Tobacco Documents Online

Transcript of Proceedings UNITED STAT~S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AG~CY PRESS CONFERENCE: EEALT~ E~PECTS INSTITOT~ Washington, D.C. DecembeE 12, 1980 i Acme Reporting Company TI54521901

rdb-i 8 9 ~8 ~9 ~0 ~3 THE Oq~I TED PP/ESS HEALTH STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CONFERENCE EFFECTS INSTITUTE N~tionai Academy ~f Science Au~it.ez 2101 Constitution Aven~e, N.W., Washington, D.C. Friday, December 12, i0:00 a.m. 1980 p~tici~ants ~2chibald Cox, Carl M. Loeb Harvard Law School University Professor Douglas M. Costle, Administrator Environmental Protection Agency Thomas A. Murphy, Chairman of Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Corporation the Board Dr. William O. Baker, Chairman of the of Rockefeller University Henry B. Schacht, Chairman Executive Officer Cummins Engine Company and Chief and Board Acme Reporting Company TI545219O2

rdb-2 2 o= 2 3 4 tO 13 14 1,5 17 19 2O 21 22 23 Participants (Cont.) Alfred W. Pelletier, and President Mack Trucks, Inc. Chairman of the P~ger Smith, Chairman-elect, General Motors Corporation William Baker, Chairman of the Board, Rockefeller University Donald Kennedy, President, Stanford Dale C~mpton, Vice President, Research; Ford Motor Company Acme Report|~g Company Board TI545219O3

rdb-3 3 2 3 4 6 9 12 14 ~8 PROCEEDINGS ~'~. COX: Ladies and gentlemen, we asked you to join us here this morninq so ~hat Douqlas Costle, the Administrator of ~he Environmental Protection Agency, and I and the representatives of the industry who are present might announce the formation of a new and independent Health Effects Institute. We ~lie~e, i~eed w~'re ~onfident, that the estab- lishment of the Institute is a major breakthrough in coop- eration between a reguletory aqency and the industry and the independent sector of the public in providing a mechanism to produce the information whibh ultimately is important in protecting the public health. The function of the Institute will be to conduct, by contract or grant, and to evaluate the necessary to determine the health effects emissions. tests and research' of automotive This knowledge is required in the implementation of the Clean Air Act and, more generally, in the protection the public health. The Institute will take the scientific testing and research needed to ascertain health effects out of the adversirial context in which it miqht otherwise be performed. And thus, it will supply both EPA and the industry., and the Congress and the public with the best con~on base that inde- pendent scientific investigation can provide for determining Acme Repo |n:g Company TI54521904

rdb-4 4 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 13 16 17 t9 20 2t 24 on the basis of those facts what regulatory consequences should follow. The Institute, as I said, is being established through the cooperation of members of the indust~ who are here, the companies represented here, and the Environmental Protection Agency. It will, however, be an independent organizatio~ with its own ~rning board. It will be funded by EPA and the automotive industry with the automotive companies sharinq according to a~ agreed formula. I will fill in a little more substance later. But-let me first introduce those who are And later, I will ask On my right, some of them to speak. as you will recoqnize him, present. is Douglas Costle, the Administrator of EPA. And o~ my left is Dr. William Baker, recently retired Chairman of Bell Labora- tories and the Chairman of the Board of Rockefeller University }~. Baker, along with Donald Kennedy, Stanford, and I, "myself, will be the urphy Motors be his Chairman the President of three directors of the Institute. Also here with us, Chairman and Chief Corporation. And with successor. Next to Dr. I'm happy to say, is Mr. Thomas Executive Office of General him is ~. Roger Smith who will Baker is Mr. Henry Schacht, and ~hief Executive Officer of Cummins Engine. Acme Reporting Company TI54521905

rdb-5 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 '7 tO 11 13 14 2O 21 22 23 24 o_5 also present is 5~. Alfred Pelletier, Chairman and President of Mack Compton of Ford. And you have and their th4 Trucks. Next, ~r. Dale a list of the other companies representatives who are present. Let me take just a few minutes to describe the Institute, itself. One is nmt subject to dispute, .effects 'of ~missions a~d ing environmental protection starts with the proposition, which that uncertainty about the health is a major factor confound- in this country. don't Know. Our knowledge is in proving data and methodology, but both leave much Without some would almost interested parties .in adversarial If the search for facts, of an effort to protect interests views, then the result is latory delay or, perhaps, wasteful in a period when our economy needs to become more productive and when the scientific resources, especially The problem is ~hat there's too much that we just both in terms of to be desired. form of joint endeavor, testing and research inevitably, and all too often, be conducted by contexts. scientific facts, is part or to support preconceived bound to be public confusion, regu- over-reaction. It also would be we need to make the best possible personnel, are scarce, use of them too. So, as I say, be to take ~he testing and research into the the functioning of the Institute will health effects Acme Reporting Company TI5452190

rdb-6 6 1 2 3 4 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 ].7 18 19 20 21 23 2.; of automotive emissions out of the adversarial context and to provide both the regulators ap~ the regulated and the public with the best information that science can provide. The Institute will be independent, and at the same time it will be an instance of cooperation because, as we explain at more length in my statement, the program of researc~ priorities will be the result of information, f~l~w~ booth ~ers of the indus~y and The top of the Institute will be the board of directors. The bulk of the scientific research will be planned ~nd, in that sense, directed by what we call a health research committee where the aim is to attract to it the top men in the scientific community in each of the disciplines that is of significant importance in ascertaining the health effects of emissions. That group, provided with the necessary staff, will lay out a program consulting the public and EPA and the industry, and then most of the work will be done under contracts or grants with those laboratories, universities and for doing that kind of research others that have facilities and testing. After the research is done and the findings are reported, then, in order to ensure the highest possible scientific quality before publication it will be submitted another committee, the health review committee made up of Acme Reporting Company to TI54521907

rdb-7 1 2 3 6 11 13 14 2O 21 22 23 -24 scientists, who will check to determine whether the data clusion. it for ~he adequacy of the protocolI collected supports the con- And will put or withhold in the matter of Institute purely on the basis of the scientific quality, research quality, of the work that has been done. That data, made available to all, should then be of use L~ the requia- A~ the Institute won't be concerned with the regulatory consequences to be drawn from the data. As I say, the aim is to take the establishment of the data out of the area of adversarial the adversarial presentations, made on the basis of what the I would simply add briefly at the end a word or two to describe why I think the inauguration of the Institute presentation. And undoubtedly, will then be scientists have determined. There's been a sort the adversarial purposes. is serves a very significant accomplishment. a vacuum. As a lawyer, I know that many what I believe to be useful But one of them isn't doinq good testing and Testing and research ought to be kept free of research. any taint or suspicion of taint of financial interests preconceived policy judgment. On the paper over the fact that there may be process other hand, we shouldn't subsequent separate differences of opinion as to what regulatory should be followed. Acme Reporting Company conclusions TI545219(

-db-8 4 11 13 23 _~4 ..5 8 We would like to think that the Health Effects Institute may provide an example of cooperation among those involved in protecting the enviroD~ent that might be followed in other areas. It's quite plain, far in setting the Institute up is the members I to the ~ertaking ~ i~dicated by the men join in this announcement today. Doug, would you like to add? MR. COSTLE: T-hank you, Professor Cox. I am extremely pleased that today the formation of the Institute. I think, that getting ~his a tribute to EPA and to and executives in the industry. thi~ the importance that they and we attribute who have ~ome to we're able to announce And I am particularly pleased that we've been able to persuade three such dis- tinguished gentlemen to serve as the board of directors and incorporators as Dr. Baker, Professor Cox and Don Kennedy. I believe that the Institute has enormous potential to provide significant benefits to the public. While regu- latory agencies, as Professor Cox has said, in affected industries are frequently cast in "adversarial roles, far too often the adversarial roles are carried over to the s~ientific underpinnings of the regulatory programs. When that happens, that can and does, in fact, erode public confidence in ~he entire process. In addition, the conduct of health effects research in this adversarial Acme RepoSing Company TI5452190 ,

rdb-9 9 2 3 4 7 9 10 12 14 ~9 2O 21 22 23 24 environment is inefficient, sometimes inequitable, and almost certainly excessively slow and, in general, a poor use of scarce facilities and competence. I have supportedthe concept of this Institute with the expectation that it will help resolve many of these prob- lems and result in a better health effects data base for all of us to use as the basis for formula~ng public policy. EPK ~ily supports the cha~eE, the operating procedures and the leadership of the emerging Institute. have created, I believe, a new kind of institution whose organizational format will give it both the competence and independence so essential for disciplined and credible scien- tific inquiry. My expectation is that EPA and the Institute, while each retains independence, will cooperate very very closely with frequent consultation in the development of our respectiv health effects research programs. And EPA in particular will cooperate in advising and recommending priorities and protocol: for the Institute's research activities. EPA shall maintain a health effects research program capability of its own for the development of experi- mental protocols, for the conduct of more basichealth effects research and for the periodic validation of research results obtained elsewhere. Duplicative research, except where scientifically Acme RepoSing Company TI545219