APRIL 1972
PUBLISHED BY THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Proposed Bill Would Regulate Pesticide Use
A proposed Federal Environmental
Pesticide Control Act (H.R. 10729).
the subject of recent Senate hearings,
would greatly extend Federal control
over pesticides. The legislation, which
has been passed by the House, is u
revised version of an Administration
measure originally introduced as S.
745 and H.R. 4152 in February 1971.
The bill's key feature is the power it
would give the Federal government, as
administered by EPA, to regulate the
use of pesticides. Present Federal
authority in this field under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is confined
to regulation of pesticides in
inter-State commerce through
registration requirements. These
include regulation of labeling and
content of pesticide products, but do
not involve control of the application
of a pesticide once the user buys it.
H.R. 10729 continues the present
registration authorities of FIFRA and,
in addition, requires a use
classification, specifying that a
pesticide is either for "general use" or
"restricted use".
A general-use pesticide is one which,
when applied in accordance with its
directions for use and any warning or
caution statements, will not cause
substantial adverse effects to the
environment, including any injury to
man. Such a pesticide would be
subject to essentially the same
requirements that all pesticides must
now meet under FIFRA.
A restricted-use pesticide is one which
the EPA administrator determines
could cause substantial adverse effects
on the environment without additional
regulatory restrictions, even when used
as directed on the label. If its effects
pose an immediate threat to human
liealth or safety or environmental
values, the bill provides that the
pesticide must he applied by or under
the direct supervision of a certified
pesticide applicator. If, however, its
effects are long-range due to such
characteristics as persistence and
mobility in the environment and
accumulation in the food chain, the
restricted-use pesticide would l>e
subject, under the bill, to the certified
applicator-requirement or "such other
restrictions as the Administrator may
determine". These restrictions may
include requiring a user to sign a
pesticide register; or, to certify that he
has read the instructions for
application and will comply with
them; or it may require him to obtain
a license or permit.
Certification of pesticide applicators,
to qualify them to use restricted-use
pesticides, is a function of the States
under the bill. Certification must be in
accordance with a State plan approved
by LPA, and carried out by a
designated State agency. The bill
provides for Federal assistance to the
States in the form of contracts and
other cooperative agreements to
encourage applicator training.
Another important feature of the
legislation is the authority it would
give to the Federal government to
establish standards for pesticide
packaging and containers and disposal
of these containers as well as disposal
of pesticides. Disposal is presently one
of the most significant sources of
pesticide pollution.
Although EPA generally supports
the provisions of U.K. I0729, several
features of the bill met with Agency
ion at the Senate hearings. The
must controversial of these, opposed
by EPA, is a provision allowing
indemnification of persons suffering
hy ownership of a pesticide for
which registration is suspended and
finally cancelled.
New legislation now pending in the Senate would extend Federal authority over the UK
of pesticides as well as over their manufacture and sale.
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UN Conference on Human Environment Set for June
An estimated 1,500 delegates,
representing most of the member
countries of the United Nations, will
meet atStockholm, Sweden, June 5-16
to consider some of the physical and
social problems caused by technology
and population pressures throughout
the world.
Known as the UN Conference on the
Human Environment, the meeting will
be action-oriented; it is expected to
draft several international agreements
dealing with environmental problems
that are amenable to international
control. In addition, participants will
lay the groundwork for future
worldwide cooperation in pollution
control and other aspects of the
problem-possibly by recommending
creation of a permanent UN office and
advisory body for governmental
matters.
Last month, President Nixon
announced a major proposal that the
United States delegation will carry to
the Stockholm Conference:
establishment of a voluntary United
Nations Fund for, the Environment,
with an initial funding goal of $100
million for the first five years. If such
a fund is established, the President will
recommend to Congress that the
United States commit itself to provide
its fair share of the fund on a matching
basis.
The President said that "This fund
would help to stimulate international
cooperation on environmental
problems by supporting a centralized
coordination point for UN activities in
this field. It would also help to bring
new resources to bear on the
increasing number of worldwide
problems through activities such as
monitoring and cleanup of the oceans
and atmosphere."
The current U.S. view is that new
machinery will be required within the
UN to coordinate the array of
environmental activities of the UN
system and to administer the
Environmental Fund, if the President's
proposal is accepted.
As to the nature of this machinery,
there is a general concensus that a new
specialized agency should not be
created. One arrangement being
discussed at the UN and among
member governments is the creation of
a small, high-level staff unit and an
intergovernmental body to give the
unit policy direction.
The U.S. shares the general view that
international efforts should serve two
kinds of purposes:
First, they should deal with inherently
international environmental needs
such as global monitoring of human
health, the oceans, the atmosphere and
terrestrial environment; research, and
assessments of the condition of the
world environment.
Second, they should serve to
strengthen national capabilities in the
environmental field through education
and training, information exchange
and programs on a regional basis-thus
enabling national and local authorities
to draw on the knowledge, experience
and organizational and technological
capacities of the international
community. The U.S. contribution to
the proposed fund would be
predicated on its use for such
purposes, rather than to solve specific
problems within the borders of
individual countries.
COMMUNITY CUTS COSTS
OF SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
By applying certain rules-of-thumb in
designing solid waste collection routes,
the city of Huntington Woods, Mich.,
has increased its collection system
efficiency and reduced tax assessments
for this service.
The city's property tax rate of $16.05
per $1,000 assessed valuation for 1972
provides $1.75 for solid waste services,
contrasted with $2.06 for the same
service in 1971. The total collection
cost is projected to drop from $86,500
to $70,000, despite an anticipated 17
percent increase in waste disposal
charges and wage increases.
Huntington Woods (pop. 8,500) took
the initial steps to reduce solid waste
collection costs in January 1971.
Crews were reduced from three to two
men for each of the city's two packer
trucks.
Further economies were realized from
August 1971 to January 1972 by
replacing one of the trucks with a
one-man collection vehicle. City
officials, with technical advice and
assistance from EPA's Office of Solid
rerouting: economy & efficiency
Waste Management Programs, became
convinced collection costs could be
still further reduced by making
maximum use of the one-man vehicle.
Since January, a single, one-man
vehicle making approximately 500
services each day has been used.
In designing routes for the one-man
vehicle, five general rules were
observed as closely as possible:
1. Routes should not be fragmented
or overlapping; they should be
in contiguous and clustered street
segments.
2. Heavily traveled streets should
not be collected in rush hours.
3. Left-hand turns are generally
more difficult and
time-consuming to perform than
right-hand turns and should,
therefore, be minimized.
4. Total collection and haul time
should be reasonably constant for
each route in the community.
5. Design of the collection route
should be started as close to the
garage or motor pool as feasible.
For further information concerning
design of solid waste collection routes
write to: Systems Management
Division, Office of Solid Waste
Management Programs, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268.
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NEW METHOD DEVELOPED TO PREDICT URBAN CO CONCENTRATIONS
A mathematical model which permits
city planners to forecast carbon
monoxide concentrations and foresee
their effect on proposed projects in
metropolitan areas has been developed
by scientists at Stanford Research
Institute with the financial support of
EPA.
The computer model is significant
because it provides a greatly improved
method of predicting the impact of
motor vehicle traffic on air pollution.
A city planning a greenbelt or an
industrial park or a downtown
skyscraper or a belt parkway can
predetermine how each will alter
carbon monoxide concentration.
"Suppose a city wants to convert a
main thoroughfare to one-way traffic,"
says R. T. H. Collis, director of the
Atmospheric Science Laboratory at
Stanford. "Now we can actually
determine what sort of pollution such
a change might brew during morning
and evening rush hours before the step
is taken. The mathematical model
shows inter-relationships and simulates
actual conditions."
Model Accuracy Tested
Accuracy of the model, which will be
available shortly, has already been
established through exhaustive tests in
St. Louis, Mo. and San Jose, Calif.
Results indicate that carbon monoxide
concentrations can be calculated
within 3 parts per million of actual
conditions in large and medium-sized
cities.
Other broad applications are expected.
The model will help city planners, for
example, comply with amendments to
the Clean Air Act of 1970 which are
to be effected by 1975. Recent air
quality standards set maximum street
level concentrations, and planners may
have to revise traffic patterns and
build new routes as a consequence.
The model will let them simulate
various options before selecting the
best alternative.
It should also prove helpful to
highway planners in filing
environmental impact statements,
since, until now there has been no
reliable method of predicting the
effect of interstate highways,
freeways, expressways and thruways
on carbon monoxide concentrations.
Model calculations are based on
readily available information;
expensive city-wide monitoring
stations to measure concentrations will
not have to be installed and
maintained. According to Mr. Collis
"the model can be used by any city
that has access to conventional airport
weather observations; emissions data
comes from traffic studies which
highway planners conduct as a matter
of routine".
Mr. Collis points out the main reason
for the model's accuracy is that it
takes into account street
canyons-that is, the movement of air
masses between large buildings in the
downtown areas of major cities. This is
important because canyons affect
city-wide concentrations and
distribution of pollutants and, it is
amid busy city streets that pedestrians
When winds blow
at right angles to the
street a helical
air pattern develops.
Ambient levels of
carbon monoxide are
measured by the receptor.
are exposed to the largest
concentrations of carbon monoxide.
Studies showed that roof-top winds
are significant in determining carbon
monoxide concentrations at street
level—the faster the winds whip across
the tops of buildings, the lower the
concentration in the street.
Further, when the winds blow at right
angles to the street, a circular (or
helical) air flow pattern develops
between the buildings (see
illustration). The air flows downward
on one side of the street and upward
on the other. Researchers found that
concentrations on the "upwind" side
are often twice as heavy as those on
the "downwind" side.
Research also revealed that there is
very little variation in front of
"downwind" buildings from street
level to rooftop, but concentrations do
vary with height in front of the
"upwind" buildings.
CO Concentrations Measured
The model can be used to calculate
carbon monoxide concentrations in
two ways: (1) to predict hourly
concentrations for a grid of points
throughout the city—for example, a
planner may want to know how much
carbon monoxide will concentrate at
selected spots in the city at noon on a
certain day; (2) to determine how
often a specific concentration occurs
at a selected point-planners want to
know how often concentrations of,
say, 10 parts per million occur at a
busy downtown intersection, the
answer can be computed from
climatological data.
Carbon monoxide was chosen for this
study because it is a relatively inert gas
that does not react chemically with
other substances in the atmosphere.
However, future studies are planned to
accurately calculate the concentration
of any pollutant at virtually any point
in any city, provided meteorological
and emission sources are known.
For additional information on this
mathematical model contact: Dr.
Aubrey P. Altchuller, Director,
Division of Chemistry and Physics,
National Environmental Research
Center, EPA, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27701.
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SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH:
Clean Water and The Steel Industry
Industrial process wastes often present
a difficult disposal problem because of
their hazardous or toxic qualities and
because they occur in large quantities.
An example is acid rinse water waste
which results from steel production; it
is a serious contributor to steam and
groundwater pollution.
A project to develop a means to treat
large quantities of this acid rinse water
sufficiently to allow its discharge into
nearby waterways was undertaken by
Armco Steel Corporation with a grant
from the Federal government.
Armco decided to modernize and
expand its plant facilities in
Middletown, 0. in 1968. Included
among other improvements was a new
hot strip mill. Since it was to be a
completely new facility, every effort
was made to incorporate the best
available pollution-control technology
into its construction. The government,
through its water pollution control
agency (now incorporated in EPA)
made a $547,500 grant to Armco to
demonstrate and evaluate a method of
effective treatment of acid wastes,
Armco financed the larger share of the
$1,784,000 project.
In steel production, an oxide coating
(mill scale) forms on low carbon steel.
This is removed by a "pickling"
process which involves use of a dilute
hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. Armco's
two pickling lines produce 6,000
gallons per hour of hydrochloric waste
"pickle liquor". In operation, two
different waste streams result: spent
acid from the pickling baths known in
the industry as "pickle liquor" and
once-through rinse water.
The project's goal was to develop
means to treat the large quantity of
acid rinse water sufficiently to allow
its discharge to the nearby Miami
River. This process necessarily involves
neutralization of the acid, and removal
of the iron content.
Armco research scientists had
developed an experimental treatment
process utililizing limestone
neutralization along with aeration and
sludge recirculation to oxidize ferrous
iron and produce a readily filterable
precipitate. The Federal grant to
Armco allowed development of the
process to pilot-scale, followed by
design and construction of a full-scale
treatment plant.
In the treatment plant, acid rinse
water received at a maximum of 1,500
gpm is collected in one of two 12,000
gallon tanks, one adjacent to each
pickling line. The water then passes
through a surge tank to an
aeration-mix tank where limestone is
added and air is blown through to
effect oxidation. This neutralizes the
free acid and reacts with iron
compounds to allow flocculation and
agglomeration into a readily
seattleable mass which subsequently is
separated in a clarifier. The clarifier
effluent then flows into a 16-acre
lagoon before final discharge into the
nearby river.
Sludge collected in the clarifier is
conveyed to vacuum filters for
dewatering. The filter cake is collected
in gondola cars and hauled away for
storage. Clarifier sludge is also
recircutated to the aeration-mix tank
to enhance sludge settling
characteristics.
An aerial view of the Armco plant shows
water clarification system, including six
135-foot-diameter clariflers (left, center).
These receive wastewater effluent after
heavier impurities are removed in the
building between the rows of clarifiers. Note
steam rising from cooling towers (right).
For additional information concerning
this project, write to: Paul Minor,
Technology Transfer, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, D.C. 20460.
After acid rinse water effluent has been cleansed it is cooled in these towers and
reused several times within the plant before final discharge.
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TRAINING COURSES AVAILABLE IN WATER POLLUTION TECHNOLOGY
The most advanced water pollution
control equipment and technology are
worth very little without skilled and
competent managers and technicians
working in the field.
This is the reason for EPA's extensive
training program designed to assist
State and local agency personnel to
develop and maintain technical skills
needed to achieve water pollution
abatement goals.
Nearly 1,500 students annually attend
courses in water pollution technology
given at EPA's National Training
Center in Cincinnati, 0., and at EPA
laboratories in Ada, Okla.; Athens,
Ga.; Corvallis, Ore., and Edison, N.J.
Courses are offered for a variety of
disciplines, including engineers,
NEW FILM
AVAILABLE
"Dry Limestone Injection Process",
26 minutes, 16-mm, sound, color,
1971. A progress report on a
project to control sulfur oxide
emissions from plant facilities using
coal for fuel. It presents test
procedures, methods of evaluation,
and the results obtained by
injection of dry limestone into
coal-fired boilers. Although not
conclusive, the filmed report is
useful for technically-trained
audiences, including persons
responsible for evaluating air
pollution control processes or
those having general interest in air
pollution activities.
Available on a free loan basis from:
National Audiovisual Center
N.A.R.S., USA
Washington, D.C. 20409
To purchase, send $103.75 to the
above address,' Attn; Sales.
Remittance may be by check or
money order payable to General
Services Administration. Refer to
OrderNo.TF-115.
chemists, biologists, statisticians and
administrators. They are designed to
achieve rapid application of new
research findings; update skills of
technical and professional personnel,
and prepare new employees in the
special skills required in the EPA water
program. Increasing attention is being
given to development of special
courses providing an overview of the
nature, causes, prevention and control
of water pollution.
The largest training center, at
Cincinnati, has a professional staff of
20; however, scientists, engineers, and
recognized authorities from other
Agency programs, other government
agencies, universities, and industry
supplement the training staff as guest
lecturers.
Most courses last one or two weeks.
Subject matter includes selected
practical features of plant operation
and design and water quality
evaluation in field and laboratory.
Specialized aspects and recent
developments in sanitary engineering,
chemistry, aquatic biology,
microbiology and field and laboratory
techniques not generally available
elsewhere, are also included.
Students participate in classroom
presentations, demonstrations and
panel discussions. Field trips are
conducted to local sites representative
of the region in which the course is
given, giving students an opportunity
to engage in observations and tests
widely used by chemists, aquatic
biologists and engineers in on-site
studies. Students may collect samples
for subsequent laboratory study and
perform representative studies in the
laboratory.
To further support the role and
responsibility of the States in training
wastewater treatment plant operators,
EPA training program staff members
will provide assistance in planning
State operator-training courses. States
may request EPA instructors to serve
as guest lecturers, or they may request
the loan of instructional materials such
as lesson plans and visual training aids.
These aids, including training manuals,
may be reproduced freely by the
States for their own training programs.
For more information concerning
EPA's training program, including the
"Bulletin of Courses", (indicating all
course offerings) write to:
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water Programs
National Training Center
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
COMMITTEE NAMED
TO REVIEW DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
An Advisory Committee on the
Revision and Application of Drinking
Water Standards will provide EPA with
independent scientific and policy
guidance on issues pertaining to
drinking water standards including
needed research and monitoring
activities.
Authority to set such standards was
assumed by EPA with creation of the
Agency in December 1970. Since the
standards were last revised in 1962,
their adequacy has been questioned by
reports of mercury contamination of
major waterways and the introduction
of many new products, including
pesticides, herbicides, radioisotopes
and various process chemicals.
The Committee met in January and
again in February and it is anticipated
recommendations for the new
standards will be submitted to EPA
within the next few months.
Henry Ongerth of California serves as
Committee Chairman and William
Long, Deputy Director of EPA's Water
Supply Programs Division, is Executive
Secretary.
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Single copies of all publications
listed below are distributed without
charge to representatives of State
and local agencies. Address requests
in writing to:
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Public Affairs
Public Inquiries Branch
Washington, D.C. 20460
Requests for multiple copies will be
considered on an individual basis.
Prices are given for publications
available from the Superintendent
of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
20402.
Solid Waste Management: A List of
Available Literature, January 1972.
Lists publications in the solid waste
field that have been collected or
published as directed by the Solid
Waste Disposal Act of 1965. Arranged
by categories: activities of the Federal
solid waste management program;
bibliographies on solid waste
management; citizen action and
general information; collection of solid
wastes; composition and analysis of
solid wastes; land disposal;
management, planning and economics;
marine disposal; recycling and
reclamation; solid waste processing;
studies related to specific solid wastes;
surveys, grants, contracts and
demonstration programs. Includes
publication order forms. 33pp.
Agricultural Benefits and
Environmental Changes Resulting
from the Use of Digested Sewage
Sludge on Field Crops. Results of the
first year of a project conducted by
the Metropolitan Sanitary District of.
Greater Chicago, to demonstrate the
possible agricultural benefits and
environmental changes that result
from applying digested sewage sludge
to field crops. Describes an
experimental facility established at
Elwood, Illinois to evaluate the
long-term effects on the
soil-water-crop ecosystem of sludge
disposal on land. Criteria are
developed that can be used in selecting
sites for this method of sludge
disposal. 61pp.
Mixing Heights, Wind Speeds, and
Potential for Urban Air Pollution
Throughout the Contiguous United
States. A study based upon regular
measurements of temperature and
winds aloft at 62 national weather
service stations. A model of some
general features of atmospheric
dispersion is described, in which the
pollutant concentration averaged over
a city is a function of mixing height,
wind, speed and city size (distance the
wind travels across the city). 118pp.
$1.25.
Advanced Wastewater Treatment as
Practiced at South Tahoe. Presents the
results from three years' operation of a
715 mgd advanced wastewater
treatment plant at the South Tahoe
Public Utility District in South Lake
Tahoe, Calif. Two principal purposes
of the project were to evaluate the
recovery and reuse of lime as a
coagulant in tertiary treatment and to
investigate ammonia stripping as
means for nitrogen removal from
tertiary effluent. The work also
includes a comprehensive study of the
efficacy, reliability, and economy of a
tertiary sequence of treatment
consisting of conventional activated
sludge, followed by lime treatment for
phosphate removal, ammonia
stripping, two-stage recarbonation,
mixed media filtration, granular
activated carbon adsorption of
dissolved organics, and chlorination.
436pp. $3.25.
GPO
Use of funds for printing this pujjjiiiatlon approved by the
Director of the Office of Managa^jt in* Budget (Dec.6, 1971).
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