Document 5bD4gmpxg526nDDRZOgLvLX2z

FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1971 Dec 4 DOC NMA059 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION NYT - Industrial Emission Standards For 3 Air Pollutants Proposed Industrial Emission Standards For 3 Air Pollutants Proposed KENWORTHY Special The New York By W New York Times pg 34 to Current file Dec 4 Times 1971 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times 1851-2002 1851-2002 1851-2002 Industrial Emission Standards For 3 Air Pollutants Proposed By E. W. KENWORTHY Special to The New York Tinies WASHINGTON Dec. 3William D. Ruckelshaus ad- ministrator of the Environmen- tal Protection Agency announced today proposed emission standards for industry on three hazardous air pollutants - asbestos berryllium and mercury Asbestos fibers which are used in floor tile brake linings asbestos paper textiles insulating materials and fireproofing can when inhaled over long periods cause lung cancer Beryllium a highly toxic heavy metal that can cause pneumonia among those oc cupationally exposed is used in machine shops propellant plants extraction plants and foundries However the haz- ards of beryllium exposure are rigidly controlled by industrial health regulations in force for most operations in which the metal is used Chronic exposure to airborne mercury can have a profound effect on the central nervous system the symptoms of which are tremor psychological disturbance insomnia loss of weight and appetite The stan- dards announced today are directed mostly at mercury mines and chlor plants that make chlorine and alkali caustic Must Give Warning Under amendments to the Clean Air Act signed by President Nixon on Dec. 31 1970 the administrator of the envi- ronmental agency is required to publish within 90 days a list of air pollutants that in his judgment might increase either mortality serious irreversible illness or incapacitating illness and to update this list periodi- cally Within 180 days of publishing the list the administrator proposed is required to publish emissions standards for these pollutants Within 30 days of publishing these he must set a time and place for public hearings on them and then within 180 days issue final standards Last March 31 Mr. Ruckels- haus issued an initial list of pollutants that included asbestos berryllium and mercury The proposed standards were due to be published on Sept. 27. Mr. Ruckelshaus in a news conference today said the delay had been caused first by the complexity of the problem which was not resolved within the E.P.A. until Sept. 26 and second by the need thereafter to get the views of other agencies Control Practices By way of illustrating the complexity Mr. Ruckelshaus said there were no standard- ized methods for measuring emission levels of asbestos Therefore he said it has been decided to set the standards not in terms of numerical emission values but in control practices that will limit emissions to an acceptable level Consequently the regulations that will be published in the Federal Register next Tuesday will require the use of filters to trap asbestos fibers in gases from mining milling manufacturing and fabrication of ascontaining materials Further there will be an ab- solute prohibition on the spraying of asbestos fireproofing and insulation except where such spraying is done indoors and the asbestos air cleaned before its release into the sur- rounding atmosphere Spraying been in the open air has an issue in many large cities par- ticularly in New York Most emissions of asbestos come from mining and milling Mr. Ruckelshaus said The estimated average cost of com- plying with the standards he said would be tenths of 1 per cent of the 1969 selling price For beryllium the emission standard for most plants will be an average of hundredth of a microgram per cubic meter of air over a day period or a short exposure of 25 micrograms per cubic meter for a maximum of 30 minutes For mercury the standards are designed to insure that at- mospheric concentrations do not exceed one microgram per cubic meter of air averaged over 30 days For mercury mines the cost of meeting the standards will be 2.5 to 3.5 per cent of product worth and for chlor kali plants .5 to .9 per cent of product worth Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission