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4-Corners   Plants   Must   Cut   Emissions
    Limits on pollutant emissions from
  coal-fired electric power plants in the
  "Four Comers" area of the Southwest
  were set by EPA on March 23.
    The regulations apply to four large
  power plants in New Mexico, Arizona,
  and Utah, and they amend the plans of
  those States to  achieve the National
  Ambient Air Quality Standards by
  July 31, 1975, as provided under the
  Clean Air Act.
    One of the generating stations, the
  Four Corners Plant in New Mexico, is
  already in operation; three others, San
  Juan, N.M.; Navaho, Ariz.; and Hunt-
  ington Canyon, Utah; are under con-
  struction. They are  the vanguard of a
  complex of power stations planned for
  the area to generate electric power by
  burning strip-mined coal and transport
  it by high-voltage lines to fast growing
  urban areas  of the Southwest. Plants
  not yet under construction  will  be
subject  to "new source" review pro-
cedures  under the Clean Air Act to
assure that they conform co standards
for the Four Comers Air Quality Con-
trol Region.
  All four plants are required under
the  new regulations to curtail their
sulfur oxide emissions by 70 percent.
In addition, the Utah plant  must con-
trol its  paniculate emissions to 0.075
pounds  per million  BTUs of heat in-
put.

         Scrubbers Needed
  To meet the sulfur oxide limits the
power plant owners  will have to install
alkaline scrubbers or equivalent con-
trol apparatus, EPA declared in a pre-
amble to the detailed regulations. Ex-
perience from demonstration testing
and pilot  studies indicates  that such
scrubbers  are capable of providing at
  Separate  Standards   Planned
  for  Light   Duty   Trucks
     Proposed  rules  setting  emission
  standards for light duty trucks were
  announced by EPA last month, after a
  Federal appeals court ruling that such
  trucks should not be included with
  passenger cars in the Agency's regula-
  tions.
     Light duty trucks are defined as
  motor vehicles with  gross weights of
  6,000 pounds or less, designed pri-
  marily for transporting property and
  capable of seating no more than three
  persons.
     Such   trucks  emit   significant
  amounts of air pollution in urban areas
and constitute about 11 percent of all
light duty vehicles sold nationally, said
William Ruckelshaus, EPA administra-
tor. The agency believes they are gen-
erally as susceptible to emission con-
trols as are passenger cars.

   The final standards to be set - after
a 30-day period for public comments
—•will be at  least as stringent as the
current 1973-1974  model  year emis-
sion standards, which new light duty
trucks already meet, and possibly as
stringent  as the 1975 standards for
passenger cars, Ruckelshaus said.
least 70 percent control for plants that
burn relatively low-sulfur coal like that
found in the Four Comers area, the
Agency said.
  Plant owners will  have to  submit,
within 120 days, detailed schedules for
compliance,  i.e.  a list of steps to  be
taken and a time schedule for design-
ing, building, and installing the neces-
sary emission control equipment.
  Since  such compliance may take
more time than the 27 months from
now  to the  1975 deadline set in the
law.  Administrator  William  Ruckel-
shaus granted an extension of seven
and a naif months, that is, until March
15,  1976, for full compliance in  all
respects.
  This is 16^  months less  than the
tentative extension  he indicated last
summer he would grant for the Four
Corners Air Quality  Control  Region.

       Calculations Disputed
  The regulations were the subject of
public hearings last fall at which sev-
eral utility companies took issue with
EPA's calculations on the effects of
their  plant emissions on the  region's
ambient  air.  Ruckelshaus   rejected
these arguments, saying the calculation
methods were valid and reasonable and
offe.ed the best available indication of
the   emission   limits necessary  to
achieve the desired air quality.
  He agreed, however, that "unavoid-
able malfunctions" of emission control
systems could result in temporary vio-
lations, and he  said  the Agency was
working on regulations to deal with
equipment  breakdowns and  malfunc-
tions.
  Ruckelshaus  said  EPA would  re-
quire the power companies to install
and operate stack gas monitoring de-
vices and to report periodically  to
State and Federal authorities on con-
trol equipment's effectiveness.

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Ely,   Minn.,   Starts   Lake   Restoration
  A new waste water treatment plant
designed to restore a "dying" lake has
started operation at Ely, Minn.
  The  52.3-million  facility  is ex-
pected to remove more than 99 per-
cent of the phosphorus from the city's
waste water before discharging it into
Shagawa Lake.
  If the full-scale demonstration plant
works as planned, only  1 SO pounds of
phosphorus  will entei  the lake  each
year,  according  to Robert M. Bnce,
National Environmental Research Cen-
ter, Corvallis, Ore. the project chief.
No  other tertiary treatment plant has
yet  attained  this level of phosphorus
reduction.
         Lake in Jeopardy

   Shagawa Lake has deteriorated in
the last 70 years, and scientists believe
that reducing its intake of nutrients,
particularly  phosphorus,  can  help
arrest this eutrophication.
   The restoration program is based on
a study begun in 1966 which included
the building of a pilot treatment plant,
with floating test basins in the lake
itself, to learn the effects of different
degrees of nutrient  removal  on  the
lake waters.
   The 2,340-acre lake  drains north
into Superior National Forest and the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, an un-
spoiled wilderness region. Ely's per-
manent population of 5,000 swells to
more than  20,000  in  the  summer
months.
   The Ely phosphorus  removal pro-
ject is believed to be the first attempt
to  restore a lake while continuing to
discharge highly-treated  waster water
into it. The project will be operated by
EPA for three years, at an annual cost
of  about $575,000, as  a model that
might be applicable to other lakes with
similar problems.
   At the end of the three-year de-
monstration period,  the plant will be
turned over to the city.
          Related Studies

   Meanwhile, EPA scientists at Cor-
 vallis and assiciated  laboratories are
engaged in studying  other  possible
ways to prevent or reduce lake deterio-
ration.

  At Diamond  Lake, Ore., nutrient
diversion will be evaluated, in coopera-
tion with the U.S. Forest Service. This
lake  has extensive campgrounds and
much recreational use. As a result, its
algal growth has increased and the lake
has become eutrophic.  A sewage inter-
ceptor  system  is being installed to
convey all  waste water from camping
areas away from the lake. This work is
about 50 percent complete. Extensive
physical, chemical and  biological anal-
yses  of the lake water are under way
to determine the rate and extent of
recovery when  all  such nutrient dis-
charges are diverted.
   Laboratory and pilot scale studies
are also under way on immobilizing
nutrients after they enter lake water.
Called  "nutrient  inactivation,"  this
method  would employ  physical or
chemical means to make the dissolved
nutrients, such as phosphorus, unavail-
able to waterborne plant life. Various
aluminum compounds, clays, and rare
earths have been tested in the labora-
tory  for their effectiveness on phos-
phorus and for possible detrimental
side effects. One pilot scale test with
sodium alummate  has already been
carried out.
   Nutrient inactivation seems promis-
ing for lakes with low flow-through
rates, that is, long residence times and
little incoming water to replace  that
which is high  in nutrients.
Agency   Vows  to  Preserve
Nation's  Unique  Wetlands
   Preservation of the Nation's wet-
lands was formally  established  as an
EPA policy  last  month by  Admini-
strator William Ruckelshaus.
   In a statement released to the press
and published in the Federal Register,
Ruckelshaus  committed the Agency to
apply the policy in  all its activities to
the full extent of its legal authority.
   "Wetlands represent ecosystems of
unique and major importance and re-
quire extraordinary protection," he
said. He  defined wetlands to include
marshes,  swamps, bogs, and any low-
lying land subject to daily or seasonal
flooding. They  are habitats  for  fish
and  wildlife, high in recreational  and
esthetic value, and vital elements in
natural resource conservation, he said.
   Fresh-water wetlands help in  the
natural  purification of streams  and
lakes, maintain  and recharge ground-
water supplies-, and support  adjacent
and   downstream  ecosystems.  Salt-
water wetlands are nurseries for many
species of commercially valuable fish
and  shellfish and help protect coastal
areas from storm damage.
   Ruckelshaus listed four aspects of
EPA's wetlands policy:
   • To minimize alterations  in the
     natural flow of water in wetlands
     and to protect wetlands from
     adverse dredging or filling, solid
     waste disposal,  siltation  or the
     addition  of pesticides, salts or
     toxic materials.

   • Not to grant Federal funds for
     the construction  of municipal
     waste water treatment facilities
     which  may  interfere with  wet-
     lands except where no alternative
     of lesser environmental damage is
     feasible.

   • To consult with the Department
     of the Interior in determining the
     probable  impact  of  pollution
     abatement programs on fish and
     wildlife in wetlands.

   • To recommend public hearings in
     the event of projected significant
     adverse  environmental  impacts
     on wetlands.

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EPA   Dedicates  an   Artificial    River
   A  laboratory  facility to simulate
the complex ecosystem of a river or
lake on a scale never before achieved
was  formally dedicated  March 7 in
Athens, Ga.
   Called "AEcoS" - for Aquatic Eco-
system Simulator - the unique equip-
ment at APA's  Southeast  Environ-
mental Research  Laboratory will be
used to study  the  changes that take
place in the microscopic plant and
animal communities  in water under
widely  varying,  but  carefully con-
trolled conditions,  as pollutants are
added to the water and remedial meas-
ures taken.
   At the  dedication  ceremony, Dr.
Stanley  Greenfield, EPA assistant ad-
ministrator  for  Research and Moni-
toring, closed a switch that started an
experiment in the growth of algae and
bacteria in the simulator. It  was the
first full operation of the  complex
equipment after a month of trial runs
and operational tests.  The facility cost
$1 million and took nearly two years
to design and build.
          Bridging a Gap

   AEcoS aims to bridge the gap be-
tween small-scale experiments in labo-
ratory vessels and field studies of natu-
ral rivers and lakes. Laboratory studies
can be closely controlled but are not
realistic in scale and may not be realis-
tic in effects. In field studies the prob-
lems are  very  real but little experi-
mental control is possible.
   The heart of AEcoS is a water-filled
flume 57  m (64 yds.) long, 45 cm (18
in.) wide, and  60 cm  (24  in.)  deep.
The flume can be supplied with ultra-
pure water at flow rates of up to 7,600
liters per day. As  the  water  moves
down  the "artificial river" bacteria or
other  organisms can be  injected, as
well as physical or chemical pollutants,
and the interactions  observed and re-
corded.
   The flume is housed  in a special
room  whose temperature,  humidity,
and light  intensity and quality can be
controlled to simulate virtually any
combination of  naturally  occurring
conditions.
 Dr. Walter  M. Sanders, left, chief of Pollutants' Fate Research, and Bruce
 Ferguson, biologist, stand  beside the Aquatic Ecosystem Simulator at EPA's
 Athens, Ga., laboratory. More than 800 fluorescent lamps overhead, plus 100
 infrared lamps can duplicate virtually any intensity and quality of sunlight on
 the artificial  57-meter  stream  beneath.  Lighting  and other environmental
 conditions are computer controlled.
   All changes desired in the condition
of the water and its surroundings can
be computer controlled for round-the-
clock experimental operation.
   Dr. Walter  M. Sanders,  chief of
SERL's Pollutants' Fate Research, said
the simulator will be used with mathe-
matical models of ecosystems to study
"the mechanisms and interactions be-
tween the natural biotic communities
and water quality under various envi-
ronmental stresses." The later will in-
clude  pesticides,  heavy metallic com-
pounds, and other pollutants found in
natural rivers.
       Improving the Models

   Use of the simulator should help to
validate  and improve the theoretical
models that have already been devel-
oped by environmental  scientists, he
said, and speed the solution of water
quality control problems.
   Dr. David W. Duttweiler, SERL di-
rector,  said that although AEcoS can-
not reproduce all conditions found in
the natural environment, "it provides
EPA with  an aquatic research capabil-
ity  that,  to our  knowledge,  is not
duplicated  anywhere in the world."
   Dr. A.F. Bartsch, director of EPA's
National Environmental Research Cen-
ter in Corvallis, Ore., also took part in
the dedication  ceremonies,  after a
luncheon   at  the  University  of
Georgia's Center for  Continuing Edu-
cation.  The Athens  laboratory  is lo-
cated at the University's Research Park
and is one of nine laboratories associ-
ated with NERC-Corvallis.

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Glean   Water's  Dollar   Value  Elusive
   The people of the United States
will spend about $5 billion this year to
control water pollution.  Are we get-
ting our money's worth?
   No one knows for sure, according
to Dr. Dennis  P. Tihansky, an eco-
nomic  analyst  for  EPA's Office  of
Research and Monitoring, because the
benefits of clean water are so hard to
measure in dollars.
   But it is probable that future bene-
fits from pollution control will exceed
costs in some parts  of the Nation, he
said, although there is likely to be a
level of  control beyond  which cost
increases overtake corresponding gains
in benefits.
   Moreover, the very question  of a
cost-benefit analysis will  be  moot if
pollution goes unchecked and the ecol-
ogical stability of the National  water
resources is destroyed.
   Tihansky studied  the sparse techni-
cal literature on clean water benefits
and found estimates ranging from $2.2
to $12.8  billion for annual  damages,
nationwide, from polluted  water  in
1970 (see table). These estimates ex-
clude the  benefits already realized  by
abatement  efforts.  In  that  year  the
total spending for water pollution con-
trol, by government agencies and pri-
vate industry, was $3.6 billion, accord-
ing to EPA estimates.
             The highest  benefit figure came
          from the National Wildlife Federation,
          which did not divide its $12.8 billion
          estimate into categories. The lowest
          figure, from Resources for the Future,
          Inc. credited $1.4  billion to increased
          recreation  and $0.7 billion to increases
          in the value  of bordering lands, for a
          total of $2.2 billion.
             The intermediate estimates were de-
          rived  from  regional  studies,  extra-
          polating  them to  the  Nation  as  a
          whole, with corrections for water qual-
          ity and consumption, population, and
          levels of economic activity. All values
          were adjusted to 1970 as a base year.
             "The wide range of estimates illus-
          trates the complexity of measuring
          benefits,"  Tihansky  said.  "The  Na-
          tional Wildlife Federation used  sub-
          jective ratings by  a panel  of  eco-
          nomists. The others were  based on
          specific calculations. For instance, the
          Resources  for the Future study used
          recreation  benefits per capita from a
          Federal study of the Delaware River
          estuary  in 1966,  multiplied  by the
          national population."
                 Tangible and Intangible

             'The difference between tangible
          and  intangible benefits is  still  unre-
Water   Pollution   Damages
                Annual Benefits From Water Pollution Control
                             (dollars in billions)
                           Adjusted to base year 1970
                                       Category of Damage
                                        Domestic Industrial
                        Recreation   Land   Water    Water   Other* National
                                  Values   Supply    Supply          Total
 National Wildlife
    Federation, 1970
 Derived from Bramer's
 Ohio Valley study,
 U. of Pittsburgh, 1960
 Derived from Barker's
 111. Dept of Transp
 Study, 1972
 Resources for the
 Future, Inc., 1966
 (Anthony Fisher)
S2.4      -    $0.9      $0.5    0.1
 1.8      -     0.2       0.3
 1.4    $0.7      -       -     0.1
$12.8

  3.9


  2.3


  22
  •Commercial fisheries, irrigation, health
solved. Many economists believe that
recreation cannot be evaluated, that it
is a public good without a competitive
market  price. Others calculate the
amounts spent by fishermen, campers,
and tourists, or they ask people what
they are willing to pay for clean water.
   "Wdlingness-to-pay  poses special
problems.  In an interview or question-
naire, the respondent can exaggerate
the value; if he were actually taxed or
forced to pay this  amount, he might
object strenuously. Saying and doing
can  have  different  economic mean-
ings."
   Esthetic value is another aspect that
eludes measurement, Tihansky said.
Usually a  panel of experts is asked to
rate esthetic values in  relation to
other, more tangible benefits. One san-
itary  engineering firm,  for  example,
found esthetic gains from water pollu-
tion control to vary from 60 to 100
percent of more concretely measure-
able benefits. 'To date, no consensus
exists among economists on a better
'guesstimate,' nor  is a more rigorous
calculation of regional esthetic values
widely accepted."

          Measurable Types

   Tihansky  said the types  of water
pollution most amenable to monetary
measurement of damages (and hence
monetary  estimates of control  bene-
fits)  were:  hardness  and  dissolved
solids (which increase cleaning costs);
turbidity, acidity,   and  biochemical
oxygen demand (which require treat-
ment before  industrial as well as do-
mestic uses); fecal  coliform bacteria;'
and floating materials.
   Caution must be exercised in inter-
preting benefit estimates,  Tihansky
said, because "they are based on gross
assumptions...  and  they  exclude
perhaps the  most  important benefit
categories - esthetics and ecological
stability."
   "As more data are collected and
theory developed to measure benefits,
these estimates will be refined and
accepted with greater confidence. The
Environmental Protection Agency and
many  private organizations are cur-
•rently engaged in such research ef-
forts."

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Trash-Fuel   Plant  Given   More   Funds
   EPA  has  approved  an additional
expenditure of $570,000 to improve a
demonstration plant that burns muni-
cipal waste as an auxiliary  fuel for
generating electricity.
   The plant  in  St.  Louis, Mo., has
been operating successfully for  eight
months as a joint project of the city
government,  the  Union Electric Co.,
and EPA to show on a full scale how
valuable resources of energy and mate-
rial may be recovered from household „
trash.
   The project has attracted nation-
wide attention from  electric utility
executives  and   municipal  officials,
some of whom are considering adapt-
ing the St. Louis  system to their own
operations.

         Correcting 'Bugs'
   The additional EPA commitment
announced last month is designed to
correct some of the "bugs" that have
developed in the  preparation of trash
for burning and to upgrade the facili-
ties  for  recovering  salable  ferrous
metal scrap (principally tin cans) from
the waste fuel stream.
   A contract has been  awarded  to
Rader  Pneumatics,  Memphis, Term.,
for installing  an  air classifier to im-
prove the separation of heavy mate-
rials from the ground-up trash. These
materials include  glass and other ce-
ramics,  large pieces   of  rubber  or
plastic,  and  chunks  of metal that
sometimes escape being crushed and
may jam the pipes through which the
trash is blown into the boiler.  They
also cause undue wear of the feeder
lines. The classifier will use a whirlpool
of air to separate the smaller, lighter
particles from the larger, heavier ones.
It will cost about  $350,000 and will be
installed in about  two months.
   The additional $220,000 will go for
equipment to improve the efficiency
of  ferrous metal recovery:  an ad-
ditional magnetic separator, a mill,
conveyors,  and  other  devices. The
American Iron and Steel Institute will
help the City of St. Louis in paying for
this equipment, and a National Steel
Co. subsidiary, the Granite City Steel
Co., Granite City, 111., has tentatively
agreed to buy the ferrous scrap from
the upgraded operation.
   Arch G. Scurlock Jr., EPA project
officer, said the St. Louis technique of
mixing municipal solid waste with coal
as a generating  plant  fuel could  be
applied  in many cities to  reduce the
overall cost of solid waste disposal and
extend  the life of  sanitary  landfill
sites.

          Many Visitors
   More than 50 utility company engi-
neers  from 30 states and  Mexico at-
tended a seminar in St. Louis last fall
and inspected the demonstration pro-
ject, and there has been a continuing
stream of individuals and small groups
visiting the city's shredding plant and
the utility's generating station.
   The  shredding  and ferrous scrap
removal takes place at a city plant that
used to be an incinerator. Raw waste is
hauled in by truck, ground up into
small  pieces,  and passed  through a
magnetic separator.  The  new equip-
ment will be installed here to optimize
these operations.
   Then trucks  haul the  ground-up
waste to Union  Electric's  Meramec
generating  station  about   15  miles
away, where it is mixed with pow-
dered   coal  and   blown   into  a
140-megawatt boiler. The trash-to-coal
ratio may vary from 10-90 to  15-85
percent in heating value.
  The  processing plant  can handle
about 300 tons of waste per  eight-
hour day. This  capacity  represents
about one-fifth  of  the city's solid
waste (production. The utility so far
has  been using the waste as auxiliary
fuel only part-time, burning an average
of  100  tons per day.  City officials
hope this total can  be raised as more
experience is gained in the  operation
of the system.
  The  mixed fuel produces a fly ash
(fine sand-like particles removed from
the  boiler's smoke stack) that is virtu-
ally indistinguishable from pure coal
fly ash and salable as filler material or
concrete  aggregate.  But the bottom
ash  from the mixed fuel is not usable
for  spreading on icy roads because it
contains pieces of metal and glass.
States  Will  Have   to  Regulate
Complex  Air  Pollution  Sources
   Responding to a court order, EPA
will soon require all States to review
the air pollution effects  of shopping
centers and other commercial develop-
ments,  sports   arenas,  amusement
parks, and drive-in theaters before issu-
ing construction permits for such facil-
ities.
   The Agency said it would propose
regulations  for   such  "complex
sources" by April 15 and would pro-
mulgate them in final  form by June
11.
   The  complex-source   regulations
would  become  part of  each State's
formal plans to  implement  the provi-
sions of the Clean Air Act.
   The action followed  a ruling Jan.
31 by the District of Columbia Court
of Appeals in a civil suit against the
Agency. This suit challenged the com-
pleteness of  air  quality protection
plans that regulate the pollutant emis-
sions  of stationary sources  (power
plants, factories) and mobile sources
(motor vehicles) but fail to regulate
complex  sources.  Such  complex
sources can affect air quality indirect-
ly,  principally by  attracting  vehicle
traffic  and congestion  and  general
urban and commercial development.
   Although  EPA  has not officially
identified  the facilites  it  considers
"complex sources" of possible air pol-
lution, a preliminary  list includes, in
addition to those listed above, residen-
tial, industrial, or  institutional devel-
opments; recreational areas; highways;
water and sewer lines; and oil, gas, and
power lines.
   States will be required to have  le-
gally  enforceable  procedures  for  re-
viewing  the location of such complex
sources  before they are built and for
preventing construction if  it should
interfere with the attainment or main-
tenance  of national air standards.
   EPA  has asked  all States to deter-
mine now whether they have adequate
legal authority, and  if  not, to take
steps to  secure it.

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Sulfur   Oxides   Linked   to   Bronchitis
   New data showing that sulfur oxide
pollution in city air increases the  inci-
dence of chronic respirator disease was
recently revealed in studies made as
part of EPA's Community Health and
Environmental  Surveillance  System
(CHESS).
   "There now exists a body  of evi-
dence that oxides of sulfur contribute
to  such diseases, said Dr. Robert S.
Chapman, a  physician  and research
epidemiologist at the National Envir-
onmental Research Center in Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
   Chapman spoke at a meeting of the
American  Academy  of  Allergy in
Washington recently. His paper  sum-
marized CHESS surveys made in the
New  York,  Chicago, and Salt  Lake
City areas and in smelter communities
in Idaho and Montana.
   All the surveys found sulfur oxide
pollution associated with higher  rates
of prevalence of chronic bronchitis, a
typical  respiratory  ailment. In  New
York and Chicago, where sulfur oxide
pollution was accompanied by fairly
high levels of participates, the com-
bined effects of the two  pollutants
rivaled those of cigarette smoking, he
said.

          Study Methods

   The CHESS program is a long-term
series of statistical studies of the  inci-
dence .of disease, in areas subject to
certain kinds of air pollutants. Each
area is divided into separate communi-
ties or population groups that vary in
pollution exposure but are matched in
as closely as possible in other respects.
   Participants in the studies gave  data
on how frequently  and severely  they
suffered from chronic bronchitis. They
also reported on their smoking habits
and smoking  history, age, sex, socio-
economic status, length of residence,
previous  residence,  and occupational
exposure to respiratory irritants.
   EPA scientists combined these  data
with air pollutant exposure estimates
from the best available air monitoring
data and industrial emission records
for each community or neighborhood.
   The data were analyzed to separate
and measure the influence of air pollu-
tant levels, smoking habits, age, sex,
proximity  to  pollution  sources,  and
other relevant factors. Cigarette smok-
ing was the predominant factor every-
where.
   In the Utah study, where a single
copper  smelter accounted for most of
the sulfur oxide pollution and partic-
ulate levels were low, the bronchitis
prevalence due to pollution alone was
found to be  unexpectedly  high: for
women, one-tenth  as important as
smoking, for men, one-fifth as impor-
tant. This effect,  Chapman said,  is
much  stronger than  had  been  sug-
gested by previous studies.
   And for all groups similar in sex,
age, and smoking habits, the bronchitis
prevalence  rates  were  significantly
higher  for  persons  living  near the
smelter.
   Similar  results were found in the
Idaho-Montana survey, Chapman said.
The effects of smoking and of pollu-
tion were "very nearly additive," and
the prevalence due to pollution about
one-fifth  that  due to smoking, for
both sexes.

          Big City Effects

   In the New York  study, covering
two high-exposure communities in the
city and a low-exposure one on Long
Island, there was a consistent excess of
chronic  bronchitis among males and
among  smokers.  The relative impor-
tance of pollution was  much  higher
than in the western cities. For women
the relative prevalence due to pollu-
tion  was  two-fifths of that  due to
smoking; for men the  ratio was greater-
than one. This suggests, Chapman said,
that the combined effect of sulfur and
partuculate pollution in New  York
"may  influence the development of
chronic bronchitis nearly as strongly as
moderate cigarette smoking does1'.
   The  Chicago study dealt with mili-
tary  inductees from  areas of  high,
medium, and  low pollution exposure,
and it  differentiated between races.
For both blacks and whites, cigarette
smoking and  degree of  pollution ex-
posure exerted strong effects on respi-
ratory  disease symptoms.  The  two
factors  seemed  to  be  additive for
whites  but not for  blacks, and the
relative  prevalence due  to pollution
 was more  than  one-third  for whites
 and greater than one for blacks.
   A   fifth study  in  Chattanooga,
 Term., attempted to measure the ef-
 fect of nitrogen  oxide pollution.  The
 city has  a  large  single source of this
 pollutant, a munitions plant, and rela-
 tively  low  levels of other air pollu-
 tants.  But  no significant  differences
 were  found in respiratory  illness  that
 could  be attributed to nitrogen oxide
" exposure.
   Chapman's paper will be published
 by EPA after minor technical revisions
 are made.
 19 Firms  Working

 On Effluent  Limits

 For  27   Industries
    The  Environmental  Protection
 Agency last month hired 19 consulting
 engineering firms to help it set guide-
 lines for liquid waste discharge prac-
 tices in 27 high-polluting industries.
    Data  from  the 27  studies are ex-
 pected to be ready by early summer.
 They will  be  used by the Agency in
 determining — for each industry — the
 amounts and  the chemical,  physical,
 and biological characteristics of the
 effluents  that  industry  will  be per-
 mitted to discharge into waterways.
    Under the Federal  Water Pollution
 Control  Act  Amendments of 1972,
 EPA must publish effluent guidelines
 for the 27 industries by October 19,
    The law requires existing industries
 to apply the "best practicable" control
 methods by July, 1977 and the "best
 available  technology  economically
 achievable" by July, 1981, both to be
 defined by EPA.
    By next Jan. 14,  EPA must set
 similar standards for all new industrial
 plants in the 27 categories.
    Setting  the  industrial   effluent
 guidelines  is  the  responsibility  of
 EPA's Office  of Water  Planning and
 Standards, which plans to consult with
 all interested parties in evaluating the
 data supplied by the 19  engineering
 consultants and the guidelines them-
 selves before their final adoption.

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  EPA   Reports  on  2   Years
  of  Enforcement   Activity
    During  its first two years  the
  Environmental  Protection Agency
  has tried "to reverse the traditional
  orientation  of  its-   precedessor
  agencies and to engage, directly and
  forcefully, in a full  range of en-
  forcement actions,"  according  to
  John  R.  Quarles Jr.,  assistant ad-
  ministrator and general counsel of
  the Agency.
    In  "The  First  Two Years,"  a
  280-page report issued last month,
  Quarles cited EPA's "fair but firm"
  policy to seek voluntary compli-
  ance before resorting  to enforce-
  ment procedures.
    "As the  aggressiveness of our
  enforcement program has become
  widely recognized, these informal
  conferences  to obtain  voluntary
  compliance have been increasingly
  productive," he said.
     From  about 100  enforcement
  actions taken by EPA's predecessor
  agencies up to  the end of 1970, the
  cumulative total was  nearly 1,300
  at the end of  last year, the  report
  said. Most of these were water pol-
lution cases, including many under
the Refuse Act  of 1899, whose
revival, Quarles said, greatly facili-
tated water pollution enforcement.
   The Agency has  also initiated a
number of highly important cases
under the  Clean Air Act of 1970,
and during the past  year has mark-
edly accelerated the enforcement of
the Federal pesticides laws, he said.
   The report  deals  separately with
water,  air, and pesticides  enforce-
ment. For each area, legal authority
and  policies   are  reviewed  and
selected case histories given, as well
as case-by-case  tabulations of all
actions taken and  their status on
Dec. 31.
   In  an  introduction,   Quarles
describes   how  the  Agency has
decentralized  its  enforcement pro-
gram and personnel.
   Each of  the 10  regions was
described as fully self-sufficient and
capable of handling technical and
legal aspects  of  case preparation,
negotiations,  and public  hearing?.
Recent   EPA   Publications
   Guidelines for Technical Services of
a State Air Pollution Control Agency,
291  + x p, Nov. 1972. Analyzes  the
needs of a statewide air pollution con-
trol  agency for technical services, par-
ticularly laboratory work, to fulfill its
responsibilities  under  Federal, and
State law and to support the work of
local agencies. Practical suggestions are
given for air quality monitoring, lab-
oratory methods,  data handling, and
the  gathering of legal evidence  under
various organizational options. Air Pol-
lution Technical Information Center,
EPA,  Research Triangle  Park, N.C.
27711.
   Patent  Abstracts,   Unites States,
Solid  Waste  Management,  1945-69,
452 p, 1973. Summarizes 890 domes-
tic patents for solid waste management
machines and devices, arranged  by 16
subject  categories. Brief descriptions
and representative  drawings are given
 for each, with the names of inventors
 and sponsors (if any). Indexed by as-
 signee, inventor, patent  number, and
 subject. OSWMP Publications,  EPA,
 Cincinnati, Ohio 45268.
    Patent  Abstracts,  International,
 Solid  Waste Management, 1945-69.
 437 p, 1973. Companion volume to
 that listed above, gives 1,061  patents
 from 20 foreign countries, similarly
 organized  and  indexed.  SWMP Publi-
 cations, EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268.
    Beneficial Use of Storm water, 266
 + xii p, Jan. 1973. Studies the techni-
 cal and economic feasibility of using
 small storage reservoirs  throughout a
 community  to  control   strom  water
 pollution, with various types of treat-
 ment   to  provide  sub-potable  or
 potable water  for  community use.
 Simulation concludes that such treated
 water  could supply a large portion of
        (Continued on backpage)
REGULATIONS

ON  OIL   SPILLS

COMING  SOON
   Regulations designed to prevent oil
spills from occurring and to assure that
clean-up 'procedures  are  ready when
spills do occur will be proposed within
the next few months by EPA.
   Henry Van  Cleave, chief of the
Agency's Division of Oil  and Hazard-
ous   Materials,   told   a   govern-
ment-industry conference in Washing-
ton last month the regulations would
apply to all oil storage and  handling
facilities  unrelated to  transportation
that  are capable  of accidental dis-
charge of oil into U.S. waterways.
   Excluded from EPA jurisdiction, he
said, would be transportation-related
facilities, which will be  regulated by
the  Department   of Transportation;
facilities for buried storage of crude oil
of less  than 1,000  barrels capacity;
heating  oil tanks of  less than 500
gallons; and facilities that have been
approved under the waste water dis-
charge permit system.
   Van Cleave told the conference his
group estimates that 10,000 oil spills
occurred last year, with a total spillage
of more  than 10 million  gallons. How
much of this  stayed in  the environ-
ment is  unknown, he said, but "es-
timates based on the state of the art in
cleanup  technology"  indicate  that
only 20 percent was cleaned up.
   The lag  in technology can be over-
come through better planning,  faster
response, and  more effective use of
cleanup  methods now  available, he
said.
   Key provisions  of  the regulations
 now under  study include:
   • Facility   owners  must submit
 SPCC plans (for  spill prevention con-
 trol  and  countermeasures)  through
 State officials  to EPA  regional admin-
 istrators for certification.
   • Plan guidelines require the  use of
 accepted engineering practices,  opera-
 tional procedures, and personnel train-
 ing.
    • Plans  must be certified by a regis-
 te.3d professional engineer.
    •Violators are liable  to civil penal-
 ties up  to 5,000  for each  violation.
 The conference was sponsored  by the
 American  Petroleum   Institute,  the
 U.S. Coast Guard, and  EPA.

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Recent   EPA   Publications
       (Continued from page 7)
the community's fresh water needs.
Government Printing Office Washing-
ton, D.C. 20402, $2.85.
   Treatment of Ferrous Acid Mine
Drainage with Activated Carbon,  123
+ ix, Jan.  1973. A laboratory study of
a method of removing iron from acid
drain water to permit cheaper neutral-
ization of the  water with limestone.
Passage through a column of activated
carbon (made from bituminous coal)
remove  the  iron, but the cost of the
catalyst-adsorber appears to be prohib-
itive.   Government   Printing Office
Washing, D.C. 20402, S2.10 postpaid,
$$1.75 at GPO Bookstore.
   Toxicology of Atmospheric Sulfur
Dioxide Decay  Products, 42 + vi p,
July  1972.  A  review  paper on the
health effects on animals and men of
the principal decay  products of air-
borne  sulfur dioxide:  sulfuric acid
mists and sulfate particulates. Conclu-
sions: (1) irritation potency depends
on particle  size as  well  as on the
amounts of particulates in air,  and
(2) sulfur dioxide oxidation products
are  generally  more  potent irritants
than the gas itself. Air Pollution Tech-
nical  Information  Center,  EPA, Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C. 27711.
   The Challenge of the Environment:
a Primer on EPA's Statutory Author-
ity, 43 p, Dec. 1972. Briefly describes
the Federal laws on which the agency's
programs  are  based, and  the goals,
policies, and features of each program
area. Prepared by the Office of Legisla-
tion. Public Inquiries, EPA, Washing-
ton D.C. 20460.
   Don't Leave It All to the Experts,
20 p, Nov. 1972. A pamphlet on the
citizen's role in environmental decision
making. Public Inquiries, EPA, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20460
   Improving Water  Quality Manage-
ment in Nonmetropolitan Areas, 75 +
iv p, Jan.  1973. Findings and recom-
mendations for small city water man-
agement policy, based on a survey of
small urban areas in Oregon,  Wiscon-
sin, and South Carolina. Cooperating
with EPA in the study were  the De-
partment of Housing and  Urban De-
velopment,  the   Economic  De-
velopment  Administration  (Co-
mmerce),  and  the*'Farmers  Home
Administration  (Agriculture).  Office
of Air and Water Programs, EPA, or
from Government   Printing  Office,
Washington D.C. 20402, 95 cents post-
paid, 70 cents  from GPO Bookstore.
   Development and Demonstration of
Nutrient  Removal  from   Animal
Wastes,  340 + xvii p, Jan. 1973. Re-
ports on  laboratory and pilot  plant
evaluation of three kinds of processes:
chemical precipitation of phosphorus,
ammonia removal  by  aeration, and ni-
trification (of ammonia) followed by
de nitrification  by   microorganisms.
Cost data and projections are given for
many of the processes cited. Govern-
ment Printing  Office,  Washington,
D.C. 20402, $3.45 postpaid, at GPO
Bookstore.
  Disposal of Cattle Feedlot Wastes
by  Pyrolysis, 99  + v p, Jan. 1973.
Thermal  decomposition of dried steer
manure produced  a mixture of organic
compounds  and  burnable char, but
cost  projections  show  the  process
would be uneconomical. Fuel for the
pryolytic reactor  is almost twice the
value of the recoverable tars and oils.
Government Printing  Office, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20402, $1.25 postpaid, $1 at
GPO Bookstore.
  Guide to Research in Air Pollution,
386 p, Dec. 1972. A listing of nearly
2,500 research projects known to have
been active in 1972, arranged by State
and nation and indexed by 14 subject
categories and by names of  principal
investigators. This guide is the eighth
in a series that began under the Public
Health Service and ,the second under
the  auspices of  EPA. Air Pollution
Technical information  Center,  EPA,
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711.
     LKe of  funds  for printing this publication approved by the  Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Dec 6, 1971).
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