*>EPA REGION H NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS LOVE CANAL: A Ticking Time Bomb Has Exploded by ECKARDT C. BECK A small neighborhood called Love Canal in Niagara, N.Y., has recently turned into one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history. But that's not the most disturbing fact. What's worse is that Love Canal can't be regarded as an isolated event. It could happen anywhere in this country, unless we move expeditiously to prevent it. I've been to Love Canal. I've seen it first hand. The hundred or so simple homes in the area rest almost atop an old chemical dumpsite, plowed over several years ago. But as the ground settled, and the rains came and went, strange things began to happen. Corroding waste- disposal drums broke through the ground in backyards. Trees and gardens began to die. Pools of chemicals sometimes settled in base- ments, or near the grounds of the school. The air began to smell. Children returned from their play with burns on their their hands and face. As a result, the New York State Health Depart- ment recommended the evacuation of pregnant women and infants, and is continuing an in- vestigation into a disturbingly high rate of miscarriages which have been detected, along with five cases of birth defects. Citizens are also being observed for possible high white blood- cell counts. (EPA identified 11 compounds suspected of being carcinogenic out of a total which the New York Times termed "an incredible mixture of 82 industrial chemicals thus far.") August-September, 1978 The presence of various types of toxic substances in our environment has become increasingly widespread — a fact which President Carter has called "one of the grimmest discoveries of the modern era." Chemical sales in the U.S. now exceed $100 billion per year, with over 30,000 chemical substances in commerce. To these, a thousand new ones may be introduced each year. Love Canal can now be added to a growing list of environmental disasters involving toxics which range from industrial workers being stricken by nervous disorders and cancers, to the discovery of toxic materials in the milk of nursing mothers. Through the national environmental programs it administers, EPA is attempting to draw a chain of Congressional Acts around the toxics problem. The Clean Air and Water Acts, The Safe Drinking (continued on page 3) IN THIS ISSUE Hot month for environmental incidents..p 3 PR gets resource recovery grant.. 5 Costle on chemical induced diseases... .p 3 Public hearing on ocean dumping.. 6 Clean water costs studied here p 4 Environmental Calendar 7 ------- -2- ENVIRONMENTAL INCIDENT GROUP BUSY By Fred Rubel, Chief of EPA's Regional Emer- gency Response and Inspection Branch On a normal day EPA Region II's Emergency Response & Inspection Branch is flooded with calls for technical advice from industry and other government agencies, as well as general questions from the public. On the average so far this year, more than one environmental incident every 11 hours have been reported directly to the Branch. Many additional incidents are reported to and handled directly by the U.S. Coast Guard and State environmental agencies. The emergency response team also handles the Agency's responsibilities during national disaster declarations and runs a spill prevention program. "August has been an especially busy month for our Emergency Response Team", commented Regional Administrator Chris Beck, acknowl- edging incidents which have included a Presidential disaster declaration involving the presence of toxic chemicals on the properties of families living at Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York; the groundings of two large tankers off the Delaware Bay, each of which had a potential for spillage of more than 11 million gallons of oil; various spills reportedly involving PCB oils; and the sinking of the dredge barge PENNSYL- VANIA which closed New York City beaches for a period of time. The Love Canal disaster involves 90 families and a public school located on property created on the remnant of William Love's 19th century uncompleted canal. The canal would have linked the Niagara River to Lake Ontario and provided power and water for a model city scheme. The partially completed canal was bought by Hooker Chemical which utilized it for a waste chemical disposal site. About 1953, a portion of the dump was bought by the Niagara Falls Board of Education and the remainder was subsequently sold to developers. Saturated soils caused toxic chemicals to infiltrate basements and rise to the surface. Residents are being evacuated, drain- age and activated carbon filtration and treatment of groundwater is planned along with other remedies which are being considered. August 14th outside Delaware Bay, off Cape May. On the 22nd, the SCAT MOUNT with 15.5 million gallons of crude oil also grounded in the vicinity of Delaware Bay. In each case, the Federal/State Regional Response Team of agen- cies was activated by the Coast Guard. Fortunately, each vessel was able to be freed without the spillage of its cargo. Not so fortunate was the case of the dredge barge PENNSYLVANIA which grounded off Rockaway Point on July 31st and then sunk, releasing her contents of 6,000 gallons of light oil, and much of her 37,000 gallons of black oil, creating a huge slick which extended in patches down to the central coast of New Jersey threatening the beaches, and eventually closing New York City beaches for a while. On August 12th, a report was received of an explosion at the Orange and Rockland Utility at Hammond, New York, where about two thousand gallons of transformer oil, possibly containing PCB's, had spilled onto the land and adjoining waters. Cleanup was undertaken by a cleanup contractor for the utility. On August 21st, a report was received of another PCB spill of about 400 gallons in Bound Brook, New Jersey, which had passed through the Middlesex County treatment plant. Other spills reported to the group included propylene glycol, gasoline and other oils, paint, sewage, mineral spirits and waste chemicals. A small nucleus of environmental emergency specialists comprise EPA Region II's Emergency Response Team although resources throughout EPA Region II can be called upon for any particular incident. A 24-hour telephone (201) 548-8730 is operative seven days a week to receive reports of environmental emergencies. The team is prepared with travel authorizations The REGION II REPORT is published by EPA's Regional Office of Public Aware- ness, 26 Federal Plaza, Room 1005, New York, N.Y. 10007. Telephone (212) 264- 2515. Reg. Administrator Eckardt C. Beck Dep. Administrator Dick Dewllng Dir. Public Awareness..James R. Marshall Editor.. Richard J. Cahill With 15 million gallons of crude oil aboard, the tanker DLAMANTIS PATERAS hit bottom on ------- -3- and funds to prevent undue delay in emergency responses. A variety of emergency-type equip- ment is maintained including gas masks and canisters, self-contained breathing apparatus, emergency vehicles equipped with radio com- munications and loud speakers, toxic gas analysis equipment, special reference books, portable telephones, walkie talkies, video recording equip- ment, and a portable computer terminal, the terminal is capable of accessing OHMS-TAKS, the national Oil and Hazardous Materials-Tech- nical Assistance Data System of EPA. This is a hazard evaluation, response and physical proper- ties information system with a data bank centered in Washington, D.C. Also available on short notice are an EPA- and a contractor- provided helicopter which can facilitate trans- portation to the scene and, more often, provide an aerial view of environmental emergencies. A toll free number is also available nationwide for reporting oil spills: (800) 424-8802# This system feeds reports to our local 24-hour num- ber. LOVE CANAL (continued from page 1) Water Act, The Pesticide Act, The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, The Toxic Substances Control Act — each is an essential link. One link, however, is yet to be firmly set in place. Almost two years ago, speaking before the Association of New Jersey Environmental Com- missions, I warned that "even though some industrial landfills have been closed down, they may stand like ticking time bombs." Love Canal has exploded. And there are thousands of such dump sites across this Nation, many with burning fuses, doubtlessly. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, EPA is in the process of preparing regula- tions which will make grants available for State inventories of industrial waste disposal sites. We are working to make sure these regulations provide that such inventories include full assess- ments of any potential dangers created by these fills. related dangers are detected, what are we as a people willing to spend to correct the situation? How much risk are we willing to accept? Who's going to pick up the tab? One of the chief problems we are up against is that ownership of many of these sites frequently shifts over the vears, making liability difficult to determine in case of an accident. And no secure mechanisms are now in effect for determining such liability. With regard to the measures that are being pursued now at Love Canal, the city, State and Federal government have looked into their purses — i.e. your purse — and have found emergency funds to remedy this situation. But no one has paid more dearly than the residents of that community. And the question still lingers ominously, "What are we going to do if something like this happens again?" I don't think that any of us labor under the illusion that there is, or will be soon, if ever, a simon-pure antiseptically safe world. But it is within our power to exercise intelligent and effective controls designed to significantly cut risks. A tragedy, unfortunately, has now called upon us to decide on the level of commitment we desire for defusing future Love Canals. COSTLE SAYS STUDIES NEEDED TO LINK CHEMICAL POLLUTION AND DISEASE The United States needs a dramatic increase in research on the relationship between chemical pollution and cancer and lung and heart disease, EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle said in the first report to Congress by the Task Force on Environmental Cancer and Heart and Lung Dis- ease. Costle told Congress that the government spent only $207 million last year to discover how chemical pollutants cause these diseases in hu- mans and that changes in our level of effort will be necessary to reduce their risk and incidence. The task force is made up of EPA, National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Which brings us to the missing link. If health- ********** ------- -4- EPA WILL ASSESS ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BUFFALO (NY) WATER CLEANUP COSTS At the request of Congressman Henry J. Nowak (D, Buffalo) EPA will make an in-depth study of the economic impact in the Buffalo, New York area of the Agency's requirements for treatment of industrial and other wastes entering the Buffalo Sewer Authority's (BSA) sewage treat- ment system. Congressman Nowak, speaking for his constitu- ents, noted, "We want to ensure that Buffalo receives every environmental benefit it needs to fulfill its obligations toward cleaning up the Great Lakes and protecting the health of its residents. However, we want at the same time to keep the costs to industry and our citizens at a minimum." BSA is now upgrading its 180 million gallon per day Bird Island primary sewage treatment plant to a secondary system with phosphorous removal, meaning that operating and maintenance costs will almost double. Many businessmen in Buffalo are concerned that compliance with pretreat- ment regulations for indirect dischargers and the costs of meeting the secondary treatment stand- ards will be so high as to force them to relocate or shut down their companies. The study will address those claims of economic impact and it's expected the study approach being developed will be useful in many of the nation's older industrial urban areas. RA Chris Beck pointed out that the Buffalo region "is a prime example of the environmental and economic problems facing the Agency in the Northeast. On the one hand, we have the serious impact of toxics and phosphorous discharged by concentrated industry and population into the fragile and vital ecosystem of the Great Lakes. On the other, we have the impact of cleanup costs on an older city with a shrinking tax base and older industrial plants." EPA will seek the active participation of public officials, industry and public interest groups in the area while performing the study. The various environmental cleanup costs will be evaluated in terms of economic impact on the different types of industries discharging to the municipal system. Particular attention will be given to potential plant closures or relocations. These plant-level effects will ultimately be combined to develop an estimate of the overall economic impact on Buffalo due to the environ- mental regulations affecting indirect discharges. NOAA SCIENTISTS DEVELOP SEWAGE TRACER FOR COASTAL WATERS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion (NOAA) scientists have identified a biochemical technique that can be used to trace sewage in coastal areas, a matter of vital interest to environmental managers in heavily populated parts of the coast. The newly identified technique uses coprostanol, a steroid thought to be produced exclusively by bacteria in the intestines of mammals, to measure sewage in offshore sediments. The coprostanol method promises to become the standard for sewage-pollution detection. The technique was developed as part of a major ecosystem study NOAA has conducted in the New York Bight, the 15,000-square-mile (39,000- square-kilometer) continental shelf area off the New York-New Jersey coast. Steroids are biochemical compounds that resist deterioration in the environment. The steroid coprostanol was found to be present in con- taminated marine sediments, and appeared to be stable enough to be used as a tracer of sewage. Subsequent work led to a "percent-coprostanol" term that permits the scientists to estimate how much of a sample's organic matter is sewage- derived. With the technique, a map of the New York Bight has been developed showing sewage pollution centered in a basin near the sewage-sludge dump site, and diminishing rapidly with distance away from the dump site. The highest value found was 15 percent coprostanol in the highly con- taminated black muds near the dump site. Pure sewage contains more than 30 percent. For further information call Hal Stanford, Ma- rine Ecosystems Analysis, New York Bight Pro- ject at(516) 751-7002. ------- -5- EPA FUNDS STUDIES OF IMPOUNDMENTS FOR GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION Groundwater is a vital natural resource in the United States. At least half the population depends upon it as a source of drinking water. Region II has awarded New York $200,000, New Jersey $196,600 and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands $30,000 each to study the ground- water pollution potential that may result from surface impoundments (pits, ponds and lagoons) within the state. EPA's drinking water program is making available a total of $5 million in grants to the 50 states and six territories to obtain national data on these potential pollution sources. The states will make a determination using randomly selec- ted industrial, municipal and agricultural impoundments. The assessment is expected to be completed by the states by July 1979. One of the principal sources of groundwater contamination related to waste disposal prac- tices is known to be industrial wastewater impoundments. These facilities are widespread and sometimes contain hazardous substances. The wastewater from them is discharged directly to the subsurface. In places, this wastewater has contaminated aquifers (underground lakes). Waste disposal practices of greatest significance to groundwater quality degradation are most prevalent in New Jersey, New York, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. EPA Regional Administrator Chris Beck has said, "Before we develop a long-term national policy and strategy we need more data to get a fix on the magnitude of the problem. The assessment will also help EPA estimate the potential for pollution from impoundment which involve vary- ing groundwater flows. And it will provide needed information on existing State programs and statutory authorities. When the assessment is complete, EPA will re- evaluate the federal laws which deal with water supply — the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act — to choose the most effective ways to control eroundwater pollution from this source. While the assessment of surface impoundments is underway, EPA will begin the national inventory of open dumps/sanitary landfills, required by RCRA. The two programs are closely related. Most surface impoundments will be included in the inventory of open dumps/sanitary landfills which is a more in depth study. The assessment will help guide the inventory by identifying which sites require initial study. New Jersey DEP's Commissioner Daniel J. O'Hern said his department initially will be looking at the heavily industrialized parts of New Jersey to find the large ponds of liquids at manufacturing and processing sites. nPart of the grant," Mr. O'Hern said, "will be used to conduct overflights of the state this fall to collect photographic documentation of all impound- ments." EPA AWARDS GRANT FOR P.R. RESOURCE RECOVERY EPA has awarded a $789,433 grant to help fund Puerto Rico's Resource Recovery Development Program. The money will be used to prepare and distribute a description of the island-wide Re- source Recovery Plan; to develop the procure- ment "package" which will attract competitive bids from the industry to plan and build the total system; and to provide an interim solution to San Juan's mounting solid waste disposal problem. The development of Puerto Rico's island-wide, large-scale resource recovery facility arises from the need for a solution to the residual waste (municipal, sewage, industrial and agricul- tural wastes) disposal problem, and from the need for an alternative energy source. A refuse-to-energy plant using tons of solid wastes and sludges as fuel will generate energy, provide recovered scrap materials, attract industries and employment opportunities, and effectively solve the solid waste disposal problem. Legislation creating a Solid Waste Management Authority to lead the development of the facility was passed earlier this year. EPA, with assistance from the Departments of Energy and Commerce, is working in cooperation with Puerto Rico Commonwealth agencies and municipalities in implementing the program. ------- -6- PUBLIC MEETING SET ON NY-NJ MUNICIPAL OCEAN DUMPING PERMITS EPA is seeking public comments on interim municipal ocean dumping permit extensions to New York-New Jersey metropolitan area com- munities at a meeting on Monday, October 16, at 9:00 A.M. in Room 305 of the Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza, New York City. These communities are continuing to ocean dump sew- age sludge at the disposal site 12 miles off the coast of New York and New Jersey in the New York Bight under the conditions of their present permits which expire on January 10, 1979. RA Chris Beck indicated the basis on which decisions to either issue or deny these permit applications are made, "We have two goals in mind in the program to phase out ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge. The first is dis- posing of wastewater treatment sludge in a manner that will protect human health and the environment by ensuring that the practice ends by December 31, 1981. What is more, we want to conserve resources by making beneficial use of the sludge, wherever practical." Beck said, "Before making a final decision on these permit extensions, we will carefully evalu- ate the performance of the applicants in complying with the conditions of their present permits. We expect schedules for phase out of ocean disposal to be technically and economi- cally realistic, and we expect strict adherence to these schedules." The below-listed applicants have complied with tht requirements of currently held interim ocean dumping permits, and have shown satisfactory progress towards putting in effect land-based disposal alternatives. The tentative determina- tion is to issue interim permits to these applicants: Asbury Park City Nassau Co. DPW City of Long Beach City of Glen Clove Borough of Lincoln Park Pequannock Township Morris Township The following applicants have not fully complied with the phase-out requirements of currently held Interim ocean dumping permits. Enforce- ment actions have been initiated or are contemplated by EPA against these permittees. However, at the present time, EPA believes that these applicants can meet the 1981 deadline for cessation of ocean dumping. The tentative determination of the Agency, therefore, is to issue Interim permits to these applicants: Wanaque Boro West New York Boro Atlantic Highlands Boro Bergen Co. U Joint Meeting Middlesex Co. SA Northeast Monmouth Rahway Valley SA Westchester Co. DEP West Paterson Boro Middletown Twp. SA Cedar Grove. U. Linden-Roselle SA New York City DEP Passaic ValleySC Totowa Boro The following applicants are currently out of compliance with phase-out requirements of exis- ting Interim ocean dumping permits. EPA does not believe that the applicants have an imple- mentation schedule adequate to allow phasing out of ocean dumping on or before December 31, 1981. The tentative determination is, therefore, to deny permits to these applicants. Kearny, Town of Washington Twp. (Morris Co.) Wood-Ridge Boro BARBARA METZGER NAMED AS EPA DIVISION DIRECTOR Chris Beck has appointed Barbara Metzger to serve as director of EPA's regional Surveillance and Analysis Division at Edison, New Jersey. "Dr. Metzger has a unique combination of experi- ence and environmental and academic expertise to contribute to the solution of the growing variety of complex pollution problems here in the Region,"Beck said. A Piscataway (NJ) resident, Dr. Metzger has been acting director of the Division since June, replacing Dr. Richard Dewling, who became regional deputy administrator. Previously, she had been chief of Region 2's Environmental Impacts Branch for almost three years. She began her government career in 1970 with an EPA-predecessor agency, the Federal Water Pol- lution Control Administration. Dr. Metzger's three degrees from Rutgers University includes work in agricultrual science and a Ph.D. in environmental science. ------- -7- ENVIRONMENTAL CALENDAR The 1977 Amendments to the Clean Air Act require that states develop new air pollution control strategies to meet national air quality standards. These controls will have an impact on citizens of New York and New Jersey so it is important that all interested people make an attempt to participate with their state government in the development of balanced, reasonable and effective approaches to the problem. In New York City Public Meetings, termed "Listening Posts",on transportation measures in New York State's Implementation Plan for clean air have been scheduled from 2:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. at location in each of the five boroughs. October 5-6 QUEENSBOROUGH HALL Room 213 120-55 Queens Blvd. Kew Gardens, N.Y. Police Dept. 1st Floor, Main Entrance (East of Municipal Bldg.) New York, New York BOROUGH HALL Stuyvesant Place St. George, S.I. BOROUGH HALL 2nd Floor Courtroom 209 Joralemon St. Bklyn., N.Y. BRONX COUNTY BUILDING 851 Grand Concourse & 161 St. 2-5:00 P.M. Ground Floor Corridor 5-9:00 P.M. Jiffy Room 212 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL 938-3351 In New Jersey preliminary public meetings on the State Implementation Plan for Clean Air are scheduled to begin at 7:30 P.M. for the following dates and locations: September 25 September 26 September 28 October 4 October 5, In Room 106, Rutgers University Law School, 5th and Penn Street, Camden, New Jersey Tax Board Hearing Room, Hudson County Administration Building, 595 Newark Avenue, New Jersey County Court House, Court Room #3, Salem Second Floor Court Room, Monmouth County Court House, Count Street Entrance, Freehold Freeholders Public Meeting Room, Administration Building, Ann Street Entrance, Morristown FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CALL: Joseph DiConzo, New Jersey DEP at (609)292-8663 ANYONE INTERESTED IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THEIR STATE'S IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR CLEAN AIR REVISION PROCESS SHOULD WRITE: Tri-State Regional Planning Commission, SIP Coordinator, 82nd Floor, One World Trade Center, New York, N.Y. 10048. October 16 October 24 A public hearing on interim ocean dumping permit extensions to New York-New Jersey communities that dump sewage sludge at the disposal site 12 miles off the coast in the New York Bight will be held in Room 305, 26 Federal Plaza, in New York City starting at 9:00 A.M. The New Jersey Noise Control Council is sponsoring a public hearing on "Motorcycle Noise and its Control" starting at 2 P.M. at the Herrmann Education Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. ------- -8- EPA TIGHTENS GAS EVAPORATION STAN- DARDS FOR '81 CARS Evaporated gasoline — which escapes from gas tanks, fuel lines and other parts of a car — combines with other pollutants to form smog. About one-third of the hydrocarbon emissions from a typical 1978 car are the result of such evaporation, with the rest coming from tailpipe emissions. EPA is tightening the standards for evaporated gasoline that escapes into the air from auto- mobiles. Through the 1980 model year, the standard is six grams per car but starting in the 1981 model year, the standard will be two grams. Auto companies can comply with the regulations by using tighter-sealing gas caps and locating large canister near the engine to collect vapors. Cars must meet the standard before they may be legally sold in the U.S. If the companies try to sell cars that don't meet the standard, they will be subject to fines of $10,000 per vehicle. The new regulation is a necessary complement to increasingly stringent rules on tailpipe emissions. JUST FOR THE ASKING A new research report, titled: The Bioenviron- mental Impact of a Coal-Fired Power Plant: Third Interim Report, presents information gath- ered in EPA's Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory's Coal-Fired Power Plant Project. Copies of the composite report are available in limited quantity, free-of-charge through the Of- fice of Pubilc Awareness, Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory, 200 S.W. 35th Street, Corvallis, Oregon 97330. Ask for publication number EPA-600/3-78-021. A pamphlet called The ABC's of PCBs has been updated to provide information on the current uses, health effects and regulation of PCBs and is now available free from the Sea Grant Field Office, UW-Milwaukee Great Lakes Research Facility, 600 East Greenfield Avenue, Milwau- kee, Wis. 53204. Bicycle Strategies to Reduce Air Pollution has been published by £PA as an information docu- ment for states revising their State Implementa- tion Plan (SIP) for areas which do not meet air pollution control requirements. A more detailed bicycle information document will be available in the fall. Region II residents wanting further information should contact Lewis Heckman at (212) 264-9800. A new booklet, called Suspended and excelled Pesticides has been compiled to summarize ana clarify EPA actions on those pesticides which have been suspended, cancelled or otherwise restricted. This list is not a statement of Agency policy, but is primarily designed as a quick reference guide to be used by Regional EPA inspectors. However, the list can also serve as a general reference for anyone involved or interested in pesticide regulatory work. For copies contact Wes Lucky, Publications Office, EPA, Region II, (212) 264-2599. The reader is free to quote or reproduce any part of this publication without further permission. USHiONV 1N3MNOUIAN3 Sfl M3, TVOt« ZOOOl A N'MWOAM3N A9N3QV NOIXOiiOUd "IViNiWNOWANl '« n ------- |