United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 905/9-80-005
June, 1980
Toxic Substances
in the
Great Lakes

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The Great Lakes:
  Why They Are
    Important...
   The five Great Lakes are the largest reservoir of
drinkable, navigable water in the world.
Interconnected and internationally shared, they
contain six quadrillion gallons  of fresh water, which
is 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water —
and 95 percent of the United States'. More than 40
million people live in the Great Lakes Basin, the area
that drains into these lakes and that includes parts
of eight States (Minnesota, Wisconsin. Illinois.
Indiana. Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York)
and the Canadian Province of Ontario. That is nearly
20 percent of the U.S.  population and 50 percent of
Canada's.
   More than 23.5 million people depend on the
Great Lakes for their drinking water  Many more
depend, however indirectly, on the lakes' role in
producing manufactured  goods, including an
estimated 70 percent of U.S. and 60 percent of
Canadian steel. The five glacial lakes are the reason
U.S steel production is centered in the Midwest:
Iron ore from the shores of Lake Superior and
limestone and coal from the other Great Lakes'
shores are barged to either the south end of Lake
Michigan or the  eastern shore of Lake Erie. Mining.
commercial fishing, paper mills, wineries, and fruit
growing  encouraged settlements along the Great
Lakes, where one-quarter  of U.S. industry now is
located
   The Great Lakes also are the agricultural outlet
for America's heartland. Grain  has been  a
commercial cargo on the  lakes since 1678, and
navigation and commerce on the Great Lakes are
worth noting. The Soo  Locks, located between the
sister cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and
Ontario,  handle more tonnage per year than  do the
Suez and the Panama canals combined.
   In addition, the Great  Lakes moderate climate,
just as mountain ranges and oceans do. They
provide a fourth coast  for the U.S.. with more than
4,000 miles of U.S. shoreline to be enjoyed for
recreation as well as utilized by industry, including
electricity-generating facilities. Sixty-four of the
1,000 power plants  in  the U.S. are situated in the
Great Lakes coastal counties. Values of  Great Lakes
properties, sport fisheries, campgrounds, and

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resorts are all appreciating rapidly. Boating, the
most lucrative aspect of recreation on the Great
Lakes,  has grown at the rate of 10 percent a year.
There are several reasons for this  growth: People
have begun to spend leisure time  closer to home.
and  the Great Lakes'  shores are beginning to open
to the public, as private estates come onto the
market and States pass beach-access statutes.  The
lakes themselves  are getting cleaner. The States that
that  line  the Great Lakes now operate vigorous
programs to replenish fish stocks  that had  been
significantly reduced by lamprey eels during the
1 950s For these reasons, then, the Great Lakes have
shaped and influenced American growth and the lives
of millions, sometimes without our even being aware
of them.
   Unfortunately, the Great Lakes have also been
among the most abused bodies of water  in our
country. Intensive industrial, agricultural, and
municipal uses have left a trail of pollution that by
the 1 960s had attracted worldwide attenton to the
Great Lakes. Oil and debris, mats of algae, dying
fish,  and closed beaches  — all were present to an
alarming degree in many  of the lakes and shoreline
areas
   Of the pollution problems that faced and
continue to face these lakes, toxic substances are
the most critical. Toxic substances first came to the
attention of the general public  in 1962, with the
publication of  Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. The
book discussed environmental  consequences of
widespread use of the pesticide DDT, including
potential damage  to human health.
    Since S/lent Spring, a wide variety of toxic
substances has been discovered in the waters of the
Great Lakes and in the fish,  birds, and mammals  that
live in or near  these lakes Certain species of  birds
that feed on Great Lakes fish are showing ill effects
from toxicants the fish are known to  accumulate.
Humans who eat Great Lakes fish are showing
higher levels of PCBs in the blood than are found in
the blood  of people who do not eat those fish.
Because the fish have been  contaminated.

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commercial fishing has been curtailed in the Great
Lakes. Advisories and occasional health warnings
restricting human consumption of certain species of
Great Lakes sport fish have been  announced by
most of the eight States that border the lakes — and
spend money to stock those fish  Drinking-water
supplies in parts of the drainage  basin have become
contaminated by toxic substances,  and accidental
spills of these substances on land have forced
temporary evacuations  of residents in the Great
Lakes area.
   Toxic  substances, often colorless and odorless,
are chemical or metal-containing substances that
may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health
or to the  environment. They are part of our daily
lives and  of routine manufacturing  processes;
sometimes their toxic properties are not known or
their presence in the environment discovered until
after many years of heavy use.
   Of the toxic substances that have been and
continue  to be threats to the Great  Lakes
environment, the following are of particular
concern.

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 NAME
                               By-product of municipal
                               sewage wastewater.
                                        PROBABLE SOURCE

                                        Municipal wastewater discharge.
Asbestos in Uconrte tailings    By-product of iron ore mining.
                                        By-product of iron ore mining.
                                        Secured on-land disposal ordered by court
                                        by April,  1980.
Chlorinated organics
 Wide variety of industrial uses.
Industrial discharges, agricultural runoff,
chlorination of wastewaters.
DDT. cWordana,
dieldrin, aldrin
 HCB (heiachlorobenzene)
 HCBD (hexachlorobutadiene)
Heavy ntetab (nnrcury, lead,
arsenic, cadmium, copper,
chromium, iron, selenium,
zinc)
 Pesticides used widely in Great Lakes
 region to control insects, rodents. DDT
•banned in 1971; others now restricted.
 Pesticides, wood preservatives,
 fungicides; by-products of chloralkali
 industry; used in production of
 synthetic rubber.

 Wide variety of industrial uses, from
 anti-knock agent in gasoline to paints.
 pipes, pesticides, glass, and
 electroplating.
Residues from previous widespread use;
runoff from agricultural and forested
areas, leaching from improper waste
disposal sites.

Industrial  discharges, agricultural runoff,
disposal of waste products.
Industrial discharges, medical profession
wastes via municipal discharges,
agricultural runoff, disposal of waste
products; mine tailings.
Mirex
PAHs
(polyaromatic hydrocarbons)
 Insecticide used to control fire  ants;
 flame retardant; plasticizer.

 Variety of industrial uses.
Was produced, processed in Great Lakes
region until ban in  1975; spills.

Industrial oil and grease discharges;
by-product  of all types of combustion.
PBBs
(polyfarominated biphenyb)
 Fire retardant.
Industrial  discharges.
PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyb)
 Phenols
Insulation for electrical capacitors,
transformers; plasticizer; wide industrial
usage. Total ban except by special EPA
permit in July,  1979.

Usually found in conjunction with other,
more complex organic  compounds.
Industrial discharges, municipal sewage
treatment plant  discharges, harbor
sediments, low-temperature incineration
of wastes.

By-product of petroleum, paper products
manufacture; industrial wastewater
discharges, refineries, spills.

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FOUND  IN

St. Marys River
CHARACTERiSTICS/HEALTH  EFFECTS

Removes dissolved oxygen. Kills fish.
Lake Superior
Airborne effects may include asbestosis, lung cancer;
water-borne effects not known,  but cancer is implied.
Lakes Michigan,
Huron, Erie
 Bioaccumulatton in fish, wildlife, humans. Suspected cause of
 cancer in humans when found in drinking water.
All five Great Lakes
 Bioaccumulation in fish, wildlife, humans. Persistent in the
 environment. Long-range effects can include reproductive
 disorders in wildlife; suspected cause of cancer in humans.
 Lake Erie, Lake Michigan
 Bioaccumulation in fish, wildlife, humans. May produce skin
 rash, headache, nausea. Suspected cause of cancer.
 All five Great Lakes                    Excessive levels of heavy metals bioaccumulate in fish and wildlife.
                                       Human consumption of such contaminated food may cause a variety
                                       of hearth problems. Mercury can cause brain damage, birth defects.
                                       Lead: anemia, fatigue, irreversible brain  damage, especially in children.
                                       Cadmium: kidney damage, metabolic disturbances. Arsenic: damage to
                                       liver, kidney, digestive system, bone marrow; suspected cause of cancer
                                       in humans. Copper, chromium, iron, selenium, and zinc are toxic to fish.

 Buffalo, Niagara Rivers; Lake Ontario    Bioaccumulation in fish,  wildlife,  humans. Persistent in the
                                       environment. Suspected  cause of cancer in humans.
 All five Great Lakes
  Lake Huron
  Persistent in the environment. Induce cancer and cause
  chromosome damage in fish, wildlife, and humans.

  Bioaccumulation in fish, wildlife, humans. Cause of  birth
  defects and possibly cancer in laboratory animals.
 All five Great Lakes
  Bioaccumulation in fish, wildlife, humans. Persistent in the
  environment. Test monkeys developed reproductive failures,
  skin and gastrointestinal disorders.
  All five Great Lakes
  Cause taste and  odor problems in drinking water. Toxic to fish.

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      Hen? Oo      Toxic substances have been and continue to be
rcxub'-;i,n!ces   linked to a number of problems in the environment
     A:'!ei;i the   and in humans. Primarily because of the harm or
   i.-cH!  Lakes?   potential harm certain toxic substances can cause in
               humans, these substances are closely monitored
               and increasingly well-regulated. There are, however.
               other effects they have upon the Great Lakes. By
               changing the balance within even isolated portions
               of the Great Lakes ecosystem, toxic  chemicals begin
               to bring about change in the entire  ecosystem (the
               interdependent air, land, water, and living things).
               Persistent chemicals do not rapidly  break down  and
               disappear but instead accumulate in the tissues of
               living organisms. This is called bioaccumulation.
               Scientists are trying to discover what adverse effects
               it may have on humans.
                  The economic impact of toxic substances cannot
               be  ignored While some may say that cleaning up
               the environment is too expensive, the costs of not
               cleaning the environment  — especially of its toxic
               substances — can be staggering. Love Canal,
               halfway between Lakes Erie and Ontario in the town
               of Niagara Falls, New York, is the most tragic
               example. EPA estimates  that if the chemical wastes
               dumped into that ditch until the 1 950s had instead
               been put into a secure, environmentally sound
               landfill, the cost might have been $2 million. By late
               1979, Love Canal had cost New York State more
               than $25 million to clean up. Claims against the
               responsible chemical  company may exceed $2
               billion. And the costs  in  human suffering that
               includes birth defects and miscarriages is beyond
               dollar values.
                  Clearly the costs of cleaning up environmental
               accidents reach into the millions of dollars and
               beyond. To pump the  groundwater of Montague,
               Michigan until it is free of toxicant contamination,
               for  instance, is expected to cost the responsible
               chemical company between $ 1 5 and $20 million.
              That cleanup program is required to be complete
              within three years,  but maintenance  will continue
               indefinitely. Each case involving toxic substance
               contamination that is taken to court  may involve
               damages in the millions  of dollars, plus legal fees,
              time, and suffering.

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   Drinking water from the Great Lakes, sometimes
an overlooked bounty of this fresh water, must be
specially treated when toxicant contamination
threatens a community. Special carbon treatment is
standard in such situations. Fear of cancer from the
asbestiform fibers that were dumped for years into
Lake Superior above Duluth was responsible for the
creation of new. multi-million-dollar filtration
facilities in north shore communities that had
previously required  minimal or no treatment of
drinking water.
   Because the Great Lakes are used for navigation,
both commercial and recreational, their-1 1 9
harbors must be open to ship traffic. Dredging
channels in these harbors  used to be relatively
simple. Silts and sediments were scooped out and
dumped back into the open lakes, where they
resettled and the process began again Now,
however, because of detected  pollution including
toxic substance contamination, dredging in many
harbors involves removing  polluted silt and
sediment to specially constructed and confined
disposal sites. The cost is three-and-a-half times
that for simple dredge-and-dump operations in the
open lake.  New disposal sites have been built for 1 9
of the 56  harbors that are known to be  polluted. The
costs approach $200 million,  and construction  of
additional disposal  sites must  follow for the
remaining  harbors.  Indiana Harbor is so heavily
contaminated that no major dredging is planned
without further study.
   What remains of the commercial fishing
industry, which had thrived in  the Great Lakes until
sea lampreys destroyed many  species of fish, has
been further  damaged by toxic substances. In the
1960s mercury, primarily from Sarnia, Ontario
industries, contaminated Lake St.  Clair and put an
end to fishing there and later on Lake Erie. A
million-dollar, 41/2-million  pound carp fishery in
Green Bay was devastated  in 1975 by the discovery
that PC Bs in the fish exceeded the allowable limits of 5
parts per  million (ppm) established by the Food and
Drug Administration. If those limits are lowered to 2
ppm, an estimated  $21  million worth of whitefish
and  chubs commercially caught  by Wisconsin

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f///j?&J

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TOXIC SUBSTANCES
IN THE GREAT LAKES
        •*<*,

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                fishermen would be in jeopardy, as would be $ 1 4 to
                $1 5 million worth of Michigan-caught whitefish.
                PCBs are not the only problem. Dieldrm, a banned
                pesticide,  continues to contaminate fish.
                    Sport fishing also suffers from toxic substances.
                In Wisconsin's portion of Lake Michigan alone, sport
                fishers spend an estimated $7.50 per outing,
                excluding tackle, boats, and other equipment. This
                adds up to to an estimated $ 1 4 million yearly
                income to the State, which spends an estimated
                $800,000 to stock,  survey, and manage the game
                fish it adds to Lake Michigan. The return, then, tops
                1 4-to-1. And, if each of the eight Great Lakes States
                receives comparable returns  for its investments,
                these investments are substantial. Michigan has
                estimated  the total value of its sport fishery to be in
                excess of $300 million per year. Other estimates
                place the value  of the Great Lakes sport fishery at
                between $300 million and $1 billion.
                   In New York, before contamination  by the
                pesticide mirex  was  detected, local purchases
                related to fishing along a salmon-stocked tributary
                to Lake Ontario jumped nearly 700 percent between
                1 973 and 1 975, when stocking programs were
                initiated. Purchases  dropped just as abruptly when
                the mirex contamination resulted in a total ban on
                fishing in the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.
      Wl-erf: D»,      The map on the preceding pages pinpoints some
 Toxic Suiisiaiici!^   areas known to have toxic substances present.
    Occii* if! the   Sources of information are U.S. EPA's Toxic
Great Lakes Area7   Substances and Great Lakes National Program
                Offices, State environmental specialists, and the
                U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission
                What the map cannot  illustrate are toxic substances
                yet to be  discovered.
                   We know that old and abandoned chemical
                disposal sites within the Great Lakes Basin can  at
                any time  become major toxic substances problems
                that contaminate land, groundwater, and surface
                waters in a given area for years to come. Exactly
                where these sites are located or where they
                contaminate the environment and the Great Lakes is

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               nearly impossible to predict.  Developers in
               Riverside, Michigan learned that land they had
               bought was contaminated by leaking drums of
               chemicals.An old landfill outside Monroe, Michigan
               is suspected of leaking PCBs and heavy metals near
               a creek that drams directly into Lake Erie.  PCBs,
               already known to be heavily polluting sediments  of
               Waukegan Harbor north of Chicago and a drainage
               ditch on an industry's  property, have recently been
               discovered to be steadily seeping toward Lake
               Michigan, as welL The examples continue, all
               around the Great Lakes.
       How Do
Toxic Substances
      Enter the
   Gieat Lakes?
   Historically, industries discharged large
quantities of toxic wastes directly into the Great
Lakes and their tributaries. This practice is now
restricted  by Federal laws, among them the Water
Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972  and the
Clean Water Act Amendments of 1 977, as well as
the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. Most
industrial  discharges have been greatly reduced or
eliminated. Still, a number of toxic substances no
longer being discharged in large amounts continue
to pose problems for the Great Lakes environment.
Mercury and PCBs, particularly, have been
deposited over the years in the sediments of Great
Lakes tributaries and in harbors. These are
continously circulated through the aquatic food
chain, from plankton to fish and back to sediments.
Toxic substances  move further up the food chain to
humans when people eat contaminated fish or fish-
eating birds.
   Toxic substances also enter the Great  Lakes
Basin through wastewater discharges from
municipal sewage treatment  plants. Many small
chemical and manufacturing companies, as well
chemical users such as doctors, hospitals, and
dentists, generate toxic wastes and typically dispose
of them into the sewer system of the local
municipality. Frequently the treatment plant cannot
adequately treat or render harmless the toxic
chemicals of the industrial waste, which may be
discharged in wastewater or accumulated in sludge.

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   The paths of toxic substances to the Great Lakes
and their tributaries are often indirect. Stormwater
runoff from urban areas accounts for a
disproportionately large share of the heavy metals
that enter the Great Lakes, particularly lead from
gasoline. Urban stormwater runoff flows over land
and through storm sewers and eventually empties
into the Great Lakes, bringing with it oil, lead, and
cadmium.
   Stormwater runoff from agricultural lands is
another important vehicle for toxic substances
entering the Great Lakes. The watershed, or basin,
contains substantial farmland devoted to cash crops
and dairying. Rains wash away fertilizers, fungicides,
and pesticides used extensively on crops, orchards,
and vineyards as well as the waste products of
livestock that have ingested chemicals. These
substances find their way into the streams and
rivers that flow  into  the Great Lakes.
   Chemical waste  disposal sites are another
indirect source  of the Great Lakes' toxic substances.
In the past many chemical wastes from various
manufacturing industries were dumped into open
lagoons or placed in barrels and shipped to poorly
located or designed dumps. Years later, it was
discovered that some of these wastes were toxic.
Unfortunately, such  discoveries are often made
when it is found that the  wastes are leaching into
wells, rivers, and lakes, thereby threatening the
health of the environment and the human
population.
   Hazardous waste disposal practices also present
a serious problem to the  entire Great Lakes
community.  Due to the rising costs of adequately
treating and disposing of chemical wastes, as well
as public resistance to  properly designed disposal
sites,  some manufacturing companies are
indiscriminately disposing of their wastes. In  1 979
EPA estimated that some 57 million  metric tons of
such wastes are produced each year, and that of
this only a small percent  is  being managed
acceptably, by controlled incineration,
neutralization, secure landfills, or recovery and
reuse. Toxic industrial wastes that were dumped on

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              farmland in some areas in the early 1970s
              produced highly toxic runoff that continues to
              pollute the environment.
                 Toxic substances can enter the Great Lakes
              through airborne emissions and subsequent fallout
              with rain and snow. A major source of lead in the
              Great Lakes is from the exhaust of automobiles that
              burn leaded gasoline. Much of the present input of
              PCBs comes as a result of low-temperature
              incineration of solid wastes that contain PCBs.
              Obviously, airborne pollution is nearly impossible to
              chart and can contaminate sections of the Great
              Lakes one would expect to be relatively free of
              contaminants. This is precisely the case in Lake
              Superior, where PCBs  from distant sources have
              been found.
                  Finally, toxic substances can enter the waters of
              the Great Lakes  system through accidental spills
              that occur at manufacturing plants or during
              transportation of chemicals or toxic wastes.
               Numerous derailments of tank cars carrying toxic
               materials have occurred in the Great Lakes Basin
              within recent years. These accidents have required
               evacuation of several small communities and have
               contaminated local drinking water supplies.
    Who is Doing
  Something about
 Toxic Substances
in the Great Lakes?
   EPA is responsible for implementing three of the
Federal laws related directly to toxic substances: the
Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. EPA also  is
responsible for implementing the Federal  Clean
Water and Clean Air Acts — and for carrying out
provisions of the  1 978 Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. This
bmational agreement, which builds on a  1909
treaty, specifically identifies toxic substances as a new
point of increased emphasis. In cooperation with the
States and other Federal agencies, EPA's Great Lakes
National Program Office  is  developing  a definitive
program for  monitoring Great Lakes fish  for toxic
substances.

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     Both the United States and Canada have toxic
 substance control  programs at various
 governmental levels. A number of regional planning
 commissions have  begun to focus attention on the
 control of toxic substances and hazardous wastes.
 The U.S.-Canadian  International Joint Commission.
 which oversees care and cleanup of the Great Lakes,
 and the Great Lakes Basin Commission, with U.S. State
 and Federal representation, consider toxic substances'
 control of primary importance.  So too do the  U.S.-
 Canadian Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    After DDT was banned in 1971.  levels detected
 in Great Lakes fish began to drop dramatically. That
 downward trend continues. Mercury levels in Lake
 St. Clair and Lake Erie fish have dropped. Levels
 of PCBs are said to be diminishing slightly, as
 shown in the tissues of some fish taken from some
 sections of Lake Michigan.  PCBs were banned
 except by special EPA permit in July, 1 979, but their
 presence in fish and birds throughout the Great
 Lakes will be detectable for years to come. Drinking
 water filtration with activated carbon is serving as a
 temporary answer to the problem of phenols and
 other organic toxic substances. And it might be
 considered a success that more and more people
 are becoming aware of the toxic substances
 problem — and are trying to take action to resolve it
 as soon as possible.
   All of us must continue to be aware of the
dilemma: We enjoy the benefits of a modern society
based in large  part on chemicals, from treated
papers to television to films to heavy machinery. Yet.
many of those  things that make our society modern
do not  quickly  degrade and become harmless to the
environment and to us. Chemicals require special
treatment, and this need is a new consideration to
many people.
   What can you do to combat toxic substances in
the Great Lakes? Several things are possible.

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See if local sewage treatment works and local
industries have and follow pretreatment
regulations for their wastes. To find out if such
programs are required locally, you can call the
mayor's or village manager's office for the
name of the proper authority or department. If
regulations still need  to be developed and you
have time to volunteer, your efforts  will almost
certainly be welcome.
Look at what else is being done in your area to
regulate and control toxic substances. Does a
local ordinance exist? Is your county or
regional planning group addressing the issue?
What is your State pollution-control agency
doing about toxic substances, throughout the
State and in the Great Lakes drainage areas?
Use your telephone directory to learn which
government agencies are around you. When
you call them to see what they're doing, you
might ask to have your name added to their
mailing lists. When these groups  invite public
participation, as in public hearings, you will
know early and have  the opportunity to become
as involved as your time permits.

Learn about hazardous waste disposal in your
area. Chemicals and  other harmful wastes are a
reality of modern  life. Disposal of these
materials  can either compound the problem
or begin to control it. Locating and dealing
with existing hazardous waste disposal sites is
a matter of urgent concern. In the Midwest,
EPA Region V's "Seek and Find" program
invites members of the public to  report any
suspected sites to EPA via toll-free  telephone
numbers. A  number of States and regional
commissions also are identifying hazardous
waste disposal sites,  as are various agencies of
the Federal Government,  including  EPA.
Be aware that proper disposal of hazardous,
possibly toxic, wastes is a matter of
controversy. Although nearly everyone agrees
that these wastes need to be stored
somewhere, many people do not want sites
located near to them. As  a result, few sites are

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   being selected for approval in the U.S or
   Ontario, and toxic and other hazardous wastes
   continue to stockpile. Because of its
   importance as an industrial region, the Great
   Lakes area contains a large share of these
   wastes. Local and national environmental
   groups are becoming active in trying to resolve
   the problem. Your efforts are needed. Ask for
   EPA Region V's Hotline Directory of
   environmental groups and try to work with a
   group  in your area. If you want to interest
   others, EPA Region V has available several
   excellent films about hazardous wastes, as well
   as printed materials about hazardous wastes
   and  toxic substances. These are yours to
   review for the asking.
i§  On a smaller but  equally important scale,
   examine your own uses of products that may
   contain toxic substances. Use unleaded fuel in
   your car and keep the engine properly tuned.
   Read labels of household products to see what
   they contain. Find natural or biological
   substitutes for as many as you can, especially
   for pesticides and the like. When you must use
   paint thmners and toxic cleaning agents, use
   them sparingly — and dispose of them
   properly.

   To report an oil or  hazardous materials spill in the Great
   Lakes — or anywhere in the United States — call the
   National Response Center in Washington, DC toll-free:
   800-424-8802. Your report will be forwarded to the
   appropriate office for action.
  v°/EPA
                    U.S. EPA, Region V, Graphic Arts Section.
                            Design/Illustration: Alan Altur
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I98O	654-O63

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