e.e.r.c.: Highlights and Initiatives: September, 1997

	Energy, Environment and Resources Center The University of Tennessee Highlights and Initiatives
September 1997 Energy, Environment and Resources Center Jack Barkenbus, Executive Director Center For Clean Products and Clean Technologies Gary A. Davis, Director Office of Communications and Publications David Brill, Director Center for Geography and Environmental Education Rosalyn McKeown-Ice, Director Oak Ridge Technology Research and Development Program Sheila Webster, Director Pellissippi Research Institute Donald Alvic, Director Pro-Dialogue Mary R. English and David L. Feldman, Directors Water Resources Research Center Tim Gangaware, Associate Director For more information call Gail Farris at 865-974-4251 or write to EERC, 311 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134. Visit our Web site at: http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/	Retirement. EERC Associate Director Larry Jones, who joined the EERC in 1985, is leaving UT after 31 years. Jones is best known as project manager of UT's Environmental Training Program, which trained 284 interns between 1986 and 1996. Trainees assisted sponsoring Department of Defense facilities in all phases of environmental management, including compliance and permitting; remediation and cleanup; risk assessment; land-use planning; preservation of endangered species, wetlands, and historical sites; and public relations. Jones was a major contributor to the implementation and success of this and other EERC projects, and his invaluable expertise will be missed. Projects. EERC Research Associate Ed Hillsman is principal investigator for a project titled "Interactions between Transportation Cost, Transportation Use, and Retail Structure." The project is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Hillsman, along with Tom Bell in UT's department of geography and Don Alvic, director of EERC's Pellissippi Research Institute, will investigate whether trends in retailing--notably the trend toward "big-box" retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot--are leading to an increase in driving. Surveys of shoppers in Knoxville and Huntington, West Virginia, will help identify how transportation use is affected by changes in retail format and shopping behavior. The EERC's Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies (CCPCT), the EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Program, and Saturn Corporation are partnering with Saturn suppliers in a voluntary, cooperative project to promote cleaner production and pollution prevention in the automotive supply chain. CCPCT Associate Director Lori Kincaid is principal investigator for the project, which will be a pilot demonstration of how original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers can capitalize on their proactive relationships to remove barriers and promote cleaner manufacturing processes along the entire supply chain. The EPA DfE Program has provided initial funding to develop the framework for the pilot demonstration. Publications/Papers. Research Associate Ralph Perhac's article "Comparative Risk Assessment: Where Does the Public Fit in?" will appear in an upcoming issue of Science, Technology, & Human Values. The paper examines different rationales for seeking public participation and the implications of such participation in influencing the process of assessing comparative risks. Research Scientist Jean Peretz recently co-authored a paper with Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Bruce Tonn that discusses methods for improving the value and use of risk assessment in addressing problems inherent in the U.S. system of environmental decision making. The paper, "Field Notes on Using Risk in Environmental Decision-Making: Lack of Credibility All Around," is based on a series of interviews conducted through the National Center for Environmental Decision-making Research (NCEDR), a National Science Foundation Center based at UT, and appears in EPA's Risk Policy Report 4(6) June 1997. The paper was first presented at the Risk Assessment and Policy Association Biennial International Meeting held in March at Alexandria, Virginia. Peretz also co-authored "Attitudes of Tennessee Hazardous Waste Generators Toward Hazardous Waste Reduction," with David H. Folz, associate professor in UT's political science department. The article appears in Pollution Prevention Review 7(3), 1997. Peretz, along with B. Thomas Schuman, Ph.D. candidate in the political science department, and other researchers, authored a recent report for EPA titled "Analysis of National Solid Waste Recycling Cost Functions: A Summary of the Literature," which examines current research findings on recycling collection processes, incentives for participation, financing, and decision-making processes.

Energy, Environment and Resources Center

The University of Tennessee

Highlights and Initiatives

September 1997

Energy, Environment and Resources Center

Jack Barkenbus, Executive Director

Center For Clean Products and Clean Technologies

Gary A. Davis, Director

Office of Communications and Publications

David Brill, Director

Center for Geography and Environmental Education

Rosalyn McKeown-Ice, Director

Oak Ridge Technology Research and Development Program

Sheila Webster, Director

Pellissippi Research Institute

Donald Alvic, Director

Pro-Dialogue

Mary R. English and David L. Feldman, Directors

Water Resources Research Center

Tim Gangaware, Associate Director

For more information call Gail Farris at 865-974-4251 or write to EERC, 311 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134.

Visit our Web site at: http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/

Retirement. EERC Associate Director Larry Jones, who joined the EERC in 1985, is leaving UT after 31 years. Jones is best known as project manager of UT's Environmental Training Program, which trained 284 interns between 1986 and 1996. Trainees assisted sponsoring Department of Defense facilities in all phases of environmental management, including compliance and permitting; remediation and cleanup; risk assessment; land-use planning; preservation of endangered species, wetlands, and historical sites; and public relations. Jones was a major contributor to the implementation and success of this and other EERC projects, and his invaluable expertise will be missed.

Projects. EERC Research Associate Ed Hillsman is principal investigator for a project titled "Interactions between Transportation Cost, Transportation Use, and Retail Structure." The project is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Hillsman, along with Tom Bell in UT's department of geography and Don Alvic, director of EERC's Pellissippi Research Institute, will investigate whether trends in retailing--notably the trend toward "big-box" retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot--are leading to an increase in driving. Surveys of shoppers in Knoxville and Huntington, West Virginia, will help identify how transportation use is affected by changes in retail format and shopping behavior.

The EERC's Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies (CCPCT), the EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Program, and Saturn Corporation are partnering with Saturn suppliers in a voluntary, cooperative project to promote cleaner production and pollution prevention in the automotive supply chain. CCPCT Associate Director Lori Kincaid is principal investigator for the project, which will be a pilot demonstration of how original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers can capitalize on their proactive relationships to remove barriers and promote cleaner manufacturing processes along the entire supply chain. The EPA DfE Program has provided initial funding to develop the framework for the pilot demonstration.

Publications/Papers. Research Associate Ralph Perhac's article "Comparative Risk Assessment: Where Does the Public Fit in?" will appear in an upcoming issue of Science, Technology, & Human Values. The paper examines different rationales for seeking public participation and the implications of such participation in influencing the process of assessing comparative risks.

Research Scientist Jean Peretz recently co-authored a paper with Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Bruce Tonn that discusses methods for improving the value and use of risk assessment in addressing problems inherent in the U.S. system of environmental decision making. The paper, "Field Notes on Using Risk in Environmental Decision-Making: Lack of Credibility All Around," is based on a series of interviews conducted through the National Center for Environmental Decision-making Research (NCEDR), a National Science Foundation Center based at UT, and appears in EPA's Risk Policy Report 4(6) June 1997. The paper was first presented at the Risk Assessment and Policy Association Biennial International Meeting held in March at Alexandria, Virginia. Peretz also co-authored "Attitudes of Tennessee Hazardous Waste Generators Toward Hazardous Waste Reduction," with David H. Folz, associate professor in UT's political science department. The article appears in Pollution Prevention Review 7(3), 1997. Peretz, along with B. Thomas Schuman, Ph.D. candidate in the political science department, and other researchers, authored a recent report for EPA titled "Analysis of National Solid Waste Recycling Cost Functions: A Summary of the Literature," which examines current research findings on recycling collection processes, incentives for participation, financing, and decision-making processes.

The EERC conducts analytical, unbiased, and multidisciplinary research designed to promote real-world solutions to problems in the fields of energy, environment, technology, and economic development.

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