NTP announces bioassay results.

University Environmental Graduate Program. The students, as part of their classroom studies, have characterized the ecosystem of the NIEHS campus, providing a better understanding of the plant and animal life on the site. Their final report details three separate guidance plans that could be followed to achieve various management levels for the institute's 509 acres. The management plan favored by EEAC would create a more natural appearance on the institute grounds. The plan would prohibit mowing and landscaping activities around trees, allow for an unmown buffer zone near the institute lake, and provide for the planting of trees and shrubs whose bloom and fruit periods would be distributed throughout the year. In keeping with the educational outreach program being pursued by NIEHS, EEAC is interfacing with Project Wild, a nationally recognized, interdisciplinary program that integrates wildlife principles into environmental and conservation efforts. Project Wild stresses the importance of wildlife as an environmental health indicator and as a measure of the quality of life in general. This fall, NIEHS will serve as host for Project Wild workshops on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. According to EAAC Chair Robert Chapin, successful implementation of these programs should pave the way for other ventures. "We will continue to push for a reduction in our use of natural resources, more efficient strategies for necessary resource use, and a more environmentally responsible management of the institute grounds," says Chapin. Some of the new proposals are extensions of current programs. The committee is recommending that NIEHS significantly increase its procurement of recycled-content materials to reduce pressure on virgin resources and to stimulate markets for recycled materials. "If you're not buying recycled," says Ir ! Chapin, "you're not recycling." The proposal also calls for increased use of environmentally friendly products, such as nontoxic inks and low-bleach paper, whose manufacturing generates less harmful chlorination by-products like PCBs. One of the EEAC's immediate goals is to foster more efficient use of available transportation to and from the institute. "Of all our employees, fewer than 10 use alternatives to private automobiles to get to work," says Chapin. "Since automobile exhaust is the major source of air pollution in the Research Triangle area, promoting more efficient means of local transport would have immediate benefits." Some of the alternatives being discussed by committee members include promoting the institute's new carpool program, encouraging employee participation in mass transit and shuttle pick-up at bus drop-off points, and working with local planners to build public bikeways. Chapin says he's learned a valuable lesson from his committee's relentless commitment to environmental goals. "If you unleash the creative power of the employees, a lot of great things are going to happen. Our efforts clearly demonstrate that management and employees can work together to bring about beneficial changes in areas where they are needed."

University Environmental Graduate Program. The students, as part of their classroom studies, have characterized the ecosystem of the NIEHS campus, providing a better understanding of the plant and animal life on the site. Their final report details three separate guidance plans that could be followed to achieve various management levels for the institute's 509 acres.
The management plan favored by EEAC would create a more natural appearance on the institute grounds. The plan would prohibit mowing and landscaping activities around trees, allow for an unmown buffer zone near the institute lake, and provide for the planting of trees and shrubs whose bloom and fruit periods would be distributed throughout the year.
In keeping with the educational outreach program being pursued by NIEHS, EEAC is interfacing with Project Wild, a nationally recognized, interdisciplinary program that integrates wildlife principles into environmental and conservation efforts. Project Wild stresses the importance of wildlife as an environmental health indicator and as a measure of the quality of life in general. This fall, NIEHS will serve as host for Project Wild workshops on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
According to EAAC Chair Robert Chapin, successful implementation of these programs should pave the way for other ventures. "We will continue to push for a reduction in our use of natural resources, more efficient strategies for necessary resource use, and a more environmentally responsible management of the institute grounds," says Chapin.
Some of the new proposals are extensions of current programs. The committee is recommending that NIEHS significantly increase its procurement of recycled-con-tent materials to reduce pressure on virgin resources and to stimulate markets for recycled materials. "If you're not buying recycled," says Ir ! Chapin, "you're not recycling." The proposal also calls for increased use of environmentally friendly products, such as nontoxic inks and low-bleach paper, whose manufacturing generates less harmful chlorination by-products like PCBs.
One of the EEAC's immediate goals is to foster more efficient use of available transportation to and from the institute. "Of all our employees, fewer than 10 use alternatives to private automobiles to get to work," says Chapin. "Since automobile exhaust is the major source of air pollution in the Research Triangle area, promoting more efficient means of local transport would have immediate benefits." Some of the alternatives being discussed by committee members include promoting the institute's new carpool program, encouraging employee participation in mass transit and shuttle pick-up at bus drop-off points, and working with local planners to build public bikeways.
Chapin says he's learned a valuable lesson from his committee's relentless commitment to environmental goals. "If you unleash the creative power of the employees, a lot of great things are going to happen. Our efforts clearly demonstrate that management and employees can work together to bring about beneficial changes in areas where they are needed."

NTP Announces Bioassay Results
The National Toxicology Program has presented six more technical reports in its ongoing series of toxicology and carcinogenesis studies. All six reports were approved by the NTP's Board of Scientific Counselors' Technical Reports Subcommittee in a public review held November 29 at NIEHS. Each report involves a series of long-term studies in which male and female rats and mice were given a range of doses of test chemical followed by extensive histopathologic examination.
. Nickel oxide, nickel sulfate, and nickel subsulfide. Three separate studies were performed to evaluate and compare the toxicity and carcinogenicity of three nickel compounds prominent in nickel mining and refining. These studies involved inhalation exposure to atmospheres containing particles of nickel oxide, nickel sulfate hexahydrate, or nickel subsulfide. The three nickel compounds all caused chronic lung inflamation in male and female rats and mice, but the carcinogenic responses varied. Nickel subsulfide exhibited clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in male and female rats, but not in mice, based on the occurrence of neoplasms in the lung and adrenal gland. Nickel oxide also caused neoplasms at these two sites in male and female rats and also showed equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity in female mice based on a marginal increase in lung tumors. In contrast, the water-soluble nickel sulfate hexahydrate exhibited no evidence of carcinogenic activity in either rats or mice.
Isobutyl nitrite. Isobutyl nitrite is used in fragrances and is also abused as a euphoric. It was nominated for study to investigate a possible association with the higher incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma among male homosexual AIDS patients (see Haverkos et al.,. When animals were exposed to this chemical via inhalation exposure, male and female rats exhibited clear evidence of carcinogenic activity, and male and female mice exhibited some evidence of carcinogenicity, based on increased incidences of lung neoplasms in all four sex/species groups.
Triethanolamine. Triethanolamine is used as a surfactant in a wide variety of industrial and household products, including cosmetics and detergents. When administered by dermal application to rodents, triethanolamine was associated with increased incidences of liver tumors in female mice. Marginal increases in the incidences of liver tumors in male mice and kidney tumors in male rats were judged equivocal.
2,2-Bis(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol. 2,2-Bis(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol is a brominated fire retardant (trade name FR-1 138 ) used to treat molded plastics and polyurethane foam. When given in feed, this chemical was clearly carcinogenic to a variety of organs in male and female rats and mice, including at least 14 distinct tissue sites in male rats.

Grantee Orientation Meeting
On 8 December 1994, new grantees in the NIEHS environmental justice research grant program met at the institute for an orientation session. The primary objective of this grant program is to bridge the communication gap among members of communities affected by environmental pollu-Volume 103, Number 2, February 1995 139