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Controlling Toxic Substances United States ( c Environmental Protection ( 07 Agency D current activities in regulating The magazine also has an valving chemicals. A report by Toxics some aspects of the industry. article in which Jellinek reviews the Conservation Foundation Two of the major laws EPA has the significance of proposed describes the need for more for dealing with toxic chemicals new amendments to the Fed­ toxicologists and the career are the Toxic Substances Con­ eral Insecticide, Fungicide and opportunities for men and n this issue EPA Journal trol Act and the Federal In­ Rodenticide Act. women in this exciting and I exa mines the myriad ways secticide. Fungicide and Dr. David P. Rall, Director expanding field. in which chemicals affect our Rodenticide Act. of the Nation a I Institute of Other articles deal with at­ lives and describes how the in­ In an interview, Steven Environmental Health Sciences, sea incineration of toxic sub­ dustry has become a major Jellinek. EPA Assistant Ad­ in another interview details the stances; the aftermath of an force in the economy. ministrator for Toxic Sub­ mission of his agency and how explosion in Seveso, Italy, and Administrator Douglas M . stances, analyzes the Toxic its research complements the other incidents involving toxics, Cost le discusses the " chemical Substances Act and describes work of others in dealing with the effort to curb chemicals in revolution" of the past three how it is helping government hea Ith-related questions in- drinking water, and plans for a decades and explains EPA's gather information on chem­ major conference on urban icals while safeguarding indus­ environmental problems. 0 try trade secrets. United States Office of Volume4 Environmental Protection Public Awareness (A-107) Number 8 Agency Washington, O.C. 20460 September 1978 &EPA JOURNAL Douglas M. Costle, Administrator Joan Martin Nicholson, Director, Office of Public Awareness Charles D. Pierce, Editor Truman Temple, Associate Editor John Heritage, Chris Perham, Assistant Editors L 'Tanya White, Staff Support Articles EP Purpose: To ormulate n I ICh Dealing with the The Challenges Ocean Dumping a ) la Chemical Revolution 2 in Environmental off New York 2 tw n "Ian :t 1it1es and An analysis by Douglas M. Health 8 A report by Peter W. Anderson hE Ii u Costle of the benefits and dan­ An interview with Dr. David P. on the disposal of municipal n irture Ii gers of the boom in chemicals. Rall, Director, National Institute sludge and toxic and other in­ of Environmental Health dustrial wastes in Region 2. Controlling Sciences. Toxic Substances .. Major An interview with Steven Wanted: Urban Conference Jellinek, Assistant Administrator More Planned for Toxic Substances. Toxicologists > EPA and two other Federal agen­ A report on the need for scien­ cies and three private groups Major American tists trained in dealing with will hold a conference on urban Toxics Disasters 8 toxic substance problems. life in Washington next April. A review by John Heritage of damages in this country caused Congress Expedites by some dangerous chemicals. Sharing Environmental Pesticide Program Knowledge New amendments to the Federal An Environmental with Japan Pesticide Law are expected to Calamity: An article by Kirk Maconaughey improve registration procedures. The Seveso Case 1 on a meeting of U.S. and An account by Marion Parks of Japanese officials scheduled Environmental the aftermath of an explosion in for this month. Response Team a chemical factory in Italy. A report on EPA 's new group Curbing Chemicals in set up to cope with environ­ Seagoing Furnace Drinking Water mental emergencies that require Destroys Toxics 16 An explanation by Victor J . special clean-up skills. Burning at sea is one approach Kimm of why EPA wants stricter being used to get rid of harmful drinking water regulations. wastes. Region 8 Report Departments Almanac 25 Update 35 People Nation 30 News Briefs 38 Front cover: EPA inspector in Photo credits: Dan McCoy•, Boyd Text printed on recycled paper protective face mask checking Norton•, Hope AleJ<ander•, Bill pesticide received at Port of Strode•, Marion Parks, Newark, N. J. Nick Karanikas, Gene Inside cover: Children of Seveso Daniels•, John White•, Silas show effects of dioxin exposure. Mason Co.Inc., Stern/Black Star , Head of child at rear is covered Wisconsin Department of with a stocking while being Natural Resources treated for chloracne, a skin ail­ • Documerica ment that is a reaction to the toxic chemical. See P.11 -The EPA- Journal is published authors do not necessarily reflect a year, $1 .00 for single copy, monthly, with combined issues EPA policy. Contributions and in­ domestic; $ 1 2 .50 if mailed to a July-August and November-Decem­ quiries should be addressed to the foreign address. No charge to ber, by the U.S. Environmental Editor (A-107). Waterside Mall, employees. Send check or money Protection Agency. Use of funds 401 M St ., S.W., Washington, order to Superintendent of Docu­ for printing this periodical has D.C. 20460. No permission neces­ ments, U.S. Government Printing been approved by the Director of sary to reproduce contents except Office, Washington, D.C . 20402. the Office of Management and copyrighted photos and other Budget. Views expressed by materials. Subscription: $10.00 Environmentally Speaking e've undergone in 30 years a chemical revolution in Dealing with W this country. In a sense. our society has become a chemical addict. The U.S . chemical industry has sales of the Chemical over $112 billion a year . Practically everything we touch during a day has in turn Revolution been touched by man-made chemicals. The chemicals we use have brought us tremendous y Do J benefits, but some of them pose serious problems as well. Administrator One of our difficulties in trying to deal with hazardous U.S. Environmental Protection chemicals, however, is that we don't know as much as we'd Agency like to know about their impact on health. Anybody knows that carbon tetrachloride is dangerous when people are exposed to relatively large doses. But it's much less clear what happens when they're exposed to small amounts over a long period of time. PC B's are among a number of substances that we have learned are harmful­ and learning that only after long years of use. DDT is an­ other one, and so is asbestos, and so is vinyl chloride. The point I want to make doesn't have to do with the fact that we've now identified several dangerous pollutants. 2 EPAJOURNAL It has to do with the virtual certainty that we're going to face process. A great many tough decisions are going to have to more grim surprises in the years ahead. be made. EPA is now in the process of making an inventory of all In the case of PCB' s. some of the tough decisions have the chemicals produced in commercial volume in this already been made. EPA has proposed that they no longer be country, or imported for use here. When we started on this manufactured, processed, sold or used except as part of a project last year we were estimating there would be 30,000 totally enclosed system. That means the discharge of this chemicals on that list. We're now betting the figure will be substance into the environment is eventually going to be closer to 70 .000. And we know there are another three to cut to virtually nothing. four million chemicals in various stages of research and As for many other chemicals to be regulated, we're going development, although only a small fraction of these are to have to act on many of them with less than complete, likely ever to get into commerce. decisive scientific information. And we know that we're I'm confident that the vast majority of these chemicals sometimes going to face heavy pressure to go slow. will be shown to be harmless. when used properly. But with I don't intend to foot-drag if there is evidence that a so many chemicals involved, the odds are strong that some chemical poses a clear threat to the health of the American whose effects aren't yet known will turn out to be people. I have always believed that public health is far too dangerous. serious a concern to take chances with. I think we should be PC B's symbolize the complex nature of the pollution rational and reasonable, but we must also be 'firm and problem. Once chemicals like these are in the environment. think ahead. they can be incredibly difficult to get out. There's no way we can calculate the cost of 'future harm Proposals have been made, for example, to dredge PCB's represented by the pollution that's now in the environment. out of river beds, but this would involve many problems. But we know it's potentially enormous. PCB's again provide The expense is one major obstacle. New York State an example. All manufacturing of PCB 's has stopped. thought about dredging 40 miles of Hudson River bed, but Nevertheless, we estimate that there are about 750 million h,iis estimated that a full-scale effort could cost as much as pounds still in use; another 300 million pounds in landfills $200 million. and dumps (most of it uncontrolled); and 150 million Even if that kind of money could be found, there would pounds simply loose in the environment. still be other tough questions to be dealt with. For one There is no doubt at all that more PCB'swill be turning thing, something would have to be done with the huge up in the environment, and they have a half-life of more amounts of riverbed spoil.
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