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.
------- |