:.2, NO. TEN
£MBER-DE(
-------
CONTROL JNG TOXIC
I no longer the (.features and forces of the
tnat most threaten nx . . . it is, instead,
such strange new creatures of ottr own making as
'bischloromethyt ether' and ' nitrosamines' and
'polychlorinated biphenyls' and 'polyvinyl chlo-
ride.' They are all around UJS—in our air, our water,
our food, and in the tilings we lunch. When they hit
us, we don't feel a thini;. I heir ill effects may not
show up until decades later, in the form of cancer—
or even generations later, in the form of mutated
Xene.v*—when it is, often, too late to undo the
damage.
"Most Americans had no idea, until relatively
recently, thai. . . when they went to work in the
morning, or when they ate their breakfast—that
when they did the things they had to do to earn a
living and keep themselves alive and well—that when
they did things as ordinary, as innocent and as
essential to life as eat, drink, breathe or touch, they
could, in fact, be laying their lives on the line. They
had no idea that, without their knowledge or con-
sent, they were often en^a^in^ in a grim game of
chemical roulette whose result they would not know
until many years later."
—EPA Administrator Russell E. Train. Excerpted from re-
marks delivered before the National Press Club, February
26, 1976
Mr. Train recalled in the same speech that when
ho became the first chairman of the Council on
Environmental Quality in February. 1970, his first
directive to the council's small staff was to develop a
legislative proposal to cope with the problems caused
by toxic chemicals.
Now some six years later Congress has finally
approved and the President has signed the Toxic
Substances Control Act.
Carrying out the requirements of the new law will
give HPA a demanding challenge in the new year.
Another major advance on the environmental front
was the passage by Congress of a new act greatly
expanding EPA's solid waste control program.
The significance of both of these important new
laws is explored in articles in this issue of the
Journal.
A landmark court decision growing out of the
notorious Kepone poisoning case is also reviewed.
On another front. Assistant Administrator Roger
Strelow has contributed an article about his recent
trip to Iran to help advise the Government there
about air pollution control techniques. The automo-
bile, he reports, is an even greater contributor to air
pollution in the capital of Tehran than it is in major
American cities.
The discovery of a new genus of sponge found
clinging to drums of radioactive waste on the floor of
the Pacific ocean is the subject of another report.
A major EPA research project being conducted on
the plains of southeast Montana under the direction
of EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory at
Corvallis, Ore., is discussed in another article. The
EPA project at Colstrip, 100 miles east of Billings,
Mont., is designed to develop information which can
be used to minimize the environmental impact of
coal-burning plants.
Concluding the year-long series on EPA's regional
operations are two articles from the Agency's North-
west office—Region X on Parade.
The magazine ends with an intriguing report that
bass, popular game fish, are now being caught in
large numbers in the Potomac River in the Washing-
ton area.
-------
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
COVER PHOTO
Donald Emmerich
PHOTO CREDITS
Page 2 —Grand Rapids Press
Page 4 —David Hiser*
Page 6—Don Long
Page 8 — Roger Strelow
Page 9—Joel Horowitz
Page 10-14-Donald N. Emmerich
Page 18—Ernest Bucci
Page 19- AI Wilson
Page 20 - Doug Wilson*
Page 22— David Falconer*
Back Cover—John Neubauer*
*Documerica
COVER: Thomas L. Gullett, a biology
technician from EPA's Environmental
Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Ore.,
checks condition of a ground squirrel as
part of a major research project being
conducted on the Montana plains.
The EPA Journal is published
monthly, with combined issues
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
Office of Management and Budget •
Views expressed by authors do not
necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Contributions and inquiries should be
addressed to the Editor (A-107),
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460. No
permission necessary to reproduce
contents except copyrighted photos
and other materials. Subscription:
$8.75 a year, $.75 for single copy,
domestic; $1 LOO if mailed to a foreign
address. No charge to employees.
Send check or money order to
Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402.
Printed on recycled paper.
ARTICLES
TOXIC CONTROLS TO BEGIN
A review of EPA's role under the long-
sought toxic substances control law.
PAGE 2
SOLID WASTE CONTROL PROGRAM EXPANDED PAGE 4
New legislation gives EPA major responsibilities
in the solid waste area.
JUSTICE IN THE KEPONE CASE PAGE 6
A report on a landmark decision by a
Federal judge involving a notorious pesticide.
EPA HELPS IRAN SOLVE AIR POLLUTION PAGE 8
by Roger Strelow
A report on recommendations to help a
Middle Eastern country control pollution.
RESEARCH ON THE PLAINS by Charles Pierce PAGE 10
An account of a major EPA research project
in Montana to assess the impact of fumes from
a coal-burning power plant.
NEW SPONGES FOUND AT OCEAN DUMPSITE PAGE 15
An EPA scientist has discovered what may
be a new genus of sponge while conducting
an underwater examination of drums of
radioactive waste.
REGION X ON PARADE by Robert H. Jacobson PAGE 20
THE CROWDED OUTDOORS by Thomas A. Waite PAGE 22
BASS IN THE POTOMAC BACK COVER
DEPARTMENTS
NATION
PEOPLE
INQUIRY
NEWS BRIEFS
PAGE 16
PAGE 18
PAGE 24
PAGE 25
PAGE 1
-------
TOXIC CONTROLS TO BEGIN
PA has been given the power, starting
January !, to regulate the production
and use of harmful chemicals.
When he signed the Toxic Substances
Control Act on October 12, President Ford
said: "I believe this . . . may he one of the
most important pieces of environmental
legislation . . . enacted by the Congress.
"This . . . legislation provides broad
authority to regulate any of the tens of
thousands of chemicals in commerce. Only
a few of these chemicals have been tested
for their long-term effects on human health
or the environment.
"Through the testing and reporting re-
quirements of the law. our understanding of
these chemicals should be greatly en-
hanced. If a chemical is found to present a
danger to health or the environment, appro-
priate regulatory action can be taken before
it is too late to undo the damage."
The President said that the biit closes "a
gap in our current array of laws to protect
the health of our people and the environ-
ment."
Several hundred—and perhaps as many as
I.(XX)—new chemicals are introduced into
commerce each year. Most of them are put
into use without testing for their possible
long-term effects on the health of people or
on plant and animal life.
Of particular concern during the past
several years have been chemicals that may
cause cancer, mutations of human ceils.
and birth defects.
T""1 he Act is designed to plug some long
-*- recognized loopholes in the Nation's
environment protection program. Laws to
curb pollution of air and water and to
assure healthful workplaces are aimed pri-
marily at correcting hazards already there.
The new law seeks to prevent hazards
from being introduced as well as to correct
problems after the fact. It stems from the
growing public concern over industrial
chemicals that have subtle, long-lasting
effects, that accumulate in the body to
dangerous levels, and that resist natural
breakdown in the environment.
The list of suspect chemicals is already
long and includes such widely used sub-
stances as synthetic halocarbons (PCB's
and PBB's), raw material for plastics (vinyl
chloride), spray can propellant gases, phos-
phates, and nitrosamines.
Since thousands of industrial chemicals
Michigan dairy farmers shooting cattle contaminated by the toxic chemical, PBB.
PAGE 2
-------
are already on the market and are being
used with little knowledge of their toxicity
or environmental effects. EPA will start
administering the new law with a huge
backlog of work.
The EPA Administrator must first make
an inventory of all chemicals "manufac-
tured or processed in the United States" in
the last three years. This list must be
compiled and published by Nov. 11, 1977.
Thereafter the inventory must be kept
current as new chemicals are introduced.
Glenn E. Schweitzer, Director of the
Office of Toxic Substances, said, "We
expect there may be as many as 20.000
substances on the inventory. The exact
number will depend upon the use of cate-
gories for certain 'families' of compounds.
New chemicals which fall into a category
included on the inventory would not be
subject to premarket notification."
~D efore a chemical not on the inventory
-*-* can be introduced into commerce, the
manufacturer must notify EPA at least 90
days in advance. He must submit estimates
of the amount of t.he chemical he plans to
produce, its intended uses, the estimated
number of people who wil! be exposed to
it. and any test data he may have on its
toxicity and probable environmental ef-
fects.
On the basis of the data submitted, EPA
must make a "reasoned evaluation" of the
risk involved. If there is not enough infor-
mation to make this judgment, the Agency
may. after preliminary procedures, seek a
court injunction to prohibit manufacture
pending further testing.
If EPA believes a new chemical sub-
stance may present an unreasonable risk.
the Agency may seek a court injunction to
prohibit the manufacture or may make a
rule immediately effective to limit its use,
require appropriate labelling, or proper dis-
posal methods, pending normal rule-making
procedures. In any rule-making on toxic
substances the law requires EPA to con-
sider and publish its findings on the sub-
stances' benefits, the availability of substi-
tutes, and the probable effects on the
industry and the national economy.
For existing chemicals that pose an unrea-
sonable risk, the new legislation offers
several regulatory options. The Agency
may ban production altogether, restrict the
amount of production, or limit the chemi-
cal's sale to certain uses only. Alterna-
tively. EPA may set labelling or disposal
requirements.
"\/I r. Schweitzer believes that, under the
-*-'-*• new law, it is not reasonable to expect
that all hazardous substances will be caught
and brought under control.
"We cannot realistically expect to evalu-
ate every one of the tens of thousands of
chemicals in commerce. It will take years
to develop the information needed to assess
the health and environmental effects of
even the major chemicals. This Act will be
an important tool to reduce the number of
chemical incidents, but there is no way to
eliminate them completely."
The Act authorizes $10.1 million to carry
out its provisions in Fiscal 1977. The sum
of $12.6 million is authorized for 1978 and
$16.2 million for 1979. An additional $1.5
million in each of the three years is author-
ized for grants to States having a concen-
tration of chemical industries to help them
assess their problems with the control of
toxic substances.
TP he Act also authorizes a new EPA
Assistant Administrator for Toxic Sub-
stances to be appointed by the President
subject to Senate confirmation. Filling of
this new post would give EPA six Assist-
ant Administrators.
The cost to industry of the new legislation
is estimated by EPA at up to $140 million
per year. The Genera! Accounting Office,
a branch of Congress, says it should not
exceed $200 million. Industry representa-
tives have said the cost would be ten times
as much.
The Act provides for appointment of an
interagency committee to advise the Ad-
ministrator on which chemicals should be
tested. The committee members will repre-
sent the Departments of Labor, Com-
merce, and Health, Education, and Wel-
fare, including several of its research activi-
ties; the Council on Environmental Qual-
ity; the National Science Foundation; and
EPA.
One of the committee's first tasks is to
make a "priority list" designating the 50
chemicals EPA should tackle first. Com-
mittee appointments are limited to four
years, and no member who leaves the
committee may take a job with the chemi-
cal industry for one year thereafter.
Civil penalties for violating the Act may
be set at not more than $25.000 per viola-
tion, and each succeeding day constitutes a
new violation. Criminal penalties can be as
high as a $25,000 fine, a year in prison, or
both.
Manufacturers may be required to keep
records of the amounts of chemicals they
produce and the uses to which they are put
and to report periodically to EPA. Small
businesses are exempt from certain report-
ing requirements.
The law protects confidential business
information (trade secrets and privileged
commercial and financial data). Any Fed-
eral officer or employee who discloses such
information to unauthorized persons com-
mits a misdemeanor punishable by a $5.000
fine and a year in prison.
A special section of the Act deals with
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), a
family of synthetic compounds now used
primarily in electrical equipment, although
formerly used extensively in industrial and
consumer products, such as paints, inks,
and plastics. PCB's are poisonous to hu-
mans, accumulate in the fatty tissues of
fish, and persist in the environment as
DDT does. By July 1, 1977, EPA must set
rules for warning labels on all products
containing PCB's and for prescribing meth-
ods of safe disposal.
The law bans all PCB manufacture after
two years and all processing or distribution
after two and a half years.
Many substances are specifically exempt
from the Toxic Substances Control Act
because they are already controlled by
other laws. These include pesticides, food
additives, drugs, tobacco, ammunition, and
nuclear materials.
Passage of the law climaxes a five-year
effort by EPA to obtain adequate
regulatory power over chemical poisons
that are not limited to one environmental
medium, like air or water. Legislation was
introduced in 1971 and again in 1973 and
1975. The final bill was a compromise
between separate versions passed by the
House of Representatives and the Senate.
It also represents a compromise between
the stringent regulation sought by environ-
mental groups and the chemical industry's
desire for greater emphasis on self-regula-
tion.
The policy and intention of Congress is
summed up in the Act's preamble. "Con-
gress finds that—
• "Human beings and the environment are
being exposed each year to a large number
of chemical substances . . . (that) may
present an unreasonable risk of injury . . .
• "Adequate data should be developed (on
these risks) . . . and such data should be
the responsibility of those who manufacture
and . . . process such chemical sub-
stances . . .
• "Authority . . . should be exercised (so
as) not to impede unduly or create unnec-
essary economic barriers to technological
innovation . . .
• "The Administrator shall carry out this
Act in a reasonable and prudent manner
and . . . consider the environmental, eco-
nomic, and social impact of any ac-
tion . . ." •
PAGE 3
-------
SOLID WASTE CONTROL
PROGRAM EXPANDED
"P PA's solid waste control activities will
*—' be greatly expanded under legislation
passed in the closing days of the 94th
Congress.
The new law authorizes $35 million for
the Solid Waste Office's operations in the
current fiscal year, more than double last
year's appropriation. S38 million in 1978.
and S42 million in 1979.
In addition, starting in fiscal '78. grants
are authorized to States and regional bodies
for planning and carrying out solid waste
programs. About $140 million is authorized
for State aid, research, and other purposes
in 1978 and $107 million in 1979.
The law also—for the first time—requires
EPA to set standards for the handling of
hazardous solid wastes and provides regu-
latory powers and penalties.
"Enactment of this legislation presents a
great new challenge to EPA." said Sheldon
Meyers, Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste Management Programs,
"but we are confident we can meet that
challenge and justify Congress's expecta-
tions."
"Solid waste has long been the stepchild
of the environmental movement," said Sen.
Jennings Randolph of West Virginia before
the final vote on the legislation. "Substan-
tial attention has been given to the prob-
lems of air and water pollution . . , and
properly so. ... But we neglected to fully
recognize the implications of haphazard
solid waste disposal practices."
Sen. Randolph, chairman of the Public
Works Committee, sponsored the bill in the
Senate, where it was approved. 88 to 3.
last June. The House passed the bill on
Sept. 27 by a vote of 367 to 8. Final Senate
action was unanimous, and President Ford
signed it into law on Oct. 22.
The Resource Conservation and Recov-
ery Act supersedes the Solid Waste Dis-
posal Act of 1965 and augments the Re-
source Recovery Act of 1970.
The new taw seeks to reduce the amounts
of waste created, to recover materials and
energy from wastes, and to dispose of
wastes in ways that will not endanger
public health or the environment. In the
words of Sen. Randolph, it is "imperative
that we examine our attitudes toward the
consumption of materials. Depletion of
Burning dump near Moab, Utah.
-------
resources and higher prices dictate that we
change our individual attitudes and our
collective public policy."
The law itself notes that the cleanup of
the Nation's air and water is creating
greater amounts of solid waste in the form
of sludges and other pollution treatment
residues.
Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous waste is defined in the Act as
any waste that "because of its quantity.
concentration, or physical, chemical, or
infectious characteristics" may cause death
or disease or threaten public health or the
environment. Examples might be industrial
chemicals that may enter the food chain,
substances that may wash out of landfills,
and oily wastes that kill fish and wildlife.
EPA is required to identify and publish a
list of hazardous wastes within 18 months
and to set standards for the handling.
transportation, and ultimate disposal of
such wastes.
Under EPA guidelines. States are to
establish regulations for hazardous waste
handling and issue permits for treatment,
storage, or disposal. If States fail to do so.
EPA regulations apply. Civil and criminal
penalties are established for violations, up
to $25.000 per day of noncompliance. a
year in prison, or both. EPA must consult
with the Department of Transportation in
drafting rules for transporting hazardous
wastes.
States will be eligible for technical and
financial assistance to develop and imple-
ment State and regional solid waste man-
agement plans which would encompass
collection and disposal as well as resource
recovery and conservation options. Ini-
tially. EPA will assist in such efforts by
promulgating guidelines for State plans.
and—to encourage 'regionalization'—pro-
mulgate separate guidelines for helping
States identify those areas which have
common solid waste management prob-
lems. To implement State plans, if and
when such plans are approved by the EPA
Administrator, both State and local govern-
ments will be eligible for EPA grant assist-
ance.
Open Dumping Ban
The law prohibits the open dumping of all
solid wastes. Criteria for identifying open
dumps, and for identifying sanitary land-
fills, will be published by EPA no later
than October 1977, and the Agency will
conduct a national inventory of all open
dumps within the twelve months that fol-
low. State or regional solid waste manage-
ment plans must include the banning of
open dumps. All open dumps throughout
the country must be closed or upgraded by
1983. Special grant assistance to help meet
these new requirements for land disposal
facilities will be available for rural commu-
nities of less than 5,000 population and
rural counties of less than 10,000 (or with
fewer than 20 persons per square mile).
Grants to a limited number of "special
communities" are also authorized. These
are to be communities of less than 25,000
population, most of whose solid waste
comes from outside their boundaries, caus-
ing serious environmental problems. Only
one such grant (one project) can be made
in each State.
The law also provides for:
• Extensive research, development, and
demonstration projects in solid waste tech-
nology.
• At least eleven special studies in specific
areas such as glass, plastics, rubber tires.
sewage sludge, mining wastes, and the
hazards caused by birds at landfills near
airports.
• Special emphasis on the rapid dissemina-
tion of information, on public education
programs, and a central reference library of
solid waste management data and other
materials.
Interagency Cooperation
Under the Act, the Secretary of Com-
merce is required to "encourage greater
commercialization of proven resource re-
covery technology . . ." and the Energy
Research and Development Administration
is required to cooperate with EPA in the
field of energy recovery from solid waste.
An Interagency Resource Conservation
Committee will be set up this fiscal year
with a $2 million authorization to study
strategy and public policy, including subsi-
dies and economic incentives. The EPA
Administrator will be the chairman. Mem-
bers include the Secretaries of Commerce,
Labor, Interior, and Treasury; the chair-
man of the Council on Environmental
Quality; and a representative of the Office
of Management and Budget.
The Act makes no specific mention of
returnable bottles and cans to reduce litter
and save materials and energy. However,
last June Sen. Mark Hatfield. of Oregon,
proposed a uniform national deposit system
on all bottles and cans as an amendment to
the Senate bill. It was defeated. He then
proposed, and the Senate almost unani-
mously approved, another amendment for
an interagency study of the issue. This was
dropped from both the House version and
the final bill. But Sen. Hatfield said he was
confident that such a study would be
included under the Act's "general language
concerning the need for Federal studies of
various solid waste management alterna-
tives . . ."
A Local Problem
The new law. like the one it replaces.
recognizes that solid waste is primarily a
local problem lhat should be managed by
State and local governments or regional
groups. It encourages existing agencies—
particularly the area-wide planning agencies
designated under section 208 of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act—to plan and
carry out solid waste management pro-
grams .
The role of the Federal Government in
solid waste activities said Sen. Randolph,
"should be one primarily of providing
financial and technical assistance. . . . The
Environmental Protection Agency's effec-
tiveness may be compromised if it advo-
cates specific policy alternatives at the
State or local level. These mailers are best
left to local choice ..."
Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee noted
that the new law requires EPA to give
advance nolice to the appropriate congres-
sional committees before publishing any
guidelines, information, or model codes and
ordinances. "This is not a provision for
congressional approval or veto." he said.
"It simply assures that Congress will be
informed of EPA's intentions and activi-
ties."
The new law abbreviates the name of the
Office of Solid Waste Management Pro-
grams. It becomes simply the "Office of
Solid Waste." •
PAGES
-------
Ciiiarded by afacemask, a workman uses his machine to dig Kepone waste from
the ground around the site of the Life Science plant in Hopewell.
PAGE 6
-------
JUSTICE IN THE KEPONE CASE
". . . 1 don'I think that commercial
products, or lite making (if profits an' as
important ax tin1 God-given resources of
our country."
HP his warning was made by Federal
-*- Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr.. as he
levied the largest criminal fine ever im-
posed for environmental pollution. The
Allied Chemical Corporation was penalized
the maximum sum allowable under the law,
513,375,000, in October for discharging the
pesticide Kepone and other chemical con-
taminants into the James River from its
Hopewell, Va., plant.
EPA Administrator Russell E. Train de-
clared that "the large criminal fines levied
by the Federal court in the Kepone case
represent a landmark decision in the his-
tory of environmental protection. The court
has clearly signalled that polluters will be
held accountable to the full extent of the
law." ~
Last December, a Region 111 investiga-
tion of the Kepone tragedy ended when
Regional Administrator Daniel J. Snyder,
111. referred the findings to the U.S.
Department of Justice. "On the basis of
the initial evidence which Mr. Snyder re-
ported to us. our office decided that we
should pick up the ball." said William
Cummings, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District. Shortly thereafter a grand jury
was assembled.
The Justice Department's effort culmi-
nated in August when Allied pleaded "no
contest" to 940 counts of violating Federal
water pollution control laws. The violations
occurred between 1971 and 1973 when the
international company directly manufac-
tured the persistent, toxic agricultural in-
secticide and discharged wastes into a
tributary of the James.
Allied was given 90 days by Judge Mer-
hige in which to pay the fines to the U.S.
Treasury.
Judge Merhige said in remarks made
during sentencing in the Richmond, Va..
District Court that "the environment does
truly . . . belong to every single person in
this country . . .
"I am reasonably familiar with the legisla-
tive history of the acts that are involved in
this case. 1 have had to study them, not
only in connection with this case, but with
regard to several others we have had and
several that are coming. 1 am satisfied that
we, as a Nation, are dedicated to clean
water, unpolluted waters. . . . Our respon-
sibility is to the law, and the law alone . . .
"I have reason to believe that Allied . . .
is going to think several times before
anything such as this (the Kepone incident)
happens again. I think they are going to go
the extra mile to see that it doesn't. That is
not only good, but I think it is neces-
sary ....
"I also recognize in one sense that all of
us are responsible for what happened.
because we have either affirmatively or
through indifference permitted things like
this to happen . . . we drive down the
street and see smoke belching from a
smoke stack. We see garbage being thrown
into our rivers. We think it is terrible, but
unless we are personally affected, that is
the extent of our action.
"1 hope after this sentence, that every
corporate official, every corporate em-
ployee that has any reason to think that
pollution is going on. will think. 'If I don't
do something about it now. I am apt to be
out of a job tomorrow.' 1 want the officials
to be concerned when they see It.
"Allied knew it was polluting the waters.
As Mr. Justice Rehnquist said 'Polluters
do so at their own risk.'
"As you know. ! said when the plea was
accepted, that 1 would hope there would be
some way that the fines that obviously
would be forthcoming could be used to
benefit those who directly were hurt ... 1
am satified, however, that this cannot be
done under the law . . .
"I intend to and will consider what ac-
tions, if any. have been voluntarily taken
by the defendant corporation to alleviate
the horrendous effects that have occurred.
"In no event, do 1 want any actions done
under any compulsion whatsoever. Any
action it would take should be taken volun-
tarily. In no event would a reduction (in
the fine), if there is a reduction, be in an
amount equal to whatever they may volun-
tarily expend. I am not. however, closing
my mind to consideration of an appropriate
adjustment."
Administrator Train noted in his assess-
ment of the sentencing that, "the fact that
the court indicated that the sentences might
possibly be mitigated by voluntary action
to help those directly hurt by the Kepone
tragedy suggests a new measure of corpo-
rate responsibility in such cases.''
Allied is not the only corporate body
which has been fined as a result of the
Kepone incident. In early 1974, Allied
turned over the manufacture of Kepone to
a small company called Life Science Prod-
ucts, which became the sole producer of
the pesticide until the converted gas station
from which it operated was closed as a
health hazard in July. 1975. Life Science
had previously pleaded guilty to 154
charges of violations of Federal pollution
control laws, and was fined $3.8 million for
polluting the James. Two former Allied
Chemical employees who created Life Sci-
ence were also given huge fines, (of which
all but $25,000 was suspended.) and five
years probation each.
U.S. Attorney Cummings noted in regard
to the stiff sentences received by Allied
and Life Science that, "there is at least one
judge who clearly wants the word to go out
that the environment cannot be abused. In
this respect, this case could be a forerunner
of others. It is encouraging."
The $3.8 million fine levied against the
Life Science Corporation will probably go
uncollected, according to Federal attor-
neys, because the now-defunct company
has no known assets.
In other related trials. Judge Merhige
ruled that the government failed to prove
that Allied and Life Science had "know-
ingly and willingly" entered a criminal
conspiracy to violate the pollution laws,
and that two Allied employees had con-
spired to defraud the Federal Government.
The city of Hopewell has been penalized
for unlawful discharges from its sewage
treatment plant.
A number of EPA staff members served
as expert witnesses during the Kepone
trials. They included Dr. Tudor Davies of
the Gulf Breeze Laboratory; Dr. Edward
Oswald and August Curley of Research
Triangle Park; Dr. Wayne Smith. Dr. Ted
MeJggs and Art Masse of EPA's National
Enforcement Investigations Center in Den-
ver; Dr. Walter Lee and Mike Zickler of
EPA Region III; and Dr. Jack Blanchard
of headquarters.
Since receiving sentence for its "no con-
test" plea to violating Federal pollution
control laws. Allied has issued statements
saying that "the judicial process has been
completed and we must respect it. We
deeply regret the circumstances surround-
ing the Kepone affair and the concern
caused to the people of Virginia, particu-
larly because, in all our operations in
Virginia over a period of 48 years. Allied
Chemical has acted as a good corporate
citizen and has maintained policies in sup-
port of all public programs, including envi-
ronmental programs. We shall now concen-
trate on expanding upon our efforts to
remedy the damage caused by Kepone."•
PAGE?
-------
EPA HELPS IRAN
SOLVE AIR POLLUTION
Several months ago. the head of Iran's
"EPA" asked Administrator Russell
Train to send some U.S. HPA air pollution
experts to Iran to help solve the serious air
quality problem in Tehran. Iran's capital
city. This request and invitation led to a
fascinating experience for Joe! Horowitz
and myself from Air and Waste Manage-
ment and for Don Oakley of International
Activities who accompanied us and went
on to make other contacts for EPA in the
Middle East. The U.S. Agency for Inter-
national Development (AID) financed our
travel under its authority to stimulate reim-
bursable technical activities abroad.
ranges of snow-capped mountains. It is one
of the world's oldest nations, with known
civilization dating back over 3000 years. Its
artistically-oriented culture is still pervaded
by the beautiful architecture of ancient
Moslem mosques and the lyric poetry of
Omar Khayyam. Firdausi, Hafiz, and
Saadi. Over half of all Iranians live in the
country—most of them in the walled, mud-
brick houses that typify Iranian farm vil-
lages, and a smaller number belong to
nomadic tribes. Some 44% of Iran's
roughly 34 million people live in urban
areas, many of which are expanding rapidly
and drawing an increasing portion of the
Fumes rise from a cement plant on outskirts of Tehran.
We have good reason to believe that our
consultation with the Iranian Government
was a valuable stimulus to its new air
pollution control program and that essential
follow-up consultations on the details of
specific programs are likely to occur. In
addition, we initiated work on a general
cooperative agreement that should be con-
cluded soon between EPA and Iran's De-
partment of the Hnvironment (DOH).
Iran, more than 16 hours' (light time
from Washington, is a sizable (2Vi times
larger than Texas), rugged country com-
posed of arid deserts and plains, which are
dotted with green valleys, and several large
Killer Sln'l<>\\- ix i.PA's Assistant Admin-
istrator for Air and Waste Management
population.
The discovery of oil in the early I900"s
stimulated the recovery of a Nation
that had gradually lost wealth and power
over several centuries. The series of ambi-
tious economic development programs un-
dertaken in recent decades with Iran's
substantial oil profits inevitably gave rise to
the type of air pollution problems that led
to our trip.
While some of Iran's most scenic cities.
such as Shiraz (pop. 336.(K)0) and Isfahan
(pop. 546.(X)0). now face the prospect of
becoming heavily polluted unless the
growth planned in these areas is carefully
controlled, the capital city of Tehran (pop.
nearly 4 million) is already choking in the
by-products of rapid, inadequately con-
trolled growth. Although Tehran has its
share of stationary sources—such as a
belching cement plant—contributing to the
visible pall that hangs over the city, the
most obnoxious single air pollution problem
there is unquestionably the automobile.
As "progress" has come to Tehran, so
has one of its typical components, a
rapid rise in auto ownership and use.
Motor vehicles registered in Tehran now
number over 800.000. dramatically up from
less than 400.000 only five years ago. Few
of these vehicles have emission controls.
Moreover, the quality of available mainte-
nance service is very poor. To make
matters worse, most of these vehicles ap-
pear to be on the streets, contributing to
mind-boggling traffic jams, at all hours of
the day except for a few hours after
midnight. All of this, combined with an
"every man for himself style of driving
that exacerbates the fundamental conges-
tion problem, causes an additional cloud of
pollution, painfully perceptible to both nose
and eyes, that floats ovei the main streets.
To its credit. Iran's government has be-
gun to face the existing and potential air
pollution problems symbolized respectively
by Tehran and Isfahan. While any overall
prognosis now would be difficult, there are
very encouraging signs. In 1974. the Envi-
ronmental Protection and Enhancement
Act created the Department of the Envi-
ronment, thereby upgrading and expanding
the scope of the previous Department of
Environmental Conservation to include pol-
lution controls. The Department is headed
by an aggressive, articulate conservationist-
engineer. Eskandar Firouz. One indication
of the priority given to his Department's
work is that besides being Director of
DOE. Eirouz is also one of a limited
number of Assistant Prime Ministers. Also,
the Environmental High Council, which
formulates fundamental policies and over-
sees their execution, is headed by a mem-
ber of the royal family. Prince Abdorreza.
Iran's parliament has given the DOE a
strong law to combat air pollution,
particularly that from motor vehicles, the
Clean Air Act of 1975. The law authorizes
the DOE to establish air quality standards
and emission limitations, although the two
are not linked as closely as in our Clean
Air Act. DOE can also require permits for
I'Adl X
-------
stationary sources of poHution. Broad au-
thority is given to control vehicular pollu-
tion, including authority to regulate emis-
sions from new vehicles and to require
inspection and maintenance.
In our efforts to assist DOE in controlling
motor vehicle pollution, we found that
rather than suggesting new ideas we were
focusing on the need to set priorities and to
appreciate and anticipate the many com-
plexities and details of implementation.
DOE has a very small (12 people) but able
air pollution control staff. One member is
an American who first went to Iran in the
Peace Corps after working for the Ken-
tucky air pollution control program. He has
been particularly helpful in bringing the
extensive U.S. literature into DOE's work.
In preparing a possible motor vehicle pro-
gram, however, the DOE was, if anything.
over inclusive rather than under inclusive!
Given the size of the present staff, the
limited number of trained Iranian profes-
sionals in this area, and the lack of any
motor vehicle control program at present,
we felt that it was imperative for DOE to
focus its limited resources on a few of the
most essential, high-impact measures.
Therefore, we suggested that measures
such as possible conversion of taxis to
gaseous fuels be given less immediate at-
tention than the two programs that appear
to deserve most effort—setting standards
for new vehicles (the projections are for
continued rapid expansion of Tehran's ve-
hicle population) and developing inspection
and maintenance. Unfortunately, the tre-
mendous sophistication and complexities of
the present U.S. motor vehicle standards
program, to say nothing of the present
unavailability of unleaded gasoline in Iran.
make it highly questionable for Iran to
attempt immediately to emulate our pro-
gram. Rather, we felt that for the near
term, DOE could best begin with a simpler
but still quite effective program patterned
along the lines of the U.S. program of the
late 1960's and early 1970's. We also
recommended, however, that in order to
prepare for future catalyst-based standards
as well as to protect public health, lead
should be phased out of gasoline as soon as
possible. (Ideally, the phase-out could be
completed by the time catalyst-based stand-
ards were feasible, so that there would be
none of the problems of the dual fuel
system we now have in the U.S.)
Keeping in mind the need to focus on a
limited number of implementable
measures that could have near-term bene-
fits, we also urged that appropriate authori-
ties—probably the City of Tehran rather
than DOE directly—implement certain
"transportation" or traffic controls to re-
duce congestion and unnecessary vehicle
use. The Tehran Development Council
Secretariat has made an extensive study of
Tehran's traffic problems, although not for
the principal purpose of reducing air pollu-
tion, and we commended its recommenda-
tions to the DOE. In particular, we ex-
pressed hope for the feasibility of a pro-
gram that recently was demonstrated quite
successfully in Singapore—the designation
of certain critically congested areas which
are off-limits to vehicles not displaying a
special and rather costly permit. Offenders
are not blocked from access but are tick-
eted and fined stiffly, analogous to U.S.
parking violations. We also highlighted the
need for much stricter enforcement of
traffic laws and expansion of both public
transit (most buses you see are crowded
during most of the day) and the already
significant number of employer-operated
Street traffic outside Scpahsalar Mosque
in Tehran.
transit services.
Some people with whom I have discussed
our trip have commented, only half-faee-
tiously, that it must be a lot easier to get
pollution controls implemented under a
strong monarchy such as Iran's. Undoubt-
edly there are some advantages of the sort
assumed, but to me one of the most
striking features of our discussions was the
constant appearance of remarkable similari-
ties in the fundamental features of U.S.
and Iranian government institutions. These
familiarities really are not surprising when
carefully considered. For example, it is
quite natural that a government with sub-
stantial revenues (particularly from oil
sales) but even more substantial economic
development and military preparedness
goals should have a strong "OMB." Sure
enough. Iran's Plan and Budget Organiza-
tion seems to be a mirror image! Inter-
agency rivalries, sensitivities concerning
the rotes of local governments, shortages of
certain types of skilled professionals—the
parallels abound even though the two sys-
tems of government obviously are quite
different.
I should add at this point that recommen-
dations such as I have outlined were not
arrived at unilaterally after formalized brief-
ings and tours. Rather, we had what 1
believe was an excellent atmosphere of
"give and take" discussions and mutual
"brainstorming" with the air pollution staff
of DOE and also with Mr. Firou/. This
approach was critical to achieving a final
report to Mr. Firou/. which reflected very
substantial participation, feedback, and
consensus. This fact greatly enhances the
probability that our recommendations will
be useful and feasible to implement.
On the subject of general stationary
source controls, we struck a particu-
larly responsive chord. Having in mind
F. PA's recent strengthening of emphasis on
proper controlling and siting of new station-
ary sources—whether in non-attainment or
in pristine areas—we were most interested
to find that Mr. Firou/ had already ori-
ented DOE's stationary source program
very heavily towards new sources. In view
of DOE's staff limitations, the relative
technical and economic ease of applying
technology requirements to new rather than
existing facilities, and the tremendous eco-
nomic growth that Iran is experiencing, we
urged that this emphasis on new sources be
continued and strengthened to require
"best available control technology." at a
minimum, regardless of location and air
quality conditions. Again, we arrived at a
strong consensus with our "clients."
It was an exciting experience to step hack
briefly from the relatively well-established
air pollution control program that exists in
the U.S. and to work intensively with
dedicated professionals who are in the
early stages of trying to both solve and
prevent air pollution problems in a rapidly
developing nation. The problem in Tehran
is present and obvious. It certainly war-
rants priority attention. However, the few
days I was able to spend in two of Iran's
national parks—Kolah Gha/.i near Isfahan
and Lake Rezayeh (a large salt lake with
92 islands)—reminded me of the great
attention now being focused on preserva-
tion of our many scenic Western parks and
wilderness areas. In both cases, failure to
preserve these national treasures would be
tragic. •
PAGE 9
-------
RESEARCH ON THE PLAINS
By Charles Pierce
•
^ •* *
Barely visible in the center of the horizon
line in this Montana plains scene are the
tips of the twin stacks of a new power plant
several miles away from where cattle are
grazing in the foreground.
This dragline works through the night
to strip the earth from rich coal seams
near Colxtrip, Mont.
Standing on a hutte in southeast Mon-
tana you could see a herd of cattle
grazing on the bronze-colored grasses of
late summer. A whinnying sound floated in
from the distance where the tiny figure of
first one horse and then several could he
seen galloping down a slope toward a ranch
for their evening feed.
All around was a countryside bathed in
shadow and sun under the cloud-streaked
big sky. To the south was the Rosebud
Creek Valley where Custer camped on his
way to doom at the nearby site of Little
Big Horn.
Now, however, even the memory of this
old battle could not disturb the peace of
this scene where the only noise was a
breeze ruffling the branches of (he butte-
top ponderosa pines.
Then you noticed on the far horizon the
electronic aircraft warning lights pulsing
rhythmically every few seconds on the
barely discernable tops of the twin towers
of a huge power plant seven miles away at
Colstrip.
And you were reminded of a new and
often hitter struggle in the plains country
over the issue of whether the grasslands
should be stripped for coal to help fuel
power plants not only in Montana but for
energy-hungry cities elsewhere in the Na-
tion as well.
Immediately below was another reminder.
a fenccd-in acre of grassland and a mobile
air quality monitoring trailer, part of a
major project being conducted by EPA's
Environmental Research Laboratory head-
quartered at Corvallis, Ore.
EPA is attempting to learn how this
beautiful countryside can be protected from
coal fumes discharged at the Coistrip
power plant, some 100 miles east of Bill-
ings, Mont.
Dr. A. F. Bartsch, Director of the EPA
laboratory at Corvallis, explained that "this
project has national significance because
we are attempting to develop information
which can be used to minimize the environ-
mental impact of all coal-burning plants.
"Recognizing that the United States is
moving toward the use of coal as the
primary fossil fuel, EPA is seeking to
reconcile the Nation's energy needs and
our obligation to protect the environment.
"The study, which is being carried out by
EPA scientists with the aid of researchers
from three State universities, is attempting
to determine the effect of the power plant
Charles Pierce is Editor of EPA Journal
PAGE 10
-------
fumes on the grassland's animals, insects
and plants. An important objective is to
determine which forms of life are the most
sensitive and reliable measures of air pollu-
tion.
"Once the information is obtained, it can
be developed into a protocol or guidebook
on how to site power plants so that they
will do the least damage to the environ-
ment. Information accumulated in this re-
search project, which is also expected to
prove enormously valuable in developing
improved air quality standards for the fu-
ture, is being analyzed at the Corvallis
laboratory."
The setting for the Colstrip power project
is spectacular.
rT"' owering draglines work day and night
^ seven days a week to remove the earth
covering the huge coal seams 30 to 160 feet
below the surface, The coal is then loos-
ened with dynamite and loaded by enor-
mous shovels which can bite off 15 tons of
coal with one sweep of their buckets. After-
being loaded onto heavy duty motor car-
riers the coal is taken to conveyor belts.
The belts take the coal either to the nearby
power plant or to a site where it is loaded
into l(X)-car trains. Autos back up on the
highway at the main rail crossing outside
Colstrip as rail cars roll by carrying the
fuel which will light homes and power
factories in the Middle West. An estimated
11 million tons of low-sulfur coal will be
mined in the Colstrip area this year.
Nearby are enormous earthen furrows
largely barren of vegetation which were left
after strip mining started in this area 50
years ago to provide coal for steam loco-
mo! ives.
The new power plant rises like a giant
battleship riding the prairie sea. At night.
with its hundreds of lights, it sparkles like a
great beacon. From outside voices can be
heard booming over the plant's internal
loudspeaker system.
A short distance away is the company
town of Colstrip with its scattering of
permanent homes, trailer camps and new
recreation building and park still in the
process of being built.
The surrounding silent prairie seems to
stretch forever under the star-drenched
night.
"A raw, vast, lonesome land, too big. too
empty," wrote A. B. Guthrie about Mon-
Continued on page 12
Coal is stockpiled in front of towering power plant.
Dr. Eric Preston (left) and Dr. Norman Glass , two EPA xcientixtx, review data from
a meteorological station at a "ZAPS" site. In the background are the pipes used to
stress the area with sulfur dioxide fumes.
PAGE
-------
Shovel takes huge bite of coal.
Continued from page 11
tana in his novel. The Bin -V^.v. "It made
the mind small and the heart tight and the
belly drawn, lying wild and lost under such
a reach of sky as put a man in fear of
heaven."
At night the plains are alive with deer
mice, voles and other nocturnal creatures.
some of which are caught in traps set as
part of the EPA research project. They are
released the next day after being weighed.
measured and thoroughly checked for indi-
cations of pollution injury.
In the daytime as one walks across the
plains, jillions of grasshoppers explode un-
der foot, flying off like so many tiny
firecrackers.
Driving along the bumpy prairie roads
frequently crossed with metal cattle
guards, you pass fields studded with hay
stacks and occasional lofty buttes. Flocks
of mourning doves and meadow larks burst
into the air sporadically as the car goes by.
While the grasslands in this semi-arid
region are fragile, they teem with life. And
all forms of this life arc being screened by
the project scientists for possible duty as
early warning sentries of sulfur dioxide
pollution.
One of the humbler forms of life, the
mosslike lichen, promises to be one of the
more effective in detecting the presence of
the pollutant.
The two main research areas are at Hay
Coulee, about nine miles southeast of the
power plant, and at Ft. Howes, a site
Giant shovel dumps coal from huge seam
into waiting carrier.
In this aerial view the power plant can be seen behind the twin towers. Railroad cars
that carry coal to the Midwest are in the right foreground. Near the tracks are the
scars left by strip mining of an earlier era.
PAGE 12
-------
about 65 miles further southeast in the
Custer National Forest.
At the coulee (a dry gulch or ravine) site.
an air quality monitoring trailer records the
amount of sulfur dioxide and other pollu-
tants as well as wind speed, humidity,
rainfall and solar radiation to collect com-
plete data.
Intensive studies are conducted on such
plants as bluejoint. needle and thread.
crested wheat and blue grama—all grasses
eaten hy cattle and sheep on these range-
lands.
As part of the study Or. Kric Preston.
EPA field project manager, conducts a
periodic bird census in the area. Beginning
a half hour before dawn he stops at stations
every half mile along a 30-mile route
around the plant to record either by sight
or song the number and variety of birds
present.
So far no significant impact on the grasses
or other forms of life has been detected at
the Hay Coulee site. However, the project
scientists report that so far the power plant
has not been in full operation.
Dr. Norman Glass. Director of the Cor-
vallis Laboratory's Ecological Effects Re-
search Division, explains that the study is
"the first major attempt to develop meth-
ods that can predict bioenvironmental ef-
fects of air pollution before damage is
sustained."
The project was started in 1973 to obtain
useful "before" and "after" data on the
impact of fumes from a coal-burning plant.
The first 350-megawatt unit of the Colstrip
power plant began operation spasmodically
in 1975 and the second unit started inter-
mittent operation last summer. The two
500-foot power plant stacks are equipped
with "scrubber" devices, pollution control
mechanisms designed to reduce the amount
of sulfur in the emissions from the plant.
Construction of two additional larger gener-
ating units at Colstrip has been proposed
by Montana Power and four other utilities
from the Pacific Northwest.
In the past air pollution field research has
concentrated on the direct impact of air
pollution on vegetation after the damage
has occurred. Also little information has
been available on the effect of relatively
long-term low-level pollutants.
The Colstrip area was picked for the
study for many reasons, including the fact
that it is representative of a relatively large
portion of the North Central Great Plains.
It is a rangeland where the vegetation and
the non-migratory animals have had to
endure such environmental problems as
drought, freezing temperatures, and scorch-
ing heat but never the added stress of air
pollutants.
At a remote grassland area in the Custer
National Forest, near the Ft. Howes site,
experimental stressing of two four-acre
sites, known as "ZAPS" (zonal air pollu-
tion systems) tracts, is under way.
Each tract is criss-crossed with what
appear to be metal irrigation pipes. How-
ever, instead of water the pipes are releas-
ing the fumes from tanks of sulfur dioxide
Continued on page 14
The large net is dropped from its boom
to collect insects for EPA's study of the
impact of sulfur dioxide fumes. Resting
on the pipes used to distribute the sulfur
dioxide is a "sticky cup," a trap used to
catch flying insects.
Rabbit outside his lair at the base of a
Montana biitle.
Power lines stride across the Montana plains.
PAGE 13
-------
Continued from page 13
at carefully controlled concentrations.
Progressively greater amounts of this pol-
lutant are released on the plots in each
tract.
Dr. Glass remarked on an inspection tour
of the site that the "sulfur dioxide pollution
here is equivalent to that on an average
summer day in Philadelphia. We tried to
get the pollution up to the Chicago level.
but we didn't quite make it."
Dr. Glass explained that EPA is fumi-
gating two four-acre sites and may
start a third one if funding can be found
because "we don't want to put all our eggs
in one or even two baskets."
At the ZAPS sites various types of traps
are used to collect insects and small ani-
mals, and detailed studies are made of all
piant forms.
Dr. Sharon Kversman. a lichenologist and
biology instructor at Montana State Uni-
versity at Bozeman. reports that at the
ZAPS location, as in other areas around
the world, lichens show great sensitivity to
the sulfur dioxide fumes.
"After no more than 30 to 60 days of
exposure to the sulfur dioxide, the lichen
respiration rate goes down and the algal
cells begin to bleach." Dr. Hversman re-
ports. "The whole appearance of the lichen
which is normally a greenish gray becomes
yellowish.
"While the grasses don't appear to show
much difference between the progressively
more polluted ZAPS sites, the lichen cer-
tainly do. I think this is because the lichen
get all their water and nutrients through the
air. They have no roots and so there is no
filtering by the soil before the water and
nutrients are received."
Universities and their team leaders work-
ing on the research project under contract
with KPA are:
Colorado State University, Jerry Dodd:
Montana State University, John Taylor,
and the University of Montana, Clancy
Gordon.
Strip mining of the enormous coal supply
available in seams averaging 25 feet in
thickness was started by the Northern
Pacific Railway at C'olstrip in 1924. At that
time the coal was used to fuel steam
locomotive boilers. However, the railroad
discontinued its mining in 1958 when its
steam engines were replaced by diesel
locomotives.
In 1959 the Montana Power Company
acquired the Northern Pacific's large min-
ing machinery, the townsite of Colstrip and
mining leases covering 75 million tons of
coal resources. Western Energy, a coal
Catt/e browse on plains grass.
mining subsidiary of Montana Power, later
obtained additional leases in the Colstrip
area to bring the total to about 850 million
tons of coal resources.
Some of this coal is shipped to midwest-
ern utility companies in Illinois. Wisconsin
and Minnesota and much of it is used by
Montana Power Co. plants, including the
two new generating units in the coal mining
area known as Colstrip 1 and 2.
Dr. Glass estimates that KPA is spending
approximately $900.(XX) a year on the Col-
strip research project, with about half this
sum being spent by EPA scientists and the
remainder being used to finance work by
State universities and other Federal agen-
cies cooperating on this project.
"We hope to complete the project in
another year to two," said Dr. Glass "and
be in a position then to provide advice on
optional siting of power plants with the
least amount of environmental damage.
"Also, we hope to develop a protocol or
method for determining potential environ-
mental impact of power plant emissions
before the power plant is constructed.
which could be used by public and private
utilities and State and Federal Government
agencies in assessing power plant sites
before energy development occurs." •
PAGE 14
-------
NEW SPONGES FOUND
AT OCEAN DUMPSITE
'T'he sponges are white and vase-shaped.
• They are three to four feet tall and
grow in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of
3.(XX) feet. As far as is presently known, no
one has ever seen them before. Perhaps
more intriguingly, they have been found
growing on drums of radioactive waste
which were dumped into the ocean over 20
years ago.
But. despite considerable conjecture in the
news media, there is no connection be-
tween the size of the sponges and the fact
that they are growing on the drums of
radioactive wastes, according to Robert S.
Dyer. EPA's Office of Radiation Programs
oceanographer. who discovered these
sponges.
In early September 1976, a copyrighted
story appeared in an Oakland. Calif., news-
paper reporting that giant sponges were
thriving in a nuclear dumpsite. The story
reached the Associated Press, United
Press International, the major television
networks, and both the British and Cana-
dian broadcasting companies. Mr. Dyer
continues to receive many inquiries about
the sponges. On September 17. 1976. Dr.
William D. Rowe, Deputy Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Radiation Programs, testi-
fied in San Francisco before the House
Committee on Government Operations on
ocean disposal of radioactive wastes. At
the hearing, much interest was shown and
many questions were asked about the large
sponges seen by Mr. Dyer in the Farallon
Islands dumpsite area. 40 miles offshore
from San Francisco.
'T' he beginning of the story dates back to
1
July of 1974, when Mr. Dyer served
as chief scientist for a unique underwater
expedition (first reported in the KPA Jour-
nal, July/August, 1975). Using a remotely-
controlled submersible (an unmanned div-
ing vehicle equipped with sonar and video-
tape cameras) Mr. Dyer was able to locate
and examine clusters of drums at the now
disused Farallon Islands dumpsite. Some
2,500 55-gallon drums of low-level radioac-
tive waste generated by radiation laborato-
ries on the West coast had been dumped
there in 3,(KM) feet of water between 1951
and 1953.
The survey program began with the pas-
sage of the Marine Protection Research
and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (commonly
known as the Ocean Dumping Act) which
called upon FPA to develop regulations
and criteria controlling ocean disposal of all
pollutants. Since then, the Office of Radia-
tion Programs has concerned itself with
implementing the Ocean Dumping Act to
control the disposal of radioactive wastes.
In the course of this implementation, the
Office of Radiation Programs concluded
that one of the best approaches would be
to survey the old disposal sites, now dis-
used, because at those sites experts couid
learn about such things as the adequacy of
past radioactive waste packaging designs.
the biological diversity in the area, the
presence of ocean currents which might
disperse the radioactivity, and the accepta-
bility of those sites for any future disposal.
One of Mr. Dyer's major findings at the
Farallon Islands sites was that up to 25
percent of the approximately 150-200 bar-
rels surveyed had leaked a small amount of
plutonium. The radiation levels measured
in the sediment were very smali but were 2
to 25 times higher than the maximum
expected radiation levels that could have
occurred from weapons testing fallout. The
radioactivity was only measured in the
ocean bottom sediment. Mr. Dyer has
reported these findings to the House Com-
mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs and
the House Committee on Government Op-
erations and to the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Aus-
tria.
A secondary finding of the expedition was
that large sponges were growing on some
of the intact and breached barrels. "My
interest concerns whether or not there
might be some mechanism by which these
sponges could accelerate or decelerate cor-
Continued on page 23
Sponges growing on underwater drums of radioactive wastes.
-------
tainted clams
Region I specialists have found that clams
at the mouth of the Acushnet River, near
New Bedford, Mass., contain from four to
10 times as much PCB's as the Food and
Drug Administration says is safe. PCB's
are industrial chemicals that persist in the
environment and may cause cancer in
humans. There is no immediate danger
because clam beds in the area have been
closed for many years because of other
types of pollution.
city honored
Region I's wastewater treatment plant
award this year goes to Somersworth,
N.H., for excellence in operation and
maintenance. It is the first city in that State
to be chosen for the award, which is
designed to emphasize the importance of
proper treatment plant operation in water
pollution control.
'buzz-off
Sale of an "electronic" mosquito repeller
by two New York stores was recently
halted after Region H's Pesticide Branch
tested the device and found it ineffective.
The product, called "Buzz-Off," was the
second such device to be withdrawn from
the market under an EPA stop-sale order
in recent months.
" In general, our experience is that such
electronic units do not work," said Re-
gional Administrator Gerald M. Hansler,
"but we have to test each brand in the
laboratory and the field before issuing the
stop-sale order."
u.s. steel pact
Final agreement has been reached on dead-
lines the U.S. Steel Corporation must meet
in controlling its discharges of wastewater
at 87 points along the Monongaheia River
south of Pittsburgh. Specific limits, based
on the best practicable technology, must be
achieved by next July 1 for 72 of the
outfalls. The remaining 15 will be phased
into compliance from March 31, 1979 to
Nov. 30, 1981. The agreement between the
company and EPA follows extensive nego-
tiations with Region III officials over re-
ducing water pollution in the Monongaheia
Valley, one of the largest concentrations of
integrated steelmaking in the Nation.
new sulfur study
A novel technique for removing sulfur from
coal before it is burned will be tested under
a research contract recently awarded by
EPA to the General Electric Co.'s Valley
Forge, Pa., laboratory. The GE process
uses microwave radiation to drive both
organic and inorganic sulfur compounds
from the coal and then collects them in
stable, gaseous form.
The 18-month, 5227,000 study will test the
practical feasibility of the process, using
different sizes and feed rates for the coal
and different frequencies and intensities of
the microwaves. Probable costs will also be
investigated. Small-scale bench tests indi-
cate the process will be more economical
than mechanical and chemical methods of
cleaning sulfur from coal to reduce air
pollution by power plants.
unexpected hazard
When Region III officials recently in-
spected a chemical plant's wastewater dis-
charges, they discovered a wholly unex-
pected hazard: the intake for the plant's
own water supply, which included drinking
water for 1,300 employees, was a quarter-
mile downstream from the wastewater out-
let.
Officials of the E.I. duPont de Nemours
Co. at Belle, W. Va. promptly arranged to
connect to the municipal water system.
EPA inspectors had come to the duPont
plant to determine if its discharges, for
which the company had a permit, con-
tained any dimethyl nitrosamines (DNM),
which are toxic and can cause cancer.
Small amounts of DNM were found, and
they have been eliminated from the plant's
discharges into the Kanawha River.
birmingham air
Air pollution in the Birmingham, Ala., area
has been reduced about 33 percent since
the U.S. Steel Co. was forced to close its
open hearth furnaces in June, according to
tests made near the plant by the Jefferson
County Health Department.
Regional Administrator Jack E. Ravan said
he knew of "no more dramatic success"
than the Birmingham cleanup. During a
severe air inversion five years ago, EPA
sought and got a temporary shutdown of 23
large industrial plants.
In the last four years, Mr. Ravan noted,
pollution by particulates (dust, soot, and
smoke) has been reduced by 81 percent.
ohio sulfur
New regulations designed to cut sulfur
dioxide pollution in Ohio by 31 percent
were announced recently by Region V
Administrator George R. Alexander Jr.
The plan identifies 100 specific industrial
sources and 40 municipal sources and calls
for step-by-step compliance within three
years, either through use of low-sulfur fuels
or installation of control equipment.
Mr. Alexander said the plan allows indus-
tries some flexibility in cleanup methods
while protecting public health, its total cost
will be less than half the $1.23 billion
originally estimated.
bloomington sewage
A final environmental impact study for
sewage treatment facilities at Bloomington,
Ind., has been completed. The plant will
handle 15 million gallons of sewage per
day, using a two-stage activated-sludge
process, with sand filtration of the liquid
effluent. Treated sludge will be disposed of
by landfilling, and by composting and
spreading on cropland, or both. The new
plant will supersede an old one two miles
away.
PAGE 16
-------
spill prevention
Region VI officials have inspected nearly
500 oil handling and storage facilities so far
this year to check on their plans for spill
prevention, control, and countermeasures.
Only about half were found to be in full
compliance with EPA guidelines. The in-
spection program, still under way, includes
off-shore wells and pumping stations in the
Gulf waters of Texas and Louisiana.
seminars
EPA representatives are taking part in a
series of seminars on Federal "block
grants" for housing and community devel-
opment at various Texas cities. The two-
day meetings started in September and will
reach about 250 municipal officers. Six
State agencies, the Department of the
Interior, Department of Housing and Ur-
ban Development, and the Council on
Environmental Quality are also involved.
Regional Administrator John C. White is
scheduled to speak at the Corpus Christi
seminar Dec. 9.
prairie photos
One of the Midwest's natural beauties, the
tall-grass prairie, has been captured in
photographs by Patricia Duncan of Lake
Quivira, Kan., one of EPA's Documerica
photographers, in a show that opened late
last summer in Kansas City.
Ms. Duncan has recorded the changing
moods of the prairie, its landscape, plants,
animals, and people over the last 20 years.
The multimedia show used nearly 1,000
slides displayed through nine projectors
and keyed to stereophonic music. It also
shows more than 40 still photographs with
captions describing various prairie scenes
and lifestyles.
The exhibit is now touring the country as
part of the Smithsonian Institution's Trav-
eling Exhibition Service.
waste conference
Missouri legislators and State officials from
Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois will
meet in Jefferson City, Mo., Dec. 6 and 7
for the Missouri Hazardous Waste Legisla-
tive Conference. EPA is funding the meet-
ing, which will discuss both State and
Federal roles in dealing with the disposal
and control of waste materials that are
toxic or otherwise perilous to man and the
environment. Case studies will be pre-
sented, including the mercury poisoning
episode in Minamata. Japan, and the dioxin
incident in Missouri.
Chester McLaughlin, an engineer with Re-
gion VII's Waste Management Section, is
assisting the Missouri League of Women
Voters in preparing for the meeting.
high-altitude driving
A year-long program for testing car and
truck performance at high altitude is near-
ing completion at Automotive Testing Lab-
oratories, Inc., in the Denver suburb of
Aurora. The firm, under contract to EPA.
has been checking various makes and
models to see how well their emission
control equipment operates in the thinner
air that prevails 6,000 feet above sea level.
Final phase of the work involved tests of
some 40 different recent models, whose
owners volunteered for the program after
being solicited by newspaper and radio
announcements.
The car owner received a $25 savings bond
if his car showed low levels of pollutant
emissions. If the car did not "pass." the
owner got a S50 bond and a rental car
while the ATL mechanics gave his car a
free tune-up.
listening sessions
Citizens concerned with environmental
quality had a chance to hear what is being
done about it and to sound off with ques-
tions and criticisms in three Colorado cities
recently at "listening sessions" (other Re-
gions have called them Town Meetings).
They were sponsored by the Colorado
Municipal League, EPA, and the city gov-
ernments of Grand Junction, Durango, and
Pueblo.
Region VIII Administrator John Green
attended the first two sessions to speak for
EPA, and Dr. Cooper H. Wayman, En-
ergy Activities Director, attended the third.
managing growth
Region IX was host to a Growth Manage-
ment Seminar Sept. 12-14 on the effects
EPA programs may have on housing, land
use, coastal zones, and related issues.
Representatives from four EPA Regions,
Headquarters, other Federal agencies, and
State and local governments attended, as
well as private lawyers and real estate
developers. The seminar dealt with con-
flicts that can occur between economic
growth and environmental protection and
discussed methods of resolving such con-
flicts. Its recommendations were discussed
at the September meeting of Regional Ad-
ministrators. The Office of Land Use Co-
ordination is planning to conduct a similar
seminar on the East Coast.
contaminated gas
The Tesoro-Alaskan Petroleum Co. of An-
chorage has been assessed a civil penalty
of $19,500 for violating EPA regulations on
unleaded gasoline. Routine EPA inspec-
tions last March found that the firm was
selling "unleaded" gasoline that contained
more than 0.5 grams of lead per gallon at
four retail outlets on Alaska's Kenai Penin-
sula.
The company signed a consent agreement
with EPA, neither admitting or denying the
violations, but acceding to the recom-
mended penalty. Region X Administrator
Donald P. Dubois said it was the largest
penalty ever levied for such a violation.
The contamination is believed to be due to
use of a common pipeline for both leaded
and unleaded gas at the company's refin-
ery. Leaded gas "poisons"—permanently
spoils the effectiveness of—the catalytic
converters that control air pollution from
most late-model automobiles. An independ-
ent distributor, Doyle's Fuel Service, Inc..
Kenai, agreed to pay a civil penalty of
$900. Both companies have taken steps to
prevent further contamination, Mr. Dubois
said.
PAGE 17
-------
A newly formed position. Dep-
uty Assistant Administrator for
Mobile Sources Enforcement
and Noise Enforcement, has
been filled by Norman I). Shut-
ler who has been acting in that
capacity since last May. Dr.
Shtitlei 's former po.sts included
serving as Acting Deputy As-
sistant Administrator for Gen-
eral Enforcement and Director.
Mobile Source Enforcement
Division. He received an EPA
Bronze Medal for Commenda-
ble Service in 1973.
HPA Printing Management Of-
ficers were honored twice in
October for their two-year-old
program that employs mentally
handicapped persons. Through
the efforts of Henry Washing-
Ion, EPA Printing Officer, and
Roland Sorenson, EPA Deputy
Printing Officer, nine people
are working at copy centers
located at Waterside Mall and
Crystal Mall. On October 1 the
District of Columbia Associa-
tion for Retarded Citi/.ens pre-
sented an award to Mr. Wash-
ington as an Outstanding Em-
ployer of Persons with Mental
Retardation. The National As-
sociation for Retarded Citizens
chose EPA as the third place
winner in the Employer of the
Year government category.
Mr. Sorenson accepted that
award for the Agency on Octo-
ber 20.
Two men from EPA Head-
quarters have been named to
participate in the President's
Executive Interchange Pro-
gram. They are Gregory On-
dich of the Office of Interna-
tional Activities and Dennis
Tirpak of the Office of Re-
search and Development. The
EPA executives are among 18
who were picked for this year's
program. The seven-year-old
program, which selects govern-
ment employees to work in
private industry for one to two
years, is designed to familiarize
Federal executives with the
perspectives, goals, and opera-
tions of their counterparts out-
side the government service.
Mr. Tirpak has already started
working for the Aluminum
Company of America in Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. On-
dich will be leaving soon for
his assignment with Gulf Oil
Company in Denver, Colo-
rado.
Mark Pi.sano, Director of the
Water Planning Division, Of-
fice of Water and Hazardous
Materials, has resigned to take
the post of Executive Director
of the Southern California Area
Governments, a council of
governments in the Los Ange-
les area.
Mr. Pisano joined EPA's Pro-
gram Development Office in
April, 1971. Since his appoint-
ment to the Planning Director's
post in 1972 he has been work-
ing with State and regional
governmenta! agencies to plan
water resources management,
including the 208 areawide
water quality management pro-
gram.
PEOPLE
Race car driver Bobby Unser
has joined the effort to clean
up the environment. As part of
a program sponsored by EPA's
Region V office, the two-time
winner of the Indianapolis 500
is appearing at clean air clinics
to answer questions about auto
maintenance and performance
and to tell drivers in the Mid-
west how they can get better
gas mileage while keeping the
air clean. Local environmental
groups and agencies in Region
V and the Chicago EPA staff
are sponsoring clean air clinics
and follow-up meetings about
clean air strategy. Motorists
drive in for a three-minute test
that analyzes pollutants in auto
exhaust. They get the results of
the emissions test and guide-
lines for tuning to improve the
car's performance. Most cars
tested fail to meet auto emis-
sion standards. "I'm doing this
to show people that if their
cars are out of tune they are
losing money by buying more
gas and getting the air dirty."
said Mr. Unser at a clean air
clinic in Cleveland. In addition
to his six-city tour promoting
tune-ups the veteran of 27
years in car racing is making
TV and radio spot announce-
ments for Agency use and a
public service film about the
role of engine maintenance in
preventing air pollution.
Henry Longest, Director of the
Water Division in Region V,
has been chosen to succeed
Louis Decamp as Associate
Deputy Assistant Administra-
tor for Water Program Opera-
tions at headquarters. The ap-
pointment was announced by
John T. Rhett, Deputy Assist-
ant Administrator for Water
Program Operations. Mr. De-
camp is retiring.
Richard G. Rhoad.s has been
named Director of the Control
Programs Development
Division at Research Triangle
Park. He has been acting
director since May of this year.
replacing Jean J. Schueneman.
Mr. Rhoad.s. who has a
bachelor's degree in
aeronautical engineering from
Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, was formerly Chief of
the Standards Implementation
Branch. He joined EPA in
1973 after working as an
aircraft designer and an
operations analyst for the
Department of Defense.
Richard D. Wilson, Former Di-
rector of the Stationary
Sources Enforcement Division,
has been named Deputy As-
sistant Administrator for Gen-
eral Enforcement. He succeeds
Robert L. Baum. recently
named Special Assistant to the
Administrator. Previously Mr.
Wilson has been Acting Dep-
uty Assistant Administrator for
General Enforcement and Spe-
cial Assistant to the Deputy
Assistant Administrator for
General Enforcement. He re-
ceived an EPA Silver Medal
for Superior Service in 1975.
Before joining the Agency he
was a Technical Advisor to (he
Assistant Commissioner of the
National Air Pollution Control
Administration.
PAGF 18
-------
. , * K
Administrator Russell E. Train
has announced the appointment
of Harriet Marple to fill the
new post of Judicial Officer.
She will act as the Administra-
tor's principal advisor in judi-
cial decisions arising out of
EPA's regulatory programs.
Ms. Marple is an honors grad-
uate of Radcliffe College and
was graduated from Harvard
Law School. She comes to
EPA from a post as counsel
for environmental matters at
International Paper Company.
Previously Ms. Marple was
Deputy General Counsel for
the New York City Environ-
mental Protection Administra-
tion, and served for four years
as an associate with the law
firm of Kelley. Drye & Warren
in New York City.
On October 1 Alvin Aim, EPA
Assistant Administrator for
Planning and Management and
William Pierce. Acting U.S.
Commissioner of Education,
signed a cooperative agreement
to promote the training of envi-
ronmental quality management
personnel. The EPA/USOE
agreement note:; a demand for
more and better qualified work-
ers at all professional levels to
meet environmental objectives.
EPA will support interagency
efforts to fill these needs
through existing programs. The
agreement stresses the career
possibilities and employment
opportunities that can be devel-
oped by training people in en-
vironmental technologies. Man-
uals and technical assistance
will be available to State and
local environmental and educa-
tional groups through the Re-
gional Offices.
Donald B. Mausshardt has been
selected by Peter Cashman as
Deputy Director of the Office
of Intergovernmental
Relations, pending approval by
the Civil Service Commission.
He replaces George
Alexander. Mr. Mausshardt's
EPA service includes positions
as Chief. Implementation
Branch. Solid Waste
Management Program; Chief,
Technical Support Branch.
Region X; and Chief.
Laboratory Support Branch.
Region X. Previously he
worked for the Federal Water
Pollution Control
Administration and the U.S.
Public Health Service. In
1973-74 he was a Presidential
Interchange Executive.
Dr. David T. Tingey, a commis-
sioned officer in the U.S. Pub-
lic Health Service who is as-
signed to EPA's Environmen-
tal Research Laboratory in
Corvallis, Ore., as a plant
physiologist, has been awarded
the Public Health Service
Commendation Medal.
The award was presented in
recognition of Dr. Tingey's
contributions to research on
the effects of environmental
pollutants on vegetation. He is
credited with overseeing devel-
opment of the Corvallis Labo-
ratory's greenhouse studies
after they were transferred to
the Oregon laboratory from
North Carolina in 1973.
Alexander D. Hicks of the Re-
gion X Office in Seattle was
honored recently at the first
National Conference of the
National Council of Minority
Engineers. Mr. Hicks, who is
the Director of the Regional
Office of Civil Rights and Ur-
ban Affairs, received a plaque
praising his efforts in minority
affairs and cooperation with
other Federal agencies in that
field.
Roger L. Williams has been
named by Region VIII Admin-
istrator John A. Green to the
post of Deputy Regional Ad-
ministrator of the EPA office
in Denver. He will replace
Donald R. Dubois, contingent
upon approval by the Civil
Service Commission. Mr. Du-
bois is now Regional Adminis-
trator in the EPA Seattle of-
fice.
Mr. Williams. 38. is presently
Assistant to John Quarles.
EPA Deputy Administrator.
and Director of the Office of
Operations Coordination. He
served as Director of the Of-
fice of Program and Manage-
ment Operations at EPA from
1972 to 1975.
Before joining the Agency in
1971. Mr. Williams, a geolo-
gist, served in the Office of the
Secretary of the Interior, pro-
viding policy guidance and co-
ordination on energy and min-
eral resources development.
He also served as senior pro-
gram advisor. Division of En-
vironmental Activities. Federal
Bureau of Mines. He has a
bachelor's degree in geology
from American University in
Washington, D.C., and has
done graduate work in his field.
Walter C. Barber Jr., Director
of the Planning and Evaluation
Division in the Office of Plan-
ning and Management, has
been selected as Deputy As-
sistant Administrator for Air
Quality Planning and Stand-
ards.
He will succeed Dr. Ber-
nard J. Steijjerwald, who. at his
request, is being reassigned to
the post of Director of Re-
gional Programs in the Air
Quality Planning and Standards
Office. Research Triangle
Park. N. C. Dr. Stcigeiwald
recently received the Federal
Environmental Engineering
Award. He was chosen from a
field of 35 Federal engineers
doing work in environmental
fields.
PAGE 19
-------
REGION X
By Robert H. Jacobson
Question: What do Pocatello. Idaho, and
Fairbanks. Alaska, have in common'.'
Answer: Nol much.
Pocatello and Fairbanks arc about as
different as Russell Train and Mu-
hammed Ali. yel both cities are part of
the United States Environmental Protec-
tion Agency's largest region, a four-state
area that takes in Idaho. Oregon. Wash-
ington and Alaska.
The distance from Pocatello to l-'air-
banks is 2000 miles, about as far as from
Philadelphia to Mexico City.
Yet. unlike as the two cities are. and
despite the distance between them. Poca-
tello and Fairbanks do have similarities,
most of which have to do with environ-
mental problems connected with industrial
growth.
In Fairbanks, the impact of the Prudhoe
Bay oilfield development has already had
great impact on the city. And in Poca-
tello. the planned large-scale development
of phosphate mining in southeastern
Idaho threatens to change the entire char-
acter of the Pocatello region.
Fairbanks and Pocatello represent just
two of the more dramatic examples of the
single element that is common to the
812.000 square miles that make up HPA's
Robert H. JdCfihxon i.v a Region X Public
Information Specialist.
I hi- Seattle waterfront.
PAGE 20
Region X. The single common element:
change.
Change is increasing the environmental
stresses on Alaska and the Pacific North-
west. Pollution control agencies in the
region not only have to prescribe reme-
dies to cure past and present environmen-
tal abuses, they must—perhaps more than
in any other part of the country—apply
preventive medicine to protect natural
assets that, as yet. remain unspoiled.
Until the last few years. Alaska and the
Pacific Northwest had been thought of as
an area of majestic mountains, lush for-
ests, abundant hydroelectric power, lots
offish, pure drinking water, exhilaratingly
fresh air. and plenty of beautiful scenery
you could look at as long as it wasn't
raining.
This popular perception is mostly true.
But ii's less true now than it was a feu
years ago.
A more accurate and updated descrip-
tion of the region could be provided by
Donald P. Duhois. FPA's Regional Ad-
ministrator in Seattle.
Dubois would be more apt to discuss
Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in
terms of such problems as:
Alarming declines in salmon and steel-
head populations caused by damming up
the Columbia and Snake Rivers, carbon
monoxide alerts in Spokane and Fair-
banks, the discovery of asbestos in the
drinking water of Kverett and Seattle,
serious soil erosion in the dry-land farm-
ing areas of the Inland Empire, the
ravages of the tussock moth on Douglas
fir forests, aviation noise that may cause
the removal of hundreds of homes around
the Seattle-Tacoma airport.
The sedimentation of thousands of miles
of streams by logging roads, threatened
brown-outs by the Bonneville Power Ad-
ministration, elevated levels of lead in the
blood of children living around the
Bunker Hill lead and zinc smelter in
Kellogg, Idaho, the potential economic
extinction of one-company towns where
pulp mill owners threaten to close down
rather than install pollution control equip-
ment, or the loss of an entire year's grape
crop caused by the drift of a pesticide
used on another crop in an adjoining
county.
M
r. Duhois has his hands full in Seat-
tle. His laundry list of environmental
-------
problems is a familiar litany to EPA
Regional Administrators in other parts of
the country. A few of his concerns arc
unique. A good example is the timber
industry.
If Joyce Kilmer had been an environ-
mental control officer and not a poet, he
might have written that he would never
see a poem as troublesome as a tree.
Trees. It's the literally millions of trees
in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest that
are the source of some of EPA's major
concerns in Region X.
A few years ago. the protection of
Douglas fir stands in Idaho. Oregon and
Washington was one of the Agency's
principal preoccupations. Faced with the
threatened defoliation of vast tracts of
timber because of the tussock moth infes-
tation. EPA granted the U.S. Forest
Service an emergency use permit to spray
more than 4(K),000 acres of Douglas fir
with DDT. Although the spray opera-
tion—coupled with a natural collapse of
the tussock moth infestation—saved un-
told numbers of board feet of timber.
EPA's approval of the use of DDT was
not a popular one. To some, the approval
came too late. To others, the approval
should not have come at all.
Late this summer EPA announced a
significant breakthrough in handling future
outbreaks of the tussock moth by approv-
ing a natural virus for use by the Forest
Service. The virus promises to prevent
outbreaks from becoming epidemics, and
advances EPA efforts for integrated pest
management on America's forests and
farms.
There !.^s been other progress, too.
EPA is moving rapidly ahead with a
program to control the nonpoint sources
of pollution from all phases of silvicul-
ture, and is bringing under control serious
problems presented by the Region's pulp
and paper mills.
A cornerstone of the Region X ap-
proach to environmental problems is
the recognition of rapidly changing cir-
cumstances.
Things change fast in Alaska and the
Pacific Northwest.
At the beginning of the 197C"s. a chief
environmental concern was whether to
build the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Now.
the question is not the pipeline, but what
do you do with the oil that comes out of
it? Where does the oil go?
One possibility is to bring the Alaskan
crude into Puget Sound, where, according
to one proposal, oil tankers would have
to navigate the tricky narrow straits be-
tween the San Juan Islands. Some ob-
servers insist the risk of oil spills is high.
Others are questioning whether the
airsheds around the tanker terminals can
withstand the release of hydrocarbons
from the unloading and transfer opera-
tions. There's concern that the hydrocar-
bons may generate a widespread photo-
chemical oxidant problem because of their
interaction with nitrogen oxides and sun-
light.
Sunlight? In the Pacific Northwest?
Yes. it's true. The sun does shine in the
Northwest. In fact, there was so much
sun during the summer of 1973 that the
first alarms were sounded about future
power shortages. For an area of the
country that had relied almost exclusively
on hydroelectric power, a sudden and
unexpected shortage of rain dried up the
flows that kept Northwest turbines spin-
ning, knocked Northwesterners out of
their complacency, and sent planners to
the drawing boards to plan nuclear plants
for future energy needs.
It also stops raining long enough for
major cities of the Northwest—Seattle.
Spokane, Portland. Fairbanks and, lately.
even Boise and Anchorage—to undergo
periods of weather inversions that create
air pollution alerts. Too many cars, too
many people.
If it weren't for the cars and the people,
EPA's job would be a lot easier. That's
why local environmentalists often try to
discourage people from coming to the
Northwest.
There's a worn-out joke that some EPA
regional staffers like to pull on out-of-
towners who drop into the office.
The visitors are told that if they look out
the windows in the morning and can see
Mount Rainier, that means it will be
raining by afternoon.
And. if the visitor asks, what it 1 can't
see Mount Rainier?
Then, the visitor is told, that means it's
raining already. •
REGION X'S LEADERSHIP TEAM
Donald ['. Dubois
Regional Administrator
L. Kdwin Coate
Deputy Regional
Administrator
Michael I.. Anderson
Director, Management
Division
Douglas C. Hanson
Director. Air and
Ha/ardous Materials
Division
Robert S. liurd
Director. Water Division
Theodore K. Rogouski
Regional ( mmsi'l
Gary L,. O'Neal
Director. Survcillanc
Analysis Division
Lloyd A. Reed
and Director.
Enforcement Division
Alexandra B. Smith
Director. Office of
Federal Affairs
Mary M. Neilson
Director. Office of
Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs
Alexander D. Hicks
Director, Office of
Civil Rights and
Urban Affairs
DonaM R miss Jr.
Director. Office of
Public All:.us
PAGF 21
-------
THE CROWDED OUTDOORS
By Thomas A. Waite
Most of the year, obtaining reserva-
tions to stay in a good Seattle hotel
isn't much of a problem. The same can't
be said of reserving camp sites in Wash-
ington State's National Parks.
Within the last three years, crowding
and overuse have forced Mount Rainier
and the North Cascades National Parks
to initiate back country campsite reserva-
tion systems and to severely limit the use
of fragile high country areas. Olympic
National Park is also expected to start a
reservations system soon.
I was born in Washington State, and
I've lived in Seattle, the largest (and
dampest) major city in Region X, for 19
of my 29 years. I started backpacking in
the late 1950's. Then I could hike to an
alpine lake in the mountains near Seattle
on a summer Saturday and see only three
or four other people. Now the trail to the
same lake is still only an hour's drive
from Seattle, but on a July or August
weekend two hundred or more day hikers
can be found stomping their way through
the mud and rocks to the lake.
I've recently backpacked into grand
"holes" in the Cascades—high narrow
valleys surrounded by glaciated peaks—
where my hiking partner and 1 saw only
two people in a week's time. But the
trails into those areas typically are several
hours' drive from Seattle. Moreover, for
the same solitude that was so easily
obtainable as little as ten years ago, I
must now hike to higher areas of rock,
snow, and ice which are accessible only
by traversing steep snowfields or roping
up to cross some unpredictable glaciers.
This increased use of outdoor areas is
producing both reaction and counter-reac-
tion. A prominent Seattle mountaineer is
suing the Superintendent of Mount Rain-
ier National Park because of restrictions
on the number of climbers who can camp
at any one time on the Nisqually Glacier,
a several-thousand-acre sheet of ice. The
same suit also seeks to halt the Park
Service's plan to close certain Park roads
and presumably restrict the number of
people visiting several popular alpine
meadows.
I experienced overcrowding this last
Memorial Day weekend (typically rainy)
in the beach portion of Olympic National
Park. With many people having the same
Thumax A. Wnile ix a Region X Enforce-
ment l)i\-i.\i
-------
friends tell me that it's become increas-
ingly difficult to find an area free from
snowmobile traffic. Regional Counsel Ted
Rogowski, an avid fly fisherman, claims
that fishing in the East is better than he's
found in Washington State, an area once
noted for its trout and salmon fishing.
The same problems are occurring in
California and Colorado, and my New
England friends tell me Bostonians are
heading for the New Hampshire moun-
tains in record numbers. But in the
Pacific Northwest I detect that people are
thinking "we didn't think rapid develop-
ment could happen here, but if it's going
to, we're going to control how it hap-
pens." This may be due in part to the
high level of formal education among
Seattle's population (I'm sure I know far
more unemployed lawyers and engineers
than my friends in Boston. San Fran-
cisco, or Chicago know). A significant
portion of the population is opposed to
Alaskan oil being shipped into Puget
Sound, and a pending controversy in
Federal court involves the constitutional-
ity of a State statute limiting the size of
tankers allowed to enter Puget Sound.
There have been victories for the envi-
ronment and for the "Pacific Northwest
lifestyle." An Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Area has been created an hour's drive
from Seattle. No supertanker port inside
Puget Sound appears likely for the imme-
diate future. Hells Canyon of the Snake
River will be kept free of dams.
But many problems threaten to make the
Seattle area another Los Angeles. The
Green River Valley truck farms south of
Seattle are threatened with industrial de-
velopment (as are other agricultural val-
leys in the State); the Trident Naval Base
on the Kitsap peninsula west of Seattle
will increase that area's population by a
quarter in the next three years.
Seattleites. however, haven't yet solved
two of the city's major problems (which
some say are connected): the long rainy
periods and high suicide rates.
Rapid growth is ahead for Washington
State and Region X in general. In An-
chorage, the bumper stickers, referring to
the pipeline boom, say "Happiness is
10,000 Texans going home with an Okie
under each arm." In Seattle and Port-
land, we're a little more sophisticated.
We tell visitors Mark Twain's story that
the mildest winter he ever spent was a
summer on Puget Sound. If you visited
Seattle during the last two Augusts, you
know just how true that was. •
sponge
Continued from page 15
rosion of the metal drums at their point of
attachment." Mr. Dyer said. He is still
investigating potential effects the sponges
have on the corrosion rate of the waste
containers.
Sponges are plantlike sea animals that
attach themselves to fixed objects and
grow in colonies. They come in various
shapes and colors. Their skeletons are
highly compressible and absorbant. making
them well suited for cleansing purposes,
after softer body parts have decayed or
washed away. The sponges discovered by
Mr. Dyer are of the class Hexactinellida—
having skeletons so translucent that they
often resemble spun glass.
"One sponge specimen was brought back
by the unmanned submersible", Mr. Dyer
reported. "It was analysed, and we didn't
find any measurable radioactivity in it. 1
subsequently sent the specimen to Dr. G.
J. Bakus. professor of marine biology at
the University of Southern California. He
has classified the sponge as a previously
unknown genus. I have also shown docu-
mentation of the sponge to persons at the
Smithsonian Institution. They found it to
be rather interesting and made photomicro-
graphs of the sponge spicules. but they also
could not immediately identify the sponge
as a specifically known genus. If any
scientists are interested in this, we do have
most of the documentation that would be
necessary for at least a preliminary taxon-
omic look.
"In my opinion, the sponges we observed
are not giant mutant sponges. They are
simply large sponges, probably of an un-
described genus, that happen to be growing
on radioactive waste containers but could
just as well have been growing on a rock,
or any other hard object on the bottom. In
the dumpsite area that we explored, the sea
bottom is primarily mud, and sponges need
something firm to attach to in order to
grow. The drums provided suitable areas of
attachment. Even if those drums had been
empty, the sponges would have undoubt-
edly grown in the same way.
"The radioactive waste leaking from those
drums contains plutonium. Plutonium emits
alpha rays, and an alpha particle does not
go very far before it loses energy. If an
alpha particle is emitted, and you have
water on your hands, the water will absorb
the alpha particle before it hits your skin.
Thus, even if a drum were leaking low
levels of alpha particles, they would not
affect the sponge, unless the sponges were
ingesting seawater contaminated with the
plutonium. but we found no measurable
radioactivity in them.
"Most marine organisms are fairly resist-
ant to radioactivity, especially in their adult
forms. Sponges are radioresistant. and
since the levels of contamination from
leaks that we have discovered in the area
are extremely small, and since no measura-
ble level of contamination was found in
analyzing the sponges, I cannot find any
reason at this time to conclude that the
plutonium would have any mutagenic effect
on the sponges.
"It is interesting to note, however, that
the many foundations and groups who have
been doing marine research off the West
Coast for years have not previously discov-
ered this sponge. This is just one more
example of how little is really known about
deepsea life. At 3.000 foot depths, biologi-
cal specimens are normally collected by
trawling. Since these sponges have at-
tached themselves to the hard, smooth
surface of the barrels they would be very
hard to remove by trawl nets.
"So from our point of view, there is
nothing threatening about either the radio-
activity or the sponges. What is more
significant is that we have now completed
our fourth submersible survey of deep-
ocean disposal sites and have gained much
information on the biota found in the
dumpsite areas. We again surveyed the
Farallon Islands in 1975 at a depth of 6,000
feet; however, we saw none of the interest-
ing sponges discovered at the 3,000-foot
depth. We also surveyed an Atlantic site at
9.000 feet in 1975. and we have completed
a more comprehensive survey of that site
at the same depth in August. We will be
learning more about the fate of the radioac-
tive materials in these sites as the analyti-
cal results start coming in," Mr. Dyer said.
A sked about any health threat which
•^^ might be posed by the small levels of
plutonium contamination which have been
detected. Mr. Dyer replied that "man can't
swim down to 3.000 feet and he doesn't
drink salt water. The only way man might
be affected is through the food chain.
Eating a fish, such as sable fish, caught in
that area would be the only significant
food-chain pathway to man, but plutonium,
the radioactive contaminant found in the
area, does not appreciably bioconcentrate
in marine animals. Plutonium is a heavy
metal which generally passes through the
digestive tract of fish, without being assimi-
lated. All this means that, beside the fact
that the contamination is far below levels
which can produce harm to human health,
there is no significant pathway for bringing
humans in contact with the plutonium.
"If there were a health threat." Mr. Dyer
added, "I'd be the first to ring the
aJarm."B
PAGE 23
-------
INQUIRY
Is interest in the environment waning?
Roy Kvans, Chief. Air Quality Branch,Envi-
ronmental Monitoring and Support Labora-
tory, Las Vegas, Nevada: "Concern for the
environment that led to EPA's creation is
not the emotional issue it was some years
hack. The media today is less strident in
calling for immediate environmental clean-
up, but it does continue to present news
that jars people out of complacency. Cov-
erage of the presence of PCB's in lakes
and rivers and the probable threat to the
ozone by fluorocarbons refocus public at-
tention on environmental hazards.
"Out here in the West where there were
once large areas of really clean air. people
are beginning to worry about the quality of
their air. They are aware that large power
plants pollute and they wonder whether all
progress—the building ol large industrial
complexes—is necessarily good. The deci-
sion not to build the huge Kaiparowits
plant in southeastern Utah near Lake Pow-
ell was in part influenced by opposition
from local people, environmental groups.
and the Indian communities there. General-
i/ed emotion about the environment has
been replaced by informed concern focus-
ing on specific and local issues."
Warren T. McFall, Coordinator. Construc-
tion Grants. Boise. Idaho Operations Of-
fice, Region X: "I've been with KPA. and
its predecessor agency since 1967, so I've
seen the public's interest in the environ-
ment gradually grow, peak in the early
1970's and then decline. People. I think,
are tired of talking and hearing about the
environment and its problems. This hap-
pens whenever an issue is given the super-
saturalion treatment that ecology was
given; also, extremists in the movement
cried doom and destruction so many times.
that, when doomsday did not arrive imme-
diately, many people became cynical about
the necessity for environmental protection
and were turned off.
"The economic maladjustments of the last
few years diverted attention from the long-
range problems EPA deals with to the
more immediate bread-and-butter issues. If
you have a good job and can afford a
vacation and use the vacation to explore
the beauty of the sea. or of mountains.
lakes or the desert, then you are inclined to
be concerned about the preservation of
these wonders. But today many people
have neither jobs nor vacation money, and
hence a diminished concern.
"Probably when the economy improves
there will be a reawakening of public
support. "
Ksther Reed, Staff Assistant. Office of
Legislation. Headquarters: "No I don't
think interest in the environment is in
decline. There may have been a slump last
year, but momentum has been regained in
1976. Now there is not the heady enthusi-
asm of the first Earth Day. but people are
more knowledgeable than they were in
1970 and they are aware of how expensive
cleaning up the environment will be. In
part their concern may be a spin-off from
the Bicentennial celebration and its empha-
sis upon the American heritage. Also, there
has been a lot of bad news this year—the
widespread Kepone contamination in the
James River and Chesapeake Bay. the
toxic chemical compounds of Mirex and
PCB's in the Hudson and Lakes Erie and
Ontario, the worry about fluorocarbons in
the atmosphere and possible carcinogens in
some drinking water supplies. "
Phillip Relallk-k, Environmental Protection
Specialist. Region 111. Philadelphia. Penn-
sylvania: "The environment, as an emo-
tional movement, has declined I think,
since its heyday in the early 70's. Results.
or visual improvements in our surround-
ings—lakes, rivers, city air, seashores, to
name a few,—did not come quickly enough
to keep popular interest at a high peak.
However, the specialized environmental
organizations like the Sierra Club, the
Environmental Defense Fund, or the Au-
dubon Society remain strong and they
continue to be effective lobbyists. The
general public is not uninterested. Hut is
inclined to leave the active and continuing
battles for water and air cleanup to the
elitist groups.
"There is a vacuum for EPA to fill here.
Our tusk should be to educate the public so
that gradually the country will develop an
environmental conscience or ethic. "
Dr. Fred K. Kiiuahara, Research Chemist.
Environmental Monitoring and Support
Laboratory. Cincinnati. Ohio: "In the last
decade, the public jumped on the 'environ-
mental awareness' bandwagon. Ecology
suddenly became a common topic of con-
versation, the latest fad, the 'in' thing in
which lo become involved. The sheer num-
ber of laymen ecologists forced men in high
places to realize that people were con-
cerned about the biosphere and the threats
to it.
"Today, at first glance, it may appear that
the public is no longer so keenly interested.
since many of the 'faddists' are missing.
However, upon closer inspection, it can be
seen that although the quantity of amateur
ecologists has decreased, their quality is
steadily increasing, to the point that these
ecoiogists can no longer be classified as
amateurs.
"Now. many colleges and universities arc
offering baccalaureate and advanced de-
grees in the field of environmental studies.
Warren T. McFall
Esther Reed
Phillip Retullick
Dr. Fred K. Kavvahara
PAGE 24
-------
"briefs
DEPOSIT LAWS APPROVED IN MAINE AND MICHIGAN
State laws requiring deposits on all beer and soft drink containers
were approved by voters in Maine and Michigan in the Nov. 2 election,
but similar referendum proposals were defeated in Massachusetts and
Colorado. Oregon and Vermont already have mandatory deposit laws
for beverage containers.
JOHNSON NAMED TO NEW POST
Kenneth L. Johnson, EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Boston,
Mass., has been named Acting Assistant Administrator for Toxic
Substances. The new Toxic Substances Control Act authorized the
formation of a new office of Toxic Substances. Deputy Administrator
John R. Quarles Jr., in announcing the appointment of Mr. Johnson,
said "We are establishing this Office immediately in order to begin
a sound and aggressive toxic substances program. We have an enormous
task at hand in developing and carrying out programs under the new
Act. "
ARIZONA VOTERS SUPPORT AUTO INSPECTION-MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
Arizona voters on Nov. 2 upheld that State's program for inspection
and maintenance of automobile pollution control systems. They
rejected, 53 to 47 percent, a referendum proposal that would have
repealed the State's inspection and maintenance law that took effect
last January. The law applies to cars registered in Maricopa and
Pima Counties (Phoenix and Tucson).
FEDERAL FUNDS TO BE WITHHELD
EPA has placed Del Monte de Puerto Rico, Inc., on a list requiring
Federal agencies to withhold Federal contracts, grants and loans
from industries. The list applies to industries found in violation
of air or water pollution standards. The Del Monte de Puerto Rico
facility, which discharges 2,600,000 gallons per day of tuna
processing wastes into the Mayaguez Bay in Puerto Rico, was found
in violation of water pollution standards. It is the first
facility to be placed on the list.
PAGE 25
-------
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (A 107)
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Return this page if you do NOT wish to receive this publication ( ». or if change of address is needed ( ), list change, including zip code.
BASS IN THE POTOMAC
Largernouth bass, one of America's.
most popular game fish, are being
caught in the Potomac River at Washing-
ton, long regarded as one of the Nation's
most polluted river areas.
James A. Combs, a program analyst in
EPA's Office of Radiation Programs, told
EPA Journal he has been catching bass
since October, 1975, in the stretch of the
river between Chain Bridge and National
Airport within the city limits.
"On my best day I caught a dozen
keeper bass—over 12 inches long," he
said. "The largest bass I've caught in the
Potomac weighed about five and a half
pounds."
Mr. Combs said that he belongs to an
organization called Potomac Bass Masters
of Virginia.
"As far as we can determine, serious
bass fishermen have not been fishing the
Potomac, because they were under the
impression the river was too polluted to
support game fish. We knew there were
cattish and carp, which can tolerate pollu-
tion, but we were surprised to find so
many bass."
Mr. Combs does not eat his Potomac
bass. "I throw them back, although they
certainly look as if they are very
healthy."
While bass are not as finicky as trout
about clean water, Mr. Combs said they
are "normally considered good indicators
of reasonably clean water." Since he
started fishing the Potomac for bass.
using mostly artificial worms for bait. Mr.
Combs said he has caught nearly 100
largemouth bass. He added that some of
his friends have also hooked smallmouth
bass in the Potomac.
Mr. Comb's boat is equipped with an
electronic depth finder, which can also
show the presence of fish. "My scope
shows the river teeming with fish life."
William Mason, an aquatic biologist at
Bass caught in the Potomac.
the Potomac River Commission, said he
had not heard of significant numbers of
bass being caught in the river, but said he
believes the high flows caused by good
rains have improved conditions for fish in
the Potomac.
Improved treatment of wastes going into
the river have "pretty much maintained
the status quo. which is quite an achieve-
ment when you consider the increased
waste loads pouring into the river in the
Washington area." said Mr. Mason. He
warned that unless current efforts to clean
up the Potomac are continued, "we will
have major fish kills and algal blooms,
like those we had in the 1%0's. when the
low-water cycle in the Potomac begins
again."
Andrew Uricheck. chief of the Mary-
land-Delaware-District of Columbia water
planning branch of EPA's Region 111
Office in Philadelphia, agreed that "in-
creased water flow is probably a major
reason for better conditions for fishing at
this time."
However, he noted that the S300 million
improvement program at the Blue Plains
treatment plant in Washington should be
completed in 1978. "We are definitely
making progress in reducing the pollution
load going into the river."•
------- |