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foreword
Over the past year, the nation's com-
mitment to a healthy environment has
changed dramatically. Prior to that time,
our concern focussed upon the obvious—
waterborne bacteria which cause ailments,
carbon monoxide which can kill, smoke,
sediment, and so on.
Recently, however, our approach to
pollution has become far more complex,
far more sophisticated. The focus has
shifted to the more subtle, and probably
the more real, risks to public health.
These are the low-dose or chronic toxics,
the carcinogens, the poisons which accum-
ulate over a lifetime or only act when in
combination with other pollutants.
The U.S. Congress has acted on three
sets of amendments which emphasize this
shift. These amendments—to the Clean
Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, and the Safe Drinking Water
Act—are, in fact, a major revision of
EPA's charter. Combined with recent
legislation to control toxic substances and
recover resources, these changes add up to
major reorientation of the national envi-
ronmental effort. Within this context, the
importance of an effective research pro-
gram to support this "complexification"
of our mission was underscored by Con-
gress. In 1977, for the first time, EPA was
given a separate authorization for research
and development.
Within the Office of Research and
Development the past year brought a
growing sense of relevance and contribu-
tion. We are acknowledging our du
responsibilities—to support EPA's regul
tory role and to find long-range solutioi
to problems before they become crise
We are gaining an added appreciation <
the importance of both supportive ar
anticipatory research.
This book, the first of our Highligh
reports, presents but a few of our mo
productive research activities of the la
year. Progress is very difficult to measui
in an R&D environment—solutions to ol
problems are taken for granted, solutior
to new problems are needed more quick]
than they can be provided. Some of OL
efforts uncover more uncertainties tha
they resolve. The subjects covered in th
report represent the product of the be<
of our scientific curiosity, initiative an
dedicated work. After reading them, yo
can judge our progress for yourself.
Stephen J. Gage
Assistant Administrator
Research and Development
-------
Highlights
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
JJNIT'ED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
jtASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
-------
contents
INTRODUCTION
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introduction
977 research highlights
This summary of research describes a
cross-section of the work done in 1977 by
the EPA Office of Research and Develop-
ment. It is by no means a complete,
in-depth report on all the activities of
ORD, which sponsored more than 1,900
projects in 1977. What it does provide is a
sampling of ORD projects, selected for
review here because they represent break-
throughs in research, fill a practical tech-
nological void, are inherently interesting,
or have implications for the future.
The Environmental Protection Agency
is charged with protecting human health
and the environment through promulga-
tion and enforcement of standards and
regulations. The backbone of any regula-
tion is the research which goes into its
design. Auto emission standards, for ex-
ample, must be based on health, pollution
and cost data. Water contaminants or
carcinogens must be carefully identified
so that they can be effectively regulated.
The importance of scientifically precise
research in this arena cannot be over-
stated. For example, if a substance such as
a pesticide is identified as a serious
hazard, its production and use can be
banned. Such a ban can have a disruptive
EPA Legislative Mandates
Public Law No.
Title
Year Passed
3*41$;-,;.
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91-604
..Ifatibaitl. i&ft
Gkm. -Mi?, Act
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effect upon a major industry or sector of
the economy. If, on the other hand, the
substance and its hazard are not identi-
fied, many people can be exposed to
extreme and unnecessary risk.
ORD conducts the major EPA research
effort and establishes the best possible
scientific foundation as the first step in
the design of standards and regulations in
support of their ultimate enforcement as
law. For instance, as you will read in a
later section, ORD played a key role in
the development of preliminary environ-
mental guidelines which should help
stimulate the development of geothermal
energy by removing some of the attendant
environmental control uncertainties.
Beyond providing support to EPA's
regulatory function, ORD has another
concern. That is, to provide data and
expertise in support of state and local
enforcement of regulations. As part of
this role, ORD conducts research into
improved methods for analyzing and mon-
itoring pollutants, and develops new tech-
nologies that contribute directly to the
prevention and treatment of environ-
mental pollution.
In its research, conducted by ottices
and laboratories throughout the country
and by numerous contractors and
grantees, ORD is concerned with a wide
range of subjects. The studies by ORD
scientists take them to every part of the
United States, from geothermal geysers in
California, to steel plants in Pennsylvania,
to the commercially rich waters of
Chesapeake Bay. Much of this research is
the behind-the-scenes methodical analysis
necessary for rigorous scientific validity.
In one sense, the topics of this report are
as diverse as is the program which they
describe. Some results are directly to
support regulation, and some are for
options to meet regulations. Others are in
response to an immediate public danger,
while still others are a step to understand-
ing the ecosystems around us. In this
report alone, you will find studies on cars,
cancer, energy, water, pesticides, coke
ovens, ozone, cheese and waste. It is
hoped that this survey of research topics
will interest the reader, and provide some
sense of the work and the mission of
ORD.
-------
cancer
)RD seeks ways
reduce the risk of cancer
rom exposure to
[nvironmental carcinogens
It is estimated that 60% to 90% of
human cancer is caused by physical and
chemical agents in the environment. With-
in ORD, the Carcinogen Assessment
Group (GAG) has recently been estab-
lished to identify carcinogens in the en-
vironment, and to estimate the population
at risk of exposure.
The task of identifying carcinogens is
an exacting one. Although there are gen-
erally accepted principles of carcinogen-
icity, much knowledge and theory is still
evolving, and there is a relatively small
number of experts, when measured
against the growing need to respond to
carcinogenic hazards. The CAG has, there-
fore, sought help from other experts and
institutions involved in cancer research-
most notably, from the National Cancer
Institute and the National Center for
Toxicological Research.
To determine the carcinogenic poten-
tial of a suspicious substance, the CAG
collects and examines relevant data. The
best evidence that an agent is a human
carcinogen is provided by epidemiological
data, backed by confirmatory animal
tests. However, epidemiological data di-
rectly linking a substance to cancer in
exposed humans is usually lacking, and, in
practice, most judgments on carcinogen-
icity rest on animal tests showing tumor
production in exposed rats and mice.
New Controls on Pesticides
A key agency objective for CAG is a
review of the safety, with regard to
carcinogenic hazard, of the approximately
30,000 pesticides currently registered in
the United States. Some 50 pesticides
under suspicion as carcinogens were re-
ferred to the CAG for review. In its
reviews, the CAG singled out 18 pesticides
which either produced an excessive num-
ber of tumors in laboratory animals or
had epidemiological data directly relating
the substance to human cancer. Subse-
quently, for most of the 18 chemicals,
EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs is
issuing a Rebuttable Presumption Against
Registration (RPAR), the first step in
deciding if a pesticide's registration should
be canceled.
One pesticide challenged as a result of
CAG study was dibromochloropropane,
or DBCP. In the summer of 1977, workers
in plants producing the pesticide were
found to have significantly reduced sperm
counts. CAG analyses of bioassay tests
showed that DBCP produced atrophy of
the testicles and malignant tumors in
laboratory animals. In October 1977, EPA
temporarily banned the sale and use of
DBCP, and currently is seeking to make
the ban permanent.
CAG scientists also took part in the
administrative hearing on chlordane and
heptachlor. This hearing began two years
ago, when manufacturers decided to chal-
lenge the proposed cancellation of these
pesticides. CAG prepared a full risk assess-
ment of the impact on public health of
chlordane and heptachlor, and submitted
it, along with an independently produced
economic impact report, as evidence in
the hearing. These reports brought pre-
viously doubtful issues into sharper focus,
and provided strong evidence in support
of the cancellation of these two
pesticides.
-------
CAG Assessments Will Continue to Cover a Broad Range of Toxics
In
Support of:
Delivered
FY-77
Predicted
FY-78
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r Pollutants
For EPA's Office of Air Quality Plan-
ling and Standards, GAG has evaluated
he possible carcinogenicity of several
Ihemicals including benzene and arsenic.
•The GAG has calculated specific levels of
[isk in relation to exposure to air pollu-
:ants for use by the Agency in devising air
)ollution standards to limit human
exposure.
/ater Quality
For EPA's Office of Water Supply,
AG has evaluated the risks from chloro-
form contamination of drinking water.
his evaluation played a key role in, and
(is part of, the EPA's proposed drinking
vater standards for trihalomethanes. In
ddition, GAG is currently assisting EPA's
)ffice of Water Planning and Standards in
review of guidelines designed to control
[the effect of 65 toxic chemical pollutants,
aany of which are suspected carcinogens,
an water quality.
Radiation
GAG is also concerned with radiation
[risks, and the Group is currently assisting
the EPA Office of Radiation Programs in
the development of guidelines to define
exposure limits to transuranium elements.
Regional Offices
EPA Regional Offices call on the Car-
cinogenic Assessment Group to investigate
suspected local pollution from environ-
mental carcinogens. GAG responds and
helps the Regional Offices to determine
whether a local health hazard exists.
1977 was the first year of operation for
the Carcinogenic Assessment Group. It is
now clear that the demand for carcinogen
risk assessments will continue to grow,
and that there will be a need for the
activities of the Group to expand. Full
health risk assessments are required for a
number of chemicals currently being con-
sidered for regulation. And, under new
legislative mandates to control toxic sub-
stances in the environment, the EPA
needs to determine the carcinogenicity of
a large number of substances.
The results of CAG's work, except for
proprietary data, are available to the
public in a year-end summary containing
all the technical reports produced during
1977.
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ozone
Human activities may
damage Earth's protective
ozone layer
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION causes
flecking of leaves (above). Exposure also
stunts plants (below, center and right) as
compared with unexposed plant (left).
Concern has mounted recently over the
inadvertent modification of the Earth's
ozone layer. Stratospheric ozone is the
planet's primary shield against intense,
biologically harmful solar ultraviolet radi-
ation. This radiation, which may cause
skin cancer in humans and changes in
plants, may also affect climate and
weather patterns. Evidence indicates that
this ozone layer is being depleted and that
people, through the discharge of ozone-
destroying gases, may be responsible.
In 1976, the Federal Council on
Science and Technology asked EPA to
serve as lead agency in a federal inter-
agency program of Biological and Climatic
Effects Research (BACER). In response,
ORD joined with other EPA offices and
federal agencies to explore the possible
effects of ozone depletion on the Earth's
life forms and climate.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of
1977 further defined this task by man-
dating the EPA to mount a broad research
program to determine: the effects of
ozone depletion on public health and
welfare, the probable causes of such ef-
fects, the methods of avoiding human-
caused ozone depletions, and the best
ways to regulate or control ozone-
depleting activities. ORD's role in this
research is to coordinate the production
of adequate, scientific data which will
provide a sound scientific basis for making
decisions to regulate (or not to regulate)
ozone-depleting activities.
The BACER program is focused on
collecting, analyzing and improving data
to support strategies for controlling ozone
depletion. Efforts have included both
laboratory simulations and tests in direct
sunlight. Researchers measured the effect
on plants and animals of increased ultra-
violet light in the biologically important
290- to 320-nanometer wavelength range
(UV-B). Light in this range is filtered by
normaL atmospheric ozone concentrations
but tends to penetrate a reduced ozone
layer.
Health Impacts
In studying the relationship between
UV-B and skin cancer in humans, BACER
investigators found high correlations be-
tween exposure to naturally occurring
UV-B and the incidence of skin cancer in
those exposed. Investigators also found
that, between 1950 and 1970, the inci-
dence of skin cancer and malignant mela-
noma has been increasing among Cau-
casians. The mortality rate from malig-
nant melanoma has also been increasing.
Ecological Effects
Photosynthesis is the mechanism that
captures the sun's energy and makes it
available to all of Earth's life forms.
BACER studied the effect of UV-B on
photosynthesis and found that even low
levels of UV-B inhibited photosynthesis in
some land and water plants. Soybeans and
watermelons exposed to UV-B in both
laboratory and outdoor experiments be-
came stunted, with leaves that were
bleached or discolored.
BACER scientists exposed eggs and
larvae of commercially important shrimp,
crab, and mackerel to various levels of
UV-B. Irradiation with UV-B produced
lesions in the brain tissue of larvae of
Pacific mackerel and anchovy, and tissue
destruction in shrimp. In ecosystem
studies, UV-B caused dramatic shifts in
community structures. For example, the
-------
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survival rate of pigmented species of
bacteria was increased in irradiated areas;
this bacteria species is suspected of being
toxic to some plankton and damaging to
plankton ecosystems. The implications of
such damage to plankton are vast indeed.
Planktonic algae produce a major portion
of the world's primary biomass and gener-
ate a substantial share of the Earth's
oxygen. UV-B destruction of planktonic
algae could create an enormous ecological
imbalance and could disrupt primary food
and oxygen production in the seas with
wide-ranging implications for terrestrial
life.
Climatic Effects
Recent research findings have shown
that ozone depletion can have two major
effects on climate: (1) increased trans-
mittance of ultraviolet and visible radia-
tion tends to warm the lower atmosphere
and the surface of the earth; and (2) the
depleted ozone layer allows more infrared
radiation to escape from the earth's sur-
face, thereby reducing its temperature.
The net result of these two effects is
currently being studied. Initial indications
are that, for every 10% reduction in
stratospheric ozone, the Earth's surface
temperature could decrese by 0.1° to
0.2°C, and local stratospheric tempera-
tures could decrease by as much as 2° to
3°C. This, in turn, may cause significant
atmospheric disturbances, changes in
weather patterns, and additional surface
climatic effects.
Measuring UV-B
BACER is helping to expand the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration's monitoring network to measure
solar radiation at different latitudes on
the earth's surface. Current findings are
that annual UV-B at latitudes in the
southern United States (Florida to Texas)
is about twice that in North Dakota, but
that summer UV-B received at these two
latitudes is about the same.
Future Plans
In the coming year, the BACER pro-
gram will continue to study the effects of
ozone depletion and increased UV-B
radiation. The ecological effects of UV-B
will be further investigated and quantified
and the consequences of possible global
and regional climate changes will be
assessed. In addition, research on skin
cancer will be extended, instrumentation
to measure and monitor UV-B will be
refined, the costs' and impacts of control-
ling ozone depletion will be evaluated and
the agricultural impacts of resultant cli-
matic changes will be estimated.
The following ORD component contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS
8
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SKIN CANCER SITES: The figure shows
sites of origin of melanoma skin cancer in
534 males and females. There is pre-
dominant localization of sites to areas of
skin that are constantly exposed to sun-
light (face and lower legs in females) or to
body areas that are intermittently ex-
posed (trunks and legs of males). Also
observe the virtual absence of melanoma
in body areas that are covered (bathing
suit areas).
One should exercise caution in inter-
preting such information even though
epidemiological studies do show high
degrees of correlation with solar exposure.
As yet no direct cause and effect relation-
ship between solar exposure and human
skin cancer has been proven experi-
mentally.
1950 1955
Age-adjusted (1960 US) rate per 100,000 pop.
1960
1965
1970-71
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sulfates — health
New ORD data
complicates,
deepens understanding
of relationship between
sulfates and health
Atmospheric sulfates have been studied
intensively since 1974 when reports first
indicated that sulfates may have serioUs
effects on health. The studies indicated
that low sulfate levels may produce a
variety of respiratory health problems,
including aggravated asthma, bronchitis,
and decreased lung functions in children.
The sulfates of concern include acids such
as sulfuric acid and ammonium bisulfate,
neutral metallic sulfates, adsorbed SOg
and other exotic sulfur compounds.
The sulfate problem is an increasingly
important issue because of the tie be-
tween sulfate sources and the production
of energy. More than half of. all the
atmospheric sulfates in this country may
come from power plant smoke plumes
Significant sulfate concentrations ar
known to occur in many parts of thi
United States and are particularly heav^
in the industrial areas east of the Miss
issippi.
Given these facts, the need for contro
of sulfates is apparent. However, EPA i:
aware that insufficient understanding o
the sulfate problem exists. Thus, ORD ha;
taken on the task of developing the
scientific information necessary to help
determine if atmospheric sulfate standards
for cleaner air should be established. The
program emphasizes three complex
topics: (1) atmospheric processes that
create or intensify sulfates from stack
plumes, (2) health effects attributable to
sulfates, and (3) technologies to control
sulfur discharges into the air.
ORD's mobile research and monitoring facility.
10
Health Effects
The health problems identified in the
early EPA Community Health and Envi-
ronmental Surveillance System (CHESS)
reports are subject to controversy among
scientific authorities. Many scientists be-
lieve the CHESS results are not conclusive
proof that sulfates cause such significant
health problems. Others believe that sul-
fates only contribute to a potential health
problem. ORD's health effects research is
intended to help resolve these issues.
Early sulfate health effects research
under ORD sponsorship consisted mainly
of toxicology studies on guinea pigs. After
1974, the emphasis shifted to other ani-
mals to help calculate human exposure/
response relationships. Sulfuric acid in its
aerosol form is of particular concern
because its toxicity varies with weather
conditions, aerosol particle size, and mass
concentration, as well as with the dura-
tion of exposure, age, and general health
of a receiving organism. The clinical
research programs are considering these
variables as they relate to human expo-
sures. Included are those aerosol particles
most likely to be deposited in the lungs,
pulmonary responses, mucociliary trans-
port of aerosol particles, and changes in
blood chemistry.
During 1977, this exacting clinical
research has compiled data on the health
effects of sulfuric acid and various sulfate
-------
Another sulfuric acid experiment dur-
ing 1977 investigated the combined
effects of carbon particles (e.g., soot) and
the acid. It was found that mice under-
going long-term simultaneous exposure of
carbon and carbon particles had more
pronounced morphological changes in the
respiratory tract than when exposed to
just sulfuric acid alone.
An experiment dealing with metallic
sulfates also produced significant results
in 1977. Rabbit alveolar macrophages
were exposed to the sulfate and chloride
salts of seven metals to determine relative
cellular toxicities. The results of the
experiment showed that both the sulfate
and chloride of each metal had about the
same toxicity, but that the toxicities
varied between metals, and between dif-
ferent sulfate salts. These results support
an earlier supposition that the sulfate of a
metal may not constitute the principal
health agent, but that its particular com-
pound may be the principal cause of
adverse health. For example, zinc ammo-
nium sulfate was found to be more toxic
than zinc sulfate. Since most sulfur is
emitted as SOg and transforms into a
sulfate in the atmosphere, there is little
hope of controlling what sulfate is
formed. However, if some types of sul-
fates are found to be innocuous, there
may be no need to control their direct
emission from those few sources which
may emit that particular compound.
salts. One ORD project studied the effect
of the combined action of sulfuric acid
aerosol and ozone on the susceptibility of
animals to an aerosol of respiratory micro-
organisms. Nether pollutant alone caused
a mortality increase. There was, however,
a significant increase in mortality when
the exposure to ozone immediately pre-
ceded that of the acid. Thus, the studies
indicate that these pollutants can interfere
with host defense processes and make
animals more vulnerable to infections.
Sulfate Concentrations, 1974
Micrograms/Cubic Meter
Above 15 10 - 14 1-9 Below 1
First Year ITA Air Quality Impact Assessment Model and Results,
January 1977, Teknekron, Inc.
11
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sulfates in air
Investigations begin
to reveal how sulfates
are created, how
they travel, what forms
they take
Although fossil fuel combustion in
utilities and industry is the major source
of sulfates in America's air, few sulfates
are emitted directly from the plants.*
Instead, the most common sulfur com-
pound in the exhaust gas, sulfur dioxide
(SOg), is transformed into sulfate in the
atmosphere through a series of compli-
cated reactions including oxidation by
constituents of photochemical smog.
These reactions are induced by a variety
of atmospheric conditions such as the
ambient air turbulence, the presence of
other pollutants that catalyze the conver-
sion of SO2 to sulfates, and the length of
time the SO2 is airborne.
Perhaps the most definitive study of
SC>2/sulfate transport to date is the
ORD's Midwest Interstate Sulfur Trans-
formation and Transport study (MISTT).
As part of the MISTT study, air sampling
to determine the fate of SC>2 and the
sulfates has shown that emissions from
smokestacks, power plant plumes and
general urban pollution can contribute to
sulfate air pollution a hundred or more
kilometers away from the source of the
SO2- Thus, the government authority that
regulates the emitting source may be
outside of the jurisdiction where the
major sulfajte impact occurs.
Other factors of the SO2-to-sulfate
conversion process are problematic. One
past strategy of power plants to meet
ambient air quality standards for SO2 had
been to build taller smokestacks, thus
allowing ambient air to dilute the SO2
concentration more thoroughly before it
reached the ground. But the conversion of
SO2-to-sulfate aerosol in the plumes,
which is slow in the initial phase, increases
as ambient air mixes with the plume.
More SO2 is thus available in the atmos-
phere for conversion to sulfates and more
SO2 atmospheric residence time means
more sulfate formed. Therefore, as tall
stacks reduced ground-level SO2 concen-
trations, they also increased atmospheric
sulfate formation. These atmospheric sul-
fates may contribute to acid rainfall,
notably in the eastern United States and
Canada, and are believed to contribute
significantly to haze and the general loss
of visibility associated with air pollution.
The ORD research on sulfate transport
and transformation is aimed at achieving a
fuller understanding of these complex
relationships. This understanding will pro-
vide the basis for any future regulatory
*An exception to this generalization is the
oil-fired boiler which can emit significant
amounts of sulfates directly.
12
-------
Mechanisms by which Sulfur Dioxide is Converted to Sulfates
Mechanism
Overall reaction
Factors on which
sulfate formation
primarily depends
fight* oxygen
paticulste
Sular
ion, OH,
jonia concentration.
ioa of
» V,
action to limit or reduce the growth of
ambient sulfate levels in the U.S. To date,
one argument for atmospheric sulfate
reduction favors direct control of SOg.
Another argument favors control of
photochemical precursors that may be
responsible for the larger portion of SOg-
to-sulfate conversion. Much of the ORD
sulfate research in the past year has
sought evidence to resolve this argument.
The 1977 ORD research achievements
in sulfate atmospheric processes have been
balanced between theoretical studies and
field investigations. One theoretical study
and laboratory measurement found that a
reduction in the oxidation rate of SOg
decreases sulfate production faster than a
corresponding reduction in the amount of
SO2 in the air. The study also showed
that percentage reductions of the photo-
chemical precursors—hydrocarbons and
nitrogen oxides in the air—did not pro-
duce a corresponding percentage decrease
in the sulfate formed. These results sup-
port the argument that favors direct SOg
sion control as the effective means to
control sulfates.
Another theoretical study in 1977 com-
pared the sulfate formation rate in clean
air to that in typical urban air. It was
found that sulfates formed between 2 to 3
times faster in the urban air. The oxida-
tion rate of SOg to sulfates in clean air
proceeded at approximately 1.5% per
hour. In typical urban air, the oxidation
rate was calculated at 4% per hour. Thus,
the rate of oxidation, taken in conjunc-
tion with the location of the SO2 source,
are key parameters in determining where
the sulfates will probably occur.
Sulfates and Visibility
EPA field investigations this past year
were aimed at determining the location of
high sulfate concentrations. In one study
of historical data in the southwestern
United States, high correlations were
established between ambient sulfate meas-
urements and various indices of visibility.
In another study, a series of sampling
programs was conducted in urban areas
including New York City; Philadelphia;
Charleston, South Carolina; St. Louis;
Glendora, California; and Portland,
Oregon. Dichotomous samplers, which
EPA has been developing over the past
five years, were used to collect the sulfate
particles. Analyses of the samples revealed
that about 70% of the sulfur occurs as
fine particles, of which sulfate typically
accounts for about 40% of the mass.
Detailed sample analyses indicated that
sulfates contributed significantly to the
acidity of the particulate samples. Specif-
ically, it was found that hydrogen ions
(used as an index of acidity) accounted
for between 5 and 46% of the cations
associated with sulfate.
As further data is produced by this
research, a greater understanding of the
dynamics of sulfate pollution will evolve.
With such an understanding, optimum
sulfate control strategies can be
developed.
13
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clean energy
ORD attacks sulfates
with technology--
coal cleaning, scrubbers
and advanced combustion
66% of Reserve
34% of Reserve
Key:
Low-Sulfur Coal - heat value equalized
Steam Electric Power Generation
>1.5 Million kWh Per Square Mile
0.5-1.5 Million kWh Per Square Mile
0-0.5 Million kWh Per Square Mile
President Carter's energy goals call for
increased use of coal by industry and
utilities in the future. But as more coal is
burned, more sulfur could be released to
the atmosphere. Its presence could, in
turn, create higher sulfate levels in popu-
lated areas. The National Energy Plan
estimates an increase in annual coal use
from its present level of approximately
660-million tons to 1.2-billion tons in
1985.
ORD and its predecessor organizations
have been instrumental in developing,
testing, and assessing alternative sulfur
control technologies since the early
1960's. Their research has emphasized the
demonstration of technical feasibility to
ensure economic acceptance by industry.
There are three basic points at which
sulfur pollutants can be removed from the
coal power cycle — before combustion
(physical or chemical cleaning, synthetic
fuels), during combustion (fluidized bed
combustion), or from the exhaust gases
after combustion (Hue gas desulfuriza-
tion). ORD has had a major, and in some
cases the lead, national research role in all
of these areas. The ORD role is further
augmented by its responsibilities as coor-
dinator of the $100-million per year
Interagency Energy/Environment Re-
search and Development program.
Coal Cleaning
Less than 15% of the coal mined in the
United States today can meet federal
standards governing sulfur oxide emissions
from new sources. At EPA during 1977,
work has continued on the development
of several sulfur removal options for coal.
This work includes testing system feasibil-
ities, determining cost figures for industry
application, and providing information
that can be used by regulating authorities
for assessing practical and optimum emis-
sion control strategies.
The coal cleaning process is compli-
14
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COAL-CLEANING FOR POWER PLANTS: Nation's first multi-stream physical coal-
cleaning facility feeds power-plant complex at Homer City, Pa. ORD is conducting an
environmental monitoring study of the facility, which began partial operations in the
fall of 1977.
catcd by the very nature of coal. Coal is
not homogenous. Different seams, or dif-
ferent locations within the same seam or
mine, can yield vastly different coal
samples in terms of heat value, sulfur, ash
and water content. Sulfur itself, within
the coals, takes two forms: pyritic sulfur
is separable from the coal by physical
means (e.g., crushing), organic sulfur is
tightly bound to the coal and is difficult
to remove.
Locating Cleanable Coal
Part of the work of ORD is determining
the physical cleanability of various U.S.
coals. Under this program, the ultimate
cleanability of most major deposits has
been determined. This work, which has
been performed in conjunction with the
U.S. Bureau of Mines, has tested more
than 450 samples of coal representing
more than 70% of the coal used for U.S.
utilities. From these tests ORD and the
Bureau of Mines have determined the level
of sulfur reduction that can be achieved
by physical cleaning as well as the degree
of energy loss associated with the cleaning
process. There are two basic methods of-
removing this sulfur: physical coal clean-
ing and chemical coal cleaning.
Physical Coal Cleaning
Physical coal cleaning involves crushing
run-of-mine coal to the point where min-
eral impurities are released from the coal
structure. The process depends upon the
difference in physical properties (such as
specific gravity or magnetic attraction)
between coal and its impurities. In the
specific gravity process, the crushed coal
is suspended in a dense liquid allowing
pyritic sulfur and other mineral particles
of higher density than coal to settle out.
The remaining coal can then be removed
easily from the liquid and burned.
Over the last decade EPA, in conjunc-
tion with the Bureau of Mines, the electric
utility industry, and private contractors,
has conducted R&D on methods of phys-
ical coal cleaning. This work has led to the
adaptation of a number of physical clean-
ing methods. Some of these technologies
are now being developed for use on a
commercial scale in major electric generat-
ing plants as a means of achieving com-
pliance with sulfur dioxide emission
standards.
Homer City, Pennsylvania, boasts the
first of these U.S. coal preparation plants
designed to remove sulfur for compliance
with state and federal sulfur dioxide
emission regulations. The facility, par-
tially funded by ORD, will treat about
1200 tons of coal per hour and will
supply all the fuel necessary for an
1850-megawatt power generating system.
Two other sulfur removing plants are
being planned by TX7A.
15
-------
ORD-sponsored facility tests chemical
coal cleaning process,
Chemical Coal Cleaning
Chemical coal cleaning requires run-ot-
mine coal to be ground to fine granules,
after which it is leactecl with chemical
agents at elevated temperatures and/or
pressures to remove impurities and sulfur
compounds. Again, this 'cleaning' is per-
formed before combustion.
Several chemical coal cleaning processes
are under development. The Meyers Proc-
ess is the most advanced of these and is
currently being evaluated in a 1/3-ton-per-
hour pilot plant in Capistrano, California.
Funded by ORD, this process has the
potential to remove more than 95% of the
pyritic sulfur.
At least eight other processes are in
various stages of development in bench-
scale studies. These processes include
microwave desulfurization, hydrotreat-
ment and hydrothermal processes, the
latter process claiming 90% removal of
pyritic sulfur and 40% removal of organic
sulfur. While most of the chemical coal
cleaning processes being examined by
EPA are capable of removing both organic
and pyritic sulfur, the effectiveness of any
given process depends on the chemical
makeup of the mined coal. Under accel-
erated development, several chemical
processes could be ready for commercial
demonstration in 3 to 5 years.
Scrubbers
The most promising sulfur-control tech-
nology to date has been a flue gas
desulfurization (FGD) 'scrubbing' tech-
nique for which nearly $4 billion has been
committed by industry. The combined
electrical power output represented by
this investment is 40,000 megawatts or
10% of this nation's generating capacity.
Research into FGD
FGD systems can either be throwaway
systems which require that the by-product
sludge be discarded, or regenerable sys-
tems that produce a by-product with
some use. The FGD systems now in the
greatest use are the lime and limestone
sludge-producing systems. In these sys-
tems, the sludge comes from a lime or
limestone that precipitates SC>2 into a
calcium sulfate or calcium sulfite salt.
ORD, in conjunction with TVA, is oper-
ating and testing such systems at the
Shawnee Power Plant near Paducah,
Kentucky. Continuing tests at this facility
are resulting in advances in system reliabil-
ity, variable load operation, control,
sludge disposal, and cost reduction. ORD
is sponsoring other large demonstration
projects for a number of FGD techniques
to adapt these techniques to existing and
future power plants of around 100 mega-
watts capacity, or significantly smaller
than most modern utility systems. This
would bring scrubbing technologies to
o o o
industrial-sized applications.
ORD is also considering an applica-
tions-oriented program, involving partici-
pation by the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), the utility industry, and
FGD system vendors, to improve the
acceptance and application of pilot plant
and prototype results to commercial
units.
The year 1977 saw the initiation of a
major test of what may become the next
generation scrubber system. Ground was
broken at a site near Louisville, Kentucky,
to test the double alkali scrubbing process
on a 270-megawatt electric plant burning
high-sulfur coal. Cost-shared with the
local utility, this ORD demonstration will
produce a high quality sludge useful for
landfill. Earlier pilot plant tests using the
double alkali scrubbing process have indi-
cated improved reliability, significantly
improved energy efficiency, and poten-
tially lower capital and operating costs
than other scrubbing systems. The
Louisville demonstration will determine
if, as it appears now, the double alkali
process becomes the logical successor to
current generation lime/limestone scrub-
bers.
ORD also has sludge reduction research
under way, including disposal techniques
and the possible beneficial uses of sludge.
Some of the research taking place involves
using sludge as fertilizer, or in chemical
production plants, and evaluating the like-
lihood of market penetration.
Several FGD systems which do not
produce sludge have also been investigated
by ORD. Such systems reduce solid waste
by regenerating their sorbent and produc-
ing a marketable by-product, such as
elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid. (Hence
the term "regenerable," applied to those
scrubbers which produce no waste
sludge.)
A major breakthrough in regenerable
scrubbing occurred in 1977. In a demon-
stration cost-shared by ORD and a utility
company, the Wellman-Lord sulfur-
producing processes was proven effective.
The process underwent acceptance testing
in 1977 on a 115-megawatt power plant
burning high-sulfur midwestern coal near
Gary, Indiana. These exhaustive tests of
the Wellman-Lord process indicate high
reliability and lower operating costs than
initially projected. The system produces
purified sulfur, instead of sludge, as a
by-product. This sulfur is being sold to a
commercial firm — thus further reducing
system operating costs.
16
-------
(Fluid Bed Systems
The third method of reducing SOn
(emissions from fossil fuel combustion is
Jfluidized bed combustion (FBC). This
(technology involves the combustion of
Ipulveri/.ed coal or 'dirty' residual oil in a
Ibed of limestone that has been fluidized
I (held in suspension by the controlled
(injection of air through the bottom of the
Ibed). During combustion, the SC>2
[released reacts with the limestone to form
la dry solid waste along with the coal ash.
iThis waste thus removes much of the
(pollution before it enters the exhaust gas.
I High heat transfers, low sulfur and nitro-
Igen oxide emissions, and responsiveness to
(varying loads and composition are just a
few of the FBC's advantages. ORD antici-
I pates relatively early commercial avail-
lability of this process. In 1977, EPA work
Ion FBC has continued on technical appli-
I cations, emissions control, environmental
(impact, projected, cost comparisons with
I other sulfur control technologies, and
I applications to electric utility and large
industrial boilers. The process offers the
(potential of solving the problem of clean
I energy for medium-scale operations, but it
is currently not commercially available for
the large boilers required by electric
power plants and heavy industry. Al-
though fluidized bed combustion is not a
cleaning process per se, it serves a similar
environmental function and is, therefore,
I of interest to ORD.
Other promising technologies involve
the creation of low-sulfur synthetic liquid
or gaseous fuels from coal. These tech-
nologies, under development by the De-
partment of Energy (DOE), are being
reviewed in a cooperative ORD/DOE en-
vironmental monitoring program. Such
synthetic fuels technologies, however, are
not expected to make a significant contri-
bution to the nation's energy supply for
several years.
Versatile ORD—sponsored wet scrubber test facility at TVA's Shawnee
power plant.
17
-------
These control technologies are essential
for establishing alternative strategies to
meet the sulfate hazards of the future.
The focus of the control technology
research in both 1977 and future years is
to make technical options available to
coal users as well as control options for
regulation. The research is paying close
attention to costs of control, to a phasing
of controls into new plants, and to the
retrofit problems of existing plants.
Combining Technologies
Additional studies performed by ORD
indicate that, in many instance's, a combi-
nation of two or more of coal cleaning
and sulfur removal methods can be the
most cost effective and efficient method
of meeting a specified SC>2 emission
standard. Among the determining factors
are the emission standards to be met, the
location of the plant, the type and
makeup of coal, the available water and
other necessary resources, the location of
end users, and the technical feasibility and
costs of the methods.
Continued R&D on all feasible sulfur
removal options is essential as the need
for energy increases, and as more and
better use must be made of the U.S.
resources of high-sulfur coals.
The following ORD components contributed
to the sulfates research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS: • Health Effects Research
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH • Health
Effects Research Laboratory, Research
Triangle Park, NC • Environmental
Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Environmental Sciences Research
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV
• Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC
Costs Associated with
Various FGD Systems
for a 500 MW Plant
energy
penalty
% of plant
output
capital
costs
$/kw
added
operating
costs
mils/kWh
4,7
lime
limestone
double alkali
magnesium
oxide
wellman-lord
18
-------
cost of power
Economic study provides
support to the nation's
•egulatory and
energy-environment
decision makers
Several options are available to
America's electric utility industry for de-
veloping an adequate supply of electricity
for the nation's power consumers. But as
the demand for electricity grows and the
utility industry puts one or more of these
options into practice, our economy and
environment will be impacted. The extent
of those impacts, their nature, location,
and their ultimate effect on people are
factors which should be known to support
the establishment of insightful federal
regulatory policies. Until recently, infor-
mation needed to analyze the effects of
various en'ergy "futures" on the economy
and environment had not been suffi-
ciently developed to be directly useful to
those involved in making major energy
and environmental decisions. In addition,
no accepted method for such analysis had
been established. In recognition of this
need, ORD funded a study to provide a
scientific method that could be used to
answer some of the difficult economic
and environmental questions about these
futures.
The study is also making a real contri-
bution to a sound basis for evaluating the
consequences of federal regulatory pol-
icies dealing with future energy develop-
ment patterns. In addition, the study,
which is entitled "An Integrated Tech-
nology Assessment of Electric Utility
Energy Systems," will help to determine
how industry investment decisions are
influenced by regional air quality and
federal policy. In 1977, the basic method
for the study's analytical approach was
established, and some initial results are
now available.
The Method
The study method combines possible
energy and environmental policies with a
set of reasonably likely future economic
conditions. The synergistic nature of these
factors, coupled with legal decisions, new
technology research and development,
and a description of pertinent climatologi-
cal effects, are integrated to calculate the
rates at which harmful air pollutants will
be released in the process of electricity
generation. To provide information for
regulatory functions, ORD has directed
that the study be precise enough to
forecast pollution on a county-by-county
basis from now through the year 2000.
The study methods can, therefore, be
used to calculate when and where air
pollution patterns will concentrate as the
country's energy future takes shape.
The economic portion of the study
considers the costs of pollution control
strategies to the electric utilities and to
electric power consumers. Generally, from
the utility's point of view, the technology
that requires the lowest capital costs and
operational costs to meet air pollution
standards is the best. From the con-
sumer's point of view, however, the strat-
egy that causes the least amount of
noticeable or hazardous air pollution and
that at the same time raises electricity
bills the least is the best. The resolution of
these differing viewpoints is fundamental
to the formulation of a reasonable eco-
nomic price to pay for clean air. The
study method also looks at the economic
consequences of alternative environmental
policies and their effects on regional coal
supply and demand.
Projecting Pollution
The environmental processes con-
sidered in the study take current emission
rates from power plants and, through the
use of complex meteorological models,
project where sulfates will be deposited.
Deposit locations and concentrations thus
depend on the number of emitting
sources, the emissions allowable under
applicable air quality standards, the trans-
formation rates of the pollutants, and the
prevailing winds that disperse the pollu-
tion.
Applying the study method to national
sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfate concen-
trations has uncovered a number of "hot
spots" in the country. Not surprisingly,
these hot spots have: (1) lenient state
implementation plans (SIPs) for air
quality, (2) numerous coal-fired power
plants, and (3) weather that generally
favors pollutant concentrations. For most
foreseeable energy futures, these areas will
remain problems unless SIPs are modified.
However, local efforts may not suffi-
ciently alleviate the problem because sul-
fates are a long-range interstate phenom-
enon. One study result indicates that
19
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sulfate concentrations
Occur Downwind of SO, Source
Cr
^V—{
20
-------
This map of the industrial northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada shows the most
frequent sectors of extremely persistent winds originating from areas with high SO2
emissions. This technique of combining special wind patterns with major pollution
sources gives an indication of where the SC>2 emitted from "hot spot" emission areas is
likely to have the maximum impact on sulfate concentrations downwind.
Maps such as this highlight the problems (SO2 changes gradually to sulfates in the
atmosphere) of siting SC>2 emitting plants in areas of intense development. Such plants
can add to an increasingly severe problem of sulfate concentration in areas several
hundred kilometers downwind. Also, the emissions from each new source add to those
from upwind sources to create an increasingly dense accumulation of SO2/sulfates. The
cloud shapes on this map indicate major point sources of emissions and the sectors of
extreme wind persistence. The gradation of tint on the clouds is meant to illustrate,
albeit imprecisely, the relative concentration of sulfates downwind of the high SO2
emission areas.
21
-------
strict controls on SO2 emissions from
existing power plants can be achieved at
reasonable cost if physical coal cleaning is
widely used to remove pyritic sulfur. This
strategy is valuable to potential invest-
ment decision makers because it does not
require extensive and expensive plant re-
trofits. If the practice is widespread, it
also means that regional coals having a
higher precleaning sulfur content can be
used, with attendant lower transportation
costs and less environmental disruption.
Another study result illustrates the
complex trade-offs involved in energy
production and environmental regulation.
In the case of SO2 emissions, a significant
rise in this pollutant will occur by 1990
unless strict controls are implemented for
new power plants. If demand-management
policies (e.g., time-of-day pricing) are
adopted and are successful in flattening
load peaks, the increase in SO2 emissions
will be even greater, necessitating strict
controls not only for new but also for
existing power plants. This apparent in-
consistency between managing the load
yet increasing SO9 emissions is caused by
the fact that, as load management reduces
peaks, newer power plants need not be
built. As a result, the older plants will be
kept operating more of the time, and the
resulting pollution output will be greater
than if the new "cleaner" and more
efficient plants were built. In addition,
peak load flattening may not substantially
reduce growth in total demand for electri-
city. Hence, total emissions would in-
crease.
The 1977 results have also allowed EPA
to address the questions of: Where will
emissions from the "hot-spot" areas be
transported? Where will they have their
maximum impact in causing high sulfate
levels in the atmosphere? The answers are
derived by identifying those meteorolog-
ical conditions which, along with the
spatial distribution of emission sources,
determine the movement of emissions and
the relationships between emissions
sources and receptors. These meteorolog-
ical conditions include the directions of
persistent surface winds, the directions of
winds at the height of tall power-plant
stacks, the paths of power-plant plumes,
and the tracks of high-pressure air masses.
Applying this analytical method to
sulfate problem areas, ORD has found
that:
• Rural locations likely to have high
sulfate levels as a result of power-plant
emissions are to the north of the lower
Ohio River Basin arid to the northeast of
the upper Ohio River Basin.
• Numerous areas in the upper and
lower Ohio River Basin will contain sites
for additional power plants and other
emission sources that lie directly along the
meteorological paths of medium-range
and long-range transport—a condition that
will exacerbate the already serious sulfate
problem in the Northeast. The region's air
resources may not be able to support
anticipated energy and industrial develop-
ments without implementation, on a re-
gional basis, of stricter controls for exist-
ing power plants and siting restrictions for
all new sources.
• Much of the long-range transport
impacts of emissions from the Ohio River
Basin and Appalachian regions will be felt
in the area of the Great Lakes and
Canada, which itself will probably have
high emissions (in northern Illinois, south-
ern Wisconsin, central Michigan, north-
eastern Ohio, and areas yet to be deter-
mined in Canada). The adverse impacts
from the long-range transport of emissions
across international boundaries may force
the adoption of stricter regional controls
for existing sources and stricter siting
restrictions for all new sources.
The results of this significant study
show basically that when coal is the
predominant fuel, sulfates will be a prob-
lem. In addition, when coal use is encour-
aged without strict environmental con-
trols, a sulfate problem, often far removed
from the source, will result. Investment
decisions for control strategies can draw
on the results of this study, and the
regulatory impacts on those decisions can
be analyzed with the study methodology.
As results from this study are developed
and validated, key energy/environment
decision makers, both within the several
EPA offices and throughout the federal
establishment, are briefed. Such briefings
bring the most recent policy-level infor-
mation directly to those who are in-
fluencing the development of national
policy.
f%llutirtt Emissions
•N
Emphasis or» enfrgy omsfj-vntioi* «ul Ww'grevrtii r«ts for
Coal arid nuclei are »Kf»wj«$, ««f twtt «ft¥»wtn*emat
22
-------
ohio river
ORD leads effort to
promote balanced energy
development in the
Ohio River Basin
The Ohio River Basin Energy Study
(ORBES) came about through the efforts
of a group of citizens who, in the early
1970's, became concerned about plans for
accelerated power plant development
along the Ohio River between Ports-
mouth, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky.
Currently, nine power plants are under
construction or in active planning stages
along the 250-mile stretch.
In 1975, at the urging of this group, the
U.S. Congress instructed EPA to develop
an environmental assessment program.
Power vlant on the Ohio River
COURTESY CINCINNATI GAS & ELECTRIC CO.
EPA was also given the responsibility of
determining social and economic impacts
on the area from such development, as
well as evaluating whether or not the area
required as extensive an energy develop-
ment program as planned. ORBES is the
outgrowth of this Congressional mandate.
Although such environmental impact
assessments are not out of the ordinary
for EPA research, that this study directly
resulted from public concern is. Congress
is the client and the public's need for
accurate responses to their questions and
concerns had to be satisfied. This project
serves as an example of direct federal
research response to expressed citizen
needs.
The first phase of the project, under
ORD's management, began in summer
1976, and lasted to fall 1977. In this
phase, issues were raised and questions
and problems related to an accelerated
rate of development in the Ohio River
Basin were broadly defined.
Three parallel, but independent, inter-
disciplinary teams were created, compris-
ing research faculty members from uni-
versities in the area. Academic personnel
were chosen because of their relative
independence from outside interest group
pressures, although all interest groups
were expected to share the research
findings.
ORD first charged the teams with the
task of developing four comprehensive
scenarios that reflected different potential
energy needs and methods for satisfying
those needs. The scenarios suggested com-
binations of electricity generation sources
to meet future electrical energy demand
growth rates of from 2.8% to 5.8% per
year. Plausible sites, based on locational
and engineering criteria, were selected for
each of the four scenarios for plants
operational in specific years between
1975 and 2000.
The second task of this first phase,
completed in 1977, was to assess each of
the four scenarios. A summary report was
then prepared for Congress along with 10
special studies detailing areas of interest
that had not been adequately covered in
the earlier studies. Study findings indi-
cated that the principal problem with
accelerated development in the Ohio
River Basin would be air quality degrada-
23
-------
tion. The siting considerations for the
four scenarios showed that most power
plants in the region would be located
along the Ohio River and its principal
tributaries. Under prevailing wind condi-
tions, the preferred power plant sites
would be co-directional with the move-
ments of air masses. Emissions from these
plants would thus combine with pre-
viously emitted upwind power plant
emissions to produce an escalating effect
on ambient pollutant concentrations.
These results, coupled with the work
described in the previous section, indicate
that severe regional air quality problems
would result.
Other potential problem areas include
water availability and coal mining. Exploi-
tation of both resources for energy pro-
duction could degrade land quality and
productivity for local areas, or produce
other land-use conflicts, particularly with
agriculture. Certain coal-mining activities,
if uncontrolled, could create water quality
problems for decades to come. Rapid
expansion of power plant constructionn
activities could also unfavorably affect
communities remote from experienced
labor pools.
These problems can all be significantly
reduced or even eliminated. However,
most of the solutions appear to depend on
a level of regional coordination that does
not currently exist. Of the planning,
review, and control authorities now oper-
ating in the region, none possesses suf-
ficient authority or controls adequate
resources to ensure that the public's good
will be served and protected; nor does any
have sufficient power to coordinate the
activities of other agencies.
For this reason, ORD has undertaken
ORBES Phase II to investigate possible
institutional solutions for guiding regional
energy development. The public's involve
ment, that both spurred the initial project
and was an integral part of the first phase,
continues and will be expanded in the
second phase. As a result, ORBES serves
as an organizational model for other
regional technology assessments and as an
example of a cooperative process toward a
common end among concerned citizens,
labor, industry, academia, and the govern-
ment.
The following ORD component contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY
'*ni""*-l\* ** » ^*V *''***;* ^•C'" **»v* f
"* ' V, ' "" " " **#B " f * * * *
24
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energy from waste
ORD develops ways to
produce energy while
disposing of municipal
wastes
WASTE SORTING SYSTEM: Inertial separator, joined with air classifier, separates
municipal wastes into several streams which may be burned for energy (paper, plastics,
etc.) or recycled (glass, metals).
Municipal solid wastes (MSW) present
an ever-increasing environmental problem,
in the form of air pollution from the
uncontrolled burning of these materials,
and water pollution from run-off and
leaching of wastes dumped in landfills.
Ironically, the MSW discarded in this
manner is an untapped source of energy.
ORD is interested in the recovery of fuel
from waste, and has sponsored a number
of projects to demonstrate the feasibility
of recovering this energy in a clean and
economically practical manner.
European countries have long recog-
nized the energy potential of MSW, and
have incorporated boilers for the recovery
of heat into their incineration process. In
the United States, recovering the energy
potential of MSW was not considered
practical until the early 1970s. Then, at
an EPA project in St. Louis, finely shred-
ded paper and wood (the "lighter
fraction" of MSW) were separated from
other solid wastes and used to supplement
coal in coal-fired boilers.
Now, ORD is embarking on a new
project to recover energy from municipal
solid waste. ORD is sponsoring a pilot
project to develop and test "densified
Refuse Derived Fuel," or "d-RDF." The
source of d-RDF is the lighter fraction of
MSW as first separated from solid waste in
the St. Louis project.
The Promise of d-RDF
Coal-fired boilers produce a large share
of the energy used in the United States.
This share may increase in the future.
Small boilers generating less than 200,000
Ib/hr of steam generate approximately
12% of the electricity in America, and
more than half of the roughly 42,000
industrial boilers now in use are coal-fired.
As a supplement to coal, d-RDF offers
particular advantages, including the fol-
lowing:
• d-RDF may be produced near the
user to minimize transportation costs.
• d-RDF is inexpensive to transport.
• d-RDF can be stored for long
periods.
• d-RDF can be used by smaller fuel
consumers at lower cost than other fuels.
• d-RDF has a low sulfur content.
25
-------
Combustibles
total by weight
year
In addition to its advantages as a source of
energy, converting MSW into fuel will
help solve the urban waste disposal prob-
lem. ORD conservatively estimates that
approximately one-third of the urban
waste produced in the United States could
be effectively used as d-RDF.
The EPA-sponsored pilot plant in Wash-
ington, D.C., is preparing d-RDF in a
process which can produce 15 to 25 tons
of d-RDF per day.
In another phase of the pilot project,
compressed pellets of d-RDF are being
tested as a coal supplement. This test
phase is conducted under contract with
the State of Maryland, at a boiler located
at the Maryland Correctional Institute in
Hagerstown.
In the Hagerstown tests, d-RDF is
mixed with coal in varying proportions,
and each mixture is burned to evaluate its
performance as a fuel. Although there is
some decline in efficiency at high loads, at
some low loads, the blends of coal and
d-RDF seem to perform better and at
higher efficiencies than coal burned alone.
d-RDF and Air Pollution
The air emission profile of d-RDF-coal
blends appears to be mixed. Particulate
and sulfur dioxide emissions drop when
d-RDF is burned with coal, but chloride
emissions that result from the burning of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the waste rise
significantly as the proportion of d-RDF
is increased in the blend. The oxides of
nitrogen, fluourides, and hydrocarbon
emitted, however, do not vary appreciably
with the blend.
The Hagerstown tests prove that blends
of coal and d-RDF can be used to gener-
ate electricity in existing coal-fired boilers
without significant environmental risk or
expensive power plant modifications.
Though some loss of boiler efficiency
occurs when d-RDF is blended with coal,
this economic penalty is offset by major
benefits. These benefits include the low
cost of d-RDF as a fuel, and the savings to
communities achieved through reducing
the cost of, and pollution from, conven-
tional municipal solid waste disposal
methods.
The d-RDF pilot project will soon be
expanded into a well-monitored demon-
stration of the use of d-RDF in an
industrial boiler, where fuel performance
can be studied continuously over long
periods. This demonstration, if successful,
should lead to the widespread commer-
cialization of systems using d-RDF as fuel.
The current ORD estimate is that using
MSW as d-RDF fuel would produce a
nationwide energy savings equivalent to
180 million barrels of oil per year.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
26
-------
geothermal
ORD plays key role
in coordinating
the development
of preliminary
environmental guidelines
Geothermal energy sources are gen-
erally assumed to be cleaner and safer
than other conventional sources of elec-
tricity. This view is not entirely correct.
Unresolved technological and environ-
mental problems continue to affect the
development of geothermal energy.
In 1977, EPA/ORD was involved in a
program to define the environmental
hazards associated with geothermal energy
and to work toward the establishment of
preliminary guidelines for development. It
is hoped that these guidelines will en-
courage environmentally sound develop-
ment of underground heat resources by
providing developers, in advance, with the
data they will need to minimize environ-
mental problems before making sub-
stantial investments.
Status of Geothermal Energy
Although geysers and hot springs are
the best potential sources of geothermal
energy in the United States, they con-
stitute only a small portion of the heat
energy available for use near the surface
of the earth. Other thermal energy re-
sources being explored include hot water
systems, igneous systems (molten and hot
rock sources), and conduction systems
(hot sections of the earth's subsurface). In
igneous systems alone, the total heat
energy in the United States is estimated to
be 30 times the total contained in hot
vapor (e.g., geysers) and hot water sys-
tems at depths of less than 3 kilometers.
The technology necessary to harness
these different types of geothermal re-
sources is still evolving. The one com-
mercial geothermal power complex in the
United States is located at The Geysers in
Sonoma County, California. The basic
means by which The Geysers power plant
captures energy is via a "dry steam"
system. Operation involves drilling for
steam and then piping it to steam-driven
turbines which generate electricity.
The technology required for non-vapor
sources is more elusive and complex. Hot
water systems are being explored in a
number of areas in the United States,
most notably in the Imperial Valley Basin
in California. Methods of extracting
energy from hot water systems include
flashed steam (capturing steam emitted
27
-------
when hot water hits the surface air),
binary fluid (hot water used to heat a
second fluid with a low boiling point such
as freon), and total flow (combination of
turbine and waterwheel). As mentioned
earlier, igneous and conduction sources
have tremendous energy potential. How-
ever, the technology for their develop-
ment does not appear to be feasible until
the late 1980's.
Environmental Concerns
Geothermal sources have considerable
environmental benefits, such as low re-
quirements for infrastructure and equip-
ment, relatively minor needs for emissions
controls, minimal disruption of the earth,
and a high level of safety. However, there
remain some significant problems.
ORD, with the Department of Energy
(DOE) and other federal agencies, has
studied a number of specific environ-
mental problems affecting development
and production of geothermal energy.
Some of the problems are disruption of
land-use patterns, land subsidence and
induced seismic activity, some degrada-
tion of nearby surface and ground waters,
hydrogen sulfide emissions, noise, adverse
effects on nearby ecosystems, and local-
ized climate modifications. All of these
potential problems are being analyzed to
determine their severity and to develop
and evaluate control technologies.
Potential Environmental Impacts of Geothermal Power Production
Impact
Estimate of
Probability
Technology/
Resource Type
Severity of
Consequences
Land swbsadenee
Induced seismic activity
' '' '
Ajr poMwtitiia tesuttiHg from,
discharge of rtbiicsnde^$able
gases |<*.g.,;' 'hy
carbon ;(
moderate
low
high
'jffi'gh-':iioM!e:'|eveli:::'bf: drilling'
, and • ' 'v'•"'
high
moderate
hot-water
all
all except hot-water
binary fluid and
other "closed-cycle"
use of geothermal
fluids
aD; worst for
vapor-dominated
all; greatest proba-
bility with hot-water
hot-water; vapot-
damioated
.all ' '•'''": '.'
hot-water t>in<3iy
fluid; hot dry rock
hot-water;,' vapoj>-': ••
variiljfc-
;:on'r
controls :
moderate
moderate
moderate
28
-------
Mexican
Mexico Valley
•*-.• Pal* Springs
Satton S«a
Niiand
Bradley
£1 Ctrrtro
Yunia
Prieto
•* ColQrtwJo River
Gulf at CaHfqrnla
, Jr.,
lems are being analyzed to determine their
severity and to develop and evaluate
control technologies.
ORD'S Role
It is clear that the growing geothermal
energy industry will require regulation, in
accord with the environmental concerns
outlined above. Ultimately, EPA will
apply the findings of its research, and the
findings of others, to develop regulations
to protect the environment from the
consequences of unrestricted geothermal
development.
In the last year, the Interagency Geo-
thermal Coordinating Council (IGCC)
asked EPA to devise model environmental
guidelines for geothermal development, in
anticipation of regulations that will even-
tually be required. In 1977, in partial
fulfillment of this request, ORD published
a "Geothermal Industry Guidance Man-
ual," the first in a series of publications
that will alert developers to environmental
constraints. ORD, in its role as the in-
ternal EPA coordinator of this guidance
manual, assured the involvement with,
and concurrence of, every major federal
organization concerned about geothermal
development.
In an area where so many questions
remain unanswered, ORD has tried to
facilitate planning by developers that is
both consistent with environmental pro-
tection and economic realities. The pub-
lication series that ORD will issue in
concert with the EPA regulatory offices,
will describe prototype regulations and
will also describe control technologies, the
effects of geothermal pollution, and
economic considerations. This approach is
designed to minimize the disruption to
established facilities which could result
later when standards with the force and
effect of law emerge.
The following ORD component contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY
2!
-------
no
x
ORD develops both
short and long-term
for NOX emissions
The increased use of coal in stationary
combustion sources (boilers) may mean a
marked increase in oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) emissions over and above present
regulatory levels. To alleviate this pre-
dicted decline in air quality, new NOX
controls will be needed.
Currently, ORD is working on the
development and demonstration of new
boiler NOX control technologies. This
research will be increasingly valuable. For
instance even at low NOX levels, data
suggest that these emissions are at least
partially responsible for damaging the
Earth's ozone layer, creating smog, caus-
ing high nitrate rainfall, and aggravating
various health problems. Additional
studies show that exposure to NOX con-
tributes to the risk of acute respiratory
disease and susceptibility to chronic
respiratory infection.
Two major areas of control technology
are of interest to EPA in the control of
NOX emissions: combustion modification
and flue gas treatment.
Combustion Modification
NOX is formed during combustion via
two distinct reactions: fixation of nitro-
gen in air and oxidation of nitrogen from
the fuel.
Fixation of nitrogen in the air can be
controlled by lowering the flame tempera-
ture. This flame temperature can be re-
duced by a variety of combustion modifi-
cation techniques. Flue gas can be
recirculated, water or steam can be in-
jected into the boiler, to limit the heat
released from the boiler.
The largest portion of NOX from
boilers, however, is created by the oxida-
30
Test boiler in which ORD develops NOX control methods
-------
tion of nitrogen in the fuel. One possible
means to limit this reaction is by reducing
the oxygen levels within the combustion
zone.
In 1977, ORD's research into combus-
tion modification proved it to be both
relatively inexpensive and capable of re-
ducing NOX emissions by 50% or more.
However, side effects of this control
technology could release other pollutants,
increase boiler corrosion rates, decrease
boiler efficiency, and create additional
particulate emissions. ORD's 1977 ac-
complishments in combustion modifica-
tion are a first step toward NOX control
technology to satisfy today's air quality
standards.
Flue Gas Treatment
For the future, there are two basic
methods of flue gas treatment (FGT)
under study by ORD: dry FGT and wet
FGT.
Dry FGT is basically a catalytic reduc-
tion reaction. During this reaction, the
nitrogen oxide gases come into contact
with ammonia over catalysts to reduce the
nitrogen to water and elemental nitrogen.
Wet FGT is essentially a modification
of flue gas desulfurization (FGD), or wet
scrubbing, where a portion of the FGD
scrubber liquid is used to remove the
NOX.
Both wet and dry FGT for NOX control
are relatively new areas of research in the
United States. Japan, however, has been
using both technologies on gas- and oil-
fired boilers for a number of years. In
Japan, dry technology on boilers for
electricity generation was found to be
more effective with a capital cost of
around $25 to $50 per kW and operating
costs of approximately 2.0 to 3.3 mils per
kVVh.
ORD is currently examining, the possi-
bility of applying the dry FGT method to
coal-fired boilers and is, at the same time,
working to launch a longer term effort for
wet FGT. With wet FGT, EPA expects to
realize NOX removal of up to 90%, with
capital and operating costs similar to
those of flue gas desulfurization.
Advanced Burner Design
An alternative method of NOX control
is the advanced burner design. Such ad-
vances promise to reduce NOX emissions
by 85% without reducing boiler effi-
ciency. In 1977, ORD designed and con-
structed coal burners in the 1.2 to 12
MWe range. Initial data from the six MWe
advanced burner test were encouraging—
NOX emissions were reduced by 80% to
85% compared with emissions from stan-
dard burners. Further testing is to con-
tinue in 1978.
Combustion modification is already a
reality for the control of many NOX
emissions. Contemporary legal require-
ments can be met using this straight-
forward control technology supported by
ORD. In the future, however, combustion
modification will not be sufficient to
meet the stricter regulations that are
expected to be set for NOX emissions. For
this reason, ORD is concentrating on the
timely development of adequate flue gas
treatment and advanced low-NOx burners.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: "Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC
Present and Future (Controlled) N02 Emission Levels for Utility Boilers
Generating Input Greater Than 250xl06 BTU/IIR
New Source
Furi
Coal
Oil .
Uncontrolled
IB,
STU
(2 Hr.
-------
cleaner cars
ORD's research into
pollutants from automobile
catalytic mufflers
Within the last ten years catalytic con-
trols have been developed to reduce the
emissions of regulated pollutants from
vehicles. It has since become apparent,
however, that these catalysts themselves
produce other pollutants for which no
standards have been set. The Catalytic
Research Program, created by EPA in
1974, studies these secondary pollutants
and their effects on human and animal
health. Additionally, roadway air quality
is being monitored and research is con-
tinuing on new catalytic devices and new
automobile engines.
The major benefactor of this research is
EPA's own Office of Mobile Source Air
Pollution Control which, through use of
the data, determines whether new cars are
Volvo photo
emitting pollutants that might be harmful.
Benefits of the research can also accrue to
automobile manufacturers, federal, state
and local air quality programs, and others
involved in automotive pollution control.
Su If uric Acid
Concern over heightened sulfuric acid
levels caused by catalysts was a major area
addressed by ORD's 1977 research ef-
forts. Earlier findings of low sulfuric acid
emissions in dynamometer tests were con-
firmed by current findings. These findings
indicate a low concentration level for
sulfuric acid or other sulfur species in the
roadway. And, preliminary health effects
studies on sulfuric acid alone indicate that
people might be able to tolerate the levels
of sulfuric acid expected to be in ambient
air surrounding roadways. However,
studies of the synergistic effect of sulfuric
acid in combination with other auto-
mobile related pollutants have not been
completed.
Additional data indicate that when
automobiles modify the atmosphere
immediately above and close to the road
unusual effects occur. One finding indi-
cates that the speed, proximity and loca-
tion of vehicles moving in a cluster are a
more significant determinant of pollution
concentration than is the average vehicle
emissions over the roadway.
Toxicological tests on sulfuric acid and
manganese emission compounds were per-
formed to determine the health effects of
these compounds that can be expected at
particular pollutant concentrations.
Short-term sequential exposure to low
concentrations of ozone and sulfuric acid,
for example, increased the susceptibility
of laboratory animals to pulmonary bac-
terial infections. (See Sulfates—health
chapter.)
In 1977 new exposure chambers were
built in which test animals can be exposed
to pollutants from either diesel or gaso-
line-powered engines for independent or
simultaneous study. Laboratory animals
were exposed for three months to diluted
gas from catalyst-equipped gasoline
engines to measure pulmonary effects of
inhaled combinations of sulfuric acid and
metal sulfates. Additionally, direct sul-
furic acid mist concentrates in the lung
32
-------
W(3.rir and Eltvatfori
san diego
freeway surface
were measured. The exposure chambers
are already contributing to the under-
standing of the biological impacts of
automobile exhausts.
Additional research will continue to
improve our understanding of the dynam-
ics and impacts of automotive exhausts.
Three-Way Catalysts
At present, manufacturers are showing
increased interest in a system that reduces
NOX, hydrocarbons, and CO emissions all
in one step—referred to as the three-way
catalytic system. During research in 1977,
EPA evaluated the efficiency of the
three-way catalysts and tested pollution
from them to assure that there is no
problem of creating secondary pollutants,
as happened in the initial catalytic con-
verters.
The Los Angeles Study
A long-term monitoring study has been
initiated by ORD to assess the impact of
catalyst-equipped autos on air adjacent to
a freeway in Los Angeles. Present findings
are as follows:
• The freeway contribution of carbon
monoxide (CO) has decreased about 25%
since 1974. Total suspended particles and
lead have both decreased approximately
25% since 1975. The current freeway
contribution of sulfates to the atmosphere
indicates only 0.05 to 1.0 /ug/m3.
• The levels of NO and NO2 between
1975 and 1976 have increased more than
50%. There is an inadequate amount of 03
at freeway level to convert all the NO to
NO2-
• The background levels of CO, NO,
and NO2 have remained essentially con-
stant since 1974. Background levels of
total suspended particles and lead have
changed little. However, the background
levels of sulfates have decreased 25%.
• Weekend lead concentration is
about 60% higher at the downwind site
than the weekday level.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS: • Health Effects Research
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
• Health Effects Research Laboratory,
Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: •Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Research Triangle Park,
NC
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Environmental Sciences Research
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
33
-------
coke ovens
Coke-oven emissions
can be controlled with
ORD - sponsored
technology
Uncontrolled emissions from coke pushing
Coke is a coal-derived carbon substance
that is "an integral part of American steel
manufacturing. The emissions resulting
from the coke-producing process, how-
ever, currently present the most severe
pollution problem in the steel industry.
Workers exposed to coke-oven gases
show markedly increased incidences of
malignant and nonmalignant respiratory
diseases. Their cancer risk is estimated at
over 100 times normal. The gases from
coke ovens not only contain numerous
identified carcinogens, but also are com-
posed of such toxic substances as sulfur
dioxide, lead, beryllium, and hydrogen
cyanide. The general public, particularly
the young, the old, and ill persons, have a
high risk of chronic bronchitis from these
emissions.
ORD has launched a comprehensive
program to reduce the emissions asso-
ciated with conventional coke-making.
ORD is also investigating worker job-'
related health problems.
The essence of the coking process is the
heating of carloads of coal in a low-
oxygen oven. Coke ovens emit toxic
pollutants throughout the production
cycle. A large portion of coke-oven emis-
sions are produced when the coal is
initially charged (loaded) into the oven.
When the coking takes place in the closed
oven, the oven often leaks from lid and
door seals. Pollutants can also escape
when the coke is "pushed" from the coke
oven to be cooled in the quenching
process. Still more emissions may occur in
the quenching of the hot coke. At some
stages of the coking process, thick grey
billows of smoke escape into the atmos-
phere.
Emission Control
ORD has already demonstrated a
system for controlling coke-oven charging
emissions. The resulting charging car con-
tained emissions within the coke oven and
at the same time reduced worker exposure
to emissions found around the top of the
coke oven.
Many features of this first demonstra-
tion system have since been incorporated
into advanced equipment designs. ORD
has also tested and evaluated an advanced
34
-------
pushing emissions control system. This
system captures potential emissions with-
in the coke receiving car. These emissions
are then passed through a stationary
scrubber and cleansed.
This system has a relatively low cost
and can be retrofitted to the majority of
existing coke ovens. EPA has kept full
operation and maintenance data, and
information on the system capture effic-
iency, as part of the Agency's testing and
evaluation process. This information is
available to industry to aid in commercial
acceptance tests.
A study was also done by ORD of
controls on a combined coke pushing and
quenching system. The coke is completely
enclosed from the time it leaves the oven
until it is quenched. Emissions are con-
trolled by a high-energy scrubber
mounted on the coke car.
This system can be applied to nearly all
new coke ovens. Because more than one-
half of existing coke ovens are approach-
ing 20 years old, about 125 coke-oven
batteries will have to be replaced in the
next 10 years (based on an average life of
30 years). If this control system is in-
corporated into new plant designs, a
substantial step will have been taken in
significantly reducing coke-oven emis-
sions.
Control Technology
In 1977, an ORD task force developed
technical and economic guidelines for
applying control technologies to U.S.
coke-oven batteries. Specific control tech-
nologies include the smokeless coke-oven
charging system, the smokeless pushing
system, the enclosed coke pushing and
quenching system, and staged charging.
The ORD emissions control demonstra-
tions have generated extensive environ-
mental, economic, and operational data
important for successful commercial
applications.
ORD is leading other research projects
that will quantify coke-oven door emis-
sions and develop improved coke-oven
door seals to reduce emissions during the
coking cycle. Quenching emissions sys-
tems including a dry quenching technique
are also being studied.
The successful application of emissions
control technology to the steel industry is
an example of productive ORD/industry
cooperation. Through such joint EPA/
industry projects, practical technologies
evolve to meet environmental needs with-
out imposing excessive costs.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS
Emission controls effective in coal charging
35
-------
CLEAR CUTTING IMPROVEMENT: Rows of mature trees are left perpendicular to the
slope of the hill. Such practices reduce the possibility of severe soil erosion.
36
-------
agriculture
ORD works to identify less
polluting ways of managing
forests and farms
Water quality goals in many areas can-
not be attained because of increasing
pollutants from crop, animal, and forest
production activities. Given current and
projected worldwide demands for food
and fiber products, these activities are
expected to continue to increase, creating
in the process, even more severe environ-
mental problems.
ORD has implemented a series of
research efforts to respond to the environ-
mental damage from agriculture and for-
estry pollutants. Included are problem
assessment, development of assessment/
prediction models, management practice
evaluations, and related support activities.
In 1977, two ORD reports addressing
pollution control for forestry production
were completed through an interagency
agreement with the U.S. Forest Service.
One report describes research and devel-
opment needed to deal with water pollu-
tion from forest and rangelands. The
other defines the relationships between
wildland management practices, nonpoint
sources of pollution, forestry management
prediction models, and watersheds suit-
able for model development.
During 1977, ORD held a national
conference on Irrigation Return Flow
Quality Management. Wide ranging discus-
CABLE LIFTS LOGS: A cable lift hoists
cut logs out of forest. This technique
causes substantially less soil disruption
than traditional dragging or tractor skid-
ding of logs.
sions covered such topics as technologies
to alleviate irrigated agricultural water
quality problems, techniques for im-
proved water management, and irrigation
return flow models.
Assessment/Predictive Models
In 1977, ORD developed two basic
mathematical models, with user manuals,
to assess the runoff of sediment and
agricultural chemicals (pesticides and
fertilizer compounds) from land used for
crop production. Planners and decision
makers are now using these models in
developing areawide waste management
plans. The models are used to evaluate
alternative "best management practice"
guidelines, and are applicable to pesticide
regulation programs.
Through an interagency agreement with
the Bureau of Reclamation, ORD has also
developed a mathematical model to pre-
dict the mineral quality of return flow
water from irrigated crop land. The model
can be used for assessing improved irriga-
tion management. Additionally, it can
assist in determining the effectiveness of
alternative water management methods.
Both EPA and the Bureau of Reclamation
are currently using this model to evaluate
environmental impact statements dealing
with water diversion and impoundment
projects in the western states.
Management Practices
ORD completed two management
practices evaluations in 1977. The first
dealt with an integrated system of techno-
logical improvements for irrigation return
flow salinity in the Grand Valley of
Colorado. The approach has been deemed
effective in meeting environmental goals.
It also serves to highlight socioeconomic
concerns that must be dealt with for the
approach to be accepted by local citizens.
Three reports were generated from the
project: the first describes the method for
a program to control saline runoff, the
second deals with the effect of different
irrigation management and control
methods on improved water quality, and
the third defines techniques for salinity
control in the Grand Valley area. Much of
the research described in these reports is
37
-------
applicable to other crop irrigation areas.
The second evaluation was of a runoff
control facility designed and constructed
for a small cattle feedlot in Nebraska.
Results indicate that design volumes for
debris basins and holding ponds were
effective in controlling runoff from snow-
melt and rainfall. The center pivot irriga-
tion system was also shown to be satis-
factory for land disposal of the liquid
waste material. The management practices
developed via this project can be used by
small feedlot operators to control pollu-
tion from animal wastes.
Support Activities
In 1977, ORD held state-of-the-art
seminars in Washington, D.C. for EPA
staff and for the personnel of other
agencies on nonpoint source modeling and
on the management of irrigation return
flow water quality. Assistance was pro-
vided within EPA to the Office of Water
and Hazardous Materials (a guide was
prepared to aid in the assessment of the
relative importance of nonpoint source
pollutants and several national 208 con-
ferences were presented) as well as to
regional staff and state and local planning
agencies.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Environmental Research Laboratory,
Athens, GA
• Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research
Laboratory, Ada, OK
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT
LINING AN IRRIGATION DITCH: Waterproof lining installed in irrigation ditches reduces seepage and water loss. Such linings help
control the leaching of salts in underlying soils.
38
-------
waste management
Research provides methods
to control urban runoff,
detoxify hazardous wastes
The municipal waste management re-
search program within ORD is designed to
help communities comply with EPA regu-
lations on water quality, solid and hazard-
ous waste disposal, and resource recovery
and conservation. The main purpose of
the program is to develop pollution con-
trol technologies, management systems,
and assessment methods which states and
municipalities can use to meet environ-
mental standards.
In 1977, ORD placed a number of
important technological capabilities in the
hands of those who provide municipal
treatment services. A sewage overflow
regulator was developed to reduce the
amount of suspended solids entering sur-
face water during storms. Other research
was conducted on detoxification of haz-
ardous wastes, wastewater management
systems, sediment pollution control, and
landfill leachates.
SWIRL CONCENTRATOR: Regulator controls combined sewer/runoff overflow.
The SWIRL regulator
In most cities and towns with sewage
treatment systems, water runoff from the
streets and storm drains is passed through
the sewage treatment plant to be cleansed
before being released. During rainstorms
or snow melt storm-drain sewage overflow
is diverted from treatment plants to sur-
face streams by devices known as regu-
lators. Conventional regulators experience
mechanical failures and blockages which
can cause sewage to flow directly into
surface water systems. These malfunction-
ing regulators contribute significantly to
the overall water pollution problem.
Several years ago ORD began develop-
ment and demonstration of a new, dual-
function regulator called SWIRL. The
SWIRL device controls sewage flow and
separates solids over a broad range of flow
conditions. SWIRL is able to separate
about 50% of the sewage solids in short
detention periods of seconds or minutes.
These solids can then be stored for later
treatment during normal flow conditions.
SWIRL is also a relatively low cost device
that requires little maintenance. The
SWIRL regulator will help to solve one of
the most nagging problems of controlling
combined sewer overflows and reducing
the discharge of raw sewage during heavy
rains and snow melt.
Hazardous Wastes
Industrial wastes and pesticides re-
quiring detoxification or disposal often
have molecular structures that resist de-
struction. These materials must be prop-
erly managed or disposed of safely. Two
recently passed laws require that such
wastes either be re-used (the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act) or de-
toxified prior to disposal (the Toxic Sub-
stances Control Act). With the exception
of expensive incinerator processing, few
technologies have been developed for the
disposal of highly toxic or extremely
persistent wastes.
In order to provide an alternative
method of handling these wastes, in 1977
ORD conducted full-scale tests on a new
microwave process for detoxification of
hazardous wastes. The microwave plasma
process subjects hazardous wastes fed into
39
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system:
40
-------
a reactor to intense electron bombard-
ment, which decomposes the wastes into
their basic elements. During tests in 1977,
the microwave plasma system successfully
detoxified the pesticides malathion and
kepone, a rodent poison (methyl bro-
mide), two polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCS) liquids, and a mercury-containing
fungicide.
When compared with standard incin-
erators, microwave plasma systems have
several advantages including portability,
relatively low initial cost, and a leak-proof
operation which provides the capability
for decomposing materials where no other
technique is satisfactory. For example, in
an ordinary incinerator the decomposition
of phenylmercuric acetate could result in
an uncontrolled release of mercury metal
or oxide particles to the atmosphere. In
the plasma system, on the other hand, the
mercury is separated from the effluent gas
stream and collected. As a result of these
advantages, this technology may find ap-
plications in hospitals, universities, com-
mercial laboratories and private hazardous
waste disposal firms. It promises to be an
extremely valuable tool for removing po-
tentially lethal contaminants from the
environment.
The burden of developing wastewater
management plans falls on state and local
planners, who need guidelines and proce-
dures for conducting areawide assessments
and, subsequently, for drafting plans. To
support the development of such areawide
assessments an Urban Planning Task Force
was formed within ORD in 1977. The
task force provided rapid technological
support to EPA's Areawide Water Quality
Management Program, and surveyed more
than 25 local assessment agencies and
other users to develop an effective infor-
mation delivery system.
In August 1977, the Urban Planning
Task Force completed a comprehensive
three-volume Areawide Assessment Proce-
dure Manual for field use by water pollu-
tion control planners, engineers and
municipal decision makers. This manual
provides a uniform method for areawide
assessments and will help to shorten the
time between planning and water quality
improvement.
Low Volume Flows
Larger cities have already benefited
from planning and funding designed to
attack the major share of the nationwide
water pollution problem. In 1977, ORD
increased its attention to the problems of
smaller communities, many of which are
not served by any centralized sewage
collection or treatment system.
To transmit necessary technology and
assistance to small and rural communities,
ORD prepared and distributed documents
on such topics as Cost-effectiveness Anal-
ysis of Alternatives for Small Wastewater
Treatment Systems, and On-Site Disposal
of Small Wastewater Flows. ORD aUo
conducted regional seminars and work-
shops on the problems of small com-
munity waste management.
An alternative method of treating
wastewater is by land application—using
vegetation and the soil to remove contam-
inants from the wastewater. Land treat-
ment can achieve removal levels that
compare favorably with other wastewater
treatment methods. The feasibility of land
treatment of wastewater has been success-
fully demonstrated in projects at Bakers-
field, California; Muskegon, Michigan; St.
Charles, Maryland and Pauls Valley,
Oklahoma. EPA Administrator Costle has
recently committed the agency to aggress-
ively pursue this energy- and cost-efficient
means of wastewater purification. ORD
has been assigned the lead role in expand-
ing the applicability and potential of land
treatment techniques. Carrying out this
assignment, ORD in 1977 published a
process design manual for land treatment
of municipal wastewater. The manual is a
practical design guide which collects all
available information on land treatment
technology under one cover for use by
municipal waste planners.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
• Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research
Laboratory, Ada, OK
• Environmental Research Laboratory,
Athens, GA
41
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33,8§1,8iO
42
-------
vn on-site ORD team
Improves control and
ilean-up methods for
lazardous spills
The Argo Merchant
spills
Nearly three billion tons of potentially
hazardous materials are produced and
handled annually in the United States.
More than one million tons of these
materials escape annually into the envi-
ronment, through some 5,000 to 10,000
transportation accidents, pipeline breaks,
lagoon ruptures, floods, and intentional
dumpings.
The ORD Response
The ORD's oil and hazardous materials
spills team responds to actual spills to
improve detection and control techniques
and to provide data on the impacts of
such events. This team works hand in
hand with the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy
to control, remove, and recover spilled oil
and chemicals.
When a spill occurs, ORD's technical
team moves on request to the site to
fpppsr
collect and analyze samples. Depending
on the nature of the spill, ORD may then
bring in its own portable "mobile spills
laboratory," and may call for its physical-
chemical treatment trailer to decontam-
inate dangerous liquids.
The mobile spills laboratory allows
quick, accurate, on-site analysis of the
spilled substance, and avoids potentially
harmful delays involved in shipping
samples to and from the scene. The
mobile laboratory employs a variety of
sophisticated analytical techniques,
including computerized gas chroma-
tography; atomic, infra-red, and fluor-
escence absorption spectrophotometry;
and the full range of standard wet-
chemistry methods.
The portable physical-chemical treat-
ment trailer is effective in the decontam-
ination of medium-sized spills. This sys-
tem contains three mixed-media filters for
the removal of suspended or precipitated
material and three activated carbon col-
umns for the adsorption of many soluble
organic chemicals. The system includes a
15,000-gallon rapidly deployable portable
tank, where contaminated liquids can be
mixed with chemicals designed to floc-
culate, precipitate, or neutralize the
hazardous substances. It also has several
3000-gallon "pillow" tanks for the storage
of decontaminated effluent.
Major Spills Treated
The ORD spill team has refined its spill
response procedure and technology over
the years since its inception in 1971. In
1977, the team responded to several oil
and chemical spills:
• In Oswego, New York, an industrial
waste disposal facility was abandoned. By
the spring of 1977, a lagoon on the
facility site containing more than 400,000
gallons of chemicals and wastewater was
flooding via Wine Creek into Lake
Ontario. The ORD mobile spills labora-
tory was sent to the site, where investiga-
tors found a high concentration of poly-
chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the
floating organic chemical layer that was
oozing from the lagoon. Direct contact
with PCBs can cause sickness, skin disease,
UPI Photo
43
-------
and stunted growth. The 400,000 gallons
of mixed waste were treated and decon-
taminated, ending a substantial problem
in the Lake Ontario feed stream.
• In Dittmer, Missouri, rainwater over-
flowed from a pit that had been used as a
dumping site for chemical waste. The
effluent contaminated a nearby water
supply feed stream* The ORD responded
in a clean-up effort, which involved exca-
vation and disposal of the contaminants in
the pit, treatment of the stream water
with the EPA portable physical-chemical
treatment system, and design and instal-
lation of a field-improvised carbon treat-
ment system for stream water decon-
tamination that could operate after the
mobile treatment system was removed.
New Technology
ORD is concerned not only with action
in emergency situations but also with the
development of new technology to
improve the capacity to contain and treat
spills of hazardous materials. To simulate
oil tanker spills, ORD operates the oil and
hazardous materials simulated environ-
mental test tank at Leonardo, New Jersey.
The tank is an environmentally safe site
where new techniques for containment
and treatment can be tried. The tank is
nearly 700 feet long and 65 feet wide, big
enough for a 17-ton ship and a simulated
oil slick with waves 2,5 feet high and 80
feet long. The test tank has proven to be
extremely valuable for research. Oil-
containing devices, chemical dispersants
and other methods developed and prove]
by ORD have already saved beaches fron
oil spills. A major concern in spill manage
ment is the safety and well-being o
emergency personnel. Joint efforts witl
the U.S. Army Natick Laboratorie
resulted in an ensemble consisting o
rebreathing apparatus, a head/torso cool
ing system, and a quick-donning buty
rubber protective suit.
In addition, under the Federal Spil
Program, EPA has been instrumental in
developing, with the U.S. Coast Guard,
means of preventing oil spills. One oi
these activities is the development ol
regulations that call for a Spill Prevention,
Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan
to be prepared by any facility that could
reasonably be expected to spill oil into
U.S. waters—such facilities include those
with total buried storage greater than
42,000 gallons, total nonburied storage
greater than 1,320 gallons, and those with
a single container that holds more than
660 gallons. EPA and the U.S. Coast
Guard also conduct aerial surveillance of]
coastal and inland waters to check opera
tions and maintenance of harbor areas and
industrial oil-handling facilities. ORD has
also developed a course in oil pollutio
control. This course is aimed at informin
those individuals and organizations re-
sponsible for maintaining the Nation's
waterways and coastal areas.
The ORD Emergency Spills Response Unit
Sources of Oil in the Oceans
Source
Estimated
Contribution
(Tons/Yr)
2,350,000
660,000
13.0
1,3
•Al'tZ
9,8
"
The following ORD component contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
(Edison)
44
-------
kepone
Research results
ire tested under
ield conditions
is ORD
esponds
:o a major
•egional
jmergency
KEPONE HARMS FISH: The sheeps-
head minnow on the right (enlarged)
shows the effect of exposure to
kepone. Its back is broken, eyes dis-
functional and internal organs dis-
torted. Healthy minnow is at left.
Both fish are nearly the same size.
In August 1975, a physician diagnosed
neurological disorders in an employee of a
chemical processing plant in Hopewell,
Virginia. The symptoms were directly
linked to the pesticide kepone, produced
at the plant. The Virginia Health Depart-
ment called in ORD health effects re-
search specialists to evaluate the threat to
health and environment caused by the
presence of kepone. Hopewell, site of the
kepone plant, is located near the James
River which flows into the Chesapeake
Bay, both major commercial fisheries.
Kepone is a polychlorinated hydro-
carbon that degrades very slowly in the
environment and stubbornly resists efforts
at destruction or decomposition. It is
highly toxic to animal life, is a suspected
carcinogen, and has produced severe
growth abnormalities in laboratory test
animals.
In response to the emergency, ORD
cooperated with the Center for Disease
Control to assess population exposure to
kepone. Of 214 community residents sur-
veyed, 40 (19%) had detectable levels of
kepone in their bloodstreams.
ORD researchers made an initial assess-
ment of the damage. To support this
assessment, ORD scientists developed
highly sophisticated methods for detect-
ing kepone in various media. They dis-
covered that kepone was widely dispersed
in the Chesapeake Bay region and began
immediately to determine the effect of
the pesticide on terrestrial and marine
ecosystems in the area. In response to the
crisis, the Governor of Virginia banned
fishing in the James River. The plant itself
was shut down and dismantled.
Scientists from ORD joined a coopera-
tive research effort involving other federal
and state agencies. ORD researchers sus-
pected that the kepone had spread, not
only to the fisheries of the James River
estuary and the Chesapeake Bay, but into
the Atlantic Ocean as well. Commercial
marine species, such as crab and shrimp,
were gathered and examined in laboratory
tests to determine the degree of contami-
nation. This information was used to
assure that no contaminated seafood was
sold and that affected fishing areks re-
mained closed.
45
-------
Kepone uptake and concentration was
measured in seed oysters and other shell-
fish, estuarine algae, mollusks, crustaceans
and fish. Accumulations of kepone ex-
ceeding 1 ppm were found in many of the
samples taken. At this concentration, the
kepone in the food chain appears to pose
a major threat to human life. In addition,
results from studies of the natural flows
of the James River and the Chesapeake
Bay showed that the kepone would be
present for some time if no clean-up
actions were taken.
The Kepone Clean-up
There is no standardized or approved
method for cleaning up such kepone
contamination. A method was, therefore,
improvised using the best technology and
data available. The clean-up was organized
by priorities, moving outward from the
principal source so that cleaned areas
would not be recontaminated. First prior-
ity was assigned to decontaminating the
homes, land, lagoon, and fixtures on and
near the plant site. Second priority was
assigned to tank cars and drums contain-
ing heavy concentrations of kepone waste
at the plant. Third priority was given to
the James River and estuary.
The ORD hazardous materials spills
treatment trailer was dispatched to the
plant site to begin decontamination of
about 200,000 gallons of concentrated
kepone-water mixtures contained in 14
railroad tank cars and 3 concrete basins at
the plant site. As the waste material
moved through treatment systems of the
trailer, concentrations of kepone were
reduced to a level that allowed environ-
mentally safe disposal by the state of
Virginia.
The EPA kepone task force partici-
pated in other phases of the clean-up,
including:
• Drum enclosure of sludge with
kepone concentrations of from 1 to
700,000 ppm.
• Enclosure of plant debris in plastic
and clay materials suitable for use as
landfill.
• Vacuuming, washing, and dry clean-
ing of homes and areas near the kepone
plant.
The kepone clean-up is an ongoing
effort. ORD researchers are especially
concerned with land contamination and
leaching of kepone into adjacent soil and
water. Studies are underway to determine
the cost of various methods of dealing
with land contamination, including re-
moval of soil, burning of contaminated
debris, chemical surface fixation, bacterial
degradation, and at-sea incineration.
Plans for dredging the James River are
being developed and ORD is assisting the
state of Virginia in determining how best
to destroy the kepone taken from the
plant site. In addition, EPA Administrator
Costle has been asked to act on a request
from the Allied Chemical Company to
approve a permit to incinerate, at sea,
some remaining kepone and kepone -
contaminated wastes. An ocean-going in-
cinerator ship, partly sponsored in the
past by ORD and described in the in-
dustrial toxics section of this report
would be used for the incineration.
The kepone episode at Hopewell prc
sented ORD scientists with an importan
challenge. Their response has producee
new data that helps to guard agains
future disasters involving release of toxin
and pesticides. ORD researchers havi
learned how kepone acts on plant am
animal life, and how it can be contained
removed from the environment, and ulti
mately destroyed. The lessons learned wil
be valuable if and when other chlorinatec
hydrocarbons pose a threat to the envi-
ronment.
In the meantime, ORD will continue tc
lend assistance to the clean-up effort ir
Virginia, and to study the long-terrr
effects of kepone in this assaulted
ecosystem.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
(Edison) I
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS: • Environmental Research
Laboratory, Gulf Breeze, FL • Health Effect
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV
Kepone in Bottom Sediments
0.4
0.2
ppm
Newport
News—
James
River
mouth
-10 0
30
50
70 Miles
46
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drinking water
)RD provides data for
he regulators
md technology tor
:he suppliers
Only in the last few years have tech-
liques and equipment become available to
letect and measure very small quantities
)f contaminants in drinking water. With
his more sophisticated equipment, poten-
ially hazardous organic materials were
iiscovered in many of the Nation's water
iupplies. In response to this problem,
Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water
Act in December of 1974. That act
directed the EPA to establish minimum
national standards for drinking water and
specific limits for contaminants. Such
standards must be met by every com-
munity water system supplying more than
15 outlets or 25 people.
Within EPA, the Office of Water
Supply is responsible for the development
and implementation of drinking water
standards. ORD is responsible for pro-
viding the scientific information upon
which viable standards can be based. In
developing standards, contaminants in
drinking water must be identified and
quantified, and the health effects of these
contaminants assessed and balanced
against the economic consequences of
controls. Methods to increase the effi-
ciency of water treatment must also be
developed, as well as ways to provide
water suppliers with the know-how and
technology necessary to implement new
methods of treatment. In addition, ORD
is also required to assure that measure-
ments and analyses used to determine
compliance with regulations be done in a
scientific, legally defensible manner.
In June 1977, EPA Interim Primary
Drinking Water Regulations became effec-
tive. These regulations establish maximum
contaminant levels for 10 chemicals, 6
pesticides, bacteria, radioactivity, and
turbidity. These interim regulations will
be merged with more complete data to
yield revised national regulations.
ORD's job in supporting the interim
regulations did not end with their promul-
gation. In 1977, ORD made considerable
contributions to assist compliance with
the standards by local and community
water suppliers. To aid these suppliers,
ORD initiated a program for the approval
of alternative test procedures for monitor-
ing. ORD also published a Manual of
Treatment Techniques for Meeting the
Interim Primary Drinking Water Regula-
tions.
In addition to monitoring capabilities,
water suppliers need adequate laboratory
facilities for the analysis of water quality.
In 1977, ORD published an interim man-
ual describing evaluation procedures and
minimum technical requirements recom-
mended for certifying laboratories to
analyze public drinking water supplies.
ORD also trained chemists and micro-
47
-------
biologists from the EPA Regional Offices
and states to evaluate and certify labora-
tories. As a result, every EPA Region is
now staffed with individuals who can
certify laboratory facilities and train
others to do the same.
Revised Primary Regulations
EPA is now preparing Revised Primary
Drinking Water Regulations. In laying the
groundwork for these more comprehen-
sive rules, the ORD research program has
been developing scientific information for
several years. In 1977 ORD's research
provided:
• Review of the causes of waterborne
disease.
• Examination of the relationship be-
tween drinking water constituents and
cardiovascular disease.
• Study of the effect of lead on the
central nervous system.
• Study of the relationship between
cadmium/lead contamination and the
human immune response system.
• Report on the health effects of
nitrates in drinking water.
• Study of the possible health haz-
ards involved in using asbestos-cement
pipes to transport drinking water, and
development of means to remove asbestos
particles from drinking water.
• Study which showed that little or
no health hazard results from passing
drinking water through pipes made of
polyvinyl chloride.
As it did with the interim regulations,
ORD will continue its research to describe
practical means for water suppliers to
comply with the revised national regula-
tions.
Trihalomethanes in Water
Trihalomethanes have been linked to
animal cancers, and epidemiological data
suggest they may contribute to cancer in
humans. Trihalomethanes form in drink-
ing water from the chemical interaction
between chlorine, used as a disinfectant,
and organic substances that occur natur-
ally in drinking water sources. Regulations
limiting the trihalomethane content of
drinking water are now being considered.
In 1977, ORD produced several studies,
some in cooperation with the National
Institutes of Health, further describing the
link between trihalomethanes and cancer.
These reports describe the relationships
among chlorination, trihalomethane con-
Limits Set by Interim Regulations
Constituent
Level,
mg/l unless specified
Inorganic chemicals
Barium
Cadmium
Chromium
lead
Mereory
Mtsrate {Us 1Nf J
Selenium
Sifcar ',
Oifann , ,
Qtr$«ie eheialbij ^ J;
8*49
„
Hadkm
Gross
f»et»
. . ., .,,„
' -: " '. j.? »kl|
i ' -"i Sj. J*$
' °
centration and incidence of cancer. OI
also investigated two techniques i
sampling and analyzing trihalomethanes
water.
While ORD is .examining the possil
links between trihalomethanes, chlorii
tion and cancer, it is also explori
possible alternatives to the use of chlori
as a disinfectant in drinking water, i
alternative disinfectant, if developed, m
solve the trihalomethane problem witho
loss of the considerable benefits th
chlorination has bestowed.
Protecting Underground Water
Underground water supplies may 1
contaminated by polluted surface wate
leaching, injection of waste, and oth
means. Under its mandate from the Co
gress, EPA will soon issue Undergrour
Injection Control Regulations. To aid i
implementing these regulations, ORD pr
pared a guidebook on the technology <
injection well construction and mainti
nance. It also devised sampling metho
to analyze the purity or relative contai
nation of subsurface water sources a
studied the impact of unsealed abandon
wells on underground water supplies.
In summary, ORD has developed
extensive support program for the Sa
Drinking Water Act. It has carried out t
research to produce information necessa
for the development of drinking wat
standards. Beyond providing support
EPA's regulatory activities, ORD h
pioneered new methods for cleansing ai
preserving water supplies. Moreover, it h
made its findings, technology, an
resources available to water suppliers
enable them to comply with the regul
tions and to ensure the healthfulness i
our drinking water.
The following ORD components contributec
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research
Laboratory, Ada, OK • Environmental
Research Laboratory, Athens, GA
• Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL
EFFECTS: • Health Effects Research
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
48
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toxics
"oxic industrial residues
in be managed and
iestroyed using ORD-
)onsored technologies
Every year manufacturers of petro-
chemical solvents, synthetic fibers, plas-
tics, and pesticides produce 100,000 tons
of toxic, chlorinated hydrocarbons chem-
ical wastes. Methods for safe disposal of
these wastes have been limited, at best, in
the past. Recently, however, two new
technologies have proved successful in
eliminating these residues. These ORD-
sponsored techniques are called chlo-
rolysis and ocean incineration.
Chlorolysis
Ideally, new pollution control tech-
nologies should not merely eliminate pol-
lutants; they should also convert them to
usable materials. The chlorolysis chemical
process converts toxic chlorohydrocarbon
wastes to carbon tetrachloride, a usable
product in the chemical market.
Commercial chlorolysis plant operating in West Germany.
49
-------
Chlorolysis uses a combination of dis-
tillation, high temperature, and high pres-
sure to convert chlorinated hydrocarbon
wastes into (mainly) carbon tetrachloride
and anhydrous hydrogen chloride.
The chlorolysis process and its tech-
nology transfer are of continuing interest
to ORD because of the process' significant
advantages, narneiy:
• The process productively recycles
wastes rather than discarding them,
thereby reducing consumption of the
petroleum feedstocks from which the
original residues were derived.
• Little energy is consumed in the
conversion process, and the energy value
of the original petroleum feedstock is not
completely lost.
• The system is essentially closed and
only water and carbon dioxide are
released to the environment.
• A negligible amount of incineration
results in few residues and other associ-
ated waste products.
• The process is useful in a regional
toxic waste recycling center. The Gulf
Coast area generates more than 50% of all
U.S. toxic wastes that are suitable for
chlorolysis. Thus, a plant located between
Houston and New Orleans could serve the
toxic waste treatment needs of that
region's petrochemical industries.
• Chlorolysis will help EPA attain its
goal of reducing toxic discharges to the
nation's waters and oceans.
ORD has contracted with a private firm
to conduct bench-scale tests of the chlo-
rolysis process on combinations of Herbi-
cide Orange, vinyl chloride monomer, and
chlorinated solvent wastes. (They con-
cluded that only 5% of the total feed
material should include wastes from pesti-
cide and herbicide plants.) This mixture
would also reduce the corrosion on the
chlorolysis equipment to an acceptable
level.
The contractor is currently operating
one commercial (50,000 metric tons of
carbon tetrachloride) chlorolysis plant in
Germany and has sold another plant to
the Soviet Union.
,-Hl a
Results of 1977 chlorolysis stud
indicate that:
• More than 190 million pounds p
year of toxic wastes are suitable i
chlorolysis feedstocks.
• 109 million pounds of waste re
dues are produced in the Gulf Coa
region each year.
• Assuming the fluorocarbon mark
continues to grow, the carbon tetrachl
ride produced by chlorolysis plants can 1
assimilated by the market.
• A regional waste disposal unit usii
chlorolysis and other ancillary processi
for the Gulf Coast region would co;
between $10 million and $30 million.
Ocean Incineration
ORD has also cooperated with industr
to develop at-sea incineration—anothe
method of waste disposal. Liquid waste
are burned at temperatures exceedin
1200°C in incinerators installed on espd
cially designed ships.
THE VULCANUS, a floating incinerator ship, can safely burn hazardous materials far from shore.
50
-------
"1
In March 1977, a second test took
>lace on the Vulcanus. More sophisticated
ampling and monitoring techniques were
employed to ensure a representative sam-
>ling of emissions. An on-line laboratory
nonitored carbon monoxide, carbon di-
>xide, total hydrocarbons, oxides of ni-
rogen, and oxygen concentrations. A
iolid resin module was employed to trap
>rganic vapors remaining in the combus-
ion effluent. Lower molecular weight
ipecies were also trapped.
Results from the 1977 test demonstrate
hat waste destruction efficiencies consist-
:ntly exceeded 99.92%. Based on carbon
nonoxide and carbon dioxide measure-
nents, the incinerator's overall combus-
ion efficiency was 99.96% or more.
Disposal of Herbicide Orange
Early in 1977, the U.S. Air Force
>etitioned EPA to grant a permit to
Incinerate approximately 2.3 million
gallons of Herbicide Orange contaminated
vith an average of 2 parts per million of
iioxin (TCDD). Dioxin is one of the most
toxic herbicides known. It is also a power-
ful teratogenic (fetus-deforming) sub-
stance. In July, the Vulcanus left John-
ston Island for the Pacific Burn Test Site
about 950 miles west of Hawaii. Testing
was concluded in September 1977. Samp-
ling and analysis for the Herbicide Orange
incineration program were similar to that
of the second Gulf of Mexico test, but
because of the highly hazardous nature of
the waste, the test planning was even
more detailed and exhaustive.
Preliminary results indicated that over-
all combustion efficiency of both inciner-
ators was consistently 99.99%. Destruc-
tion of the contaminant dioxin was in
excess of 99.9%.
1977 results are based on data from the
Vulcanus, which burns only liquid waste
materials. For future work, EPA may use
the Matthias III, a motor tanker approxi-
mately five times the size of the Vulcanus,
with an incinerator that can incinerate
drummed solid wastes as well as liquids.
Planning is now in progress for ORD to
evaluate the efficiency of this incinerator
for burning both types of wastes.
The following ORD components contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: •Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Research Triangle
Park, NC • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV
• Environmental Monitoring and Support
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
• Environmental Monitoring and Support
Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
OFFICE OF AIR, LAND AND WATER USE:
• Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens,
GA • Environmental Sciences Research
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC
TEXAS
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enviropod
Airborne cameras
mprove speed and
ut costs of monitoring
To ensure compliance with its regu-
atory standards, it is EPA's responsibility
o monitor the environment. The use of
erial photography and remote sensing
ystems is a cost-effective way to carry
>ut that responsibility. One such system is
he Enviropod, the product of joint ORD
vork with the U.S. Air Force Avionics
^aboratory.
The Enviropod produces high quality
terial photography over small areas. The
\vionics Laboratory designed the system
n two, luggage-size sections to ease han-
lling and shipment. The sections are
nated and installed as a unit on a small
lircraft. Each .section has a camera bay
md space for batteries. Currently, the
Lnviropod uses 70-mm format cameras,
)ut existing configurations can be modi-
fied to support fast response TV monitors
and scanners that are sensitive beyond the
visual spectrum.
Demonstration Testing
In 1977, a series of flights were made
by ORD personnel and private pilots to
determine the operating characteristics of
Enviropod. These tests were then fol-
lowed by several indoctrination flights for
EPA headquarters personnel and represen-
tatives of twelve federal agencies in the
Washington area.
Several regional demonstration tests
have been completed—in Boston, in New
The compactness of Enviropod simplifies its use.
Comparative Costs
Item
Enviropod
Conventional
Aerial Photography
Film size
Type film
Cameras and
equipment
provided by
Flight Time
Film
Processing
Two duplicates
of imagery
Total
'pfafa^i&ijh&jf"
53
-------
York and Philadelphia, and in Atlanta and
Athens, Georgia. Results of these first
tests show that Enviropod is especially
useful both in documenting nonpoint
sources of pollution and in providing a
basis for direct action against facilities
with stack emissions that do not meet
EPA standards. The information gathered
can also help to revitalize state monitoring
and enforcement programs.
Costs of Operation
Part of the appeal of Enviropod is its
cost of operation: the system promises
significant cost savings to regional offices
as well as to branches of the government
other than EPA.
Conventional aerial photography costs
range from $165 to $220 per hour com-
pared with Enviropod's cost of $36 per
hour. Equivalent coverage of the recent
Johnstown flood by Enviropod and by
conventional aerial photography showed
that there was a substantial cost reduction
with Enviropod.
Support to Other Agencies
The U.S. Forest Service uses Enviropod
as a useful tool for detection of plant
disease and insect infestation. The U.S.
Geological Survey can use Enviropod for
collection of data to compare with ground
measurements in support of their land-use
mapping program.
Other agencies expressing interest in
the system are the Treasury Department,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Corps of Engineers, State
Department, Soil Conservation Service,
Bureau of Land Management, Federal
Aviation Administration, and the Civil Air
Patrol.
The widespread interest in Enviropod
reflects its potential role in producing
valuable data for a variety of applications.
The following ORD component contributed
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV
A sample of Enviropod photography
Potential Enviropod Uses.
ftrogr&tas
aol Doocuaeatation),
location of 'aonfifas V
wSe 1H*<1 fiB violation*
Hazardous Materials
Water Supply
,F«M
SbM Waste
Environmental Impacts
. • ted extent
fxK»tica»" of spffls
locations ' '"•
* l^catioftt gf-
. * twncry- for *«*
• menial
54
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cheese whey
)RD develops some
movative ways to recover
seful products from
major industrial waste
ermenting Cheese Whey
Whey is a green-yellow liquid that is a
by-product of all cheese production. Its
characteristics differ depending on wheth-
er cheeses are made from skim milk or
natural milk. The skim milk cheeses, like
cottage cheese, yield an acid whey; the
whole milk cheeses, like cheddar, yield a
sweet whey. For every 10 pounds of
cheese made, 60 pounds of whey are
produced. On a national scale that repre-
sents approximately 30 billion pounds of
fluid whey at 6% to 7% solids.
As a by-product high in lactose and
protein, whey is a resource awaiting dis-
covery. At this point, however, it is still a
significant waste problem necessitating
proper treatment.
Over the years, ORD has studied whey
treatment to facilitate economical by-
product recovery and new product devel-
opment. Major efforts yielding results
include:
• Fermentation for alcoholic bever-
age production.
• Separation of cheese whey compon-
ents by membrane technology.
• Fermentation for protein produc-
tion.
• Spray drying to a protein-rich pow-
der.
Wine from Whey
Wine made from fermenting whey has
been successfully produced through ORD
experimentation. Very little energy or
expensive equipment is required since no
removal of water is necessary and the
entire whey is used. The process has been
explored on both laboratory and pilot
plant scales.
First, the protein is removed from the
whey and enough dextrose is added to
assure proper alcohol levels. Just before
fermentation is started, sulfur dioxide is
added for stability. The whey is then
inoculated with yeast and allowed to
ferment. After fermentation, the wine is
aged and clarified. Fruit flavors may be
added and the wine may be sweetened. If
the product is accepted by the public,
wine production holds a promising future
for cheesemakers.
Recovering Lactose, Protein
Pressurized membrane processes to ex-
tract lactose and protein from whey have
been explored for several years. By 1977,
a two-step approach had evolved to be the
most effective.
First, ultrafiltration, a low pressure
operation, is used to separate the larger
molecules (in this case, whey protein).
Passing the whey through the ultrafiltra-
tion unit separates it into two streams. In
one stream the protein is concentrated
twelvefold to 8%. The other stream is
then pumped into a reverse osmosis unit,
where high pressures separate out the
smaller lactose molecules and dissolved
solids. The lactose undergoes a fourfold
increase in concentration to 25%. The
permeate that remains is relatively pure
water.
55
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vitamins; thlamlrtt
riboflavin
ascorbic acid
At a processing capacity of 300,000
pounds of whey per day, this system
recovers up to 95% of the biodegradable
organics. The protein concentrate can be
used in food products. The lactose stream
can be further concentrated to about 50%
solids and used as animal feed.
Protein Production
Under controlled conditions, a high
protein (35% to 50%) fermented mass
suitable for animal feed can be produced
using condensed whey. Applications seem
most favorable for large rural facilities.
Taste Test for Whey Wines
Number of Tasters Scale of 1 to 10
* x<"t ' -"-'C'-'. ~* **>•, *
l-.rfft
£v ; *^i5«?*I<>«*»*"!'
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6.9
6,4
6.4
6,3
5.5
Also, the potential exists for harvestin
food-grade yeast.
The difficulties encountered in dryin
acid whey have been the primary dete
rent to development of this by-product;
a food ingredient. Recent ORD researcl
however, shows that spray-drying tecl
nology appears feasible.
With the world's growing need f(
protein, the treatment of whey as
resource instead of as a waste problei
becomes increasingly practical. Imagin
tive research has brought whey tec!
nology to the point where its potenti
commercial uses can yield profits rathi
than problems.
The following ORD component contribute
to the research described above:
OFFICE OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND
INDUSTRY: • Industrial Environmental
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH
(Corvallis)
56
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information
)RD puts new emphasis
>n providing information
for environmental decisions
EPA provides much of the scientific
data used in establishing and implement-
ing national environmental policy. The
analytical methods that ORD generates
must receive timely dissemination if they
are to be integrated effectively into the
environmental decision-making process.
Transferring technical information effec-
tively has become a monumental task as
the depth and breadth of research have
grown. Successful transfer requires far
more than the mere distribution of re-
search reports. Instead, it is necessary to
match available information carefully
with the needs of different users.
Until last year, responsibility within
ORD for the transfer of technical infor-
mation was organizationally fragmented.
Information transfer was based on tech-
nical reports. Building on input from the
users of EPA data, however, a new pro-
gram was put into action. In FY 1976,
ORD established a technical information
program, which includes all standard
report dissemination actions, but whose
principal goal is active information trans-
fer of the findings of the entire spectrum
of ORD programs. In early 1977, the
Environmental Research Information Cen-
ter (ERIC) was established in Cincinnati.
The Center is devoted to distributing
environmental information and research
data to serve the needs of other federal
agencies, state and local officials, and the
public at large.
ERIC's staff has conducted more than
130 seminars throughout the United
States and its territories, and has exhib-
ited its products at many state fairs,
conferences, and professional society
meetings. ERIC has prepared publications,
including motion pictures, and more than
2,000,000 copies have been distributed to
date. Eleven special reports and more than
600 scientific and technical reports were
published in 1977.
The ERIC staff produces both general
and specific reports. There are process
design manuals for the engineer/designer;
capsule reports of demonstration projects;
industrial seminar publications for plant
managers and engineers; reports on re-
search projects for the scientific and
technical community; and brochures and
the summary briefing publications for
executives.
ERIC is investigating better communi-
cation techniques via an agreement with
the Environmental Extension Project at
Oklahoma State University. The project is
developing techniques for transferring in-
formation to state and local level environ-
mental agencies through the Cooperative
Extension Service. This pilot project has
been successfully tested in Oklahoma, and
similar tests are anticipated for the 10
federal regions, with the goal of making
environmental information accessible to
state and local environmental authorities.
The EPA technical information pro-
gram is still in its infancy, but plans for
the future include more extensive cover-
age of ORD research areas. As informa-
tion becomes increasingly abundant, the
efforts of ERIC will become an even more
important component of the ORD re-
search process.
The following ORD component contributed
to this section.
OFFICE OF MONITORING AND TECHNICAL
SUPPORT: • Environmental Research
Information Center, Cincinnati, OH
57
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ORD resources
Fiscal Year 1977 - - $237.7 millions
1,886 People
58
Management
ORD LABORATORIES
OTHER ORD FACILITIES
1 - WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON
(OHEE)
2 - NEWPORT, OREGON (OHEE)
3 - CORVALLIS, OREGON
Environmental Research Lab. '
(OHEE)
4 - LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Environmental Monitoring and
Support Lab. (OMTS)
5 - ADA, OKLAHOMA
Roberts. Kerr Environmental
Research Lab. (OALWU)
6-GULF BREEZE, FLORIDA
Environmental Research Lab.
(OHEE)
7 - ATHENS, GEORGIA
Environmental Research Lab.
(OALWU)
8-BEARS BLUFF, SOUTH CAROLINA
(OHEE)
9 - RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.
Environmental Monitoring and
Support Lab. (OMTS)
Industrial Environmental Research
Lab. (OEMI)
Environmental Sciences Research Lab
(OALWU)
Health Effects Research Lab. (OHEE)
10 - WARRENTON, VIRGINIA (OMTS)
-------
Funding by Media
(millions)
Solid Waste
Radiation
Toxics
Program Management
ORD laboratories
Funding by Mechanism
-6
9
ll - WASHINGTON, D.C.
Headquarters, OR&D
12 - EDISON, NEW JERSEY (OEMI)
13 - NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND
Environmental Research Lab (OHEE)
14- RIVESVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA
(OEMI)
15 - LEBANON, OHIO (OALWU)
16a - NEWTOWN, OHIO (OHEE)
16b - CINCINNATI, OHIO
Environmental Monitoring and
Support Lab. (OMTS)
Industrial Environmental Research
Lab. (OEMI)
Municipal Environmental Research
Lab. (OALWU)
Health Effects Research Lab. (OHEE)
Environmental Research Information
Center (OMTS)
17 - GROSSE ILE, MICHIGAN (OHEE)
18 - MONTICELLO, MINNESOTA
(OHEE)
19 - DULUTH, MINNESOTA
Environmental Research Lab. (OHEE)
20- COLLEGE, ALASKA (OHEE)
Funding by Appropriation $M
Research & Development 237.3
Abatement & Control A.
Total 237.7
The Organization
ORD is managed out of its
Washington, D.C. headquarters through
four major offices: Health and Eco-
logical Effects (OHEE); Energy,
Minerals and Industry (OEMI); Air,
Land and Water Use (OALWU); and
Monitoring and Technical Support
(OMTS). Each of these offices has
associated laboratories as indicated in
the accompanying map.
59
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in conclusion
The past year's highlights
are prologue to
an increased effort in 1978.
Also related to energy production is a
test which will be conducted in San
Benito, Texas, in 1978. This ORD-
sponsored demonstration will determine
whether a chemically active fluidized bed
system burning residual oil can be used to
drive a plant formerly run on natural gas.
If successful, this demonstration may pro-
vide yet another method of substituting
"dirty" fuel (i.e., residual oil) for natural
gas without sacrificing clean air.
As you have learned from the chapter
on drinking water, the, present method of
disinfecting water supplies—chlorination—
may create potentially hazardous pollut-
ants known as organochlorides. In 1978,
ORD will seek practical alternatives to the
chlorination process. One specif \
alternative—treatment with chlorir
dioxide—will undergo exhaustive testini
We will present the results of these tests i
our next highlights report.
Finally, with water quality concert
now focused on the more subtle toxics
low concentrations of highly dangeroi
substances in our water supplies—01
1978 program will test a technology th;
may help to keep these toxics from evi
reaching our water in the first place. Mo
of these toxics come from industri
effluent streams. Activated charco
devices may be able to remove the toxi
before these streams are discharged.
The results described in this highlights
report represent but a handful of the
more than 1,900 projects supported by
the Office of Research and Development
in 1977. Even within this report, however,
the range of our research program should
be evident. The ORD program ranges
from direct support to EPA's regulatory
functions, such as cancer assessment and
drinking water purification, to investiga-
tions of long-term phenomena, such as
the ozone layer analyses. It ranges from
technologies to clean up car exhausts to
technologies to clean up power plant
fumes, and from studies of how cells react
to carcinogens to studies of how people
react to energy development activities.
As for 1978, it promises to be a
productive year for ORD. Here is a
preview of some of the achievements we
expect to report.
In the energy/environment area we will
complete the testing of an industrial-scale
desulfurization scrubber. A coal-burning
30-megawatt-equivalent boiler at Ricken-
backer Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio, is
the site. If successful, the test will prove
the availability of scrubber control tech-
nology for industrial boilers—an accom-
plishment that is important if coal use is
to be increased in the industrial sector
without severe degradation of air quality.
60
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Of course these are but a few of ORD's
lajor planned accomplishments. You will
Ive to wait until our Research Highlights
? for the details. In the meantime, we
111 be working harder to communicate
lir research findings to all of our constit-
Jncies—EPA's enforcement arms, other
ieral and state agencies, Congress, the
fentific community, and most impor-
it, the informed public. Our goal is a
lalthful environment for all Americans.
|tch step toward that goal is an achieve-
snt to be shared by everyone who
leathes the air, lives on the land, and
links the water which, in combination,
jfine the environment that is the United
lates.
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61
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