Publication For Employees
December 1972
inside
Agency Honors 24 Persons, 3 Groups
EPA honor awards were pre-
sented to 24 individuals and three
employee groups at the Agency's
second annual Honor Awards Day
in Washington Dec. 7.
In recognizing the outstanding
work of "these few," said Adminis-
trator William Ruckelshaus in a
statement printed on the Awards
Day program, "we also acknowl-
edge the network of support from
their fellow workers."
"It is an exceptional privilege
for each of us in EPA," he said, "to
. . . contribute to the national pur-
pose of cleaning up the inherited
environmental problems of the past
and to deal with the emerging prob-
lems before they become critical."
The ceremonies were held in the
Departmental Auditorium in the
Labor Department building on Con-
stitution Avenue. The Marine Band
and an Air Force color guard par-
ticipated. More than 500 EPA
employees from the headquarters
building in southwest Washington,
Crystal Mall and Rosslyn, Va., and
Rockville, Md., were taken to cere-
monies in chartered buses.
The award winners, with brief
descriptions of their work are as
follows:
Gold Medal for Exceptional Service
Gary N. Dietrich, Office of Re-
sources Management, for his out-
standing contribution in developing
EPA's planning, programming and
budgeting procedures. Mr. Dietrich
was a key member of the PPB Task
Force that set up the Agency's pro-
gram structure.
Alfred W. West
Gold Medal
Charles L. Elkins, Office of Cate-
gorical Programs, for "exceptional
effectiveness in providing direction"
for four environmental programs
and "successfully welding them into
a cohesive, balanced, and produc-
tive organization. . . ."
David A. Schuenke, Office of
Legislation, for "exceptional lead-
ership, skill and ability in directing
the Legislative Division . . . and
bringing to successful completion
"EPA's legislative program during
the 92nd Congress."
Alfred W. West, NERC-Cincin-
nati, for "expert technical assistance
and evaluation" of proposed sew-
age treatment plants that produce
"effluents of substantially higher
quality than had been proposed, at
little or no added costs to the pub-
lic."
Dr. Clara H. Williams, Office of
Pesticides Programs, for "her dedi-
cation, tireless efforts, and outstand-
ing organizational ability that re-
sulted in the elimination of a mas-
sive backlog of pesticide petitions"
and for her work in drawing up new
guidelines in pesticide toxicology.
The Helicopter Field Team of
the National Eutrophication Survey.
Thirteen men and one woman,
based at NERC-Las Vegas, were
honored for their enthusiasm and
selfless efforts in obtaining multiple
samples from several hundred lakes
three times each this year. Team
members worked 15- and 16-hour
days, often seven days per week,
to complete the task. They were:
Sal J. Bart, Tommy L. Beaver,
Tommy L. Bohannan, Clarence A.
Callahan, Donald W. Crawley,
Cluirles W. Fort Jr., William C.
Hinklc, Miss Winnie Howard, H.
Michael Lowry, Michael G. Smith,
Lindsay W. Scarburgh, Robert W.
Thomas, J. Jeffey van Ee, and
Llewellyn R. Williams.
Silver Medal for Superior Service
Richard A. Hellman, Office of
International Affairs, for his work
in preparation for the U.N. En-
vironment Conference in Stockholm
last June and for his contribution to
EPA's legislative program.
John A. Hill, Office of Solid
Waste Management Programs, for
major problem analysis "which re-
sulted in important Federal initia-
tives to upgrade solid waste man-
agement" in the Nation.
William C. Holmberg, Office of
(Continued on page 2)
-------
Honors . . .
(Continued from page 1)
Federal Activities, for leadership
and skill getting other Federal agen-
cies to work for environmental bet-
terment. His work included per-
suading a State National Guard to
repair damage done to a National
Forest and key efforts in obtaining
the cooperation of Department of
Defense in the National Eutrophi-
cation Survey.
Joseph A. Krivak, Office of
Water Planning and Standards, for
"directing the development of an
effective planning organization" for
water quality improvement by indi-
vidual river basins in all 10 EPA
Regions.
Howell K. Lucius, Water Pro-
grams Branch, Region IV, Atlanta,
for "outstanding competence and
unusual success in negotiating water
quality standards with State gov-
ernments."
Lyman J. Nielson, Categorical
Programs Division, Region X, Se-
attle, for "carrying forward an out-
standing program of manpower de-
velopment and training" including
six successful youth programs in
the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Mirdza L. Peterson, senior
research microbiologist, NERC-Cin-
cinnati, for "exceptional initiative
and creative research on microbial
pathogens and viruses associated
with solid waste processing and dis-
posal."
Edward T. Rhodes, Office of
Administration, for "outstanding
leadership ... in contracts manage-
ment" and for increasing the num-
ber of EPA contracts awarded to
small and minority-owned busi-
nesses.
John C. Wise, Air and Water
Programs Division, Region IX, San
Francisco, for his skill as a repre-
sentative of EPA in coordinating
the work of many governmental and
private groups in efforts to protect
and preserve Lake Tahoe.
The Printing Management Sec-
tion, Office of Administration. This
group award to seven men and nine
John C. Wise
Silver Medal
women was for "excellence of per-
formance in handling the printing
and distribution of an enormous
and accelerating volume" of printed
materials required by the Agency's
expanding activities. The section's
output has more than doubled dur-
ing the last year. Roland O. Soren-
sen is chief of the unit, and mem-
bers are Daniel Bell, Mallie W.
Braswell, Mary C. Butler, Barbara
A. Davis, Edna A. French, Jacque-
line Gouge, James M. Green,
Thomas B. Green, William F. Hill,
Esther L. Johnson, Eliza H. Jones,
Edward F. McQuade, Virginia
Montgomery, Dixie S. Taylor, and
Sterling Wallace Jr.
Western Fish Toxicology Station,
NERC-Corvallis. This group of four
scientists, faced with the need for a
special facility to study the effects
of water pollutants on salmon and
related fishes, constructed their own
laboratory at modest cost and a two-
year saving of time. They are Dr.
Gerald R. Bouck, Dr. Gary A.
Chapman, Donald G. Stevens, and
Phillip W. Schneider Jr.
PHS Medals for Meritorious Service
Gerald M. Hansler, Regional Ad-
ministrator, Region II, New York,
for leadership in "reducing pollu-
tion of the waters of New York and
New Jersey and in spearheading
EPA participation the development
of new control technology." Haus-
ler has been a PHS officer for 16
years.
Dr. Bernd Kahn, NERC-Cincin-
nati, for "important contributions
toward the safe development of the
nuclear industry" through his re-
search on the behavior and human
effects of environmental radioactiv-
ity over an 18-year period in PHS.
Cornelius B. Kelly Jr., Office of
Water Programs Operations, for
"notable research achievements and
for his valuable contribution to
man's knowledge of the sanitary
bacteriology of shellfish." Kelly has
been a PHS officer for 22 years.
Richard P. Lonergan, Office of
Solid Waste Management Programs,
for "high quality performance in
varied sanitary engineering pro-
grams, including typhus, malaria,
and rat control programs in large
cities; plague eradication in Hawaii;
malaria control in Indonesia;" and
in his present post as demonstration
coordinator of SWM programs. He
has served 28 years in the PHS
corps.
William A. Mills, Office of Radi-
ation Programs, for "creative lead-
ership" in EPA's "initial radiation
standards development activity."
Dr. Mills has been a radiation ex-
pert for 20 years, 18 of them with
PHS.
Harry Stierli, NERC-Cincinnati,
23 years with PHS, for "exemplary
leadership and significant contribu-
tions in solid waste research and
water quality surveillance."
Alfred E. Williamson Jr., Office
of Water Programs Operations, for
"outstanding contributions in im-
portant assignments in foreign
countries in the development of
sanitary facilities and water supply
improvement." Mr. Williamson, a
PHS officer for 16 years, has served
in Greece, Lebanon, Haiti, Puerto
Rico, and Brazil, and is now de-
tailed to the U.S. Agency for Inter-
national Development in Rio de
Janeiro.
Youth Achievement Award
Anita J. Frankel, urban planner,
Region X, Seattle. Starting in 1971
— 2 —
-------
Honors . . .
(Continued from page 2)
as a summer interne, Ms. Frankel,
now 25, did so well with region-
wide noise control survey that she
was rehired as a part-time employee
during the 1971-72 school year
(while she was earning her master's
degree in urban planning) and as a
fulltime staffer last June. Her award
citation credits her with contribut-
ing to "a favorable Federal image"
among cities, states, and colleges of
the Northwest.
New Sewage Treatment Plant
Looks Like a Suburban House
Anita J. Frankel
Youth Achievement
Katherine P. Schirmer, program
analyst, Office of Categorical Pro-
grams, was cited "for exceptional
ability, as the first staff member of
the Office of Toxic Substances, in
initiating the work . . . and devel-
oping program plans for this new
organization." Ms. Schirmer, 23, is
a graduate of Wellesley College.
Harry M. Thron Jr., chemical
engineer, Office of Water Planning
and Standards, was cited for his
work in developing waste effluent
guidelines for the metal fabrication,
metal finishing, and nonferrous
metal industries. He holds bachelor's
and master's degrees from Georgia
Tech, served two years in the Army
Chemical Corps, and is 27 years
old.
Candidates for EPA awards are
An automated sewage treatment
plant disguised as a suburban house
started operation last month in Free-
hold, N.J.
Supported by $250,000 in EPA
funds, the plant is designed to treat
all the sewage from a neighborhood
or small town without water or air
pollution, odor, or noise, on a small
plot of land in a residential district.
Levitt and Sons, Lake Success,
N.Y., was awarded the demonstra-
tion contract from EPA in June,
1971, and contracted with AWT
Systems, Inc., of Wilmington, Del.,
to build the plant. It is now serving
20 new homes in a Levitt housing
development that is expected to
grow to about 145 houses with a
population of about 580.
Levitt would have been unable to
build the houses without having a
self-contained sewer system for
them, since the township has for
several years had a moratorium on
new connections to local sewer lines.
Irwin J. Kugelman, of the Cincin-
nati NERC, is EPA project officer.
He said the plant is now being op-
erated intermittently to test the new
equipment and processes. Under the
demonstration contract, AWT and
Levitt will operate the plant jointly
for a year and then turn it over to
the township government.
The builders claim their combina-
chosen each year by an Awards
Board headed by Howard M. Mess-
ner, deputy assistant administrator
for Administration. They may be
nominated by any organizational
unit in the Agency.
Other board members are David
D. Dominick, Alan G. Kirk, and
Albert C. Trakowski, all of Wash-
ington headquarters; John A. S.
McGlennon, Reeion I; Bernard J.
Steigerwald, NERC—Research Tri-
angle Park; and Daniel C. Knapp,
Personnel Management Division,
who is board member and executive
secretary.
This house hides lots of plumbing.
tion of physical and chemical treat-
ment eliminates from the sewage
stream 99 percent of the suspended
solids, 98 percent of the phosphates,
and 97 percent of the basic oxygen
demand. The plant is almost auto-
matic, requiring only part-time serv-
ices of one operator.
Sludge and all solids removed by
coagulation, flocculation, and filter-
ing are incinerated completely. The
incinerator, which is equipped with
a cyclone dust collector and a wet
spray scrubber, can also be used
periodically to regenerate carbon
granules for reuse in the tertiary
stage of the treatment process.
In the tertiary or final processing,
the treated effluent is passed through
an activated carbon filter, which ab-
sorbs odors and most of the remain-
ing dissolved organic matter, and
then is chlorinated and discharged
into a tributary of the Manasquan
River. This effluent, an AWT
spokesman said, is of "considerably
higher quality" than the receiving
stream and would be suitable for
non-potable industrial or household
uses.
The plant is designed to handle
50,000 gallons of sewage per day,
equivalent to the waste produced by
a community of 800 people.
Documerica in Book
About 20 photographs from
EPA's Documerica project will be
featured in the 1973 Photography
Annual to be published next month
by Time-Life Books,
— 3
-------
EPA Helps in Adriatic Pollution Study
Three EPA specialists in coastal
water pollution problems recently
spent a week in Yugoslavia helping
to set up a joint program of marine
pollution research in the Adriatic
Sea.
The Agency's part in the three-
year program involves collaboration
in planning the project and the un-
derwriting about 20 percent of the
project's costs. The work will be
performed by Yugoslav scientists,
and the findings will be made avail-
able internationally.
T. A. Wastler, chief of the Water
Quality Protection Branch, Office
of Air and Water Programs, is EPA
project officer, and the principal in-
vestigators are Dr. Velimir Pravdic
and Dr. Dusan Zavodnik of the
Rudjer Boskovic Institute's Center
for Marine Research at Zagreb.
Wastler; Dr. Donald Lear, di-
rector of the Chesapeake Technical
Support Laboratory, EPA Region
III; and Dr, Melton Feldman of
EPA's National Coastal Pollution
Research Program, made the trip
to confer with scientific staff at the
Rudjer Boskovic Institute and to
inspect the newly commissioned re-
search vessel, Vila Velebita, which
is based at Rovinj on the Dalmatian
coast.
Sea-Going Laboratory
The EPA delegation helped to
plan the first year's scientific cruises
of the Vila Velebita, a 25-meter,
100-ton motor vessel formerly used
by the Yugoslav coastal patrol. It
was refitted as a sea-going labora-
tory with storage tanks, cold rooms,
freezers, a winch for handling sam-
pling and coring equipment, and
living and working space for six
scientists and a crew of three.
EPA contributed about $41,000
to convert the ship. Total U.S. sup-
port for the Adriatic pollution proj-
ect over three years will be the
equivalent of $341,000.
The Vila Velebita will cruise the
northern Adriatic to study the
sources and rates of its heavy pollu-
Yugoslavian coast guard ship, top, was converted to the research vessel
Vila Velebita, sketched below, for the Adriatic Sea pollution study sup-
ported by EPA. The Vila Velebita will be operated by scientists from the
Rudjer Boskovic Institute's Center for Marine Research, with laboratory
facilities at Zagreb, and at Rovinj on the Adriatic Coast.
tion load and pollution effects on
shellfish and other marine animals.
The Adriatic is a partly closed-
off branch of the Mediterranean, an
even more closed-off sea that is be-
coming increasingly polluted. The
heaviest environmental stress on the
Adriatic is at its inner, north end,
into which the silt-filled rivers of
northern Italy, the cities of Venice
and Trieste, and growing industrial
establishments pour their effluents.
In many ways the Adriatic's pol-
lution problems resemble those of
Chesapeake Bay.
The Adriatic project is one of
more than a score of bi-national
research programs in which U.S.
credits in foreign currencies are
used to pay for EPA's participation,
according to Herbert Quinn, direc-
tor of the International Technology
Division. Seven were launched in
the 1971 fiscal year, 19 last year,
and three in the current year.
Quinn pointed out that these
"special foreign currency programs"
help to strengthen an international
approach to environmental prob-
lems and provide EPA with valuable
information and experience, with-
out affecting Agency dollar re-
sources or spending ceilings.
_4 —
-------
Recycled Paper Approved for Bulletins
The Congressional Joint Com-
mittee on Printing has approved the
use of "recycled paper" for certain
EPA publications.
Early this month the Agency was
given special permission to publish
all its bulletins and newsletters on
paper made in part from recycled
materials: reclaimed fiber from a
variety of sources, including waste
paper, sawdust, bagasse (sugar cane
stalks), and other agricultural waste.
Actual specifications for the pa-
per are being developed with the
Government Printing Office, ac-
cording to Arthur Nies, director of
the Data and Support Systems Di-
vision.
EPA officials have been trying
for a long time to use recycled pa-
per, Nies said, but all printing is
done by the GPO or through its
contractors, and paper suppliers are
chosen each year from the lowest
bidders on contracts to furnish pa-
per to rigid specification.
"An agency just can't go out and
buy its own paper, no matter how
altruistic its motives."
"We are very happy the Joint
Committee is letting us do this, he
said. "We are starting in a small
way for a test period of four to six
months. It will apply to our 'in-
house' publications, newsletters, the
Citizens' Bulletin, EPA Bulletin,
and Inside EPA, Also, all regional
office newsletters will be printed on
recycled paper.
"That term is not quite accurate;
it should be 'paper containing re-
cycled material.' The recycled ma-
terial could be scrap paper, but it
could be some other kind of waste
cellulose fiber such as sugar cane
stalks or sawdust. There are many
kinds of waste that can be used to
make paper. We're interested" in
making use of all kinds of waste."
The Joint Committee's specifica-
tions will be sent immediately to
GPO headquarters in Washington
and to its branch plants throughout
the country, Nies said.
Copies of all publications printed
nationwide by EPA on recycled
paper will be sent to GPO in Wash-
ington for inspection and testing.
When the trial period is over, Nies
said, the Joint Committee will con-
sider the possibility of extending the
use of such paper to other EPA
publications.
The Committee's action culmi-
nates a long, quiet struggle by EPA
officials to get Federal specifications
that encourage the use of recycled
fiber. "The Government has some
There's Rejoicing in Boston
Over Joint Committee Action
Congressional permission for
EPA to use recycled paper was
welcomed by scores of regional
officials who sought such ap-
proval, but one group of EPA
employees is especially pleased.
They are the Region I Public
Affairs staff in Boston, Kenneth
Crotty, director, who a year ago
started publishing their Environ-
mental Newsletter on recycled
paper with the permission of the
Boston branch of the Govern-
ment Printing Office.
Last May they were told it was
against regulations, said Paul
Keough, deputy director of Pub-
lic Affairs, and the newsletter,
recently renamed Environment
News, had to use "regular"
paper.
But they tried hard through
channels to get Washington to
reverse the ruling. Regional Ad-
ministrator John McGlennon also
protested strongly. Their efforts,
combined with those of many
other regional officials through-
out the country, are credited with
helping to get the Joint Commit-
tee's approval.
85 different specs for paper used
for numerous printing purposes and
they are very strict", Nies explained.
They've been set up from the user's
point of view, setting standards for
weight, color, durability, strength,
and so on. Actual contents are usu-
ally specified, for example high-
quality paper specifies minimum
percentages of rag fiber and certain
types and grades of virgin wood
pulp.
"There may be recycled fiber in
many of the papers the Government
is now using. If the manufacturer
meets the use specs and any mini-
mums for high-grade materials, no
one cares if the other ingredients
include used fibers. We just don't
know.
"The new specifications being de-
veloped by the Joint Committee on
Printing are the first to include re-
cycled material. We hope they will
not be the last, and that this limited
experiment will succeed and result
in the use of some type of recycled
paper by all Federal agencies."
Ruckelshaus Sees
Signs of Progress
EPA recently celebrated its sec-
ond birthday amid every indication
that it has laid "a foundation for
solid progress in environmental
control," said Administrator William
D. Ruckelshaus in an article written
for "Ecology U.S.A. 1972."
"I believe that . . . there will be
appreciably cleaner ah% water, and
land in the next three or four years,
and that we are on the way to re-
store man to a harmony with nature
and his environment," he wrote.
"EPA has not singlehandedly
turned the tide against pollution.
New State and city environmental
control measures are giving impetus
to the national cleanup program,
and powerful public support has
been a driving force . . .
"I think EPA may be proud of its
1972 record.
"We have gained momentum to-
ward achievement of a better,
healthier America."
-------
AGENCIES URGED Noise Control Law Enforcement
TO FILE IMPACT
STATEMENTS
Many Federal agencies fail to
prepare environmental impact state-
ments for projects they undertake
or fund, according to Edward C.
Vest, EIS coordinator for EPA Re-
gion VII in Kansas City.
Such failures are violations of the
National Environmental Policy Act,
Vest told a two-day conference of
industry and government' repre-
sentatives held in Kansas City last
month.
More than 300 persons attended
the conference sponsored by the
EPA Regional Office and the En-
vironmental Quality Committee of
the Federal Executive Board of
Region VII. The conferees came
from many other States beside the
four in the Region.
EPA officials were pleased with
the turnout, about double the num-
ber expected, and said it showed an
increased interest in complying with
the impact statement provisions of
the law.
Vest, however, laid it on the line.
"Many Federal agencies fail to rec-
ognize that their programs or ac-
tions have a significant effect" on
environmental quality, he said.
Others seem to use some arbi-
trary minimum as a criterion for
filing an EIS, for example: a cost
figure, the size of a power plant or
transmission line, or a number of
housing units constructed. Vest said
such criteria are illogical, because
they affect the extent of environ-
mental impact, not its existence.
In the Kansas City Regional Of-
fice, EPA has reviewed 425 impact
statements in the last 10 months,
and 90 percent of them were sub-
mitted by only two Federal agen-
cies, the Department of Transpor-
tation and the Corps of Engineers,
Vest said.
Vest credited "public pressure"
for the better performance of these
two agencies in weighing environ-
mental aspects of their actions and
Will Follow Standard Setting
"Aggressive action" to reduce
noise in the human environment will
result from the new Federal Noise
Control and Abatement Act, but
not right away, according to Dr.
Alvin F. Meyer, deputy assistant
administrator.
Specific standards must first be
set before the law's stringent penal-
ties against violators can be im-
posed, Dr. Meyer told a news con-
ference at a recent meeting of the
American Speech and Hearing As-
sociation in San Francisco.
The new law by itself cannot
make things quieter right away, he
said, but having the law and the
process of determining standards
will "help to keep the iceberg from
getting any bigger."
EPA's noise control work was
recently transferred to the Office of
Categorical Programs after having
been a study project under the Of-
fice of Planning and Management.
Dr. Meyer and his staff are re-
quired by the law to establish noise
emission standards for railroads,
trucks, and buses by next July.
Compliance with the standards
would probably be set six months
or a year later.
Aircraft noise standards also are
to be proposed by July, but the Fed-
eral Aviation Agency is in charge
of their final form and their enforce-
ment.
The more complex task of setting
noise standards for products that
move in interstate commerce—
everything from autos and construc-
tion machinery to household appli-
ances—will not come until April,
1974, for proposing the standards
and October, 1974, for promulgat-
in submitting pertinent data and
alternatives.
Much of the conference was de-
voted to small-group workshop ses-
sions on how to file an impact state-
ment and what types of information
are required.
ing them.
Violation of noise standards, Dr.
Meyer pointed out, will be "very
serious offenses with penalties up to
$25,000 per day for each product
that does not comply."
This means, he said, that a firm
with 15 nonconforming garbage
trucks would be liable for fines
totalling $375,000 per day.
Other EPA noise control projects
for which the law sets deadlines in-
clude:
• Compiling a list of products
that are quieter than normal, for
preferential purchase by Govern-
ment agencies. This list is due next
April.
• Setting criteria for judging the
health effects of noise (July).
• Setting maximum ambient
noise levels to protect human health
(July) and welfare (October).
• Reporting on major noise
source identification and control
techniques (April, 1974).
School Program Up
The latest tally shows 3,629
schools throughout the country par-
ticipating in the President's En-
vironmental Merit Awards Pro-
gram. These schools enroll about
2,797,000 students.
Inside EPA, published month-
ly for all employees of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agen-
cy, welcomes contributed articles,
photos, and letters of general
interest.
Such contributions will be
printed and credited, but they
may be edited to fit space limits.
Van V. Trumbull, editor
Office of Public Affairs
Room W239, EPA
Washington, D.C. 20460
Tel. (202) 755-0883
-------
PROJECTS LISTED
FOR EPA FUNDING
A list of all projects to be
funded this fiscal year by EPA's
Office of Research and Monitor-
ing has been published and is
now available at all regional of-
fices.
It is expected to be much in
demand because it offers research
managers in universities, indus-
trial firms, and other organiza-
tions a guide to the R and D
projects the Agency plans to
fund through June 30, 1973, and
how much money is available in
specific areas.
The 252-page booklet is called
EXPRO (for Extramural PROj-
ects). It will be updated quar-
terly.
Each project area for which
a grantee or contractor has not
yet been selected is described,
and the names and addresses of
EPA officials in charge of that
project are given.
Delaware Demonstration Plant
To Compost Waste on Big Scale
Large-scale composting of mu-
nicipal solid waste to produce a va-
riety of salable humus products will
be tried in an EPA-supported proj-
ect in northern Delaware.
The plant will be built and oper-
ated by Hercules, Inc. of Wilming-
ton and will cost $13.8 million, of
which $9 million will be an EPA
demonstration grant expended over
a three-year period. EPA project
officer is Arch S. Scurlock Jr. of the
Office of Solid Waste Management.
Scurlock said the Delaware plant
will be the largest yet built in this
country to handle waste composting
by industrial, straight-through meth-
ods. It will be capable of processing
more than 500 tons of waste per
day and will be patterned after the
Fairfield-Hardy process that is being
demonstrated in a 30-tons-per-day
plant at Altoona, Pa., and in a 300-
ton plant in Puerto Rico.
Sorry! Our Switch Is Showing
In the November issue of Inside
EPA, an overzealous printer
switched photos of two speakers at
the first Annual Conference on
"Women in EPA." The printer
thought Charlie must be a man, and
Carol, a woman, despite what the
page layout called for. They appear
correctly below.
Charlie K. Swift
Director of Women's Progress
Carol M. Thomas
Director, Civil Rights and
Urban Affairs
Its chief feature, Scurlock said,
will be better control of the charac-
teristics of the humus produced,
permitting the plant operators to
alter the output easily and quickly.
Humus is decayed vegetable matter,
principally cellulose, that is free of
pathogens and virtually odorless. It
can vary widely in nutrient content,
moisture, particle size, and other
characteristics.
The Delaware plant will produce
the composted material for many
different markets, including mush-
room growth medium, animal feed
supplement, mulch and soil condi-
tioner, pet litter, and even filler for
explosives.
Before the waste is composted,
all metals and glass will be removed
and sold to scrap dealers.
The planned daily load will be
485 tons of domestic garbage and
trash, 15 tons of light industrial
waste, and up to 55,000 gallons of
sludge from the Wilmington sewage
treatment plant.
The plant is now being designed,
Scurlock said, and construction will
start next summer at Pigeon Point,
near the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
It is scheduled to be finished by
May, 1974.
Hercules will build the plant for
the State of Delaware under a "turn-
key" contract, which means the
company has entire charge of de-
sign, construction, and operation
through an evaluation period sched-
uled to end April 30, 1975. It will
then be turned over as a going
project to the State.
Incoming refuse will be shredded
and then mechanically separated
into a number of different waste
streams.
Combustibles not suited for com-
posting will be pyrolyzed (heated
without burning) to produce fuel
gas and carbon char.
The company expects to produce
310 tons per day of various prod-
ucts having a total market value of
$4,355. This amounts to $8.70 per
ton of waste processed.
— 7 —
-------
Safe Places Found for Closed Labs
"High-hazard" laboratory oper-
ations at Research Triangle Park,
N.C., are expected to be resumed
this month in rented quarters about
a mile and a half from EPA's main
laboratory building.
Dr. Jack Thompson, deputy di-
rector of NERC-RTP, said negoti-
ations were "nearly complete" to
lease 43,000 square feet of space
in a research facility belonging to
Chemstrand Research, a subsidiary
of the Monsanto Company of St.
Louis.
The design and construction of
the Chemstrand Building, Thomp-
son said, was "excellent" for re-
search work involving volatile gases
and chemicals. Such work is con-
sidered highly hazardous and re-
quires isolation of one lab from an-
other, individual venting of fumes,
and strict fire-prevention measures.
More than 70 operations rated
high-hazard were suddenly halted
late in October by NERC Director
John F. Finklea after careful safety
checks had revealed many deficien-
cies in the Center's $10.5 million
main laboratory building which has
been in use a little more than a year.
EPA will lease 21,000 square
feet of laboratory space in the
Chemstrand Building, Thompson
said, 7,000 square feet for office
space directly associated with the
high-hazard work and 14,000 square
feet for hallways, storage, and other
uses. Of the 74 closed-down opera-
tions in the main building, 59 will
move to the Chemstrand Building,
where they will occupy about 40
separate laboratories. About 170
persons will be moved.
The remaining high-risk opera-
tions will be resumed in the main
building, after making certain mod-
ifications to the gas exhaust systems.
For instance, Thompson said, where
several fume hoods are connected
to one ventilator—which would
permit a fire in one work area to
spread rapidly to the others—all
hoods but one will be disconnected,
leaving one hood per ventilator.
"Some of these projects are al-
ready back in operation," Thomp-
son said, "but the bulk of our high-
Spill Specialists Hel p in Real Test
Four oil spill specialists at EPA's
Edison, N.J., Water Research Lab-
oratory recently got to oversee a
real-life demonstration of contain-
ment and cleanup methods they had
helped to develop.
When many thousands of gallons
of heavy No. 6 fuel oil were spread-
ing on the waters of the Arthur Kill
near an oil refinery at Sewaren, N.J.,
Nov. 28, Howard Lam'l, EPA's
Region II oil spill coordinator, im-
mediately notified the nearby labora-
tory.
Stephen Dorrler, Frank Freestone,
and Leo McCarthy of the lab's Oil
Spills Research Branch, and Steven
Schoonmaker, employed on EPA's
student cooperative program, went
to the spill site to observe the work
of the clean-up contractors and to
help in any way possible.
"We respond to oil spill emergen-
cies whenever we can," said Dorrler,
"even though EPA is not responsi-
ble. It is valuable to us to see how
concepts we helped develop work
out in practice."
The contractor was using a self-
propelled skimmer built by the JBF
Scientific Co., Burlington, Mass.,
with partial funding by EPA. Tom
Devine of the Region I office in
Boston was project officer.
The prototype skimmer was hav-
ing trouble, Dorrler said, because the
oil was spreading too fast. He called
on the New York City Fire Depart-
ment to bring in boat-mounted,
high-powered spraying equipment to
confine the slick so the skimmer
could work more effectively.
The Fire Department's equipment
was developed a year ago with a
$300,000 EPA grant. Freestone was
the project officer.
hazard work must be done else-
where."
"Under the terms of our lease
(on the main building) we rent only
the building shell and certain serv-
ices. We cannot install fireproof
walls."
There will be no reduction in the
$1.175-million annual rent EPA
pays on the main building because
of the moved-out laboratories.
Some of the space will be converted
to offices and some to low-hazard
research operations now carried out
elsewhere.
Thompson said the moves would
also involve some laboratory equip-
ment from Chapel Hill and some
low-hazard laboratory operations
from Chamblee, Ga.; Montgomery,
Ala.; and Perrine, Fla. He estimated
that about 118 people might be
moved from these three places.
Ecology Experiment
Does Double Duty
At Flower Show
An exhibit-demonstration of en-
vironmental stress developed by
three NERC-Las Vegas employees
won a Chairman's Appreciation
Award at the Southern Nevada
Flower Show held last month at the
Las Vegas Convention Center.
The display showing the effects
of different soils and watering meth-
ods on the growth of lettuce was
part of an experiment already under
way in the Radiological Research
Program's Ecology Section headed
by Dr. Craig McFarlane.
The Ecology Section had been
invited to submit a display to illus-
trate the Flower Show's theme of
State and National Objectives.
Dr. McFarlane was assisted by
Harry W. Hop, biological techni-
cian, and Ms. Vicki Peterson, math-
ematical aide. Brian Spavin and
Mike Gordon made the display
posters.
— 8.
------- |