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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