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U.S., Soviet Union Plan 30 Projects
The United States and the Soviet
Union have embarked on 30 specific
cooperative projects in environ-
mental research and technology.
The first working meetings are
expected to start next month in St.
Louis, when EPA will be host to
Soviet specialists in air pollution
modeling and instrumentation.
Throughout 1973 extensive visits
and joint symposiums are scheduled
in both nations for the setting up of
combined research projects and the
exchange of information on pollu-
tion abatement.
The groundwork for the coopera-
tive program was laid last May in
Moscow when President Nixon and
U.S.S.R. President Nikolai V. Pod-
gorny signed a formal agreement for
the two nations to work together in
11 environmental problem areas,
ranging from air and water pollu-
tion control to urban problems,
weather research, earthquake pre-
diction, and arctic ecology.
Meeting in Moscow
The 30 specific projects were
established by a joint committee of
experts from both countries at a
meeting in Moscow Sept. 18-21.
Russell E. Train, Chairman of the
President's Council on Environ-
mental Quality, headed the U.S.
delegation, which included John R.
Quarles Jr., EPA Assistant Admin-
istrator for Enforcement, and repre-
sentatives of seven cabinet depart-
ments, the National Science Founda-
tion, and two national conservation
organizations.
The committee designated EPA
as the "lead agency" for the United
States in 12 of the 30 projects: those
concerned with air and water pollu-
tion, with broad effects of pollution
on the biosphere, with effects on
marine organisms, and with genetic
effects. EPA will have a large sup-
porting role in many of the other 18
projects, including those concerned
with agriculture and pesticides,
urban problems, climate research,
and nature preservation.
Matching Problem Areas
An unusual feature of many of
the projects will be the direct pairing
of Soviet and American cities, lakes,
river basins, and other environ-
mental problem areas for compara-
tive studies. St. Louis and Leningrad
will be matched for air pollution
modeling. Lake Tahoe, on the Cali-
fornia-Nevada border, and one of
the Great Lakes will be paired with
Lake Baikal, in Siberia. Reston, Va.,
and Columbia, Md., will be matched
with Togliatti, near the Kuybyshev
Dam on the Volga River, and
Akademgorodok, the new "science
city" in Siberia, for studies of en-
vironmental management in new
communities.
For urban environmental studies
in established cities, Atlanta and
San Francisco will be paired with
Leningrad and another Soviet city
still to be chosen. Earthquake re-
search will concentrate on the San
Andreas fault in California and the
Garm-Dushanbe region of the Alai
Mountains in Tadzhik SSR.
Tsunami (tidal wave) warning sys-
tems in Hawaii will be integrated
with those of the Kurile-Kamchatka
region of eastern Siberia.
The wide scope of the cooperative
programs reflects the fact that both
nations are industrially advanced,
both have large and diverse land
areas, and both experience almost
every type of environmental prob-
lem, Train said. He hailed the proj-
ects as going far beyond past ar-
rangements for scientific and cul-
tural exchange between the two na-
tions.
Previous Exchange*
There have been limited ex-
changes with the Soviet Union on
air and water pollution as long ago
as 1963, when a team of Soviet
water experts visited this country.
An EPA air pollution team visited
U.S.S.R. last year and a water pol-
lution team earlier this year.
The joint projects are scheduled
to continue for five years, under the
bilateral agreement, which is to be
extended for successive five-year
periods unless one party wishes to
stop. The five-year term reflects the
long-range nature of environmental
problems.
Three other cooperative agree-
ments were signed at the May meet-
ing in Moscow: one in space tech-
nology, with the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration
as the U.S. agency participating;
one in health and medical research,
with the Department of Health, Ed-
ucation and Welfare; and one in
science and technology generally,
with the President's Office of Sci-
ence and Technology in charge.
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17 Implementation Plans Are Approved
State plans for achieving the air
quality standards set by EPA under
the Clean Air Act of 1970 have
been fully approved for 17 of the 55
States and jurisdictions.
Ten others have had the regula-
tory portions of their plans ap-
proved; 12 have had regulations
promulgated by EPA, under the law;
and the remaining 16 have had EPA
regulations proposed but not yet
promulgated.
This was the status of the State
implementation plans on Oct. 28,
after the fifth action to approve, re-
ject, or revise the complex and
varied plans.
The adjoining table summarizes
each State's present status in the ap-
proval process, with the date of the
latest EPA action.
The standards—set by EPA in
April, 1971—define for six major
types of air pollutant the reductions
required to protect public health
(primary standards) and to protect
property and enhance public wel-
fare (secondary standards).
The law requires the States to
regulate air pollution sources to
achieve these standards, and if State
implementation plans are deemed
insufficient, then EPA must step in
and order adequate controls.
The latest actions on Oct. 28 im-
posed EPA regulations on five juris-
dictions. Louisiana, Michigan, Mis-
souri, New Jersey, and the Virgin
Islands.
The EPA-imposed regulations
generally concern the reporting of
emissions data and making them
public; setting compliance schedules;
handling pollution emergencies; and
preventing construction of new pol-
lution sources that would violate the
State's control strategy, or interfere
with attaining the standards, or with
maintaining them. The final regula-
tions do not differ from those pro-
posed except for setting at least one
location in each affected State where
emission data will be available to the
public As proposed, the data would
have been available only in the EPA
Regional Office.
The actions approved one or
more previously unacceptable por-
Court Orders Air Plans Revised
State plans to achieve the na-
tional air quality standards will
have to be revised to include a
"non-degradation" provision, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia ruled Nov.
2.
This provision would require a
State to forbid any "significant
deterioration" of air quality in
areas where the air is now cleaner
than the established standards.
EPA promptly complied with
the Appeals Court ruling by is-
suing a formal notice on Nov. 9
that the State plans were tech-
nically deficient insofar as the
non-degradation provision was
concerned. The review of State
plans to see how they should be
corrected was already under
way, said Administrator William
Ruckelshaus.
The three-judge court upheld
without comment a previous rul-
ing by a U.S. District Court
judge against EPA in a suit
brought last spring by the Sierra
Club and three private organiza-
tions from Washington, D.C.,
New Mexico, and San Diego.
The Agency contends that the
non-degradation provision would
block further economic develop-
ment of any kind in clean-air
areas, even though such develop-
ment would not violate the na-
tional standards.
EPA plans to appeal the mat-
ter to the Supreme Court.
tions of plans from 12 jurisdictions
—Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri,
New Jersey, South Carolina, Ten-
nessee, Texas, the Virgin Islands,
and Washington. For two of these
—Maine and Washington—the
plans are now fully approved.
For six States (Massachusetts,
Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New
Jersey, and Texas), regulations had
been proposed to control emission
of nitrogen oxides. These have been
held up pending a revision of nitro-
gen oxide measurement methods
that have been found to be faulty.
The implementation plan for
each State, mandated by Section
110 of the Clean Air Act, is a very
vital link in the chain of actions
required by the law. Success of the
national effort to achieve compli-
ance with the air quality standards
by 1975 hinges on effective, enforce-
able implementation plans.
The plans necessarily involve
highly technical concepts and pro-
cedures. They are also legal docu-
ments requiring precise, though
often repetitious, phrasing, since
they must specify violations of law,
enforcement procedures, civil and
criminal penalties, and relations
among various levels and branches
of government.
The EPA Bulletin is published
monthly by the Office of Public
Affairs to inform State and
local environmental officials of
EPA's research, standard-set-
ting, and enforcement activi-
ties.
The Bulletin will welcome let-
ters, contributed articles, and
photos suitable to its purpose
and audience.
Van V. Trumbull, Editor
Room W239, Waterside
Mall
Washington, D.C. 20460
Tel. (202) 755-0883
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EPA Actions on State Air Plans
State
Plan fully Regulatory
approved portions approved
EPA regulations EPA regulations
promulgated proposed
Alabama . ...
Alaska , . .
Arizona
American Samoa
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut .
Delaware . .
Dist. of Col.
Florida
Georgia . .
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa .
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana . . .
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota .
Mississippi
Missouri .
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada . . . .
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon ... .
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico . .
Rhode Island .
South Carolina .
South Dakota . . .
Tennessee . .
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia . .
Wisconsin . . .
Wyoming . . .
. May 31
.
May 31
May 31
Sept. 22
May 31
Sept. 22
May 31
•
Oct. 28
May 31
May 31
m
May 31
. May 31
. July 27
May 31
.
May 31
.
. ...
•
. Oct. 28
. May 31
.
.
July 27
.
Sept. 22
May 31
Sept. 22
.
.
. ...
Sept. 22
Sept. 22
July 27
Oct. 28
Oct. 28
Oct. 28
Oct. 28
Sept. 22
Oct. 28
•
. . • •
Oct. 28
• t • •
....
. . .
Sept. 22
. Oct. 28
. May 31
Oct. 28
. . . Oct. 28
Sept. 22
Oct. 28
.
Sept. 22
July 27
Sept. 22
Sept. 22
July 27
July 27
July 27
July 27
July 27
July 27
July 27
Sept. 22
June 14
July 27
July 27
July 27
•r ^ ^
July 27
TVA Plan Helps
Junk Car Drive
A practical and inexpensive
means of collecting junked auto-
mobiles for recycling has been de-
veloped by Tennessee Valley
Authority engineers.
The big Federal electric power
producer—often at odds with EPA
and environmentalists over its coal-
burning plants—has found a com-
mon cause with them—the cleanup
of rusty cars abandoned on rural
lanes and hollows in the TVA serv-
ice areas.
Starting first with cars junked on
TVA property, the Authority de-
vised a way of converting an ordi-
nary truck chassis into a collection
vehicle for less than $1,200. These
conversion plans have been made
available to town and county gov-
ernments, and TVA has also lent its
vehicles for use in local cleanup
drives.
The conversion involves fitting
the truck with a winch and extensi-
ble ramps up which the derelict
vehicle can be hauled so it can be
taken to a recycling center.
Charles Orr, Director of Solid
Waste Management for the Tennes-
see Department of Public Health,
said the program had the full ap-
proval of his State and of EPA solid
waste officials. Orr was formerly a
regional official of EPA's predeces-
sor agency, the Bureau of Solid
Waste Management, and was proj-
ect officer for the well-known rural
waste collection system in Chilton
County, Alabama.
TVA reports that more than 16,-
000 junked cars have been collected
since the program started two years
ago. Twenty-two city and county
governments in six States have par-
ticipated during the last year.
Twelve communities have built
their own wreck-removal trucks.
Blueprints for the conversion are
available from the TVA office in
Knoxville, Tenn.
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Chicago Sewer Sludge Becomes 'Liquid Fertilizer'
A 7,000-acre strip-mined area in
Fulton County, 111., is being re-
claimed for farming and recreation
by "liquid fertilizer" from Chicago
sewage.
The project, dubbed the "Prairie
Plan" by officials of the Metropol-
itan Sanitary District of Greater
Chicago, got into high gear late this
summer after more than five years
of planning and preparation, and the
expenditure of $15 million on re-
search and prototype land reclama-
tion.
Basic idea of the Prairie Plan is
the beneficial use of sewage sludge,
the organic material left after sew-
age has been digested and disin-
fected.
Sludge in wet slurry form is
barged from Chicago's sewage treat-
ment plants to East Liverpool on
the Illinois River about 180 miles
southwest of the city. There it is
pumped through an 11-mile pipeline
to holding basins at the reclamation
site. The liquid fertilizer is then dis-
tributed by pipeline and standard
spray irrigation equipment to the
fields.
The holding basins are necessary
because, although the sludge is de-
livered at a fairly constant rate of
7,500 wet tons a day, its application
to the land must vary with the sea-
sons, the weather, the crops in-
volved, and the types of land.
This summer 800 acres were
planted in corn, and this fall an ad-
ditional 300 acres are being planted
in wheat or legumes. Next year the
District plans to have 4,650 acres
planted in these crops and grasses.
County Park Formed
A 700-acre area at the southern
edge of the site has been set aside
for a Fulton County Park. It has
some natural forest and several
ponds and lakes that formed in pits
left by the strip mining operations.
The county has developed picnic
and camping areas here and plans
to extend them. Sludge application
in the park will be limited to selected
fields, with careful controls so that
This recreation area is part of the 7,000-acre site receiving "liquid fertilizer"
from Chicago sewage treatment plants. It is now a county park, including
lakes formed from strip-mine pits and the best of the natural vegetation.
wildlife habitats and recreational
values will be maintained.
All areas to which the liquid
fertilizer is applied have been
checked to assure that the sludge will
be absorbed into the soil and not
run off into streams. Where neces-
sary the land contours have been
modified, dikes and impoundments
constructed. All surface and subsur-
face waters were analyzed before
hand to establish benchmarks on
water quality. They are monitored
periodically to assure that this qual-
ity is maintained. Similar bench-
mark and operational analyses are
made with soils, plant tissue, and
aquatic organisms.
The District engineers and agron-
omists are determined not to over-
fertilize the Prairie Plan sludge dis-
posal site. During the first year of
application to any area, they plan
to use 75 dry tons per acre (1,250
wet tons), a heavy rate they feel is
justified by the barren state of the
strip-mined land. In succeeding
years, the application rate will be
reduced by stages to a steady main-
tenance rate of 30 tons per acre per
year.
^Natural' Recycling
The Fulton County site is the first
large-scale attempt by the District
to employ the "natural recycle con-
cept" in sewage sludge disposal.
They expect the Greater Chicago
sewage system—long regarded as
one of the engineering wonders of
the world—eventually could use
four times as much agricultural land,
28,000 acres.
In the Prairie Plan, the District
has found "a way to realize the now
popular goals of recycle and reuse,"
said John E. Egan, District Presi-
dent.
EPA and its predecessor agencies
have assisted the District in the
Prairie Plan since its inception with
funding aid and technical advice and
consultation. A similar EPA-spon-
sored project for on-land disposal
of sewage sludge and effluent is
under way in Michigan, serving a
dozen cities and towns in the Mus-
kegon area.
-------
Tighter Enforcement Seen
Under New Water Law
The new Federal Water Pollution
Control Act will bring "profound
and far-reaching change" in EPA's
water pollution control programs,
Assistant Administrator John R.
Quarles Jr. announced last month.
Speaking at a meeting of the
American Bar Association in New
York City only a week after the
new law had been passed by Con-
gress over the President's veto,
Quarles said the new law would
permit EPA to establish a "tight
regulatory system," with precise re-
quirements that can be promptly
and effectively enforced.
"In my judgment," he declared,
"these changes are going to revolu-
tionize the social structure of water
pollution control. Within a few years
the new law will end the reign of
evasion and emotion . . . (and) in
their place establish the rule of law."
Five Strong Points
Quarles listed five ways in which
the new law would strengthen water
quality enforcement:
• Specific numerical require-
ments on wastes discharged. The
absence of specific yardsticks to
measure performance in the past has
permitted polluters to claim that
they were meeting requirements
based on receiving water quality
standards in spite of inferior con-
trol systems and sloppy operation.
• Higher standards. The law
specifies that each industry must
achieve the "best practicable con-
trol technology" by July, 1977, and
even more stringent .control in the
certain cases. "By ending the total
reliance on receiving water condi-
tions, the new standards immeasur-
ably simplify problems of evidence,"
Quarles said.
• A national permit program, re-
placing the one started under the
Refuse Act of 1899 and halted by
a court ruling that every industrial
outfall had to have an environmental
impact statement.
The permit program will not "be-
gin from scratch," Quarles said.
Some 23,000 applications already
on hand have been processed. EPA's
efforts will be concentrated on about
2,700 "major dischargers" believed
to account for most waterborne
wastes. He said more than 1,000 in-
dividual permits have been drafted,
setting forth firm targets, timetables
of compliance, monitoring provi-
sions, and public disclosure.
• Tough penalties. Violations
will be subject to civil penalties of
up to $10,000 per day; willful or
negligent violations to criminal pen-
alties of up to $25,000 per day.
"This is a fundamental and indis-
pensable (though previously missing)
element of any regulatory system."
• A firm technical foundation
based on Federal and State experi-
ence. "The concept of effluent lim-
itation has been commonplace for
several years," Quarles said. "Until
recently, however, its feasibility has
been in doubt. ... I believe the
enforcement record ... of EPA,
supporting the enforcement pro-
grams of State agencies, has estab-
lished adequate credibility to assure
that the new requirements will be
enforced and that foot dragging will
be harshly punished."
Working With States
Prompt and effective relationships
with States agencies are "perhaps
our most important concern under
the new law," Quarles said. States
can assume operating responsibility
for the new national permit pro-
gram, and the law provides for such
delegation of authority. In many
cases new State legislation will be
required, but Quarles pointed out
that EPA can, under the Federal
law, authorize a State to take over
on an interim basis for as Long as
five months.
"In the meantime we will move
forward to issue permits out of
EPA," he said, "though in these
Manual Issued
On Fluoridation
A new manual on fluo'ridation of
municipal water supplies is being
distributed to State and local water
supply agencies by the Office of Air
and Water Programs.
It is designed to assist engineers
in planning fluoridation equipment
and to help water plant personnel to
operate and maintain such equip-
ment, so that full benefits of the
fluoridation can be achieved.
More than 5,800 water systems
serving about 86 million people now
treat their water with fluorides to
protect children's teeth from decay.
Recent EPA surveys in nine States
have shown that about half the fluo-
ridated supplies did not contain the
proper amounts of fluorides.
cases also we will seek active par-
ticipation by the States. We will
need to establish effective arrange-
ments so that the issuance of per-
mits will go ahead at full speed
whichever level of government has
the formal authority."
The scope of coverage under the
Refuse Act has been "dramatically
expanded" by the new law, Quarles
pointed out. "All municipalities will
be required to obtain permits. Feed-
lots and irrigation return flows will
also be brought into the system. Be-
cause in these areas we do not have
the same background of advance
preparation, we must anticipate that
implementation of these parts of the
permit program will not proceed
quite as rapidly.. ..
"Effective regulation . . . will pro-
vide substantial benefits to the regu-
lated industry," he concluded.
"These benefits will include clarity,
predictability, and assurance that
competitors are being subjected to
comparable requirements. . . .
"The negative and often unfair
image of corporations as dodging
their responsibilities will change
once the responsibilities are clearly
defined and, in fact, complied with."
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Kentucky Air Rules Explained Over Television
Kentucky's Air Pollution Control
Commission used a novel and inex-
pensive method last summer to ex-
plain the State's implementation
plan to industrial representatives,
local officials, and the public.
The Commission held an all-day
meeting in 17 places at once with-
out leaving Lexington.
Using the Kentucky Educational
Television's closed circuit network,
six members of the commission staff
explained the new regulations and
surveillance procedures to invited
audiences throughout the State. The
audience members, on their part,
could ask questions via telephone
and receive answers from the com-
mission staff over the monitor
screens.
The meetings combined television
teaching techniques with a TV call-
in talk show, according to Marva
Gay, Technical Information Officer
for the Commission. Using the TV
method saved both time and money
compared with such conventional
approaches as mass mailings or
roadshow workshops, said Ms. Gay.
KET's closed circuit network was
already established and available,
with outlets in four universities, 12
community colleges, and the orig-
inating studio in Lexington.
Individual workshop meetings, at
which commission staffers answer
questions directly, are suitable for a
local control agency, Ms. Gay
pointed out, but would be expensive
and time-consuming for a state
agency that must cover a large ter-
ritory.
Time, Money Saved
In 1969, she said, the commis-
sion staff spent over 50 man-days
conducting eight workshop sessions,
and 16 of the man-days were outside
the commission offices. Staff time
for preparing and presenting the
closed circuit TV meetings was 15
man-days, of which nine were out-
side the offices.
Although the meetings were
aimed at industry and business peo-
ple primarily, anyone could attend.
Announcement letters, press re-
leases, and broadcasts encouraged
Answering questions about Kentucky's air pollution regulations over closed
circuit TV from observers in 17 cities are, from left, Hisham M. Sa'aid,
Director of Technical Services; Engineers Roger Blair and Don Wills; and
Attorney Robert Trevey. Invisible behind the camera crew is emcee Frank
Partee, Technical Director of the State's Air Pollution Control Commission.
Smoke Marks Clean Air Day
Twenty minutes of outpouring
smoke from industrial stacks marked
the observance of Clean Air Day in
Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 13.
The pollution was deliberate, to
let Chattanooga citizens see what
their air used to be like, before the
city began a concerted drive to cur-
tail air pollution.
City officials asked all local indus-
tries to shut off their scrubbers and
filters and precipitators for 20 min-
utes to show how far the city had
come since a Public Health Service
survey in 1966 ranked it third in
the nation for air pollution prob-
any interested persons to partici-
pate. No fees were charged.
A coordinator greeted attendees
at each viewing site. Throughout
the day the coordinators collected
questions from the audience and
telephoned them to the central
studio, identifying the questioners
and their locations and affiliations.
The entire day-long program was
recorded on tape and may be used
again, in whole or in part, Ms. Gay
said, for future meetings of persons
interested in Kentucky's air pollu-
tion control regulations.
lems, topped only by Gary, Ind.,
and Phoenix, Ariz.
At that time the average level for
particulates (smoke and dust) in one
area of the city was 323 micrograms
per cubic meter, and officials began
to fear that the city's growing
notoriety for smoke and soot would
hurt its thriving tourist business.
New regulations were adopted in
October, 1969, requiring local in-
dustries to reduce paniculate emis-
sions to a density no greater than
40 percent visibility within three
years. The burning of coal contain-
ing more than two percent sulfur
was banned, and a permit and in-
spection system was instituted for
all fume-emitting equipment. Fines
of $50 an hour were levied on vio-
lators.
Altogether, about $600,000 in
public funds has been spent by the
Air Pollution Control Bureau,
$400,000 of which has been Fed-
eral aid.
Chattanooga's air problems, un-
like those of many other cities, come
principally from industry rather than
motor vehicles. The city is sur-
rounded by low mountains, and pol-
lutants are frequently trapped by air
inversions.
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Noise Office Working to Meet
New Federal Requirements
Noise is now officially recognized
as an environmental hazard subject
to Federal control.
A new law, the Federal Noise
Control and Abatement Act of
1972, was approved by both houses
on Oct. 18, in the final hours of the
92nd Congress. It was signed by
President Nixon on Oct. 28.
The measure makes EPA respon-
sible for setting and enforcing stand-
ards on noise from construction and
transportation machinery, motors
and engines, and electric and elec-
tronic equipment. The Agency is
also required to propose standards
for noise from aircraft, but the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration was
given the final say on aircraft noise.
The new law's enactment found
EPA's Office of Noise Abatement
and Control hard at work preparing
to expand its operations from a role
of study and consultation to one of
standard setting and enforcement.
Dr. Alvin F. Meyer, Director,
said he and his small staff were
working to meet the various dead-
lines set in the law
• Listing for preferential pur-
chase by Federal agencies, products
that are quieter than usual—six
months from the law's enactment.
• Criteria on health effects (nine
months), noise levels to protect
health and welfare (12 months), and
major noise source identification
and control techniques (18 months).
• Aircraft noise levels proposed
(nine months).
• Railroad noise emission stand-
ards (nine months)
• Motor carrier noise emission
standards (nine months)
• Product regulations proposed
(18 months) and issued (24 months)
The new law authorizes funding
of $21 million over a three-year pe-
riod for EPA's noise abatement
work. This funding authority was
cut from $35 million during the final
hours of debate on the bill in a
compromise move to secure agree-
ment on the Senate and House ver-
sions of the legislation.
Assignment of final authority on
aircraft noise control to the FAA
was also a compromise, although
EPA Administrator Ruckelshaus
had previously testified that EPA
would accept Congress's decision on
this matter. FAA must begin its
rule-making on aircraft noise within
30 days after receiving EPA's rec-
ommendations, and hold public
hearings within 60 days.
The new law carries penalties for
violators ranging up to $25,000 per
day, or a year in prison, or both.
Recent EPA Publications
Available from Public Inquiries,
EPA, Washington, DC., 20460,
unless otherwise noted. Single
copies free to representatives of
State and local environmental
agencies. Where prices are given,
the publication is also available
from the Superintendent of
Documents, Washington, D.C.,
20402.
Pesticide Use on Non-Irrigated
Croplands of the Midwest, 515 p.,
June, 1972. Analyzes the effects,
good and bad, of current pesticide
use on major farm crops of Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Mis-
souri.
Pesticides in the Aquatic Environ-
ment, 181 p. April, 1972. Pre-
pared by five scientists in EPA's
Office of Water Programs, this
study outlines current knowledge of
the transport of pesticides to sur-
face waters, their persistence, their
effects on aquatic life, and methods
of control.
Pollution Potential in Pesticide
Manufacturing, 250 p., June, 1972,
$2 Summarizes what is known
about chemical pesticide production;
sources of environmental con-
tamination, not only from process
leakage and primary wastes but also
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Sulfur Dioxide
Found to Disrupt
Growth of Cells
Evidence that sulfur dioxide—a
common air pollutant caused by
burning fuels that contain sulfur—
can disrupt the growth of living cells
has been reported by two biochem-
ists from New York University.
Dr. Robert Shapiro and Barbara
Bravermen found that one form of
sulfur dioxide, applied to a key com-
ponent of the cell's genetic messen-
ger substance made it "unable to
perform its usual function" in cell
division and growth.
"This gives us occasion for real
concern," Dr. Shapiro told a news
conference after reporting the re-
search to the American Chemical
Society in New York City recently.
Further research is needed, how-
ever, before it can be determined if
such damage can reach the gonads,
or sex cells, of an organism and
cause defects that can be trans-
mitted to successive generations.
Shapiro and Ms. Bravermen
worked with "uracil", a component
of nbonucleic acid (RNA) which
directs the creation of proteins in
the nuclei of living cells. "The re-
sults are dramatic," they reported.
"One hit (of the sulfur compound)
on RNA rums its ability to function
as a messenger."
Sulfur dioxide is widely used as a
food preservative and has long been
on the Food and Drug Administra-
tion's "generally regarded as safe"
list.
Correction
The "Safety Note" in last month's
EPA Bulletin said perchloric acid
should be used "only in a fume
hood." Safety Officer Karl Spence
stresses that any old fume hood
will not do; tests must be con-
ducted in a hood "specifically de-
signed and built for use with per-
chloric acid."
The editor apologizes to Spence
for trimming his copy.
GPO 940.613
-------
EPA Publications
from by-products; and industry ef-
forts to correct pollution.
The Economics of Clean Water.
Fifth in a series of annual reports
to the Congress required by the
Water Pollution Control Act. It
assesses the prevalence and degree
of water pollution throughout the
country; gives estimates of the
capital investment and annual
operating costs for municipal and
industrial waste water treatment
through 1976, based on current
Federal and State water quality
standards; and estimates for various
treatment levels up to zero dis-
charge. The report comes in four
parts:
Summary, 33 pages, 55 cents.
Major findings and conclusions.
Vol. I, Economics of Clean
Water. 157 p., $1.75.
Vol. II, Data and Technical Ap-
pendices. 695 p., $4.75.
Vol. Ill, Industry Expenditures
for Water Pollution Abatement.
108 p. published by The Conference
CONTINUED
Board, 845 Third Ave., New York,
N.Y. 10022.
Salvage Markets for Materials in
Solid Wastes, 187 p., October,
1972, $2.75. Evaluates uses and
demand for reclaimed materials,
compared with raw materials from
mine and forest; gives data on
consumption of the two by various
industries; and analyzes the cur-
rent organization and structure of
the secondary materials industry.
Sanitary Landfill Design and
Operation, 59 p., October, 1972,
65 cents. A concise, nontechnical
description, with illustrations and
many practical charts and diagrams.
Covers contamination problems,
equipment selection,, and manage-
ment functions as well as site de-
sign and operation.
An Investigation of the Biode-
gradability of Packaging Plastics,
80 p August, 1972. This study by
the Union Carbide Corporation
under an EPA contract confirms
the popular belief that the high-
molecular-weight plastics now used
for packaging cannot be broken
down by microorganisms. It recom-
mends further research to develop
plastics that will degrade naturally.
Guidelines for Erosion and Sedi-
ment Control Planning and Imple-
mentation, 228 p., August, 1972.
$1.75. Prepared by the Maryland
Department of Water Resources
under an EPA grant, this study
explains how to determine poten-
tial erosion problems at a develop-
ment site and how to plan and man-
age an effective control program.
The guidelines have been incorpo-
rated in HUD construction guide-
lines and in HEW hospital con-
struction programs.
Role of Phosphorus in Eutrophi-
cation. 46 p. August, 1972. A brief
overview by EPA scientists at
NERC-Corvalhs of the causes of
eutrophication (the aging of a body
of water from excessive nutrients),
the relation of phosphorus to other
nutrient substances, and proposals
for control The study concludes
that limiting phosphorus is the
"single, most important and neces-
sary step."
Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Dec. 6, 1971).
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