained and the chances that theywill be accidentally released into theenvironment are minimal. The reportis at www.bio.org/ind/pubs/cleaner2004/CleanerReport.pdf.

Assessing PVC with LCAThe best way to determine the envi-ronmental impacts of polyvinyl chlo-ride (PVC) is by comparing life cycleassessments (LCAs) on the basis ofhow the plastic is used, concludesa German consultancy in a reportpublished in June for the EuropeanCommission. For example, PE EuropeGmbH’s report found that in flooring,linoleum had fewer environmen-tal impacts than PVC had,whereas in roofing, PVC poly-mers had lower environmentalimpacts than bitumen systemshad. The report also found thatLCAs should be complemented byrisk assessments as LCAs do notevaluate the effects of exposure andhazard-related data. Life CycleAssessment of PVC and of principalcompeting materials is at http://europa.eu.int /comm/enterprise/chemicals/sustdev/pvc-executive_summary_lca.pdf.

News Briefs

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