LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
Envriromental Toxicology News will be published on the 15th of each month and will be distributed to all ETD employees and placed on the ETD internal webpage. Please feel free to contribute articles to Tom Hughes by the 7th of each month at: [email protected]. We hope you enjoy this newsletter. Editors: Tom Hughes, Mary Burrus, Nysa Sanders.
Welcome to the very first edition of Experimental Toxicology News. The newsletter for the Experimental Toxicology Division (ETD) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA). ETD is located in the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), in the heart of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. ETD is in the Office of Research and Development (ORD) of EPA. The main research focus of ETD is environmental pollutants: air particles, endocrine disruptors, and water pollutants.
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TOPEPA ACTIVITIES
Santa Baby Well, the party is over, but the spirit of giving continues. I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities on December 15. The food was fantastic and the entertainment, certainly enjoyable (I don't think any of us, especially our Master of Ceremonies, Tom Hughes, will soon forget "Santa Baby"). Special thanks go to our incomparable ETD Band! But, the best part of all came after the party was over. The gifs of toys and clothing were met with happy smiles and the excitement of the children who were anticipating the Shelter for HOPE holiday party that was scheduled for Wednesday, December 22. Thanks to all of you who purchased gifts and made donations. Also, thanks from the shelter staff to all who gave general needs items to the shelter. They were badly needed and greatly appreciated. The Silent Auction was a rousing success (thanks for the idea, Rick), and through the sale of the items donated and extra contributions, we collected $500 that was donated to the Shelter for HOPE! A heartfelt THANK YOU to the Shelter/Gifts Committee and to all who participated in the SHELTER FOR HOPE effort! Hope you had a great holiday.
Carol Mitchell
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TopWe're finally joining the bandwagon of the rest of NHEERL and have developed a monthly newsletter for our division. Tom Hughes has agreed to take the lead, with the able assistance of Mary Burrus and Nysa Sanders. Additional volunteers are more than welcome. As we get rolling, some of you will express your interest in particular areas, or have something that you just can't wait to share. with all of the rest of us. That will be great. This should be a vehicle to spread information, science, gossip, good news, swap and shop, etc.
So, to get things off to a good start, I thought I would take my time this month to give you a brief travelog of my trip to the Middle East over the holidays. As some of you know, my youngest, Lisa, is spending a year in Israel on a youth leadership program called "Year Course." (My oldest, Bernie, participated in the same program 9 years ago--his was a little traumatic given that was the year of the Gulf War!) She spent the first 4 months in Karmiel, which is a development town (meaning a town for new immigrants, in this case primarily from the former Soviet Union) in Galilee. She lived in an apartment with three other girls, helped teach English in a local high school (not the best way for her to learn Hebrew), and worked with abused kids. Just before we arrived, she had moved to Jerusalem where she will spend the next 4 months taking classes at Hebrew University and just absorbing the aura of the city.
We (my husband, older daughter Holly, two nephews, and one niece) arrived in Jerusalem on December 17, and were met by Lisa and her best friend, Shoshie, who was going to spend the holiday with us too. Our B&B turned out to be horrible, so we moved to a hotel right near the old city where we had stayed nine years ago. (Fears about Y2K and terrorism had led to loads of cancellations, so there was plenty 6f room in the inns!) We spent the next two days walking the old city, including the Arab schuk (street markets) which were tremendously crowded for Ramadan. We even got to go up on the Temple Mount and visit the El Aksa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, which are among the holiest sites for Moslems, as well as the Via Dolorosa and Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of Christ's crucifixion.
Bright and early (no kidding - this was not a vacation to take it easy!) on December 20 we were met by our Israeli guide who helped us cross the border into Jordan, where we were joined by our Jordanian guide and our pink "Birmbaum family tour" bus, and we headed off to see Jerash, which are the remains of one of the cities of the decapolis. There are more Roman and Byzantine ruins there than in Rome (or so it seemed). We spent the night in Amman, and then went to see Mt. Nebo, the site where Moses saw the Promised Land. The Franciscan Friars, who have a church there, are gearing up for the Pope's visit in March. We then went on to see the ruins of a large crusader castle, and headed for Petra. We spent the next entire day walking through Petra, the fabulous Nabatean city of the 1st Century BC through Byzantine times. Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't do it justice! More than 800 tombs were carved into the canyon walls, and the entire city in the valley has largely yet to be excavated. Early the next day, we drove to Aqaba, the Jordanian port city which adjoins Elat, the Israeli port on the Gulf of Aqaba/Elat (take your pick), and took a ferry across the Sea to Nuweiba, the Egyptian port in the Sinai, where we were met by our Egyptian guide who helped us through customs (and we think we have bureaucracy here!). That afternoon was our one afternoon of rest, at a lovely hotel right on the Red Sea. It was a little too chilly for swimming, but nice to sit in the sun and read a book!
The next morning. we went to meet the Sheik from whom we were getting our camels as well as our Beduin guides. We had four camels to carry our gear and occasionally some of us. We then set off hiking into the wilds of the Sinai. I have never seen such utter desolation, or such majesty. It makes the wilds of Utah look tame in comparison. How anyone can survive in that land, let alone for 40 years of wandering. is totally beyond me. I certainly have a new view of what constitutes an oasis-maybe one scraggly tree, forget the well!. However the hiking was great-really hard. but the scenery was amazing. You could see forever-the sky is so big in the desert. especially at night when the stars can almost he felt. Of course, l also know now what a banshee wail sounds like imagine being in your sleeping bag, or rather two sleeping bags to try to keep warm, in your little tent, with the camels loudly chewing their cud right next door! Also, think of sitting around a campfire in the dark (i.e., 6 PM), singing songs with the Beduins who spoke no English other than "Madonna". We were always up and breaking up camp by six since the sun was up, and we had more mountains to climb. We camped out for two nights. and then said goodbye to our. camels and Beduin guides, and took a bus to the base of Mt. Sinai. Now, that was quite a climb. Over the centuries (the monastery at the base was established in the 5th Century), the monks have carved out ~3800 steps to the top. Steps are a broad term but there was a definite trail that helped us to avoid falling off the edge. At the top, in addition to the souvenir stand, were both a church and a mosque. The view was spectacular, but it was also freezing, so we didn't spend too much time at the summit. The next morning, we visited St Catherine's Monastery, which has the largest collection of Greek manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, as well as the original Burning Bush.
We then headed back to Israel, where it took almost two hours to cross out of Egypt and then into IsraeL Picking up a rental van in Elat, we drove to the Ramon Crater in the Negev, which is really Israel's continuation of the Sinai. (If you look at the geography, the Rift Valley starts down in Africa and goes right up through the Sinai and between Israel and Jordan, ending in the Dead Sea.) This is a huge crater that was created by an ancient river which dissolved the sandstone under the limestone, which then fell down. We spent the night in a Beduin tent (after a week or more of pita bread and humus, I was sure getting ready for a change of diet), and hiked up a mountain in the crater before breakfast At long last, we went back to Jerusalem, where we spent time at the Israeli Museum (home of the Dead Sea Scrolls). On our last day, we took a tour of the tunnel which runs along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount - unbelievable history and archaeology surrounded us.
We had a fabulous time, and once I get my 17 rolls of film organized, I'll be happy to share some of my pictures with any of you who are interested. I can't tell you all how blessed I felt that I could take a trip like this, and share it with my children. I'll also never read the Bible in quite the same way again--I can really say I was there!
So, wishing all of you a Happy New Year and New Millennium.
Linda
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TOPJudy Richards - PTB
David Ross- PKB
Vicki Richardson- PKB
Marina Evans - PKB
Mike DeVito - PKB
Janet Diliberto - PKB
Linda Birnbaum- IO
ADMIN NEWS - RICK LlOYD
You can print your own copy of the 2OOO Leave Record and the 2000 Pay Chart fromthe Internet The 2000 Leave Record is at: http://intranet.epa.gov/rtp/services/hrmd/leave/Ieave.htm. The 2OOO Pay Chart reflecting the 4.6r% rest of US pay increase is at: http://intranet.epa.gov/rtp/services/hrmd/pay/pay.htm. This increase will appear in the January 25 paycheck.
QA NEWS - TOM HUGHES
Category 1 and 2 Research Studies At present, there are five (5) Category 2 studies that are either planned or underway in ETD. A Category 2 study is defined as a study that may have regulatory implications and/or will have high media visibility. Such studies require a more extensive intramural research protocol (IRP). In addition, a technical system review by the QAM (Tom Hughes) and a QA associate, and a review of all reports and manuscripts, is required. If you are involved or anticipate conducting a Category 1 (has regulatory implications) or a Category 2 study, please inform Tom Hughes (ex. 7644) as soon as possible because these studies can require up to a month of QA review.
Intramural Research Protocols (IRPs) Every research study that is conducted in ETD requires an IRP. In an ideal world, each study should have its own IRP. However, a group of related studies can be conducted under one IRP. In addition, please review the status of your IRPs. If they are more than 2 years old, they probably need to be modified and updated.
Visits to all ETD PIs by the QAM The new ETD Quality Assurance Manager (QAM), Tom Hughes, will be visiting all the PIs in ETD over the next several months to discuss the status of their projects. Each meeting should not take more than one hour. Tom will be calling the PIs in January to setup appointments.
TOPSEMINARS/MEETINGS
WIP SCHEDULE
JANUARY 18 - INES PAGAN
FEBRUARY 1 - MIKE EASTERLING
FEBRUARY 15- MIKE DEVITO
ITB - MARYJANE SELGRADE
Hellos and Goodbyes
ITB welcomes a new postdoc this month, Pramili Singh. Pramjla recently completed her Ph.D. at Louisiana
State University, and will be working with Ian. Her project will involve the effect of particles on respiratory
infection. At the same time Wumin Dong has completed his postdoc in the pesticides and kids area and he is
leaving to take a position at FDA. We wish him well.
A visit from our Regional Scientist
Lisa Ryan, who is on detail from ITB to Region 2, spent a week here in December working on manuscripts. She
also presented a seminar on activities in the region and the life of a regional scientist Lisa is just beginning
the second year of her detail.
Trips
Ralph Smialowicz made two presentations at the IPCS/WHO-sponsored meeting on Immunotoxicity and Risk
Assessment in Berlin in December.
PKB - HUGH BARTON
Congratulations and Goodbyes
Chris Hurst successfully defended his thesis and is off to my old stomping grounds, Boston. He will post-doc
with David Waxman at Boston University. Luz Maria Del Razo has left to return to her work and home in
Mexico; the arsenic group will sorely miss her superb analytical chemistry skills.
Jane Ellen Simmons and Rex Pegram attended a Safe Drinking Water Meeting in Miami on November 15-1 7, 1999. A main research need which resulted from the meeting is to conduct experiments in animals on DBP mixtures found in drinking water.
Elaina Kenyon and Mike Hughes were invited speakers on arsenic toxicity at a meeting sponsored by the WHO, which was held in Australia on November 11 and 12, 1999. The following week, both ETD scientists were members of a WHO/IPCS Task Group on arsenic toxicity and, as such, will author chapters on an Environmental Health Criteria Document on the metabolism and toxicity of arsenic in laboratory animals, respectively.
The above four talks are discussed in the upcoming NHEERL NEWSLETTER
PTB - DAN COSTA
It seems only fitting that ETD waited to the new millennium (more or less) to get its newsletter off the ground - Linda had it planned that way! I fully support the founding concept that the newsletter should provide a forum for information exchange within the division on a Wide spectrum of topics and issues from EPA and work- related business to social matters, such as the Holiday Party or new babies. I would certainly encourage people in PTB to cooperate and get involved with the newsletter by submitting ideas or short write-ups to Tom Hughes. Evidently, each branch chief will have a regular space for news items, comments or ideas. So each month I'll try to relate to you a few tidbits of information with which you may not be familiar. The regular PTB Journal Club meets every 3 weeks to review an article germane to lung physiology or basic biology (Steve Gaven - 2555). The PTB WIP meets monthly (Urmila Kodavanti - 4963). Everyone in ETD is invited to attend and better yet participate - we love converts. This month is a busy one with performance reviews and various quarterly reports, but please feel free to contact me if ever you should feel the need. One of the hopes for the newsletter is that it will foster a more integrative sense of the division where each one of you will feel free to seek out expertise and advise from each other and perhaps open new doors. Enjoy.
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TOPALL ETD-EPA HANDS MEETING
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7,2000 FROM 1:00-4:30 IN CLASSROOM 1. Bring a snack to share and hear about the results from the employee survey. We will also break out into small groups to discuss Methods to improve employee satisfaction. Linda strongly encourages all EPA employees in ETD to attend!
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VOLUNTEERS FOR NEWSLETTER
NEEDED!
If you are interested in assisting with the newsletter, call Tom Hughes at 541-7644. We are seeking branch reporters!
TOPODDS AND ENDS
MaryJane Selgrade's son, Greg, graduated in December from NC State University, cum laude, in aerospace engineering. His plans are to pursue a Master's degree in exercise physiology.
Congratulations to Mike Hughes, Dave Davies and Brenda Culpepper on receiving ETD informal awards at a recent WIP meeting. Mike received an EPA watch for his help with Inventory Plus. Dave received a cooler for his help with Inventory Plus. Brenda received a laser pointer for her continuing QA efforts for ETD.
Tom Hughes thanks everyone in ETD for all their help and assistance in his QA and Santa efforts.
TOPMEMBER PROFILE
IN FUTURE EDITIONS, A MEMBER PROFILE SECTION WILL HIGHLIGHT THE RESULTS OF AN ETD SCIENTIST. THIS ARTICLE CAN BE WRITTEN BY ANY ETD SCIENTIST WHO HAS RECENTLY PRESENTED A WIP OR WHO HAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED A PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WRITING A SHORT ARTICLE ON YOUR RESEARCH FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER (DUE BY THE 7th OF EACH MONTH), CONTACT TOM HUGHES.
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Comments and suggestions for news categories are welcome.
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Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Monday January 17, 2000