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Interim Ocean Dumping Rules Set
Interim regulations to control the
dumping of wastes into ocean waters
have been announced by EPA Admin-
istrator William Ruckelshaus and will
be published soon in the Federal
Register.
The interim regulations provide for
the application and issuance of permits
prior to promulgation of final regula-
tions by EPA and are required by the
Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Public Law
92-532).
The Act takes effect on April 23,
six months after its enactment. In
anticipation of this deadline the pro-
posed interim regulations for the trans-
portation and dumping of materials in
the oceans must be published at an
early date to allow both the Regional
Offices and potential dischargers suf-
ficient opportunity to apply for and
process applications for permits. After
April 23, all ocean disposal of waste
material without a permit is illegal.
An estimated 1,000 permits are
expected to be issued by EPA regional
administrators in the seven coastal
regions.
Two Exceptions
The EPA permit authority is for
transportation and dumping in the
ocean of all material, with the excep-
tion of dredged spoil and fish wastes.
Dredged spoil permits are to be issued
by the Corps of Engineers. Corps
permits for dredged spoil must meet
EPA's criteria for open water disposal
and must be disposed of at sites
designated by EPA.
A permit is not required for dump-
ing of fish wastes unless these wastes
are dumped in harbors or enclosed
bays or any location where EPA finds
that this dumping could endanger
health, the environment, or ecological
systems in a specific location.
The regulations will be followed in
a short time by criteria under which
How to Apply for a Permit
Any waste discharger may ap-
ply for an interim ocean dumping
permit simply by writing a letter
to the regional EPA administrator
in his region. This letter must con-
tain at least six items of informa-
tion:
1. Full identification of the ap-
plicant, his location, and the con-
veyance to be used to transport
the waste to the ocean.
2. Full physical and chemical
description of the material to be
dumped and the quantities to be
dumped.
3. A description of the pro-
posed dumping site.
4. A description of the process
or activity which produces the
waste mat'>r;'il.
5. Information of the past ac-
tivities of the applicant or others
in disposing of such waste.
6. A description of available
other means of disposal, with ex-
planations of why such other
means are considered inappro-
priate.
The regional administrator, at
his discretion, may require addi-
tional information from the appli-
cant, and may visit the waste pro-
ducing facility to determine what
additional data are needed to com-
plete the application.
ocean disposal permit applications will
be evaluated for issuance or denial of a
permit. These must be published
before April 16, 1973, to nice I the
legislative mandates of Sect inn 403 of
the Federal Water Pollution .Control
Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L
92-500).
The regulations and criteria will ho
used to operate the program, and pub-
lic comment will be solicited for neces-
sary revisions before promulgation of
final regulations und criteria, expected
in August.
No Forms To Fill
There arc no forms to fill out for
interim dumping applications. The
applicant must tell EPA what he
wants to dump, where, how, and how
much, (see adjoining box for particu-
lars).
Within 10 days after receipt of a
completed application, the regional
administrator will issue an interim
decision, in writing, to the applicant.
If this tentative decision is to granl
the permit, it must specify the ap-
proved dumping site, any special con-
ditions deemed appropriate by EPA,
and a time limit.
All interim permits will expire 90
- days after the permanent dumping
regulations arc adopted, if they have
not already expired.
The permit program will be admin-
istered jointly by EPA headquarters
and regional offices. Headquarters will
primarily be responsible for the
development of regulations and cri-
teria for the administration of the
permits. Headquarters will also provide
technical assistance to the regions on
particularly difficult problems, main-
tain a national inventory of dumping
activities, and compile the reports
required by the law. Headquarters
(Continued on page 3)
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NBS Aids Pollution Measurement
By Robert J. Griffin Jr.
National Bureau of Standards
As the new ambient air quality
and automotive emission standards
take effect, the ability to measure
pollutant levels accurately assumes
ever increasing importance. Without
accurate and reliable measurements,
enforcement actions will be difficult
or impossible to sustain in court; un-
less measurement values obtained in
all parts of the country are compar-
able for given pollutant levels, the
law cannot be administered fairly.
To help provide industries, munic-
ipalities and regulatory agencies with
the means for making accurate air
quality measurements, EPA has con-
tracted with the National Bureau of
Standards, Department of Commerce,
for development of Standard Refer-
ence Materials (SRMs) that can be
used to help assure accurate measure-
ments for a number of common air
pollutants.
Three Requisites
Paul Call, chief of the Office of
Standard Reference Materials, NBS,
cites three essential prerequisites for
accurate air quality measurements: I)
a rational system of base units (e.g.
those now defined by the Interna-
tional System of Units, commonly
called the metric system); 2) mater-
ials well-characterized with regard to
the properties of interest; and 3) ref-
erence methods, based in part on
SRMs, of proven and demonstrated
accuracy.
SRMs consist of materials whose
physical or chemical properties are
known and that can be compared
with an unknown sample, or used to
calibrate measurement equipment.
For example, a sulfur dioxide (SO2)
permeation tube, developed by EPA,
has been evaluated and certified by
NBS for the calibration of instru-
ments used to measure the concentra-
tion of SOj in the atmosphere.
This SRM-wliich comes in three
different sizes to cover several ranges
of SO2 concentration consists of a
plastic tube, capped at each end, con-
taining liquid S02. Gaseous SO2 dif-
fuses through the plastic tube at a
' '"' *
•
The sulfur dioxide permeation tube is calibrated by observing the rate of
weight change over time, as S02 permeates through the tube. Here, a tube is
being weighed on an analytical balance.
rate that is constant at a given tem-
perature. Thus, when it is placed in a
stream of air with known flow and
volume characteristics, and with the
temperature held constant, a known
concentration of SO2 is imparted to
the air stream. The air stream can
then be directed into the SO2 mea-
surement device to check its calibra-
tion.
Others on the Way
Dr. James R. McNesby, director of
the NBS Measures for Air Quality
Program, said SRMs are now being
developed to calibrate equipment
used to measure the following:
• Pollutants in ambient air
-nitrogen dioxide, carbon di-
oxide in nitrogen; carbon mon-
oxide in nitrogen; ozone; and
hydrocarbons (as propane).
• Pollutants in automotive emis-
sions—carbon dioxide in nitro-
gen; propane in air; carbon
monoxide in nitrogen; and ni-
tric oxide in nitrogen.
• Pollutants in power plant and
industrial stack gases—carbon
monoxide; propane; nitric ox-
ide; and sulfur dioxide.
As SRMs for these pollutants be-
come available, and as reference
methods are developed and validated,
the field test methods used by indus-
try and State and local agencies to
monitor pollution levels can be asses-
sed to determine their accuracies.
Eventually, it will be possible to
maintain and assure the long-term in-
tegrity of the measurement system
through the use of SRMs in conjunc-
tion with accurate field methods.
For additional information on
availability of Standard Reference
Materials write:
National Bureau of Standards
Washington, D.C. 20234
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Ghlorination: Bad Effects Studied
When treated waste water is chlou-
nated before discharge into a stream or
lake to kill microorganisms that cause
disease or odors, does the chlorine also
injure or kill fish and other desirable
forms of life in the receiving waters7
This question may be resolved in a
multi-Faceted study now under way
in EPA laboratories in Cincinnati and
Duluth and at sewage treatment
plants in Wyoming and Grandville,
Mich., two small cities near Grand
Rapids.
The study is comparing the effects
of various disinfection methods on
several species of fish and fresh-water
invertebrates, using waste water from
an activated sludge plant (Grandville)
and a trickling filter plant (Wyo-
ming).
Four Different Streams
The fish and other organisms are
kept in tanks under closely controlled
conditions. Each tank receives a
stream of waste water that has been
treated differently. chJormation in
the usual way; chlorination followed
by dechlorination by sulfur dioxide,
disinfection by ozone; and an un-
treated control stream. Comparable
work with bromine chloride is also
being considered.
Ozone has been used widely for dis-
infection of drinking water in Europe
but rarely in America. Very little is
known about the use of ozone for
disinfection of wastewater.
5616,000 Grant
EPA is supporting the investigation
with a $616,000 grant, and the cities
of Wyoming and Grandville are con-
tributing $32,000. Overseeing the
work are Cecil W. Chambers, research
rmcrobiologist of EPA's Advanced
Waste Treatment Laboratory, Cincin-
nati; Or. William Brungs, EPA National
Water Quality Laboratory, Duluth,
Minn ; James A Sheeran and Paul T.
Spelman, civil engineers, Wyoming,
and Dr. Roland Ward and M
DeGraeve, biologists, of Grand Valley
State College, Allendale, Mich.
The bioassay work, involving long-
term effects on fish reproduction as
well as short-term toxicity tests, is
being performed by the college biol-
ogists, using the most up-to-date pro-
cedures provided by EPA's Duluth
laboratory
Chambers said the researchers
hope to learn which system of treat-
ment will provide adequate disinfec-
tion with the lowest toxic effect on
the ecology of the receiving waters.
Both the Wyoming and Grandville
treatment plants discharge their ef-
fluent into the Grand River, which
empties into Lake Michigan about 45
miles away.
Chlorine Compound Study
Another environmental aspect of
chlorination is being studied at the
Duluth branch of the University of
Minnesota under an EPA grant
Drs. Robert M Carlson and Ron-
ald Caple, principal investigators, are
seeking to isolate and identify the
compounds formed when chlorine is
added to waters containing certain
types of industrial chemical wastes
They have found that biphcnyl, a
common industrial substance, cun
combine with excess chlorine in
water to form compounds similar to
polychlonnated biphcnyls, PCBs, that
persist in the environment. PCBs arc
fat-soluble, and are concentrated in
the food chain, with possible long-
term effects that many biologists fear
may be as bad as those of DDT
Interim Regulations Are Set
For Ocean Dumping Permits
(Continued from page 1)
would also grant "general permits" for
the dumping of small quantities of
relatively inert wastes at designated
sites.
In keeping with the Agency's policy
of decentralization, the regional
offices would receive applications for
permits for ocean dumping within
their regions. The regional administra-
tors would process the application,
make necessary administrative, scien-
tific, and technical determinations,
determine the length of time for the
permit, and issue the permit. Regional
offices would also be required to main-
tain necessary liaison with other Fed-
eral agencies field operations involved
in ocean dumping within their region.
If an operation affects two regions,
it is anticipated that both regional
administrators would coordinate the
processing of the permit applications.
Waste Dumping Inventory
Information obtained from the
permit applications will provide EPA
with an inventory of the types,
amounts, and qualities of materials dis-
posed of at sea Designated dump sites
will be monitored periodically in
cooperation with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration and
the Coast Guard. This momloimg will
provide informal ion on any dclci mo-
tion in the quality of the cnvnoiimciil
at the sites so thai adjustments may he
made in the dumping pioccdincs to
effect reduction in these damages In
the designation of pcnnancnl dump
sites, areas with minimal nalinal ic-
sourccs will be selected to mimmi/e
the risks of dumping.
Last Escape Route
Dumping in the ocean has been in-
creasing steadily, and Ruckclshaus
thinks it would increase even faster
without controls, m response to stric-
ter curbs on waste discharge to the
air, fresh waters, and the land.
Ocean dumping is the "last major
escape route" to move wastes to an-
other location or medium, rather
than to "undertake a responsible
effort to treat wastes and improve
technology to minimize or eliminate
wastes," he said
"The proposed regulations arc in-
tended to ensure that all ocean
dumping shall be done at designated
sites, that toxic materials be strictly
controlled, and information obtained
(in the permit program) will be used
to further abate and prevent pollu-
tion of the oceans."
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Research Tackles Chemical Spills
By Dr. Joseph P. Lafornara
Edison, N.J., Water Quality
Research Laboratory
When you mention spill control,
most people think of oil spills, be-
cause there are so many of them and
they have such a vast potential for
environmental damage.
Other hazardous chemicals-
sulfuric acid, phenol, acrylonitrile,
etc.—are spilled less frequently, but
they are also a problem.
Until recently, the attitude to such
spills has been: "There is very little
that can be done, except to evacuate
the area and warn downstream com-
munities." There has been no ade-
quate technology to contain, control,
and remove such spills.
EPA's Office of Research and
Monitoring has initiated several inten-
sive research programs to try to nar-
row these gaps in technology, work-
ing through the Edison Water Quality
Research Laboratory, a branch of the
National Environmental Research
Center in Cincinnati.
Since many chemical spills occur
on land and then run into a water-
course, it was considered necessary to
seek methods of containing the flow
to prevent the contamination of near-
by streams or ground water. EPA
therefore awarded research contracts
to three corporations to investigate
various aspects of the containment
problem.
Fig. 1. Technician applies quick-setting foam plug to stop this benzene leak.
Fast-Acting Plugs
It is apparent that the best way to
contain a spill is to stop flow from
the leaking container. North Ameri-
can Rockwell Corp.'s Rocketdyne Di-
vision is working on quick-setting,
foamed-in-place plugs to stop such
leaks. They have demonstrated the
feasibility of these materials to stop
leaks and ruptures in a wide variety
of containers and under a broad
range of circumstances, even under
water.
Figure 1 shows a technician apply-
Fig. 2. Plastic dam has been used to seal off this simulated stormwater drain.
ing a foam plug to a leaking 55-gallon
container of benzene. Rocketdyne is
in the process of perfecting an appli-
cator for the plug, and an operational
system should be available with the
next few years.
Plastic Dams
In cases where it is not possible to
plug a leak, or where the material has
already been spilled from a truck,
tank car, or in-plant facility, it is de-
sirable to prevent the spill from flow-
ing into a watercourse. MSA Research
Corp. has demonstrated the feasibility
of using foamed-in-place plastic darns
to stop the flow of spilled hazardous
materials.
Figure 2 shows a test storm drain
that has been dammed up to prevent
a spill from reaching the storm sewer
and its receiving waters. Other tests
have shown these dams to be effec-
tive in containing spills on open ter-
rain. Once a spill is confined, the ma-
terial can be vacuum-pumped into a
proper container for treatment or dis-
posal.
Gelling the Spill
However, a contained spill can still
contaminate ground water through
percolation through the soil. To pre-
vent this, CALSPAN Corp. has been
working on methods for quickly
gelling hazardous liquids. Using a
blend of commercially available poly-
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Fig. 3. Gel solidifies spilled chemical in ditch.
Fig. 4. Mobile reactor treats spills on the spot.
meric materials, CALSPAN has suc-
cessfully gelled a variety of liquids,
both water-soluble and water-insol-
uble. The polymers convert the liquid
into a thick, jelly-like mass that will
not soak into the ground.
Figure 3 shows a blended polymer
gel being used to immobolize a cyclo-
hexane spill. The company is now
working on optimizing the gel formu-
lation and developing a rapid dis-
penser for it.
Treatment Methods
For spills that have already con-
taminated water bodies, mobile treat-
ment units are being developed for
EPA by Rex Chainbelt, Inc., and In-
dustrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc.,
for use on small watercourses where
confinement of the spill to a small
area is possible.
Rex Chainbelt has designed, built,
and tested a trailer-mounted physical-
chemical treatment unit that can han-
dle 200 gallons per minute, shown
in Figure 4. It consists of three large
columns containing activated carbon,
three smaller multimedia filters, and
several tanks for sedimentation,
chemical reactions, and storage.
Industrial Bio-Test has demon-
strated on a smaller scale (10 to 15
gpm) a very fast-acting system for
physical and chemical treatment.
After pumps suck up the spilled
liquids, they are highly pressurized
before they undergo the appropriate
processing: aeration, mixing with pre-
cipitating or flocculating agents, re-
actant chemicals, or combinations of
these. This "dynamic chemical re-
actor"' has been successfully coupled
with a magnetic separator, and the
company plans to scale it up to a
250 gpm capacity.
Large-Scale Treatment
In cases where the spill cannot be
confined to a small area, in-placc
treatment is necessary. Battcllc
Memorial Institute's Pacific North-
Fig. 5. Dropped containers release
treatment media from pond bottom.
west Laboratories, under LPA spon-
sorship, has demonstrated I lie use of
lion table mass-transfer media (carbon,
ion exchange resins, etc.) to remove
soluble ha/ardous materials from a
contaminated lagoon. The media are
introduced to the bottom of the
watcrbody in weighted containers
which can be dropped from a heli-
copter or other aircraft, as shown in
Figure 5.
The media arc then slowly released
from the containers upward through
the water column, where they decon-
taminate the pollutant while bringing
it to the water surface where it can
be gathered and removed by conven-
tional oil-skimming devices.
These methods and devices are but
a few examples of EPA's current re-
search efforts to contain and treat
hazardous chemical spills. All arc in
the experimental stages; none can yel
be regarded as fully proved and oper-
ational.
Other, related projects under w;iy
include: activated carbon "lea bags''
for in-strcam treatment; field detec-
tion kits; fixed-station spill alarm
systems; in-strcam systems lor accel-
erating biological treatment; "se;i cur-
tain" booms, like those used for oil
spills, to confine hax.ardous materials
in a watcrbody; and specific methods
and instructions for disposing of
spilled or unused pesticides.
With these new tools and tech-
niques, we expect that industries and
government agencies will soon be in a
more favorable position to cope with
chemical spill problems.
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Lake Ontario Survey Nearly Ended
A year-long survey of Lake Ontario
is winding up this month on the
Canadian research vessel Limnos,
undeterred by the low temperatures
and high winds of a record winter.
The Limnos cruises are part of the
International Field Year for the Great
Lakes (IFGYL), a joint project of the
U. S. and Canada involving dozens of
official agencies in both nations and
more than 600 scientists and tech-
nicians.
Scientists working on the project
pronounce the acronym "Eye-feagle,"
and call it the "endangered inter-
national bird."
Object of IFGYL is to provide
sound scientific data for halting pol-
lution in the Great Lakes and man-
aging their vast water resources. The
five lakes together contain more than
5,000 cubic miles of water, or about
20 percent of all the liquid fresh water
in the world.
Lake Ontario and its 30,000-square-
-mile drainage basin was chosen last
year for intensive study. Throughout
last summer and fall, the survey ship
Researcher, one of a fleet of vessels
belonging to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration of the
Department of Commerce, cruised the
lake to gather data on its waters, cur-
rents, and biology. When winter came,
the Limnos, based at Burlington, Ont.,
took over.
Canadian research vessel Limnos is cruising on Lake Ontario to gather scientific
information for International Field Year for the Great Lakes.
Technicians prepare to lower sampling
package into Lake Ontario's waters.
In addition to the cruising vessels,
aircraft, weather stations, a network of
towers and buoys, and even satellite
instruments are involved in the data
gathering program
Nearly equal resources are being
used for IFGYL from both sides of the
border. The Canadian program is
directed by the Center for Inland
Waters at Burlington, and the U. S.
program, led by NOAA, includes per-
sonnel from EPA, the National Science
Foundation, and the Departments of
Interior, Transportation, and Defense.
EPA's Grosse He, Mich., laboratory,
headed by Dr. Tudor Davies, has been
active in planning the sampling activi-
ties and experiments undertaken the
the cruise ships. Al Baldwin of EPA's
Region II laboratory at Rochester has
represented the Agency on the
Limnos's winter cruises. Students from
the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, and the State University of
New York, Albany, have been working
as technicians on the vessel.
The data collection phase of
IFGYL is scheduled to end this spring.
Data reduction and analysis are
expected to take another year, and the
publication of final reports and recom-
mendations will begin in 1974.
Two data banks are being estab-
lished, one for each country, but with
joint access to each by scientists of the
other country.
The IFGYL scientists hope to
describe, more accurately and com-
pletely than ever before, the condition
of Lake Ontario, what goes into it,
what happens in it, and what comes
out. They plan to create computer
models of the changes taking place in
the lake waters from season to season
and year to year, models that will
permit reliable predictions of how the
lake will respond to environmental
changes in the Ontario basin.
One benefit of the study is
expected to be better management of
the lake's water level, which affects
hydroelectric power generation, navi-
gation, and shore erosion.
The EPA Bulletin is published
monthly by the Office of Public
Affairs to inform State and local
environmental officials of EPA's
research, standard-setting, and
enforcement work.
Van V. Trumbull, Editor
Room W239, Waterside
Mall
Washington, D.C. 20460
Tel. (202) 755-0883
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Spur to EPA Enforcement:
People Want to Do Right
Enforcement of environmental reg-
ulations is becoming easier because
"most people want to do the right
thing," according to Arthur W.
Busch, EPA Region VI administrator
at Dallas.
Polluting industries are finding
that "if they will meet us halfway,
we're not going to take them to
court," Busch said recently in a state-
ment issued at the end of his first
year with the Agency.
The former professor of environ-
mental engineering at Rice University
credited strong public support for
pollution control with helping to
"create a climate" that often makes
lawsuits unnecessary.
Another factor in this "climate,"
he said is technical expertise. EPA's
technical specialists have won the re-
spect of both sides-polluting indus-
tries and environmentalists—with the
result that their knowledge carries
weight with jurists and the public
too.
"When we have to take a case to
court, we prepare the very best infor-
mation available so that a court can
rule properly on the allegations we
make," said Busch.
He cited two recent court cases re-
flecting improved relations and under-
standing between EPA and companies
which have pollution problems.
In an injunction action brought by
EPA under the 1899 Refuse Act,
Federal District Judge John V. Single-
ton ruled in January that the Rohm
and Haas Co. must limit its discharge
of certain pollutants into the Hous-
ton Ship Channel.
Judge Singleton's decision cited
the company's own "extensive re-
search and investigations.. . to reduce
its discharge of harmful effluents.
However, during the course of this
trial, experts representing both the
Government (EPA) and Rohm and
Haas gave testimony in detail relating
to measurement standards in an at-
tempt to aid this court in construc-
ting a workable timetable and to
establish such standards."
The judge's order requires the
company to reduce its ammonia dis-
charge from an estimated 10,000
pounds per day to 7,500 Ibs./day by
April 1, and to 400 Ibs /day by the
end of 1974. Chemical oxygen de-
mand of the company's effluent, now
estimated at 25,000 Ibs./day, must be
cut to 6,400 Ibs./day by July 1 and
to no more than 2,700 Ibs./day at
the end of next year.
In another case cited by Busch,
the Houston Lighting and Power Co.
agreed to forego construction of
three new generating units at its
Cedar Bayou plant to protect the
ecology of Trinity Bay. The agree-
ment was part of a consent judge-
ment settling a suit filed by the De-
partment of Justice last March.
"Legal action is sometimes the
best way, if not the only way, to re-
solve complex cases involving air and
water pollution," said Busch. "Where
we have to bring a lawsuit, it is grati-
fying to see an increasing atmosphere
of cooperation on the part of all con-
cerned."
GOVT. - INDUSTRY
CONFERENCE SET
ON OIL SPILLS
A Government-industry conference
on the prevention and control of oil
spills will be held on March 13-15 at
the Sheraton-Park Hotel in Washing-
ton, D.C.
The three-day session is sponsored
jointly by EPA, the U S. Coast Guard,
and the American Petroleum Institute,
trade organization of the oil industry
The technical sessions will review
the best current practices m preventing
spills at exploratory and producing
wells, refineries, pipelines, and termi-
nals and the best current methods of
cleaning up spills after they occur.
Other sessions will deal with the "fate
and effects" of spilled oil, including
the identification of spill sources and
the impact of spills on land and water
ecologies
The heads of the sponsoring agen-
cies are scheduled to address three
general luncheon sessions.
Officials and Public Invited
To Help Set Noise Limits
State and local environmental offi-
cials and all interested citizens have
been invited to help EPA develop regu-
lations to limit noise from interstate
motor carriers and railroads.
Noise standards for these carriers
must be formally proposed by the
Agency before July 27, under the
Noise Control Act of 1972
Public comments are being sought
this month on methods of identifying
and measuring such noise and on sug-
gested techniques to reduce it
Under the Noise Control Act, EPA
must propose noise standards for both
types of interstate carriers. In the case
of railroads, the standards must limit
noise from the operation of rail yards
and terminal equipment; for motor
carriers the standards need only limit
operational noise
The proposed standards will apply
to both new and old equipment, and
they must reflect the degree of noise
reduction that can be achieved with
the "best available technology, taking
into account the cost of compliance,"
according to the Act.
EPA is especially interested in pub-
lic suggestions on
• Industry and government regula-
tions and standards that might
affect, or be affected by, noise
regulation.
• Demonstrable noise abatement
and control techniques, and their
effectiveness
• Major sources of interstate rail
and motor carrier noise and data
on the levels of noise they pro-
duce.
• Cost data on abatement and
control methods
Persons wishing to submit informa-
tion during the rule-making process
should send two copies of their writ-
ten comments to the Office of Noise
Abatement and Control, EPA, Wash-
ington, D.C , 20460, by April 2.
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Hearings On Gas Rationing
Nine public hearings will be held
this month in Los Angeles and near-
by cities on EPA proposals to reduce
air pollution there by gasoline ration-
ing and other restrictions on motor
vehicles.
The hearings are expected to at-
tract record crowds because of the
drastic and controversial nature of
the proposals.
Likely to be discussed the most is
the plan to ration gasoline in the Los
Angeles area during the smog season
from May to October to cut gasoline
usage as much as 82 percent.
This is the only way now conceiv
able for the area to achieve ambient
air that meets the national standard
for photochemical oxidants by the
1977 deadline set by the Clean Air
Act, according to EPA Administrator
William Ruckelshaus.
Other control measures proposed
by Ruckelshaus Jan. IS included
strict annual inspections for all motor
vehicles' exhaust emissions, manda-
tory installation of control devices on
old vehicles, conversion of fleet cars
and trucks to natural gas or other
low-polluting fuel, and additional
controls on gasoline stations and dry
cleaning establishments.
The first hearing was held at Parker
Center Auditorium in Los Angeles
March 5 Other places and times are
Riverside, March 8, Long Beach, March
10, Van Nuys, March 12, Pomona,
March 13; San Bernardino, March 15,
and Santa Barbara, March 19.
The hearings will be conducted by
EPA officials from Washington, vith
Alan G. Kirk, deputy general counsel,
presiding. Representatives of the Air
Programs Office and the Office of
Research and Monitoring will be
panelists at each session. Deputy Ad-
ministrator Robert W. Fn will attend
the first hearing.
Persons interested in testifying or
submitting statements should contact
EPA's Region IX office in San Fran-
cisco, submitting four copies of pro-
posed remarks seven days before the
hearing date.
The detailed proposals are avail-
able for public inspection at most
public libraries in the Los Angeles
area. Records will be kept of each
hearing, including stenographic tran-
scripts of questions and answers, and
these records will also be made avail-
able to the public.
Lab Safety Note:
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
CAN BE DEADLY!
Most State and local environ-
mental laboratories routinely use or-
ganic solvents that are highly flam-
mable, even explosive.
Stringent standards for the han-
dling of these liquids are imposed by
the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970, according to Trenton
Crow, chief of EPA's Safety Manage-
ment Branch.
In brief, the standards require that
flammable solvents be kept in and
poured from vented safety cans and
that the cans be stored in properly
designed cabinets.
Handling of solvents in glass bot-
tles imposes a severe fire hazard to
laboratory workers and should be dis-
couraged, Crow said.
Glass-lined safety cans with
spring-closing lids and spout covers-
which open to relieve internal pres-
sure in the event of exposure to
heat—are now commercially available.
Detailed standards under the Fed-
eral law are listed in the Federal
Register for Oct. 18, 1972, vol. 32,
no. 202, part II, on page 22170 (for
safety can design) and pages
22177-80 (for storage requirements).
Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Dee 6, 1971)
90909
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