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3 EPA J. 14 (1977)
Laboratory Dedicated at Narragansett

handle is hein.journals/epajrnl3 and id is 172 raw text is: LABORATORY DEDICATED AT NARRAGANSETT By Van Trumbul E PA's new $4 million Environmental Re- search Laboratory was dedicated re - cently at Narragansett, R.I.,,with short talks by two U.S. Senators, a week-long open house for 3,500 visitors, a scientific symposium, music ranging from classical string trios to rock-and-roll, several picnics, and a sailing regatta. Sitting on a grassy bank overlooking Nar- ragansett Bay, which sparkled in the morning sun, more than 300 persons heard Sen. Clai- borne Pell, Rhode Island's senior Senator, give the dedicatory address. Sen. Pell praised EPA's research and devel- opment work in preserving the natural re- sources of the biosphere. It is particularly appropriate, he said, that the Agency's major laboratory concerned with marine ecology should be located on Narragansett Bay, in the Ocean State. Oceans and estuaries consti- tute a vital part of the environment that must be protected to sustain human life. Pell said he hoped that some kind of inter- national environmental impact study would soon be required before any single nation takes an action that can affect the quality of ocean waters and their plant and animal life. Rhode Island's junior Senator and former Governor, John A. Chaffee, also spoke, as did Dr. Wilson K. Talley, former EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, and Dr. Clarence M. Tarzwell, director of the laboratory until he retired five years ago. Dr. Tarzwell recalled the founding of the laboratory under the Federal Water Quality Administration, an EPA predecessor agency, 12 years ago in rented quarters at the Univer- sity of Rhode Island, West Kingston. We were nine miles from the bay, Tarzwell said, and had to carry the seawater for our exper- iments in and out in tank trucks. The laboratory was moved to its shore location in 1973, and seawater is now piped to its testing tanks. The new addition more than doubles the space available for research work, and many new facilities and improve- ments have been added. Total cost of the (Trumbull is a staff writer for EPA Journal) EPA JOURNAL expansion was $4 million, and the total new floor space for wet labs, dry labs, offices, and support facilities is 51,000 square feet. About 85 scientists and other professionals work there, as well as a support staff of 45 persons. Dr. Eric D. Schneider has been Di- rector of this laboratory since 1972. Dr. Frank G. Lowman is Deputy Director. In concluding remarks, Dr. Schneider praised the people of Rhode Island for their support of EPA's marine work and their con- fidence in the ultimate success of protecting ocean life and resources. The new laboratory with its fine equipment will help a great deal, he said, but the collective energy and enthu- siasm of its staff is still the greatest resource we have at the Narragansett Laboratory. A symposium on The State of Marine Environmental Research was held at the laboratory with 29 technical papers presented by scientists from EPA, research institutions, and ten universities ranging as far as Hawaii and Miami. These papers will be published. Keynote speaker for the symposium was the famed ecologist, Dr. Eugene Odum, of the University of Georgia, who said the three E's, environment, energy, and employment are synergistic, that is, they work together and reinforce each other. T he laboratory specializes in research needed to find ways to restore and pro- tect the quality of coastal and marine water and to maintain healthful and productive hab- itats for ocean life. Its principal divisions include: * Bioassay. methods-development of test systems to determine the effects of pollutants on marine life. * Ecosystems analysis-simulating ocean en- vironments in the lab to learn how natural populations of plants and animals live and react to environmental changes. * Oils-a special research effort on the effects of petroleum products in seawater. * Response parameters-are there early indi- cators, short of death, of a pollutant's pres- ence: changes in behavior, motility, feeding? * Marine culture-how to grow fish and other marine animals from eggs and larvae and rear them successfully for use in laboratory re- search. The laboratory at Narragansett is part of what Sen. Pell called a golden triangle of marine science on the Bay. Just south of the. EPA lab is the Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island, with its own marine lab, pier, research vessels, and Graduate School of Oceanography. Across the road to the west is a research station of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the Commerce Depart- ment's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There is a good deal of formal and informal information exchange among the three com- ponents of the triangle, according to Dr. Schneider. Scientists in each component are stimulated by the presence of the other two, and 38 university students are doing research for their degrees under EPA scientists. The week-long celebration of the new EPA laboratory began on Sunday, June 12, with an open house for all construction workers who had built the laboratory. All employees of the Cumberland Construction Co., associated contractors, and their families, were invited to visit the lab and bring their lunches. Picnic tables, chowder, beer and soft drinks were provided. About 300 persons attended, toured the facilities and witnessed the exhibits of the laboratory's work. From Monday through Thursday that week four 90-minute lab tours per day were con- ducted for invited groups of students, senior citizens' clubs, environmental and public in- terest groups from all over the State. A 60-foot tent on the grounds (occupying a flat clay court usually used for noon-time volley ball games) housed exhibits by a dozen public and private organizations concerned with fisheries, marine resources, and ocean- ography. The 110-foot barkentine Barba Negra (Black Beard) sailed from New London, Conn., to moor at the University pier for the week, was open to visitors. Now owned bythe environmental group SOS (for Save Our Seas), the 81-year-old vessel was once a whale chaser. Its harpoon cannon are still in place, but its owners now work to preserve the whales. Each day at noon there was a live concert of folk music, country music, barbershop singing, chamber music, or hard rock. Friday night there was a dedication concert by a jazz group, Roomful of Blues, and a mime JULY-AUGUST 1977

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