citizens' bulletin
U S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY • WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
Noise Limits Set for Interstate Trucks
Starting next October all heavy duty trucks in inter-
state commerce will have to meet federal standards
for noise.
The rules are the first to be formally adopted by EPA
under the Noise Control Act of 1972. About 70,000
vehicles would have to have mufflers or tires replaced,
or both, to meet the new limits, EPA officials estimated,
Heavy interstate trucks are mostly diesels. Their
main sources of noise are faulty exhaust systems and
tires with "pocket tread" patterns, in which enclosed
cavities contact the road surface.
EPA has proposed noise control standards for all new
medium and heavy-duty trucks, starting with the 1977
model year; and for portable air compressors. Agency
experts are working on airport noise control standards
and expect to have them in the proposal stage next
summe r.
Chlorine Suspected in Drinking Water Impurities
Minute quantities of potentially dangerous organic
chemicals in New Orleans drinking water were found
recently by EPA scientists after a three-month study
made at the city's request.
Administrator Russell E. Train promptly announced a
nationwide survey of municipal water supplies to
determine if other cities had the same problem, what
the dangers are, and how to forestall them.
Chlorine gas, widely used to disinfect water, is
suspected of being a causitive factor. The chlorine
kills bacteria, preventing the transmission of disease,
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but it may also combine with trace chemicals usually
present in surface water to form the hazardous com-
pounds. One of these is chloroform, composed of carbon,
hydrogen, and chlorine.
Methods of analysis have only recently become sensitive
enough to detect, much less measure, the 66 organic
chemicals which EPA found in New Orleans water, Train
said. "Undoubtedly these compounds have been present
for many years."
He said there is no immediate danger to New Orleans,
which gets its water from the Mississippi River and
filters and treats it (including chlorination) until
it meets Public Health Service standards. The nation-
wide study is designed to find the sources of such
trace chemicals, to evaluate their health effects,
and to study techniques for preventing their formation
or removing them from city water systems.
"Should our analysis of other cities' water supplies
indicate that there is a significant public health
problem, all work toward finding new treatment technology
will be accelerated," he said.
12-Year Decline Found in Some Air Pollutants
Significant declines over a 12-year period in certain
kinds of air pollution throughout the country were
reported last month by EPA. The report was based on
air monitoring records going back to 1960.
The pollutants measured were benzene-soluble organics
(BSO), which make up only a small fraction of total
particulate matter—smoke, dust, and mists—for which
EPA has set air quality limits to protect health and
welfare. Some BSO compounds can cause cancer in
labo rato ry an ima1s.
BSO compounds are produced primarily by the burning
of coal, coal refuse, and wood; the production of
coke; and motor vehicle exhausts. The decline in
BSO particulates is believed to reflect the phasing
out of coal-fired home furnaces and better control of
open burning in dumps and coal refuse piles. The
decline is expected to continue, and perhaps accelerate,
as industrial sources—particularly coke ovens—make
process changes and install equipment to reduce the
emission of particulates.
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The declines were observed in 30 of 32 cities in data
gathered from 1960 to 1970 by an EPA predecessor agency,
the National Air Pollution Control Administration.
These trends were supported by further monitoring done
by EPA in 1971 and 1972.
Because BSO pollution is dropping and is expected to
drop further, EPA has decided not to set separate
standards for these particulates or to try to regulate
them separately, apart from all other particulates.
New Rules Would Strengthen Unleaded Gas Enforcement
New rules to strengthen the enforcement of EPA's
requirements concerning unleaded gasoline were proposed
by the Agency last month. After a 30-day period for
public comment, the regulations are expected to be
adopted early next year. They would provide:
• That EPA inspectors make periodic field tests
to make sure that fuel from tanks and pumps
labeled "unleaded" is really unleaded.
• Prohibition of further sale of "unleaded" fuel
found to be contaminated with lead. This ban
would apply at once after the inspector's
field test.
• Procedures for dealers to protest such test
findings and bans and to challenge EPA's
assessment of liabilities and penalties. Judg-
ments would be reached in administrative hearings
rather than in the courts.
• That fuel dealers supply EPA with reports and
records needed to settle the facts in each case.
Gasoline having less than .05 grams of lead per gallon
is necessary for cars that have catalytic converters,
chemical devices to reduce air polluting emissions
in the car's exhaust. Ordinary leaded gasoline soon
makes the converters useless.
Converter-equipped 1975 cars have narrow filler pipes
on their gas tanks and cannot be filled from standard
pumps. Since July, all large gas stations in the
country have had to offer unleaded gas, dispensed through
small nozzles that fit the narrow filler pipes.
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Cost of Air Pollution Estimated at $12.3 Billion Yearly
Air pollution cost the people of the United States $12.3
billion in 1970, according to a recent EPA study. This
included $5.8 billion for declines in property values,
$4.6 billion for health costs, and $1.7 billion and
$200 million for damage to materials and vegetation,
respectively.
The study, made by scientists in the Agency's National
Environmental Research Center in North Carolina, gives
a range of estimates for the economic effects of different
kinds and sources of pollutants. Sum of the "low"
estimates is $6.1 billion and the "high" estimates $18.5
billion; $12.3 billion is the mid-range "best estimate."
The total is down from the $16.1 billion figure for a
similar study based on 1968 data. The difference is
attributed to having more reliable information for
1970 and to generally lower levels of air pollution.
"The Economic Damages of Air Pollution" is available
from the U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
D. C. 20402, for $1.95 a copy.
Train Urges Conserving Materials, Recycling Wastes
Recycling of wastes is a "matter of the highest national
priority," EPA Administrator Russell E. Train told an
industry group last month.
"Our national practices (in waste reduction and utili-
zation) are primitive," he declared in a speech at the
Third National Congress on Waste Management and Resource
Recovery in San Francisco. "We must improve them from
the point when materials are first extracted from the
earth...to the way the final, unreclaimable residues
are placed in the ground."
He urged industry to commit its capital and managerial
skill in three broad categories: 1) reducing waste
at the materials' source, 2) revising traditional throw-
away habits, and 3) correcting waste disposal methods
that degrade the environment and endanger public health.
Train said that in 1971 packaging accounted for nearly
half of all the paper produced in the United States,
three-fourths of the glass, 29 percent of the plastic,
14 percent of the aluminum, and 8 percent of the steel.
Such packaging cost $19.5 billion and produced between
40 and 50 million tons of solid waste that year.
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"I think industry ought to take a new look at...the
reusable or refillable package" and other packaging
alternatives, he said. The recycling of all mixed
wastes in the nation's large urban areas would be
equivalent to 400,000 barrels of oil daily, nearly
a third of the Alaskan pipeline's projected flow,
he declared.
"To be an energy saver is not only to be an inflation
fighter, but a pollution fighter as well."
Briefly Noted
WIND TUNNEL—A wind tunnel for studying how air pollutants
spread and dissipate (and sometimes become concentrated)
under differing conditons of weather, terrain, tall
buildings and city streets was dedicated last month
at EPA's research center in North Carolina. Air pollution
problems can be studied in the tunnel, using simulated
emissions of smoke or gaseous pollutants; scale models
of hills, valleys, and buildings; and a controllable,
artificial wind.
THERMAL STANDARDS—Cooling water discharge requirements
for nuclear power plants will be established before
construction is started, under a proposed agreement
between EPA and the Atomic Energy Commission. Such
standards have hitherto been set when the plant is
about ready to operate, five or six years after con-
struction begins. The agreement would avoid some costly
rebuilding.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOBS—Environmental protection creates
many more jobs than are lost by the closing of marginally
profitable plants because of air and water pollution
regulations. About 55,000 persons now work in EPA-
financed construction, and that number is expected to
rise to 125,000 by mid-1977, according to Russell Train,
EPA administrator.
SST STANDARDS—Although development of commercial super-
sonic aircraft has been halted in the United States,
EPA last July proposed emission standards for super-
sonic transports (SSTs) , as required by the Clean Air
Act of 1970. Hearings on the proposed standards were
held last month in Boston. The standards, which would
apply to any SST landing in or passing over the U.S.,
would limit emissions of all such aircraft manufactured
after Jan. 1, 1979, and more restrictive controls would
apply to aircraft certified after Jan. 1, 1981.
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EPA Enforcement Actions - Pesticides
* Region III, Philadelphia, assessed civil penalties
of $3,200 and $2,300 against Alben Daniels Chemical
Corp., Washington, D. C., for shipping two mis-
branded and non-registered products for algae control.
* Region IV, Atlanta, issued stop sale orders to four
firms for products that were unregistered, mis-
branded, or both. They were Munsey Products Co.,
Rock Hill, S. C., and Farmers Hardware, Athens, Ga.,
both for Guardseal Creosote Wood Preservative (Dark);
Southeastern Sanitary Supply Co., Montgomery, Ala.,
Sessco Brand All-in-One Germicidal Cleaner; and
Bionomical Chemicals & Services Inc., Chattanooga,
Tenn., Formula 76 Disinfectant Cleaner.
* Region V, Chicago, issued stop sale orders to Chaska
Chemical Co., Savage, Minn., for an inadequately
labeled Glo-Bol bowl and urinal cleaner; Cenol Co.
Libertyville, 111., for a rodentidice, Cenol Poisoned
Wheat, which would not be effective against mice,
as claimed on the label; and Amsco Division of Union
Oil Co. of California, Minneapolis, Minn., for a
product, Union Amsco Barcosote wood preservative,
having label recommendations for cancelled uses.
* Region VI, Dallas, assessed civil penalties on two
firms: Uddo Co., New Orleans, La., $3,400 for distri-
buting three unregistered and misbranded products,
Sure-Pine Pine Oil, Sure-Mint Disinfectant, and
Sure-Klean Bleach; and Scientific Research Corp.,
Alba, Okla., $2,000 for shipping an unregistered and
misbranded product, Fen-All Concentrate.
* Region VII, Kansas City, ordered a halt to the sale
of six 55-gallon drums of an unlabeled weedkiller
called WDK, shipped by Construction Chemical Specialty
and found at Century Laboratories, Kansas City, Kansas.
* Region VII, Kansas City, assessed a $1,800 civil
penalty on Bonewitz Chemical Co., Burlington, Iowa,
for distributing the misbranded and adulterated
product, Bonechem Bonsan 353.
* Region IX, San Francisco, assessed Ball Industries,
Los Angeles, a civil penalty of $1,000 for distributing
the misbranded Ball Formula 8-13.
EPA Actions in the Federal Register
Official actions of all Federal agencies appear in the
Federal Register, published each weekday by the Government
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Printing Office and available at most libraries. Single
copies are sold by GPO (Washington, D. C. 20402) for
75 cents each; annual subscriptions are $45. Below are
listed some of 130 EPA actions published from Oct. 21
through Nov. 22.
Oct. 21--Air pollution emissions standards proposed for
steel production in electric arc furnaces (pp. 37465-8)
and ferroalloy facilities (pp. 37469-72), procedures
for preparing environmental impact statements (pp. 37419-22) . «
Oct. 22—Regulations adopted for controlling pollution
from light-duty diesel trucks (pp. 37609-28); proposed
emission standards for the phosphate fertilizer industry
(pp. 37601-7).
Oct. 23---List of 42 applicants for pesticide registration
who claim priority in filing supportive data on safety
and efficacy (pp. 37669-70); proposed emission standards
for primary aluminum plants (pp. 37729-41).
Oct. 24—Proposed emission standards for coal preparation
plants (pp. 37921-4).
Oct. 25—Proposed amendments to national emission standards
for the hazardous air pollutants, asbestos and mercury
(pp. 38063-73).
Oct. 29—Noise standards adopted for interstate motor
carriers (pp. 38207-16); proposed noise standards for new,
portable air compressors (pp. 33185-206); proposed
revisions to air quality implementation plans for
Nevada (pp. 38104-12).
Oct. 30—Proposed noise standards for medium and heavy-
duty trucks (pp. 38337-62) .
Oct. 31— Tolerance limits proposed for residues of the
pesticide paraquat on raw fruits and vegetables (p. 38394).
Nov. 5—Listing of environmental impact statements by
Federal agencies, 41 in draft and 14 final, with EPA
comments (pp. 39085-8); 21 pesticide registration
applicants claiming priority in filing supportive
data (pp. 39088-9).
Nov. 6--Proposed rule change in DDT tolerance permitted
in apple pomace fed to livestock (pp. 39295-6); permission
granted for temporary use of spring-loaded cyanide traps
to control coyotes in 28 counties of Nebraska (pp. 39315-6).
Nov. 11—Proposed changes in ocean dumping rules to
permit burials at sea and the sinking of target ships
by the U.S. Navy (pp. 39739-40).
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Nov. 12—Revised standards adopted for opacity of emissions
from Portland cement plants (pp. 39872-5); proposed
rules for enforcing unleaded gasoline requirements (pp.39981-
89) and procedures for challenging assessment of liabilities
and penalties (39992-40001).
Nov. 14—Proposed effluent guidelines for timber products
processing (pp. 40235-42) ; proposed guidelines for voluntary
self-certification by manufacturers of auto parts that
affect automotive emissions (pp. 40192-4) ; limited per-
mission granted to use cyanide traps to control coyotes
in central and western Kansas (pp. 40194-6).
Nov. 15—Proposed revisions of New Jersey_'_s air pollution
control plans to require retrofit of control devices on
heavy-duty gasoline-powered trucks (pp. 40306-8) and new
requirements for organic solvents (40408-10); waste
treatment management plans approved for Denver, Chattanooga,
Oklahoma City, and Nashville areas"(p. 40325).
Nov. 18--Time extended for public comment on proposed
emission standards for coal preparation, ferroalloy
production, phosphate fertilizer, aluminum, and electric
arc furnace plants (pp. 40511-2).
December 1974. Contents may be reprinted without permission.
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