OCTOBER 1977
VOL. THREE, NO. NINE
LEARNING PESTICIDE SAFETY
       U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

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 ERA'S   PURPOSE
 TO FORMULATE AND IMPLEMENT ACTIONS
 WHICH LEAD TO A COMPATIBLE BALANCE
 BETWEEN HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND  THE
 ABILITY OF NATURAL  SYSTEMS TO SUP-
 PORT AND NURTURE LIFE.
•w Y  7° a" have  very legitimate needs for shelter,
 \A/ food, and jobs, hut these needs must he met
       without destroying or permanently impairing
 the renewal capacity of the natural systems which
 sustain people.
   KPA's role is to help  keep the halance which
 protects the environment  while still allowing fulfill-
 ment of society's aspirations.
   A recent Harris poll indicated that the American
people recognize their stake in protecting the envi-
ronment.
   Most Americans now "would  rather live in  an
environment that  is clean  rather  than  in  an area
with a lot of jobs," according to the poll.
   The poll also showed that those questioned have
serious misgivings about technology and "bigness."
A majority felt that "modern technology  furthers
the progress of society more  than the  progress of
the individual."
    And a  majority  reported that they felt that
"bigness in almost anything leads to  trouble  for
individuals who can't stand up to it."
   A point  often overlooked is that  while  EPA is
carrying out its role as guardian of the environment,
it also helps protect human health, creates  recrea-
tional opportunities, and provides new jobs and
industry.
   To  help emphasize  the responsibility  EPA has to
account to the public about its opportunities and
challenges, the  name of its Public Affairs Office has
been changed to the Office of Public Awareness.
   Some examples of the developments  EPA will  be
reporting on to the public in the months ahead are:
   The environmental movement has spawned a ma-
jor pollution control industry as private  companies
and  factories  all over America spend  billions  of
dollars to clean  up their wastes.
   EPA's multi-billion dollar construction  grants pro-
gram  to  help cities build waste treatment  plants
provides thousands of jobs.
   Restrictions  placed  by  EPA  on the  use of pesti-
cides protect farmers and other  workers  whose
health might otherwise be permanently impaired.
   The massive efforts to clean up rivers and lakes
across the Nation provide recreational  benefits for
thousands of low-income workers who cannot afford
to visit expensive resort areas.
   The Agency's efforts to curb excessive noise will
eventually help  reduce the psychological and  hearing
damages  from  the cacophony  of urban sounds  in
our major cities.
   The progress in reducing air pollution will protect
two of the most vulnerable groups in our  popula-
tion—children and the  aged.
   While  the environmental cause still  must over-
come enormous obstacles, it is one which a properly
informed public will insist on winning.

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  US. ENVIRONMENTAL
  PROTECTION AGENCY
       Douglas M. Costle.
          Administrator

     Joan Martin Nicholson
            Director
     Office of Public Awareness

       Charles D. Pierce.
            Editor

        Truman Temple,
         Associate Editor

    Dave Cohen, Chris Fferham
         Assistant Editors
Cover: An iowa farmer studying manual
during a pesticide applicator train ing
course. USDA Photo. (See story on Page 2).

Photo Credits:
Ernest Bucci. USDA. U.S. Navy
Printed on recycled paper.

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Views expressed by authors do not
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                                Articles
PESTICIDE SAFETY
Two million farmers and commercial applicators learn
how to apply highly toxic pesticides.
                                                                                  PAGE 2
 PRESERVING FARMLAND                       PAGE 4
 EPA to seek ways of encouraging preservation of farmland.

CHILD-PROOFING PESTICIDES                  PAGE 6
New rules would require special packaging to prevent children
from consuming poisons.

CONTROLLING TOXICS                         PAGE 8
Curbing toxic pollutants is one of EPA's top priority programs.

THE VIEW FROM THE DEPUTY                  PAGE  10
ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE
Barbara Blum gives her opinions about EPA and its future.

EPA'S NEW LEADERSHIP                        PAGE  12
Photos and thumbnail sketches of the new team running EPA.

NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL    PAGE  14
ARENA
Alice Brandeis Popkin outlines EPA's future role in dealing with
foreign countries on environmental problems.

YOUTH AWARDS                                PAGE  18
The President's.Environmental Youth Awards Program has
helped more than five  million youngsters improve their
environment.

SOLAR POWER FOR WASTE TREATMENT      PAGE 22
Heat from the sun will help run a sewage treatment plant in
Maine.

A GUNBOAT FOR EPA                     BACKCOVER
The Agency has been given a Naval warship which will be
converted to a  research vessel for use on the Great Lakes.
Departments
NATION
PEOPLE
ALMANAC
UPDATE
NEWS  BRIEFS
PAGE 16
PAGE 20
PAGE 21
PAGE 24
PAGE 25

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PESTICIDE SAFETY

                   •s*,*.
                   ~

Pesticide is sprayed on a Michigan cherry
I'ACil- 2
                                                   OC'TOBKR 1977

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       Under a new pesticides safety pro-
       gram, more  than  one  million
       Americans have  received special
 training  on  how  to  apply highly  toxic
 chemicals, and by the time next  spring's
 crops  are planted nearly  two  million
 farmers  and commercial applicators will
 have been given this instruction.
   Approximately  1,400  pesticides  ingre-
 dients are used in making about 35,000
 different pest-killing products in the
 United States. Use of many of these have
controlled insect damage and helped spur
 food production.
   But pesticide misuse or careless storage
 can  pollute water sources, create  other
 types of environmental  damage and
 sicken or kill animals and humans.
   For this reason, Congress included  in
 the amendments to the Federal Pesticide
 Act a requirement that farmers and  other
 applicators must be certified before  using
 certain pesticides which  will be classified
 by JEPA  as  "restricted".  The program
 goes into effect on October 21, 1977, but
 over half of the people who EPA predicts
 will require this training have already been
 certified in anticipation of  the new  regu-
 lation.
   Most  pesticides, however, and  espe-
 cially  those  used by homeowners and
 home  gardeners, are  expected to remain
 classified for general  use,  and thus may
 be applied by anyone who follows label
 directions. This means the  general public
 will not as a matter of course be involved
 in the certification process.
   Under the new program,  the States
 adopt  plans  for applicator certification
 programs, which EPA then reviews and
 approves. The training is  conducted by
 the State Cooperative Extension Service,
 and certification is granted by the appro-
 priate  State agency. Should any State fail
 to adopt  a plan, EPA is planning to admin-
 ister the program in that State.
   "As the new certification program be-
 gins, we expect that all but two States—
 Colorado and  Nebraska—will have ap-
 proved plans," said  Edwin L. Johnson,
 EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for
 Pesticide  Programs.   "Almost all of the
 States, as well as  four  US.  Territories,
 have already  submitted plans and gained
 such approval.
   "Certification will  have  positive  bene-
 fits for both  the pesticide  users and the
 general public. As a  result of their  train-
 ing,  certified  applicators know  more
 about  the products they are using, the
 safety measures needed  and the dangers
 to the environment."
   Individual  State pesticide  laws and
 plans for applicator certification may go
 beyond  the basic  Federal requirements,
 as  some States  have elected to do  in
 formulating their  programs.  Agreements
 for the training sessions have been worked
 out among EPA,  the US. Department  of
 Agriculture, State pesticide officials, and
 the involved State Cooperative Extension
 Services. EPA is  aiding in the funding  of
 the training program.
  Georgia became the first State in the
Nation  to develop an acceptable State
plan for applicator certification in August
 1975.  Iowa was second. Three northwest-
ern States—Washington,  Oregon,  and
Idaho—are credited by the  Agency for
having taken the lead in simplifying pro-
cedures for applicators who apply pesti-
cides  in more  than one State by working
out reciprocal programs.
  Pesticide applicators affected by the
new program  are  divided  into two cate-
gories: private and commercial.  Private
applicators are those who are producers
of agricultural  commodities; all others are
regarded as commercial applicators.
  Adam  Quick of Baltimore  County,
Maryland, recently attended such  a
course  with  about  30 other men  and
women, most  of whom, like Quick, were
farmers.  The  four-hour agenda  included
movie and slide  presentations,  lectures
and discussions,  and study  of training
manuals.
  The instruction included techniques on
safe pesticide use  and disposal, pest iden-
tification, pesticide labeling,  and other
aspects of handling these chemicals.
  Some days later. Quick received a small
plastic card which will tell chemical deal-
ers  that  he is certified to buy  and use
pesticides which have been designated as
restricted by EPA.
  "I figure its a good idea to learn all we
can about pesticides,"  Quick said of the
new program.
  Many State programs  have alternate
certification procedures for private appli-
cators where  class attendance is not re-
quired if one  studies at home and then
takes  an open- or closed-book exam. Said
Charles  Ensor,  a  Baltimore  County
farmer who took  the course in this fash-
ion, "Farmers don't  realize the danger
involved  in using  pesticides. I learned
some new things from the course."
  Until a restricted product  is actually
relabeled as such at the retail level, per-
 sons not certified to buy or use  it won't
 be penalized for doing so. EPA has pro-
 posed that retailers  have up to  180 days
 after a product  is judged  restricted  to
 relabel old stocks. Afterwards, uncertified
 applicators buying or using a restricted
 product could be subject to penalties rang-
 ing  from  a simple  warning to fines  of
 several thousand dollars.
   Restricted  pesticide  ingredients are
 those which the Agency determines could
 pose problems for people or the environ-
 ment unless  used by  persons who  have
 demonstrated  their competency to handle
 such materials.
   EPA  has already proposed that all use
 of 23 pesticide ingredients—many impor-
 tant to agriculture—be restricted. EPA has
 also asked for additional information on
 38 other pesticide ingredients it considers
 candidates for restricted use. The  Agency
 is particularly  interested in skin and inhal-
 ation effects  and the use history of the
 pesticides.
   "We  hope  to  have final  decisions on
 the  23 pesticides by October 21 of this
 year," said  EPA Administrator Douglas
 M. Costle. "Restrictions on at least some,
 and perhaps all, of the 38 remaining pes-
 ticides will then follow. The same proce-
 dure will apply in both instances:  a group
 will be proposed for  restricted use, public
 comment  sought, and a final decision
 made."
   According to Johnson, "The certifica-
 tion program  gives  EPA more  options
 when considering whether to register or
 re-register a pesticide—or whether uses
 should be cancelled or suspended.  Instead
 of allowing unrestricted use  of some pes-
 ticides—or being forced to  cancel all
 uses—we  can now restrict certain prod-
 ucts or uses to certified  applicators who
 have demonstrated  their  competence to
 handle products safely.
   "This increases  the  ways  EPA can
 achieve  its long-term  goal  of providing
 the pesticides needed to maintain our food
 supply while avoiding risks to people and
 to the environment.  We've  come a long
 way toward better  pesticide use . . .."
Johnson said.
   Harry  Hubble, another Baltimore
County  farmer who took  the  training
course,  had this observation about the
new program for farmers and others who
 might feel  that it is just more government
 red tape: "I remember when we objected
to milk inspection, and it turned out to be
one of the best things that ever happened
to us." •
EPA JOURNAL
                                                                        PAGE 3

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OCTOBER 1977

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PRESERVING FARMLAND
       The  Environmental  Protection
       Agency has begun an intensive re-
       view of its programs  and regula-
 tions to  assure that  they will encourage
 the preservation of America's prime farm-
 lands.
   The actions come at a time when the
 American farmer is beset by pressures on
 every side to  sell out and let his land be
 converted to other uses.
   Every year the Nation experiences a
 net loss  of more than  a million acres in
 valuable croplands. Some of this acreage
 is eaten  up by urbanization—the spread
 of streets and houses and shopping cen-
 ters across once productive fields. Other
 farmland  reverts to  grazing  and forest.
 And still other acreage is prone to erosion
 and dust storms and other natural forces
 that cause rapid soil depletion.
 .  The trend wouid be  serious enough by
 itself, but it comes at a period  when the
Nation and indeed a  hungry world needs
 the American  farmer's products. EPA in-
 tends to shape  its policies  with  the
 farmer's interests in mind.
   As Administrator  Douglas  M. Costle
 recently  told the  Essex Agricultural and
 Technical Institute in  Danvers. Mass.:
   "EPA has what might be called a vested
 interest in preserving  farmland. It  also
 carries out a series of mandates that—if
 not carefully thought out and  managed—
 could conflict  with thai vested  interest."
   Why  is  farmland  lost? What are the
 factors that conspire to change a farmer's
 view of the future  and convince  him,
 despite his own love of the land, to sell
 out and either retire or find work in some
 other walk of life?
   "Almost  every aspect of modern life
 conspires to destroy the farmer's incen-
 tive to keep on farming," Mr. Costle said.
   "Costs have risen. Labor  is tough to
 come by. Prices  for  farm products  have
 not  kept pace. Taxes have skyrocketed.
 And  many a  farmer is  caught between
 the difficulty of making a living, the temp-
 tation to sell out  to developers  who have
 been offering  top price for his acreage,
 and lack of support from  his  neighbors
 and local representatives who  too often
 would dearly love to see his farm become
 a source of greatly increased tax revenues
 through development. Yet the added costs
 of meeting the resource needs—roads.
 sewers, schools—of such development al-
 most inevitably offset  the gain in taxes,
 not to mention the losses in quality of life."
   There are obvious reasons why  many

 EPA JOURNAL
observers are concerned over the shrink-
ing supply of prime agricultural land. Al-
though the loss of a million acres annually
seems small compared with the 470 mil-
lion acres in cropland, the land going out
of food production often  is the best in
terms  of quality and  accessibility.  Also,
the change  in land  use can have a major
local impact—economically, environmen-
tally, and socially.
  Once the farmland is lost to  urbaniza-
tion,  particularly in industrialized  areas
such as the northeastern United States, it
cannot  be retrieved.  And  when enough
land is taken out  of farm production,
related industries such as local feed mills,
farm machinery outlets, and farm supply
stores also must close.
  There are  other undesirable side-ef-
fects.  A recent Congressional report noted
that agricultural land in floodplain  areas
often is shifted to industrial or commercial
development,  with  pressure-then created
for public investment  to  provide  flood
protection.
  One of the social effects,  of course, is
the loss of the farmer  himself and  the
enduring, sturdy values that he histori-
cally has contributed to the national char-
acter.  Such things cannot  be weighed in
dollars  and cents,  but  they have  been
known and honored for many centuries.
As  Oliver Goldsmith wrote in  "The De-
serted Village" two centuries ago:
  "III fares the land, to hastening ills
                     a prey.
  Where wealth accumulates,
                     and men decay."
  The Environmental  Protection Agency
has an interest in preserving prime farm-
land and keeping it  in food production for
other and more specific reasons.
   "The drought and water  shortages of
this past summer," Mr.  Costle pointed
out, "have underscored one of the essen-
tial attributes  of farmland: the  protection
of watersheds. Open lands such as farms
maintain local water supplies by absorbing
precipitation  and transferring it to  the
ground  water system.  They also protect
aquifer recharge areas and provide buffers
for water supply and other  natural areas."
   In addition to protecting such environ-
mental  entities as wetlands and flood
plains, farms furnish a habitat for wildlife,
including game such as deer, grouse and
quail,  as well as  songbirds and other
nongame species, he noted. Equally valu-
able are the emotional, aesthetic and so-
cial benefits  of  our verdant fields and
valleys.
   Because of the Agency's specific con-
cern for preserving and  protecting  such
valuable land, Costle has directed EPA to
take a fresh  look at the  way  its pro-
grams may affect the future of farmland.
He listed these steps the Agency now is
taking:
•  An examination of land use changes
which may be induced by-EPA programs.
"We have already begun revising the con-
struction grant program for building  sew-
age treatment facilities, for example, in
order to make sure that we are minimizing
pressure to take land out of food produc-
tion," he declared.
• EPA is becoming increasingly sensitive
to regional variations in water and  land
availability in  implementing Agency pro-
grams that affect farmlands.
•  The Agency is working to bring about
closer cooperation with the Soil Conser-
vation Service through joint technical as-
sistance projects.
•  EPA is seeking to assure that there is a
thorough review of environmental impact
statements on any actions that will affect
agricultural lands.
•  The Administrator has directed  that
EPA develop an overall policy statement
on the preservation of prime  agricultural
lands to give general guidance for the
implementation of EPA programs.
   The  English poet  Goldsmith was not
the first to warn of the serious social side
effects that can  result when farmland is
squeezed  out and the "bold peasantry"
disappears.
   As Costle noted, "Two thousand years
ago the  Roman poet,  Virgil, warned his
countrymen that the loss of agriculture
would be the destruction of the nation.
He was right. Just as an  army becomes
vulnerable when its supply lines grow too
long, a city, a state, or a nation is weak-
ened when  it is no longer capable of
producing most of its basic food supply."
   in announcing the new policy, the Ad-
ministrator concluded:
   "I would like  to assure you that EPA,
both nationally  and regionally, will do
everything in  its power  and within its
mandate to preserve and protect our farm-
lands. We will devote our best efforts to
developing a common-sense awareness of
the very real  problems and opportunities
thqt our policies and  progress can create
for farmers. We will work  to minimize
the problems and expand the  opportuni-
ties."*

                               PAGE 5

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CHILD-PROOFING PESTICIDES
PAGE 6
                                       (XTOBKR 1977

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   Two  boys,  ages  12 and 24  months, were visiting their grandmother. They  found the
aerosol  spray can  containing  DDVP she  was  using for  roach control and took turns
spraying each  other  in  the mouth with the pesticide. Both  began  vomiting and when
seen at  the hospital several hours later were  in  a coma. They responded to vigorous
treatment  with atropine SUlfate. —The Archives of Environmental Health
       Each year  an estimated  10,000
       youngsters under the age of five
       end up  in  hospitals because of
accidental poisoning due to pesticides in
the home, according to reports from Poi-
son Control Centers across the  Nation.
Research indicates that most of the time
these incidents could have been prevented
by the use of special  packaging.
  The danger of household pesticides to
children has prompted the Environmental
Protection Agency to propose regulations
that would require  industry to package
most  hazardous household pesticides in
child-proof containers. About one fourth
of the 8,000 pesticides found in residences
would  be affected. Included are such fa-
miliar items as ant and roach insecticides,
bathroom  and kitchen disinfectants, and
pet sprays.
  Child-protective  packaging  require-
ments  have already been  in effect for
several drugs and chemicals that fall under
the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product
Safety  Commission as spelled out by the
Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970,
including aspirin and  certain household
products such as drain cleaners.
  The products affected by the new regu-
lations would be pesticides associated
with households and other places where
children are apt to  spend  time, and pa:
tient-care areas of health institutions. Spe-
cial packaging will be required if there is
a human  health hazard,  such  as acute
toxicity or the potential  for serious skin
and eye damage, or if use history, accident
data, or any other evidence  indicate the
existence of a serious threat of accidental
injury or illness to children.
  Household pesticides are considered by
EPA to include  indoor pest control prod-
ucts, garden  and patio bug and weed
killers, pet kennel sprays, and some swim-
ming pool chemicals, as well as pesticides
used in mobile homes, marine  pleasure
craft,  campers and  recreational  vehicles.
non-commercial campsites,  and educa-
tional and daycare facilities.
  EPA was given jurisdiction over pesti-
cide packaging  under the amended Fed-
eral Insecticide, Fungicide, and  Rodenti-
cide  Act in 1972. The Administrator is
authorized  to establish packaging stand-
ards, as long  as they are consistent with
those standards that have been established
under the Poison  Prevention Packaging
Act.
   Under EFA's proposed regulations  the
type of packaging,  such as "press-down-
and-twist" caps, is left to the discretion
of the manufacturer. The packaging stand-
ards are broadly spelled out, thus provid-
ing leeway for new  and innovative  de-
signs. Essentially, the child-protective
package must be effective when the pesti-
cide is in the container, and the package
must not damage the integrity of the prod-
uct during storage  and use.  In addition,
the  safety  design must be  effective
throughout the  reasonably expected  life-
time of the package.
   Special  packaging  has  been  shown to
be very effective in reducing the  number
of child poisonings. For instance, the drug
that children most  often eat  accidentally
is  aspirin, which falls under  the jurisdic-
tion of  the  Consumer  Product Safety
Commission.  In the  three-year period
after special  packaging regulations for as-
pirin were set for  1973, accidental swal-
lowing of aspirin  decreased 41%. Anti-
freeze has also been subject to packaging
requirements,  and  poisonings from  that
common item  have dropped 70%. Mean-
while, products that  have not been  re-
quired to  use  safety  packaging,  such as
perfumes, colognes and pesticides, have
shown annual increases in the number of
accidental child poisonings.
   In addition to establishing broad stand-
ards for packaging, the proposed regula-
tions set forth the procedures for industry
to  test for effective child-proof packaging.
  Two hundred children, ages 8'/2 months
to  5 years, are assembled as a test group.
Each child is given five minutes to figure
out how to open a  container. If, after  the
first five minutes,  he  or she can't master
the task, a visual demonstration  is given.
A  second five  minutes  is allowed,  and
children are even encouraged to use their
teeth on bottle caps.  Eighty-five  percent
of the children must fail to open   the
package, and 80%  must  still  not  be able
to  open it even after being shown, ideally,
if a container is properly engineered,  it is
too complicated for children under five to
open since they lack the manual dexterity
or finger length needed to successfully
 manipulate the cap or type of closure.
   EPA hopes that  another outcome of
 the designs  will be to alert parents to the
 toxic  nature  of the  pesticide. Children
 have often been the  accidental victims of
 adults who have taken  pesticides out of
 original containers and  placed them in
 soft drink bottles. Since those containers
 are familiar and appear harmless, children
 often do not hesitate to sample their con-
 tents.  For this reason, adults are included
 in the testing procedures. One hundred
 adults, 18-45 years old, comprise the test
 group. Since  women are most likely to
 encounter  household pesticides, 70% of
 the group are women and 30% men. They
 are  given only  printed  instructions  and
 allowed five minutes to figure out  how to
 open the container.  According to EPA's
 proposal, 90% of the adults tested  have to
 be able to open it in the given  time period
 "without a demonstration."
   Criticisms have been leveled at safety
 packaging  because  the elderly and the
 handicapped  experience difficulties in
 opening such containers. However, the
 marketing of non-safety containers could
 seriously deter efforts to  reduce pesticide
 poisoning in  young  children.  Therefore,
 all pesticides falling within the criteria for
 special packaging will have to  be specially
 packaged.
   The procedures and  regulations  pro-
 posed for pesticides by EPA are similar to
 those being used successfully  by the Con-
 sumer Product Safety Commission. It is
 hoped that  the EPA  regulations,  supple-
 mented by  parental  common  sense, will
 be equally effective in reducing accidental
 deaths due  to poisoning  from pesticides.
 Industry has filed few objections to these
/ proposals, since special packaging is cur-
 rently available and in use for other prod-
 ucts such as  aspirin, and the economic
 burden for  carrying  out  the proposals is
 expected to  be slight.   In fact,  several
 companies including Shell and S.C. John-
 son and Son (manufacturers  of  "Raid"
 and "Off!") have voluntarily  used safety
 packaging  for several of their pesticide
 products. Both Shell and Johnson adopted
 the  idea because  they  found consumer
 interest in specially packaged  products a
 market for  them.  It has been estimated
 that the total cost  to industry will be
 approximately $2.5 million. •
EPA JOURNAL
                                                                      RAGE V

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CONTROLLING TOXICS
By Anne Haughton
      The control of toxic pollutants  is
      now one  of  KPA's  top priorities
      as the  Agency  moves with in-
creasing determination to prevent what
Administrator  Douglas M. Costle has
called "the occurrence of silent epidem-
ics of cancer and other health risks."
   Last  October  the Toxic Substances
Control Act was signed  by  President
Carter,  giving  HPA the authority as  of
January I, 1977. to regulate the produc-
tion and use of chemicals which threaten
human health or the environment.
   The law is designed to prevent hazard-
ous  new chemicals from  being  intro-
duced  into the  marketplace as  well  as
to deal  with existing chemicals that are
found to be harmful.
   The measure is  regarded as  one  of
the most important pieces of legislation
ever enacted  by the Congress—a law
that  would fill  a  long-recognized  gap  in
our  Nation's environmental and  public
health protection programs.
   President Cartel',  in his Environmental
Message to the Congress in May said.
"The presence  of toxic chemicals in our
environment is one of the grimmest dis-
coveries of the industrial era. Rather than
coping with these ha/ards after they have
escaped into our environment, our pri-
mary objective  must be to prevent them
from entering the environment at all ....
   "The Toxic  Substances  Control Act
enables  Ihe  Federal  Government,  for the
first  time, lo gather the information on
chemical substances needed lo determine
their potential for damaging human health
and the environment and to control them
where necessary to protect the public "
   KPA Administrator Douglas Costle con-
siders implementation of the Act  one of
the most difficult challenges and  impor-
tant priorities now facing HPA. "We have
neglected the subtle but lethal effects  of
chemicals for decades." he says.  "Now
we must extend Ihe frontiers of scientific
knowledge to  evaluate  what those risks
really are and find ways to control them.
We must act in haste but not in panic. We
must  recogni/e that minimal risks are
inescapable, hut our society must take
any  needed precautions  to prevent the
occurrence of silent epidemics of  cancer
and other health risks."
          i.\ an l:f'A Headquarters frc.v.v
Officer.)
PAGI: x

-------
   Under the new law, EPA is undertaking
regulatory action to limit  the threats of
one of the  more notorious toxic chemi-
cals—PCB's.
  A regulation has been proposed to en-
sure the safe  disposal of  all  accessible
PCB's. it calls for the destruction of PCB
liquids through high-temperature inciner-
ation, the  only known way of effectively
destroying the chemical and preventing it
from  escaping into  the  environment. If
adopted, the regulation would permit PCB
disposal in  properly-controlled chemical
waste landfills for two years until more
incinerators  can  be constructed.  In addi-
tion, it would require that PCB products
be  marked with  special  information and
warning labels.
  This  winter regulations are also ex-
pected to go into effect limiting the manu-
factnring,  processing, distribution and use
of PCB's  to products from which  they
cannot escape into the environment. And
as required by the law, all  PCB manufac-
turing will  be banned after January I,
1979, and  all PCB processing and distri-
bution prohibited after July 1, 1979.
  PCB's represent the most vivid exam-
ple  of the danger of uncontrolled chemical
contaminants. It  was not until after tens
of  millions  of pounds  of PCB's were
produced  and released into the environ-
ment that scientists  realized  how toxic
and persistent they were. Despite limited
restrictions  imposed  in  the early 1970's
by  industry  to reduce production and to
restrict  use  of PCB's to electrical equip-
ment where escape to the  environment
would be  minimal. PCB levels are still so
high in  the  Hudson River and the Great
Lakes, for example, that fishing has  been
banned. Over the past few years, PCB's
have been found  not only in fish but even
in the milk of nursing mothers.
  More recently,  the  hazards of poly-
brominated  biphenyls or PBB's, a chemi-
cal  closely  related to PCB's,  have  been
discovered.  Accidental use  of PBB's in
animal feed led  to the contamination of
thousands of Michigan cattle. The health
effects of  PBB's  on the Michigan families
who  consumed  the contaminated prod-
ucts are still uncertain, but  preliminary
reports are disturbing. And now environ-
mental  contamination from  PBB's,  once
thought to be confined to Michigan, has
been discovered  near  two plants in  New
Jersey that  manufactured  the chemical
and on Staten  Island near a plant that

EPA JOURNAL
used PBB's in its manufacturing process.
   EPA  is currently  considering various
regulatory actions on PBB's, including a
possible prohibition on  its  use  as  a  fire
retardant, its only known function.
  The Toxic Substances Control Act has
also been  used to propose  regulations
(jointly with the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration and the Consumer Product Safety
Commission),  to ban the  non-essential
aerosol  uses of fluorocarbons.  The pro-
posed EPA regulations would affect pesti-
cides  and industrial  uses such as lubri-
cants  and battery  sprays and  household
products such as cleansers, air fresheners,
waxes, and polishes.  Food,  drug and cos-
metic products  would  be  regulated  by
FDA.
      The proposed inter-agency plan, un-
      precedented in the history of the
      Federal Government, calls for these
aerosol products  to  be phased  out in
stages beginning  October  15, 1978. If
adopted,' the manufacture  of fluorocar-
bons  for use in these products would be
prohibited after that  dale. Then, on De-
cember 15,   1978. all companies would
have  to stop using existing fluorocarbon
supplies in making the  products,  and fi-
nally,  after April  15, 1979, stocks contain-
ing the banned propeJlant could no longer
be shipped in interstate  commerce.  Final
regulations are expected to  be promul-
gated  in December.
   EPA is also planning  to propose  regu-
lations for the non-propellant uses of fluo-
rocarbons, such as in refrigeration and air
conditioning equipment.
   Another group of chemicals  suspected
of harming human health or the environ-
ment  is currently being investigated.
These include:  phosphates,  cadmium,
benzene, asbestos, mercury, trichloroethy-
lene,  acrylonitrile, the  flame  retardant
Tris, lead, hexachlorobenzene, benzidene,
arsenic, polynuclear aromatic  hydrocar-
bons and vinylidene chloride.
   The Agency is currently gathering exist-
ing data on each of these chemicals, and
examining the work being done by other
Federal agencies in order to make a pre-
liminary evaluation of what, if any, regu-
latory actions should be taken.
   As  far as the thousands of other chemi-
cals produced in this country are  con-
cerned, EPA has  proposed reporting re-
quirements to help it develop an  inventory
 of all  existing chemicals as required by
 the law. The inventory, which will contain
 more than thirty thousand chemicals, is
 expected to be published next September.
 Thirty days afterwards, anyone  wishing
 to manufacture a chemical that is not on
 the inventory will have  to notify the EPA
 90 days before beginning commercial pro-
 duction. This will give the Agency time to
 evaluate new chemicals coming on  the
 market to determine if they pose a risk to
 health or the environment.
   To enable EPA to compile the inventory,
 major  chemical  manufacturers will have
 to report the names, production volumes
 and  manufacturing  sites of the  chemicals
 they make.
   Additional reporting will be required in
 phases over the  next two years. This will
 enable EPA to develop a broad  base of
 information on chemicals, particularly
 those suspected of being hazardous.
   In addition,  an  eight member inter-
agency committee  is expected to submit
an initial list of "priority" chemicals this
month  which they believe should be tested
to assess their  safety  or  potential for
human or environmental damage.
   The  committee, which is required  by
the law, is composed of representatives of
the Department of Commerce, the Coun-
cil on Environmental Quality, the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administration,
the National Science Foundation, EB\,
the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare's National  Institute  of Occupa-
tional Safety and Health, National Cancer
Institute, and National  Institute of Envi-
ronmental Health Sciences.
   Upon receipt  of  the  list  of  "priority"
chemicals, EPA will have one year either
to initiate testing requirements for each
of the  designated chemicals or to state
publicly its reasons for not doing so.
   Over the next few months, organization
will be a primary goal of the Toxic Sub-
stances program. Steven D. Jellinek, for-
mer  Staff  Director of  the  Council on
Environmental Quality, will be taking over
the reins as Assistant Administrator for
Toxic Substances. A search is also under-
way for three new Deputy Assistant Ad-
ministrators—one responsible for chemi-
cal testing and evaluation,  one  for
chemical regulatory control programs,
and one for program integration and infor-
mation. The program staff is expected to
double in size this  year and  again  next
year.  •
                                PAGE 9

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THE  VIEW  FROM THE DEPUTY
ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE
Interview with Barbara Blum, Deputy Administrator
Q: What originally inspired your involvement
in the environmental movement?
A: It was probably my children. I recall that
one day I was driving down  the street when
one of my sons said: "1 don't think I have to
think too much about the future because with
the air being as bad as it is. and the problems
we have with the water, I may not grow up."
   Of course,  that was  grossly exaggerated.
But, it's frightening when a young child feels
that threatened by the  environment around
him.
   Also, about  that  time,  there were  some
sewer problems in the area in which I lived. I
was very concerned about that. It affected us
because the sewer line was going to destroy a
water-fall, which was  one  of our favorite
family places.
   So I  joined together wish a group of other
concerned citizens  and  we took a leadership
role in seeing that the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency did the first  environmental im-
pact statement on sewer lines that was ever
done.

Q: Can you tell us about your work for conser-
vation causes in Georgia?
A: I started, as I told you. getting involved in
a  neighborhood issue  and my  interest just
sort of  sprouted out in the fairly early days of
the environmental movement.
   Eventually,  1 became president at different
times of two grassroots environmental orga-
nizations  in Georgia and at  one time or  an-
other was on the boards  of most of  the
environmental organizations in the State.  Si-
multaneously, I was on the Citizens Advisory
Council to the Atlanta Regional Commission.
was appointed by Governor Carter  to  the
Vital Areas Council to  study and make land
use planning recommendations to the Georgia
General Assembly, and served as vice-chair-
man of the Fulton County Banning and Zon-
ing Commission. I guess  one reason I have
such a strong feeling that grassroots groups
should be included in everything that  the
Environmental Protection Agency does is that
these groups are  such a large, productive
segment of our constituency that they should
never be overlooked.

Q: As one who has been active in grassroots
politics, do you feel that your  perspectives
have changed much now that you are involved
inside the system?
A: I think certainly it's safe to say that  it's
easier to  tell the 'Government how the Gov-
ernment should be managed than to manage
it.
   When  one  is an advocate for  a  specific
cause,  such as saving a river, or helping to

B\GE 10
determine  a  positive approach to  a sewer
line, you can leave the difficult task of com-
promise up to somebody who is less "pure"
than yourself.
  1 think another area where my perspectives
have broadened is that I have a better under-
standing of the word "bureaucracy".
  I found that the bureaucracy is a very
positive force, made up of a lot of dedicated
people who feel that working for our country
is an important profession.

Q: Since public participation has been one of
the major themes in the Carter Administration
thus far and you have already chaired several
American Environmental Forums, do you find
these sessions to be of value, and what are the
issues that seem to be on people's minds?
A: I  have  found them to be very valuable;
        "I know we have
     got a long way to go
            before  the
     Federal Government
    regains the trust of the
       public — which still
   remembers Watergate."
I've done two so far: One in Salt Lake City
and one in Little Rock, Arkansas. There was
quite a difference between those two forums
because people in Salt Lake City were much
more suspicious and skeptical about the Fed-
eral Government  than the people  in Little
Rock.
  But I also found that it's a good educational
experience for me—probably more for me
than for the people who attend the meetings.
I  am finding out just how broad the Spectrum
of public opinion really is. 1 find that it's very
hard to get a consensus—when you're meet-
ing  with  500  people and half of them are
telling you that you should do more and the
other half are telling you you should do less.

Q: Would you share with us some  personal
observations  about President Carter's con-
cerns and commitments to the environment?
A: I have worked with the President very
closely since  1970, when  he  first became
Governor of Georgia and I was an environ-
mental lobbyist in both Georgia and in Wash-
ington on Georgia causes.
  I found out  that he was the only person in
that entire State whom I didn't have toilobby to
try to get my ideas across. That was because
he was almost always there before 1 was, in
his  conceptual thinking. There are several
reasons for this. One is that he doesn't just
take what his  staff gives him and  digest it—
he reads voraciously on his own.  He prides
himself on his ability to listen  to  conflicting
opinions and draw independent conclusions.
Being a peanut farmer and a man of the land.
he has a real feel for the environment.

  He is the  first President that  we have ever
had, 1 believe, that we could say is an environ-
mentalist. Teddy Roosevelt certainly was a
conservationist, and a preservationist. Others
have  made lasting contributions. However, I
think that Jimmy Carter is the first President
who  understands the science and  the scope
of the environmental issues from a biospheric
perspective.

Q: As one of the top-ranking women in the
Carter Administration, do you ha\'e a special
interest in women in management at EPA ?
A: Yes. Very definitely  so. Women in man-
agement all  over Government are  of special
interest to me.
  Regarding EPA specifically, 1  think that the
environmental  movement owes a  great deal
to women, especially women who  started  on
the  grassroots level.  As we're building the
EPA  team here, we're going to  be  building it
on basis of skill and talent. But, you can  be
sure  that nobody in this Administration is
ever going to be held back because of anything
so unrelated to performance as  sex. color, or
country of  origin. I  think  that one of the
things we need to concentrate  on  in EPA is
bringing women and minorities  into the mid-
dle management level so  that they can develop
to move into senior  management  positions.
Although I am really pleased with the changes
that we have made here so far, it is not  as
good as I would like it  to be.  However,  we
have established a "consciousness raising"
committee, that will  soon be making specific
recommendations with regard to recruitment,
training and promotions. 1 am confident that
they will be able to give us some good direc-
tion.

Q: With your  background in planning, can
you comment about the importance of long-
range land use planning as a tool for managing

                         OCTOBER 1977

-------
the environment?
A: Both Doug Costle and ! believe that long-
range land use planning is going to serve as a
most vilal lool to manage the environment.
   As I  mentioned.  I served  on Governor
Carter's land use planning council in Georgia.
I shared his belief that land  use planning
needs to be implemented at the level closest
to the people, at the State and local  level.
  That  can  be  done under 208. and 1 think
that although land use planning is not directly
addressed in any of our authorities,  we have
other areas in which we can have  an impact.
The  Resource  Conservation and Recovery
Act. and certainly, many provisions under the
Clean Air Act are going to enable us to focus
and plan a  key leadership role in land use
planning.

Q: Do you  expect to conduct  the Office of
Deputy Administrator in  the tradition of your
predecessors, or do you plan any major depar-
tures in your management of this office?
A: 1 think  certainly that both  Bob Fri and
John Quarles did really good jobs in managing
the Agency. We don't plan to have any major
reorganizutional changes.  Although we are
going to do some organizational fine  tuning
such as moving the Pesticides  Program over
to the Toxic Substances Program. I think that
both-Doug and 1 will try to leave our own
imprint  on  the  Agency by the  nature  of the
job we do.

Q: What are your main hopes and desires for
the Agency for your own  sense of accomplish-
ment?
A: There are several areas that  we are going
to be initially concentrating on:
   We're going  to be concentrating  on new
legislative programs, the toxic  control pro-
gram, solid  waste,  the  amendments to the
Clean Air  Act  and the  Water  Act.  I  think
these new  mandates are going to be really
vital issues of concern which will  impact the
future of EPA.
   Another  area we want  to  emphasize  is
public participation. In the past  this  is some-
thing  that I think has not  been stressed  as
much as it  should have been. It is something
that the President is committed  to and some-
thing that I very much believe in.
   Recently. 1 had an opportunity to experi-
ence the international environmental commu-
nity's perception of EPA. With our new legis-
lation in the toxics area,  the  international
implications of such issues as  chloro-fluoro-
carbons and PCB's are immense. We feel that
the International Activities  Program is going
to play a  key role  in  communicating our
initiatives and concerns to the many  environ-
mental agencies around  the world. Environ-
mental consciousness transcends all interna-
tional  boundaries and  ideologies  and the
socially aware  in every country  understand
the need for a biospheric  perspective.

Q: What is the most difficult  decision you
have had to make so far?
A: There have been many tough decisions.
The  most difficult decisions have been getting
key positions filled with  people that are going
to make a difference.
  For  instance, in Toxic Substances,  and
that's just one example, we worked very hard
to find somebody that was a  proven manager
and had the ability to bring together a multi-
disciplinary program that is  going to cut
across all facets of the Agency.

Q: How would you assess the condition of
the Agency when you inherited it?
A: When  Doug and  I came  here, there had
been that period  of uncertainty about who
was going to run the Agency and when they
were going to arrive.
  Many of the Assistant Administrators had
already left or were in process of leaving, so
that 1 found, when 1 got here, that the Deputy
Assistant Administrators were in effect run-
ning the Agency. I am  pleased to  say, they
were doing a really good job of it.

Q: EPA is perhaps one of the most decentral-
ized agencies in the Federal Government now.
Do you feel it will continue that way or do you
think that  it  is time to try and dra\v some of
the strings in?
A: I think that the  decentralization of the
Agency is what makes it one of the strongest
agencies in Government  today, because it is
bringing the  Government closer to where the
      "EPA has the total
          support of an
      Administration that
    is dedicated to the  idea
        of  environmental
           protection."
decisions should be made—on the local and
State level.
   We plan to continue  this  trend, although,
we also would like to have a more consistent
management  policy so that we don't have one
 region enforcing against a particular industry
and an adjacent  negion  not enforcing against
that particular industry.  Unless you have con-
sistency, the  municipalities and industries
sometimes  play  one region off against the
other.

Q: One of the most difficult problems con-
fronting the Agency is  the problem of toxic
substances  and I wonder if you think at this
time the Agency has the manpower and legis-
lation and general  equipment necessary to
deal with this problem?
A: Based upon  public  expectation and the
implications of the regulation of new chemical
compounds, the Toxic Substances  Program
probably  will  be one of our more crucial
programs. We have a very broad legislative
mandate.  Initially, we were fortunate  in ob-
taining  resources to assist this  program in
getting  it under way. The Agency is now
going through  a zero-base-budgeting process
which,  I believe,  will direct more emphasis
and  resources toward this program. Since I
have spent a considerable amount of time on
the program, I feel that I can safely say that
we do  not  have  enough resources  for this
important mission, but that we are trying to
manage from within by reprogramming and
by involving the other program offices  which
will be directly affected by this Act.

Q: What message would you like to convey to
EPA's employees across the country above all
else?
A: I suppose that the message that  I  would
most like to convey to the EPA team,  above
all else,  is that for the first time in its history,
the Agency has the total support of an Admin-
istration that is dedicated  to the idea of envi-
ronmental protection.  I  have  never seen
Jimmy  Carter back off when  it  has been a
question of protecting important environmen-
tal considerations. And I've seen him  under
many pressures in the conservative State of
Georgia.
   So I  think that we have the leadership, we
have the mandate, we have  the total support
of the  President, and we have  the chance
now to  apply the kind of programs and use
the kind of innovative thinking necessary to
carry out our mission.
   What I have heard in my town hall meetings
from the people is their strong concern about
quality of life issues.
   At the same time I have seen  a great deal
of skepticism about whether the Government
really does care about their concerns.
   I hear  a  lot of complaints that  may be
justified about Government inefficiency and
lack  of  responsiveness. I know  we have got a
long way  to go before the  Federal Govern-
ment  regains the trust of the public—which
still remembers Watergate.

Q: What are your hopes for the Agency?
A: One of my hopes is  that  sve can help
bring all the people who really fell  disen-
chanted with government in  the past  back
in—the  environmentalists  who often  felt that
the regulatory agencies  were just rubber
stamps or servants of special interest groups.
and also the corporate and labor  and agricul-
tural  groups that have  felt  unnecessarily
threatened by  what  the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency was  perceived to  be—a regu-
latory authority with  extremely  strict   man-
dates to impose.  I  feel that through  public
outreach and  involvement,  we  can  clarify
many of the misconceptions that special inter-
est groups have about EPA.
   And  then, ultimately. I just  hope  that we
will al!  be able to live up to the opportunity
and responsibility that the President  and the
Congress have given to all of us here at  EPA.
I  hope  that we will be known as a  fair but
firm Agency that served the people well. •
 EPA JOURNAL
                                                                                                                         PAGE II

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EPA's New
Leadership
Team
                            Administrator:
                            Douglas M. Costle, the third
                            Administrator of EPA, is an
                            attorney with extensive
                            experience at both State
                            and Federal levels in the
                            organization and
                            administration of
                            environmental programs

                            Deputy
                            Administrator:
                             Barbara Blum is an
                             environmentalist and
                             businesswoman who
                             served as deputy director
                             of the Carter-Mondale
                             election campaign last year.
Assistant
Administrators
Assistant Administrator for
Planning and Management:
William Drayton Jr. was a
lecturer at Harvard
University's Kennedy School
of Government and a
management consultant for
McKinsey and Co., New
York City
Assistant Administrator
(designate) for Toxic
Substances:
Steven D. Jellinek was a
staff member of the Council
on Environmental Quality
and for the last four years its
Staff Director.
                           Regional
                           Administrators

Assistant Administrator for
Water and Hazardous
Materials:
Thomas C. Jorling was
Director of the Williams
College Center for
Environmental Studies,
Williamstown, Mass., and
had extensive experience
with the Federal
Government
Assistani Administrator
(designate) for Research
and Development:
Stephen J. Gage was
Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Energy,
Minerals, and Industry in
EPA's research -program
                                                        Assistant Administrator
                                                        (designate) for
                                                        Enforcement:
                                                        Marvin B. Durning was a
                                                        partner in a Seattle law firm
                                                        and a leader in
                                                        environmental and
                                                        conservation matters in the
                                                        Pacific Northwest.
 Assistant Administrator
 (designate) for Air and
 Waste Management:
 David G.  Hawkins was a
 staff attorney for the Natural
 Resources Defense Council
 from 1971 to 1977,  dealing
 with a wide range of air
 pollution issues and
 litigation.
Region I Administrator,
Boston:
William R. Adams, Jr. had
been Maine's Commissioner
of Environmental Protection
for the last five years
Region II Administrator,
New York City:
Eckardt C. Beck was EPA's
Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Water
Planning and Standards
and had extensive
experience in the
environmental field at the
State Government level.
                                                       Region III Administrator,
                                                       Philadelphia:
                                                       Jack J. Schramm was a
                                                       lawyer in Clayton. Mo., and
                                                       an environmental consultant
                                                       for the engineering firm of
                                                       Arthur D.  Little, Inc.
        12
                                                                                                                        OCTOBER I
-------
Region IV Administrator,
Atlanta:
John C. White has served
for two years as head of
EPA's Dallas regional office,
and before that as Deputy
Regional Administrator in
Atlanta
Region VI Administrator,
Dallas:
Adlene Harrison was a
member of the Dallas City
Council and had extensive
experience in land-use,
zoning, energy, and
environmental issues.
Region IX Administrator,
San Francisco:
Paul DeFalco, Jr. has held
that post since EPA was
organized in 1970. and
before that he headed West
Coast regional activities in
San Francisco for EPA's
predecessor water pollution
agencies in the Department
of the  Interior.
Region V Administrator,
Chicago:
George R. Alexander Jr. has
held this post since March,
1976. Before that he served
as Deputy Director. Office of
Regional and
Intergovernmental
Operations, in EPA
Headquarters-
Region VII Administrator,
Kansas City:
Kathleen Q. Camin was
Associate Dean of Wichita
(Kan.) State University's
College of Business
Administration. She has
done environmental
research
Region X Administrator,
Seattle:
Donald R DuBoisvvas first
appointed to this post in
July, 1976, after having
served five years as Deputy
Regional Administrator in
Denver,
                              Region VIII Administrator,
                              Oenver:
                              Alan Merson was a
                              professor at the University
                              of Denver's College of Law,
                              teaching courses in
                              environmental law and land-
                              use planning law.
                                                                                        Office Leaders
General Counsel:
Joan Z. Bernstein was a
partner tn a Washington.
D.C. law firm before pining
EPA. She also worked for
five years with the Federal
Trade Commission's Bureau
of Consumer Protection.
Public Awareness:
Joan Martin Nicholson >s
Director of this office. An
experienced
environmentalist, she
founded the Bolton Institute,
a nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping
people find practical
solutions to environmental
problems.
International Activities:
Alice Brandeis Popkin is
Associate Administrator.
Office of International
Activities. A former attorney -
professor at the Antioch
School of Law she was a
member of the original staff
that set up the Peace Corps
in 1961 and was its Director
of International Programs
Regional and
Intergovernmental
Operations:
J. Edward Roush is Director
of this office. He was a
member of the House of
Representatives from
Indiana and had experience
on committees dealing with
natural resources.
                                                           Legislation:
                                                           Charles S. Warren is
                                                           director of this office. He
                                                           was chief legislative
                                                           assistant to Sen. Jacob K.
                                                           Javits of New York for seven
                                                           years, and before that
                                                           practiced law in
                                                           Washington, D.C. and New
                                                           York City.
 KPA  JOURNAL
                                                                                                                                      PACK 13

-------
NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE
INTERNATIONAL ARENA
Interview  With Alice  Brandeis  Popkin,
Associate  Administrator for  International Activities
Q: How do you see your mission as the new
leader of the Office of International Activities?
A: EPA, as the U.S. Government agency with the primary compe-
tence, technology, know-how and authority to protect the quality
of this Nation's ecosystems, must  play a major role in establishing
and carrying out  America's international environmental policies.
  The Office of International Activities (OIA) must be the effective
staff instrument for  planning  and managing EPA's international
role. I envision OIA  developing, implementing, and administering
Agency-wide international objectives in accordance with the prior-
ities set by the Administrator,  Doug Costle, and Deputy Adminis-
trator, Barbara Blum. These objectives can then be used to focus
EPA's international activities and to measure the value of existing
and future international efforts.
  It is vitally important  to  involve all parts of the Agency,
including the Regional Offices,  in planning and implementing
EPA's international responsibilities. By developing a good recipro-
cal  working relationship with all the program offices,  OIA will be
able to depend on their technical input, which is one of the
greatest assets of the Agency.
Q: Do all foreign governments have agencies
concerned with pollution control now?
A: When the  United States established  EPA, we were the first
country to have a national environmental control agency. Not all
governments  have pollution control agencies yet, although the
number is  growing rapidly. Almost 100 governments have formed
environmental agencies since  1970. In  many  countries, people
look to EPA as a  possible  model  of how to deal with the
environment.  1 think one of the important roles that EPA should
continue to play is  to advise other  nations on  how  to set  up
governmental  units or programs to deal with environmental issues.
Q: What do you consider to be the most press-
ing  environmental issue confronting the  world
today from EPA's perspective?
A: One of the most  pressing problems is toxic substances. I use
that  phrase in the broadest possible  sense to include problems
with pesticides, chemicals in drinking  water, and the  manufacture
and  use of commercial chemicals for a wide variety  of other
purposes. Internationally, there are several initiatives in the field
of toxics. Our Deputy Administrator, Barbara Blum, in her recent
meeting with  environmental officials  in Japan  told them of our
deep concern about this problem.
  My major work in  the next few months will be to work with the
Assistant  Administrators and their.staffs  to establish the priorities
at the  international  level which  are  most  significant to EPA's
domestic mandate. The establishment of international  priorities by
the Administrator and the Deputy  Administrator, based on national
program needs, is critical to the optimum use of EPA resources.
  Since we need international agreements on procedures, we are
concentrating  our work  primarily  within a few international orga-
nizations,  rather than  dealing  individually with a  number of
countries.  We are working within the  Organization for Economic
Cooperation   and  Development  Chemicals  Group  to develop
common testing procedures for bioaccumulation and persistence.
We have  undertaken an ongoing dialogue  with the  European
Commission  toward  harmonization  of regulations,  and  will  be
meeting with  the World Health Organization later this month to
draw up an international plan  of action to improve the evaluation
of health risks from exposure to chemicals.
Q: / understand that the third United Nations
conference on the Law  of the Sea  has also
considered the marine environment. I have two
questions. Has EPA played a part in this confer-
ence? And, should we be  satisfied  with the way
in which the conference has dealt  with the
question of the marine environment?
A:  Yes, EPA has  played a role.  Since  the beginning of the
Conference in 1973, we  have participated in the formulation of
U.S. positions, and  have been represented, through this office, on
the delegations to each of the Conference's  five negotiating
sessions.  Frankly,  1 am  not that  pleased  with  the Conference's
results on the issue  of marine pollution. The current draft treaty, if
it became final, would probably not harm the environment, but it
would add little to existing international law  on pollution. On the
well-publicized issue of pollution from ships, 1  read the current
text to mean, in essence, "business as usual."
  On the  whole,  I think the negotiations to date will be seen
someday  as  a muffed  environmental  opportunity.  It  is hard to
know where to place the  blame. Certainly, the U.S. environmental
position has  been one of the more enlightened viewpoints repre-
sented at the Conference, but we do not seem to have  had much
success in selling that viewpoint internationally.
Q:  What has been achieved under  the  US-
USSR Environmental Agreement?
A:  Doug Costle is the chairman  of  the  U.S.  side of the  Joint
Committee formed  to carry  out this agreement. In the first five
years since the Agreement was signed,  there has been a productive
exchange of information  and specialists between the Soviets and
ourselves, as well  as  an impressive amount  of joint work in
various fields. The  Agreement defines  11 different areas for joint
work in which there are  at present 41  projects underway. In this
connection, it should be noted that 16  of these projects are led by
EPA; the others are chaired by other agencies and  institutions
such  as Interior, Commerce, Agriculture,' Transportation,  and
Coast Guard, and  universities. This Agreement thus represents a
broad-gauged US effort aimed'at developing  cooperation with the
USSR.
  An excellent example of recent joint work in an EPA-led project
was the testing of  a U.S. electrostatic precipitator  and a Soviet
wet scrubber used  for the abatement of paniculate emissions from
electric power stations.  In another project, U.S. and Soviet
specialists have conducted joint  balloon experiments to measure
stratospheric aerosols.
Q:  What is the State of U.S.-Canadian cooper-
ation in protecting the Great Lakes?
A:  The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972 has been a
very  successful  vehicle for  mobilizing support  to  clean up the
Great Lakes. The  U.S. will be  spending more than $6 billion on
municipal wastewater treatment alone in the Great Lakes Basin to
meet  the terms of the Agreement. The fifth year review of the
Agreement is taking place this year. Both the  U.S. and Canada are
pleased  with progress made through  the Agreement and look
forward to the Agreement negotiations to strengthen the environ-
mental programs between the two countries.
Q:  / wanted  to ask you  about a complaint  by
the Canadian Minister of Environment, that air
pollution from this country is blowing into Can-
ada and causing harm to Canadians. Are you
familiar with that complaint?
A:  One  of our most important and challenging international roles
PAGE 14
                                            OCTOBER 1977

-------
 is to work with Canada  to solve our mutual environmental
 problems. I'm  aware of Minister LeBlanc's comments.  We are
 planning to meet with him  this fall to discuss a broad range of
 issues, including trans-boundary pollution. Minister LeBlanc rec-
 ognized in a speech before the Air Pollution Control Association
 in Toronto that this is a two-way street. EPA, through  my office,
 is participating in State  Department negotiations  with Canadian
 and  Ontario officials about  their  proposed fossil fuel plant ai
 Atikokan, Ontario,  that would  be just 35 miles from the pristine
 areas of northern Minnesota. I  expect to spend considerable time
 on the subject of long and  short-range transport of air pollutants
 in the coming months.
 Q: Internationally,  EPA  puts a  great deal  of
 effort into CCMS.  Can you describe what  the
 essential characteristics of this organization are?
 A: The NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society
 (CCMS) was created, on U.S. initiative, to explore ways in  which
 the quality  of life could be  improved.  Administrator Costle has
 been named by the  President to be the new  U.S. Representative to
 CCMS.
   Countries recommend  CCMS adoption of studies which  have
 the most relevance to their environmental policy needs.  Interested
 CCMS members thereby  "plot" international analyses, based on
 ongoing scientific, technical and  economic work,  toward  policy
. recommendations.
   EPA participated  in five of the eleven current CCMS projects:
 Advanced  Wastewater Treatment, Disposal of Hazardous Wastes,
 Air Pollution Assessment Methodology  and Modeling,  Flue Gas
 Desulfurization, and  Drinking Water.
   Through the  CCMS  projects,  EPA improves its knowledge  of
 the- state-of-the-art  and  of available solutions to problems  of
 industrialized countries. Under auspices of the Rue Gas  Desulfuri-
 zation project, EPA will gain substantial information on success-
 fully operated  systems,  operational problems and costs.  The
 Hazardous Waste Project has provided EPA  with valuable insight
 into  mine and landfill disposal practices,  and  has  produced
 recommended procedures for hazardous waste management. De-
 tails  on sophisticated  methods of wastewater treatment   used
 abroad  have helped EPA experts determine  which treatment
 methods may be feasible for use in the U.S.
 Q: How does  EPA cooperate with the UN
 Environment Program  (UNEP),  "the environ-
 mental conscience of the United Nations"?
 A: Administrator Costle met  with the Executive  Director  of
 UNEP,  Mustafa Tolba,  this spring.  Mr. Costle  pledged  EPA's
 strong continuing support for  UNEP's activities. For example,
 we've helped design the International Register of Potentially  Toxic
 Chemicals, an  international information system  that will  assist
 countries in dealing with chemical problems.
   EPA  technical staff are  active  in planning  UNEP's Global
 Environmental Monitoring System which will link together existing
 national monitoring  programs and then seek to fill in the gaps.  In
 addition, we provide the U.S. focal point for  UNEP's International
 Referral Center for Sources of Environmental Information.
   As a  result of the Administrator's meeting, we have stepped  up
 cooperation  in  sharing our  experience with  UNEP on a broad
 range of issues including  basic industrial analyses,  initiating envi-
 ronmental legislation, demonstrating that environmental expendi-
 tures create jobs,  and that overall savings do result from environ-
 mental expenditures.
 Q: What  role does EPA have in  developing
 regional and world monitoring systems for iden-
 tifying and  assessing problems in the global
 environment?
 A: EPA is  participating in  the  UNEP Global  Environmental
 Monitoring  System  (GEMS) primarily in  urban air monitoring.
 Our cooperation in the Global Water Quality Monitoring Network
 is increasing as a result of our role as a World  Health Organization
 Collaborating Center for Environmental Pollution Control. We are
 also  working with  Canada  in developing joint surveillance and
 monitoring  programs  in the Great  Lakes. This data will be
 incorporated into the GEMS system.
   I believe that the  U.S. can fully participate  in the establishment
of a global system only after  it establishes a comprehensive,
nationally coordinated environmental  monitoring  program. This
would  give us the ability to increase our data base of knowledge
as to which pollutants may be building up in  the general environ-
ment before thei r presence becomes a crisis.
Q: Are there many  opportunities abroad for
adopting ideas and technology to benefit EPA's
domestic programs?
A: Yes! Although we are not yet taking full advantage  of all that
is available, we have found many unique situations  that provide
valuable information for domestic efforts.  We  may be able  to
learn from Germany's experience concerning the  reclamation of
strip mined lands and resettlement of affected populations.  In
Poland several projects have provided us with valuable information
on  methods of utilizing stripped lands for agricultural purposes
and  methods for treating mine waste discharge. This information
might assist in unlocking the  coal reserves of the Great Northern
Plains in an environmentally safe manner.
  Through cooperation with the Japanese, we are learning about a
new dredging technology  which  allows  reclamation of contami-
nated  harbors  without major increase in suspended water sedi-
ments.  This  type of technology may  prove  useful  in situations
such as the Kepone contamination of the James River bottom. We
also gained first-hand information on Japanese air pollution control
measures  at coke production  ovens and used  it to resolve a court
action  in Region III.
  We  are working  to determine the positive  health impact of a
World  Bank-financed  pollution  abatement effort  in the city  of
Sarajevo,  Yugoslavia.  Reduction  in environmental air  and  water
pollution is expected to be dramatic. By working with the Sarajevo
government,  EPA researchers hope to.obtain valuable data on the
benefits of pollution abatement programs.
Q: In  the past, the United States has  exported
pesticides abroad that we prohibit in this coun-
try, and I just wondered what your view is on
that?
A: While  I don't feel that the U.S. is in  a position to assess the
internal needs  of other countries for particular pesticides  to
combat malaria, for  example, 1  do feel strongly  that the  U.S.
should  keep other governments  fully informed  of significant
actions taken in this country  regulating the use of pesticides. EPA
currently informs all foreign countries  with which we have diplo-
matic relations,  and concerned international  organizations, when-
ever a  registration,  cancellation, or suspension of a pesticide
occurs.  As one of my first  acts, I am  undertaking a complete
review  of the  procedures currently  in  use for  notification  of
foreign governments. This approach relates to private commercial
transactions. I believe the U.S. has additional responsibilities when
Federal action or funding is involved. We have been working with
AID on its Environmental  Impact Statement concerning its pest
management program, and  1  plan  to hold discussions with  other
funding organizations.
Q: Is  there any particular message  that you
would  like to give employees of EPA  and our
general public?
A: I hope all concerned environmentalists can feel  my excitement
at the  challenge and opportunities for  action in the  international
environmental arena.  Ultimately,  all environmental problems must
be solved globally,  and  EPA  has a crucial role to  play  in
international environmental  decision-making during  President
Carter's administration.
  1 hope that  the Office of International Activities can reach out
to all the  employees of EPA,  and work with them  to develop the
international implications of EPA's mandate.
  To the  general public,  1  want to  emphasize  that there  is
tremendous need for support on international environmental  is-
sues, from both  the  general  public and from non-governmental
organizations and citizen groups.
  As part of the President's program  for obtaining  a greater
awareness of citizens'  needs,  EPA management is participating in
numerous  town  meetings across  the country.  During  this  ongoing
exchange  we hope  .that  citizens will express their  concerns
regarding global as well as domestic issues. •
 EPA JOURNAL
                                                                                                                       PAGE 15

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AROUND
THE
NATION
septic systems
Maine summer home owners who want to
convert their houses for year-round use can-
not do so unless they have adequate sewage
disposal systems, according to a new law that
took effect last month. The law, proposed by
the water planning group for the Greater
Portland area, an agency created under Sec-
tion 208 of the Water Pollution Control Act,
is designed to help preserve Maine's lakes
and rivers, crucial to the State's tourist indus-
try, and reduce the need for central sewer
systems in many areas.
It requires owners who live in their houses
more than six months of the year to have
their septic tanks and fields inspected by
town officials to assure that they are capable
of handling the added sewage loads. If they
fail such inspection, the owners  must replace
them. Overloaded septic systems can pollute
nearby rivers and lakes.

certification
Maine is the first New England State to win
EPA approval of its plan for certify ing appli-
cators of restricted-use pesticides. Region 1
Administrator William Adams recently ap-
proved the State's plan, submitted more than
a year and a half ago by Gov. James B.
Longley. h takes effect Oct. 21.
 manhattan traffic
 A plan for auto traffic control to reduce air
 pollution in Manhattan has been agreed to by
 New York City and EFA. It is scheduled to
 go into effect soon, after expected approval
 by a Federal judge. The plan relies less on
 banning mid- and downtown parking and

 FACE  16
more on stricter enforcement of traffic laws
and encouraging mass transit by setting up
express lanes for buses and park-and-ride lots
near mass transit terminals outside the bor-
ough.
The proposal to charge tolls on all East River
bridges has been dropped.

ocean watch
Abnormally low levels of oxygen in the bot-
tom waters of the Atlantic Ocean from two to
five miles from the New Jersey coast were
recorded this summer, but they did not affect
water quality on the beaches. The condition
was reported by EPA and two other
agencies—the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration and the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection—
which are jointly monitoring the waters' qual-
ity. The decline  in oxygen levels began in
March, a normal occurrence for that time of
year. In early August at some points off
Manasquan, Barnegat, and  Atlantic City the
oxygen decline was so severe that bottom-
dwelling fish and other organ isms could be
harmed.
The decline did  not originate in the  12-square-
mile site farther off the Jersey shore where
sewage sludge from the New York metropoli-
tan area is dumped, but in waters farther
south, according to Dr. Richard Dewling,
Director of Surveillance and Analysis for EPA
Region II. "Oxygen levels at the dump site
have not gone down and are not expected to
go below normal," he said.
water plants
Herbicides washed into Chesapeake Bay are
believed to be causing a decline in rooted
aquatic plants in the bay, according to prelim-
inary results of a study being conducted for
EPA by the Smithsonian Institution. Such
plants provide food for migratory birds, and
also nurture many kinds offish and shellfish.
The study is also testing the theory that
increasing silt from agricultural runoff may be
reducing the amount of sunlight that water
plants receive, thus speeding their decline.
At the Smithsonian's Chesapeake Bay Center
for Environmental Studies, scientists are
growing typical aquatic plants in laboratory
tanks and measuring the effect of different
levels of waterborne herbicides.

flood cleanup
Region Ill's Emergency Response team
which was rushed  to Johnstown, Pd., the day
after a disastrous flood occurred there in July
                                         to help in the cleanup directed the recovery
                                         of more than 175,000 gallons of oil, SOOdrums
                                         of chemicals, and 500 propane gas cylinders.
                                         Breathing apparatus, gas detection meters,
                                         and protective clothing were lent to the local
                                         fire department by EPA to forestall injuries
                                         and damage from gas and explosive fumes.
                                         Hundreds of cars and trucks that were swept
                                         into the Conemaugh River and its flood plain
                                         had to be handled with care to avoid further
                                         contamination from oil and gasoline.
                                         Other Region ill people helped assess the
                                         damage to water and sewer systems to speed
                                         Federal aid for their repair or reconstruction.
                                          polluter fined
                                          C.F: Industries, a fertilizer manufacturer near
                                          Chattanooga, Tenn., has agreed to pay a
                                          $5,000 civil penalty for discharging pollutants
                                          into Chickamauga Lake last year. Without
                                          notifying State or EPA officials, the firm
                                          began dumping untreated chemical wastes
                                          into the lake in August, 1976, after an explo-
                                          sion damaged its pollution control equipment,
                                          according to PauITraina, regional Director of
                                          Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray
                                          H. Ledford handled the case for the Justice
                                          Department.
                                          steel mill
                                          More than 300 persons attended a hearing at
                                          Conneaut, Ohio, recently to discuss the envi-
                                          ronmental effects of a proposed new steel
                                          mill on the shore of Lake Erie east of the  city
                                          and straddling the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
                                          U.S. Steel Corporation had asked EFft and
                                          other Federal and State agencies to make a
                                          preliminary environmental assessment, and
                                          the hearing was called both to inform local
                                          residents and to obtain their reactions. The
                                          study is not yet complete.

                                          permits
                                          A request by Illinois to take over administer-
                                          ing and enforcing the wastewater discharge
                                          permit system in that State was the subject
                                          of a hearing in Chicago Sept. 7. If the request
                                          is approved by EPA, Illinois will be the sixth
                                          and last State in Region V to be granted this
                                          authority. A decision is expected by Oct.  23.

                                                                   OCTOBER 1977

-------
convicted
A Durant, Okla., exterminator was recently
convicted of seven violations of the Federal
pesticide law in connection with the deaths of.
three small children who ate poisoned cookies
from his truck in March, 1976. The court
postponed sentencing of J. D. Jones, pending
a probationary investigation. Maximum pen-
alty would be $25,000 fine and a year in jajl
for each violation: four counts of improper
application and one each of improper storage,
improper mixing, and failure to keep poisons
out of reach of children. The cookies had
been poisoned for use as rat bait. The children
took them from an open can by the driver's
seat of Jones's truck.

payment halted
Further payment on a $ 1.9-million wastewater
treatment grant to Jefferson Parish (county).
La., has been held up by Region VI officials.
because of a Justice Department investigation
into the handling of parish funds.
A Federal grand jury has indicted two parish
officials and a consulting engineer on conspir-
acy charges, alleging irregularities in the
awarding of contracts for the first phase of
work on a $!62-million sewage treatment proj-
ect. "We are making a special check concern-
ing compliance with EPA subcontracting re-
quirements, and an intensive audit will be
conducted," said John C. White, Regional
Administrator, when the suspension was or-
dered. "No further payments will be made
until there is complete assurance of.  . . pro-
priety."
new waste  law
A new law in Missouri creates a Waste Man-
agement Commission and empowers the
State's Department of Natural Resources to
regulate the generation, transport, storage,
and disposal of all hazardous wastes. The law
also provides the legal framework for the
State to operate a hazardous waste program
under the Resource Conservation and Recov-
ery Act of 1976.
extra service
Personnel of Region VIl's Surveillance and
Analysis Division, under William Keffer, have
recently been sampling and analyzing waste-
water from industries far outside the four-
State region.
Their special task involves factories as far
away as Little Rock. Ark.: Houston, Texas;
and San Francisco. Calif.: about 60 locations
altogether. It provides field and laboratory
support for EPA's Effluent Guidelines  Divi-
sion, which is establishing specific limits for
some 65 different water pollutants in 21 types
of industry. To be chosen to handle the bulk
of this investigative work, said Keffer, "is a
technical compliment to Region VII." The
project started in August and will extend
through October.
The Kansas City Sampling and Analysis ex-
perts are also assisting EPA contractors in
training their water sampling teams and eval-
uating their results.
oil shale
Plans for extracting oil from shale near
Rangely, Colo., have been tentatively ap-
proved by Region VlII's Office of Energy
Aclivities. Public hearings on the $93-million
pilot plant were held in July, and EPA officials
said the lessees. Standard Oil Co., of Indiana
and Gulf Oil Corporation, appear  to have
made adequate plans to control environmen-
tal damage. If various other approvals are
obtained, the companies expect to start work
before the end of the year.

farm  liaison
Region VIII is seeking to get farmers and
farm organizations actively involved in envi-
ronmental programs. An employee of the Soil
Conservation Service. Department of Agri-
culture, has been detailed to the Region to
encourage the participation of State and local
conservation agencies and to give technical
assistance to areawide water quality planning
groups.
The National Association of Conservation
Districts sponsored a three-day meeting Sept.
7 to 9 in Grand Junction. Colo., to discuss
how to carry out water quality management
plans.
A meeting of State water pollution and con-
servation agencies is scheduled for Oct. 20 in
Denver to discuss implementation programs
and new legislation.
The Region had exhibits on agriculture and
the environment at the Montana and Colo-
rado State Fairs this summer.
 city sued
 At EPA's request the US. Attorney in Los
 Angeles has brought suit against the Los
 Angeles Sanitation District, alleging discharge
 permit violations at the Hyperion Treatment
 Plant at Playa Del Rey. The plant discharges
 sewage sludge diluted with secondary effluent
 through an outfall pipe extending more than
 six miles into the Pacific Ocean at Santa
 Monica Bay. Since 1971 the District has re-
 ceived $20 million in Federal and State funds
 for the total elimination of the sludge dis-
 charges. The  permit, issued in August 1975.
 provided for ending the discharges within 30
 months from the concept approval date, Oct.
 ! of that year.
 EPA officials say Los Angeles has failed to
 take necessary interim actions, and the Los
 Angeles City Council last  April adopted a
 report of its Public Works Committee stating,
 "It is not practicable for the City to bind
 itself to a specific timetable for the termina-
 tion of the discharge of sewage sludge."
The sludge contains toxic  heavy metals, phe-
 nols, and chlorinated hydrocarbons as well as
other chemicals and organic substances.
forestry burning
Forestry burning — the deliberate use of fire
in the management of forest land or for the
disposal of slash after timber cutting — is the
subject of a scientific study launched last
month by EPA's Region X at the request of
State officials in Oregon and Washington.
Geomet, Inc.. a Gaithersburg. Md.. engineer-
ing consulting firm, will perform the study
under a $ 130.000 contract. The first phase is
to be completed in mid- 1978. and a draft
report will be made available for review by
industries, government agencies, and the pub-
lic.
The study seeks to  determine what kind of
pollutants will result from a particular type of
burn, the best burning methods, the effects
of terrain and elevation on smoke transport.
alternatives to slash burning, and human
health effects.
Deliberate burning  is now regulated by the
U.S.  Forest Service and by various State
authorities, who issue permits only during
certain favorable weather conditions.
EPA  JOURNAL
                                                                                                                          PAGE 17

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YOUTH  AWARDS
      The  Rower-decorated  bus pulls  up in
      front (if an elementary school. Soon a
      stream of small children  carrying
newspapers, maga/.ines. and cartons of soda
bottles file into the bus. Under the watchful
eye of a group of high school students they
deposit their treasures into the marked barrels
and boxes  that  line  the inside of the bus.
When Ihe "Ecology Bus" pulls out later that
day it will be filled with reusable materials.
  Students at Governor Mifflin Senior High
School in  Shillington.  Pa., are starting their
fifth year of a project that has recycled close
to 300 tons of newspaper and over 300 tons
of glass. They persuaded the school board to
turn over to them a bus that  was due  to be
traded  in. It  was painted, equipped with  a
desk,  chairs,  and bins for  materials. Several
times a month the bus is driven to other area
schools to help promote recycling.
  The  kids who bring Iheir contributions to
Ihe  "Hcology Bus"  are  among more than
five million young people who arc learning to
appreciate, enjoy and  improve their physical
surroundings  through  the  President's  F.nvi-
ronmenlal Youth Awards program, adminis-
tered by F.PA. The program fosters ecological
awareness by  involving students in projects
of their own design  that deal with air  and
water pollution,  noise, and solid  waste  dis-
posal  in their communities. These activities
often tie in with school work as science classes
take water samples, art classes produce anti-
pollution posters, and  English classes write
plays  and reports about local environmental
problems.
  The youth  program is first  and  foremost a
local effort. Although the administrative staff
for  the program  is located in EPA's Office of
Public Awareness in Washington. D.C..  under
youth program director Mary Faye Dudley.
the choice of a project, planning, and execu-
tion are all done  by the kids themselves. They
gel  assistance from parents,  teachers, com-
munity groups, and local businesses.
  When a youth group finds a project  that
interests them,  they  must first choose  an
Awards Panel from  interested  local adults.
 The Panel members serve as a liaison between
students and the community. One member,
who serves  as  a  sponsor must  enroll  the
projects with the President's  Knvimnmental
Youth Awards staff.
  The Panel  members set guidelines for the
project according to  local environmental
problems  and needs.  They advise students.
encourage community involvement, and eval-
uate  the  results at  the completion  of the
project.
   At  the recommendation  of  Panel members
students receive a Certificate of Merit or an
Award  lor Environmental  F-xcellence from
local  dignitaries  at a special ceremony. F.PA
staff supply the certificates and keep a  record
of Ihe projects. Some projects, like the "Kcol-
ogy Bus" have been with  the program since
the very beginning and are getting better each
year.
  Speaking about the  program. President
Carter has said. "Young people in  summer
camps and  schools  today  are  much more
interested in environmental problems  than
their parents were, and this  is good. We  need
your help with the job of cleaning  up our
world."
  The youth program was created by F.xecu-
tive Order on October 25. 1971. to recogni/.e.
reward, and  encourage environmental activi-
ties by American high  school students. The
program  was expanded to  include  summer
camps on March 10. 1972.
  The  first  awards ceremony  was held in
April 1972 in the White House Rose Garden.
That year close  to 10.(XX) youngsters received
certificates for  taking part  in the new  pro-
gram.
  Participation  in the environmental program
more than doubled in the next year:  1972-73
saw 26.(XX) youngsters involved. In  1973-74
participation rose to  more than  52,000  boys
and girls. The  number of  participants  has
grown  each year and  in  1976-77  close to
KO.(XX)certificates were distributed.
  More than 300,000 children have  received
awards for their service to  .the  environment
since  the  President's program  began.  The
President's  Environmental Youth  Awards
now involve all youth organisations. F.PA staff
members estimate that  over 5 million young-
sters have been exposed to ecologicaliy-ori-
Thefr»f> who adorns the front of the "E
Bus" is a symbol of recycling for many
Pennsylvania schoolchildren.
ented activities  through  teachers  or  other
youth group leaders.
  Agency support of the program  includes
supplying teachers and leaders with informa-
tional brochures, bi-annual bulletins describ-
ing  projects underway, and shoulder patches
for  participants.  F.PA has an environmental
activities workbook called  "Fun With  the
Environment" for younger children.  A  book-
let called "Environmental Exchange—a  Be-
ginning' outlines experiments  that can be
done by junior high and high  school students.
"Career Choices." an outline of educational
programs that train students for  environmen-
tal jobs, is also available.
  EPA  IX-puty  Administrator Barbara Blum
made this  comment  about the  Agency in-
volvement in  the youth program: "If we  can
encourage their respect and appreciation for
our beautiful land, help them understand the
fragile nature  of Nature, inspire  their partici-
pation in projects of social benefit and provide
positive reinforcement for accepting environ-
mental  responsibility at  such an early age.
then what great rewards we all receive."
  KPA staffers report that the youth projects
they receive reports on cover a wide range of
interests from outdoor activities to petitions
and public information campaigns that require
more enthusiasm than sweat.

       Students at  Columbia Grade School in
       Portland.  Ore.,  tackled 28 weed-
       choked acres to start work on  an ar-
boretum and  wildlife refuge as  then"  youth
project. They planted I.(XX) trees and plotted
sites fora future forest of MMXX).
  The school children are working on a five-
year plan. They hope to build nests for water-
PAC1K 18
                                                                                                                 OCTOBF.R 1977

-------
fern I along the 3-acre pond that  borders the
arboretum, and to improve the access road.
Eventually the area  may also have picnic
tables and  a cleared area for annual garden
crops.
   High  School students in Iowa are learning
to he active stewards of their environment
through a youth  project  that ties ecological
issues in with  the political process. Students
Concerned About Tomorrow's Knvironmem
(Project  SC'ATH) involves  some 50 school
districts across ihe State. At workshops teach-
ers and  students learn environmental investi-
gation techniques from ecologists. State legis-
lators   also  pitch   in  to  teach  political
participation.
   The students pick a local or State issue for
research and  leg-work.  Recent  topics  have
included land  use. energy, and a returnable
bottle hill.  In January they hold  regional as-
semblies, introduce resolutions to solve envi-
ronmental problems, and then hold debates
to decide which  resolutions  lo  send on to
then-version of the State assembly.
   Selected SCAT 1-1 members act  as lobbyists
for the  environmental  measures  at the two-
day mock State assembly. There the  bills go
through  committees  that determine which
proposals will be presented for debate before
the full  suidcnt assembly. Measures that pass
(his final test go hi the Iowa General  Assem-
bly where they receive the attention of career
legislators.
   Tho student project is having some impact.
 Under the watchful eye of their sponsor, high
 school students from Governor Mifflin High
 School son newspapers for recycling.
In Iowa  City,  as  part  of  shop courses, the
school system builds  a  house each  year.
SCATE members  have  persuaded the educa-
tors  to build solar  heat into the homes.  A
bottle bill that has student support has passed
the Iowa House  of Representatives

     In a  Passaic.  N.J. youth project inner-city
     youngsters get to  know a different envi-
     ronment  by spending  six  weeks  in  a
rural setting. Groups of high  school boys and
girls stay at the Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area, where they work at improv-
ing the camp sites  and themselves.
   On  an  average .day  these  young people
spend  several   hours refurbishing  buildings.
tending the grounds, and caring for animals.
They have classes  on  environmental  topics
and  then apply their new  knowledge  in the
work they do  on  their surroundings. This
project is unfamiliar ground for city kids, but
it has worked well. The project, which started
in 1974,  has expanded  and  last summer in-
cluded several hundred young people.
   These  are only a sampling of the projects
that  youngsters are involved in all across
America. The  scope of the President's Envi-
ronmental Youth Awards program allows stu-
dents to see many ways that daily life and the
environment are tied together.
   In Vineland. N.J. grade  school  students
recycled paper and glass. They learned a new
meaning  of the recycling concept by collect-
ing used  clothing  and  household items for a
family  that  had  been  burned  out of their
home.
   In Culver City.  Ca.. at the Braddock Drive
School the Student Council planted and main-
tained a garden of crops popular during colon-
ial times.
   Knoxville. Tenn.. students  at  the  Doyle
Middle School developed an understanding of
the importance of energy conservation in  the
fight against pollution.

     In Centereach. NY. children at the North
     Cole man Road School have developed a
     compost heap to make fertilizer for their
garden project. They recycle leftovers from
their  lunches into  the compost  he'ap. The
students have also  built  a worm  farm to
supply beneficial wildlife for their garden.
   Some schools  vary their projects from year
to year as the interests of the children  involved
change. Other  projects,  like the  "Ecology
Bus" continue even when  the students move
on. In a few  cases, ihe environmental projects
take mot and grov\  into more  complex pro-
grams that benefit entire communities.
   As an outgrowth of their marine biology
classes, students at  Biloxi High  School  on
Mississippi's Gulf Coast took on the project
of explaining the intricacies of  their environ-
ment. They studied the unique ecology of the
Mississippi Sound, and catalogued the scien-
tific research being  done in the  area. The
results of their research were published in a
book,  "Guide to the Marine  Resources of
Mississippi", which has since  been  adopted
as a State text.
   Students learned  the history of the harrier
islands off  their  beaches  in  the  Gulf of
Mexico. They investigated the habits  of  the
fish that have provided livelihood for gener-
ations of their families.  They also studied
the fine art of beachcombing.
   As a result one  young  man built  a me-
chanical simulator that  illustrates the oscil-
latory movement  of water in waves. The
Gulf shoreline is often  dotted with natural
oddities called "hurricane balls". A  young
woman, as  her  part of the project, formu-
lated a theory about how waves build these
conglomerations of marsh plant  material
and sand  around flotsam  like grassroots
and cigarette filters.

   The youth project has expanded  into  the
Biloxi High School Environmental  Cooper-
ative Education Program. Students with no
classes scheduled the last  few  hours  of the
school day  participate in  a work-study pro-
gram with  local  environmental agencies  like
the  Mississippi  Conservation  Commission.
When  word got  out just how well  the
students were working, some agencies came
to the school looking for  more participants.
This  year  students  may  even  receive aca-
demic credit for their efforts.
   Ms. Blum has said, "In so many  ways,
every  effort to preserve  and protect  the
environment is ultimately for the  children—
and the beauty of the President's Environ-
mental  Youth Awards is that  it helps  them
to help themselves." •
KPA JOURNAL
                                                                                                                         PAGH 19

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                                          PEOPLE
Swep Davis Jr. has been
promoted lo HPA's Deputy
Assistant Administrator tor
Water Planning and Standards
after having served as Director
of the OITice of Analysis and
Kvaluation, since June. 1976. He
started with HPA in 1972 in the
Water Economics Branch.
Economics Analysis Division.
Previous experience includes
consulting for a non-profit public
policy consulting firm and Army
service from  l%8to 1970.
including a year in Viet Nam.
Davis received a degree in
mechanical engineering from the
Georgia  Institute of Technology
in I96Kand an M.B.A. from the
Harvard Graduate School of
Business Administration  in  1972.
His background combines
engineering wilh  math.
economics, management  and
policy planning. He is 32  years
old and is from Hattiesburg.
Miss.

Gerald Hanslcr, former HPA
Region II Administrator in New
York, has been appointed
Kxecutive Director of the
IX'laware River Basin
Commission, a four-Slate body
responsible for water resource
planning and development in the
Delaware Valley. Before joining
EPA in 1970, Hansler was an
environmental affairs official in
the Department of Health.
Education, and Welfare. He
recently retired as a
commissioned officer with the
Public Health Service after 20
years of service. Hansler has
also worked in public health
protection, water supply and
pollution control. A native of
Summit, N.J., he holds degrees
in civil and industrial
engineering from the  University
of Washington.

Anthony Freedman is the new
Deputy Director for the Office
of Legislation.  He comes to HPA
from C'apitol Hill, where he  was
legislative assistant for Rep.
Elizabeth Holtzman (D-N. Y.)
from I972lo 1977. Freedman
was an attorney in private
practice and taught junior high
school science as well from  1968
to 1972. He received his B.S.
degree in political science and
English in 1965 from the City
College of New York, and a J.D.
from Stanford Haw School in
I96X.

Dr. Stephen J. Gage has been
recommended for the post of
EPA Assistant Administrator for
Research and Development. The
recommendation to the White
House was made by EPA
Administrator Douglas M.
Costle. Since 1975 he has
served as Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Energy,
Minerals and Industry in the
()ffice of Research and
Development. Before coming to
EPA in 1974, Dr. Gage was
Senior Staff Member for
Energy Programs with the
Council of Environmental
Quality. He was a White House
Fellow in 1971. working with
the White House Office of
Science and Technology, and
Director of the Nuclear Reactor
Laboratory University of Texas,
Austin, from 1966 to 1971.
Dr. Gage received a B.S.
degree in mechanical
engineering from the University
of Nebraska in 1962, and M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue
University in 1964 and 1966.
respectively. His background is
primarily in nuclear engineering
and energy conversion.
Professional affiliations include
the American  Nuclear Society.
the American  Society of
Mechanical Engineers, and the
American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and
honorary membership in the
Society of Sigma Xi. Originally
from Nebraska. Dr. Gage. 37.
now lives in Bethesda,
Maryland.
Rebecca \V. Hanmer has been
named IX'puty Regional
Administrator for EPA's Region
1 office in Boston. Mass. For the
past two years she has been
Director of the Agency's Office
of Federal Activities, which
included the coordination of
EPA's program for reviewing
Federal agency projects and
environmental impact
statements. Hanmer has been
with EPA since its beginnings.
Her previous experience
includes working tor EPA's
predecessor agencies, the
Federal Water Quality
Administration and the Federal
Water Pollution Control
Administration in the
Department of the Interior. She
earned a bachelor's degree in
political science in 1963 at the
College of William and Mary in
Virginia, and a master's degree
in the same subject at American
University in Washington. D.C.
Hanmer is a member of several
conservation organisations and
professional societies.
Roy N. Gamse, former Director
of the Economic Analysis
Division in the Office of
Planning and Evaluation, has
been named Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Planning and
Evaluation. Before joining EPA
in l972.Gam.se was employed in
the Systems Analysis
Department of the Mitre
Corporation. A I%7 graduate of
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology with a B.S. in
economics. Gamse earned an
M.B.A. from the Harvard
School of Business in 1972. He
is 32 years old and lives in
Washington. D.C.
fAGH 20
                                                                                                          OCTOBER 1977

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                     ENVIRONMENTAL  ALMANAC
                    A GLIMPSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD WE HELP PROTECT
                                                 OCTOBER
 Bon Voyage!
     The last of the chimney swifts, those
     birds  that look like flying cigars,
 are leaving the Washington area on their
 fall migration to  the  Amazon Basin,
 thousands  of  miles away in  Brazil and
 Peru.
    We'll  miss  their chattering  calls  as
 they rolled and twisted through the sum-
 mer sky in relentless  pursuit  of their
 insect food. We enjoyed watching them
 at dusk, as they congregated around an
 abandoned church  building,  shaping
 their flying formation into a  funnel be-
 fore descending into a chimney to spend
 the night clinging to the  rough bricks.
    Their chattering stopped the other
 day and we realized they had departed
 for their winter home. The  swifts are
 part of the great autumnal departure of
 birds, one of the cyclical wonders  of
 Nature.
    The swifts  apparently  leave  because
 the approach  of cooler weather dimin-
 ishes their food supply of insects. Called
 swifts because they are one of the faster
 fliers, these birds can  travel 100 miles
 in a day. They sometimes reach speeds
 of 60  to 70 miles  an hour but even  in
 migration frequently make extensive de-
 tours  to nourish themselves on insects.
    The use of abandoned chimneys  by
 these  swifts as a protected area to spend
 the night  is a remarkable adaptation.
 Swifts used to roost in  hollow trees but
 now prefer these man-made structures.
    We had speculated that in the Ama-
 zon Basin  the swifts might once again
 seek  out  replicas of  their ancestral
 homes—old trees or caves. However, a
 recent report  stated that thousands  of
 them  had  been  seen pouring out of an
 abandoned factory chimney in Brazil.
    The remarkable fact  is that the swifts
 and thousands of other migrating spe-
 cies survive  their extraordinary  jour-
 neys.  The casualty rates on  these trips
 are usually high.
    Some birds crash into tall buildings,
 blinded by the light from a setting sun,
 confused  by  their reflected  images  in
 mirror-like   building   exteriors,  or
 smashed  by obstacles  they  never saw
 on dark nights.
  An occasional peril for migrating birds
is pesticides. For example, some robins
in Florida died after feeding on berries
which had been inadvertently contami-
nated when a nearby potato field was
sprayed.
  Canada geese and ducks have been
killed when they fed  on alfalfa which
had been recently sprayed with an in-
secticide.
  Another type of death  is  illustrated
by the following example, cited by EPA's
Pesticide  Programs Office. Some snow
geese migrating through Missouri died.
An investigation produced evidence sug-
gesting that the deaths resulted from
the  delayed effects upon the geese  of
eating rice seed  in Texas which had
been treated with an insecticide.
  The geese  stored  the  insecticide  in
their  body fat without suffering any
harm at  first.  However, when the birds
used the fat as a source  of energy  in
flight, the insecticide entered  their
blood stream and traveled to the brain.
  There are obstacles  and dangers  all
over the  world for the  aerial migrants.
Thousands of geese trying to cross the
Himalayas in  Asia have crashed  into
these peaks or succumbed to chilly
blasts.
  Yet nothing seems to check the urge
to migrate to warmer climates. In Brit-
ain,  the  swallows fly off to  southern
Africa to spend the winter.
  The Arctic Tern, in the most exten-
sive flight of all, winters in the Antarctic
and then  spends summer in the Arctic,
a distance of over 10,000 miles.
  Even in the insect  world, some  ex-
traordinary migrations are under way.
Monarch  butterflies, which are  widely
seen over the United States and south-
em  Canada  during the  summer, start
moving south in September. Some fly to
Florida, some to California, and others
to Mexico where they spend the winter
semi-dormant, clinging to trees in huge
colorful masses.
  With the return of spring to the Wash-
ington area we will  be visited  again by
hummingbirds from Panama,  white-
eyed vireos  from Mexico,  Cape May
warblers from the West Indies,  the sooty
shearwater from  Tierra del Fuego at  the
southern  tip  of South  America,  and of
course, the chimney swifts back from
the  Amazon.  Some will  nest here  and
others will be on  their  way to points
farther north. All w ill be welcome.—C. D. P.
KPA JOURNAL
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SOLAR POWER FOR  WASTE
TREATMENT
      Solar power will be used to help run
      a national  award-winning  waste
      water treatment  plant now being
built in southwestern Maine with the aid
of EPA funds.
  The design for this facility now being
built in Wilton, Maine, has won the Ow-
ens-Corning Energy Conservation award,
industrial category, in 1975.
  Wilton,  population 4,300,  is  located
about 60 miles north of Portland. Some
homes in the area have  septic  tanks but
many have  been discharging raw sewage.
In order to meet  the standards set by the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act of
1972, the  town  had  to build a  waste
treatment plant.
  EPA is contributing 75 percent  of the
cost of the project,  over $3 million. The
State of Maine  is  paying 15 percent.
$600.000. The remaining 10 percent  will
be  raised by the  townspeople through
loans from  the Farmer's Home Adminis-
tration, property  taxes, and user charges.
Some  local  industries will  be served  by
the  new treatment plant,  but only for
sanitary  sewage, not for  industrial  ef-
fluent.
  Harold Cahill. Jr.. chief of EPA's Mu-
nicipal Construction Division, says, "The
Wilton, Me. treatment plant may well be
part of the real  solution for the future.
This treatment plant has been designed
as an energy conserving  solar power sys-
tem. Fiberglass panels will transfer solar
heat into the processing areas.  Solar col-
lectors will  carry heat to  the  anaerobic
digesters. The design, orientation, and ex-
posure have been thoughtfully developed
to  get the  optimum  benefits  from the
climate and geography of the site."
  Designer of the plant is engineer and
solar consultant Douglas A. WilkeofGlen
Head, N.Y. The engineering firm for the
project is Wright, Pierce, Barnes and Wy-
manofTopsham, Me.
  Active and passive solar collectors will
be  used  to the utmost  by the southern
orientation  of the  buildings.  Projecting
sidewalls protect  the  collection surface
from the chilling effects of the wind. The
north roof will be covered with light stone
chips to prevent heat accumulation in the
summer. The roof is also designed to hold
snow, which will act as an insulator during
the winter months.
   Insulated fiberglass panels on the south
side  of the building will allow heat from
the sun to warm the  air in  the process
rooms of the plant.
   Active solar energy  wil! also be cap-
tured through black metal solar collection
panels set at  a  60 degree slope, forming
the south roof of the treatment plant. An
antifreeze  solution   will be pumped
through  these panels and heated to  120°-
140° F by the sun.
  The energy from this  system  will  be
used to  heat the sludge digesters. These
tanks, which are used to biologically break
down organic matter  in the sludge,  must
be maintained  at  a  constant 98°  F.  A
byproduct of  the decomposition process
is  methane, a  colorless, odorless gas that
can be used as  a fuel. The methane will
be channeled  into storage tanks where it
will be stored until  needed to operate the
electric  generator or  fuel the hot water
boiler during prolonged periods of little or
no sun.
   A  heat pump located at the end of the
waste water treatment system will extract
heat  from the process  water, which can
then  be  used to supplement the solar and
methane systems. This device also lowers
the temperature of the wastes sufficiently
to prevent  thermal shock to the plant and
animal  life in the small stream which
receives the flow.
   Another solar collector, made of many
layers of  translucent  fiberglass  panels
backed  by  a  black heat-absorber plate,
forms the  south wall of the building that
encloses the  bio-discs.  Bio-discs  are  a
form  of biological  secondary treatment.
   Use of bio-discs instead  of trickling
filters for secondary treatment also saves
energy  because of the  lesser costs  in-
 volved in heating the smaller area required
 to enclose the process. Trickling filters
 use a rotating arm that drips waste water
 over a bed of stones that support bacterial
 slime. The bacteria consume the nutrients
 in the effluent and produce cleaner water.
 Both processes would require heated en-
 closure because  of the extremely cold
 temperatures experienced in Wilton. The
 engineers decided to  use more compact
 bio-discs, which work  by revolving a plas-
 tic drum covered with bacterial slime in a
 holding tank full of waste water.
  John T. Rhett,  EPA's Deputy Assistant
 Administrator for Water Program Opera-
 tions says,  "We are  hoping, once the
 Wilton plant is built and operating, it will
 live up to its potential. Saving energy is a
 big asset for our EPA construction proj-
 ects, particularly in  our goal to cut oper-
 ating costs for the smaller communities.
 While none  of the energy supply, energy
 saving, and energy recovery methods de-
 signed into the plant are completely new
 and untried,  the combination of the energy
 capturing methods in the design is unprec-
 edented and innovative. That is why we
 funded 75 percent of the capital cost, and
 why we  are hoping the consulting  engi-
 neering and design profession will be chal-
 lenged by the Wilton experience to come
 up with even better energy savings at less
 cost." The  engineer  estimates that the
 systems  will save Wilton approximately
 $4500 per year.
  The two plant  buildings have been situ-
ated  to take  fullest advantage of any sun-
light  available.  Parts of the buildings will
be sheltered  below ground to take advan-
tage  of natural insulation. The  earth and
other material excavated during this proj-
ect will be used to build a small hill to the
west of the plant at  an angle that will
reflect the rays of the  early  morning sun
onto  the solar collector  surface.  A
scooped out plain south of the plant will
also  reflect  sunlight onto the  collectors
when there is snow on the ground. Natu-
rally-occurring  woods  in the surrounding
PAGE 22
                                                               OCTOBER 1977

-------
area have been left standing to act as a
windbreak.  Plantings  of juniper, a low-
tying  evergreen,  will collect  snow  and
form  a  natural insulator around portions
of the building.
  Another energy-saving feature  of  the
Wilton plant is the use of gravity wherever
possible  to  reduce  the  need for pumps.
Sewage is lifted into the plant by screw
pumps, devices that look like giant augers.
The-only energy  used is for turning  the
screws.  These  automatically  lift a meas-
ured  amount of sludge  to  the  top of an
incline with  each  rotation. The processes
within the plant are grouped to take  ad-
vantage of gravity flow.
  The eft'luent from the Wilton plant will
be discharged into Wilson Stream, a small
brook that runs from  Wilson Lake  into
the Sandy River. The discharge pipes will
be submerged to keep winter disruption
to a minimum.  During drought periods,
when the flow of Wilson  Stream is  low,
the effluent will not be discharged  into
the stream  but  will  be sprayed  onto a
nearby wixided area where it will provide
water and nutrients for trees and plants.
   Digested sludge  from this plant will be
 Architect's rendering oj a waste treatment plant
 being built at Wilton, Maine.
loaded into trucks and earned to local
farmland where it will be used as a soil
supplement.  During winter months the
sludge will be stockpiled.
  "Saving  and  recovering our environ-
mental resources—usable  materials such
as soil conditioners from sewage sludge—
must  be the future direction of our envi-
ronmental program,"  Assistant Adminis-
trator for Water and Ha/ardous Materials
Thomas Jorling said. "The Wilton project
represents a commendable application of
a resource conservation alternative to our
needs for affordable  waste water  treat-
ment facilities under the HRA construction
grants program."«
  * i^.~5 i T.A.JK?i  £Mf9&SSiiAnMju
 I-I'A JOURNAL
                                                                                                                 PAGH 23

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UPDATE
                              A listing of recent Agency publi-
                              cations, and other items of use to
                              people interested in the environ-
                              ment.
GENERAL

PUBLICATIONS
Single copies available from
Printing Management Office
(PM-215) US EPA, Washington,
D.C. 20460. (202)755-0890

A Global Environmental Con-
cern: EPA's Scientific Activities
Overseas Program (October
1977) A 12-page booklet that de-
scribes EPA's scientific activities
in other countries. The multi-mil-
lion dollar program funds envi-
ronmental research in six na-
tions.

Residuals Management and
Water Pollution Control Plan-
ning (October 1977) A 12-page
pamphlet describing the impact
of solid waste on water quality.
It deals with water pollution from
industry, agriculture, mining,
and wastewater treatment.

Earth Trek (October 1977) A 16-
page environmental handbook
for junior high school students.
The pamphlet gives students an
overview of the ecological sys-
tem that they are a part of, and
explains why it must be pro-
tected.

A World Fit for Chipmunks and
Other Living Things (July, 1977)
This 16-page coloring book for
young children continues the
story of Charlie the Chipmunk.
Charlie moved from the litter-
filled park to the forest, and the
book tells about his new home.
Available from Office of Public
Awareness, EPA, 1735 Baltimore
Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. 64108.
WOE  24
Sludge Handling and Disposal
Practices at Selected Municipal
Wastewater Treatment Plants
(MCD-33) This 56-page report de-
scribes sludge handling prac-
tices used by members of the
Association of Metropolitan Sew-
age Agencies. It evaluates de-
watering and disposal methods
with respect to availability of
equipment, handling costs, and
other factors. The book also dis-
cusses research needs and non-
technical aspects of sludge.
Available from General Services
Administration (8FFS), Central-
ized Mailing Lists Services, Bldg.
41, Denver Federal Center, Den-
ver, Co. 80225.
FEDERAL
REGISTER
NOTICES
Copies of Federal Register
notices are available
at a cost of $.20 per
page. Write Office of the Federal
Register, National Archives and
Records Service, Washington,
D.C. 20408.

Fuel Economy Retrofit Devices.
EPA establishes interim test pro-
cedures and evaluation criteria;
effective 8-10-77. pp. 40438-444.
August 10.

Pesticide Programs. EPA issues
rebuttable presumption against
registration and continued regis-
tration of Ethylenebisdithiocar-
bamates(EBDC's). pp. 40617-
675. August 10.
New Stationary Sources. EPA
revises detailed requirements
used to measure emissions from
affected facilities: effective 9-19-
77. pp. 41753-89. August 18

Truck-mounted Solid Waste
Compactors. EPA proposes
noise emission standards, com-
ments by 11-25-77. pp. 43225-
243. August 26.
COMING EVENTS
More information about
these events and
EPA's participation in them is
available from Sue Sladek(202)
426-4188.

Current Issues on Environmen-
tal Regulation of Nuclear Power
Facilities, sponsored by the
Atomic Industrial Forum, Octo-
ber 11—14 at the Capitol Hilton,
Washington, D.C.

American Environmental
Forum, with Deputy Administra-
tor Barbara Blum in Madison,
Wisconsin, on October 25, to be
carried by WHA-TV, a Madison
TV station.

The American Public Health As-
sociation, annual meeting Octo-
ber 30—Novembers, Washing-
ton, DC. Administrator Douglas
M. Costle will address the meet-
ing on November 1.

National Solid Waste Manage-
ment Association, annual meet-
ing, November 14—16, Washing-
ton, D.C.

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                              briefs
THE 1978 GAS MILEAGE FIGURES

As of this month, EPA's newly released fuel  economy  guide
for 1978 model year vehicles  should  be available  in  new car
showrooms.  "The best way to  use these railes-per-gallon
figures," Administrator Costle said, "is  to  recognize  that
if Car A gets 20 percent better fuel economy on the  test
than Car B, then any owner can reasonably expect  to  get 20
percent better fuel economy in Car A." Last year's  overall
winner, the Honda Civic CVCC, has not yet been certified by
EPA, but of those which have, the top three  by class were:
the Datsun B-210 (minicompact; averaging  40  mpg),  the
Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel (subcompact; 45  mpg), and the
Peugeot 504 Diesel (compact;  30 mpg).

CLEANER AIR

In its annual report to Congress on  air pollution prevention,
EPA states that atmospheric levels of particulates  (dust) have
been reduced four percent a year since 1971,  resulting in 33
percent fewer Americans breathing dangerous  levels of  this
pollutant in 1976.  Also, levels of  sulfur dioxide have been
cut 30 percent in urban areas from 1970-1975.  Although levels
of carbon monoxide, photo chemical oxidant  (smog),  and nitrogen
dioxide have not been monitored as long as the other pollutants
— making national trends difficult  to establish  —  encouraging
evidence suggests that progress has  also  been made in  varying
degrees in reducing levels of these  contaminants.

PUBLIC MEETINGS ON HAZARDOUS  WASTES

EPA will hold three public meetings  this  month to explain the
probable content of guidelines and regulations being developed
for the management of hazardous wastes -- those wastes such as
radioactive and toxic substances which present special dangers
to public health and the environment.  The meetings  will be in
Arlington, Va., on Oct. 11-12; St. Louis  on  Oct.  13-14; and
Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 17-18.  Registration times,  exact
location, meeting times, and  summaries of the materials to be
reviewed are available by contacting EPA's Office of Solid
Waste, (WH-462), Wash. D.C. 20460 (Phone:  (202)  755-9157).
                                                                PACii: 25

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 A  Gunboat  for  EPA


A       patrol  gunboat,  of  a class  rated
       "pound-for-pound  the deadliest" war-
       ships in the U.S. Navy, has been given
 to EPA  and will  patrol the Great  Lakes as a
 floating water quality laboratory.
  The former  USS Crockett. PG-88. was
 turned over to the Agency late in July  at
 Norfolk. Va. A hired crew sailed her to the
 Naval Ship Research and Development Cen-
 ter. Annapolis. Md.. to have her guns,  range
 tinder, and gas turbine removed. They then
 took  her  to  Milwaukee.  Wis., via the St.
 Lawrence Seaway and  l^akes Ontario.  Erie,
 Huron, and Michigan.
  Conversion of the vessel will be completed
 this winter, according to George R. Alexander
 Jr.. Regional Administrator of KPA Region V.
 Chicago. Monitoring cruises are expected to
 start in the spring when the ice breaks up and
 Great I-iikes  navigation opens. The ship will
 be based in Cleveland. Ohio.
  "We  are very grateful to the Navy for
 giving us the Crockett,"said Alexander. "She
 will be the largest U.S. research vessel on the
 Great  Lakes and will greatly help in our
 studies  and enforcement  efforts  toward im-
 proving the lakes' water quality."
  The former gunboat is 165 feet long.  25
 feet wide, and in naval service drew nine and
 a halt feet of water. Her hull and  main  struc-
 ture are aluminum. Glass fiber is extensively
 used  in the above-deck  housing  and super-
 structure.
   As a patrol gunboat. Ihe Crockett also had
 a gas turbine—an adaptation of the J79 air-
 craft  engine—providing  13.300 shaft horse-
 power and a top speed of 40 knots  (about 46
 mph). but such  speed  is not needed in  a
 research vessel.
   The  two 725-horsepower 12-cylinder die-
 sels that remain in the ship are so  geared to
 the  twin,  adjustable-pitch  propellors that
 either engine alone can drive the vessel.
    The space left after  removal of the gas
 turbine will become the ship's main chemical
 laboratory.  30  feet long and  18 feet  wide.
 Alexander said.  The former radar room will
 become the "wet lab."
   The  refitting  and conversion will include
 installing cranes for lowering instilments and
sampling gear, modification of the ship's ra-
dar, depth-finding, and navigation equipment;
installing laboratory equipment; and refitting
living quarters for the scientists and  techni-
cians.
   According to Robert Bowden. Chief of the
Great  Lakes Surveillance Branch, the ship
will  probably  have a crew  of about eight
persons, employed by a firm that will operate
the ship on contract to KPA's Region V.
   The monitoring work will be performed  by
from  eight to 15 scientists and technicians.
The number will vary according to the work
to be done on any one cruise. "The ship will
be available for research by universities  in
the Great Qikes area as well as by KPA and
its contractors." Bowden said.
  The Crockett  will be  the fifth vessel  in
Region  V's Great Lakes  "fleet",  which in-
cludes the Roger  R. Simons, a  122-foot for-
mer Coast Guard buoy  tender, and three
smaller vessels now on loan to two universi-
ties and to  EPA's Office of Research and
Development.
   The converted gunboat is faster and room-
ier than the  Simons  and should be more
economical to operate and maintain.
   As Edward  McClain. of KPA's Headquar-
ters  Contracts Office  put it:  "The Simons.
with all four engines running and jumping off
their pads, can go 12 miles per hour, if we're
lucky.  The Crockett can  cruise at  16 miles
per hour on her twodiesels."
"U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1977 7ZO-U6/9  1-3
  The Crockett will be used for the next two
years for an intensive survey of  Lake Erie.
according to Chris Timm. Director of Region
V's Surveillance and Analysis Division, to
analyze  changes since the last major survey
done in the I960's. She  will then  move to
Lake Huron.
  The  USS Crockett was  built  in  1966 at
Tacoma. Wash., and launched and commis-
sioned  in June of  that  year, named for the
city of Crockett. Calif. She was  the third of
the Navy's  Patrol Gunboat class that included
14 light, fast ships. All are being  decommis-
sioned.
  The  Crockett sailed  across the Pacific,
served for two  years in Viet Nam waters, and
later in the  Mediterranean. The ship won the
Navy's  Meritorious  Unit Commendation and
was nominated as Ship of the Year among the
patrolling forces in Viet Nam.
  When it  is fully converted to research and
water testing duty,  the ship will be consider-
ably  lighter than the 250 tons it displaced as a
gunboat. While moored at  Annapolis, the
Crockett's bow rose about eight inches when
a crane lifted  off  the forward gun  and its
turret, weighing more than eight tons.
  Removal  of  the  gas  turbine  and jet-fuel
tanks also  decreased the  weight. The con-
verted  ship is  expected to draw  somewhat
less than nine  feel  of water, permitting it to
work close  to shore as well as in the deepest
parts of all five Great Lakes.B

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