OCTOBER 1976
VOL. 2, NO. NINE
CURBING
GLOBAL POLLUTION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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THE
INTERNATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCENE
In Tokyo $ 15, (XX) a year is being spent to breed and
raise fireflies so they can he released on a summer
evening to the "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" of young chil-
dren.
The fireflies, long a fragile symbol of summer in
Japan, have been decimated by the pollution which
accompanied that island nation's modern agriculture
and rapid economic growth.
These insects were once such a great attraction in
Japan that tour companies ran special trains to view
them. Fireflies were captured and then released inside
the family's mosquito netting so that youngsters drifted
off to sleep watching their own private stars twinkling
just overhead.
Now, however, the New York Times reports, fire-
flies are never or rarely seen in Japanese cities. Two
years ago one of Tokyo's ward governments began the
special firefly program as a symbol of environmental
improvement.
The firefly story helps to illustrate Japanese love of
the beautiful, as well as the seriousness of the urban
pollution problems in Japan.
An article in this issue of KPA Journal reports on
some of the steps Japan is taking to curb the
pollution associated with its extraordinary economic
development.
Japan's experience is one facet of the global
battle against pollution that is reviewed in the Journal.
The magazine includes articles by Administrator
Russell K. Train and Fitzhugh Green, Associate
Administrator for International Activities, on world-
wide efforts to protect the environment.
Another article reports on a massive oil spill in
the St. Lawrence Seaway which involved both
Canada and the U.S. in the cleanup.
Other subjects in this issue include:
A report on why EPA agreed to allow a limited use
of the pesticide DDT to help prevent spread of the
bubonic plague in the West.
An article about a newly developed air pollution
index designed to permit uniform reporting of pollution
conditions to the general public.
An account of a successful effort to curb bottle and
can trash in Yosemite, one of our most beautiful na-
tional parks.
Another in our continuing series of regional
reports—this time from our office in San Fran-
cisco—Region IX on Parade.
A review of a new filmjointly produced by Environ-
ment Canada and EPA on the effort to clean up the
Great Lakes.
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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,
David Cohen
PHOTO CREDITS
Page 5—Black Star-
Page 9—1,000 Islands International Council
Page 11—Colorado State
Health Department
Page 12—J. Mark Blackburn
Page 13—J. Mark Blackburn
Page 18—Ernest Bucci
Page 19—Gerald French, San Francisco
Visitor's Bureau
Page 20—Dick Rowan*
Page 22—Charles O'Rear*
Page 23—Dick Rowan*
Back Page—Frank Aleksandrowicz*
* DOCUMERICA
COVER: Illustration by George Rebh
INSIDE COVER: Illustration by Hokusai
The EPA Journal is published
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July-August and November-December,
by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Use of
funds for printing this periodical has
been approved by the Director of the
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Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Contributions and inquiries should be
addressed to the Editor (A-107),
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ARTICLES
SAFEGUARDING THE GLOBE PAGE 2
Administrator Russell E. Train speaks about
the environmental problems facing the world
in the years ahead.
SPOTLIGHT ON JAPAN PAGE 4
Japan is preparing a presentation on how it is
coping with its serious pollution problems.
EPA AND THE WORLD PAGE 6
An interview with Fitzhugh Green on
EPA's relations with foreign countries.
OIL SPILL ON THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY PAGE 8
BATTLING BUBONIC PLAGUE PAGE 10
UNTRASHING YOSEMITE PARK PAGE 12
POLLUTION INDEX PAGE 14
REGION IX ON PARADE PAGE 19
TOMORROW'S AND YESTERDAY'S PROBLEMS PAGE 22
THE GREAT CLEANUP' BACK PAGE
DEPARTMENTS
PEOPLE
NATION
INQUIRY
NEWS BRIEFS
PAGE 18
PAGE 16
PAGE 24
PAGE 25
PAGE
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SAFEGUARDING THE GLOBE
By Russell E. Train
From my vantage as head of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. I appreciate
this opportunity to offer some thoughts with
regard to foreign policy development in the
years ahead.
The need for this discussion is critical, al-
though the hour is very late. Mankind stands
at the threshold of quantum jumps in world
population totals and in the need for food, en-
ergy, and other resources, for housing, jobs,
and technology, as well as for health and
other services to meet even the barest mini-
mum requirements for life of additional bil-
lions of human beings.
Enrique Penalosa. Secretary-General of
the UN's Habitat Conference in Vancou-
ver, says that by the end of this century we
must build a new civilization on top of the
present one, and of equal size.
1 find little cause for optimism today about
the ability of human society to meet these
needs. There is precious little evidence be-
yond wishful thinking that even a minimum
level of subsistence—let alone any decent
quality of life—can be provided a world popu-
lation that is expected to double by the year
2000. Already, over much of the world, politi-
cal instability, social stress, economic break-
down, malnutrition, and disease are common-
place. 1 think we must expect these problems
to become very much worse over the foresee-
able future. A worldwide trend toward a
cooler climate is being widely forecast by ex-
pert climatologists, apparently the result of
both natural and man-made forces (including
pollution), and such a trend would have dras-
tic adverse impacts on the ability of the world
to produce foods. Moreover, the sheer physi-
cal fact of the growing imbalance between hu-
man numbers and available resources is only
part of the picture. Along with it, we must
also accept the fad of rapidly rising expecta-
tions in all parts of our human society and in
all parts of the svorld. Thus, just as we begin
Excerpted from testimony by EPA Admin-
istrator Russell E. Train May 5, 1976.
before tin- U.S. Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations.
to face a future of growing scarcity, we are
also learning to want more. Increasing stress
and conflict are an inevitable concomitant
of this situation. Finally, to complete this pes-
simistic assessment, we should be aware that
the very magnitude and complexity of the in-
stitutions and technologies that we must de-
velop to help deal with the problems makes
them at the same time particularly vulnerable
to disruption from those same forces of stress
and conflict.
It is not a promising picture.
Whatever the prospects for the future, one
central fact of crucial significance for U.S.
policy emerges: Our nation will not remain
immune to the stresses that afflict the rest of
the world. Those stresses will not stop at our
borders. We cannot maintain our well-being
at home if the world abroad is in disarray. We
are part of an increasingly interdependent and
interrelated world. The problems of food and
energy supply are obvious cases in point.
There can be no thought of a retreat into isola-
tionism. Even if it were possible, which it is
not, isolationism in today's interdependent
world is the road to disaster. The United
States has an overriding self-interest in help-
ing find acceptable solutions to the world's
problems. Failure to find those solutions will
exact an enormous price, not just from oth-
ers, but in terms of the ultimate security and
well-being of our own country. The need to
recognize this plain truth comes at just the
time that the American people are experienc-
ing frustration and disillusion over their par-
ticipation in world events. Yet never in his-
tory has the opportunity and the need for
U.S. leadership in world affairs been more
critical.
How to provide the necessities of life for
billions of more human beings, how to pro-
vide an equitable allocation of the world's lim-
ited resources, and how to accomplish all of
this while at the same time assuring the long-
term health of the natural systems of the
earth—the biosphere—upon which all human
life and activity ultimately depend, these must
be the overriding concerns of all international
relations for the rest of this century.
The need to ensure the long-term protec-
tion of the global environment is the aspect of
these interrelated problems which is of partic-
ular concern to EPA. We are already con-
fronted both in the developed countries and in
the less developed countries with progressive
degradation of the environment—a trend
which will, if permitted to continue unrev-
ersed, spell disaster for mankind.
We are all familiar with the pollution of
air, water, and land that has become a
major by-product of technologically ad-
vanced societies. The developed nations
have recognized this problem and are tak-
ing major steps to deal with pollution,
although the effectiveness of these national
efforts varies considerably. The strong,
domestic environmental programs of the
United States have given it a position of
world leadership in this regard, a leadership
which is widely recognized abroad. I have
viewed international environmental cooper-
ation as representing an international exten-
sion, a global dimension, of our own do-
mestic priorities. And it has been the
reality of our domestic concern and the
effectiveness of our efforts to address that
concern (although we still have a long way
to go) which have given our international
environmental efforts both credibility and
force. For this reason, the continued strong
commitment of the United States to clean
air and water and other environmental
programs is of crucial significance to simi-
lar efforts around the world.
The fact is, of course, that environmental
problems are not limited to economically ad-
vanced societies. The migration of rural pop-
ulations to urban centers in less developed
areas has created overwhelming problems all
over the world. These growing human con-
centrations, living in many cases under ap-
palling conditions of human degradation, are
accompanied for the most part by few, if any,
effective programs of waste management.
Pollution of rivers, ground water, and coastal
waters is common and worsening. Fishery re-
sources suffer badly from such pollution
PAGE 2
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around the world. Perhaps even more impor-
tant for the long-term future is the loss of soils
and forests in many areas. Cut-and-burn cul-
tivation in Latin America to open up new land
for growing human numbers usually leads to
only temporary utilization and then perma-
nent loss of fertility. Laterization of soils
eventually makes cultivation impossible in
many tropical regions. As cultivation moves
onto ever steeper slopes, under the pressures
of human population growth, erosion and loss
of soils is commonplace. For example, as the
steep slopes of Nepal are progressively de-
nuded for firewood, the soils erode, the
rivers become choked with silt, flooding
increases, and the land suffers a permanent
loss of productivity and utility. Around the
world, wildlife populations are decimated
and the very continued existence of species
threatened as habitats are altered or de-
stroyed by human activity. Ail across Af-
rica the Sahara marches relentlessly south-
ward, a process sometimes called "deserti-
fication." While the causes of this tragic
phenomenon are not fully understood, they
probably include the effects of a changing
climate and also the pressures of human
settlement, including overgrazing. The con-
cept of an international program as pro-
posed by Secretary Kissinger recently at
Dakar, Senegal, to seek long-term solutions
to this problem of desertification in Africa
provides a welcome initiative for dealing
with this problem and the human tragedy
which accompanies it. I congratulate the
Secretary on his proposal. The concept
represents the kind of imaginative leader-
ship that the United States can and should
provide in dealing with this and similar
problems.
The evidence is plain all around us that
human numbers and human activities
are already seriously stressing the natural
environment upon which our future de-
pends. We can expect these stresses to
become far worse as additional billions
fight for survival. To the extent that in-
creased industrialization is sought as a
solution in the developing countries, we
can expect a rapid increase in the pressures
on our planetary raw materials, including
energy supplies, and major increases in
pollution. Modern agriculture is highly de-
pendent upon massive infusions of energy
(almost entirely derived from fossil fuels) to
drive its machines and to produce its
fertilizers and pesticides. Thus, world agri-
culture, no less than industry, faces a
critical energy problem. Moreover, as the
pressure for increased food production
grows, as it inevitably will, we can expect
at the same time serious long-term environ-
mental consequences as marginal lands are
brought into production.
We can take pride in the leadership that the
United States has shown in all of these activi-
ties. It is a record which provides a bright
chapter in international cooperation. Yet the
fact remains that we have only scratched the
surface. Enormous challenges still lie ahead.
While we have begun to address ocean
pollution problems, we have made lit-
tle or no comparable effort with respect to
the global atmosphere. We continue to deal
with air pollution as simply a national
matter. However, we have recently come
to realize in dealing with the potential
problem of fluorocarbon destruction of the
protective ozone belt that unilateral efforts
at control would be relatively ineffectual
and that an international effort would be
required. Similarly, if we should find that
paniculate matter from fossil fuel combus-
tion is contributing to global climatic
changes with major implications for world
food production, international agreements
to regulate such pollution may be unavoida-
ble.
Foreign policy development must include
environmental considerations at every stage.
I would recommend assignment of a few envi-
ronmental attaches to U.S. embassies in
areas where environmental problems have
major importance. At present there are eco-
nomic, agricultural, and military attaches,
but not a single environmental attache.
We have learned here at home that it costs
far more to depollute an industrialized coun-
try after it has become one than lo install pol-
lution controls in the beginning.
Our policy should be to encourage emerg-
ing nations to build their new industrial sys-
tems with environmental sanity as an integral
part, and we should urge the World Bank, the
United Nations Development Program, the
Export/Import Bank and other multilateral
lending agencies to provide assistance where
necessary. Our own assistance programs
should also reflect the spirit of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1970. Indeed,
EPA has been working with AID in estab-
lishing NEPA-type guidelines for its overseas
programs. I would also add that realistic eco-
nomic development assistance by the United
States would go a long way in helping develop
effective partnerships for dealing with the
kinds of critical world problems which 1 have
described.
The period since World War 11 has been
one of tremendous technological change.
Whole new industries have grown up that did
not even exist before the war: the aerospace
industry, nuclear power plants, and com-
puterized information systems are a few.
With these developments have come a
whole new generation of problems. Among
the most difficult and, in my opinion, the
most urgent of these is the need for
effective international control over the de-
velopment of nuclear power to avoid diver-
sion of weapons-grade materials.
We need to develop new institutions capa-
ble of addressing the problems of a rapidly
changing world. Most of our existing interna-
tional institutions were developed in response
to problems which arose out of World War 11
and its aftermath. Enormous change has
come about since most of these institutions
were created. Many new nations have come
into being. There has been a tremendous
growth of international trade, as well as of
economic development. New scarcities of
natural resources, such as energy, press upon
all nations.
As the old structure appears increasingly
incapable of addressing the problems and
needs of the new order which is coming into
being, it is imperative that we take a fresh
look both at existing institutions and the need
for new institutions.
As we develop new institutions, we must
recognize and accept the fact that they must
have decision-making authority. The interna-
tional system is already filled with agencies
whose activities are largely discursive and
whose authorities are entirely advisory. We
desperately need international institutions,
particularly with regard to the oceans and the
upper atmosphere, which can set standards
and enforce them. This may seem a radical
proposal, but 1 have reached the conclusion
that the world community can no longer duck
this issue. If international regulatory agencies
are established, it is important that they not be
constituted to set standards at the lowest
common denominator of national achieve-
ment.
We need not only international regulatory
mechanisms—and those should only be es-
tablished with great care—but also institu-
tions for global monitoring and assessment,
institutions that can weigh apparent short-
term gains against long-term costs. 1 might
add that in this area the need is not only inter-
national but also domestic, insofar as the
United States is concerned. The Office of
Technology Assessment of the Congress rep-
resents a limited beginning. However, 1 con-
tinue to urge that our government as a whole
develop and maintain a comprehensive, long-
range planning and assessment capability.
Such a capability would provide an essen-
tial resource for an effective foreign policy
geared to a rapidly changing world.
1 shall close by repeating what I said at
the outset: Increasing international cooper-
ation on safeguarding our life support sys-
tems is an urgent necessity. The alternative
is to sit back and wait for global disaster to
overtake us. •
PAGE 3
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SPOTLIGHT ON JAPAN
Japan will take the unprecedented step of
making a broad-scale presentation of its
environmental program next month to a visit-
ing group of high-ranking officials from some
of the other leading industrial countries of
the world.
Among those who will make this review are
John R. Quarles. Jr.. HPA Deputy Admin-
istrator.
The meeting Nov. 16-20 in Tokyo is being
sponsored, at Japan's invitation, by the Envi-
ronment Committee of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) an international organization of 24
of the major industrialized nations including
the U.S., Canada, Japan, and several
Western European nations.
Most of the OKCD members are ex-
pected to he represented al the Japan review.
One of the reasons for selecting Japan for
the review is that this leading industrial power
is succeeding in finding I'nique answers to
many of its serious pollution problems.
Both the Japanese and the countries repre-
sented at the review are expected to benefit
from the analysis of information developed at
the conference.
The extraordinary industrial development
in the relatively small island-nation of Japan
has been accompanied by severe pollution
problems.
From smoggy Tokyo, venerated Mt.
Fuji frequently is obscured from view.
Fumes from rush hour traffic require traffic
policemen to use a waiting oxygen tank
periodically so they can continue their
work.
An electronic sign in Tokyo's Ginza dis-
trict gives air-pollution readings for sulfur
dioxide and carbon monoxide in parts per mil-
lion and also shows the noise level in decibels.
In recent years many industrial enterprises
have been brought to court in Japan for caus-
ing damage by air and water pollution. The
judicial decisions arising from four major
trials had great impact in affirming the respon-
sibility of industrial enterprises for pollution
control and in asserting that, with the
technology now available, there is no rea-
son that the Japanese should have to suffer
from pollution ills.
One of these trials involved the discharge
of cadmium which caused what the Japanese
call the Itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease, two of
the trials centered around the consumption of
fish poisoned by industrial mercury, and
the fourth involved respiratory illness
caused by air pollution emissions. In all
these cases, the plaintiffs were awarded
compensation after the court ruled that the
defendant companies were negligent in fail-
ing to recognize the harmful effects of their
activities on human health.
Pollution Victims
The compensation system for pollution-re-
lated health damage is based on civil
liability. As of January, 1976. about 30.(MX>
The Burden in lilts '/.en liiiddhist temple in Kvolo ix on exam/tic nf the "dry
landscape" xiyle in Japan. In this xyniholic landscape lite while s
-------
Tokyo policeman inhales oxygen from a nearby rank to help him direct traffic in the
fumes from rush-hour traffic in the Japanese capital.
Electro/tic sign near ihc (iin:.
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EPA AND THE WORLD
An interview with Fitzhugh Green,
Associate Administrator for International Activities
Q: How is the skiff of your office organized?
I think you have, for example, one division for
multilateral affairs and one for bilateral.
What is lite distinction?
A: EPA's activities with individual nations,
which we call bilateral, range all the way from
formal agreemenls with countries like Can-
ada, (he Soviet Union, Japan, and Germany,
with whom we have many ongoingjoint proj-
ects, down to informal arrangements with
other nations. The Bilateral Programs Divi-
sion is headed by John P. Blane, who is a
Foreign Service Officer on loan from the
State Department.
The Multilateral Division deals with inter-
national organizations like the UN and its
specialized agencies, such as the United Na-
tions Environment Program. This division is
headed by Dr. Jack Thompson.
We work very closely with NATO coun-
tries, under what we call the Committee on
Challenges of Modern Society. Administra-
tor Train for many years has been the U.S.
representative to that group. He also is the
U.S. chairman of our exchange program with
the Russians.
Other multilateral organization activities in-
volve EPA experts working with the Organi-
zation for Economic Cooperation and Devel-
opment (OECD) representing 24 industrial-
ized nations. We also serve as a collaborating
center on health effects of pollution for the
World Health Organization (WHO), as well
as providing many experts for specific jobs in
other nations.
Our Visitors and Information Exchange Di-
vision, headed by Dolores Gregory, transfers
EPA-produced information to our counter-
part agencies throughout the world and col-
lects foreign environmental reports for use by
EPA staff. They also handle about 500 for-
eign visitors to EPA each year.
We also have a division, led by Dr. Don
Oakley, which manages our work with coun-
tries where we have special foreign currency
credits, such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Egypt,
India, and Pakistan. We are now funding
55 projects with this money which results
from U.S. loans and sales abroad.
The Oceans Division, headed by Bob Mc-
PAGE 6
Manus, coordinates the Agency's participa-
tion in international efforts to protect the
global marine environment. For the past few
years, a lot of our time in this area has been
devoted to the Third U N Conference on the
Law of the Sea, which is attempting to devise
international legal obligations and jurisdic-
tional principles applicable to virtually every
source of marine pollution. The Oceans Divi-
sion also coordinates EPA's ongoing efforts
through IMCO—the UN agency which de-
velops pollution control standards for interna-
tional shipping—and the implementation of
the 1972 Ocean Dumping Convention, which
entered into force last summer.
Q: What would you identify as the major
global issues facing us now?
A: Air and water pollution basically. Each
has the potential of destroying the capacity of
these two media for supporting life. There are
a growing number of cities that are at times
almost impossible to live in. Cities like Mex-
ico City. Seoul, Tehran, and Tokyo have
enormous pollution problems. Tokyo is get-
ting better because the Japanese are working
hard at it.
Q: Are we collaborating with other indus-
trialized nations to harmonize standards for
pollution control?
A: Yes. One guiding principle of the OECD
is the harmonizing of standards. Other inter-
national organizations, such as WHO, rec-
ommend environmental quality criteria.
Progress is slow except in the Common Mar-
ket countries where a vigorous program is set-
ting standards applicable in all nine countries.
These have the force of law. We are working
through ICAO (International Civil Avia-
tion Organization) toward common stand-
ards for air and noise pollution from air-
craft and through IAEA (International
Atomic Energy Agency) for common con-
trols on radioactive materials. We also
participate in the Economic Commission
for Europe and the International Standards
Organization to reach agreed common
measuring techniques.
The Canadians have a new law on toxic
substances. We are watching the Canadians
closely to see how they implement this new
legislation.
The exchange of ideas works both ways.
For example, the Japanese adopted, almost
word for word, the automobile control sec-
tion of our Clean Air Act.
Q: Isn't "environmental protection" a rich
nation's concept, one that can be afforded
only by those nations that are not plagued bv
regular food deficits, catastrophic weather,
lack of technical development, and popula-
tion growths out of control?
A: This kind of objection was raised in the
early days and I remember speaking in
Brasilia in the summer of 1971, when
Brazil's spokesmen were saying, "we'll
develop now and depollute later".
Brazil has now changed its policy to "We
will develop, but in an environmentally sane
fashion."
The best time to set environmental stand-
ards and to install pollution controls is when
you are in the process of developing. It's
cheaper to do it then, than to go back and try
to correct mistakes after industrialization. In
the U.S. it may cost us nearly $200 billion to
implement our new environment laws for the
first ten years.
Robert McNamara, President of the
World Bank, said at Stockholm in 1972 that
the World Bank provides loans for capital
intensive projects only if they are going to
be environmentally sound. The Bank, he
added, had studied the difference between
the cost of an environmentally sound proj-
ect and one that is not and found the
difference was negligible.
1 talked to Mr. McNamara two years later
and he told me that the data increasingly sup-
ports what he had said at Stockholm.
Another point is that pollution impacts the
poor before the rich. The rich can build air
conditioned houses and travel to clean subur-
ban surroundings. The poor live in the middle
of the cities where the rats feast on uncol-
lected garbage or chew babies' feet. Air
pollution is always worse in the middle of a
big city than anywhere else. So are problems
of sewage disposal and clean drinking water.
The fact that the Third World insisted on the
UN Environment Program being headquar-
-------
terecl in a developing nation. Kenya, shows a
couple of things:
First, of course, that poor nations hope that
they are going to get development funds be-
cause they went along with the principles that
were suggested in Stockholm.
Second, it suggests that the Third World is
willing to accept the growing movement for a
better environment.
Q: Is then' a degree of unity in the environ-
mental concern among the industrialized na-
tions?
A: Yes, there is pretty good cooperation, al-
though philosophies on the subject vary.
For example, the British sometimes remark
that they invented industrialization and also
the means for controlling its noxious emis-
sions. There is something to this claim al-
though we disagree with some of their prac-
tices, like using tall stacks. They use the tall
stacks for their big industrial region in the
Midlands with the idea that the prevailing
breezes will carry the emissions over the
North Sea, which is usually a turbulent,
stormy area, and the pollution will be dis-
persed.
Acid rain in the Scandinavian countries
raises the question whether tall stacks are ef-
fective.
Q: I'm told that the Department of State and
Treasury are pushing a new program to have
the petroleum exporting countries buy U.S.
goods and services, find that U.S. govern-
ment experts arc being retained as consult-
ants by these countries. Can you tell me what
part EPA personnel are playing in this pro-
gram—where they are going, what they will
be doing?
A: The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 au-
thorizes U.S. agencies to be reimbursed by
foreign governments for technical assistance.
Assistant Administrator Roger Strelow and
Joel Horowitz, Office of Air and Waste Man-
agement, recently visited Iran at the invita-
tion of its government to discuss air pollution
caused by automobiles. The trip was funded
by the U.S. Agency for International Devel-
opment. Dr. Oakiey of our office accom-
panied Mr. Strelow and visited several other
countries in the Middle East to discuss reim-
bursable technical assistance. The Govern-
ment of Kuwait has requested a short-term
assignment of an EPA scientist to assist in
developing an aquatic marine laboratory.
Q: How d» our people compare with people
from other countries in technological comp-
etence and in general knowledgeabilit\?
A: With virtually no exceptions in the almost
six years EPA has been operating in individ-
ual countries and with international organiza-
tions all over the world, our personnel have
become popular and respected among their
opposite numbers abroad. They are recog-
nized for their knowledge and talent as envi-
ronmental specialists, for their diplomatic
touch in sharing U.S. know-how, and for ar-
guing our point of view in international for-
ums trying to hammer out policies and agree-
ments.
Finally, I believe it is accurate to say
that Administrator Train is the outstanding
national and international leader in the
opinion of the environmentalists of the
world.
Q: Do most nations now have government
organizations tike EPA ?
A: Yes. When we started EPA, the United
States was the only country in the world that
had a national environmental control organi-
zation. The British came along about the
same time. Since then over 50 nations have
followed suit.
To keep up with the Joneses internation-
ally, you have to have an environment
program. Most nations are joining the club,
and we are working with many of them.
Since 1971 EPA has received over 500
foreign visitors each year, trying to find out
how we conduct our environment pro-
grams. More have come from Japan than
any other country, and they come from
industry, universities, and government, at
all levels.
Q: / am told that two of the most urgent
needs for both villages and targe cities in the
developing nations is for clean water and ade -
(jitate but inexpensive sewage disposal sys-
tems. Are we exploiting our technology for
clean water?
A: After the UN Habitat Conference in
Vancouver last June, we were asked to put
together a task force to decide how the
U.S. could contribute to the declaration
adopted there. The hope is that by 1990
every country in the world can have clean
drinking water. The interagency task force,
set up at the request of the State Depart-
ment and the Water Resources Council, is
chaired by Vic Kimm, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Water Supply.
Q: Why does EPA have an Office of Interna-
tional Activities?
A: One reason is to be informed about the
means being developed elsewhere for con-
trolling pollution. Not only scientific and
technical means, but also organizational, leg-
islative, and political means.
Second, it is clear that pollution in one cor-
ner of the world can ultimately affect the rest
of the globe. You can't ignore major pollution
problems any more than you can ignore ink
being poured in the bathtub. We see vivid ex-
amples of this in the oceans, where you have
tankers from many nations pumping bilges
and making messes at sea that spread all the
way from Africa to South America as Thor
Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer, re-
ported after making his trip on a reed boat
across the Atlantic.
This Government, largely through the ef-
forts of EPA working with the State Depart-
ment, is using technical exchange, personal
contact and exchange of information of all
kinds to persuade and work with and help
other nations come to the same point of con-
cern about the environment.
Q: Jacques Causteati. the noted oceanogra-
pher, says the ocean has deteriorated ire men -
dously and that in the next 25years, assuming
nothing is done, it will die. Do von share his
pessimism?
A: Cousteau has a way of dramatizing his
points of view and 1 don't think anybody
has enough data to prove him right or
wrong. His concern helps to get world
attention focused on marine pollution.
We are taking part in the Law of the Sea
Conference, as ! mentioned earlier, and are
participating on many fronts to make sure that
everything possible is being done to keep the
seas from dying.
I am talking about the inland seas, too. As
you know, we have a multi-billion dollar
cleanup effort going on in the Great Lakes,
pursuant to an agreement we signed with
Canada in 1972. Recently I accompanied Mr.
Train and Mitchell Sharp of Canada on their
public visit to some of the Lakes.
This dual appearance was made to indi-
cate to the public of both countries how
seriously the two nations are pursuing
implementation of the Great Lakes agree-
ment.
Q: Is planetary management of the human
and natural environment possible in the fore-
seeable future? Is the wisdom and technolog-
ical expertise available and is there a consen-
sus building towards the abrogation of na-
tional sovereignty in environmental areas?
A: 1 think the answer is yes to the first ques-
tion. 1 am not sure that abrogation of national
sovereignty is moving ahead that fast. But 1
think the cooperative activity is a very good
sign that we may be able to develop interna-
tional mechanisms for controlling pollution.
ultimately, that will be as good as the Interna-
tional Postal Union, or International Com-
munications Union, for example.
Q: In what area
-------
OIL SPILL
ON THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY
The cost of cleaning up an oil spill
which occurred along the St. Law-
rence Seaway last June has already ex-
ceeded $6.5 million. According to Kenneth
Biglane, Director of EPA's Oil and Special
Materials Control Division, that expendi-
ture makes it the most expensive federally
funded oil spill cleanup in U.S. history.
Cleanup efforts, which will continue inter-
mittently throughout this fall, have far
surpassed the $5.8 million Federal dollars
spent on cleaning up oil from flooded
holding lagoons along Pennsylvania's
Schuylkill River after Hurricane Agnes in
1972.
The St. Lawrence accident occurred on
June 23, when an American oil barge contain-
ing over two million gallons of heavy #6 fuel
oil scraped bottom on New York's Comfort
Island shoal, rupturing three of its tanks and
spilling over 300,000 gallons of oil. Due to an
unusual combination of temperature, wind,
and current conditions, the mass of oil flowed
to mid-stream and drifted rapidly down-river
rather than heading toward shore. By the sec-
ond day the oil had covered over 30 miles of
water and was still spreading.
On that day, the barge owner's insurance
company announced that it would no longer
assume liability for the damages pending an
investigation to determine fault. Conse-
quently, the Federal government was forced
to assume full cleanup responsibility using a
Revolving Fund set up by Congress to cover
such oil spill emergency costs.
"Over 80 miles of river length have been
direclly affected by the spill. That amounts to
several hundred miles of beaches and shore-
line if you count all the inlets, coves, and
waterfront variations,"explained Paul Elliot,
Chief of the Emergency Response Section of
EPA's Region II Surveillance and Analysis
Division.
. The magnitude of the spill and the threat
of possible damage to Canadian territory
and waterways activated an emergency
plan involving the Joint Regional Response
Team from the U.S., the Canadian Coast
Guard, and various environmental organi-
zations from the Province of Ontario. This
Joint U.S.-Canadian Response Team is
one aspect of an agreement called the Joint
International Contingency Plan providing
for such cooperation in the event of a
mutual emergency. The U.S. side of the
Joint Team includes representatives from
the U.S. Coast Guard, the EPA, the
PAGE 8
Department of Transportation, the Army
Corps of Engineers, and the Council on
Environmental Quality. This specially or-
ganized agency both coordinates and super-
vises the activities of professional contrac-
tors who perform the actual cleanup opera-
tions.
Because the spill occurred on a Great
Lakes waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard
took command of U.S. operations. In other
circumstances EPA would assume com-
plete control.
It was obvious from the start that the
spill was of extraordinary proportions and
that it would be impossible to save all
beach areas and waterfronts from damage.
Consequently, emergency teams in EPA's
Region II were asked to determine which
areas were the most valuable, which would
be most seriously affected, and which were
most accessible to the techniques, re-
sources, and manpower available.
Marshlands
Highest priority was given to marshlands
and high-use public areas. Secondary efforts
focused on privately owned docks and water-
front areas. Remote" rocky coastlines were
left for later cleanup on a complaint basis.
EPA conducted two aerial photography
missions shortly after the spill occurred.
These photos were valuable in defining im-
pacted areas and were also used to brief the
Joint Response Team on the extent and
movements of the spill.
More than 700 people have been involved
in the cleanup in addition to 50 vessels, 14
vacuum trucks, and seven full-time surface
skimmer machines. Damages to public
beaches, private property, wetlands, and
wildlife have been substantial.
EPA has proposed a study to assess the
long-term environmental damage caused by
oil contamination to both U.S. and Cana-
dian territory. A report, prepared by a
contractor under the supervision of a Joint
U.S.-Canadian steering committee, would
be used as an information source by gov-
ernment agencies or private organizations
in both countries which are preparing ur-
gently needed contingency plans for oil
spill control.
Fortunately, since the oil spill did not
beach itself immediately, emergency re-
sponse teams had time to try to contain it.
"We put out thousands of feet of boom (a
floating fence to block the oil) across inlets.
bays, and beach areas," Mr. Elliot said. "We
employed skimmers 24 hours a day to remove
oil from the surface of the water while our
cleanup crews scoured the beaches and tried
to save the damaged wetlands."
Beaches Closed
In the Alexandria Bay area of New
York State, a majority of residents make
their living solely from tourists and vaca-
tioners between the 4th of July and Labor
Day. The spill closed many beaches,
threatened others, and drove much of the
tourist business elsewhere.
Oil from the spill penetrated over five feet
into 16 and a half miles of wetlands along the
St. Lawrence River. According to Region II
analysts, these wetlands suffered extensive
damage.
For centuries these wetlands have been
teeming with wildlife and vegetation. Cana-
dian geese, ducks, and blue heron abound
on Ironside Island in the middle of the St.
Lawrence, and the Wilson Hill area is a
wildlife refuge. Marsh plants, vital to the
ecological balance of these areas, were
covered with heavy grade oil which ad-
heres to anything it comes in contact with.
"Once the oil sticks to these plants there is
no effective way to get it off. The only way to
save the marsh vegetation is to cut the plants
off near the water level. This is a very difficult
and expensive operation because it must be
done by hand from small boats. Even then we
can't be sure the plants will survive, and we
don't know the extent to which such drastic
measures will affect the ecology of the marsh
system," explained Mr. Elliot.
The spill came during the molting season
when many birds were developing new
feathers and could not fly. "Fortunately,
the fact that they couldn't fly helped us to
capture them so they could be cleaned.
However, many have already died. Al-
though we don't have any reliable figures
as yet we have found many muskrats,
ducks, turtles, snakes, and blue herons
killed by the oil," Mr. Elliot said.
There have been scattered reports of
recontamination caused by oil from the
spill which became trapped under piers or
in rocky areas and drifted back into the
river.
As a result, manual cleanup efforts will
continue through this fall until all damaged
areas have been restored to an environ-
mentally acceptable condition. •
-------
**3
Oil from St. Lawrence Seaway spill smears water near dock in
Alexandria Ba\. N.Y.
Aerial view of Bold! Castle
St. Lawrence River.
>n Heart Islam! in tin
The 1000 Islands Bridge over the St. Lawrence linking New }'ork
Stale and the Province oj Ontario, Canada.
NEW BEACH COATING METHODS
When an oil spill occurs, usually the fore-
most concern of environmentalists, local
property owners, and tourists, is the threat of
damage to shoreline areas. Recently, scien-
tists have developed new methods which may
not only protect waterfront areas from con-
tamination but also may dramatically im-
prove the effectiveness of oil spill cleanup
while reducing the cost. A laboratory study of
the problem, now approaching the point of
field testing, is part of a one-year $130.000
contract funded by the EPA and the Ameri-
can Petroleum Institute.
Specifically, researchers have developed
and tested several chemical compounds
which appear to be capable of protecting
beaches and wetland vegetation from becom-
ing covered by oil. All involve treatment of
the shoreline surface with chemical agents
that block direct contact of oil with the area to
be protected.
Among the most promising of these com-
pounds is a glue-like chemical resin which.
when sprayed on the beaches or marsh plants,
forms a protective coating which repels the
oil. Ideally, this film would not he harmful to
plant life and could be rinsed off with low-
pressure hoses after the danger period has
passed. Other techniques to be tested include
surface-active protective agents and micro-
bial preparations which decompose oil.
"These products are still in the experi-
mental stages and until we test them in
actual field situations, it is impossible to
gauge their effectiveness accurately," said
Leo McCarthy, of EPA's Industrial Envi-
ronmental Research Laboratory in Edison.
N.J. "There arc just too many restrictions
in laboratory testing. The only way to be
really certain is to treat an actual beach
area with the products, spill some oil on
the water a short distance off-shore and
then observe how it works when ali the
natural variables of wind. tide, and temper-
ature are in play."
EPA, in conjunction \\ith the American
Petroleum Institute, is seeking a permit
from the State of California to perform
such a test on a beach site in the San
Francisco Bay area. Through these tests,
scientists will determine shelf life of the
products, toxicity. and the most appropri-
ate circumstances for using each product.
Other tests are scheduled for later this fall
or next year on the east coast to determine
the best application techniques, rates, and
costs of use. "Also, we are on the lookout
for 'spills of opportunity,' that is, real-
world oil spills that will allow us to put
these products into actual practice." said
Mr. McCarthy. •
PAGE 9
-------
BATTLING BUBONIC PLAGUE
"... when you see the misery it
brings, you'd need to be a mad-
man, or a coward, or stone blind,
to give in tamely to the plague."
— Albert Camus. The
Last February, a young Navajo hap-
pened across a motionless cottontail
rabbit near his home in Moenave, Arizona.
The 15-year-old dismembered the small
animal and fed the carcass to his pet dog.
Three days later he suffered an onset of
fever accompanied by pain under his left
arm. Three days after that he was admitted
to the Tuba City Indian Hospital. His
fever had reached 104°F and the lymph
glands in his armpits were badly swollen.
Hours later he would begin to cough up
blood.
Having determined that the boy had the
dread bubonic plague, hospital personnel
began streptomycin therapy within an hour
after his admission. The youngster fully
recovered.
Hut a 45-year-old man living just south-
east of Bakcrsfield, California, was not as
fortunate. On April 13, he had developed
similar symptoms, but the illness was too
far advanced by the time he requested
treatment. He died on April 20. An inves-
tigation revealed the bodies of dead ground
squirrels around the patient's home.
On May II, a 63-year-old woman from
Santo Domingo I'ueblo, New Mexico, died
after suffering similar symptoms. Again
plague was suspected, and it was discov-
ered that five days before the onset of the
ailment she had skinned a rabbit and a
pack rat. Numerous dead pack rats were
found in the area where she lived.
Although none of these cases is related
to another, they are among thirteen cases
of plague already reported this year, ac-
cording to the Plague Branch of the Center
for Disease Control (CDC). Department
of Health. Hducation. and Welfare.
The bubonic plague is primarily a dis-
ease of rodents and is transmitted by their
(leas. After the host animal contracts the
disease and dies, its fleas become hungry
and search for a new source of food.
Unfortunately, human beings are occasion-
ally selected. The presence of infected
rodent carcasses is important evidence
showing that plague-carrying fleas are in
the area.
To help stem the spread of this ancient
disease, KPA has granted emergency re-
quests for use of DDT to kill the fleas on
wild rodents in some western areas.
Officials of the Center for Disease Con-
trol have said they are concerned about
several unusual factors in the current out-
break of the plague.
First, the number of reported human
plague cases per year has gradually been
increasing. Plague seems to be a cyclical
disease. For instance, in 1965 eight cases
were reported. In the next four years,
about four cases were reported each year.
Then in 1970 there were 13 cases reported.
In the next four years about seven cases
were reported yearly. Last year 20 cases
were discovered, the largest number re-
corded for one year since 1924.
It was expected that 1976 would begin
the next five-year slack period, but so far
the count of 13 cases (two fatal) constitutes
four more cases than had been reported at
this time in 1975.
The most common explanation given for
the rise in plague cases over the years is
that more people than ever before are
involved in camping and outdoor activities;
therefore the opportunity for carrier fleas
to find human hosts has been enhanced.
A second reason for the current concern
over plague is that more pneumonic cases
are being reported. Invasion of the lungs
by plague organisms may occur as a com-
plication of the bubonic form or as a
primary infection. When this happens, the
plague germs can be transmitted through
droplets in human breath. Of the 20 cases
of plague which occurred last year, only
three patients developed pneumonia. Of
the 13 cases reported this year, five pa-
tients have developed pneumonia.
Also, more plague-infected dead rodent
bodies have been found this year than ever
before.
Dr. Allan Barnes, chief of the Center for
Pumping DDT into a rodent hole
Disease Control Plague Branch Labora-
tory. Ft. Collins, Colo., cited the case of a
boy who caught the plague while visiting in
New Mexico, to illustrate why the Center
for Disease Control is so anxious to hait
the spread of the plague.
This boy, he related, became ill on Aug.
24. 1975. The parents took the youngster
to a doctor in San Rafael, Calif., who gave
the patient an antibiotic but was not suspi-
cious of plague.
The antibiotic did not halt the advance
of the plague and the boy grew progres-
sively more ill. The parents then took their
son to a local hospital which did not
diagnose the disease. On the following day
the boy's condition became critical and he
was taken to a hospital in San Francisco
where he died about two and a half hours
after admission. When it was discovered
after death that the patient had the ex-
tremely contagious pneumonic form of the
plague, medical authorities began tracing
all of the people in his family and the
hospitals who might have had contact with
him.
"A couple of hundred people were
either given therapy or placed under close
observation to prevent the spread of the
disease," Dr. Barnes said. "So you can
see what the problem is.
"The pneumonic form is unquestionably
very dangerous and could lead to epidemics.
A person could catch it in the Southwest
and easily carry it anywhere in the
United States."
The plague was first discovered in the
United States in San Francisco in 1900.
The disease then slowly advanced as far
eastward as Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Thus far this year, one case has been
reported in Colorado, two in California,
four in Arizona, and six in New Mexico.
A great variety of animals have been
known to serve as carriers for the plague.
In America, the infection has been discov-
ered in 38 species of wild rodents.
In untreated cases of plague the mortal-
ity rate can be as high as 90 percent.
Modern antibiotics are effective against it,
however, and with proper care, most pla-
gue victims do recover. The key to effec-
tive treatment is early diagnosis.
Because of both living conditions and life
styles, the American Indian has been dis-
proportionately hard hit by the plague
strains which persist in the West. Of last
year's 20 cases, five occurred among the
Indian population; of this year's, at least
five plague patients have been Indians.
Since fleas carry the disease, one ob-
PAGK 10
-------
vious solution is to go after the flea
population in areas where the disease has
been found. Carbaryl, a pesticide, has been
the chemical used for a number of years
for killing the fleas. Recently, however,
attempts to use this pesticide have not
always been effective, and because it is not
a very persistent pesticide (it breaks down
relatively quickly in the environment),
more frequent applications are necessary,
resulting in higher costs.
Therefore some States have considered
DDT. EPA canceled most uses of this
pesticide in 1972 due to its persistence,
mobility, and buildup in the food chain.
However, the DDT cancellation order
noted the value of this pesticide in public
health situations, and specified that it could
be used when found to be necessary by the
Public Health Service. In the absence of a
registration of DDT, however. State or
Federal agencies have to come to EPA to
request an emergency exemption under the
pesticides regulation law in order to be
able to apply DDT legally. These requests
are not taken lightly by the Agency, and a
bona-fide emergency must exist; in fact,
EPA in the past four years has turned
down most special requests for DDT.
But the plague is another matter.
On May 28, Don J. Womeldorf, Super-
vising Biologist of the Vector Control
Section (VCS) of the California Depart-
ment of Health, stated in a letter to EPA
that "there is a strong probability that
situations will arise in California during
1976 necessitating the use of DDT to
control flea vectors of plague. . . . This
letter constitutes a request for a specific
exemption allowing the VCS to apply
DDT. . ."
Similar views were expressed by others.
On June 21, for example. Administrator
Train received the following telegram from
Governor Richard D. Lamm of Colorado:
"Unusually large and early incidence of
plague-infected rodents are in the State . . .
Center for Disease Control, Fort Collins,
estimates this year will be a record year for
plague in Colorado . . . (and) recommends
limited DDT use in the high risk areas . . .
in which rock squirrels are known to live
in close proximity to the human popula-
tion."
Thus, in the face of the evidence being
collected by the Center for Disease Con-
trol regarding this year's potentially record
plague outbreak, EPA authorized use of
DDT, under strict conditions.
For instance, in the Colorado case, EPA
approved Governor Lamm's full request
for 400 pounds of DDT (4,000 pounds
pesticide dust including ten percent DDT.)
The treatment itself was restricted to high
PLAGUE OVER THE YEARS
The earliest reports of the bubonic
plague are biblical, but other accounts
of outbreaks in ancient times can be found.
There were reports of the disease in Ath-
ens in 430 B.C. and also in third-century
Rome. But the first well-documented
plague episode did not occur until the reign
of Byzantine Emperor Justinian 1 (527-565
A.D.) in Constantinople. Justinian's
plague, as it is called, is also referred to as
the First Pandemic (epidemic over a large
region), and it was to be followed by two
more widespread outbreaks.
The second great epidemic is thought to
have begun among infected rodents in the
hinterlands of Central Asia. It was spread to
Constantinople, and by 1346 ocean-going
vessels, as well as the returning Crusaders.
had carried it to many seaports. Before the
disease subsided, over one-fourth of the
European population of the MiddleAges had
succumbed.
Plague outbreaks still sprang up from
time to time after that. One of the worst
17th century outbreaks occurred in London
in 1665. About 70,000 deaths were reported
out of a total population of 460,000. "The
plague compasseth the walls of the city like
a flood, and poureth in upon it," noted
Daniel Defoe in his chronicle of the period.
The Third Pandemic began in China at
the mouth of the Canton River in 1894, and
quickly spread to Hong Kong and from
there to many points on the rest of the
globe, including the Pacific coasts of the
Americas.
Today, when plague outbreaks are dis-
covered, international regulations require
that the World Health Organization and
adjacent countries be notified by the in-
volved government.
The illness is commonly marked by
approximately 104°F fever, chilis, severe
prostration, vomiting, pains in limbs and of
the back, and most notably by swollen
lymph nodes in the groin or the underarms.
The enlarged nodes are often called buboes.
from the Greek bonbon meaning groin (ergo,
"bubonic" plague). The swellings can attain
the size of an orange and may discharge pus.
Plague can also cause hemorrhages, called
plague spots when they occur on the skin.
The dark color of these spots, as well as the
high mortality rate for untreated plague,
gained it the medieval title "Black Death."
The germ which causes the disease,
Yersinia pestix, was independently discov-
ered in 1894 by researchers Alexandre Yer-
sin and Shibasaburo Kitasato during a large
plague epidemic in Hong Kong. Three years
later, Mesanori Ogata of the Hygiene Insti-
tute of Tokyo put forward the theory that
the fleas of rodents transmit the illness. In
1898. Paul Louis Simond, a French
epidemiologist, concluded that the plague
was a disease of rats, spread by their fleas.
Since that time, pest control measures
and antibiotic treatment have vastly dimin-
ished the incidences of human plague cases
in the U.S. and the world. •
risk areas and applied directly into rodent
burrows. The program was supervised by
experts from the Center for Disease Con-
trol and Colorado's State Health Depart-
ment. The State actually used only approx-
imately 40 pounds of DDT, indicating the
State's concern for the environment.
EPA has granted a similar request for
use of DDT made by the Indian Health
Service of Albuquerque, N.M. (Although
approval has been granted to the Indian
Health Service, the Service is apparently
taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach,
and as of Aug. 2 no DDT had yet been
used there.)
Some persons have expressed concern
that permitting use of DDT to control
the plague could establish an alarming
precedent in view of the dangers of this
chemical.
Edwin L. Johnson, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for EPA's Pesticide Pro-
grams, attempted to answer that concern in
a letter of August 13, explaining the
Agency's position: "As of June 28. 1976.
eight cases of human . . . plague had
occurred in the United States, which repre-
sents the greatest number of ... plague
cases to have occurred in a year by that
date in United States plague history. . . .
Moreover, survey data from CDC in Fort
Collins, Colo., indicate that widespread
but localized plague epizootics are pres-
ently sweeping through wild rodent popula-
tions in Arizona, California, Colorado,
New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. . . . The
final cancellation order for DDT specifi-
cally exempted uses by 'public health offi-
cials in disease control programs ..." Our
decision to issue this specific emergency
exemption ... is certainly in accord with
the cancellation order and thus I cannot
agree that an alarming precedent has been
set for allowing the use of DDT in an
indiscriminate fashion."
Since Mr. Johnson's citing of eight cases
on June 28. five more cases as previously
noted, have been confirmed.•
PAGE 11
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UNTRASHING YOSEMITE PARK
A year ago a visitor to California's
Yosemite National Park wouldn't have to
look far or long to find an empty beer or
soft drink can lying on the ground, under
a bush, or floating down the Merced
River. For years, litter, in the form of used
beverage cans and bottles, has been
defacing the scenic wilderness of many
American parks and recreation areas
like Yosemite. The cost of cleaning up
this trash has been substantial.
Today however, "you would have to
look awfully hard to find a used beverage
container in all of Yosemite's 700,000
acres," according to Marion Thompson,
an environmental protection specialist in
the Resource Recovery Branch of EPA's
Office of Solid Waste Management
Programs. "Either the buyer is returning
the used container himself or else there
is somebody following behind him with a
bag to pick it up when he throws it on the
ground or into the garbage."
This dramatic reduction in the amount
of cans and bottles cluttering Yosemite's
landscape is a direct result of a program
sponsored by the Park's concessioner
(Yosemite Park and Curry Co.) and
monitored by the EPA. The program,
which began in May and continued
through September, encouraged the
reuse and recycling of beverage
containers by adding a five cent
refundable deposit charge to the price of
all beer and soft drinks sold in the Park.
This deposit can be refunded by
returning the used containers to various
collection points throughout the Park.
"So far, the public's response has been
extremely favorable. After the first six
weeks of operation, the rate of return has
been consistently over 70 percent,"
according to Mrs. Thompson.
Last year, over one ton of aluminum in
used beverage containers was collected
at voluntary recycling centers in
Yosemite Park. Since May 17, 1976,
when this project began, the Yosemite
Park collection centers have received
over one ton of aluminum soft drink and
beer cans each week.
The reason for EPA's interest in the
Yosemite Park experiment is that the EPA
is in the midst of promulgating
regulations under the Solid Waste
Disposal Act which would make it
mandatory for all Federal facilities to
require a deposit on all beverage
containers sold on their premises. This
would include all national parks, Federal
buildings, and Department of Defense
installations. Since these regulations are
expected some time this fall, barring any
legislative or executive action to the
contrary, it is helpful to have a model
reuse and recycling system available for
other parks to study in setting up their
own programs
As a result, EPA's Region IX has been
actively involved in monitoring the
progress of the Yosemite Park
experiment. A final report will be
prepared at the end of the summer
describing, in detail, the organization of
the project, its goals, the problems
encountered, and recommendations for
future applications in other Federal
parks.
"There is a considerable controversy
surrounding these proposed deposit
regulations for all Federal facilities," Mrs.
Thompson said. "It centers around the
beverage industry's concern that if such
regulations are passed, they will
represent an official administration
policy favoring mandatory deposit laws
nationwide. EPA has indicated that it
supports such a program.
"Although it is estimated that the
Federal government accounts for less
than four percent of the total beverage
container market (160 million out of four
billion cases sold), there is no question
that Federal approval of any deposit
legislation would lend substantial
support to the reuse and recycling cause
in the States where some initiative in this
area has already been taken," according
to Mrs, Thompson.
Oregon and Vermont currently have
laws on the books requiring the retailer to
charge a deposit on all beer and soft
drink containers sold. South Dakota has
passed a similar measure which will go
into effect in 1978. Furthermore, the
deposit issue has been placed on the
ballot in four other States (Minnesota,
Michigan, Massachusetts, and
Colorado) for the November election.
According to Mrs. Thompson, an
effective reuse and recycling program
"reduces the volume of solid wastes
thereby cutting disposal and collection
costs. It can save substantial amounts of
energy and materials needed to
manufacture the containers, and
esthetically, it will unquestionably reduce
the amount of visible litter cluttering our
Nation's landscape."
PAG I: 12
-------
PAGK 13
-------
POLLUTION INDEX
Suppose that the Air Quality Index
(AQI) reported by the weatherman on
the evening news is 50 for the day. In the
Washington, D.C. area, a 50 is character-
ized by the word "poor." But in Indianap-
olis the same figure means that the air
quality is "good." And in Toledo it means
"very good."
Discrepancies like these are common.
What accounts for them?
In Pecember 1975, the Council on Envi-
ronmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA jointly
conducted a study of 33 metropolitan areas,
five States and two Canadian Provinces
which use an index to report the daily
status of air pollution. The results revealed
that, with only minor exception, no two
indices were exactly the same.
The CEQ/EPA compendium, entitled Ait-
Pollution Indices, underscored the need to
minimize the serious problem of public
confusion stemming from the lack of a
standardized index. Responding to recom-
mendations made in the joint report, a
Federal Task Force chaired by CEQ asked
that guidance be prepared by EPA. Assist-
ing in this effort were the Offices of
Research and Development; Air and Waste
Management; and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration of the
Commerce Department.
The result of this effort is PS1—the
Pollutants Standards Index (Page 15 ). PS1
utilizes the best and most common aspects
of existing air pollution indices to form a
uniform model index.
Above all else, PSI is designed to pro-
tect the public health by advising of any
possible adverse effects resulting from air
pollution. Its emphasis, therefore, is upon
acute health effects (those likely to occur
as a result of exposure to air pollution over
a time period of 24 hours or less.)
The new index reports on five pollutants:
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, total sus-
pended particulates, photochemical oxi-
dants, and nitrogen dioxide. The data used
to establish PSl's five descriptive cate-
gories ("good" through "hazardous") for
varying degrees of air pollution are the
EXAMPLE OF POSSIBLE
REPORT FOR NEWSPAPER
VERY
UNHEALTHFUL
PSI = 150
POLLUTANT: Oxidants
TODAY'S HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: Respiratory ailment and heart disease pa-
tients should reduce exertion and outdoor activity.
FORECAST: No change.
criteria documents used to set the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards, the Fed-
eral Episode Criteria, and Significant Harm
levels. The index can immediately accom-
modate any new pollutant for which such
Federal guidance has been established.
PSI provides its own guidance by estab-
lishing rules for uniformity in collecting
daily data on levels of air pollution. For
instance, it stresses reporting on the basis
of the monitoring stations with the highest
pollution concentrations, on the assumption
that other unsampled portions of a commu-
nity will also experience high concentra-
tions. This is done in order to err on the
side of public safety.
Additionally, with weather forecasts pro-
vided by the National Weather Service, air
pollution trends for up to a day in advance
can be forecast.
The guidelines of the index advise that
the media report the pollutant with the
highest PSI value for that day. although
values for all five pollutants can be in-
cluded for completeness. It is desirable to
report any pollutant for which the index
value exceeds 100 since this means the
standard is exceeded.
An average news broadcast might sound
like this: "The PSI for today is 150, which
falls into the 'unhealthful' category. The
pollutant causing this condition is oxidants.
Respiratory ailment and heart disease pa-
tients should reduce exertion and outdoor
activity. The forecast calls for no change."
The PSI value, the descriptive term, the
name of the pollutant, the health implica-
tions and the forecast are all standard parts
of the PSI format. It is hoped that uniform
reporting will alleviate the problems which
led to the creation of PSI.
However, the index is, by the admission
of its creators, not the perfect system. It
should not be used to rank relative health-
fulness of communities due to differing
population characteristics, transportation
patterns, locations of monitoring stations
and other factors. Furthermore, it cannot
relate levels of air pollution to the non-
health effects, such as reduced visibility,
soiling of materials, and corrosion of build-
ings. Additional research will be required
before PSI can take into account health
effects caused by synergism—the combina-
tion of different pollutants. The remedy to
these shortcomings lies in the acquisition of
more sophisticated data.
For these reasons, PSI is clearly an
interim solution. But it is a beginning toward
achieving consistent and reliable reporting
of the daily health effects associated with
the quality of the air we breathe.•
PAGE 14
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HOW IT WORKS
IV
VI
INDEX
VALUE
500
400
300
200
100
50
AIR QUALITY
LEVEL
SIGNIFICANT
HARM
EMERGENCY
WARNING
ALERT
National Ambient Air
Quality Standards
50% of National Am-
bient Air Quality
Standards
POLLUTANT LEVELS micrograms per cubic meter
Total
suspended
participates
(24-hour),
1000
875
625
375
260
75
Sulfur
Dioxide
(24-hour),
2620
2100
1600
800
365
80
Carbon
Monoxide
(8-hour),
milligrams
per cubic
meter
57.5
46.0
34.0
17.0
10.0
5.0
Oxidants
(1-hour),
1200
1000
800
400
160
80
Nitrogen
dioxide
(1-hour),
3750
3000
2260
1130
HEALTH
EFFECT
DESCRIPTOR
LJA 7 Apr\f\| ic
~ nH£Mn ULJ Uo ~
VERY
UNHEALTHFUL
UNHEALTHFUL
MODERATE
GOOD
GENERAL HEALTH
EFFECTS
Premature death of ill
and elderly. Healthy
people will experi-
ence adverse symp-
toms that affect their
normal activity.
Premature onset of
certain diseases in
addition to significant
aggravation of symp-
toms and decreased
exercise tolerance in
healthy persons.
Significant aggrava-
tion of symptoms and
decreased exercise
tolerance in persons
with heart or lung dis-
ease, with wide-
spread symptoms in
the healthy population.
Mild aggravation of
symptoms in suscep-
tible persons, wilh irri-
tation symptoms in the
healthy population.
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENTS
All persons should re-
main indoors, keeping
windows and doors
closed. All persons
should minimize
physical exertion and
avoid traffic.
Elderly and persons
with existing diseases
should stay indoors
and avoid physical
exertion. General
population should
avoid outdoor activity.
Elderly and persons
with existing heart or
lung disease should
stay indoors and re-
duce physical activity.
Persons wilh existing
heart or respiratory
ailments should re-
duce physical exer-
tion and outdoor activ-
ity.
The table demonstrates how PS1 is or-
ganized.
Column 1 gives the PSI values for the
categories. The index runs from 0 (good) to
500 (hazardous). It is a scale which allows
the level of any air pollutant to be reported
by one rating system, rather than by using
individual concentration figures. For exam-
ple, the highest "hazardous" concentration
for sulfur dioxide is 2620 micrograms per
cubic meter and for photochemical oxi-
dants the equivalent concentration would
be 1200 micrograms per cubic meter. Both
pollutants, however, have a PSI figure of
500 since they are regarded as being
equally dangerous to health at those con-
centrations.
Column 2 gives the Federal health meas-
ures used as the rationale in establishing
the five categories—the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards, the Federal Epi-
sode Criteria (Alert, Warning and Emer-
gency levels), and the Significant Harm
Level.
Column 3 shows how varying concentra-
tions of the five pollutants that PSI reports
fall into the five categories.
Column 4 notes the descriptive terms
applied to five categories of progressively
worsening air pollution levels, "good"
through "hazardous".
Column 5 reports the general health
effects associated with each category, and
Column 6 adds cautionary statements that
inform the public as to the best way to
respond to various air pollution levels.
PAGE 15
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nominations sought
Region I is seeking nominations for the
annual Environmental Merit Awards to be
presented at its New England Citizens'
Briefing in December. The awards honor
persons who have made significant
contributions to environmental betterment.
In the last four years the winners have
included a New Hampshire sewage
treatment plant operator, a Maine weekly
newspaper writer, a Massachusetts
educator, a Connecticut telephone
company official, a Rhode Island
environmental group leader, and a Vermont
State official. Nominations close Oct. 29.
emissions conference
New England's fifth annual Conference on
Motor Vehicle Emissions Control will be
held Oct. 26-9 at Hyannis, Mass., with the
Massachusetts Division of Air Quality
Control as host. Although the conference
will include some formal papers, most of
the time will be devoted to informal,
workshop sessions on such questions as
making inspection and maintenance
programs effective, improving auto engines,
and critiquing Federal test procedures.
Further information may be obtained from
Merril S. Hohman, director of Region I's
Air and Hazardous Materials Division.
soot violations
Formal violation notices have been issued
to five glass manufacturing plants in New
Jersey for excessive soot emissions. Meyer
Scolnick, Regional Enforcement Director,
said the companies have been given 30
days to clean up, after which EPA may
issue administrative orders or take the
violators to court.
The companies are Anchor Hocking Corp.,
Salem; Certain-Teed, Berlin; Kerr Glass
Co., Millville; and Owens-Illinois plants at
Bridgeton and Vineland.
antietam survey
No significant levels of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB's) have been found in
Antietam Creek near Hagerstown, Md.
The creek and its sediments were
intensively studied by Region III and
Maryland officials after a recent
Congressional hearing revealed that the
U.S. Geological Survey had found the
industrial chemicals in the creek in 1972.
The problem no longer exists, said
Regional Administrator Daniel J. Snyder
III.
west Virginia coal
Region III air pollution experts are
working with West Virginia officials to
evaluate the effect of possible changes in
the State's plans for controlling sulfur
oxide emissions.
Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. has alleged
that the State's emission standards are so
high that mining of West Virginia's high-
sulfur coal has been curtailed, throwing
miners out of work. The joint evaluation
seeks to determine if more high-sulfur coal
can be burned in certain power plants
without harm to public health.
spill site tested
Soil contaminated by polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB's) spilled three years ago is
stiil contaminated, a recent EPA study
found. The rural area near Kingston,
Tenn., was given a massive cleanup after
1,500 gallons of the oily liquid spilled from
an electrical transformer. PCB's are
similar to DDT in toxicity and resistance
to biological decay.
The study found that PCB residue levels
were unchanged since the cleanup and that
a benzine solvent which also spilled was
continuing to leach into the groundwater.
There is no danger, however, according to
George Moein, EPA project officer.
Nearly 12,000 drums of contaminated soil
were removed and the excavated areas
were sealed and refilled with clean soil.
Then the whole spill area was covered with
topsoil, seeded with grass, and landscaped.
"The study will be helpful in determining
the amounts of soil removal required in
future spills." Mr. Moein said, "although
each spill will have to be individually
evaluated."
steel firm permit
Inland Steel Co.'s Indiana Harbor Works
at East Chicago, Ind., has agreed to reduce
the pollution it pours into Lake Michigan.
Under a new discharge permit the
company will reduce its maximum
discharge of ammonia by 80 per cent.
phenol by 50 percent, and cyanide by 90
percent. These three pollutants are the
principal deterrents to improved water
quality in Indiana Harbor, according to
Region V officials.
The permit also restricts Inland's discharge
of suspended solids, oil. and grease and
requires the company to monitor its
wastewater and report results. Enforcement
Director James Me Donald said the permit
is a "significant step toward clean water in
the southern area of Lake Michigan."
The permit was issued after many months
of negotiation among the company, EPA,
the State of Indiana, the City of Chicago.
Businessmen for the Public Interest, and
the Lake Michigan Federation.
PAGE 16
-------
spill inspections
Region VI officials are conducting
approximately 650 inspections of oil spill
prevention and control measures in the five
States of the Region, including checks of
Louisiana and Texas offshore facilities.
Specific written plans are required for ail
non-transportation facilities where there is
the possibility of discharging harmful
quantities of oil into waterways or on
shorelines.
Since the regulations took effect a year
ago, EPA officials estimate, about four
million gallons of oil have been saved in
the Region.
forestry meeting
Administrator Russell E. Train was
scheduled to address the annual meeting of
the Society of American Foresters in New
Orleans Oct. 6. His topic: "Forestry for
America's Future—Beyond the
Bicentennial."
model feedlot
Lewis Feedlot, Inc., Kearney, Neb.,
recently won that State's J. L. Higgins
Award for its work in controlling wastes.
Four years ago the firm, in cooperation
with State and local agencies, built three
waste control systems costing more than
$150,000. Each system contains basins to
collect solid wastes and holding ponds for
the biological treatment of liquid wastes
and runoff water. The solid wastes are
applied to cropland as fertilizer, and the
liquids are used for irrigation.
Dwayne Lewis, owner of the 12,000-head
feedlot, says his crop production has
improved and he has had to use less
commercial fertilizer. The control systems
have also reduced pollution of the Wood
River, improved feedlot drainage, and
decreased odor problems.
The Higgins Award is given annually in
memory of the first director of the
Nebraska Department of Environmental
Control.
information officers
The second annual Conference of Federal
and State Environmental Information
Officers was held in Denver in August.
Governor Richard Lamm of Colorado
opened the week-long session attended by
public information officers from EPA,
State pollution control agencies, and other
organizations.
Workshop sessions were held for
newcomers in the fields of radio and
television presentations, public hearing
techniques, exhibits and displays,
publications, photojournalism, and opinion
polls.
EPA regional, laboratory, and headquarters
public affairs officers held their quarterly
meeting concurrently.
information center
The Region's Energy Information Center,
which contains a comprehensive collection
of documents relating to energy problems,
was inaugurated in August at the library in
Region IX's offices. The Center is
supported by the Energy Research and
Development Administration and by the
Federal Energy Administration as well as
EPA.
The Center has more than 5,000 documents
on microfilm and expects to add about
! ,000 new titles each year. Hard copies of
important documents are also available,
including both Federal and privately-
published reports and studies. All items are
available to users throughout the Region
via interlibrary loans.
The Center staff will, if necessary, direct
inquirers to olher sources of information,
including ERDA's computer retrieval
system, or refer questions to Federal
specialists.
Pamphlets of general interest—on such
subjects as home insulation, geothermal
energy, and new car gas mileage—
published by the three agencies, will be
available free to the public.
saving the lentils
Lentil growers in 12 counties in eastern
Washington and northern Idaho were given
permission this summer to use ethyl
parathion—a highly toxic pesticide—to
control an aphid infestation.
Region X Administrator Donald P. Dubois
said agriculture officials of both States
sought the permission after the normal use
of malathion had had little effect on the
pests, either because the aphids were
becoming resistant to malathion or because
unseasonably cool weather reduced its
efficacy. Strict limits were set on the
amount of parathion used and the methods
of application. The State officials estimated
that without the stronger pesticide, $3
million worth of lentils would have been
lost.
first aid session
To help migrant farm workers and other
potential victims of pesticide poisoning get
prompt and proper treatment, a two-day
training program was held in Yakima,
Wash., in August, sponsored by EPA and
the Office of Migrant Health, a component
of the Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare.
The program was set up for persons most
likely to be the first to see pesticide
victims, (hat is: rural physicians and
nurses, ambulance drivers, and emergency
room attendants.
Such special training is needed, according
to EPA officials, because pesticide
poisoning symptoms are often similar to
those of other illnesses. Correct diagnosis
permits early treatment with the proper
antidotes. Most pesticide poisonings can be
cured if treated promptly.
PAGE 17
-------
Dflbcrt S. Barth, Director of
the Environmental Monitoring
and Support Laboratory. Las
Vegas, Nev.. has been ap-
pointed Deputy Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Health and
Ecological Effects in the Office
of Research and Development,
Washington. D.C. He suc-
ceeds Roy K. Albert, who has
returned to the Institute of En-
vironmental Medicine at New
York University as Deputy Di-
rector, although he will con-
tinue as a consultant to Admin-
istrator Russell E. Train. Dr.
Barth has headed the Las Ve-
gas laboratory for four years.
He previously served in Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C.. as
Director of EPA's Bureau of
Air Pollution Science and as
head of the Bureau of Criteria
and Standards for the National
Air Pollution Control Adrninis-
traiion. For six years, ending
in 1969, he was Chief of Bio-
environmental Research at the
Department of Health. Educa-
tion, and Welfare's Southwest-
ern Radiological Health Labo-
ratory at Las Vegas.
Walter Andrews, former Chief
of Region II's Surveillance
Section at Edison. N.J.. has
been named Chief of the Re-
gion's Programs Support
Branch at Rochester. N.Y. He
received EPA's Bronze Medal
for Commendable Service in
1972 and was selected for the
Agency's Executive Manage-
ment and Development Pro-
gram in 1974.
PEOPLE
George Law-ton, a career em-
ployee, has been selected by
Stan Wiliiams, Director
of EPA's Personnel Manage-
ment Division, as the new dep-
uty for the division. Mr. I.aw-
ton, who had been serving as
the Personnel Officer in EPA's
Region IX Office in San Fran-
cisco, has spent the last year at
Stanford University under the
Education for Public Manage-
ment Program. Mr. Lawton.
has been with EPA since it
was first organized and previ-
ously had served with the Fed-
eral Water Pollution Control
Administration in the U.S. De-
partment of the Interior. Other
new or recent appointments in
the Personnel Division include:
Matthew Sims, appointed as
Chief of the Personnel Opera-
tions Branch. Mr. Sims has
been with EPA since 1970,
coordinating the full range of
personnel management services
from position classification, re-
cruitment and placement, to
training and employee-manage-
ment relations. He has 20
years of government service.
Laron Hyde Jr., Chief of Exec-
utive Manpower and Career
Systems Branch. Mr. Hyde has
been with the EPA since it was
established.in 1970 serving in a
variety of management posi-
tions. Robert Pavlik, Chief.
Planning and Evaluation. Prior
to this assignment he was an
operation's team leader, Infor-
mation Systems Staff Chief,
and served as an employment
and special programs officer.
John B. Clements, Chief of the
Quality Assurance Branch of
the Environmental Monitoring
and Support Laboratory. Re-
search Triangle Park. N.C..
will be honored this month by
the American Society for Test-
ing and Materials. Dr. Clem-
ents will receive a gold medal
from the Society for his work
in developing standards for at-
mospheric measurements. The
medal will be presented by
ASTM President John S.
Wheeler at a meeting in Hous-
ton. Texas. Oct. 19.
Harry F. Smith, Jr. has been
appointed Chief of Region II's
Water Supply Branch, replac-
ing Everett MacLeman. who
has retired. Mr. Smith, a com-
missioned officer in the Public
Health Service, was formerly
an engineer in the Branch. He
is a civil engineering graduate
of the University of Florida
and earned a master's degree
at Johns Hopkins University.
Baltimore, Md.
George R. Alexander Jr., Re-
gion V Administrator, rides a
bicycle to work in Chicago.
Mr. Alexander, who lives on
the Near North Side about two
miles from his office, explains:
"I bike to work every day I'm
in town and it doesn't rain. It
gives me a chance to get my
exercise and it's a good way to
get to work. It saves money
and helps me to cut down on
the pollution in downtown Chi-
cago."
George B. Morgan has been
appointed acting director of the
Environmental Monitoring and
Support Laboratory at Las Ve-
gas. Nev., succeeding Dr.
Barth. Mr. Morgan has di-
rected the laboratory's Moni-
toring Systems Research and
Development Division for the
last three years.
Deputy Administrator John R.
Quarles, Jr., congratulates Mi-
chael Goins. son of Margaret
Boswell, secretary to the Direc-
tor of EPA's Personnel Man-
agement Division, upon receiv-
ing an award from the EPA
Scholarship Fund. Mr. Goins,
who was accompanied at the
ceremony by his mother, is a
senior at Towson State College
majoring in health sciences. He
is one of 26 children of EPA
employees attending colleges
across the Nation. They received
a total of $5,070 from the
scholarship fund in individual
awards ranging from $100 to
$500,
Money for the fund comes
from honorariums given to
EPA officials for making
speeches to different groups
and writing articles for various
magazines.
PAGE 18
-------
REGION IX
Region IX includes Ari/.ona. California.
Hawaii, Nevada, Samoa and Guam,
and the Trust Territories of the Pacific Is-
lands. It encompasses over ten percent of
the total land area. 18 percent of all
federally owned land. 28 percent of all
Indian-owned lands in the United States.
and contains 11 percent of the Nation's
population.
The deserts of Nevada, Arizona, and
California stand in marked contrast to the
High Sierra which can he buried under 30
feet of snow in winter. On many Pacific
islands, one finds lush paradises watered
by rain captured from trade winds by high
mountains. Kuuai. for example, boasts of
the "wettest spot on earth" with over 4(K)
inches of rain per year. On the other
hand, lack of mountains creates critical
water supply problems on sonic Pacific
atolls. Many of the Region's environmen-
tal problems trace to population growth.
urbanization, geography, and climate.
Region IX contains areas both at the cut-
ting edge and in the wake of civilization.
With some justification, we have been
called the innovators.
The major theme underlying Region IX's
environmental strategy is a continuing em-
phasis on delegating programs to State and
local agencies.
The Region has developed cooperative
pilot programs with its States in air, water,
drinking water, solid wastes, and pesti-
cides management. These include ar-
rangements for planning, program devel-
opment, program administration, and en-
forcement.
As an example, a cooperative pesticide-
use enforcement program has been estab-
lished in California through successful
negotiations with 53 county governments
and the State Department of Food and
Agriculture. The agreement allows for
Downtown San Frani'ixco with San Francisco-Oakland Bay Kriilge in background.
prompt, on-the-spot enforcement action
by County Agricultural Commissions.
and was the result of 18 months of
discussions with officials throughout the
State by representatives of three of the
Region's divisions—Air and Hazardous
Materials. Surveillance and Analysis, and
Enforcement.
We have delegated the wastewater dis-
charge permit program to three of our four
Slates—California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
California was the Nation's first State to
receive such delegation.
Also in California, we are well along in a
program which provides for virtually full as-
sumption of the responsibility for adminis-
tration of the construction grants program
by the State Water Resources Control
Board.
Air quality maintenance planning has been
delegated wherever possible and merged
with areawide water quality planning and
solid waste planning in an integrated attack
on environmental problems.
In San Diego the air quality planning team,
originally organized to develop local alter-
natives to an area transportation control
plan, has completed a regional air quality
strategy.
The San Francisco Bay Area had formu-
lated a Policy Task Force, under the guid-
ance of the State Air Resources Hoard, to
perform Air Quality Maintenance planning
functions. But, recognizing possible dupli-
cation of effort in some areas w ith the w aste-
water planning effort, the task force merged
with the water group into an Environmental
Management Task Force under the Associ-
ation of Bay Area Governments. These -45
local decision makers and citi/ens are ad-
dressing problems of air. water, and solid
waste as a whole.
Regional Administrator Paul De Falco.
Jr.. was looking to this kind of planning
group when, in a recent speech to a water
planning seminar, he said: "Over the past
several years I have struggled to reconcile
two statutory mandates. One. the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act. requires up-
grading municipal treatment of wastewater,
while at the same time allowing adequate
provision for growth. The other, the Clean
Air Act, requires land use and transporta-
tion controls to reduce growth in auto emis-
sion to levels that attain and maintain health
protective air quality standards.
"It has become clear to even the casual
observer that in some of our metropolitan
areas, such as Los Angeles or the Bay Area.
the long-term solutions to the air quality
problem must be solutions to the area's land
use and mass transit problems. There are
also areawide water quality problems, but
they are beyond the reach of any present
Continued on i>iif!e 20
PAGI. 14
-------
Continued from page 19
environmental agency. Thus, answers to
environmental problems are areawide in
character. And it is only through areawide
balancing of all the forces at work shaping
our urbanizing areas—both environmental
iiini others—that we can arrive at sensible
answers without imposition of Federal
controls."
Cooperative effort is the key. But making
the programs work sometimes requires
something more.
When Congress passed the Safe Drinking
Water Act in late 1974. few resources
were provided. Mr. De Falco suggested,
and the Agency adopted, an approach to
implementation characterized by "build-
ing upon what's there." This approach
involved establishing minimum require-
ments in the law, identifying deficiencies,
and working to overcome those deficien-
cies in accordance with a mutually agreed
upon set of priorities. As minimums are
met. the program has been strengthened
in accordance with State-negotiated prior-
ities. The principle of this approach has
worked well, and has been the basis of
the Region's approach to implementation
of all environmental law.
In general, the Region's water manage-
ment strategy views water as a total re-
source. The assurance of quality of water at
the consumer's tap and the protection of un-
derground sources, the control and abate-
ment of point ant! nonpoint sources of pollu-
tion, the reclamation and reuse of waste
waters, and the multiple purpose develop-
ment of water resources by Federal. State,
and local agencies are all part of the
larger perspective of total water manage-
ment. Here, as elsewhere, the Region's
program is establishment of genuine
State-Federal partnerships. The States of
Region IX have been brought into the
process, and have expressed an earnest
intent to assume primary enforcement
responsibility under the Safe Drinking
Water Act and to coordinate that program
with State water pollution control activi-
ties.
Although the F'ederal Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments of 1972 author-
ized a major expansion of the existing con-
struction grants program, the effort contin-
ued to depend upon State agencies for much
of the administrative effort. Staffing at the
State level was generally not adequate to
handle the major increase in responsibility
and complexity. As a result. Region 1X and
the State of California cooperatively devel-
oped an approach involving charging a fee
for each Federal contract processed by the
State. Fora fractional percentage of the pro-
gram's cost, the State is able to maintain a
qualified staff to manage the program.
To resolve delays in construction projects.
Region IX developed a "piggy back" proc-
ess whereby an environmental assessment
report is written by a separate team at the
same time that a project plan is being formu-
lated. The technical plan and the environ-
mental impact statement are both available
simultaneously, and a decision can quickly
be reached on funding. Approximately
one year per project has been saved
through this process, resulting in a sav-
ings to the government of about 15 per-
cent of the project cost. Region IX's
current budget authority for the program
totals approximately one billion dollars.
Other Regions have been briefed on this
to
I'nrk. Calif.
PA (if-; 20
the winds unit the \ca have shaped thix gnarled tree at l^thus State
process, and indications are that similar
savings can be achieved nationwide.
In the negotiation of grant awards, several
years ago the Region adopted an approach
based on performance of specific objec-
tives, with funding tied to each objective.
This is a major innovation, since national
environmental laws intend that States bear
principal responsibility for their implemen-
tation. The approach has been adopted by
the Agency nationwide. Subsequently, Re-
gion IX adopted a joint Agency-State plan-
ning process, with a single State-Federal
plan for each State, another approach now
advocated by the Agency's program man-
agement staff.
As a result of EPA disapproval of portions
of the Arizona. California, and Nevada im-
plementation plans for air pollution control
in 1972, Region IX has been implementing
new source reviews since May. 1973.
During the past year, both regional and
national emphasis on this program has
increased. To develop a workable pro-
gram in the non-attainment areas, the
Region developed a "trade-off policy" to
effectively meet the growing competition
between the environment and the econ-
omy. At the same lime the Region has
been working with California on a model
regulation which would place new source
review authority at the local level.
California is particularly involved in new
source reviews because of expected air
quality impacts from a variety of energy-re-
lated issues: Alaskan oil imports, develop-
ment of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Re-
serve, mandatory natural gas curtailments
and mandatory switches to fuel oil, outer
continental shelf production development.
and refinery and petro-chemical plant ex-
pansion. Most of our permit-to-construct
requests have involved storage and refining
facilities for petroleum products.
Region IX has received national recogni-
tion for water pollution control programs at
Santee. Lake Tahoe, San Diego, and Los
Angeles Harbor in California; the Colo-
rado River; and for Pearl Harbor in
Hawaii.
California has required emission controls
on cars sold in the State since 1966. Since
1970, control requirements have been made
increasingly stringent, and. despite an al-
most impossible situation, substantial re-
ductions in carbon monoxide and smog
have resulted. Over the last five years, the
average daily maximum-hour carbon mon-
oxide concentrations dropped 21 percent in
the Los Angeles area, 13 percent in the San
Francisco Bay Area, and 55 percent in the
San Diego area. Oxidants have dropped in
both Los Angeles and San Diego. Unfortu-
nately, these reductions are not sufficient to
achieve national ambient air quality stand-
-------
ards by 1977.
Enforcement action has led to commit-
ments by the five sugar companies on the
northeast coast of the island of Hawaii to
cease discharges of trash and bagasse (cane
material left after juice extraction) and to
reduce suspended solids discharges from all
mills. The first enforcement action to be
taken under both the Clean Air Act and the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act was
taken against the Lapahoehoe sugar refining
mill. Lapahoehoe was ordered to cease dis-
charges into the water, and to bring its boiler
for burning trash into compliance with air
standards. The company complied early
this year.
Region IX has eight copper smelters—half
the Nation's copper production capacity.
Arizona's seven smelters are the largest
sources of sulfur dioxide pollution in that
State. Many were built decades ago with no
pollution controls.
Arizona has had varying regulations to
control sulfur. In 1971 the State considered
a requirement for 90 percent emissions re-
ductions from smelters, but this was not im-
plemented. Provisions for sulfur control
submitted with the State Implementation
Plan in 1972 were disapproved. EPA is now
drawing up final regulations for Arizona
REGION IX'S
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Paul DeFalco Jr..
Regional Administrator
L. Russell Freeman.
Deputy
Regional Administrator
B. David Clark.
Director.
Management Division
Sheila Prindiv
Director.
Water Division
Frank Covington,
Director. Air and Hazardous
Materials Division
Richard O'Conncll.
Director.
Enforcement Division
David L. Calkins.
Director.
Office of External
Relations
Clyde Eller.
Director.
Surveillance and
Analysis Division
David Andrew s.
Regional Counsel
copper smelters.
Despite this, one copper company—Inspi-
ration—did not wait for final regulations to
recognize that they had a pollution problem
and to do something about it. In 1971 they
decided to replace their aging fuel-fired re-
verberatory furnace with an electric furnace
and new converters. This permitted Inspira-
tion to take its process gases to a double
contact sulfuric acid plant. Operation of the
new smelter began in May, 1974. Emission
reductions in excess of 90 percent have been
achieved.
Nevada's Las Vegas Clark County area
has long suffered from high paniculate con-
centrations. In addition to dust and un-
paved roads, several large industrial
sources have contributed to high ambient
readings. The Clark County Air Pollution
Control District began enforcement and
abatement orders over five years ago.
Through administrative procedures and
industry cooperation major reductions in
paniculate emissions have been achieved.
In another area, action by the Region's
Enforcement Division has resulted in in-
stallation of some $60 million worth of air
pollution control equipment at Kaiser
Steel's Fontana, Calif., plant.
In several areas it has been possible to im-
plement programs to meet air quality stand-
ards without massive social and economic
disruptions. Rapid growth complicates situ-
ations already made difficult by topography
and population patterns. The problem has
been to find socially acceptable means of
controlling pollution caused by growth.
technology, land use. and transportation
patterns. The problems of cities having
heavy concentrations of smog and carbon
monoxide result from the dominance of the
auto in life styles and existing transporta-
tion needs.
As in other Regions, we initiated trans-
portation control plans that were curtailed
at every corner by administrative and
court decisions. Some believe that in the
end the answer will be found on the auto
assembly lines. Meanwhile, the Region
remains on the cutting edge, dealing daily
with threats to the public health involving
traditions, habits, and ways of life that
cannot he boiled down to regulations or
simplistic "technical fix" solutions.
We are seeking dynamic local processes
rather than deterministic solutions. We are
using regulatory authority and administra-
tion of grant funds to involve locally
elected officials and local citizens' groups
in environmental decisions.
In the final analysis, decisions about the
environment are decisions about lifestyle.
The baton should pass from the technician
to the elected official whose decisions are
regularly reviewed by the public.*
PAGE 21
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TOMORROW'S AND
YESTERDAY'S PROBLEMS
By Louis Jefferson
Region IX contains areas forced to face
tomorrow's problems today, and areas
where yesterday's problems arc just now
being recognized. Many of its inhabitants
set styles for the Nation, and much of the
world. Some of its inhabitants still live by
tribal custom.
Los Angeles is having difficulties with a
sludge outfall extending out into the sea.
while American Samoa has a problem with
outhouses extending out over the sea. We
deal with governmental structures which
vary from the most sophisticated institu-
tions ever devised to tribal councils. Our
maps show nearly empty islands and vast
population centers.
California is like somebody's idea of
America. Warm, tall, and lucky, it has
plenty of orange juice and vaccines. Inno-
cent, terrible, and beautiful, it is something
that has never been before. Colors are
sharper, and more sudden. Life's very tex-
ture is different.
Hawaii rises up out of a distant and lonely
sea. Wooded mountains and white beaches
l.mtix Jefferson ix ti Region IX Piihlic
Affuirs officer
PAGF, 22
in a universe of water. Paradise. Arizona
and Nevada—dreams brought to life in a dry
land.
Region IX is an area that people go to.
rather than come from. It has 11 percent
of the Nation's population. The rate of
growth is double the national average.
Over half of the people are concentrated
in the metropolitan areas of San Diego.
San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Los Angeles! The Land of Oz brought to
life, and (he smog laboratory of the world.
containing what someone has cynically de-
scribed as "ten million little test tubes run-
ning up and down freeways that connect one
desire with another." They are not test
tubes, but they are in danger from more than
the traffic.
Los Angeles—Inconceivable anywhere
else! An uneasy merger of separate settle-
ments. Highly different municipalities
sprawling, district by district, over a central
plain and into smog-shrouded foothills.
Freeways and streets forever probing and
nibbling in canyons and passes and bursting
out into the deserts beyond like some or-
ganic phenomenon. A land of the forties and
fifties that finds !he seventies somehow al-
ien, and somehow frightening. Yet almost
every new development of Western thought
finds its place in Los Angeles.
Fly into Los Angeles on a summer
morning. You will find yourself entering
something resembling a great, yellow nu-
clear cloud, filled with carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, soot, pol-
len, and dust.
Ten million little test tubes, running up and
down freeways . . .
I asked a San Franciscan what he thought
about this description of Los Angeles. He
looked at me somewhat contemptuously.
and replied with another question: "What
about Freud1'"
Very San Francisco.
I told him that he hadn't answered (he-
question, and he said that he didn't have
time to "fool around with that question."
Very California.
Just this morning, a friend said of Califor-
nia: "I sometimes have the feeling that I got
here almost too late."
Tluii has been termed the "California feel-
ing." It applies equally to much of the rest of
Region IX.
In Hawaii, people are pouring into para-
dise, with pollution following close behind.
-------
This famous Mack sand beach in Hawaii, created by lava runoff, is threatened hy land development.
Shock waves erupt in the tourist industry's
inner sanctums with every toilet paper sight-
ing off the beach at Waikiki. while the air
takes on a yellow hue. Yet Hawaii is the
crossroads of the Pacific, and perhaps no
other place is as important as a window
through which others of the world catch a
glimpse of the United States.
Arizona, for years a magnet for those with
respiratory diseases, is now losing popula-
tion because of respiratory problems. The
best that some of the citizens of Phoenix can
say about their air is that. "Well, at least it's
not as bad as Los Angeles." as they gaze at
a sky that used to be a backdrop for breath-
taking beauty, but now is just a place—a
yellow place. Actually, the backdrop is still
here—you just don't see much any more.
Even fabled Tahoe is now threatened by
air as well as water pollution—ugliness
brought into being by beauty. A hundred
years ago Mark Twain wrote about Lake
Tahoe, "So singularly clear was the water
that where it was oniy twenty or thirty feet
deep the bottom was so perfectly distinct
that the boat seemed floating in the air!"
The lake still looks good, thanks to one of
the most advanced treatment systems in the
world, and the hills around it are fine. but.
down from the hills, and around the lake, the
dealers deal in more than cards, as greed
continues its work, and a limited environ-
ment becomes overloaded. In California,
trees are always coming down, and
"things" are always going up. Everywhere.
attitudes differ, and people have strong
opinions. Old traditions die hard, and new
traditions grow fast, simultaneously.
One night in Tucson, aftera long day in the
hearing room, an "off-duty" reporter—/i/'.s
description—got into a well-lubricated
monologue on the "Arizona attitude"
which, he said, was not "sufficiently
understood by whoever those people are
in Washington.
"The thing is," he went on. "most
Arizonians don't like to be messed with.
It's not that they like pollution. But
there's a lot of Wyatt Earp around here,
and you guys are like the gunfighters
come in from out of town to throw down
the challenge. You know, you're not just
threatenin' to test their authority—you're
testin' their MANhoodJ"
When it was observed that all EPA was
trying to do was to see that the law was car-
ried out. the reporter came back with, "This
is a land of individualists, and they think
you're robbin' them of their heritage. Even
people who've only been here a little while
get to feelin' that way."
"What about the public health'.'" the re-
porter was asked.
"Well, they figure that if there's a mess,
they didn't create it, so they shouldn't have
to pay the price."
"Doesn't that sound too individualis-
tic1'"
"Yeah, I know. It'saproblem.isn't it?"
In Hawaii, we find another attitude, or
psychology—a psychology dictated in part
by distance. A Honolulu broadcaster once
described it as a "no-sweat psychology"
and summed it up by saying of Federal rep-
resentatives: "They always go home again,
and home is always a long ways away."
Some observers have claimed that anger
over their diminution by mountains and
sea led Californians to deface their envi-
ronment in envy and revenge. Little was
sacred that could not be successfully
attacked. After all, wasn't that what
"progress" was all about? And wasn't
"progress" what America was all about'.'
But the bill is coming due. •
PA (IE 23
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INQUIRY
What did you do abroad?
Kenneth Biglane, Director. Oil anil Special
Materials Control Division. Office of
Water Programs Operations, Headquarters:
"Last fall I was Chairman of a Technical
Group, made up of specialists from HPA.
the Coast Guard, and the U.S. Geological
Survey, who went to the United Kingdom
and Norway to look at offshore production
and landside reception facilities for oil and
gas. The purpose of the mission was to
assess the techniques used there for the
control and prevention of oil spills. We
visited and inspected offshore platforms in
both the United Kingdom and Norway.
"Both are very concerned about the
ha/ards of oil spills and have active pro-
grams to control spills on the high seas and
at the terminal facilities. They are copying
the national contingency plan for oil spills
that the U.S. developed in 1968. However.
the British are depending upon the use of
chemical dispersants as the first line of
defense to combat spills on the high seas.
while our emphasis is upon physical con-
tainment by booms and recovery of oil by
skimmers. Norway is very worried about
the use of chemicals, but has not precluded
I heir use."
Dr. Walter Sanders, Associate Director for
Water Quality. Environmental Research
Laboratory, Athens, Georgia: "1 am serv-
ing as [-PA's Project Officer for "Water
Studies on the River Nile and Lake Nas-
ser," a research program to assess the
impact of the Aswan Dam on Hgypt's
water quality. The project began in January
1975 and is designed to cover five years;
we are working in collaboration with the
Academy of Scientific Research and Tech-
nology at Cairo and the University of
Michigan. It is financed largely by counter-
part funds in Hgyptian pounds that can be
used for staff, equipment, supplies, etc..
available in Egypt, hut with some hard
currency from the Ford Foundation to pay
for travel and equipment in this country.
"The Nile's water is so central to Egyp-
tian life—the economy, agriculture and irri-
gation, fish harvesting, and public health—
that whatever affects the river affects the
nation as well . . . To date there has been
considerable speculation about the conse-
quences, good and bad. of building the
Aswan Dam but little hard scientific data."
Dr. Andrew Breidenbach, Assistant Admin-
istrator for Water and Hazardous Mate-
rials, Headquarters: "I've had a close and
continuing relationship with a Polish city,
Katowice. I've made six trips there, begin-
ning with an international conference on
environmental information in 1973, spon-
sored by the Polish Government, and I
returned from my latest visit in May 1976.
Most of my work has been with the
Katowice Project which is implemented at
the Knvironmental Pollution Abatement
Center there.
"This Project is supported by the Polish
Government and the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO). WHO invited me to head
up a four-man international advisory panel
to visit the Katowice Project at regular
intervals to review progress and make
recommendations for mid-course correc-
tions.
"In Katowice the intent is to do an
integrated study of a metropolitan area that
has broad environmental problems. "
George Ray, Staff Engineer, Office of
Energy. Minerals and Industry. Research
and Development Headquarters: "I spent 13
days in Russia in mid-June studying their
methods for participate abatement for air pol-
lution from stationary sources. The focus of
my study was the cement industry. I visited
Moscow. Volgograd, and Novgorod, and
then went to the Black Sea region, which is a
major raw material processing center and
contains the Soviets' largest cement making
complex. This was a reciprocal, exploratory
visit, since Russians from the Ministries of
Building Materials and the Chemical and
Petroleum Industries visited this country last
March.
"I went through factories and research
institutes, and I don't think Russian tech-
nologies for abatement are as advanced as
ours. They rely primarily on electrostatic
precipitators and baghouse filters. Their
problems are greater than ours, because
their cement plants are larger and it is a
rapidly growing industry. They will need
tighter standards to meet ambient air
standards equivalent to ours."
Dr. Richard Swartz, Supervisory Research
Oceanographer, Newport Field Station for
Marine and Freshwater Ecology. Environ-
mental Research Laboratory, Corvallis.
Oregon: "In April I visited the Strait of
Magellan, off the south coast of Chile, with
other scientists from EPA and the Univer-
sity of Concepcion and the Institute of
Patagonia of Chile, on the National Sci-
ence Foundation's ship 'Hero.' Purpose of
the cruise was to investigate the effects of
the massive oil spill that resulted when the
supertanker 'Metula' ran aground on the
Satellite Patch Shoal, in the Strait in Au-
gust 1974.
"Biological and sediment samples were
collected by the ship and specimen analy-
ses are going on at our laboratories and at
the University of Concepcion.
"The Metula incident provides an unique
opportunity to study the effects of a major
oil spill on cold water marine life. Findings
or conclusions that may be derived from
analyses of contamination in the Strait of
Magellan could be useful in projecting what
might face us if there were oil spills in the
waters off Alaska."
Kenneth Biglane
PAGE 24
Dr. Walter Sanders
Dr. Andrew Breidenbach
eorge Ray
Dr. Richard Swart/
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"briefs
$4-MILLION OZONE-CANCER STUDY LAUNCHED
A major interagency study has been started to determine if
fluorocarbon chemicals used in spray cans and refrigerator
equipment are reducing the high-altitude ozone shield that
protects the earth from most of the sun's ultraviolet rays.
This $4-million study was initiated and will be managed by
EPA. It will attempt to obtain better information on the
impact of increased ultraviolet radiation in causing human
skin cancer.
RETURNABLE CANS, BOTTLES SOUGHT AT FEDERAL FACILITIES
Guidelines for requiring five-cent deposits on all bottles and
cans of soft drinks or beer sold at Federal facilities have been
issued by EPA. They will take effect by September 1977. The
rules would apply to military installations, government buildings,
National Parks and recreation areas. The refundable deposits will
give consumers an incentive to return containers for reuse or
recycling, reducing waste and litter and saving energy and
materials. The guidelines are required by the Solid Waste Disposal
Act and are similar to State laws in Oregon and Vermont.
PCB'S FOUND IN MOTHERS' MILK IN 10 STATES
Detectable levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's)
industrial compounds — have been found in milk from nursing
mothers in 10 States. The EPA-funded study by Colorado State
University found PCB's in 65 out of 67 samples, the first of
about 1,000 samples to be analyzed. The average level was 1.7
parts per million in the milk fat.
OIL FIRM PAYS $100,000 POLLUTION PENALTY
A fine of $100,000 has been paid by the Exxon Corporation for
discharging some 500,000 gallons of polluted wastewater from
drilling operations off Alaska's north coast in the summer of
1975. The penalty is part of a consent order entered in the
U.S. District Court for Alaska. In the consent order the
company also agreed to keep EPA fully informed of its operations
and pollution control measures in the area for the next five
years.
PACiH 25
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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THE GREAT CLEANUP'
EPA and its northern counterpart. Envi-
ronment Canada, in cooperation with the
National Film Board of C'anada have pro-
duced a new film about a commonly cher-
ished possession, the Great Lakes. "The
Great Clean-Up," as it is entitled, is sched-
uled for release in the United States by the
end of the year.
Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and
Superior constitute the largest collective
body of fresh water in the world and one of
the hardest hit by severe pollution. Formed
15 to 20 thousand years ago as the last ice
age retreated, the area around the 300.(XX)
square-mile lake chain contains one third of
Canada's population and one seventh of
America's.
Commercial activities in the Canadian por-
tion of the Great Lakes watershed contribute
50 percent of that Nation's gross national
product. Approximately 20 percent of the
gross national product in the United States
comes from its Great Lakes region.
The growth of the industrial activities
which greatly strained the ecological balance
of these waters is not likely to diminish. By
the year 2000. about 45 million people are ex-
pected to reside in the basin and engage in
enterprises which will produce $300 billion
worth of goods and services. However, this
activity, if conducted without regard for the
environment, could finally destroy many uses
of the lakes.
The 54-minute color film carefully exam-
ines the major damages to and damagers of
the Great Lakes: The oil spills; fertilizer
runoff and the resulting algal blooms; the
activities of Reserve Mining, U.S. Steel.
the pulp and paper industries and the nickel
mining operations; the double crisis of 1970
when mercury was discovered in fish, and
layers of lifeless water were found near the
bottom of Lake Erie; thermal pollution
from nuclear reactors; the Cuyahoga River.
which filled up W'ith so much greasy waste
it actually caught fire; disposal of improp-
erly treated wastewater and sewage; the
beleaguered but beautiful Indiana Dunes;
and build-ups of silt deposits which destroy
once-rich farmlands.
"To early European explorers,"thefilm's
narrator states, "these waters seemed end-
less—an endless path into the heart of a conti-
nent, an endless supply of food. It would
never have occurred to them that these living
waters . . . could one day become sick.
"(Is) it too late or ... even possible to re-
store the lower lakes to health? This re-
mained a profound concern of both Canada
and the United States.
"But it was people themselves who were
creating a climate of public opinion that
would force political action. ... On April 15
(1972) in Ottawa the President of the United
States and the Canadian Prime Minister
signed an epoch-making agreement to clean
up the Great Lakes."
As depicted by the film, the Canadian-
American pact resulted in an unprece-
dented, multimillion-dollar cleanup effort.
Vast amounts of funds were allocated for
the construction of sewage treatment plants
in the eight Great Lake States. Permit
discharge systems were developed and are
being enforced to control what substances
can or cannot be dumped into the lakes.
Federally-funded research is being con-
ducted by the Canada Centre for Inland
Waters, F.PA Region V laboratories, and
countless numbers of college students. At
the University of Guelph in Ontario, ex-
perimenters are attempting to convert algae
into animal feed. Elsewhere, sludge is
being turned into fertilizer. Actions are
being brought in the courts against such
interests as Reserve Mining.
Citizens are also doing their part. An inter-
esting example of this are the Amish, who
gra/e their cattle away from the banks of the
lakes' tributaries to protect the grass which
helps in reducing soil erosion.
"As of the moment the lakes aren't gelling
worse, but the battle hasn't been won by any
moans," the narrator concludes.
Although the new movie will be widely dis-
tributed nationally, a special effort will be
made to insure its broad availability to the
people of the Great Lakes area. A free loan of
the new film can be obtained after its release
by writing Modern Talking Picture Service,
New Hyde Park Road, New Hyde Park,
New York 11040. Copies of the film will be
sent to all Regional Offices and major EPA
laboratories. •
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