Abstract
Most of the laws under which EPA operates require protection of “human health and the environment,” or words to that effect. Since its establishment in 1970, EPA has labored mightily to do both- protect health and protect the environment. However, resource constraints have forced many hard choices. Typically, those activities most closely related to identification and reduction of risks to human health have received the higher priority, leaving few dollars or staff for strictly environmental or ecological protection. Despite these constraints, ecological risk assessment, based on ecotoxicity data, has been an important activity under many programs at EPA, The Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, for example, is concerned about potential impacts of pesticides and toxic chemicals on organisms, including aquatic and terrestrial communities. Its legal mandates come from the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act(TSCA).