Introduction

The objective of the Federal Government's collection of statistics on the environment is to facilitate and evaluate programs which are designed to help ensure public health and safety. Included are data on working conditions, the quality of the ambient air and water, and the effects of noise, wastes, and chemicals and industrial processes on man as well as factors which contribute toward his survival, health, and general well-being. There are no measurable parameters which directly correspond with the objectives of air quality, water quality, safe work environment, and ecological balance any more than there is a medical parameter called health or a socioeconomic measure termed quality of life. Nevertheless, there is a need for data on environmental conditions which (1) facilitate public understanding, (2) are produced on a timely basis, (3) impart an understanding of their significance, (4) are amenable to tests of validity and reliability, and (5) satisfy the needs of private and public decisionmakers.

The facts and factors measured and analyzed by the environmental statistician are the product of complex industrial and social phenomena. There are many important interdependencies, for example, chemicals discharged into a stream may interact to form substances assimilated by fish which are hazardous to man, because of his dependence upon fish as food.

Although interaction and interdependence characterize the products and processes measured by the environmental/workplace statistician, the material presented in this chapter shows that environmental statistical activity is marked by arbitrary fragmentation of responsibility and insufficient communications among interdependent activities. Consequently, this chapter concludes that a comprehensive review of the need for and means of producing Federal environmental statistics is required.

A comprehensive assessment of the need of decisionmakers for environmental/workplace data is needed, because perceptions of what should be

measured in describing the environment have changed. For example, it is now recognized that measurement of pollutant discharge is insufficient, since the interactions of some pollutants in the ambient air or water often result in products which bear only a remote resemblance to, and can pose a greater threat to health and environment than, the original substances. Moreover, the environment transports and transforms pollutants in such a manner that their end states and effects on man may require complex investigative procedures and instrumentation for adequate detection and control. For example, the effects of toxic substances and particulates disguise themselves as the degenerative diseases of old age.

In addition, monitoring and assessment systems have been developed on the basis of perceptions of data needs which are now undergoing review. Water quality monitoring systems, for example, which measure biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and fecal coliform for use as proxies for other pollutants, were developed to meet regulatory requirements. These systems may not meet the needs of research directed toward the development of new standards. The same assessment is relevant to occupational safety and health monitoring, air quality monitoring, and monitoring of pesticides production and utilization.

Responsible Agencies

The Federal Government collects, analyzes, and publishes environmental statistics on air quality and emission data; water quality and water supply; environmental contamination from radiation; noise pollution; toxic substances; the production, distribution and use of pesticides; the effect on the environment of energy sources now in use; the potential impact of new forms of energy upon the environment; and occupational injuries, illnesses, and exposure to workplace hazards.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the use of federally mandated State programs, is the primary data collection agency for statistics on the environment, these data are

significantly supplemented by data collected by the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Interior.

In addition, major analytical programs concerned with the production of environmental statistics are conducted by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in the Executive Office of the President, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the Department of Commerce, Environmental Programs in the Department of Energy (DOE), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the Department of Labor, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW). CEQ provides independent air and water quality evaluations, environmental indicator and statistical reports, pollution abatement cost analyses, and the Federal overview report (annual) on environmental conditions and trends. BEA produces information on pollution control and abatement expenditures within the framework of the national economic accounts. Data on the release of radioactivity is produced by several organizations in DOE. OSHA produces reports on the incidence and severity of occupational injuries and illnesses. The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences within NIH produce data on environmentally related cancer.

Several agencies perform significant statistical support roles with respect to environmental statistics. Environmental impact data are produced by the Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior and by many other agencies. The Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (MESA) in the Department of Labor produces mine injury data and data on black and brown lung diseases. The National Institute for Environmental Health Statistics (NIEHS) conducts a full-range of epidemiological studies related to pollutants. The Health Interview Survey (HIS) of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) collects self-reported health information and occupational data on an annual basis. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of the Department of the Interior produce data on the quality of ambient air and water.

Use of Environmental and Workplace Data

Interest in statistics on the environment and occupational safety and health is broad and lively. In the 94th Congress there were 35 full committees and 88 subcommittees having some jurisdictional claim

over either the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Energy Research and Development Administration (now part of the Department of Energy), or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These involved Senate Committees on Aeronautical and Space Science; Agriculture and Forestry; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Commerce; Foreign Relations; Labor and Public Welfare; and Public Works. In the House of Representatives, Committees on Government Operations, Interior and Insular Affairs, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and Small Businesses were concerned with programs of those agencies.

If a dam, highway, or power plant is to be built, a new pesticide to be used, a new production process to be introduced, supersonic transportation evaluated, and dandelions controlled, there will be an interest in the use and production of data on the environment on the part of the Congress, courts, business, industry, and the public at-large.

Data on the environment and workplace are used by Federal and State agencies to set standards to control automobile emissions, monitor the quality of drinking water, identify sound work practices in lumbering, control insect infestations, protect field workers from exposure to pesticides, and much more.

Core Programs for Environmental Statistics

Ambient Air Quality

The Office of Air and Water Management, EPA, collects information on pollutants in the ambient air and on the emissions of point and area sources such as automobiles, power plants, incinerators and particular industries. The pollutants measured include: suspended particulates, sulfur dioxide, oxidants, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and total hydrocarbons. This information is collected, maintained, and reported by the Aerometric and Emissions Reporting System (AEROS). The purpose of AEROS is to integrate point source information contained in the National Environmental Data System (NEDS) with the ambient air quality data in the Storage and Retrieval Aerometric Data System (SAROAD). Also encompassed within AEROS are other systems which provide information on source test data as well as environmental data from other agencies.

The point sources emissions information in NEDS summarizes data by type of source for EPA program areas. These data are collected by State and local governments on 75,000 point sources and about 3,200 area (county) sources.

Much of the data in EPA's National Aerometrics Data Bank are known to have been obtained by unapproved or unacceptable methods of analytical measurement. Among serious air monitoring deficiencies which have been noted are: improper location of monitoring sites and placement of instruments, errors in data handling and calculations, inadequate planning for quality assurance, and lack of intercity data comparability. Consequently, these data must be used with considerable caution.

State governments, through the National Aerometric Data System (NADS), submit source and emission data in NEDS format every six months for five pollutants: total suspended particulate matter; sulfur dioxide; carbon monoxide; and oxidants. Also, all source and emission data collected by EPA (inhouse, by grant or by contract) are incorporated into NEDS.

Ambient air quality data are generated by over 4,000 active air monitoring sites across the Nation for input into the SAROAD system. The coding structure for the system provides for 72,000 pollutant codes. The sampling intervals associated with the data range from one-hour averages of continuous monitoring to monthly and quarterly composites. Among reports generated by this system are standards reports which show the number of times standards have been exceeded for sulfur dioxide, oxidants, ozone, hydrocarbons and suspended particulates.

The emissions data of NEDS, which are point source in character, can be merged with the ambient air quality data stored in SAROAD. The merged information can be accessed by State and private users through NEDS. One such merger might, for example, combine NEDS emission data on tons of sulfur produced per tons of copper smelted with SAROAD data on the levels of sulfur dioxide in the ambient air.

The National Air Surveillance Network (NASN) of the EPA's Office of Air and Waste Management collects ambient data on radionuclides, five gaseous pollutants, suspended solids in rainwater, and particles of matter suspended in air. The NASN data are stored in the SAROAD system along with State air implementation plans.

EPA's Office of Research and Development conducts epidemiological studies similar to its recently completed Community Health Environmental Surveillance Studies System (CHESS). That system monitored health functions of people in areas of high concentrations of air pollutants. Ambient air quality data for CHESS was

produced by the Community Health Monitoring Program (CHAMP). The CHAMP program is a continuing air monitoring activity which generates epidemiological reports as well as providing data for SAROAD at 6-month intervals.

The National Center for Health Statistics in DHEW collects data related to illnesses caused or aggravated by air pollutants. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the Department of Commerce operates a turbidity and precipitation network and reports its findings monthly. These data are transmitted to EPA and included in NEDS, an example of when EPA employs data produced by other Federal agencies in lieu of separately originated data collections.

Water Quality and Supply

Federal data on water quality and supply are collected by the EPA's Office of Water and Hazardous Materials and the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior. These data collections are complementary. The EPA collects these data from the perspective of human use, consumption, and municipal, industrial, and agricultural impacts, while the USGS data are collected with water viewed as a natural resource. USGS monitoring station sites provide nationally uniform data. EPA's data is derived from monitoring stations, the locations of which are mostly determined by population and industrial density factors. By combining the USGS data and EPA data, it is possible to derive the net contributors of population and industrial density factors to the pollution of ambient waters.

The EPA's water quality data are generated by a Discharge Permit Program and a Stream Monitoring Program both of which are Federal-State cooperative efforts. EPA's Office of Water and Hazardous Materials enters these data into a data bank (STORET). A Discharge Permit Program has been designed to provide an inventory of effluent discharge point sources and periodic reports on effluent contents from companies and establishments. Implementation of this permit program has encountered significant problems.

The Stream Monitoring Program provides data on ambient water quality. These programs provide information on effluent parameters including: suspended solids, fecal coliforms, amonia, dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, phenols, dissolved phosphate, sulfates, organic nitrogen, biochemical oxygen demand, and nitrite. Point source data are related to factors such as discharge, industrial process, and employment.

Ambient water quality information on major impact areas is obtained through EPA's National Water Quality Surveillance System which consists of 60 pairs of stations and 30 single stations on various U.S. waterways. Physical and chemical parameters, including pesticides and metals, are measured by the paired stations. These data are supplemented by nationally uniform background data from the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting Network which will include an array of 525 stations, and by the EPA's Construction Grant Program which provides data on new and modified municipal treatment systems. Most of the National Water Quality Surveillance System data collection and laboratory analysis is conducted for EPA by USGS.

The Water Resources Division of the USGS determines the source, quantity, quality, distribution and availability of both surface and ground waters. Other data on water supply is generated through EPA's Inventory of Public Water Systems Needs Survey.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the Department of Energy collects information on water pollutant discharges from steam electric power plants. These data are incorporated in the USGS water data network, which provides a mechanism for coordinating Federal acquisition of water data.

Other Basic Programs

The air and water quality programs of EPA, USGS, and related efforts of other agencies, such as those of the FERC, the Department of Agriculture, and NOAA, are larger or further developed than other Federal environmentally related data collection and analysis efforts. Within the environmental data field there are components which produce data on: radiation (DOE); pesticides (EPA's Office of Pesticides Program; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); USGS; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior; Bureau of the Census; and NOAA); noise pollution (Federal Aviation Administration in the Department of Transportation; EPA; and the National Institutes of Health in DHEW); toxic substances (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), DHEW; FDA; and EPA's Office of Water Programs Operations); solid wastes (EPA's Office of Solid Waste Management Programs; the Bureau of Mines in the Department of the Interior; and Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce); pollution abatement and control expenditures (the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce; and

divisions of the Bureau of the Census including Governments, Housing, and Industry); energy development and conservation (EPA's surveys on energy utilization; and DOE's health effects studies which involve nearly one-half of all Federal expenditures on energy use/development health effects).

The Office of Biomedical and Environmental Research in Environmental Programs, DOE, conducts a broad research program on health, safety, and environmental effects of existing and potential energy sources. The program of the Office of Biomedical and Environmental Research involves health studies, biological studies, environmental studies, and physical and technological studies. Other programs involve operational safety, environmental control technology, and reactor safety.

Environmental Programs, DOE, is charged by Congress to develop a comprehensive energy research, development, and demonstration program. Pursuant to that requirement, they have developed a listing of all Federal activities involving biomedical and environmental research, environmental control technology, water management, and transporation research and development. This information has been classified under the following headings: characterization; measurement monitoring; environmental transport process; health effects; ecological effects (air/terrestrial, fresh water, marine and estuarine); and integrated measurement.

Apart from responsibilities for collection of radiation data in the Department of Energy their environmental statistical programs currently involve a significant array of research projects and the development of analytical models which rely upon other Federal agencies or the private sector for data.

Core Programs for Occupational Safety and Health

The Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration an annual Federal/State cooperative survey of occupational injuries and illnesses using a large sample of establishments to produce data on the national and State incidence and severity of occupational injuries and illnesses at 4-digit SIC manufacturing and 3-digit SIC nonmanufacturing industrial detail.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting a National Emphasis Program which uses standards compliance data, workmen's compensation data, and the BLS Annual Occupational Safety and Health Survey to focus on

industries exhibiting high injury rates. The purpose of this effort is to allocate compliance program resources, assess the impact of investigation activity and to determine needs for workplace safety and health standards.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Center for Disease Control, DHEW, conducts several programs of significance for environmental and occupational safety and health statistics. The joint NIOSH/OSHA Standards Completion Project is directed toward the development of workplace standards for almost 400 chemical substances. Existing workroom level standards promulgated by the Department of Labor are completed with requirements and criteria for employee monitoring, training, medical surveillance and recordkeeping. The National Occupational Hazard Survey and its component Trade Name Ingredient Clarification project examined a representative national sample of workplaces to provide information on the extent and conditions of workforce exposure to potential physical, chemical, and biological hazards. Industrywide studies are conducted regularly to identify health characteristics of particular industrial processes. Illness surveillance investigates the health experience of selected employee populations.

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) of the Department of Labor is primarily involved in the collection of mine safety and health statistics and conducting epidemiological studies and makes arrangements with NIOSH and contracts with the private sector.

Statistical Issues and Information Gaps

Planning and Coordination

It is evident that the collection, production, and analysis of environmental/workplace data are characterized by statistical gaps, lack of planning and coordination, insufficient attention to the quality of data, and insufficient priority on reporting and analytical outputs. While a number of programs are of outstanding quality, many others require extensive evaluation as to quality and practical utility of the data being collected.

Foremost among environmental/workplace statistical issues is insufficient information for use in planning and coordinating statistical programs. Insufficient attention has been given to developing a prioritized inventory of the statistical needs for program and policy development and program management. Also lacking is an inventory of current operating statistical resources. Consequently, in the

absence of this planning information, little of the potential for the development of interagency and intermedia programs is being recognized or realized.

It is also evident that there has been a piecemeal development of statistical resources. In some instances there has been independent development within a single agency of recordkeeping systems, reporting systems, monitoring activity, surveys and research. In other instances, statistical programs have been developed without adequate consultations with other Federal agencies having potential interest in the data to be produced.

Some environmental/workplace statistical programs make inadequate provisions for insuring that the data produced are of acceptable quality. For example, sampling and questionnaire design problems occur too frequently because the statistical resources of agencies are inadequate or are not adequately consulted in the design and review of proposed data collection efforts. Inattention to statistical quality extends to activities other than surveys. For example, massive quantities of information on pollutants have been generated with minimum effort to assess or improve the validity or reliability of these data.

Since 1970, three Federal agencies have been created for which environmental concerns are a primary mission. In each case they have been formed by assembling within one agency previously scattered but related activities and resources. The Environmental Protection Agency, organized in 1970, amalgamated 15 components previously scattered among the Department of the Interior, DHEW, USDA, and the Atomic Energy Commission. Similarly, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Department of Labor and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and required coordination between those new agencies. More recently (1975), the Energy Research and Development Administration integrated programs previously scattered among the National Science Foundation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Power Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, and Federal Energy Administration. This agency was then incorporated into the Department of Energy in 1977.

Thus, there has been movement away from the production of environmental data by scattered, highly specialized units toward the development of interdisciplinary programs which now contain