Document 2qzjee17D1x5k3O656vm5Xdzr

50115 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH rnram LMAY 1977 lfeONiJ Soid WwH PtBpowl ALonq-ffKttnq Public HMlh Probtom ComM of Aga There was Kbitorno ftmfbrc when PL 94-5M was passed and signed into effect oh October 21,197ft, hut pehlic health prefwiiwulu and eitvtronmeotultats (la there ready a Mrence?) shuuld have tan then cheering. Dm Ad b known an the Rnuorce Ceneervatiun and Recovery Act of 197k.1 One of in chief atm* b to eacoarige recycling of our natural resources. ladstd. thbta a laudable goal dace rimast none of then reaoofcea art rcMwuble in baa Unat coos of time. No> table exceptions. of mono, are forast product!, manpower, water appttaa. and fertile acilwhich ararwwahlc magtacr- attain or two. An additional, and no lew laudable, parpen ofthe Ad ic to provide tor". . . the tab disposal of diacarded material* and to TpahiTT the manage awnl of haaatdaat waste." Die AdmhdairMurofthe En a onmental Protection Ageeey is gtven authority and reapomMMy to coMeol the dtapond ofhatarriotM wastes. These arc dadoed at waatee which " . . may came or ilpndlciaily contribute to an Intrean in mortality . . . or paaeaeubatamialpreacnt or potential hncardto human heahh or the taviranawal. . . " H Is surely claar to readers of thisJournal thot thru feature ofthe Act ia Mportanl.important enough to he worth hifftlighllag by ciMeg aHeatleo to three recent report!. First. a report by Cart Johanoa* in thin rune of the Jour nal deecriMng haw the atertnesa at a County Hanhh Deputimeat oikini rnahlad tha recovery and removal at about 7b kitograme ataedlnm mawoduareacetatr from a mnltary landMl which drained into a abeam herderiag on eight private wette and Wowing into a renarrow for a targe water district. Second. Stephen James* raporlt. etao inthia bane, on ao EPA contractor's aludy of leachotat Rem eolid worn land disposal sites ut maaicipalilict in hve atntesnarana tha United Slain. Dm leachate notcra cantriptd ligniicant wneunts of lead, wtrnium. bon. mercury, and other contomioonta pro11 nllag |inn mud i uiawniontlim if rrmrr npylftT rrr* ``t *--* chela fcpcadiagaoitwiwmraefrtwpanitulardliipatalslte. Third, a Panel of the Nslimed ffiwsrth Council* under the chabmanehip af Joha Reel hatJam beoad a report to the Energy Unearth and Da i ilapmant Adndnbrrarian on "The Shadow Land Burial of Low-Levot Radlanctivtly Con taminated Solid WaM." Although the report Wndt ihot them motarhdepoaenothreat to humM hinhhdwPimolb". . .not convincad that cunent practice* should be cootbmod ladeftrdtefy " >' poe* on to wpbn mm of the Aneota of the uW ddernoM of waatt dbpuaal facing warty throughout dm world and owWo* rocommendorione which ate boak to com . trolling the pehtac woafte vohtme induction, development ofadditional burialelm cwefcdy eebeted fartaag term raftty. dnign ofcomponents for minimam waata. andcoarinuoua mrmitoriogofshe*for escape of wortepradoctsim theenri- moment. Theseecedtnt i naaimindatlopi oraagpMcohbto aN forms of waatt. oot Joel low-level radioactive omttriota. Another rocommondodoo moreAmdamomolto the prob lem might he to develop ao owommss of. and o cooeom lor. the aeed to Heart* and control hnearduos wastes hy the general public. Most of m discard otalenata of varybig degrees of haaard, wehehettawt(fta,ihhg>i.maaa*lare, nmyaniin il. used rngiue oil. empty pesticide conmmers, widumt a sec ond's thought. These mtoungly arsignidcant aomunts amy become ligaiWcant when muMpibd by dm anmbers of us re siding m large popnlotion centers. At peemat ear dbearded materials amount to (tour Milan tons peryear anddmgaamlty b growing by It per cent per year. This aspect of hMwdnns waste dltpeisl can be controlled outy d the puMic is: as atformedof what waste* am hazardous,andbtpravifadwithan cifeclive and convertem method for their dbpuaal. Manufacturers of consmner poods could mabl signdh cmdly by ifesigning thrtr products to mammae noato aod re duce haaardoea matarbln. In addbion. by appeapriam label ing they coaid rtcommtnd safedisposal methods Ibr dm hueardooa components. Even though the public onhnowbt^y enmributes signdb camly to our problem of hazardous wastes, H mow be ttcvf aixtdtbnt by lar thegreatest source is Indumry.cspectnMy the ardous wastes from tbr puMk oripaaW with burr maaufeeturers. The pomt Itasheeneiommmly pmby lanMcHarg wha is reported to havesaid that it b high tbne industry had sum* "luhei itaining."* One only mods to look at the pudmtna probbms created by the pelychlortmtHd htphenyhi tPl'hsi and Kepotm# to apmeciau that tiamnrm. Then b reason to hope that "training" * underway "trained" by grammes from regohdoey agenems. bur ex ample: andjudicial pressure*, ptans tospendmany aafffeasefdadnrattempting to ramove depone* from dm Joans River a When the Kl prehltm aw Rnt rmpmrt, hhmranto. ttm sole U.S. pwdocet. Bhmmrily restrirtodbs soies to totally enclosed systemsand mare recently, when thb was not effective enough, announced plans in terauanm prvduc- o The DowChemical Company reported pobffriy in IQ7| the poeaibb tnvbonnmmrt proWtma cranmd by tarty wastes originating from the production of ehtarinamd orgooie enm- ptmndk. Additional reports were tawed in 197?aad 197V In 1974 and 1970 tho company reported that beachlorohutndiroe. a anger component ofthetarry waste, pro duced no iff effects m Japonett genii. In rats there were aw effects on reproduction or cytofegy; however, they did And efferts on the kidney-, including cancer. In view of these Andioga Dow recycles or destroys these warten in a special incbwmlor. They have eagoadad them occupational heahh program for employees who might he espusodto dmse mate rials. Dm Administrator ofEFA aadthe Deputy Assbinm Atft imtnsindor tor MM Warm have a dMRcalt task rtnadmaclnev- AJTHMny. IATT. VW. 7. No. ft tu HONS 001610 eorroniALS in| both purposes of the Resource Conservation and Recov ery Act. However, there is hope for success, and their task can be made easier if the general public and the scientific community are behind them, industry, loo, can contribute significantly, not only through seif-enlightenment but also by self-pulicing of errant members of their segment of society. Lei's get on with the job! Ralph C. Wands, MS Address reprint requests to Mr. Ralph C. Wands. Director. Ad visory Center oa Toxicology. National Research Council, 2101 ConMltutioo Avenue. Washington. DC 20418. REFERENCES 1. Public Law94-580(S 2150>: Oct. 21.1970. ResourceCoascrvaliaa and Recovery Act of 1976. 2. Johnson. C. J. Toxic soluble waste disposal in a military huuMfi site drawling to an urban water supply. Am J. PuMk Health 87:468-469.1977. 3. James. S. C. Metals m municipal ImuMII leachate and their heafcb effects. Am. J. Public Health67:429U32,1977. 4. National Research Council. The Shallow land Burial of LowLevel Radioactiveiy Contaminated Sohd Waste. National Acad emy of Sciences Printing and Publishing OAce. Wsshmgto*. DC. January 1977. 5. Hoklen, C. Ian McHarg: Champion for design with nature. Sci ence 195:379-382. 1977. I Deaths of Thraa "Oldest" Association Members Noted I hr Association is saddened to note in this issue (pp 483-496) the recent deaths ofits three "oldest" rmembers--oldest not necessarily in terms ofape hat in terms oflength ofmembership im APHA. The aggregate membership ofthese three esteemed members covers nearly two centuries-for Mr. Carl T. Pomeroy was elected to membership in 1911. Dr. Claude P. Brown in 1912. and Mr. William H. Marcussen in 1913. Over the years oftheir affiliation with APHA. each ofthem contributed much to the affairs of the Association, to its Annual Meetings, various committees and taskforces, and published material in the pages of this Journal. As we looked back through those earlyJournals published during the years when theyfirstjoined the Association, we thought it might be appropriate to excerpt some af the news and heahh mttes which appeared in the Journal pages at that time--1911-1913--so that our readers could also look hack in turn with us to stone ofthe problemsfacing health professionals In the early part ttfthe twentieth century. And so,for this issue ofthe Journal, instead ofthe usual announcements ofseminars, spend courses, and the like which we use as' `fillers'' at the end ofarticles, we have inserted excerptsfrtm thefirst there volumes ofthe American Journal of Public Heahh. as they were read by our elder colleagues. Wr hope mufind them interesting. The Journal Staff MOHS 001611 490 AJPH May. t977, Vol 87. No. 8