JUNE 1975
VOL. ONE, NO. SIX
                      CONTROLLING PESTICIDE USE
                   RESEARCH PROGRAM REORGANIZED
                      U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

-------
WORLD   OF  POISONS
  On farms  and  orchards  across  America  the
 sun-drenched  days of June spur many field
 plants and fruit trees  into  their final weeks of
 urgent growth.
  Nature's pulse beats at its highest. Pastures are.
 lush. Green fields promise another bumper yield
 of food and fiber crops.
  It's also a time  when billions of  the most suc-
 cessful animals on earth—insects—are munch-
 ing and sucking on the crops man is so carefully
 nurturing.
  So begins another round  in the endless battle
 between man and pest.
  This issue of EPA Journal examines EPA'srole
 in controlling the poisons that are  still the main
 weapons in this  struggle.  An over-all view of
 the Agency's  pesticides program, which  also
 covers rodenticides,  fungicides,  weed killers
 and disinfectants as well as insecticides, can be
 found on Page 2.
  Insects began flourishing on this planet some
 250 million  years ago,  long  before one-
 million-year old man made his appearance. Sci-
 entists have sometimes speculated that the in-
 sects may outlive man.
  One of the oldest  insects  is  the cockroach.
 While dinosaurs  and thousands of  other species
 of life perished,  while man-made civilizations
 rose and fell, the cockroach marched on.
  Today one  of  the  research projects EPA  is
 helping to fund is a search for more information
 about the natural enemies and habitat of  the
 roach which could be used to curb growth of this
 ancient pest.
  In his effort to protect food and fiber crops
 from the voracious appetites of pests, man has
 learned that after a while  insecticides become
 ineffective, especially if they are  used heavily.
 Through genetic  selections, pests develop resis-
 tant strains and a particular poison formula no
 longer works.
  While chemical poisons have apparently been
successful in halting the spread of the plant-
eating giant African snail in Florida, the Gypsy
Moth, which has caused  millions  of dollars
worth of damage by its gluttonous consumption
of tree leaves in its caterpillar stage,  is  still
slowly spreading its territory despite the  fact
that it has for years been doused with chemicals,
including DDT.
 A promising approach  which might frustrate
the pest's adaptability is called Integrated Pest
Management. It selects  the  most  appropriate
weapons from the arsenal, including improved
chemical pesticides, attractants  or repellants,
biological controls (natural parasites and pred-
ators), growth  regulators, disease- and pest-
resistant crops.
 The  Integrated Pest Management program,
recognizing that more than 95 percent  of the
hundreds of thousands of species of insects are
either beneficial or neutral to man, avoids indis-
criminate slaughter.
 Meanwhile,  two recent incidents in the West
reported  by Region IX in the Around the Nation
department, Page 7 , illustrate the dangers of
the use, availability and  transport of toxic pes-
ticides.
 In Phoenix,  Ariz., a man was hospitalized in
critical condition after drinking a quart of the
highly toxic herbicide, paraquat, in what was
believed  to be an attempted suicide.
 A truck carrying a shipment of Lannate L, a
toxic insecticide, blew a tire in Los Angeles,
overturned and caught fire. Eighty-two persons
were sickened by the escaping fumes, including
11 who required intravenous injections of at-
ropine.
 Yet the need for effective weapons in the  war
against plant-eating and disease-carrying insects
is pressing.
 EPA's role in this battle is to help ensure that
man in his zeal to eliminate  the pests doesn't
destroy himself  and  leave earth to the insects.

-------
A
sszz
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
Russell E. Train
Administrator
Patricia L. Cahn
Director of Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce
Editor
Staff:
Van Trumbull
Ruth Hussey
Cover: The (iypsy Moth. Porlhetria
dispar. In its caterpillar stage it strips
trees of their leaves and has caused
enormous damage lo forests on the hast
Coast. It was given the name "Gypsy"
because the female often lays its eiiys on
vehicles such as camper trailers and so
the young get a tree ride to new territory .
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA
Page 10&11 Don Morun
Ernest Bucci
Pane 12 Bovd Norton*
Page 13 Boyd Norton*
Pane 16 Don Moran
Ernest Bucci
Page 1 8 & 1 9 Don Moran
Ernest Bucci
Back Page Malcolm F. Kallus
* DOCUMHRICA Photos
C O N T
E N T S
STRIKING A BALANCE IN PESTICIDE USE PAGE 2
Pesticides have great benefits and perils. The head of EPA's Pesticide Program sums up
the history, the problems, and the future direction of his program. By Edwin L. Johnson
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN PESTICIDE REGULATION? PAGE 6
An interview with A. E. Conroy II. Director, Pesticides Enforcement Division.
PHOTO ESSAY -- STRIP MINES AND POWER PLANTS PAGE 12
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REORGANIZED PAGE 14
ACCENT ON TRAINING FOR BETTER JOBS AND PAY PAGE 16
HOTLINE TO REPORT ON PESTICIDE MISUSE PAGE 17
POISONS REPULSE GIANT AFRICAN SNAIL PAGE 20
SENSOR DETECTS OIL SLICKS

^f)R°JFJ
®JwK
^?
-------
STRIKING
A BALANCE   IN
PESTICIDE (ISE
By EDWIN L. JOHNSON
Deputy Assistant Administrator
For Pesticide Programs
      Just about all of us are usersof pes-
       ticides of one kind or another.
      When we grow roses, plant vege-
      table gardens, disinfect our kitch-
 ens and bathrooms,  or stalk household
 insects and other pests, there is often a
 pesticide product in our  hands. When
 the word  "pesticide" is mentioned,
 many people visualize swooping crop
 dusters and giant spray rigs, which are
 common instruments of pesticides  ap-
 plication on the farm. But  what  the
 homeowner doesn't  realize is that his
 own home is probably  a veritable arse-
 nal of pesticide products too.
  Look under the sink or in the tool shed
 — there may be several products which
 control  pests.  Weed  killers, insec-
 ticides,  disinfectants,  fungicides, and
 rodenticides  are al! pesticides. Even
 common cleansers which claim to "kill
 germs"  are pesticides. Look  again at
 (he products around your home. If they
 have an EPA registration  number, they
 are pesticides and as such have been
 registered by EPA's  Office of Pesticide
 Programs.
  Certainly, concern  about the ubiquit-
 ous presence of synthesized chemicals
 in the environment contributed impetus
 to (he formation of  the Environmental
 Protection Agency in 1970. Pesticides
 are very much  a part of the chemical
 load introduced in the environment each
 year. Particularly since the publication
 of Rachel Carson's  book  "Silent
 Spring" in 1962, the public has become
 aware of, and has demanded adequate
 protection  from the  harmful effects  of
 pesticide application. Our job in the Of-
 fice of Pesticide Programs is to so regu-
 late pesticide products that the benefits
 of their use may be continued but public

 PAGE 2
and environmental protection is af-
forded as well.
 Certainly we recognize that pesticides
are  necessary tools in man's  endless
combat with disease and hunger. Ever
since our ancestors  progressed  from
nomadic hunting to crop cultivation and
domestication of animals, we have been
at odds  with the pests and parasites
which  compete for our food sources.
Today,  pesticides  manufacturing, for-
mulating, and sales are major indus-
tries. In recent years, 1.3 billion pounds
of pesticide  active ingredients  have
been produced and approximately one
billion pounds of the  same have been
used annually in this country. The use
breakdown  is: 55 percent  by the agri-
cultural sector, 30 percent by industrial,
institutional, and government users, and
15 percent by home and garden users.
Thus,  any  action regulating pesticide
use  must be based on  a careful assess-
ment of its  effect on  all  activities  in
which  pesticides  represent an impor-
tant, beneficial input against the poten-
tial adverse effects on man and the envi-
ronment.
 Interestingly enough, pesticides, un-
like most air and water pollutants, are
intentionally released  into  the environ-
ment, where their acknowledged bene-
fits  are expected to take place. These
benefits have been important to agricul-
tural production,  to public health and
sanitation, to protection of capital in-
vestments and natural  resources, and to
the enhancement of human well being.
We  have all benefited tremendously
from the health improvements  and in-
creased  crop yield which pesticides
have made  possible in the past thirty
years.
 But the last 15 years have taught us
that pesticides can have their adverse ef-
fects too: that some of these substances
are acutely toxic to  animal  and  plant
life; that others can and do persist for
years, even decades, in the environ-
ment; that they are carried by land, air,
and water to destinations far from the
site of original application; that they ac-
cumulate  in the food chain; and that
they are potentially harmful to man if
improperly used. Federal and state con-
trol of pesticides increasingly has been
concerned with retaining the major
benefits of pesticides to society while
minimizing adverse effects.
 Federal regulation of pesticides began
in 1910 with the passage of the Federal
Insecticide Act.  This Act gave the Gov-
ernment the authority to remove from
the market  those insecticides which
were found to make  misleading or
fraudulent claims. The Act was not a
comprehensive regulatory measure, but
there was not much to regulate at that
time. Synthetic  organic  chemical pes-
ticide development did not become sig-
nificant until World  War II, when re-
search was devoted to the synthesis of
substances to protect human health in
areas under Allied control.
 In the wake of the  research of the
1940's, the chemical pesticide industry
boomed. With the arrival of more and
more pest control agents in the  mar-
ketplace, stronger regulatory measures
were needed. In 1947,  the  Congress
passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungi-
cide, and Rodenticide  Act (FIFRA). For
the first time, all pesticides shipped in
interstate commerce had to be first reg-
istered by the Federal  Government. Re-
gistration was contingent upon two fac-

-------
tors:  1) that  the product would be  ef-
ficacious  when  used  as directed, and
2) that its use  would pose no  undue
harm to non-target life when label direc-
tions and precautions were followed.
The Act further  provided that the Gov-
ernment could cancel,- or in cases of an
imminent  hazard to the  public welfare,
suspend the registration of any pesticide
which failed to continue to meet  the
criteria for registration in light of cur-
rent scientific knowledge. This Act was
the first major  step in protecting  the
public  against  the potential  adverse
hazards of pesticide use. The authority
for administering  this Act was  trans-
ferred from  the  U.S. Department  of
Agriculture to EPA in 1970.

TOLERANCE
  Another step  in protecting  the con-
sumer was taken in 1954 when the pes-
ticide amendment to the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic  Act was passed.
This amendment provided that a  toler-
ance, or allowable residue level, must
be established for all pesticides used on
food_pr feed crops. Tolerance levels are
based on data demonstrating: 1) that the
product, when used as directed,  would
result in residues  at or  below the pro-
posed tolerance  level,  and 2) that  the
level is acceptable for consumption.
  The determination of  an  acceptable
residue level is  based on extrapolation
to man.of tests on experimental animals
in conjunction with considerations of
metabolic data, dietary intake, and
probable exposures. The Food and Drug
Administration originally was empow-
ered to establish and enforce tolerances.
The first responsibility was  transferred
to EPA in 1970 but FDA continues to
enforce tolerances on  foods  prior to
marketing, and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture does the same for meat and
poultry.
  The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide  Act  served us well  for
many years.  However,  as our knowl-
edge of the long-term and acute adverse
effects of pesticides in  the food chain
and  environment grew,  more sophisti-
cated regulatory  approaches   were
needed. Congress responded to this
need  in 1972 with the  passage of  the
Federal Environmental  Pesticide  Con-
trol  Act, which  significantly amended
the 1947 Act. Because this legislation is
so important to  the comprehension of
current EPA policies and procedures in
the pesticide area, I will describe briefly
the main provisions of the Act and their
implications.
  First it's  essential to  understand  the
thinking of the Congress at the time the
 1972 amendments were  passed.  The
 House Agriculture Committee report on
 the bill said:
 "The Committee found that the greatest
 need for revision of existing laws to be
 in the  area of strengthening regulatory
 control  on the use and users of  pes-
 ticides, speeding up procedures for bar-
 ring pesticides found to be undesirable,
 streamlining procedures  for making
 valuable  new measures,  procedures,
 and materials  broadly  available;
 strengthening  enforcement procedures
 to protect  against  misuse  of  these
  The  1972  amendments  give  the
 Agency tremendous additional flexibil-
 ity through the authority to classify pes-
 ticides for restricted or general use, re-
 quire that restricted pesticides be used
 only by certified applicators (or under
 any  other  conditions  deemed  appro-
 priate by  the Administrator),  and  en-
 force against misuse. Authority to con-
 duct research on  pesticides,  a national
 pesticides monitoring plan, civil as well
 as criminal penalties in higher amounts,
 registration of pesticide manufacturers,
 authority to regulate  storage and dis-
biologically  effective materials;  and
creating an  administrative  and legal
framework under which continued re-
search can  produce more knowledge
about better  ways to use existing pes-
ticides as well as developing alternative
materials  and  methods of  pest con-
trol ..."
 The old Act was changed  from a label-
ing to a regulatory program. This is an
important  development. EPA does not
simply examine labels, it regulates pes-
ticide use. That  means all aspects of
use, including application, storage,  dis-
posal, and so on. Our activities under
the amended  Act  are of course separate
and distinct from  those of the U.S.  De-
partment of Agriculture which responds
to pest problems.
 We are not in the business of pest con-
trol, but act rather as the  Federal reg-
ulator of the products  used in pest con-
trol.
 In other  words,  if your pea  patch is
being chewed up  by  a nefarious six-
legged creature,  you  should ask Ag-
riculture what to  do aboul it. Agricul-
ture will make recommendations based
on  its  assessment of  local conditions
and the available registered products for
the desired control.
 Under the Act as amended, we retain
the basic  registration  and  labeling  au-
thorities  of the original law.  The
amended  Act,  however,  further  pro-
vides that all pesticide  products, includ-
ing those  in  intra-state commerce, be
subject to the registration requirements.
The only specific regulatory  authority,
short of a ban, available under the 1947
Act was the  requirement for approved
label instructions.
 posal of pesticides, and a higher degree
 of public participation through require-
 ments for Federal Register publication
 of registration activities, are among the
 other important new provisions of the
 current Act.
  Since October 1972, we have been de-
 veloping regulations to implement these
 amendments. The Act  established a
 timetable  for implementation over a
 period of four years — a task  to which
 we are now devoting most of our re-
 sources.
  Regulations regarding  the classifica-
 tion of pesticides  have been proposed,
 and should be ready shortly. Standards
 for  certification  of applicators have
 been published, as have regulations per-
 taining to state  plans  for certification.
 Final regulations to implement the sec-
 tion addressing  experimental  use per-
 mits were  promulgated in  late April-
 In the   development  of  all  these
 important regulations, we have made a
 great effort  to  obtain  comments and
 views  from interested members of the
 public and user  groups prior to formal
 proposal. The high degree of participa-
 tion,  both through  written comments
 and through one- and two-day meetings,
 has  been of invaluable assistance  in
 achieving a good dialogue between the
 Agency and those  most affected by our
 regulatory decision making. We believe
 sound regulations have been achieved.
RISK
  As  the  1972  amendments  made
explicit,  regulation of  pesticides is
based on a balancing  of the risk  and
benefit of each  proposed  use.  Pes-
ticides,  by definition,  are capable of
                                                                                                            PAGE 3

-------
 harming some forms of life, and cannot
 be considered  "safe" in any absolute
 sense. A major concern must be whether
 benefits derived from the use  of any
 given pesticide justify the potential risk
 to human or other non-target life, and
 how  such  risk  can  be mitigated. The
 Administrator is required to determine
 whether a pesticide can perform its in-
 tended  function without "unreasonable
 adverse effects on the environment" at
 the time a product is registered. "Un-
 reasonable adverse effects" are defined
 as  " . . .Any unreasonable risk to man
 or the environment, taking into account
 the economic,  social,  and environmen-
 tal costs and benefits of the use  of any
 pesticide."
  This basic standard guides our regula-
 tory decisions under the Act, be they on
 registration  and classification, or sus-
 pension and cancellation.  The business
 of risk  and benefit balancing is a com-
 plex one, often controversial, and there
 are no magic formulas in this balancing
 act. It  is no small  task to weigh  the
 known  and trusted benefits of a  widely
 used  insecticide, for instance, against
 the  probable  long-range  human or
 ecological health effects.
 We are often  cruized by the agricul-
tural community  or  pesticide industry
for halting the use of a convenient prod-
uct, thus forcing farmers to use substi-
tutes less convenient or more  acutely
toxic in the short  run, on the  basis of a
suspected long-term  effect.  "Can you
prove to me  that DDT will  cause ad-
verse effects in  man?" ask critics of our
1972 decision to cancel the overwhelm-
ing majority  of DDT product registra-
tions.  The  Agency believes  the more
pertinent question is,  "Can we afford to
take the  chance with the health of our
population or our wildlife when we have
evidence of DDT's persistence,  mobili-
ty, and bioaccuinulation in  the  food
chain?" Especially  if  alternatives,
though less convenient, are available?
How do you  measure  the  potential
long-term risk to  human  health  against
the proven  benefit in agricultural pro-
duction of a pesticide chemical?

PAGE 4
COMPLEX
  The answers are never easy. And be-
cause they are so complex, the Agency
desires to base its decisions on the ful-
lest possible public record. Cancellation
is, therefore, often initiated in order to
trigger the Act's public hearing process
for aggrieved registrants. Hearings were
held in the case of DDT,  are currently
ongoing in the case of mercury, mirex,
and aldrin/dieldrin, and will be held in
the case of chlordane and heptachlor.
Comments have been solicited regard-
ing  many other pesticide chemicals
which have suspected adverse effects.
We believe that because public health
and  welfare are at stake  in the major
pesticide-related  decisions  of the
Agency,  the public  should  have op-
timum opportunity to participate in the
decision-making process.
  As  I  noted  earlier,  the new Act has
changed our regulatory approach to reg-
istering pesticides, and  has  vastly
broadened our scope  of responsibilities.
We are now a bit beyond the  half-way
point in implementing the amendments,
but we have a  great task ahead. For
example, we must between now and Oc-
tober 1976  reregister and  classify  for
either  general  or restricted use  those
30,000  or so products currently regis-
tered, and register some 15,000 prod-
ucts  currently being  shipped  in intra-
state commerce. This is on top of our
normal  workload  of approximately
15,000  actions  per year. Certainly the
size   of  the   congressional  mandate
provides an unprecedented  challenge to
the Office of Pesticide  Programs, and
we are committed to translating the con-
cepts and ideals of the amended Act into
a viable .reality.
  We have had many  inquiries about the
practical ramifications of pesticide clas-
sification.  "The  idea sounds  reasona-
ble," we are told, "but just what does it
mean to me?" Homeowners ask "Will 1
be able to tend  my flowers or grow my
vegetable garden or treat my baseboards
without becoming certified?"  I assure
you  that  the homeowner  will  have a
most  adequate  selection of pesticides
from  which to  meet his  pest  control
needs. Only those products which may
pose an "unreasonable adverse effect"
without regulatory requirements beyond
label  instruction  will fall  into the re-
stricted category. The  homeowner  is
well  protected since he will have at his
disposal  all general use pesticides, but
the most hazardous products will not be
permitted  for  use by  an untrained,
though  well meaning, backyard gard-
ener. -
 Almost  all pesticide accidents are
avoidable. Tragically enough, approx-
imately 70 percent of the pesticide case
reports received by poison control cen-
ters across the  nation involve children
under five years of age. Usually, these
accidental poisonings were the result of
adult carelessness.
 We are  attempting to drastically re-
duce this  ugly statistic.  Obviously, the
general/restricted classification will be
a great.asset in  this effort. More than
that, however,  we  are  currently de-
veloping  regulations  in cooperation
with the  Consumer Product Safety
Commission regarding  child-resistant
packaging. In addition, we have worked
with our Office of Public Affairs on two
pamphlets  directed  to the homeowner,
explaining standard safety  precautions
everyone  should take,  and  the role of
the Agency in  protecting the public's
interest  in pesticide use.  We plan to
further extend our efforts in educating
pesticide users in the future.
 It may sound simple to say that people
should  read the label before using a pes-
ticide product.  Sadly  enough, home-
owners tend to  become complacent
about the presence of pesticides in their
environments because the products are
so commonplace.  Many people read
only far enough to see what a product is
supposed  to control, and then will im-
petuously  fling the contents in their gar-
dens. The  consumer can  protect himself
and the  environment if he follows four
basic steps:

-------
  I) Read the directions for  use thor-
oughly. Use only the amount directed,
at the place and time directed, and for
the purpose directed. A tendency of our
society is to  sing the "if one is good,
two are better" song — thus one table-
spoon of concentrate weed killer is cal-
led for but two  will do twice the  job.
This is a risky misconception, and can
destroy the entity one is trying  to  pro-
tect. In short, using a pesticide in  var-
iance with label directions is not only
illegal, but may also pose a danger to
the user,  people in  the vicinity, pets,
other beneficial life, and to environmen-
tal resources  such as air, soil, and wa-
ter.
 2) Read the precautions. Precautions
are introduced  by one of three  signal
words "caution,"  "warning," or
"danger-poison." Those in the highest
order of toxicity are accompanied by the
skull and crossbones. "Danger-poison"
denotes those products which are most
hazardous, with those in the "warning"
category  less potentially harmful,  and
those labeled "caution" the least. All
pesticides warn the user to "keep out of
reach of children;"  in fact, it is best to
lock such products  out of  children's
range.
 3) Observe  the ingredient statement
and  first  aid statement if supplied.
These are invaluable if an accident does
occur.  A copy  of the label should al-
ways be taken to the physician in such
instances.
 4) Store the product in a safe place and
in the original container. Never, never
transfer a pesticide to a soft drink bottle
or any other  container,  especially one
attractive to children.
 These  new  approaches  to  pesticide
regulation are indicative not only of the
apprehensions about  the overuse  and
misuse of pesticide  chemicals, but  also
demonstrate the need for a better regula-
tory tool to meet  the increasingly
sophisticated  attitudes in pest control.
Pest control is a dynamic field, and we
must be able to respond to the needs of a
changing technology. The Agency re-
ceived over  130 applications for ex-
 perimental use permits last year, and we
 expect that number to double in the next
 year. We desire,  of  course,  to imple-
 ment experimental use permit regula-
 tions which will meet the needs of the
 research community  and  at  the  same
 time protect environmental interests. A
 great deal of research on new techniques
 is being done in universities, land grant
 colleges, experimental stations, and in
 the private sector.
  The most encouraging movement is a
 concept called Integrated Pest  Manage-
 ment (IPM). This approach strives to
 utilize both natural and chemical control
 options in a manner which will  optimize
 the  benefits  of  each. A variety of
 techniques most suited to  a particular
 problem are  employed to maximize
 yields of food and fiber in an  environ-
 mentally and economically sound man-
 ner. It is an inter-disciplinary approach,
 based on the knowledge of each pest's
 habits and life cycle, its environment,
 and its natural enemies.
  These techniques include:
  Breeding  crops  resistant  to  pests or
 plant disease,
  Cultural  treatments  (plowing under,
 rotation of crops,timing of harvest,etc.),
  Scouting, the techniques of physically
 inspecting plants by workers trained to
 determine the kinds and amounts of in-
 sects and diseases  likely to be present,
 and  the economic threshold  at \vhich
 treatment becomes necessary,
  Biological  controls  (natural  parasites
 and predators),
  Insect growth regulators or other
 means  of  altering  the development or
 reproduction of pests,
  Attractants or repellants,
  Conventional chemical pesticides.
  Many of these techniques are  not new.
They are,  however,  practices which
have been  overlooked in  the  past  30
years or so because  of increasing  re-
liance on chemical pesticides.  But the
growing awareness of the  detrimental
aspects of pesticide use has inspired a
renewed  interest in  these  techniques,
and a number of important contributions
have been  made by  pest management
 consultants both alone and in concert
 with  Government agencies. Currently,
 the National  Science  Foundation,  the
 USDA,  and  EPA are supporting  re-
 search in 10 universities in order to gain
 greater understanding  of the  principal
 insect pests and their inter-relationships
 with  the  environment. Many states
 match Federal funds, and the present re-
 search effort  in terms  of dollars is  ap-
 proximately $200 million.


ACCEPTANCE
  An outgrowth of interest in Integrated
 Pest Management has been the initiation
 of programs aimed  at winning farmer
 acceptance and use. The Department of
 Agriculture began direct support of a
 pest management program  in 1971 and
 is now involved in  39 projects in 29
 States. Our Office of Public Affairs re-
 cently completed an excellent film enti-
 tled  "Man  Is  Responsible  To The
 Earth" which documents the success of
 a  scouting  program  conducted   in
 Washington State and Idaho in response
 to a weevil infestation.  This film will be
 distributed through our Regional offices
 and the Cooperative Extension Service,
 and we hope that it will increase farmer
 interest in  1PM techniques.
 EPA recently registered the first insect
 growth regulator, or so-called "juvenile
 hormone." These  hormones  when
 applied at  the appropriate  time in the
 life cycle  prevent an insect from ever
 reaching the adult stage, and thus pre-
 clude reproduction. Much work is also
 being done in exploring insect viruses to
 determine  possible use in  future pest
 control  programs.   Because  these
 techniques result  in the minimization of
 chemicals  introduced  in the  environ-
 ment, they are promising both from an
 ecological  and an economic standpoint.
 All in all, the fields of pest control and
 pesticides  regulation are exciting  and
 challenging. What we are doing in pes-
 ticides regulation may  have even wider
 implications  when, and  if, the Toxic
 Substances Act is passed by Congress.
The  precedents  set  in pesticides will
likely affect  the  future control of  all
toxic chemicals.
 The  Agency is  faced  with many dif-
ficult decisions  today, and pesticide
control is but a part of the over-all effort
to  fulfill our  vital mandate to sustain
and protect our  natural resources.  We
believe it is an  important part  of that
mission, and are confident that  the
amended pesticides Act, when fully im-
plemented, will prove equal to the task
of effecting the judicious and intelligent
use of pesticide chemicals.

                              PAGES

-------
  WHAT'S HAPPENING

   IN PESTICIDE  REGULATION
   An interview with A. E, Conroy II,
   Director, Pesticides Enforcement Division.

     Q. What is the Agency doing to detect unsafe or ineffec-
   tive products?
     A. The first line of defense is the premarketing clearance
   or the registration process whereby a manufacturer or pro-
   ducer submits his data to the Agency and the Agency makes
   a determination as to the safety and efficacy of that product.
     The second line of defense is the regional Pesticide En-
   forcement Safety Officer who visits the users, the sellers,
   and the producers, looking for products that are not regis-
   tered.
     Products that are registered are collected and sent to the
   EPA enforcement laboratories where they are analyzed. If if
   is determined that the product is unsafe or ineffective, EPA
   has the authority to stop sale and use of that product.
     We have the power of seizure, under the U.S.  Attorney, to
   remove the  product from the market  place. But it  is our
   policy to request a  manufacturer to voluntarily recall any
   product that is deemed unsafe or ineffective.  We have used
   this policy over 400 times in the past three years, and in all
   but two instances the manufacturers have complied with our
   request.
     In those two  instances the Agency then went through the
   court  proceeding of getting authority to go in and examine
   books and records and issuing multiple seizures around the
   country.
     Q. One of the major provisions of the amended Pesticides
   Act makes misuse of a pesticide illegal. What constitutes a
   misuse?
     A. There has been some confusion within the  industry and
   by pesticide users as to the meaning of the words "incon-
   sistent with  the label/' The Enforcement  Division is now
   developing policies that will be published in  the Federal
   Register and made available to the public to clarify some of
   this confusion.-
     We  hope to issue  statements concerning the  meaning of
   label  language, and other issues that are brought to our at-
   tention.
     Q. What is the Agency doing to (/elect incidents of mis-
   use?
     A. The Enforcement Division has developed a program, a
   response-oriented program,  to receive  reports  of pesticide
   misuse and respond to them on a case-by-case  basis within
   the regions.
     The primary  way  we hope  to receive this  information  is
   through the  establishment of a toll-free telephone that will
   be available nationwide to those who are  affected by pes-
   ticide misuse.
     We  are also entering  into a series of cooperative agree-
   ments with other Federal agencies to share information re-
   lating to incidents of pesticide misuse.  We hope to investi-
   gate these, to gather evidence for enforcement actions, and
   also to make the public more aware of their responsibilities
   under the new law.
    Q. How many  enforcement actions are taken daring the
   year?
  A.  First  let me go back in  the history of pesticide en-
 forcement.  Our predecessor agency took only three en-
 forcement  actions in some  15 years before  the functions
 were transferred to EPA in 1970. John Quarles, then Assist-
 ant Administrator for Enforcement, gave us  a mandate to
 stop  writing warning letters and to proceed with criminal
 prosecution, whenever such action was warranted.
  In less than two and a half years,  we initiated more than
 500 criminal actions.
  With the  1972 amendments to our basic Act the civil pen-
 alty procedure was instituted, and we have initiated another
 500 civil actions and collected over $1.5 million in penal-
 ties.
  That's a lot of numbers and a lot of money,  but it doesn't
 really tell the story.  Our real objective was to increase in-
 dustry compliance with the law. In this regard EPA's ag-
 gressive pesticide enforcement attitude, dictated  by Mr.
 Quarles, has been an unqualified success.
  The first  people we prosecuted  were people who  had
 shipped  nonregistered pesticides.  Some 30 percent of the
 products that we picked up were not registered. They hadn't
 come to the Agency  for determination  of safety and effica-
 cy.
  As  a result of prosecuting those 500 criminal  cases and
 publishing the results in notices of judgment, and in news-
 papers and press releases around the country, the detection
 rate of non-registration violations has dropped 70 percent in
 the current fiscal year.
  Q.  What penalties can be imposed if a violation is discov-
 ered?
  A.  The punitive sanctions under the statute are a notice of
 warning under Section 9 (c), a civil penalty procedure under
 Section 14, or a criminal penalty procedure.
  Notices of warning are sent out for minor violations. Crim-
 inal penalties are used  in the most egregious  violations,
 where we cannot bring about compliance either by warnings
 or by the civil penalty procedures.
  The  civil penalty program instituted in May of 1972 is now
 the backbone of the enforcement effort.  The size of the pen-
 alty ranges up to $5,000 per violation  depending upon the
 size of the business, the seriousness of the violation, and the
 ability of the firm to stay in  business.
  The  civil penalty procedure is an educational type of en-
 forcement; we say a firm is "paying its  tuition" to learn the
 ropes.
  Criminal penalties  are the most serious sanction,  and we
 have  only  used them  twice since  the  '72  amendments
 started. One was a case where  misuse of a pesticide by an
 operator who should have known better  resulted in the death
 of a three-year-old boy. The criminal penalty was not only a
 fine, but 30 days in jail.
  Q. Does EPA do anything to make sure we don't eat food
contaminated with pesticides?
  A. Under a cooperative agreement between EPA and the
 Food  and Drug Administration that was signed in April, we
give them any evidence we have of a pesticide misuse that
may have contaminated food  or feed products, for their fol-
lowup investigation and possible seizure of violative foods.
  Q. Does EPA work with the States in  enforcement of pes-
ticide  laws?
  A, The thrust  of our enforcement program for fiscal  1976
is to  establish  agreements whereby EPA and the States
would work together  to enforce State laws and the Federal
law.
PAGE 6

-------
consent agreement
Gulf Oil Company—U.S.  has formally
agreed to install air pollution control
equipment  at its gasoline loading
facilities in New Haven, Conn., by Sept.
30, Region I Administrator John S.
McGlennon has announced.  After
conferences with regional  officials and
the Connecticut Department  of
Environmental  Protection, the firm
agreed to a specific compliance schedule
for reducing emissions of  hydrocarbon
vapors at the plant.  New Haven  is in an
air quality control region where levels of
unburned hydrocarbons frequently
exceed the  national standards established
by EPA to  protect public health.

air violation
Region I has issued  a notice  of violation
to Monsanto Polymers  and
Petrochemicals  Co,  Indian Orchard,
Mass., charging excessive emissions of
paniculate matter into the air. The firm's
resin spray  dryer is spewing  particles at
the rate of 32 tons per  year,  the notice
said. To comply with Massachusetts and
EPA regulations, this should be reduced
to four tons a year or less. Monsanto is
one of the largest sources of paniculate
pollution in the  Springfield, Mass., area,
where air quality standards are frequently
exceeded. Regional officials  are working
with the State and the company on
methods of bringing the spray dryer into
compliance.
                                                                                      PHILADELPHIA
new  york air plans
Region II Administrator Gerald M.
Hansler recently issued the first orders
requiring New York City and State to
carry out the 1973 State air cleanup
plans. The orders call for:
•  Increasing bus service and establishing
preferential bus lanes.
•  Equipping gasoline trucks with devices
to limit pollutant emissions.
•  Inspection of autos, trucks,  and taxis
to insure that emission control systems
are working properly.
•  Teaching mechanics to repair emission
control systems.
•  Increasing average traffic speed—now
1014 miles per hour on arterial routes in
Manhattan and 5 mph on local streets—
by at  least 10 percent. Vehicles pollute
more  at such slow  speeds.
•  Improving enforcement  of parked car
towaways to speed traffic  flow.
Other administrative orders being
considered involve reduction of business
district parking space, limits on taxi
cruising, after-hours delivery of goods,
and tolls on the Harlem and East River
bridges.

con ed smoke
Violations notices have been sent to the
Consolidated Edison Co. for smoke
emissions exceeding Federal and State
standards at seven of the firm's electric
generating plants in New York City.
deadlines missed
Maryland, Virginia,  and the District of
Columbia have failed to set up inspection
and maintenance programs for auto
emission control devices, as required by
Federal and State air quality regulations.
Region III Administrator Danie) J.
Snyder said EPA believes that air quality
standards cannot be met in the Baltimore
and Washington metropolitan areas
without vehicle inspections at least once
a year and mandatory repair and retesting
for vehicles that fail. All three
jurisdictions were to  have submitted
compliance plans to EPA  14 months ago
and to have adopted regulations last June.
Although none of these deadlines  has
been met, Mr. Snyder  said, all three
jurisdictions are making some progress:
Virginia recently passed  legislation
providing for a voluntary inspection
program in northern  Virginia, the D.C.
City council is considering such a
program, and Maryland has authorized an
"in depth" investigation. Regional
officials planned meetings with
representatives of each jurisdiction last
month  to determine how best to
implement the required programs.
                                                                                                              PAGE?

-------
escambia bass
The water quality of Florida's Escambia
Bay—formerly notorious for massive fish
kills—continues to improve under strict
cleanup regulations. An EPA team,
stationed at Pensacola by Region IV
Administrator Jack E. Ravan to monitor
enforcement actions, recently stocked the
Bay's headwaters with a million striped
bass fry.
"So far they are doing nicely,"  said Dr.
Paul Fore, fishery biologist, "and we
have every expectation that they will
continue to thrive."
Striped  bass can live in  both fresh and
brackish water. The little bass were
placed in streams  that empty into the
Escambia River and thence into  the Bay.
Shrimp  have returned  to the Escambia
Bay ecosystem, Dr. Fore said, but not yet
in sufficient  quantity to attract
commercial fishermen'.

wetlands
A recent Federal court ruling has cleared
the way for solving some of the
controversy over protecting coastal
wetlands, an especially acute issue in
Florida, according to  Regional
Administrator Ravan. Judge Aubrey E.
Robinson Jr. in Washington, D.C., ruled
that  developers of coastal wetlands ihat
are above mean high tide level  must
obtain permits from the Army Corps of
Engineers. The Corps, which has
authority to issue dredge and fill permits,
had contended that its authority  ended at
the high tide mark.  "We feel Congress
provided authority to  protect these
irreplaceable lands (above high  tide and
inland swamps) in 1972 when
amendments were added to the  Federal
Water Pollution Control Act,"  Mr.
Ravan said.
monoxide levels high
Region V Administrator Francis T. Mayo
has initiated formal action to enforce
regulations designed to reduce carbon
monoxide levels in the air of downtown
Chicago. Levels as high as twice the EPA
primary standard were observed in the
area last year, with violations occurring
about one day in five. Data published by
medical researchers indicate that Chicago
citizens have carbon monoxide blood
levels  among the highest  in the Nation.
Mr. Mayo's action, taken under the Clean
Air Act,  requires the City, Cook County,
and the Illinois Secretary of State to
report  on their efforts to implement a
transportation control plan to curb auto
emissions in the three-square-mile area of
the central  city.

water reuse
The second National Conference on
Water  Reuse was held last month  in
Chicago, sponsored by EPA's
Technology Transfer program and the
American Institute of Chemical
Engineers.  Its  theme was "Water's
Interface with Energy, Air, and Solids."
Regional Administrator Mayo spoke on
EPA's work in complete reuse of water at
the opening session.  Kenneth H. Suter,
of the Technology Transfer Program, was
cochairman. Many other EPA people
spoke, read technical  papers, and took
part in panel discussions.

nine towns  cited
Nine Illinois communities  were cited
recently for failing to apply for Federal
grants. Wastewater discharge permits had •
been issued to the towns, said Regional
Administrator Mayo, on condition that
they apply  for funds  to build needed
sewage treatment plants. The towns of
Lockport, DeKalb,  Romeoville, Lansing,
Homewood, Canton, Rantoul, Pekin, and
Peru were ordered to make application
within  30 days through the Illinois EPA.
underground first
Administrator Russell E. Train is
expected to rule soon on the first
petition—under the new Safe Drinking
Water Act—to have an underground
water source declared the sole supply of
drinking water for an area.
The area is south central Texas, including
the City of San Antonio. The
underground source is the Edwards
aquifer, a well-defined limestone
formation about 175 miles long and from
5 to 25 miles wide. It has a storage
capacity of nearly three million acre-feet.
It supplies  water to San Antonio, five
large  military installations,  16 smaller
cities, and many farms and ranches. More
than a million people get their water from
artesian wells drilled into the Edwards
aquifer or from its spring flow into rivers.
The petition was filed by the Sierra Club,
the League of Women Voters, and
Citizens for a Better Environment in San
Antonio. The period for public comment
ended May 6, and at the time of this
writing no  public hearing had been
scheduled.
The Safe Drinking Water Act provides
that after the Administrator designates an
aquifer as a sole source, no Federal
financial aid may be given  for "any
project which the Administrator
determines may contaminate such aquifer
 ...  so as to create a significant hazard
to public health."
permit conviction
In what is believed to be the first criminal
conviction for violating the discharge
permit provisions of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, an Iowa bottling
firm was recently fined $5,000, with all
but  $600 of the fine suspended. The
Mahaska Bottling Co.,  Oskaloosa, Iowa
PAGES

-------
pleaded guilty to two counts of
discharging untreated process water into
a tributary of Little Muchakinock Creek
in violation of its permit. The company
had been indicted by the Grand Jury of
the Federal District Court in Des Moines.

special delivery
When nearly $4 million in EPA grants for
municipal sewage facility construction
was awarded in Region VII recently, the
checks were delivered personally to the
city's mayor or his designee.  Regional
Administrator Jerome H. Svore said,
"Personal presentations of large grant
awards has been our practice  ... to
insure fhat there are no Josses or delays in
mail  handling." Regional officials
delivered $1.2 million to Manhattan,
Kan.; $1.1  million to Springfield, Mo.;
and $1.52 million to Des Moines, Iowa.

pesticide fires
How to fight fires involving pesticides is
the subject of a new slide lecture
produced by Region VII Pesticides
Branch, Audio  Visual Department, and
Public Affairs Office.
The"show was described in a recent issue
of "Fire Engineering,"  a national trade
publication for firefighters, and inquiries
from 28 states and Canada have been
received. Public Affairs just completed  a
movie of the lecture and this  too will be
made available  for distribution to
firefighters for training purposes.
spill seminar
How to prevent spills of oil and
hazardous materials and what to do about
them if prevention fails was the focus of a
seminar in Salt Lake City, Utah, May
28-29.
Sponsored by EPA's Region VIII, Utah's
Bureau of Environmental Health and
Division of Wildlife Resources, and the
Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas
Association, the sessions pulled together
the latest information on spills:
contingency plans, legislation, industry
problems, aerial surveillance,
groundwater contamination, disposal,
etc.
Up-to-date information and cooperation
among government agencies and
industries is very important in Region
VIII, an  area of intensive petroleum,
chemical, and radiological activities,
according to Regional Administrator
John A. Green. Spills have not been
unusual in the past, and the increasing
pace of energy resource development
raises the odds on future occurrences.
The Region has held similar meetings in
Denver, Colo., and Casper, Wyo., and is
making plans to hold one in Montana.
      SAN FRANCISCO
pesticide perils
The deadliness of pesticides was
dramatized by two recent events in
Region IX.
In Phoenix, Ariz., a man drank a quart of
highly toxic paraquat in what was
believed to be an attempted suicide. He
was transferred to San Francisco for
special treatment, but at the time of this
writing little hope was held for his
recovery.
In Los Angeles, a truck carrying a
shipment of Lannate L, a toxic
insecticide, blew a tire, overturned, and
caught fire. Eighty-two persons were
affected by the fumes, 11 requiring
intravenous injections of atropine.  A
possible further tragedy was averted
when firemen, cleaning up after the fire,
realized in the nick  of time that they
shouldn't hose the spilled pesticide into a
drain that eventually reaches the city's
water supply.
While these incidents could not have
been prevented by EPA, they highlight
the dangers of the use, availability, and
transport of toxic chemicals.
 auto inspections
 The State of Washington has not
 developed a schedule for starting  the
 mandatory vehicle inspection programs
 required to reduce carbon monoxide in
 the air in Seattle and Spokane. Region X
 Administrator Clifford V. Smith has
 formally notified the State's attorney
 general that the State's plan for
 spot-checking and voluntary inspection
 would not suffice to bring the two cities
 into conformance with the national air
 quality standards.
 "Under the requirements of the Clean Air
 Act," Mr. Smith said, "we are not able
 to accept an inspection and maintenance
 program unless that program will become
 mandatory at some specific time."
To achieve the standard for carbon
 monoxide, he said, the Seattle area must
 reduce its levels by 55 percent, and
Spokane by 50 percent, from those
 prevailing in 1971.
 Evidence collected by EPA shows that
emission control systems on motor
 vehicles—including late models with
 factory-installed devices—are often not
 maintained.  In Seattle last year 714 cars
 were  checked in a one-day program
sponsored by the State Department of
Ecology and the League of Women
 Voters, and nearly 57 percent had
excessive emissions of carbon monoxide.
                                                                                                              PAGE 9

-------
now DO YOU
CONTROL
THE PESTS  IN
YOUR GARDEN?
Oljja Berroyer, Accountant in Charge,
National Environmental Research Cen-
ter, Las Vegas, Nevada: "I am an en-
thusiastic and long-time cultivator of
roses and I have done testing of new rose
varieties for Jackson & Perkins, one of
the largest rose growers in the world. I
use a variety of methods to control garden
pests, hut whenever possible I prefer to
utili/e natural controls.
 "The big insect problem in  the Las
Vegas area is aphids. They have appeared
on my rose bushes already. If the infesta-
tion i.s not too heavy, I  spray with water,
and usually that will clean them off. The
praying mantis is a fantastic plant house-
keeper and has an enormous appetite for
aphids and other pests.  If I'm driven to it
I will use one of the chemical rose dusts,
but as sparingly as possible.
 "Two other natural methods: in cultivat-
ing my beds I use material from the com-
post pile, which not only fertili/.es but
keeps down  insects as well:  planting
chives and other members of the onion
family amongst the flowers is also effec-
tive in warding off pests."
OLGA HI-:RROYI-:K
                          OR ROBHRT B. DEAN
PACit 10

-------
Dr.  Robert B. Dean, Science Advisor,
Advance  Waste  Treatment Laboratory,
Cincinnati:  "My method of controlling
pests has changed in the time I have been
with the  Environmental Protection
Agency.  I  use  much less insecticide.
About the only pest 1 really go after are
the moles which  invade my garden from
the woods nearby.  I occasionally use 2,
4-D  to get rid of  dandelions in my iawn,
but I do this selectively  because  I don't
want to lose my clover with its nitrogen
fixing ability. I interplant marigolds with
my vegetables because they help keep in-
sects out. I also  plant squill among my
flower bulbs.  Squill is a pretty blue flo-
wered bulb that is a natural repellant and
is sometimes used to make rat poison. It
helps to keep moles out of my garden.
Squirrels eat my crocus bulbs and I have
about given up on crocuses because I also
like  squirrels."

Diana Dutton, Assistant  Regional Coun-
sel,  Region VI ,  Dallas,  Tex.: "I  raise
tomatoes, spinach  and onions  on some
property at a house I have on Lake Tex-
oma, about  70 miles north of Dallas. I
just go there on weekends and my biggest
problem is with animals—deer,  rac-
coons,  and  armadillos.  I  have built a
fence and that has  helped  some.  I also
have used dried blood to  discourage ani-
mal  invasions. I think  the smell is sup-
posed to repel deer and other animals if
you put the dried blood on  your garden.
Pouring the  dried blood around the gar-
den seemed like an  awfully  gory thing to
do and  it may be  more  ritualistic  than
anything else  but  it  may  have helped
some. 1  think really the only way to keep
the animals out would be  to stay there all
the time. I don't  believe the armadillos
eat any  of our crops but they're just ob-
noxious to  have  around because they're
always digging big holes. I don't want to
trap these animals and we get enough to
eat so we just  live with the  problem."

Richard E. Thomas, Research Soil Sci-
entist, Robert S.  Kerr,  Water  Research
Center,  Ada, Okla: "I  have a .small gar-
den in my back yard. I use  a lot of com-
post  on  the garden and this helps provide
good,  healthy plants.  I  use pesticides
sparingly and pick off harmful  insects by
hand whenever  1 see  any. I  raise to-
matoes, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes and
squash.  I  usually share  my cucumbers
and tomatoes with turtles who invade the
garden.  If  the weather is dry and  their
food supply is short the turtles start com-
ing into my garden. I take  care of these
turtles by carrying  them  away and hope
they  don't come back."
Dr.  Richard J. Thompson, Chief of
Analytical Chemistry Branch,  Quality
Assurance and Environmental Monitor-
ing Laboratory,  Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina:  "I have over an acre of
land where I had planted  an 80-tree or-
chard,  including  apple,  pear,  peach,
plum and nut trees. But I also had five
goats and the goats got to the trees before
I could  get a fence  up. Goats are brows-
ing animals and will eat any type of vege-
tation, including bark, leaves and young
tree shoots. These goats are peculiar ani-
mals and  they pretty well cleaned up on
me by debarking and debudding the or-
chard trees as far as they could reach. I
started out with goats because my wife
wanted an organic lawn mower. Then big
goats have little goats and you're  stuck
with them because your children say
'Daddy,  you don't eat your friends.'  I
don't really need an insecticide nearly as
much as I need a aoaticide."
DR. RICHARD J. THOMPSON
Charles   Reese,   Conservationist-
Agronomist,  Pesticide Programs, Head-
quarters: "I have a relatively small gar-
den at my home in Shepherdstown, W.
Va. If I see caterpillars on my plants. I
usually pick them off or dust them  with
lime. The lime makes the plants dry and
gritty for bugs to eat. Lime dusting also
seems to discourage rabbits.  I  use  very
little pesticides. I'll tolerate a little dam-
age and eat a vegetable that has a few bite
marks on  it.  Growing  vegetables  is  a
hobby for me  and I'm raising  plants for
market. However, if you  have  a phobia
about insects you have  to get out there
and kill everything that moves. There are
people like that. 1 find  that the praying
mantis is good to have around your gar-
den because he is pretty good  at eating
other insects.  If  nothing  else  works,  1
sometimes spray my plants with soap and
water to knock the  insects off. But my
approach wouldn't be practical for a large
farming operation because the cost of
labor would be excessive."
                                        CHARI.HS RKHSK
DIANA DUTTON
                                        RICHARD K. THOMAS
                                                                                                             PACil: I I

-------
GUARDING  BIG
                                                        COUWTRY
  As new power plants are built in
  southeastern Montana to be
  fueled with coal stripmined
  nearby, EPA scientists are
  monitoring their effects on
  grassland ecology: soil, plants,
  and animals. The four-year study
  by the National Ecological
              Research Laboratory at Corvallis,
              Ore., began last year to gather
              "baseline" information on
              conditions before the start of
              power production. This spring the
              researchers are also artificially
              "stressing" one-acre plots of land
with various air pollutants.
Objective of the study is to help
industry and State and Federal
officials minimize  ecological
damage from new energy
production, according to the
Laboratory Director, Dr. Norman
R. Glass.
 Sunset comes to the Montana grasslands.
                                                               Like furrows of Paul Bunyan's plow are
                                                               these spoil piles left from stripping 25
                                                               years ago. New Colstrip power plant
                                                               construction has just begun (extreme /eft
                                                               center) in this photo taken in 1973.
I'AGH

-------
In this mobile laboratory fitted with more
than $80,000 worth of scientific gear,
EPA's Arthur Vallier, foreground, and
James Miller can analyze meteorological
conditions and air quality virtually
anywhere in the Colstrip area.
Hawk's eye view of the Montana strip
mine shows wide, flat seam of black coal
which is being dug by heavy machinery
and hauled away by trucks.
                                                                              Dragline bucket scoops earth and rock
                                                                              "overburden" to expose the coal. New
                                                                              stripmined land in Colstrip area will be
                                                                              restored to meet  Montana's exacting
                                                                              standards after the coal has been dug.

                                                                              This 350-megawatt power plant near
                                                                              Colstrip, Mont., photographed while
                                                                              under construction, is scheduled to start
                                                                              operation soon. Another plant of the
                                                                              same size is being built. Two more larger
                                                                              ones have been proposed.
                                                                               #&• ^ *£
jftr

-------
  A major reorganization of EPA's Office
of  Research and Development  an-
nounced last month  by Administrator
Russell E. Train will consolidate the of-
fice's 24 field laboratories into  15 units
and streamline their  management  and
lines of authority.
  "This new organization will simply  and
clearly  define the lines of authqrity in
ORD," Mr. Train said. "Our research ef-
fort in EPA is an  essential ingredient in
the development of environmental regu-
lations  and  programs. Environmental
science is  a relatively  new field. This
field, and our programs, require the best
talent and organization that we can  put
together, and it's important that our re-
search be closely aligned with our legis-
lative and administrative objectives."
  "We anticipate that fewer than 80 of
the nearly  1,800 permanent ORD per-
sonnel will be asked to transfer to a new
location," Mr. Train said,  adding that
under the new organization "a signifi-
cantly larger  portion" of EPA's research
people can devote their energies to  sci-
entific and technical work.
  Under the  new organizational struc-
ture, instead of 24 laboratories, reporting
through four  National Research Centers
(NERCs) to  four Deputy Assistant  Ad-
ministrators and 12 program area mana-
gers in headquarters,  there will be 15
consolidated  field  units, each  reporting
to  one of  four  headquarters  offices,
headed by Deputy Assistant Administra-
tors.
  Dr. Wilson  K. Talley, Assistant Admin-
istrator  for  Research and Development,
explained  that   the  new  structure
"streamlines  and simplifies  both pro-
gram planning and program implementa-
tion." Headquarters activities will be fo-
cused on long-range planning and pro-
gram  review, while the laboratories, in
addition to participating in the planning
process, will be responsible for resource
management and program  implementa-
tion.
  A new top  position, Associate Assist-
ant Administrator, will be established.
  Dr. Talley said that this post and other

PAGE I4
 key positions in the new structure will be
 filled  later in  accordance with Federal
 and Agency personnel regulations.
   Meanwhile,  to facilitate the transition
 to the new organization Dr. Talley has
 detailed the following individuals to pro-
 vide supervision in the posts  listed be-
 low:
   Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator
 for Monitoring and Technical Support—
 Albert C. Trakowski, Jr.
   Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator
 for Energy, Minerals,  and Industry—
 Stephen J. Gage.
   Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator
 for Air, Land, and  Water Use—Thomas
 A. Murphy.
   Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator
 for Health  and Ecological  Effects—
 Delbert S. Barth.
  Acting Director,  Office of Special
 Projects—John L. Buckley.
  Acting Director, Office of Financial and
 Administrative Services—Alan  Neus-
 chatz.
  Acting Director, Office of Planning and
 Review—Phyllis A. Daly.
  "We expect to complete the reorgani-
 zation by June 30," Dr. Talley said,  "and
 to start Fiscal 1976 organized to achieve
 more  efficient  and effective  use  of our
 resources, and to be more responsive to
 Agency needs and  national environmen-
 tal concerns."
  Under the new structure there  will  be
 four laboratories  each in Cincinnati,
 Ohio, and Research Triangle Park, N.C.,
 one in  each of the  four new program
 areas.  The former  NERCs and local  la-
 boratories at Corvallis, Ore.,  and Las
 Vegas, Nev., are now single laboratories
 whose missions  will be focused under
 the Office of Health  and Ecological Ef-
fects and the Office of Monitoring and
Technical Support, respectively.
  The  primary  mission of agency la-
boratories  in  Athens, Ga., and Ada,
Okla., will be to implement the program
of the Office of Air, Land, and Water  Use.
 Laboratories at Duluth, Minn; Narragan-
 sett, R.I., and Gulf Breeze, Fla.,  will  be
working  in the  ecological effects re-
search area.
  The reorganization continues the con-
solidation and integration of research ac-
tivities that started five years ago when
EPA was created from various Federal
agencies and "inherited" some 42 lab-
oratory and  field operations  with dis-
tinctly different types of management,
Dr. Talley explained.  These were later
reduced to three large units, the NERCs,
two of which, in North Carolina and Cin-
cinnati, had administrative offices as well
as laboratories.
  The third, in Corvallis, had laboratories
reporting to it from locations across the
country. Later  a fourth Center was
created in Las Vegas. Each NERC had a
"theme" or program  area in  which to
concentrate. Although some groups and
functions were moved to better fit the
Centers' "themes," the  planned move-
ments were never completed, Dr. Talley
said,  and each Center had laboratories
and programs involved in most areas of
EPA research.
  The elaborate  planning system that
evolved to administer these laboratories
developed several flaws, Dr. Talley said.
It tended to concentrate on details and
did not aggregate them to appropriate
decision  levels, and  it was ill-suited for
the two areas of EPA's greatest research
concern: short-term technical assistance
and support, and long-term studies of
health and ecological effects.
  Moreover,  several  groups  at head-
quarters, in addition to program manag-
ers, also gave direction  to the Centers,
or to  individual laboratories,  or to both.
Thus  the lines of authority and accoun-
tability were  confused,  and  timely,  re-
sponsive research impeded.
  The new organization  was developed
within the following constraints, accord-
ing to Dr. Talley:
  1.  Minimum disruption of ongoing re-
search and development programs,
  2.  Minimum geographic displacement
of individuals, and
  3.  Clear lines of authority and respon-
sibility.

-------
                                              ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
                                                          FOR
                                            RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
                                                ASSOCIATE ASSISTANT
                                                   ADMINISTRATOR
        OFFICE OF
        PLANNING
       AND REVIEW
  OFFICE OF FINANCIAL
  AND ADMINISTRATIVE
        SERVICES
    OFFICE OF THE
       PRINCIPAL
   SCIENCE ADVISER
 OFFICE OF MONITORING
ANDTECHNICAL SUPPORT
  Regional Services Stafl
  Headquarters Technical Divisions:
   Monitoring Technology
   Technical Support
   Technical Information

  Laboratories:
   Environmental Monitoring and
   Support, RTF
   Environmental Monitoring and
   Support, Cincinnati
   Environmental Monitoring and
   Support, Las Vegas
   OFFICE OF ENERGY,
MINERALS, AND INDUSTRY
 Headquarters Technical Divisions:
  Energy Processes
  Industrial and Extractive
   Processes
 Laboratories:
  Industrial Environmental
   Research, RTP
  Industrial Environmental
   Research, Cincinnati
 OFFICE OF AIR, LAND,
   AND WATER USE
Headquarters Technical Divisions:
 Media Quality Management
 Waste Management
 Agriculture and Non-Point
  Sources Management

Laboratories:
 Municipal Environmental
  Research, Cincinnati
 Environmental Sciences
  Research, RTP
 Environmental Research, Athens
 Robert S. Kerr Environmental
  Research, Ada
      OFFICE OF
       SPECIAL
      PROJECTS
OFFICE OF HEALTH AND
 ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Headquarters Technical Divisions:
 Health Effects
 Ecological Effects
 Criteria Development and
  Special Studies

Laboratories:
 Health Effects Research, RTP
 Health Effects Research,
  Cincinnati
 Environmental Research,
  Corvallis
 Environmental Research, Duluth
 Environmental Research,
  Narragansett
 Environmental Research. Gulf
  Breeze
  The approximate resources for each of
the new laboratories in FY75terms are:
  Office of Monitoring  and Technical
Support—
Environmental  Monitoring and  Support
Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, $5
million
Environmental  Monitoring and  Support
Laboratory, Cincinnati, $3 million
Environmental  Monitoring and  Support
Laboratory, Las Vegas, $5 million
  Office of Energy, Minerals, and
Industry—
Industrial  Environmental Research Lab-
oratory, Research Triangle Park, $3  mil-
lion
Industrial  Environmental Research Lab-
oratory, Cincinnati, $15 million
            Office of Air, Land, and Water Use—
          Municipal Environmental Research Lab-
          oratory, Cincinnati, $20 million
          Environmental Sciences Research Lab-
          oratory,  Research Triangle Park, $22
          million
          Environmental Research Laboratory,
          Athens, Ga., $6 million
          Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research
          Laboratory, Ada, Okla., $8 million
                     Office of Health and Ecological
                  Effects—
                  Health Effects Research Laboratory,
                  Research Triangle Park, $28 million
                  Health Effects Research Laboratory,
                  Cincinnati, $6 million
                  Environmental Research Laboratory,
                  Corvallis, $11 million (includes the Arctic
                  Environmental Research Station)
                  Environmental Research Laboratory,
                  Narragansett, R.I.,  $6 million
                  Environmental Research Laboratory,
                  Gulf Breeze, Fla., $3 million
                  Environmental Research Laboratory,
                  Duluth, Minn., $6 million
                                                                                                                  PAGE is

-------
ACCENT
TRAINING
FOR BETTER
JOBS AND PAY
 Seven EPA employees arc
working to qualify themselves
for higher grades and pay
under a program called
ACCENT (Aid to Careers of
Competent Employees in
Need of Training), sponsored
hy the Personnel Management
Division and the Offiee of
Civil Rights.
 Three are working at EPA
headquarters in Washington,
three in Regional Offices, and
one at a Research Center (see
adjoining photos).
 They began their one-year
trials in newly created
paraprofessionaJ posts at
various times from October
through March. Each
continues at his or her present
grade level (ranging from
GS-4 to GS-7) for a year of
on-the-job training—plus
college or other higher
education courses geared to
their career needs and paid for
by EPA. Then the trainees are
expected to be qualified for
permanent appointment at one
or two grade levels higher,
and with more opportunity for
advancement than they had
before.
 The program is a pilot effort
to encourage "upward
mobility"—career
advancement—among
Agency employees, said
Charles S. Barden Jr.,
director of the Personnel
Management Division. Mr.
Barden and Carol M.
Thomas, director of the
Office of Civil Rights, last
summer negotiated a two-year
agreement with the Civil
Service Commission, which
provides for structured
on-the-job training to be
substituted for a portion of
normal qualification
requirements to help EPA
employees move up various
career ladders.
 Seven job slots were created
for the first year of ACCENT
(an acronym coined by  Jean
Light foot of the Civil Rights
Office). These jobs were
advertised under merit
promotion procedures last
August at Washington and the
four field locations that
agreed to take part in the
program. About 60 persons
applied in Washington,  many
for more than one post, and
28 applied in the field.
 ACCENT is unique among
EPA's upward-mobility and
training programs in that it
virtually assures the
successful participant of a
permanent job in the office
involved. During the year of
training the job is outside that
office's "position ceiling"
and is supported by Personnel
Management and Civil Rights
funds. Thereafter, if the
trainee proves satisfactory, he
or she will be given a regular
position in the program or
regional office.
 Plans are being made to
expand the program in fiscal
1976, Mr. Barden said. "We
are trying to enhance the
skills of competent, strongly
motivated employees and to
improve our work climate and
morale. ACCENT is a step in
this direction."
 Donaldson Shumpert,
grants clerk/assistant in the
Region IX Office, San
Francisco, was a supply clerk
when he was chosen last
November for the ACCENT
program.  "It's very
interesting; there are changes
every day," he says. "It
keeps your mind working,
and I hope it will give me a
chance to move up." Mr.
Shumpert has been taking
Civil Service courses in
effective writing, speed
reading, and administrative
correspondence, and these
will be followed by other
academic courses chosen with
the advice of the Region's
Personnel Division.
 Alan Basler, working as
purchasing agent in Region
VII, Kansas City, since
March, was formerly a supply
clerk. "My goal has been to
get into purchasing and
procurement work," he says,
"ever since my three years in
the Navy doing similar work.
In this job I have to use
judgment in getting
quotations and negotiating
contracts." Mr. Basler is
learning Federal procurement
procedures on the job and was
scheduled to take a five-day
Civil Service course in
Atlanta in May and a two-day
course in Denver in June.
 Athena Lalikos, consumer
safety technician in Region
X, Seattle, since November,
used to work in the Graphics
Section. Now she drives a
half-ton pickup truck
throughout the Region,
inspecting pesticide
producers, blenders, and
packers and gathering
samples for laboratory
analysis. "I enjoy this work
very much," she says, "and I
will soon be taking some
extension courses in
agriculture and pesticide
monitoring at one of the state
universities."
 Carole Cumiford,
accounting technician since
November at the National
Environmental Research
Center, Corvallis, Ore., used
to be a secretary on the staff
of the director of
administration. "I love this
new job," she says, "and I'm
learning everything I can
about financial
management." She is taking
three classes a week in
accounting at Linn Benton
Community College, Albany,
Ore., and has taken two short
courses in bookkeeping and
government records given by
the Civil Service Commission
in Portland and Seattle. She
hopes to be eligible to take the
Civil Service professional
accountant test later this year
and  eventually to get into
bud«et work.

-------
 Larry Dempsey,
environmental assistant since
December in the Air Pollution
Control Division, Office of
Research  and Development,
Washington, used to be a
secretary  in the Office of the
Administrator. Working on
pollution  control technology
"has opened new doors to
me," says Mr. Dempsey,
"especially the work
involving cooperative
research with the Soviet
Union and the Economic
Committee of Europe." He is
raking evening courses in
mathematics and physical
science at Southeast
University and later will study
management statistics and
public administration  there.
 Shirley LcaCraft, statistical
assistant in the Office of
Pesticide Programs,
Washington, since January,
was formerly a secretary in
the Office of Enforcement.
She is taking courses in
mathematics, statistics,  and
automatic data processing
given by the Civil Service
Commission and the
Department of Agriculture's
Graduate School.  "This work
won't confine rne," she says,
"and it  may open  up other
doors. I am primarily
interested in budget work."
 Candace Williamson,
editorial clerk/assistant in the
Publications Section, Office
of Research and
Development, Washington,
since December, had been a
correspondence control clerk
in the Office of Noise
Abatement. She edits
technical reports and likes the
work very much.  "1 read
everything 1 can,  and 1 enjoy
writing," she says.  "They
are sending me to school:
biology at Northern  Virginia
Community College, and
English and writing  courses
given by Civil Service
Commission. Most of the
technical papers 1 edit have to
do with biology. Most of
them do need editing and
clarification."
                          HOTLINE
                          TO REPORT
                          PESTICDE
                          MISUSE
 The EPA  is supporting and publicizing a toll-free  tele-
phone number which can be called to report cases of pes-
ticide misuse resulting in human illness or death, livestock
or pet loss,  property or other environmental damage.
 This toll-free telephone program is funded by the Pesticide
Enforcement Division, EPA, through a grant to the National
Farmworker Information Clearinghouse, Austin, Texas.
The Clearinghouse  is a non-profit organization funded by
the Department of Labor to gather and disseminate informa-
tion to farmworkers and farmworker organi/ations.
 The telephone will be staffed by members of the Clearing-
house  in a Washington, D.C. office.  Seven days  a week,
during the times when people are most likely to call, some-
one will be on hand to answer all calls. At other times, the
calls will be recorded and transcribed the next workday.
  The campaign  to publicize  the telephone  number,  800-
424-1173. will try several approaches. A major part of the
publicity has been  the development and recording of six
public service radio announcements, in English and in  both
Mexican and Puerto Rican Spanish. In  the hopes of making
the spots more effective, the help of Spanish-speaking  pro-
fessional baseball players Orlando Pen a and Winston IJenas
of the California Angels has been enlisted in recording three
of them. All six spots are being sent to rock-and-roll, coun-
try, and Spanish stations across the country.
 In the past, information concerning pesticide accidents and
incidents resulting from misuse has been sketchy and unsub-
stantiated, severely hampering EPA's efforts to understand
and answer the needs in regulating pesticides. With the  help
of  this toll-free number, EPA hopes to document pesticide
incidents. When warranted,  reports will be investigated by
the Regions  to confirm the accuracy of the information re-
ceived and to ensure that appropriate enforcement action is
taken by the Agency.
                          Orlando Perm
                        Winston Llenas
                                                                                         PAGE 17

-------
                                                                             PEOPLE
 Kathie Libby, formerly Coordinator in
Personnel's Headquarters Training Oper-
ation,  recently was appointed to the
newly created position of Women's Pro-
gram Officer in the Personnel  Manage-
ment Division. As a result of the  reor-
ganisation of the Office of Civil Rights,
the operational  aspects  of  the  Hqual
Employment Opportunity  and Women's
programs were transferred to the Person-
nel Management Division. Ms.  Charlie
Swift continues as the Federal Women's
Coordinator in the Office of Civil Rights.
 James M. (onion has been named Direc-
tor of the Air and Ha/ardous Materials Di-
vision in Region V, Chicago. He had been
Acting  Director since January. Mr. Con-
Ion,  who has been with the Region since
December, 1970, had served as acting re-
gional representative  of the  Radiation  Of-
fice and Director of  the Ha/ardous Mate-
rials  Control  Division. Previously he  had
worked  lor the Bureau of  Radiological
Health  in Oklahoma. Rockville, Md.,  and
Chicago. Mr. Conlon, who is 36 years old,
lias a bachelor's degree in chemistry from
Illinois College, Jacksonville. III., and a
master's degree in civil engineering from
the  University  of Oklahoma. Norman,
Okla.
 Steadman M. Overman has been named
Assistant Director  for Legislation. Office
of  Legislation,  replacing  David  A.
Schuenke, who  is  leaving the Agency to
take a committee counsel position  with the
House of Representatives. Mr. Overman is
a Public Health Service Officer and came to
EPA with the PHS environmental programs
when the Agency was formed in 1970. He
has been directly involved with developing
environmental legislation for the  past  12
years.  Mr. Overman was  born  in  Mil-
ledgeville, Ga.. in  1925 and was graduated
from Georgia Institute of Technology.  His
graduate degrees include a master's in pub-
lic  health  from  the  University of North
Carolina, and bachelor's and doctor's in
law from the Capital  University Law
School,  Columbus, Ohio. He is a  member
of the bars of Ohio, the  District of Colum-
bia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. With the
PHS  he  was  stationed  in  Georgia,
Washington State.  Ohio, and Washington
D.C. Before coming to the Nation's capital
in 1963, he was  assistant chief of legal af-
fairs for the Ohio Department of Health. He
is married, has three children, and lives in
Springfield. Va.
 Bruce C. Jordan, since October an en-
vironmental protection specialist on the di-
rector's staff. Office of Air Quality Plan-
ning  and  Standards,  Durham. N.C., was
recently given the Air Force's Meritorious
Civilian Service Award. Mr. Jordan was
cited for his work as a research analyst in
modeling  and evaluating training programs
of the Air Force's Tactical Aid Command
at  I.angley Air Force Base. Va., from Au-
gust  1972 through September 1974.
 Patti Pride has  been named  Assistant
Director for Congressional Affairs, Office
of Legislation, replacing Steven Stock-
mcycr,  who  left EPA  to become  Dep-
uty  Director  for Congressional  Affairs  at
the  Energy Research and  Development
Administration. Ms.  Pride  has  been  a
congressional liaison officer with  EPA
since September. 1973. Before that she did
similar work for the Cost of Living Council
and she has served  on the staffs of three
members of Congress. She  is a native of
Portland. Ore.. and was graduated from the
University  of Missouri, with a bachelor's
degree in journalism and a master's in Eng-
lish.
 Daniel Bench,  Office  of Air  and
Hazardous Materials, Region VIII, Den-
ver, is training for another attempt in Au-
gust  to climb the seventh highest moun-
tain in the Western Hemisphere,  Nevado
(snowy) Hauscaran in Peru, 22,205 feet
above sea level.
 Two years ago  Mr. Bench and  four
companion mountaineers were forced to
turn  back just  above the  21,000-foot
level, after three  of the party suffered
from oxygen  deficiency. They will try
this year, again  without oxygen equip-
ment, following a different, less strenu-
ous route, he  says. To build up his  lung
power, he runs three or four miles a day
in Denver's mile-high altitude.
I'ACil', IS

-------
  Gerald M. Hansler, Region II Adminis-
 trator, New York,  was EPA's delegate to
 the third session of the United Nations En-
 vironmental Program's Governing Council,
 which met in Nairobi, Kenya. April  17 to
 May 2. Christian HerterJr., Deputy Assist-
 ant Secretary of State  for Environmental
 and  Population Affairs, headed the  U.S.
 delegation, which  also  included repre-
 sentatives from the Council on Environ-
 mental Quality,  the  National Oceano-
 graphic and Atmospheric Administration,
 and the Department of Housing and Urban
 Development.  Maurice Strong  of Canada
 heads the U.N.  program, which fosters in-
 ternational cooperation in environmental
 controls and scientific exchange.
 Henry L. Longest has been appointed Di-
rector of the Water Division in Region V.
Chicago. He had been Chief of the Water
Programs Branch  in Region III, Philadel-
phia,  since  1973.  Before  that  he was  a
sanitary engineer for EPA and its predeces-
sor Agency,  the  Federal  Water Quality
Administration,  in Charlottesville, Va. He
also has worked for ihe Army Corps of En-
gineers, E.I. duPont deNemours and  Co.,
and the U.S.  Air Force Civil Engineering
Division, with a tour of duty in Vietnam.
He is 37 years old and has a B.S. in  civil
engineering from the University of Mary-
land.  He is  a registered professional en-
gineer.
  Terry Rader, program support  center
 supervisor for the National Environmen-
 tal Research Center, Corvallis,  Ore.,
 likes to "get out" at least once a  month
 by skydiving two to four times from a
 hired aircraft. "Free fall  is the most en-
 joyable part  of the jump," she says. "It
 gives me a keen awareness of myself .  .  .
 and everything around me. I would rec-
 ommend skydiving  to anyone,  but par-
 ticularly to women.  It has  given me a
 great deal  of confidence  ... It doesn't
 require any  real physical prowess, but
 rather mental strength  in battling your
 own  fears." In two years,  since she
 started jumping as a student  at Oregon
 State University's Experimental College
 in Corvallis, Ms. Rader  has jumped 108
 times. The equipment cost,  she says,  is
 comparable to good  skiing gear: $600 to
 $700 for  brand new chutes  (one  in re-
 serve), jumpsuit, boots,  and  helmet. To
 be ferried aloft, usually five jumpers at a
 time, costs $3 for the first 3.000 feet of
 altitude and  50  cents for every 500 feet
 thereafter.
 David Fierra has been named Chief of
the Surveillance Branch in Region I, re-
placing Myron Knudson who is now Di-
rector  of the Surveillance and  Analysis
Division in  Dallas.  Mr.  Fierra  is pres-
ently  Chief of  Region I's  Permit De-
velopment Section.  He holds a  B.S. de-
gree  from  the  University  of  Mas-
sachusetts and a masters from Northeast-
ern University. He is married, the father
of three children, and resides in  Ipswich,
Mass.
 William E.  Mathis  was  recently ap
pointed director. Contracts Management
Division, replacing Edward Rhodes, who
resigned to take a post  in the Department
of Health, Education,  and Welfare. Mr.
Mathis, 45 , had been assistant director for
Resources and Procurement  at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md. During  14 years  with  NASA, Mr.
Mathis  held a number of financial man-
agement and  program  support posts and
was executive  officer  for  Goddard's
spacecraft tracking operations. He previ-
ously served  eight and a half years with
the Central Intelligence Agency. A native
of Centerville, Tenn.,  he earned a mas-
ter's degree at Benjamin Franklin  Uni-
versity in Washington. He is married to
the former Rita Ann  Dohson. They  have
three children.
 Matthew J.  Rubbins. equal opportun-
ity specialist in the Region IV Office of
Civil  Rights and Urban Affairs,  recently
won a master's degree (his  second) in
public administration at the University of
Georgia.  He  continued working  while
commuting to classes in Athens, 75 miles
away  from  Atlanta, and  earned a  4.0
grade average. As the son-in-law of John
McKenna,  associate athletic  director of
Georgia Tech, Georgia's arch rival, Mr.
Robbins  faced a dilemma in choosing
which team to root for.

-------
     A recent example of the effective use of chemicals
to control pests was the halting of the spread of giant
African snails in southern Florida.
     The Department  of  Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health  Inspection Service has reported that the
infestation  of this  voracious plant feeder in southern
Florida has been checked.
     Considered to he the world's worst mollusk pest,
the giant African snail can grow a shell up to  10 inches
long and may weigh  a  pound.
     Equipped with thousands of rasping teeth  and a
fierce appetite, the snail can consume a  head of lettuce
at one sitting. It also attacks ornamental trees, shrubs,
flowers,  and  vegetables.
     It was checked in Florida by  spraying infested
properties  with carbaryl  and  using  corn meal baited
with  mctaldehyde  calcium arsenate on neighboring
areas.
     After  the poisoning  program  halted  the  snail,
the  Department  of  Agriculture lilted  last  April
emergency regulations imposed in 1969 to prevent the
pest  from spreading out of southern  Florida.
     The king-si/ed pest was introduced into Florida in
1966 by  an eight-year-old North Miami boy who had
brought back three from Hawaii as  a present for his
grandmother,  according  to the National Geographic
Society news service.
     The grandmother  was touched but  not  overjoyed
and the snails were released.
     By  1969 the snails had multiplied  so alarmingly
that  the Department of Agriculture banned  shipments
out of the Miami area of anything that might harbor the
pest.
    Owners  of infested homesites in Florida often
complained  about  the smell of snails that died  after
wandering into window air  conditioners or were
smashed by  the  whirring  blades  of  suburban
lawnmowers.
    In addition to  being a city  and suburban nuisance,
the giant snail posed a threat to agriculture and human
health. If allowed to spread, it could have been particu-
larly costly to Southern nurserymen and vegetable
growers. The snail can also be an intermediate host to
rat  Ringworm, a parasite transmissible to  man.
    Because the snail needs calcium to build its shell,
it often fed on house  paint, leaving behind unsightly
trails of slime and  excrement.
    These pests  have a  tremendous reproductive
capacity  and every snail has both male and female or-
gans.  Once  mated, each snail will  lay 600 to  1,000
eggs in a lifetime.
    All of the 100,000 snails  destroyed in Florida in
the past six  years were descendants of the three
brought from Hawaii by the child.
    The giant  snail—Achatina fulica—has,  with
man's help, spread devastation far beyond its original
home on the east coast of Africa.
    An tinglish naturalist and  traveler took the snails
to India in the mid-19th century.
    African  snails then spread to Southeast  Asia,
China, Formosa, and other Pacific islands,  eating  their
wav round the world.

-------
                              briefs
PUBLIC HEARINGS SET ON CONSTRUCTION GRANTS
Public hearings are slated this month on proposals  to  change
the law under which EPA assists communities in building
sewage treatment facilities.  The proposals include reducing
the Federal share of funding (now 75%)  and limiting such  aid
to serve only present populations.  The hearing schedule:
Atlanta, Ga., June 9; Kansas City, Mo., June 17;  San
Francisco, Calif., June 19; and Washington, D.C.,  June 25.

QUARLES URGES BETTER PROGRAM TO CONTROL TOXIC  SUBSTANCES
Deputy Administrator John R. Quarles,  Jr.,  warned recently
that "in a world where the threat from toxic substances is
constantly growing, we are literally surrounded by  time bombs,
but we have not begun an effective program to  detect and
defuse these hazards."  He was  speaking to the Manufacturing
Chemists Association in Washington.

CINCINNATI MANAGEMENT TEAM WINS PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
A team headed by William J. Benoit was  honored last month with
a Presidential Management Improvement Award "for effecting a
quiet revolution" in the administration of EPA's Cincinnati
operations.  Over a two-year period, the citation said, the
10-person team brought "unification and order" out  of
"fragmentation and disarray," while improving  services and
introducing innovative techniques now being used throughout
the Agency.  Other team members were Brian C.  Burns, Joseph
A. Castelli, Kerrigan G. Clough, Morton H.  Friedman, Willis
E. Greenstreet, Edward J. Nine, Richard A.  Pohlkamp, Richard
A. Ruhe, and Jean Wilkinson.

BECK HEADS WATER PLANNING AND STANDARDS
Eckardt C. Beck, 32, has been appointed Deputy Assistant
Administrator  for Water Planning and Standards.  He succeeds
Lillian Regelson, who accepted an Intergovernmental Personnel
Act assignment  in December to become Senior Staff  Scientist
at George Washington University, Washington, D.C.   Mr. Beck
was formerly Deputy Commissioner of Connecticut's  Department
of Environmental Programs.
                                                                PAGE 21

-------

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A-107)
WASHINGTON. DC. 20460
                                     POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
                    U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                                                    EPA-335
                                             .ASS BL LK RATE
Return this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publication (  ), or if change of address is needed (  ). list change, including zip code.
  OIL SENSOR PROTECTS  TEXAS  WATERWAY
   The Nation's first automatic oil  spill
  detector - -  an  outgrowth of EPA-
  supported research --is guarding the
  Houston Ship Channel at Houston,
  Texas, 24 hours a day.
   Owned by EPA  and set up in coopera-
  tion with the U.S. Coast Guard, the de-
  tector is designed to give early warning
  of an  oil spill,  before environmental
  damage and cleanup costs become ex-
  cessive.
   It works by  shining an invisible beam
  of infrared light on the water below and
  setting off an alarm when oil of any  kind
   — even a thin film — appears, accord-
  ing to Donald R.  Jones, Oil and Special
  Materials Control Division,  who is
  EPA's  project officer for the sensor's
  development. It works equally well in
  daylight or dark, in  rain  or fog,  and
  under any wave conditions.
   The device  has been installed since
  March on a Coast Guard dock at Hous-
  ton, about 30  feet above water.level, for
  a trial  period  of about six months,  said
  Wallace Cooper, chief of Region  VI's
  Oil Spill Response Team in Dallas. Mr.
  Cooper and Coast Guard officials chose
  the  Houston  Ship Channel location at
  the request of Division headquarters in
  Washington.
   The large  number of industries and oil
  handling facilities along  the channel
  make it a likely place  for oil spills. The
  detector will later be moved farther
  down the channel so that even more po-
  tential  spills will be covered, said  Mr.
  Cooper.
   The Coast Guard has purchased seven
  of the infrared devices for installation in
  the New York harbor  area.
   They cost about $15,000  apiece, and
  auxiliary equipment such  as recorders
  and various types of alarm systems can
  add $2,000 to the cost of each unit.
  They are expected to be very useful for
the continuous monitoring of industrial
docks, oil  loading areas,  and other
places where oil can be spilled on water,
Mr. Cooper said. First installations will
probably  be in harbors and  estuaries,
where the Coast Guard  is responsible
for spill surveillance  and cleanup en-
forcement,  he said,  but they are ex-
pected to  be useful also on inland lakes
and waterways, where EPA has respon-
sibility.
 Research and development on the in-
frared oil slick detector started about
three years  ago at Texas Instruments,
Inc.. Dallas, under a $250,000 contract
from EPA,  Mr. Jones explained. Later
the Coast Guard took  over the Federal
funding of final development and test-
ing of prototypes. The Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments of 1972 re-
quire EPA and the Coast Guard to de-
velop the technology of oil spill surveil-
lance.
 The devices are built by Rambie, Inc.,
of Irving, Texas,  under license from
Texas Instruments. Dr.  Guy Rambie,
head  of the firm, was a leader in the
original TI project. The Rambie sensor
can be mounted from 10 to 100 feet
above the water  to be  monitored. It
sends  a narrow beam  of infrared  light
vertically to the water and receives and
measures the reflected light at two dif-
ferent wavelengths and electronically
compares them.  The ratio of the  two
kinds of light reflected from  water is
different from that reflected  from hy-
drocarbons (oil).  The difference triggers
the alarm. Since a comparison and not
the total light is  involved, the system
can operate under widely varying condi-
tions of  light and weather.
 EPA's  oil spill specialists at headquar-
ters and  in Region  VI  are  considering
working  with the manufacturer to mod-
ify the sensor so it can scan  a larger
area. This might involve having the in-
frared beam  "sweep"  back and forth
across a stretch  of water instead of
being fixed in one place, and having the
beam reflected to many receivers in-
stead of  one, Mr. Jones said.
 EPA also underwrote  research by the
Baird-Atomic Corporation, Bedford,
Mass., on an untraviolet sensor, using
fluorescent  lights. > Other  research is
under way,  supported  by the Coast
Guard, on detection systems  that  use
laser light, airborne radar scanners, and
sensitive electronic vapor detectors.

Houston Ship Channel flows through
industrial  areas.

-------