MAY 1975
VOL. ONE. NO. FIVE
PROTECTING CLEAN AIR
HEALTH EFFECTS OF POLLUTION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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THE QUEST FOR CLEAN AIR
Flying at dawn in a small plane over Nevada
one could sec for miles in the dry, elcar air over
the valley desert land, much of it used as a
nuclear testing site.
Ahead on the sunlit horizon was a green patch,
the farm maintained by EPA's Las Vegas
laboratory to test the effect of radiation on plants
and animals.
As the plane circled to return to Las Vegas one
could see miles away some military aircraft,
flying high in formation, suddenly plunge in a
power dive.
Our pilot explained that these planes were being
flown by the Air Force's precision flying team,
the Thunderbirds. On the flight back one could
see with remarkable clarity the distant planes
darting, rolling and cavorting together as they
continued their maneuvers.
But as our plane neared Las Vegas one's
attention was diverted by a growing brownish
ha/.e hanging like a pall in the windless sky over
the whole city.
As residents of the gaudy gambling center woke
and began driving their cars to work, auto fumes
and other air pollutants had stained the desert air.
This pollution scene, witnessed a few years
ago, or similar ones, can be found in many of
our large cities when weather conditions are
right.
In Denver, the air pollution haze which some-
times blurs the view of the Rocky Mountains is
known as "the brown cloud."
In Washington, D.C., the spectacular view of
the city from the front porch of Arlington House,
high on the Potomac's west bank, is sometimes
marred by a pollution blanket.
Our gains and problems in trying to control air
pollution are discussed in the Journal on Pa»e
2.
While there has been progress in several areas
in the effort to cleanse our air, there are still
regions like Los Angeles and its suburbs where
smog has been compared to a Biblical plague.
The benefits of clean air are shown in the
magazine's Photo Essay section (Page 13) in
photographs of Springtime activities in four
major American cities.
These photographs illustrate what outdoor
urban life could be like more often with the aid
of fresh air obtained through the enforcement of
standards and emission controls and the devel-
opment of better air pollution control planning.
In another Journal article the impact on health
of air and other types of pollution is reviewed on
Page 4.
While air pollution is sometimes the breath of
death, and often a destroyer of the quality of life,
it is only one of several forms of pollution which
injure and kill people.
Although deaths in pollution episodes attract
the most attention, some scientists believe that a
more sinister problem may be the continued
exposure to low levels of pollutants over a period
of many years.
These are some of the reasons why Adminis-
trator Russell E. Train in testifying recently in
support of the Clean Air Act told the Senate
Public Works Committee that it is imperative
that "we not only refuse to relax public health
standards and environmental safeguards, but
insist even more strongly upon rigorous stand-
ards and safeguards."
-------
A u-s.
\-atH* ENVIRONMENTAL
•^l&fr- PROTECTION
AGENCY
Russell E. Train
Administrator
Patricia L. Cahn
Director of Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce
Editor
Staff:
Van Trumbuil
Ruth Hussey
tover: EPA helicopter taking air
samples in Los Angeles area
hovers over expressway.
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover Gene Daniels *
Page 2 Blair Pittman*
Page 4 Erik Calonius *
National Geographic
Society
Page 5 Center for Disease
Control, Atlanta, Ga.
National Geographic
Society
Page 6 Don Moran
Page 7 Don Moran
Page 8 Malcolm F. Kallus
Page 12 Don Moran
Page 13 Wil Blanche *
Page 14 Tom Hub bard *
Paul Cequeira *
Page 15 Tom Hubbard *
Donald Emmerich *
Page 1 8 & 1 9 Don Moran
Ernest Bucci
Page 20 Ernest Bucci
* DOCUMER1CA Photos
c
O N T E N T
REGROUPING FOR THE CLEAN AIR FIGHT
S
PAGE 2
Prospective amendments to the Clean Air Act will give EPA guidance in solving a
national problem: achieving optimum pollution control at minimum cost to the
economy and the energy supply. By Roger Strelow
HEALTH EFFECTS OF POLLUTION
PAGE 4
How environmental pollution can cause sickness and death is outlined in a new
slide show lecture by the Office of Research and Development's medical science
advisor, Dr. Lawrence A. Plumlee.
REDUCING WASTE
PAGE 6
Deputy Administrator John R. Quarles Jr., urges conference to push for saving
materials at mine, factory, and packaging plant.
SHOULD TOXIC
HERBICIDE BE BURNED AT SEA?
NEW LOOK PLANNED FOR EPA GRAPHICS
HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES STUDIED
J
D E P
«0
PEO
PLE
A R T M E
AROUND THE NATION PAGE 9
PROFILE
PHOTO ESSAY
PAGE 12
PAGE 13
INQUIRY
PEOPLE
NEWS BRIEFS
PAGES
PAGE J6
PAGE 20
"^^SJ— >.
NTS
PAGE 16
PAGE 18
PAGE 21
np he EPA Journal is published monthly, with combined issues for July-August and November-December,
-*• for employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It does not alter or supersede regulations,
operating procedures or manual instructions. Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor,
(A - 107) Room 209, West Tower, Waterside Mall, 401 M St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20460. No
permission necessary to reproduce contents except copyrighted photos and other materials.
Page
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More than four years ago. in
December 1970. the Con-
gress enacted comprehensive
clean air legislation. Now
EPA, the Congress. State and local
officials, and others are taking stock of
what has been accomplished and what
remains to be done in our campaign to
give Americans a clean and healthful
atmosphere.
The searching review now under way
is prompted by many things, hut per-
haps most importantly by:
1. The imminence of the mid-1975
target established by the 1970 law for
meeting the primary air quality stand-
ards designed to protect health.
2. A heightened awareness of the com-
plexities of both the air pollution prob-
lem and its solutions.
3. The need to reconcile potentially
(and, even more often, allegedly) com-
peting energy and clean air goals.
4. The necessity of securing broad-
based support from the public and their
eleeted representatives tor the strate-
gies needed to carry on our campaign.
PUBLIC SUPPORT HIGH
As a recent Lou Harris poll confirms,
Americans continue to rank air and
water cleanup very high on their list of
national priorities, and most of them
reject claims that pollution control
either should or must be compromised
in order to meet energy needs. This
public support is not only reassuring—
it is essential. The major challenges we
face now arc to identify the specific
measures needed to intensify the fight
for clean air and to win public under-
standing of and support for these
measures.
Inevitably, some of the public's sup-
port for air pollution control rests upon
the notion that success can be achieved
simply by getting tough with some
corporate "villains" at little or no cost
or inconvenience to the average citi-
zen. This clearly is not so. Although
the overall economic impacts of air
pollution control are relatively modest.
.specific communities, as well as speci-
fic industries and their customers, will
be substantially affected. In certain
areas, for example, the cost of comply-
ing with fuel or emission control
standards for electric utilities can add
significantly to the price the consumer
pays for electricity.
In addition, clean air will not be
attained without some constraints on
individual activities. In most large
urban areas, for example, significant
changes in urban transportation are
By ROGER STRELOW
Assistant Administrator for Air
and Waste Management
needed, as a supplement to vehicle
controls, if auto-related air pollution
standards are to be met and main-
tained. Restraints must be imposed on
unnecessary single-occupant vehicle
use to stimulate carpooling and public
transportation. These restraints will
affect a large proportion of urban
residents since less than 15 percent of
them now use public transportation to
travel to work. The small number that
participate in car pools is demonstrated
by the fact that average ear occupancy
is only 1.2 persons per commuter trip
and only slightly higher for total trips.
The foregoing examples illustrate the
paradox that air pollution control is
both strongly supported in genera! anil
highly controversial in certain respects.
One of the key challenges EPA faces is
to resolve this dilemma, through public
education, better integration of clean
air objectives into related programs like
urban transportation systems, and con-
tinuing reassessment using new in-
formation to target our efforts most
efficiently.
With today's economic pressures and
the long-term need to correct a serious
imbalance in energy supply and de-
mand, the clean air program will face
even greater demands for rigorous anal-
ysis and careful assessment of alterna-
tives than in the past. We must meet
these legitimate demands even as we
reject and discredit claims that clean air
must or should be sacrificed to meet
economic and energy goals.
Fortunately, the pending amendments
of the Clean Air Act afford EPA the
opportunity to obtain both Congres-
sional reaffirmation for the clean air
program and the more explicit guid-
ance needed in such areas as trans-
portation controls and prevention of
significant deterioration. At the same
time, these amendments will give the
Agency more flexible mandates in such
matters as compliance deadlines, with-
out weakening the invaluable pressure
for prompt action that is built into the
Act.
REJUVENATED PROGRAM
In seeking to identify some of the
most important elements of a rejuve-
nated clean air program. I have devel-
oped the following list which is by no
means exhaustive:
* Nothing is more critical to our future
success than improved information.
particularly concerning the actual qual-
ity of the air and the causes and health
effects of various pollution conditions.
(I refer to "conditions" rather than
"pollutants" to emphasi/e that pol-
lutant combinations and interactions
require increased attention). We can-
not afford, however, to suspend control
measures while seeking better informa-
tion. We must always act with incom-
plete data, doing our best to insure that
we do not insist on unjustified require-
ments. The most unacceptable risks, of
course, are those taken at the potential
expense of public health.
* We must take the initiative to explain
what we know and do not know.
Oversimplification and overpromising
create risks of losing public credibility,
without which the clean air effort is in
real trouble.
; The total motor vehicle pollution
control program must be reassessed
and strengthened. The most immediate
priority is to identify an adequate long-
term solution lo the potential sulfuric
acid emission problem while at the
same time maintaining maximum con
trol of hydrocarbon and carbon mon-
oxide emissions. All of us involved in
the Administrator's difficult suspension
decision for the 1977 models hope that
EPA and others can work together to
find the most rapid route to attain the
statutory standards consistent with
adequate protection from the sulfuric
acid threat.
But there is a lot more to be done in
any event. Vehicles like trucks and
motorcycles that contribute an increas-
("onlinueil on Paste 7
PAGU 3
-------
the wide range of ways in which
pollution can cause sickness and death
isreviewed in a slide show being devel-
oped hy Dr. Lawrence A. Plumlee, EPA
medical science advisor in the Office of
Research and Development.
li consists of 43 color slides and
accompanying text. The slides are photo-
graphs or illustrations of pollution vic-
tims, sources of pollution and trend
charts of diseases caused hy pollution.
One chart, for example, reports an
enormous increase in "emphysema, lung
cancer and chronic bronchitis" in the
United States.
Dr Rene Duhos, noted environmental-
ist, is quoted in the show text: "Many
chronic diseases are due, in part . . . and
probably in a very large part to the
environmental and behavioral changes
that have resulted from industriali/alion
and urbanization."
Highlights from the commentary by Dr.
Plumlee for the slide show are:
"Temperature inversions which trap air
pollutants, bringing tears to the eyes,
and substantially increasing sickness and
death rates, accentuate the effects of air
pollution on health.
"However, of even greater concern to
many is the effect of chronic exposure to
air pollutants which, along with smoking
and occupational exposure, has contrib-
uted !o the dramatic increase in emphy-
sema and chronic bronchitis.
"People with asthma have special prob-
lems because pollutants in the air irritate
I lie asthmatics' air tubes, causing them
to close off. This can cause disability or
death.
health
effects of
pollution
This factory in Japan discharg
Minamata Bav.
•d a lethal mercury containing substance into
^ /
Air hammer creates deafening din.
p,v.i t
-------
"In the area of hazardous substances,
asbestos is known to cause cancer in
people who work with it and in persons
living near where it is processed and
used.
"Another dangerous pollutant is lead.
One of the slides is a photo of a two-
year-old child poisoned by eating flakes
of a lead-based paint. Lead poison-
ing can cause permanent mental
retardation."
"Some other sources of excess lead in
the environment are battery reclaiming
factories and lead smelters such as those
in El Paso, Texas, and Kellogg, Idaho.
"A serious problem in drinking water
is excessive nitrates which can seep into
underground water supplies from animal
feed lots and fields where high-nitrate
fertilizers have been spread.
"The high nitrate content of some
drinking water can cause methemoglobin-
emia, a blood disease which seriously
decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity
of the blood in babies and gives the
infants a bluish appearance.
"Death or serious illness can also be
caused by eating fish or shellfish that
have been contaminated by sewage.
spills of hazardous materials, or dis-
charge of toxic industrial chemicals.
deaths from mercury
"In the 1950s more than 52 Japanese
died after a factory discharged waste -
containing mercury into Minamata Bay.
The mercury became concentrated in
fish, a staple food for the population in
that area. A number of other residents
suffered partial paralysis or deformities
as a result of eating contaminated fish.
This mercury discharge has now been
brought under control.
"Sewasie contamination of drinkinil
water can cause typhoid fever and hep-
atitis and. more commonly, infectious
diarrhea. Polluted water caused an epi-
demic of typhoid in Dade County.
Florida, in 1973.
"Noise is another pollutant which can
harm human beings. People can be
deafened by high levels of noise. Al-
ready an estimated 16 million- people in
the U.S. suffer some hearing loss caused
directly by excess sound. Environmental
pollutants also have effects on mental as
well as physical health. Anxiety pro-
duced by noise is one example.
"Pesticides can be very dangerous,
especially to those who apply them.
Worker education is essential to the safe
use of many DDT substitutes. Even
when workers know and follow proper
precautions, potential for accidental
toxic exposure and resulting clinical
illness still exists.
"Recognition of the early symptoms of
pesticide poisoning, accurate diagnosis
and prompt treatment can mean the
difference between life and death.
radiation hazard
"Another potentially dangerous pol-
lutant is radiation from such sources as
uranium mines and mining wastes,
faulty color TV sets, medical X-rays and
nuclear power wastes.
"The principal adverse effects that
radiation can have on human health are
genetic disturbances and cancer. In
Japan, cases of leukemia increased great-
ly following detonation of the atomic
bomb."
Dr. Plumlee. who is a graduate and
former faculty member of the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine
and is licensed to practice medicine in
Maryland, explained that "1 started
collecting these photographs used in the
slide show because I felt that we needed
more than just photographs focusing
primarily on esthetic damage to the
environment.
"I believed that photographs of sick
people were needed to emphasize more
urgent reasons for controlling pollu-
tion." Dr. Plumlee invited anyone in
EPA who has photographs showing the
health impacts of pollution to provide
them for possible inclusion in the
collection.
At the same time. Dr. Plumlee em-
phasized that most patients suffering
health damage due to pollution do not
show changes that can be captured in a
photograph.
"Even in some serious illnesses such as
bronchitis and cancer, the patient may
look normal for a long time," he said.
Thus his collection of color slides
cannot cover all diseases caused by
pollution. Furthermore, while all of the
diseases shown are known to be caused
by pollution. Dr. Plumlee cautioned that
one cannot always be sure that any
single case of some disease is due to
environmental pollution.
Some of the photographs of patients in
Dr. Plumiee's collection could not be
shown in EPA Journal because of re-
strictions placed on use of these photo-
graphs by the patient's family. Other
pictures could not be used in this black
and white magazine because they are
only effective if seen in color.
A preliminary version of Dr. Phmilee's
slide show was exhibited recently in the
Visitor Center at EPA headquarters.
EPA's Office of International Affairs
hopes to make the slide show available
to foreign visitors. Plans for presenting
the show to other audiences are still
being developed. Q
A 15-year-old girl, one of the victims of eating mercury -
ooisoned fish from Minamata Bay, attempts to button her
sweater despite her partial paralysis.
This asthmatic uses a respirator to help his breathing.
I'ACil-.
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REDUCING
SOLID
WASTE
The Nation's wastage of material
should be reduced when products
arc designed and packaged and not
merely dealt with u! incinerators, land
disposal sites, and recycling facilities.
This view was expressed by John R.
Quarles, Jr., Deputy Administrator, at
the Conference on Waste Reduction,
held by EPA in Washington, D.C., last
month, and attended by representatives
of industry, public interest groups and
government.
Noting that national concern over
solid waste is a more recent anxiety
than concern over air and water pollu-
tion, Mr. Quarles said:
"The generation of waste is the con-
sequence of our day-to-day living.
High levels of waste generation accom-
pany societies with advanced tech-
nology . . . But the United States is
unique among advanced societies in the
amounts of wastes we create . . . We
have made a fetish of convenience. We
are simply wasteful—using more mate-
rial, more land, and more energy than
is justified against perspectives of
future need."
Citing the profligate use of resources
in modern convenience food packag-
ing, Mr. Quarles noted that overall
consumption of food in the United
States increased by 2.3 percent per
capita between 1963 and 1971. But in
the same period, the tonnage of food
packaging increased by an estimated
33.3 percent per capita, and the num-
ber of food packages increased by an
estimated 38.8 percent per capita.
Elimination of all tomato juice cans
smaller than 32 ounces in 1971 would
John R. Quarles, Jr., Deputy
Administrator, speaking at Conference
on Waste Reduction.
have resulted in a reduction in steel use
of 19.6 percent for this product, he
noted.
Inevitably, this wastage of resources
and energy is accompanied by pollu-
tion of air and water and the further
environmental degradation that results
from inadequate disposal of waste prod-
ucts. To curtail the waste and pollution
that characterize current practices
throughout the cycle of production and
consumption, Mr. Quarles strongly
endorsed the necessity of waste
reduction.
"Waste reduction is a radical concept.
We might as well recognize that at the
outset. It means basic change in our
ways of approaching day-to-day activi-
ties . . . Air and water pollution con-
trol, noise regulation, federal super-
vision over food and drugs, and
transportation safety requirements—
these and many other departures from a
simpler time all were equally radical
once, but they are now well accepted
requirements of our society."
Traditionally, in our system, the eco-
nomics of the market place dictate
what products should be made, how
they should he made, their durability,
and their cost. But conspicuously ab-
sent from these considerations, Mr.
Quarles said, is a concern for the
external effects that products cause—
neither producers or consumers worry
about the disposal of products, their
potential for recycling, or their environ-
mental, resource, and energy effects.
"It is precisely this lack of attention
that has led to the dramatic increase in
our waste generation and to the con-
sequent problems of managing these
wastes in the disposal phase. A new
interest in reducing wastes at the
source as a way to deal with these
problems—by preventing the waste,
rather than letting it happen and then
cleaning, up afterward—is now forced
upon us with urgency because in the
past this problem has been almost
totally ignored."
The problems of handling municipal
solid waste are increasing at a geomet-
rical rate and there is no end in sight.
The old city dump is obsolete, incin-
erators use scarce fuel and cause air
pollution, development pressures limit
sites for land disposal, and as tight
controls are imposed on air and water
pollution, new municipal and industrial
solid wastes are being created that must
be disposed of as well.
There is also resource recovery and
the processes by which wastes are
made ready for recycling. If contam-
inants are eliminated at the source, the
solid waste manager will not have to
make costly adjustments in the con-
version process. A production system
which dumps everything on the waste
manager, regardless of recyclability,
inhibits resource recovery.
Looking beyond the present. Mr,
Quarles sees this generation imposing a
heavy debt against the future by its
exorbitant use of materials and energy.
To the usual argument that the future is
uncertain, that technology will produce
the resources as required, and that
therefore there is no present need to
interfere with free market forces to
obtain uncertain future benefits, Mr.
Quaries countered:
"The argument is sound enough as far
as it goes. What it leaves unsaid is that
the market mechanism is imperfect at
best. Short-term dislocations may have
severe political consequences, both
domestic and international . . . The
national government is held responsible,
and rightly so, for failing to foresee
and to make provisions for unpleasant
contingencies. Just because the future
is uncertain does not mean that we
should not manage the present, es-
pecially if the costs are reasonable and
the benefit predictable."
However, Mr. Quarles continued, the
implementation of waste reduction can-
not be accomplished overnight.
"The key to successful waste reduc-
tion is orderly transition . . . This is the
foundation of EPA's policy on bev-
erage container legislation. A year ago
in May, I testified on Capitol Hill in
favor of the concept of a mandatory
national beverage container deposit re-
PAGK 6
-------
Attentive audience at the Conference
includes one shoeless note-taker.
quirement. One aspect of that testi-
mony has been largely overlooked. It
was an insistence that any such legisla-
tion be phased in over time, in such a
way that the adverse consequences . . .
would be minimized or eliminated."
Deploring the extremism of those who
want rapid changes in production and
consumption practices now and those
who want no change ever, Mr. Quarles
said:
"It is the middle-ground position
which all must come to in the end. We
recognize that immediate transforma-
tion of established practices cannot he
obtained. We recognize that existing
capital investments must be counted.
and that people's jobs must be counted
even more. We recognize that no
change should be commanded until all
of the benefits and the costs have been
calculated. We want to be reasonable.
and we will be careful. But we are
insistent that certain changes can be
made."
In conclusion, Mr. Quarles asked the
conference to explore the problems of
implementation—how to bring about
change at least cost.
"Because we do desire to proceed
with cure it is especially important that
progress be made through cooperation.
Public education, industrial coopera-
tion, and improved practices must go
hand in hand. Surely the most promis-
ing and least disruptive way to imple-
ment waste reduction would be by
cooperative agreements among the
various interests involved: labor,
industry, the citi/enry, and govern-
ment." D
Continued from Page 3
ing share of the vehicle pollution
problem must be brought under
stronger controls, and we are working
aggressively towards that end. We must
upgrade our efforts to ensure that
vehicles already on the road actually
meet the standards.
The proposed assembly-line audit
program is a promising step. Inspection
and maintenance should have a key
role, quite possibly an expanded one.
Both programs involve further testing
of vehicles to determine if they
are meeting Federal motor vehicle
emission standards.
All reasonable transportation control
measures must move forward, with
more specific and broadly-based legis-
lative support. Since many of the
measures EPA has required for clean
air reasons (e.g.. car pool incentive
programs, bus lanes, parking controls)
have energy conservation benefits, or
benefits for making public transporta-
tion more attractive and efficient, or
both, they should be given the multi-
purpose support they deserve both in
the Clean Air Act and in related
legislation where added leverage could
be provided to secure their implementa-
tion.
Preventing significant deterioration of
clean air areas is a critical priority.
Explicit Congressional guidance is
needed to support EPA and State
actions and to provide reasonable cer-
tainty to those who must make develop-
ment plans.
A more explicit and effective role
should he defined for local govern-
ments, with appropriate requirements
for regional action. This should include
effective integration of land use consid-
erations and transportation controls.
The long and bitter debate over con-
stant emission controls tor stationary
sources versus intermittent controls and
tall stacks should be resolved.
EPA has concluded that the law does
and should mandate the former when-
ever feasible, hut the legislative
language and history arc not free
enough of debate to prevent continuing
challenges. A clear policy is needed
which will end the debate and force
utilities, smelters, and others to get on
with the cleanup job. A clear constant-
control rule is needed not only to
ensure significant air quality improve-
ment but also to facilitate reasonable
growth and to permit the safe use
of our abundant high-sulfur coal
resources.
The national atmospheric cleanup pro-
gram set in motion by the 1970 Clean
Air Amendments has come a long way.
There have been substantial reductions
in urban sulfur oxides and particulutes
in recent years. Emissions of hydro-
carbons and carbon monoxides from
automobiles have been cut by 63 per-
cent and 56 percent respectively, com-
pared to 1970 model year vehicles.
Some 70 percent of the nation's 20,000
major stationary sources ot air pollu-
tion are either in full compliance with
State Implementation Plans or meeting
the appropriate interim requirements.
About 85 percent are expected to be in
compliance by the mid-1975 statutory
deadline.
MO EASY LAURELS
But we also have a very long wa\ to
go. Attainment of the oxidant standard
is literally out of sight in a number of
urban areas. Many urban areas will fail
to meet paniculate and carbon mon-
oxide standards by the applicable dead-
line. There is widespread noncom-
pliance in the utility, smelter, steel and
other industries.
While progress has been made in
reducing particulates in the air, approxi-
mately 101 of the 247 air quality
control regions in the Nation will
probably not attain the primary panicu-
late standards by mid-1975 date.
However, this failure to meet national
standards at one or more monitoring
sites in an air quality region does not
necessarily mean that the air quality
throughout the region exceeds the stand-
ards. Dust and particulates from fires or
gaseous pollutants are responsible for
the non-attainment in some cases.
In the field of automotive-related pol-
lutants, ten or more metropolitan areas
are not expected to achieve the primary
standards by the mandated dates with-
out severe limitations on automobile
use.
Proposed amendments to the Clean
Air Act are designed to provide in-
creased legal flexibility in these areas
and at the same time ensure (hat I he
maximum feasible progress will he
made.
We have precious few laurels yet—
certainly none to rest on. Renewed
dedication is required at all levels of
government to mount the sustained
effort needed not only to attain the air
quality standards but also to maintain
them and to prevent significant deterio-
ration in clean areas. The challenge is
enormous, but the reward for persever-
ance will he invaluable. U
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SHOULD
TOXIC
fJERBICIDE
gE gURNED
AT SEA?
EPA is expected to decide scion
whether to allow the U.S. Air Force to
burn more than 1 1,000 metric tons of n
toxic plant killer. Herbicide Orange,
far out in the Pacific Ocean. This
cannot be done until EPA grants a
permit under the ocean dumping law.
The Air Force wants to hum the
herbicide in an incinerator ship about
1,000 miles west of Hawaii. Public-
hearings have been held in Honolulu
and San Francisco, and the public has
had 30 days for comment on the
application.
Announcing the hearings, Adminis-
trator Russell F. Train said he had
tentatively decided to permit incinera-
tion at sea of one shipload (about 4,200
metric tons) of the herbicide as an
experiment under closely controlled
conditions.
Herbicide Orange is a half-and-half
mixture of two common plant-killing
chemicals, 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T. Both
are chlorinated hydrocarbons, and both
arc registered by EPA only for re-
stricted uses and at much lower concen-
trations than the Air Force stocks.
Herbicide Orange was manufactured
in great quantities for use as a defoliant
in the Vietnam War. This use was
halted in 1970, and the Air Force has
left about 2.26 million gallons in
storage. About 1.4 million gallons are
at Johnston Island in (he central
Pacific, and 860,000 gallons at the
Naval Construction Battalion Center,
Gulfport, Miss. All of it is stored in
55-gallon steel drums.
The Air Force proposes to burn the
herbicide in the Dutch incinerator ship,
Vulcanus, which EPA permitted Shell
Chemical Company to use last year to
burn chlorinated organic wastes far out
on the Gulf of Mexico.
Reclamation of Herbicide Orange for
reformulation as commercial pesticide
or for salvage of chemical constituents
is not feasible, the Air Force said in a
two-inch-thick environmental impact
statement.
One problem with reclamation is the
piesence of a highly toxic impurity.
TCDD or dioxin, in cer(ain lots of
Herbicide Orange. EPA has banned
pesticides containing more than one
part ot dioxin per million.
Other disposal options studied by the
Air Force included incineration on
land, injection into deep wells or nu-
clear test cavities, sludge burial, and
degradation by microbes.
Second best option to incineration at
sea would be incineration on Johnston
Island in facilities that would have to
be constructed there, the Air Force
statement said.
Burning the herbicide on the Vul-
canus would be carefully controlled.
The furnaces would be brought up to
operating temperature of at least 1,400
degrees C (2,552 degrees F) by conven-
tional fuel and then fed with undiluted
Herbicide Orange and compressed air.
The herbicide, a thick, oily liquid, has
a very high heating value of 10,000
British Thermal Units per pound. It
would be preheated before being
sprayed into the furnace, and at least
30 percent more compressed air than
necessary would be used to assure
complete combustion.
Based on sample incineration studies,
the Air Force estimates that virtually
all the herbicide would be burned.
Combustion products would be water
vapor, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen
chloride, plus very small amounts of
carbon monoxide and carbon particles.
With the worst possible combustion
efficiency of 99.9 percent, the Air
Force estimated that only 3.6 pounds
per hour of unburned Orange products
would escape to the atmosphere when
the incinerators are operating at their
maximum allowable rate of 53,000
pounds per hour.
Even though Herbicide Orange will
not be dumped directly into the ocean.
at-sea incineration comes under the
ocean dumping law because combus-
tion products from the incineration
process will enter the air and the water.
according to T.A. Wastlcr. chief.
Marine Protection Branch. EPA is con-
cerned with minimizing the effects of
such combustion products in the air and
water mixing /ones downwind and
downcurrent from the incinerator ship.
he said.
The dumping area proposed by EPA is
about 50 square miles of empty ocean
120 miles from Johnston Island and
1.000 miles west of Hawaii. The
Pacific equatorial current there moves
Dutch ship Vulcanus has two incinera-
tors at the stern (left).
westward, and during the proposed
incineration periods prevailing winds
are from the east. The nearest land
downwind and downcurrent from the
site is 1,000 miles away.
Another special concern with the pro-
posed permit, Mr. Wastler said, is the
handling and disposal of the 55-gallon
steel drums. There are 15,700 of them
at Gulfport and 25.000 at Johnston
Island. They should be opened and
drained with great care by workers
wearing protective clothing and res-
pirator masks when necessary. Aircraft
refuelcr trucks would pump the herbi-
cide Irom the Gulfport drain sumps to
railroad tank cars for transfer to the
ship. At Johnston Island, the aircraft
refueler trucks would drive directly to
the ship's dock.
All empty drums, sump tanks, and
pumping equipment would be rinsed
with diesel fuel and that fuel (about
40,000 gallons) would be burned with
the herbicide, the Air Force application
said.
The 40.700 empty drums would be
crushed and sold as scrap steel. The
steel furnace heat, about 2900 degrees
F, and six-hour duration, would safely
destroy all the herbicide remaining in
the drums, said the Air Force's impact
statement.
Taking part in negotiations with the
U.S. Air Force over its application
were Edwin L. Johnson, Deputy Assist-
ant Administrator for Pesticide Pro-
grams; Kenneth Biglanc, Director. Oil
and Special Materials Control Divi-
sion, Office of Water Program Opera-
tions; Mr. Wastler; Dr. Henry F. Enos.
Director, Equipment and Techniques
Division. Office of Research and Devel-
opment; James Rogers, attorney, Water
Quality Division, Office of General
Counsel; and Charles Sell, assistant to
the Director, Office of Federal
Activities, n
Cii; x
-------
boston deadline
The City of Boston has until June 30 to
close down its South Bay Avenue
incinerator. The City had been notified as
early as October, 1972, that it was not
meeting emission limitations prescribed
by the State's implementation plan. The
enforcement order requiring the shutdown
was issued by EPA March 5.
air pollution meeting
The Air Pollution Control Association
will hold its 68th Annual Meeting in
Boston June 15-20. A number of speakers
from EPA Headquarters are on the
program, as well as two former Region I
employees. Thomas Bracken, former
Regional Counsel, will speak on "Air
Quality Maintenance and Land Use
Implications," and Anthony Cortese,
presently at the Harvard School of Public
Health, will speak on "Determination of
Environmental Carbon Monoxide
Exposures Through Personal
Monitoring."
nuclear power plant
Region I recently announced conditions
that will have to be met if a proposed
nuclear power plant is constructed in
Seabrook, N.H., by the Public Service
Company of New Hampshire,
EPA is concerned about the heat of the
discharged water and the structure and
location of the intake valve. Jeffrey
Miller, director of Region I's
Enforcement Division, said the company
can use once-through cooling rather than a
cooling tower. However, the company
will have to modify the water intake to
protect shellfish, fish, and wildlife.
salt water tower
Regional Administrator Gerald M.
Hansler recently presented a special
award to the Atlantic City Electric Co.,
Atlantic City, N.J., for building the first
natural-draft salt water cooling tower in
the Nation. Mr.Hansler said the tower at
the B.L. England plant, Beesely's Point,
N.J., was designed after EPA informed
the company that once-through cooling
would not meet certain water quality
criteria recommended to New Jersey by
EPA. The tower protects Great Egg
Harbor Bay from heated water discharge
which could adversely affect existing
marine life.
$1,000 for tampering
Hory Chevrolet, Larchmont, N.Y.,
agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for replacing
the standard, emission-controlled engines
in two Vega coupes (1972 and 1973) with
uncontrolled 1970 Corvette-type engines
in violation of the Clean Air Act. In the
consent decree filed by the Justice
Department, the company also agreed to
an injunction against any future emissions
tampering.
puerto rico smoke
The Puerto Rico Water Resources
Authority agreed to correct visible smoke
emissions and set compliance schedules at
two generating plants: San Juan Steam
Plant, Puerto Nuevo; and South Coast
Steam Plant, Guayanilla. The Authority
was ordered to burn fuel with a sulfur
content of no more than one percent to
comply with revisions in Puerto Rico's
Clean Air regulations.
gas station checkup
Visits to more than 1,600 service stations
in Region II indicate that 98 percent are
offering unleaded gas needed for the
proper functioning of catalytic converters
on many 1975 cars. Inspectors,
sometimes using a specially equipped
mobile van, visited stations at random to
make certain the gas was available and
that the station had proper nozzles and
signs. Minor violations occurred in a
small number of cases. Where unleaded
gas was not available, it was usually due to
late deliveries.
PAGE 9
-------
PHILADELPHIA
federal installations
Region III has pioneered a new approach
to insure that Federal installations comply
with provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Many Federal installations that have
difficulty attaining emission standards
have been reluctant to sign compliance
agreements with State agencies because of
Federal sovereignty questions. In these
cases, the-Region's Federal Activities
staff meets with the staff of the Federal
agency to negotiate a compliance schedule
satisfactory to both sides. EPA maintains
close liaison with the State to ensure that
all requirements of the Slate
Implementation Plan are met. After
agreement has been reached, the Regional
Administrator and a senior official of the
other Federal agency sign a consent
agreement and compliance schedule.
The first such agreement was reached with
the Naval Surface Weapons Center, Silver
Spring, Md. Agreements have also been
signed with the National Naval Medical
Center, Bethesda, Md.; the Naval
Training Center, Bainbridge, Md.; and
the Bureau of Printing and Engraving,
Washington, D.C.
The Region is negotiating agreements
with six other Federal installations.
steel company dispute
EPA and U.S. Steel are in a confrontation
on open hearth furnaces in the company's
Birmingham, Ala.-, operation similar to
the one last fall in Gary, Ind., which
resulted in shutdown by the company of
some furnaces—and a side argument
about how many jobs were affected.
Involved in Alabama are five open hearths
at U.S. Steel's Ensley Works. Ensiey is a
suburb of Birmingham. In its other
operations in this southern steel-and-coal
producing city, the big steel company has
switched to the basic-oxygen process and
has announced plans for installing such
facilities in Ensley. But at the same time,
U.S. Steel has in effect sought a delay
until late 1977.
The Jefferson County Health Department
first indicated dissatisfaction with the
request. Now Region IV has by letter
informed U.S. Steel that the five open
hearths are in violation of the Clean Air
Act. A series of conferences have
followed, and the Region hopes the issue
can be resolved by late May.
Meanwhile two Birmingham newspapers,
the News and the Post-Herald, have
expressed some scepticism about the
company's assertions on the effect a
shutdown would have on jobs. The News
reported:
"U.S. Steel claims that 2,000 jobs would
be affected by closing down the furnace,
500 at first, 1,500 later, as steel
production is cut back.
"In Gary, Ind., last fall, U.S. Steel said
4,000 people would lose their jobs if the
open hearths there were closed. The
furnaces were closed and EPA records
show that 400 steelworkers were
temporarily out of jobs but later returned
to work or retired."
bunch-up
Helping Region V cities with their
transportation control plans has been a
prime goal of the regional Public Affairs
Office in recent months. Catchy television
and radio spots, posters, bumper stickers,
and public service ads are designed to
promote car pooling, public transit, and
other ways of saving fuel and reducing
congestion.
One campaign called "Bunch-Up" was
put together with the help of Dick Orkin
Creative Services, who created the
"Chicken Man" radio comedy ads. The
"Bunch-Up" television campaign has
been nominated for a pub! ic service award
at the Hollywood Internationa! Film
Festival, ft has been widely used in the
Chicago area and has been picked to be
shown at Sears shopping centers
throughout the country.
A follow-up campaign is under way to get
people to have their cars inspected
voluntarily. The Office has been working
with Cincinnati air pollution control
officials on a similar campaign titled "I'm
Clean." This also is a multimedia effort,
and cars that pass the test get "I'm Clean''
bumper stickers.
meetings
A national symposium on food processing
wastes was held in Madison, Wise., April
9-11. Sponsors were EPA's Pacific
Northwest Environmental Research
Laboratory and two canning industry
associations.
The Second National Conference on
Water Reuse was slated to be held May 4-8
in Chicago, sponsored by the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers and
EPA's Technology Transfer Staff.
leaky can roundup
Region VI pesticide officials are helping
to locate and recall an estimated million
leaking cans of a toxic pesticide, methyl
bromide. Most of the defective cans were
packed in El Dorado, Ark., at a plant of
the Great Lakes Chemical Corp.
The recall order was issued by Region V,
since the company's headquarters is in
West Lafayette, Ind., but Region VI is
also involved in supervising execution of
the recall order.
' Methyl bromide is used as a soil fumigant
and is packed under a number of different
brand names. It is a colorless, sometimes
odorless, liquid and is extremely
poisonous, according to Alex Gimble,
regional pesticide enforcement officer.
Skin contact with the liquid or inhaling its
fumes can be fatal.
funds and jobs
A recent EPA grant of $48 million to the
City of Fort Worth for the construction of
new wastewater treatment facilities will
create about 3,000 jobs, according to
Deputy Regional Administrator George
J. Putnicki.
PACE 10
-------
scrubber film
An educational motion picture on
scrubber systems for removing sulfur
oxides from coal burning plant emissions
is being produced by the Regional Public
Affairs Office.
The largest scrubber system in the world is
located at LaCygne, Kan., and regional
officials feel the film will help to answer
questions about this much debated
pollution control technique.
The film will follow the general format of
the Office's film, "Trash to Kilowatts,"
on reclaiming energy from municipal
solid wastes. The scrubber film, not yet
titled, is expected to be finished in four to
six weeks.
water workshop
A workshop to acquaint municipal and
industry officials with the provisions of
the new Federal Safe Drinking Water Act
was held April 1 at Lake Ozark, Mo., by
EPA Region VII, the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources, and the
American Waterworks Association.
Regional Administrator Jerome Svore,
Deputy Regional Administrator Charles
V. Wright, and Otmar Olson, water
supply officer, took part in the program.
Missouri Governor Christopher S. Bond
and AWWA President Robert B. Hilbert
addressed the meeting.
getting to work
Practicing what they preach, some 74
percent of Region VIII employees
stationed at the downtown Denver offices
get to and from work by means other than
single-occupant auto commuting.
Of the employees responding, 104 are in
car pools, 99 ride buses, six walk, and
three ride bicycles.
In a city where mobile sources contribute
an estimated 90 percent of total emissions
in the air, alternatives to private auto
commuting are being pushed by EPA, the
city administration, the State health
department, local businesses and citizen
groups.
Region VIII hopes to keep the "Driving
Alone Is Exhausting" idea before
Denver-area motorists through posters,
bus cards, commuting-time radio spots
and other suitable devices.
EPA staff commuting habits were
surveyed in cooperation with the State's
transportation control plan designed to
meet national standards in the Mile-High
City by mid-1977.
SAN FRANCISCO
airport suit
A conservation group, Friends of the
Earth, 'is suing the San Francisco Airport
and the Federal Aviation Administration,
trying to block an airport expansion
project until an environmental impact
study has been made.
At first the conservationists failed to get
an injunction, because the Federal judge
required them to post a $4.5-million bond
as a condition of establishing their
standing to sue. Six weeks later the U.S.
Court of Appeals reduced the bond to
51,000, it was promptly posted, and the
injunction was granted.
One issue in the case is whether a Federal
impact statement is required when no
Federal funds are used to begin the
project. Airport officials say the initial
work — now halted — involves no
Federal money. Other aspects of the
airport's expansion plans will involve
Federal funds, about $50 million out of a
total cost of $385 million. The FAA is
preparing an impact statement.
Spokane grant
A grant of S33.7 million — largest ever
made by EPA in the Pacific Northwest —
has been awarded to the City of Spokane
for construction of new sewerage facilities
to replace the present 21-million
gallons-per-day primary treatment plant
with secondary treatment capacity of 40
million gallons a day.
Regional Administrator Clifford V. Smith
said the new plant, to be built at the
northwest edge of the city, will require
60,000 cubic yards of concrete, clarifiers
160 feet in diameter, and aeration basins
the size of a football field.
"EPA expects the project to create a
fulltime work force of 500 persons during
the peak construction phase, and —
beyond that, once the job is complete — to
provide environmental protection for
years to come," Mr. Smith said.
The chief feature of the plant will be its
capability for removing phosphorus from
Spokane's sewage. Phosphorus is the key
nutrient which stimulates algae growth in
Long Lake, on the Spokane River about 20
miles from the city. The plant is expected
to be completed in late 1977.
gas pump survey
Almost 100 gasoline station operators in
the Region have been warned they are in
violation of Federal regulations on
no-lead gasoline.
The warnings were sent by Regional
Administrator Smith as follow-up to the
Agency's continuing inspections of all gas
stations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho
and Alaska that are required by law to
offer unleaded gasoline. Since late last
year when the inspection program began,
more than 900 station visits have been
made.
"The cooperation of gasoline distributors
and retail operators has been
outstanding," Mr. Smith said. "In only a
few instances was it discovered that a
station required to sell unleaded gasoline
had failed to do so."
PAGE I I
-------
t
I
"Dedicated people, decentralization
and strong leadership." These are the
three characteristics of HPA which have
made the deepest impression on him.
Peter L. Cashman said in an interview
with EPA Journal.
Mr. Cashman, who was appointed Di-
rector of the new Office of Regional and
Intergovernmental Operations in Jan-
uary, has completed visits to all of the
Agency's ten regions.
"These visits." Cashman said, "bore
out my faith in the concept of decentral-
i/ution. Without question LPA has the
strongest regional operation in the Fed-
eral Government and I doubt that the
significant progress this Agency has
made could have been achieved had
il been operating strictly from
Washington."
A former Lieutenant Governor of Con-
necticut. Mr. Cashman said that he was
impressed by the enthusiasm of LPA
employees.
"From my experience in both Govern-
ment and industry," Cashman said. "I
have never seen employees who care so
deeply about what they are doing. If
there is any one thing that makes LPA
different, il is the attitude of its
employees."
Asked about the role of his new office,
Cashman said "1 regard the Office of
Regional and Intergovernmental Opera-
lions as fundamentally a communica-
tions office.
"The former LPA Regional Liaison
Office did an extremely effective job in
this area, hut the addition of the inter-
governmental relations function will
broaden its scope and activities.
"Hopefully, we can increase our com-
mitment to include Stale and local points
of view in our decision-making process.
1 consider that one of the primary
missions of this office."
Mr. Cashman said "we have a tre-
mendous job to do in the intergovern-
mental relations area. It is the goal of the
Congress, of the President and of this
Agency to have a shared responsibility
with State and local government in all of
our programs."
Acknowledging that shared responsibil-
ity complicates the carrying out of pro-
grams, Mr. Cashman said "in the long
run, in our very responsive democratic
society, it is the only wa\ we can meet
pETERL. Q\SHMAN
the difficult challenges before all levels
of Government."
He noted that "we undoubtedly will
have to focus more attention on work-
ing with the State and local Govern-
ments. "
Mr. Cashman said that in his new post
he is looking forward to working with
seven major public interest groups:
The Council of State Governments, the
National Governors' Conference, the Na-
tional Conference of State Legislatures,
U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Nation-
al League of Cities, the National As-
sociation ot Counties and the Inter-
national City Management Association.
Mr. Cashman, 38. served as Connecti-
cut's Lieutenant Governor from June
1973 to January 1975. During that time
he presided over the State Senate and
chaired the State Council on Human
Services which coordinates the work of
nine human service agencies. He also
worked closely with all State commis-
sioners and agency heads.
Before succeeding to the post of Lieu-
tenant Governor, Mr. Cashman was
elected twice to the State Senate; he was
elected President Pro Tempore of t he-
State Senate in 1972.
As a State legislator he was instru-
mental in the enactment of State environ-
mental legislation, including the so-
called Cashman Bill providing for the
preservation of the lower Connecticut
River Valley.
His previous experience includes three
years as Vice President of an industrial
marketing research company, preceded
by administrative and teaching positions
at a Connecticut preparatory school.
Mr. Cashman makes his home in
Washington. D.C.
l> AC; I- 12
-------
SPRINGTIME IN THE CITY
Boy meets girl by Trinity Church fence at Broadway and Wall Street, New York.
As these photographs illustrate,
spring in the cities can be a pleasant
time to enjoy some of the good things
of urban life such as fountains, flower
gardens, parks and nature. All of
these activities depend on a healthy
environment. These photographs
from EPA's Documerica collection
help illustrate how fresh air can help
bring enjoyment to urban life. Scenes
from fourcities, New York, Cincinnati,
Minneapolis and Chicago, are
depicted here.
PAGE
-------
Sidewalk diners can watch and be watched at Fountain Square, Cincinnati
Bench at Foster Avenue Beach Park, Chicago, offers chance to rest and read beside Lake Michigan
PAGE 14
-------
Minneapolis postal workers take an afternoon break on Nicollet Mall.
Cincinnati's Tyler Davidson fountain prompts a make-believe dunking.
PACIH is
-------
NEW LOOK PLANNED
FOR EPA GRAPHICS
EPA has launched a project that could result in a new look for the Agency's
visual materials. The project has a single purpose—to improve communication
with (he puhlic.
The project is part of a Federal design program started three years ago by the
National Endowment for the Arts to upgrade Federal architecture and other
government design, including graphics. A number of Federal departments
including the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, the
Department of Interior, and NASA are participating. EPA was invited to join
in this effort about IK months ago, and Administrator Russell E. Train
accepted.
Mrs. Patricia Calm. Director of Puhlic Affairs, said: "Federal Agencies that
have undergone such a design review have found that in addition to giving a
cleaner, more professional appearance lo their information materials, it reduces
overall design costs about 15 percent. The program appears to be well worth
its initial cost."
In a first step. I-.PA submitted a representative sampling of published
mateiial lor evaluation by a panel of leading graphic designers.
Ihe panel's key recommendation was that EPA attach high priority to
improving the appearance and efficiency of publications, periodicals, posters.
stationery, exhibits, etc. "All major categories," panelists urged, "need
attention because they do not possess a ivcogni/ahle visual unity; they do not
appropriately support, nor adequately represent, HPA aims and programs; they
have no discernahle st\le. For the most part, professional decisions concern-
ing layout, style, format, typography, anil reproduction are inadequate."
The panel's suggestion: retain an outstanding graphics designer.
After receiving competitive bids, EPA awarded a $67,000 contract to the
New York design firm of riiermaycff & (ieismar. Inc. The Office of Public
Allan's is the contract project office. The national bicentennial symbol and the
signs of the National Park Service are among the firm's nationally visible
designs.
As steps in designing a unified visual communication system for EPA,
C'hermaycff & (ieismar will:
• Review all Agency printed materials—booklets, pamphlets, technical
reports, reports to Congress, labels, posters, stationery, signs, press releases,
directories, decals, newsletters and exhibits.
• Talk with key headquarters, regional and laboratory people to develop an
understanding of the Agency's mission, functions and objectives.
• Consider and explore all EPA graphics and printing capabilities.
Ihe firm then will develop a unified graphics design program to help EPA
communicate its message lo the public.
During the one-year contract Chermuyeff & Geismar will produce an EPA
graphics manual and wink with the Office of Public Affairs on its
implementation and maintenance of design quality throughout the Agency. G
Manuela Alvarez, Clerk-Typist, Region
VI, Dallas: "I would like to continue
working where 1 am now. All my family
and friends are here. I have lived in
Dallas since I was five years old and
I've never lived outside the city. I don't
know what it would be like outside of
Dallas. 1 would like to travel though, and
J would like to visit Washington because
of its history. 1 enjoy coming to work
every day and 1 find the work rewarding.
I work in the legal branch and there arc-
career possibilities here."
Ann Occhino, Staff Assistant. Region
VIII, Denver: "Working at headquarters
and then transferring to a region has
given me a broader knowledge of EPA
activities. Here 1 have the opportunity to
observe the reality of the implementa-
tions and their repercussions. Of course,
the rapport with your boss and co-
workers is an important factor in selt-
happiness no matter where you are and 1
can truly say I am happier here. This
region is well managed and works on a
highly constructive level. Being the fe-
male that 1 am. I find Denver inconven-
ient as far as shopping is concerned. The
selections are not as varied as in Wash-
ington, and 1 find myself doing a lot of
mail ordering or driving the sales per-
sonnel batty asking for articles that I
find in magazines. I also miss that
wonderful Chesapeake Bay where 1 en-
joyed loafing on a boat and listening to
Nature's tranquility."
-------
Would you rather work
in a regional office or
headquarters and why?
Robert Hurd, Director of the Water
Division. Region X. Seattle: "Unequiv-
ocally, 1 prefer working in the regional
office. While headquarters offers con-
siderable ego satisfaction because you
arc working at the seat of power and
dealing with national policy issues and
the Congress. 1 think regional office
assignments offer even greater satisfac-
tion. Basically this is because the re-
gions arc closer to the real world. You
can see waste treatment plants built
through your efforts and water cleaned
up before your eyes. Day by day you
deal with programs and people that are
on (lie front lines. I find this very
rewarding. Also regional office work is
very challenging because there are so
many practical but often difficult prob-
lems to solve. I think 1 am well qualified
to give an opinion on the question,
having worked at headquarters tor five
years followed by four years in a re-
gional office. Furthermore, since Seattle
is the regional office most distant Irom
Washington, I am obviously an expert."
Mary Lcyland, Chief of Grants Admin-
istration Branch. Region II, New York:
"Given a choice. I would opt for work at
the regional office le\el. Having worked
in Region I and II as well as in short
term assignments at headquarters. I can
find a number of advantages to regional
office work. At headquarters, people
plan and write regulations and think in
broad terms and time frames. At the
regional level, personnel deal with the
immediacy ot day to day operations. It is
in the regional office that the implemen-
tation of broad policies occurs, that
issues are resolved and the future takes a
more realistic form. In the region, we
talk to people from other program areas,
from State and local agencies, acquaint-
ing ourselves with their operations.
Higher grades at headquarters should
lure regional personnel there--a good
idea in that regional personnel know best
what is happening in the field, what can
happen and. in a sense, what must
happen so that the Agency can function
properly and effectively."
Robert Davis, Biologist. Region 111.
Philadelphia: "Like W.C. Fields. I
would rather be in Philadelphia. 1 feel I
can live more in the style in which I like
to live in this region. Philadelphia has
cultural opportunities within easy access
from where 1 live. Although 1 ha\e little
to do with policy setting. I feel 1 am
close to the problems and the people. 1
enjoy working on matters such as acid
mine drainage, rural waste management
and ocean monitoring. It's a little more
satisfying if you get to deal directly with
these problems."
\
Hill Keller, Chief. Water .Section, Tech
nical Service Branch. Region VII.
Kansas City: "I prefer being in Kansas
City. I spent a year in Washington back
in about 19ft] when I was starting out on
my career. It was good experience, but I
was glad to leave. Once in Washington
was enough. I have been in the region
here m Kansas City about eight years
My interests happen to be technical and I
want to assure that FPA's technical work
is satisfactory. 1 do field sampling for the
water programs. I tind it easier to do
well when I like something 1 am doing.
Kansas City is a nice place. The pace
here is not as last or as pushy as n is
further Fast, but it's about as big a place
as I would like to live in."
I'ACil- I '
-------
PEOPLE
^L
1
A model South Pacific outrigger was
recently presented to Administrator Rus-
sell I:. Train as a gift from islanders
displaced 2S years ago so the United
States could use their atoll for nuclear
weapons tests.
h is one of several made by residents of
Ujelang, in the Marshall Islands, for
heads of Federal agencies making plans
to return the people to their old home.
Enewetak Island (formerly spelled Eni-
wetok),
For several years teams of radiation
experts have been surveying Enewetak to
determine what work is needed to clean
up and dispose of radioactive debris and
make the island sale to permanent set-
tlement. The experts represented both
EPA and the Energy Research and De-
velopment Administration (ERDA),
formerly the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion.
An environmental impact statement be-
ing prepared by the Defense Nuclear
Agency estimates the cost at about $40
million, which Congress will be asked to
approve and appropriate.
After 117 Enewetak islanders were
moved in 1947 to Ujelang, a smaller
island 200 miles to the southwest, the
population increased. It now totals about
435, most of whom want to move to Ene-
wetak.
The Interior Department, which admin-
isters the Pacific Island Trust Territory,
is also involved in the resettlement
planning
Administrator Russell E. Train, left, re-
ceives model Micronesian outrigger ves-
sel from Dr. William D. Rowe, Radia-
tion Programs. Gift was made by South
Sea islanders who hope to have their
radioactive atoll cleaned up and made
habitable.
Peter I,. Cook has been appointed
Assistant Director, Policy and Proce-
dures Staff, Office of Federal Activities.
Mr. Cook joined the Agency in 1971 as
a federal activities coordinator.
Prior to his employment with EPA, Mr.
Cook was with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration where he
acted as a project engineer in the
weather satellite program. He holds a
degree in electrical engineering from
Clarkson College of Technology in New
York, and a masters" degree in business
administration from American Univer-
sity, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Aaron A. Rosen recently received
the Professional Accomplishment in Gov-
ernment Award for engineers or scien-
tists, given annually by the Cincinnati
Technical and Scientific Societies
Council.
Dr. Rosen, who has been with EPA
since 1970. is Scientific Advisor of the
National Field Investigation Center in
Cincinnati. He is a member of the
American Chemical Society, American
Water Works Association, Water Pollu-
tion Control Federation, and other pro-
fessional societies. He is the author and
co-author of many publications in his
field.
William J. Dircks, Executive Assist-
ant to the Administrator, has been ap-
pointed to a post with the new Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, He will be
Assistant Executive Director for Opera-
tions with special responsibility for pol-
icy coordination.
Mr. Dircks was appointed Executive
Assistant to the Administrator in Febru-
ary, 1974. From 197,1 to 1974 he had
been a senior staff member at the Coun-
cil on Environmental Quality. His Fed-
eral service also included work with the
Atomic Energy Commission, the U.S.
Office of Economic Opportunity, and the
Economic Development Administration
of the Department of Commerce.
il-. IS
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Linda Buono, coordinator of Region
II's unleaded gas program, analy/es a
sample from an area service station.
Mrs. Buono and her team of field
samplers from the Surveillance and
Analysis Division, have the respon-
sibility for verifying thai the approxi-
mately 20,000 service stations in the
Region have gasoline that meets lead-
free regulations. Mrs. Buono is making
the analysis in ihe HPA Mobile Fuels
Laboratory.
Alvin I,. Aim, Assistant Administrator
for Planning and Management, recent!}
presented the President's Safety Award
for 1973 to the HPA Safety Management
Systems staff. This award is made annu-
ally hy the President to Federal agencies.
HPA received Honorable Mention in Cat-
egory 2 for agencies with between 6,000
and 112,000 employees. Only two
awards are presented in each category. In
order to he eligible tor award considera-
tion, agencies must show at least a one-
percent improvement in accident fre-
quency rate for the contest sear when
compared to the average frequency rate
lor the previous three years.
HPA received the award not only be-
cause oi'its reduction in injury experience
for the year 1973 but as a recognition of
its effective safety program during that
year. The Safety staff, headed in 1973 by
former Safety Officer Trenton Crow and
directed since May, 1974, by Lawrence
F. Gaffney, is based in Washington but
travels to all Regions and National Hn-
vironmental Research Centers to review
and strengthen safety programs.
Michael L. Springer, director of the
Management Information and Data Sys-
tems Division, starts this month on a
year-long executive training program
sponsored hy the Civil Service Commis-
sion and the Office of Management and
Budget. Alter a seven-week course ai
the Federal Executive Institute. Char-
lottesville. Va.. Mr. Springer will be
assigned to successive posts with HPA
and other Federal, State, or local agen-
cies in a program designed to strengthen
his leadership qualities and broaden his
experience. Only 26 other Federal offi-
cials were chosen for this sear's
program.
Mr. Springer. 37. was financial and
budget officer for ihe National Library
of Medicine before coming to HPA in
March, 1971. Fie attended Millsaps Col-
lege, Jackson, Miss., and was graduated
from George Washington University. He
was born in Florida but has lived most of
his life in the Washington, D.C.. area.
John Moran recentls left his post as
director of catalytic converter and fuel
additive programs at the National En-
vironmental Research Center, Research
Triangle Park, N.C. His new assignment
is to direct the vehicle efficiency pro-
gram. Office of the Associate Adminis-
trator for Transportation, Federal Energy
Administration. Mr. Moran came to HPA
in May of 1971. Previously he was
associated with the Dow Chemical Co.
in Midland. Mich.
Kd\vin L. Johnson, 39. has been
named Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Pesticide Programs. He began his
professional career in 1958 as an en-
gineer and project director for (he U.S.
Public Health Service. He later became
the chief economist for comprehensive
planning and programs for the Public
Health Service, responsible for econom-
ic analyses and mathematical modeling
for nationwide water quality manage-
ment plans. Mr. Johnson joined the
Department of Interior in 1966 and
became chief of the sv stems analysis and
economic branch of the Federal Water
Qua lily Administration.
In 1970. he became a member of the
newly organi/ed Environmental Protec-
tion Agency. In 1972 Mr. Johnson he-
came the Director of Operations and
Strategic Studies for Pesticide Programs
where he remained until his present
appointment. A native of New Britain,
Conn., he lias a bachelor's degree in
civil engineering. Yale University.
1957; a master's in public administration,
Harvard University. 1962: and a master's
in economics, Harvard University, 1963.
He succeeds Henry .1. Korp. currently a
senior science advisor to the Assistant
Administrator for Water and Ha/ardous
Materials.
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VOLTAGE
POWER LINES STUDIED
Julin Nelson climbs radiation analysis van tn put microwave antenna on the traveling
lab's .nast. A pneumatic mechanism can lift the mast 10 meters, the better to detect
ami record electromagnetic I'ields.
Can high-voltage electric power lines
at'l'ect the health of people living near
them and the environment through which
they pass?
The Office of Radiation Programs has
been seeking answers to these questions
a\ part of its regular study of non-
ioni/ing radiation—-the kind produced
by infrared and microwave devices;
radar, television, and FM radio trans-
mitters: and certain kinds of electric
equipment.
Under the direction of David F. Janes
Jr., (he six-member Electromagnetic Ra-
diation Analysis Branch is investigating
transmission line etfects because of the
increasing use of extremely high volt-
age, defined as more than 700 kilovolts.
Several such lines are already operating
in the I'mted States, others are being
built, and proposals have been made for
lines at 1,000 kV (one million volts).
Not enoimh is known about the electro-
magnetic tields that surround such a
line, Mr. Janes said, or what effects they
may have on human health, plants.
animals, and other forms of life.
Mr. Janes explained that electric and
magnetic fields created by power lines
are most intense near the line and
decrease with distance from it. As trans-
mission voltages are raised, field inten-
sities at ground level may become high
enough to affect living cells in ways still
unknown,
Other environmental effects could
come from corona, the discharge that
occurs with the breakdown of the insulat-
ing properties of air surrounding a power
line. Corona can produce visible light.
sometimes seen as a glow around the
line: audible noise: radiation that can
interfere with radio and television recep-
tion; and o/one. an oxidant air pollutant.
Mr. Janes and his colleagues are gather-
ing data to help determine if a standard
is needed to protect public health and the
environment from non-ioni/ing radia-
tion. Their studies cover a broad range
from the extremely low frequencies at
which power lines operate to ultra-high
frequencies employed in radar'and micro-
wave devices.
Two trailers at the Forest Glen Annex,
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research,
Silver Spring, Md.. serve as their office
and laboratory.
A specially equipped van allows them
to take their instruments and recording
equipment into the field. The van has a
spectrum analyzer—essentially a very
fine radio receiver—connected to a small
computer that controls and analyzes the
data collected. Several antenna systems
are used in the measurement of electro-
magnetic fields. These antennas are in-
dividually mounted on a 10-meter tele-
scoping mast, as needed.
The van also has several types of
portable instruments to measure high-
level fields near specific sources. These
portable instruments have been used by
the Branch in studies of military and
civilian radar, powerful satellite com-
munication systems, and some broadcast-
ing stations.
A study of electrostatic fields at a 500-
kV overhead transmission line near
Frederick, Md., has been completed and
will soon be published. Another study
during the next two months will make a
similar evaluation of a 765-kV line at a
site still to be chosen in Indiana or Ohio.
This study will be supported in part by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
under an interagency agreement.
Working with Mr. Janes on these proj-
ects are Richard A. Tell, T. Whit Athey,
Norbert N. Hankin, John C. Nelson, and
Vicki Gocal.
A formal notice by EPA seeking data
from industries and the scientific com-
munity was printed in the Federal Reg-
ister March 18.
Signed by Roger Strelow, Assistant
Administrator for Air and Waste Manage-
ment, the notice said "there appears to
he no central focus in the Federal Gov-
ernment" for collecting and analyzing
data on the health and environmental
effects of high voltage power lines.
Mr. Strelow asked interested persons to
submit data by June 30 on electric and
magnetic fields, induced voltages and
currents, discharge phenomena, and
health effects. He said this information
would help HPA's investigations and
"assist in the determination of the need
to provide guidance . . . or formulate
plans for such future regulatory action as
may be necessary to protect the public
health and welfare." D
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briefs
EPA BARS CONTRACTS, GRANTS, LOANS TO POLLUTERS
Industrial and manufacturing facilities in violation of the
clean air and water laws will not be eligible to receive
any Federal contract, grant, or loan, according to final
regulations recently adopted by EPA. Starting July 1 the
Agency, with assistance from the States, will place such
violating facilities on a list, based on administrative and
civil court decisions and criminal convictions in Federal,
State, and local courts. Listed facilities will be barred
from receiving any payment over $100,000, or for any amount
if the facility is involved in a Federal criminal conviction
for water or air pollution. One exception will be grants to
help facilities to comply with pollution control standards .
ORGANIC CHEMICALS FOUND IN WATER SUPPLY OF 79 CITIES
Small quantities of organic chemicals have been found in the
water supplies of 79 cities throughout the country,
Administrator Russell E. Train announced. The findings are
the first results of a national survey begun last November
after the chemicals had been identified in the drinking water
of New Orleans and Cincinnati. The six chemicals are all
"volatile" organic compounds. The use of chlorine to disinfect
drinking water is believed to contribute to the formation of
four of them. "Even at the low levels we found (parts per
billion}," Mr. Train said, "the chemicals are a matter of
concern...EPA is working to determine their health effects,
their sources, and what can be done most practically to solve
the problem."
CONSTRUCTION GRANT AUDITS INDICATE WEAKNESS
Weaknesses in the local administration of some EPA grants
for sewage plant construction may have resulted in
overpayments, according to a preliminary report released
recently by Alvin L. Aim, Assistant Administrator for
Planning and Management. Audits of 41 projects in 12
States are under way and are expected to show deficiencies
in administration, accounting, and costing, plus some examples
of excessive profits, Mr. Aim said. Actual audit reports will
be released as soon as completed, he said, "and we are stepping
up all of our audit and inspection activities" to correct any
abuses.
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
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MINIATURE WORLDS poR PESTICIDE JESTING
Jay Gile, research biologist,
makes regular observations
of plant and animal activity
in one of the National Eco-
logical Research Labora-
tory's model pesticide
research ecosystems.
Scientists at the National Ecological Research
Laboratory at Corvallis, Ore., have put a simula-
tion of the natural world in a box. The purpose of
the experiment is to provide chemical manufactur-
ers with a research tool to evaluate the environ-
mental impact of new pesticides.
The plexiglass box (about 39 x 29 x 23 inches) is a
miniature ecosystem, designed to be a practical.
intermediate investigative step between the test
tube and field studies. The research is a spin-off of
EPA's Substitute Chemical Program, started in
1973 to find safe, effective chemicals to replace
pesticides that harm the environment. The project
is directed by Dr. James Gillett, laboratory
ecologist.
Researchers use the chamber to develop methods
and procedures that can be used to evaluate the
pathways, biological effects and fate of selected
substitute pesticides. A conceptual model has been
developed to trace pesticide movements in soil,
air, and water.
Controlled amounts of light, temperature, humid-
ity. air. water and defined living and non-living
elements are combined in the box to duplicate
specific field conditions. Seeds are planted, and
soil invertebrates, insects, and larger life forms like
the praying mantis, chameleon, field mouse and
Japanese quail are put in this laboratory world. When
the system is balanced and functioning, selected
pesticides "tagged" with radioactive carbon-14 arc
added so that their movements can be traced.
At the end of each experiment (30 to 60 days) the
living and non-living portions are segregated,
weighed and counted and analyzed.
It is anticipated that within two \ears this process
of microcosmic testing should be developed to the
point that it can be made available to chemical
manufacturers for commercial uses.
The Corvallis program is being coordinated with
those of three other EPA associate laboratories—
the Gulf Breeze Environmental Research Labora-
tory, Gulf Breeze, Fla.; the National Water Quality
Laboratory, Duluth, Minn.; and the Southeast
Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens. Ga.D
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