Document 37B39rQg8Xaa1QzyjE2Dg2gyO

PCBs taint fish coold "lead to faolty storage or accidental disposal." he nottsr**which is why we want Tin Wisconsin Dept, of Natural Re- to approve a site as soon as possible." But inrci (DNR) late last month discovered if syed PCBs leak and get into the envi , record-high levels of poisonous poiychtori- ronment. Strauss warns, "that's disposal noted biphenyls (PCBs) in fish taken from and that's illegal," so it is in a company's ' the Sheboygan River and two of its tribu- best interest to store them in adequate ; lories. Meanwhile, the federal Environ- containers. ^ I menu) Protection Agency was scrambling M find appropriate sites for PCB disposal, Soing it alone now that a recently enacted federal lawV boa severely restricted dumping of the The Chemical Specialties Mamtfac- I turers Assn. (Washington, D.C.) believes In Wisconsin, concentrations of PCBs in it may be able to lower product-liability five carp from the Sheboygan averaged insurance coets for members by forming a 7S0 parts per million, compared with the captive insurance company in Bermuda by previous record high of 330 ppm. found in May 15. The carrier would underwrite fieh taken bdow General Electric's capac coverage tor members who join tha itor plant on tbc Hudson River. DNR program. officials posted warnings against eating; CSMA worked with reinsurance firm Ash caeght in lout of 129 miles of they Fred S. James (New York) to develop Sheboygan and its tributaries. "At ` rates from an actuarial study based on 49 levels the fish are accumulating PCBs, ith questionnaires from a survey of members. extremely serious problem,'* say* Kar CSMA plans to charge W/S1.000 of E. Bremer, toxic substances coordinator^ sales for ail size companies. This compares for ETA's regional office in Chicago. to rates estimated by the study to be in | Bremer notes that there is a "stroni effect now: S6.I3/S1.000 of sales for I possibility" the PCBs came from hydraul companies with sales of up to $5 million; Be oil that leaked from equipment used by' J5.75/J1.000 of sales for those with sales metal casting firms in the Sheboygan area. of S3-10 million; and S4.01/S1.000 of He added that because bottom-feeding sales for firms with sales of S10-30 Aril have shown the highest concentration tilKon. of the poHotont, it is probably building ia Each CSMA policybolder would have a river sediments where fish eat. ^2^00 deductible for each claim. New federal reputations (effective Apr. Among tho study's findings: that 21 II) that prohibit PCB disposal anywhere f members dropped product-liability cover hut at an authorised disposal site have age within the pest three years, and that BPA regional offices struggling to find any companies bad trouble getting appropriate sites. "There arc still no ally or loss statistics from broker- * "in'cif sites in flic"country," says r agents or insurance companies. iW Strauss, sn EPA environmental Several bills dealing with aspects of the product-liability insurance problem are The new regulations, which spell out still pending in Congress. A federal study specification* for PCD-dispotal in landfills did not find tbe situation to be a crisis and incinerators, give the agency's region {CIV. Nm. 9. 1977. p. 2J). al offices authority to approve sites. **Th regions have received* IfTot of spplh Dow Badische expands lions." Strauss explains, but be notes that' officials have to weighquartety of criteria Now that BASF has agreed to acquire /in their decisions, including community acceptance, which ic ah often powerful full ownership of Dow Badische, its 50-50 joint venture with Dow Chemical, the ttettclt. NtvwilKkMrhc pmfitii i ilc subsidiary will figure heavily in the will he approved hr-the end of the month German chemical producer's plans for and speculates it willJ&ji landfill rattier ^growth in the US. . than aa incinerator. _ BASF sahl last week that it plans to Until then, however, PCS' disposal is struct a 130-million-lb*./year acrylic prohibited In the U-Sr'ami PCB handlers kid plant at Dow Bodischc's Freeport, aunt store their wastes until i x., complex. Tho facility, estimated to (become avaltoMe. Vet, fMfcrai reguiatu coat S40 million, will use BASF's new ouverimt requirements for storage propylene oxidation process. Engineering conloincri do mu become eifcctivc until till start immediately, with completion * July, meaning. Straun say*. that handlers chcdulcd for seeond-half I9HI. l con store them in anything. liPA is In addition. BASF Wyandotte disclosed I concerned that the lag in the federal rules plans to build a 6,000-metric-tons/year DOW BAOtSCHE's Freeport Tex., complan. whore BASF ptena acryttc add capanna*. tetrahydrofuran (THF) production wait al Getsmar. La., for completion in mid-t9BBi THF is used ia making polyvinyi chtonds and urethane coatings, recording tape, cellophane, tetramethyl lead and drugs. Tbe company now supplies the IL5. market from its Houston facility. BASF Wyandotte b also budding a S70 miBian agricultural chemical complex at Gebmar that will initially product the firms' Baia gran herbiride. Construction of a unit lor manufacture of MDL a vrethane oempm nent, b also scheduled for the site. BASFs investments In North America will gain the company more than 52 billion in sales on thb continent by 1912. Chairman Matthias Seefdder predicted last week. Last year's sates in North America totaled S1.2 billion. To achieve thb growth. Sctfelder laid, "we have adopted a five-year capital capcndinmu program calling for outlays of altogether $700 million," much of which will be devoted to Dow Badische operations. BASFs 100% ownership ef that company will broaden (be German prodocer'a chemical business and earnings potential in North America, the company said. Dow Badische, which manufactures man-made fibers end yarn* ax wed as numerous chemical* for the fibers bossnest, was founded by Dow and BASF ia 19SI. Dow Chemical's equity share ef the venture "has not been material' in the past few years, averaging less than I{/share in 1977, tbe company said. The transaction should have no effect on sccond-qoarter profits. Dow added. BASF officiate sakl they plan to retain ib Dm Badische name for a year or so until they choose e replacement. HONS 001497 1% 3. CHEMICAL WCIK \7