UC TSR&TP PUBLIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Spring 2002 Meeting
Cal/EPA Headquarters (Joe Serna State Office Building)
Friday, March 1, 2002
Minutes
Present:
Leslie Stewart
Andrew Standeven
Rich Clark
Syed Ali
Winona Victery
Jim Stratton
Bill Vance
Bruce LaBelle
Mandisa Zeigler
Jerold Last
Lisa Stevenson
Mika Pringle Tolson
Marc Aarens
Arthur Fong
Steven Book
Bruce Jennings
Cathie Magowan
Kip Wiley
Not Present:
Mark DeSaulnier
Kean Goh
Jody Sparks
Robert Spies
Jeffrey Theiss
Arthur Winer
Jim Stratton brought the meeting to order at 10:09am and requested that everyone introduce themselves. Fall minutes were reviewed, and Stratton motioned to adopt. Magowan seconded the motion, and all were in favor. Jerry Last reminded the committee that minutes are posted on the web and to inform the TSR&TP Director's Office of any changes.
Stratton requested the committee review the 2002 grant & fellowship applications received and the RFP. Anticipatory research was discussed next. Bruce LaBelle brought up the issue of the toxicity of flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers - PBDEs), which are now being found in blood and breast milk. He said it was a good issue for UC because it combines toxicology and public policy - Is it really a public health problem, and what are the proper bioassays to assess toxicity? Bruce Jennings added that another good issue for UC is what other persistent substances are out there in the environment that we should be concerned about. Stratton commented that manufacturers often increase production of chemicals that become an integral part of the economy without first increasing toxicity studies. He said TCE is an example of this. Steve Book added that 1,2,3-trichloropropane is another. Winona Victery commented that there are no convenient analytical methods for many of these chemicals - it's hard to look if you don't have the right tools.
Bill Vance mentioned the state of California is facing a new kind of green waste disposal problem and perhaps UC can help come up with alternatives. California has 250 million board feet of copper, arsenic, and chromium treated wood per year to dispose of. It is deemed hazardous because of possible leaching, so it can't be put in a landfill, burned, or chipped. Playground equipment will need to be pulled up. The federal government is expected to ban this kind of treated wood in about 2 years. What is the logical way to get rid of this? Can the wood be leached and mined for the arsenic, copper and chromium?
Book said there is growing concern about the pharmaceutical load in wastewater, especially with water recharge projects and downstream drinking water.
Last asked the committee what they felt was the most important priority for the TSR&TP. Stratton responded with environmental fate and the criteria for testing and identifying compounds that have detrimental effects on the environment. Jennings said he's concerned with what determinants are used for defining "safe chemicals".
Stratton asked the committee if there were any other fresh or new ideas for research needs. Victery responded that there are growing concerns about environmental pathogens and bioterrorism issues, and the products of biotechnology. We don’t know a lot about these emerging compounds; much of the research is classified or non-existent.
Stratton added the human genome to the list — how biological toxicants interact with the human body and vaccines or antibiotics that can block these negative actions. Last responded that there is enormous interest in this topic and a lot of federal funding, so there will be UC involvement. If there’s an identifiable effort, then looking at where TSR&TP can converge makes sense. The lead campus program in Toxic Mechanisms is doing research in this area and seems a logical place to nudge in this direction.
Last asked the committee to let him know if they come up with other research needs later.
The Director’s Office report was next. Last pointed the committee to the list of 2002 grant applications received. He explained that the Executive Committee approved a new grant category for this year - interdisciplinary team applications - to encourage more investigators from different disciplines to work together. Last said if anyone is interested in more information on the proposals, we can send abstracts. Last summarized the lead campus review process which cycles every three years. It is an internal review done by subcommittees of the Executive Committee. A round of reviews has just been completed for each lead campus program. The Coastal program with its dynamic example of a mini-granting agency is doing very well. The Health Effects program has broadened out to green engineering and air pollution topics. Both have great student energy. The Ecotoxicology program had a recent director change, so the focus is more on the San Francisco Bay-Delta region. They also have interactions with UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. Although there are concerns about too much emphasis on state agency issues and not enough on anticipatory research, the program has potential, and we will be watching its evolution. We also completed the year and a half review of the Toxic Mechanisms program, a mock site visit to help them prepare for 3 year review. The science and students are superb. They had some growing pains with mutlitcampuses and administrative glitches, and they need to develop an external advisory committee. They also offered a summer course in genomics for graduate students at Los Alamos National Lab. Steve Book asked for details on the research and Last responded that David Eastmond, the program's associate director at UC Riverside would be the best person to contact.
Last then discussed Associate Directors and the TSR&TP leadership succession. Jim Hunt resigned as Associate Director of the Northern Campuses and is now on sabbatical. Arthur Winer, Associate Director of the Southern Campuses, will step down as of July 1, 2002. Marion Miller, the current UC Davis chair of Environmental Toxicology and John Knezovich from Lawrence Livermore National Lab have been confirmed as new Associate Dirctors so far. An Associate Director for the Southern Campuses is still needed.
Wrapping up for the Director's Office, Mika Pringle Tolson reminded the committee to complete their registration forms for the 2002 Research Symposium to be held April 5-6 in Long Beach.
The discussion turned to the budget. Marc Aarens said the legislative analyst recommended a 5% cut in research funds for the 2002-2003 budget, which would include Multicampus Research Units such as the TSR&TP. The UCOP Office of Research is trying to get support to prevent the cuts. UC's highest priority of budget retrieval is for faculty salaries. Cathie Magowan added that the 5% cut would be across the board for each MRU. Severin Borenstein of the UC Energy Institute spoke at the recent Regent's meeting advocating continued funds for research, and it was well received. The new UC center in Sacramento is now open. If anyone is interested in co-sponsoring internships, contact Magowan at UCOP (her information is on the member list). They are currently exploring office space options to get an intership program going with students in state agencies. Stratton asked if there was a description of the program and Magowan responded that they are not that far along, but graduate and undergraduate internships will be available.
The topic of how UC can assist state, public interest, and private industry needs was revisited and Stratton asked the committee if there were any suggestions. Syed Ali mentioned toxicology of farm water run-off. He said we need differential water quality standards for ephemeral streams.
Stratton discussed committee turnover and asked for new member suggestions. Last added that members from environmental and special interest groups and private industry are especially needed.
The committee broke for a brief lunch break and then reconvened for the afternoon speakers, Rich Brosch and Fran Anderson on the current brownfields project in downtown Sacramento, the old railyard visible from the Cal EPA building.
Old business was discussed after the presentations. Vance gave a review of MTBE and Chromium 6. The MTBE ban is positioned to go into effect at the end of 2002. California is still required by federal law to have an oxygenate in gas, which is currently MTBE, but would be replaced with ethanol. The problem is, there is no ethanol storage infrastructure in place, and producers are reluctant to invest because there is a possibility California will get an exemption from the oxygenate requirement. The UC panel on Chromium 6 has presented its findings to Cal EPA. The Public Health Goal has to be finished by the end of 2002, to develop a maximum contaminant level for drinking water.
For new business, the next meeting will also be in Sacramento. Presentation topic suggestions included agricultural waste, energy policy, MTBE, and fuels (alternative fuels, hydrogen). Gordon Schremp was suggested as a possible speaker on energy issues.
The meeting adjourned at 1:52pm.