Document M2Qw2nEeON1wB4LXqBBjpqJ9

w:0 M Slim' NW 0 C 20030 12021 033 0000 CPR Research A Oivtaon of Ofilof tor roltiico) h Pubfi*h> Nttnnmi Juunut INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION SERVICE CLIENT REPORT June 8, 1971 FEDERAL POLLUTION POLICY ON POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS Outline I. Suntnary Background Status Outlook Page 1 1 1 --3 II. Regulatory Status Existing Controls Office of Pesticides-EPA Occupational Safety and Health Administration-DOL Control Options Office of Air Programs (QAP1-EPA Office of Water Programs (OWP)-EPA Proposals for Additional Regulatory Authority Administration Proposals Congressional Proposals 4 4 5 5 7 7 9 10 10 12 III. Research Status Monsanto Food and Drug Administration-HEW Office of Pesticides-EPA Office of Air Programs-EPA Bureau of Wildlife and Sports Fisheries--Department of Interior Office of Science and Technology--Executive Office of the President 14 14 15 15 16 17 17 HONS 060442 IPS Client Report Policy on P(3's Page 2 5) Proposed legislation that would enpower the federal government to control PCB's via restrictions on its use or distribution. A variety of research efforts have been initiated that deal with PCB's. These have been or are being performed by the following: 1) Monsanto " 2) Bureau of Foods, Rood and Drug Administration 3) Office of Pesticides, Environmental Protection Agency 4) Division of Health Effects Research, Bureau of Air Pollution Sciences, Environmental Protection Agency 5) Division of Applied Technology, Environmental Protection Agency 6) Bureau of Wildlife and Sports Fisheries, Department of Interior 7) Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President Other offices are looking into PCB's but the above efforts represent the major federal and industrial involvement. PCB's also constitute a threat to factory and plant workers exposed to various levels of PCB concentrations in their work environment. The Department of Labor (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (0SI1A} is responsible for setting and enforcing health and safety standards It has published (May 29 Federal Register) a long list of recommended Threshold Limit Values (TLV's) including values for PCB's as follows: Chlorodiphenyl (424 Chlorine)- Skin 1 mg/M^ Chlorodiphenyl (54% Chlorine)- Skin O.S mg/W5 (Approximate milligrams of particulate per cubic meter of air.) MOMS 060443  FEDERAL POLLUTION POLICY ON POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS I. Sunroary Background Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) are rapidly beaming as well known and as widely publicized as DDT. These toxic, highly persistent chemical compounds have been shown to have effects similar to DDT in birds and fish, and hence pose a potential food-chain threat to humans. However, the fact that PCB's exist in the environment largely unin tentionally and often by accident limits effective control of these substances by established routes. PCB's have been used in a number of industrial applications such as plastics production, transformers, capacitors, heat transfer systems, and hydraulic systems. They enter the environment via leakage, accidents, and upon disposal. Status Since PCB's are found in all parts of the environment, regulation of these substances has occurred in the following manner: 1) Voluntary restrictions on distribution of the substance by Monsanto, sole U.S. supplier of PCB's, trade-named Araclor. 2) Prohibition on the use of PCB's in pesticides by the Office of Pesticides, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additional controls on PCB's may come about through the following: ' 1) Potential control of PCB's as hazardous substances via existing air and water control authority. 2) Regulation of particulates and othe'r emissions from incinerators, which will affect burning of materials containing PCB's. HONS 060444 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 3 , Outlook PCB's will probably be designated as "hazardous" air and water pollutants, with regulations on their emissions proposed by the Environ mental Protection Agency within the next 12-21 months. However, this will only control intentional emissions of PCB's which, with the exception of incinerators and other disposal methods, have already been brought under voluntary control in most instances. PCB's, if found to be emitted as particulates from incinerators, will be regulated by EPA as of November, 1971 through a new source performance standard on incinerators. More specific PCB emission regulations on incinerators will be issued, pending toxicity studies. It is possible that some form of legislation will be passed this Congress dealing specifically with hazardous (toxic) substances, either as specific pollutants or as parts of consumer products. Both the Administration and Senator Miskie have proposed legislation in this area. It is unlikely, however, that pending legislation to restrict PCB's specifically (H.R. 8576) will receive any action. PCB's will continue to attract attention of environmentalists, and federal funds will probably be made available for investigating proper techniques for disposal of PCB's for increasing their degradability, for investigating appropriate industrial substitutes and for measuring and analyzing the levels of PCB's in the environment. Monsanto will face increasing public concern with PCB's as will secondary distributors of the compounds; and all industries involved in marketing PCB's will be asked to justify their activities. Additional voluntary restrictions on the distribution and use of PCB's may be made by Monsanto and its PCB customers, and more product substitutes will be introduced. It is too early to predict complaints of "imninent danger" emanating from unions with workers exposed to PCB's in in-plant situations. One major stumbling block, apparently, is lack of adequate information and HONS 060445 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 4 measuring techniques in order to substantiate a complaint. However a spokesman for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, Steve Wodka, has not ruled out the possibility of union complaints to the Department of Labor on PCB's during this year. II. Regulatory Status Existing Controls Monsanto: In response to discoveries of PCB's in birds, Monsanto announced in the summer of 1970 that it would "restrict sales of PCB's only to those applications where their unique fire resistance properties are important and where it is possible to control collection and regene ration or incineration of spent material." They therefore announced the following actions: 1) Discontinue sales of PCB's for all general plasticizer applications. - August 30th, 1970. 2) Phase out the PCB's as components of industrial and hydraulic fluids where control of spillage and collection of spent material is not possible--the major part of this program will be completed within six months. 3) Continue sales of PCB's as dielectric fluids for transformers and capacitors, cooperating with customers collecting spent and arced fluid for regeneration and/or incineration. 4) Continue sales of PCB's as fire resistant heat transfer fluids ensuring modification to systems designed to make provision for collection of spills and leakage. Collect spent fluid for regeneration and/or incineration. 5) Continue research effort to develop alternatives to the PCB's and modify PCB's to make them biodegradable in conventional secondary waste treatment facilities. HONS 060446 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 5 Since that time, Monsanto reports that all sales of PCX'S to applications where the disposal of the end product cannot be controlled have been discontinued, and that the couplete range of fire-resistant hydraulic fluids has been reformulated to exclude PCB's. Furthermore, Monsanto, though it is continuing to sell PCB's for use in closed systems applications (e.g. transformers, capacitors, and heat transfer fluids), has agreed to cooperate with its customers in control of possible missions from these applications. They are establishing a service to collect spent fluids for return to Monsanto to be regenerated or destroyed in a specially designed, high-temperature incinerator. This service will be in operation July 1, 1971. Office of Pesticides - Environmental Protection Agency: In 1970, partly in response to complaints raised by Congressman Ryan (D-N.Y.), the Secretary of Agriculture agreed to ban the use of PCB's in pesticides and to cancel registration for pesticides containing PCB's. However, at the time of this agreement, the use of PCB's in pesticides had been limited, and Monsanto had already agreed not to market than for these applications. No cancellations were ever issued, since the concerned pesticide (insecticide) manufacturers clianged the composition of their end-product voluntarily. (Pesticide control has been transferred from the Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Research Division, to the Office of Pesticides, EPA.) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSIIA)-COL: In 1970 Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which became effective on April 28 of this year and is jointly administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). Labor's responsibilities, now carried out by the newly organized Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) include: HONS 060*47 IPS Client.Report Policy on PCB's Page 6 "1) Promulgation of "national consensus standards" for occupational safety and health; 2) Inspection of employers' establishments and records for compliance with job safety standards; 3) Enforcement of standards, issuance of citations and imposition . of penalties where applicable; 4) Establishment of a system of collecting, compiling and analyzing safety and health statistics, in consultation with HEW. In compliance with their standard setting responsibility, OSHA published (May 29) a long list of recomnended Threshold Limit Values (TLV's), including limits for PCB's as follows: Chlorodiphenyl (42% Chlorine)- Skin 1 mg/M3 Chlorodiphenyl (54% Qilorine)- Skin 0.5 mg/M3 (Approximate milligrams of particulate per cubic meter of air.) These standards become effective on February 15, 1972, though the DOL can respond to complaints threatening "imninent danger" to health or safety prior to the effective date. HEW's function, through the new organizational unit established by the act, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) includes authority to: 1) Develop plans and provide grants and contracts for research, experiments, and demonstration projects dealing with current and prospective job safety problems; 2) Provide criteria for identifying toxic substances for Labor's standard setting responsibilities (including annual publication of criteria); . MOWS C6C448 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 7 ' " 3) Set regulations for employers' measuring and recording exposure levels and establish programs for medical examinations and tests; 4) Provide annual lists of toxic substances; and 5) Provide annual reports (at least by April 1973) on industry-wide studies on the effects of exposure on employees. As part of their duties (4), NIQSH must publish, before June 29, 1971, a generic listing of all known toxic substances. The basis for the toxic substances list is the current "Threshold Limit Values of Airborne Con taminants" list adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) for 1970. The toxicity list will probably include PCB's at the level quoted above, since the source, the ACGIH, is identical. According to Dr. Herbert Stokinger, chief of HEW's Laboratory of Toxicology and Pathology for occupational health, there is no current concern with changing the toxicity standard for PCB's. NIQSH has been testing them to establish a drinking water standard foT PCB's but have decided to "shelve" the issue for the time being. NIOSH scientists con sider the compounds not very toxic by mouth. Control Options Office of Air Programs (QAP) - EPA. The Office of Air Programs is considering the inclusion of PCB's on a list of hazardous air pollutants, which they have authority to control according to the Clean Air Act Amend ments of 1970 (42 USC 18S7, Sec. 112). Asbestos, beryllium and mercury were placed on the list March 31, 1971, and other pollutants such as cacbniun, nickel, and PCB's will probably be designated in mid-1972, or as .soon as EPA assesses their health effects. The Office of Science and Technology of OAP has convened a panel to study cadmium, arsenic and PCB's in order to determine the next hazardous substances to be designated. If PCB's are designated in 1972, EPA must propose emission standards within six months after listing. Within another six months after proposing standards, EPA must promulgate final standards. These become effective MONS 060449 IPS Client Report Policy on PCfl's Page 8 Upon promulgation for new sources and modifications of existing plants. Existing sources are not bound until 90 days after promulgation. There fore, airborne emission standards for PCB's may be in effect by mid-1973, according to this maximum timetable. Since PCB's are used as plasticizers, they may be released when certain plastics and other products are incinerated. Therefore, they will be controlled by EPA insofar as they are an emission from a stationary incinerator. On March 31, 1971, incinerators of more than 2,000 pounds per hour charging rate (municipal-type) were designated as a stationary source subject to standards of performance under Sec. Ill of the new Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 (PL-604). Particulates and visible emissions will be the first incinerator pollutants to be regulated. PCB's do not burn but are vaporized and collect on particulate matter, possibly in incinera tor stacks. Therefore, they will probably be regulated by EPA by the end of this year if current research shows them to be a particulate emission. By July 29, 1971, EPA must propose the particulate standard of performance for incinerators, and by October 27, 1971, the standard must be promulgated. It will then become unlawful for any owner or operator of a new source to operate in violation of the performance standard. Under the same new Clean Air Amendments (Sec. Ill[d][1J) existing incinerators become liable under the new legislation to similar controls by states once the federal government establishes a new source performance standard. By these avenues, any existing air emissions of PCB's will soon be regulated by the federal government, both as a hazardous pollutant and as an incinerator emission. However, with the exception of regulating the contents of incinerators, the continuous air emissions of PCB's probably will be voluntarily controlled before emission levels are proimilgated. ( HONS 060450 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 9 "Office of Water Programs (CWPl/EPA: The Oil and Hazardous Materials Division of the Office of Water Programs will probably designate PCB's as hazardous water pollutants before the end of 1971. This office has primary responsibility under Sec. 12 of the Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 446 et seq.) for control of water-borne hazardous substances, and is charged with promulgating regulations dealing with the prevention, control and cleanup of hazardous substances discharged into navigable waterways and other waters. The hazardous substance list is long over due, but the final draft now under review establishes three categories of hazardous substances: inherently dangerous substances, such as heavy metals and Class A and B poisons; circumstantially hazardous substances, where the amount and circumstances of the discharge will be weighed, relative to danger; and any substance that violates water quality criteria, bst likely, PCB's will be designated as inherently dangerous substances, and any discharge of PCB's into waterways will be prohibited. Chce designated, the OWP has three legal options for control of the pollutants: (1) Applying emission regulations on hazardous substances to industries requesting discharge permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as required by the 1899 Refuse Act; (2) Using Sec. 10 of the Water Pollution Control Act, which calls for compliance with water quality standards and provides for the issuance of 180-day notices and (long) multi-sessioned conferences for abatement; and (3) Using Sec. 12 of the same act, whereby regulations and contingency plans for the prevention and removal of discharges of hazardous materials would be developed by the CWP and enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is likely that EPA will exercise both options (1) and (3), since they require less time than option (2). Some form of effluent guideline or standard for PCB's will be established by EPA for use by the Corps of Engineers, and it is likely that no PCB effluents from any industry will be allowed when the discharge permit system goes into effective operation, i.e., by mid-1972. MGNS 060451 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 10 "A regulation and contingency plan for the prevention and removal of PCB's will be developed by the CWP and enforced by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has already submitted a report to Congress on the responsi bility for the cost of removing such substances and on methods and measures for the prevention of such discharges. A National Contir-ency Plan for dealing with these discharges was originally promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality in June, 1970. The Plan, now being revised by the CEQ, sought to establish and coordinate a national and regional network of contingency teams and plans to control and remove discharges of oil and hazardous substances. It included provisions for nuclear pollution and required articles to be prepared on "concentrations of potentially hazardous trace materials, including lead, chromium, zinc, arsenic, mercury, nickel, copper and chlorinated hydrocarbons," and a description of the analytical methods used to determine such concentrations. Proposals for Additional Regulatory Authority Administration Proposals: In order to regulate hazardous pollutants such as DOT and PCB's that are found in a variety of environments emanating from a variety of sources, a number of bills have been intro duced for passage during this Congress. In February 1971, the President submitted to Congress a bill called the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1971 (HR 5930). It would create the following new authorities. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency would be eiqpowered to restrict or prohibit the use or distribution of a chemical substance if such restriction were necessary to protect health or the environment. In imposing such a restriction, the Administrator would be required to consider not only the adverse effects of the substance but also the benefits to be derived from its use. HONS C6C45i IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 11 'if the Administrator believed that a substance were creating an imninent hazard, he could ask the courts to restrain use or distribution of the substance imnediately. The Administrator would be authorized to issue standards for tests to be performed and for results to be achieved from such tests for various classes and uses of new substances. A new substance (excluding products covered by other regulatory authority) could be marketed only after it met these standards. The Administrator could require information from the manufacturers on potentially toxic substances--names, chemical composition, production level, uses, and results of tests conducted on their effects. The Council on Environmental Quality would be charged with coordinating efforts to establish a uniform system for classifying and handling information on chemical substances. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency would be empowered to carry on needed research on toxic substances and to develop an information system and pre diction capability to deal effectively with these materials. A Toxic Substances Board would be established in EPA to advise the administrator on action taken under the act. Civil and criminal penalties up to $25,000 and one year imprisonment could be assessed for violations. Hearings on this bill have been scheduled for late June by Senator Philip Hart's (D-Mich.) Subcommittee on the Environment, Senate MOWS 060453 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 12 Commerce Committee. If passed, a new authority would be created to focus on particular toxic pollutants such as PCB's affecting a variety of environments. Congressional Proposals: Senator Miskie (D-Me.) has introduced a Products Testing Bill (S 573) which would control hazardous subsu. :es such as PCB's when incorporated into consumer products. The significant provisions of the bill are as follows: 1) The EPA Administrator is to designate substances which may be present in manufactured products and which may cause a vio lation of any air or water quality standards. 2) Before new substances or substances in new uses are intro duced into commerce, manufacturers are required to submit information on the composition and potential public health and environmental effects of the substance. The Administrator may require testing to establish such effects. 3) The Administrator is authorized to prescribe standards for the use in manufactured products of any designated substance whose use in substantial quantities may cause discharges which violate air or water quality standards. Standards may include testing procedures and record-keeping and reporting requirements. Hearings on this bill will probably be scheduled for this year by the Air and Water Pollution Subcommittee, Senate Public Works Committee. If passed, PCB's used in the variety of applications which Monsanto deems "controllable" or acceptable would come under considerable scrutiny by EPA and could possibly be further restricted. Quite recently (May 19) Congressman Ryan (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill (H.R. 8576) which would deal specifically with PCB's. It calls HONS 060454 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 13 for a'full and exhaustive investigation to begin iimiediately into the extent of PCB contamination of our environment in all food products. It also calls for an immediate temporary administrative ban on the manu facture, shipment, and sale of all PCB's and all products containing PCB's pending the results of the investigation. The bill would also ban the distribution of PCB's in interstate commerce and the importation of PCB's into the U.S., with a possible exemption from this ban of PCB's manu factured for use as a dielectric fluid in capacitors, as the coolant in transformers, or as a fire resistant in heat transfer media, provided that such uses do not adversely affect the public health and welfare. This bill represents the culmination of a year's activity by Congressman Ryan as part of a personal crusade to place restrictions . on PCB's. As fully described by the Congressman when introducing the bill (see Appendix A), letters were sent out by his office in the spring of 1970 to various federal agencies, urging control over PCB's. He uTged the Food and Drug Administration to set food tolerance levels for PCB's and to require labelling of all products containing these compounds. The Secretary of the Interior was urged to act to protect fish and wild life from this hazard. The Commission on Product Safety was urged to determine the nature and extent of the threat of PCB's to the environment, and the Council on Environmental Quality was asked to coordinate all these efforts so that the public would know the sources and the seriousness of the PCB danger. He also urged the Department of Agriculture to ban PCB's in pesticides, which they have since done. Hie FDA, however, has not yet set food tolerance levels. Most of the agencies report that they are looking into the problem but are not yet ready to take further steps. It is unlikely that Congressman Ryan's bill will receive any action, but it is more likely that either the Administration's bill or Senator MLiskie's bill will be passed in this Congress. HONS 060455 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 14 ' In the general area of environmental control. Congress is currently placing emphasis on water pollution legislation. A variety or proposals have been offered, including administration bills S 1012, 1013, 1014, and one by Senator Muskie, S 523. It is expected that Congress will enact a strong water pollution bill this session, and it is likely that j'"-isdiction of federal standards will be extended to all navigable waters, their tributaries, the contiguous zone, and ground water sources. Both Congress and the Administration apparently agree that standards must contain effluent requirements and enforcement schedules. Ihe fact that ground waters will probably come under control will affect various methods of PCB disposal. If PCB's in waste water are sent to settling ponds, or are eliminated via ground water disposal, or are even placed in sanitary landfills, they may contaminate well waters and other water supplies. Thus, ground water restrictions may eventually lead to restrictions on PCB's disposed of in these ways. III. Research Status Monsanto Monsanto has been involved in a number of studies dealing with PCB's, most of which will be completed by the end of this suimer. Two research efforts deal with the biodegradability of PCB's. One involves a Wales shake-flask study to determine which of the isomers in PCB's are persistent and which will break down. In their St. Louis laboratories they have been conducting semi-continuous activated sludge studies, adding nutrients to the corqpounds to determine the persistent and degradable isomers. According to William B. Papageorge, Manager of Environmental Control, Monsanto also has in progress a continuing program to improve analytical methodology in order to better deal with the wide variety of PCB's and their various properties. Monsanto is also experimenting with animals to guagc the toxicity of PCB's. A two-year chronic feeding experiment was initiated for Monsanto by the Industrial Bio-test labora tory in Chicago, whereby dogs, rats and chickens have been fed 1, 10 and HONS 060456 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page IS ' 100 ppm (parts per million) of one of three types of Araclors (PCB's), namely, 1242, 12S4, and 1260. Monsanto is sharing the information gathered from this with government toxicologists. This two-year study will be completed this year, and Dr. Papageorge has indicated that Monsanto is most willing to share all the information they have found. Some results were presented at a meeting of the Society of Toxicology (Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219), and more information on the results of their work will be coming out in a paper later this year. Food and Drug Administration-HBV The Bureau of Foods of the Food and Drug Administration is currently involved in research on analytical methods to determine the' PCB content in various foods, both quantitatively and qualitatively (i.e., which PCB and what effect). They are admittedly not doing much toxicological work on PCB's, since Monsanto is rather heavily involved in this. According to J. William Cook, Director of the Division of Chemical Technology, it is too early for the FDA to formulate a policy on PCB's, such as setting food tolerance levels or labelling require ments, since not enough is known about their toxicity. Office of Pesticides/Environmental Protection Agency At their Gulf Breeze Laboratory in Escambia Bay, Florida, EPA scientists have just completed nearly a year's work on Araclor 1254, which was discharged into Escambia Bay via an accidental spill in 1968 from a Monsanto nylon plant. Hie PCB's, used as a heat exchange fluid in this instance, escaped from a cooling water ditch. Since then, the fluid used by the plant has been changed. According to Dr. Nelson Cooley of the lab, a wide variety of animals were tested for toxicity, including protozoa, shrimp, oysters and sane fish. None of the levels of PCB's in these animals were found to be high enough to be noticeably toxic. MONS 060451 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 16 TVo articles have been published, reporting on these tests: one by Dr. Del Nimmo et al., "PCB's in Sediments," in a British journal, Nature; and a paper on "Araclor 1254 in Water Sediments and Biota of Escambia Bay, Florida," by Messers Duke, Lowe and Wilson, in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1970. Office of Air Programs--EPA Under a $19,078 contract to the Office of Air Programs, the South Carolina State Board of Health in Columbia, S. C. has undertaken an assay of human tissues for trace metals and PCB's. This contract is still in progress and is an effort to measure the quantities of the above substances absorbed by humans. The Division of Applied Technology, in cooperation with other QAP offices and research services, is currently sampling and testing emissions from six incinerators to compile emission data in order to set new source emission standards on particulates and visible emissions from incinerators. The six incinerators being sampled are incinerators in Dade County, Fla., Braintree, Mass., Paris, Dusseldorf and two in New York City. (The tests cost roughly $15,000 per incinerator.) Some samples have been received for analysis, and all testing and sampling must be completed before the end of July, 1971, when EPA must propose emission standards. At this stage, the air pollution people are mostly concerned with gathering data on the PCB content of incinerator effluent. Information on the toxicity of these confounds is not yet sufficient to justify setting permissible levels of emission. It is not yet known if we have an air pollution problem with PCB's, according to Tom Hauser, Division of Effects Research. It is suspected that PCB's from incinera tors enter the atmosphere as an aerosol, that is, begin as a vapor but end as a solid. MONS 060458 IPS Client-Report Policy on PCB's Page 17 Bureau of Wildlife and Sports Fisheries--Department of Interior At the Bureau's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, PCB's in birds have been analyzed routinely for several years. TWo publications are available on their research, one of which deals with the identification of structural formulas for 18 PCB's found in eagle tissues. They have also been conducting several two-year studies on the effects of PCB's on reproduction of game birds. They have tested for all combinations of PCB's and have attempted to measure the toxicity of PCB on four species of game birds. According to Dr. Lucille Stickel, Pesticide Research Coordinator at the Center, PCB's were identified in 1966 and they have been aware of them for several years. Several papers have been published on their research activities, but she emphasizes that their evaluation is not yet complete. So far, however, they have discovered no reproductive effects of PCB's, though some evidence of this has been found in chickens. The Bureau's Pesticide Research Laboratory in Columbia, Mo., has investigated acute toxicities of PCB's on trout and bluegills, where Dr. Richard Schoettger has reported that PCB's have a relatively low acute toxicity. Dr. David Stallings of the same lab has been working on analytical procedures for PCB's and will do more work on game fish in this area. Office of Science and Technology--Executive Office of the President The Office of Science and Technology is actively engaged in a lumber of case studies concerning a variety of toxic organic and in organic substances, including PCB's. Their general purpose is to evaluate the information available on PCB's in order to give advice and assistance to the President with respect to developing policies and programs dealing with these substances. Dr. Edward Burger is especially concerned with PCB's and related substances, but has stressed that at this time they MCNS 060459 IPS Client Report Policy on PCB's Page 18 are grappling with an information problem; that is, with the problem of not knowing where PCB's are found, and what their effect is. It is not likely that their work in this area will become available to the public. In addition to the above, significant research has been previously performed on PCB's by the Kettering Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati (Dr. J. F. Treon), and by Professor E. L. McCune and his co workers at the University of Missouri. Dr. Treon's group investigated acute toxicities of PCB's on animals, and Prof. McCune discovered the toxic effect of PCB's on chickens. According to Monsanto, between 100 and ISO laboratories have requested material from them on PCB's. A great deal of existing research activities are still focusing on analytical methods for determination and identification of PCB's in the biosphere. HONS C6CA60 APPENDIX A Congressman William F. Ryan (D-N.Y.) on PCB's Congressional Record May 19, 1971 MQNS 060461 FOB'S--ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD-- 'SHOULD BE BANNED Th 8PEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Tcaoos of Texas). Under ft previous or der of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Utah) Is recognized for 10 minutes. Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, our environ ment--our lives--are being threatened by a deadly family of chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls--PCB's. Con cerned about the potential hazards of PCB's, I brought this mattor to the at tention of the appropriate Federal agen cies over 1 year ago, hopeful that the necessary protections would be taken by administrative action. But that action has not been forthcoming. Therefore, in light of this failure and newly found evi dence that PCB's are entering our food, chain, I am Introducing today legisla tion to ban PCB's except for a very few particular uses. * . The hazards of polychlorinated bl- pheny cannot be overstated. Manufac tured In the United States solely by the Monsanto Co. under the trade name Aroclor, these chemicals liavc been dis covered In a wide variety of foods and animals. Like their chemical cousin-- DDT--PCB's cause birds to lay eggs with shells too thin to protect the embroys they enclose. They have a deleterious cf- feet on llte reproductive capacity of ani mals. And PCB's and their residue are extremely toxic to animal life, nut by far the moat frightening liazard is the cifcct Of these cliemlcals on human h<-im:s. PCB's may be taken into the body by direct action upon the skin or ns a vapor taken through the respiratory tract. The . effect on the skin Is ciilorai.ee. The early symptoms are pimples and dark pigmen tation; laler, more serious eruptions. Persona who have been continuously ex posed to PCB's may suffer nausea, vomit ing, loos of weight, endenia. and abdomi nal pnln. Increased respiration, lowered blood cell rount. nnd Inhibition of CftrliMiliydmle mrtnbohsm. More Kertmr. effects are tha.e tin lltc kidney*. The principal effeti. however. Is on thr liver-- poxribly lending to atrophy, followed by dentil. As PCB's are not soluble In water, they are--like DDT--very jicrststcnl in the environment. This Insolubility factor makes these chemicals capnblo of being widely distributed over the earth via mr currents. Their hazard is increased by the fact that PCB's, especially those of limit chlorine content, resist biological break down. PCB's have been manufactured in the United Stales by the Monsanto Co. nnd sold for use in general plasticizer ap plications; in closed system Applications, such as coolants in transformers: ns hydraulic fluids: nnd an extender for ' pesticides, among other uses. Among the wide variety of products in which rcB's have taeen used are pl.uucizers, coatings for paper end fabric, fircrctardant compounds. pbotothcrmojraphlc copy sheets, decorative sparkling plastics. asphalt, adhesives, parnfTin, printer's ink. resins, rubber products, paints, pesticides, lacquers, scaling com pounds, polyester film, and water-repel lent canvas for camping materials. When I first brought the matter of PCB's to the attention of the appropri ate Federal agencies over 1 year ago. I requested that certain actions be taken to protect our health and our environment from Uie hazards of FCS's. At that time, I urged the Sccrc'ary of Agriculture to ban the use of PCB's In pesticides. The Agriculture Department agreed to discontinue the use of I'CB's in pesticides and to cancel registrations for pesticides containing PCB's. I urged the Food and Drug Adminis tration to set food tolerance levels for PCB's to require the labeling of all products containing them, and to deter mine whether this chemical should be banned completely for all uses. In reply ing to me. the FDA advised me that It was undertaking a survey to deteimine the extent of food contamination from PCB's--the results of which I still have not received. FDA refuted to set food tol erance levels nnd to require lr.bclinr. I urged the .Secretary or the Interior to act to protect fish nnd wildlife from this hazard. He replied thut invexilgitlons were being carried out by various agen cies of the Federal Government and t!ic results of these studies would be fun- ncled to Uie staff of Uie Council on tnvironmcntnl Quality. I urged the Commission on Product Safety to determine the nature and ex tent of the threat to our environment. The Commission replied that it u-.-; not possible for the CohunJsnon to conduct an Indrpth ImesUuatiun of the hazards of PCB's at that time. HONS 060462 Ami f urged the Council on Environ mental Quality to coordinate the clfarts f ell appropriate Government agencies, o that the public might know the sources wd the setluiisncss of the PCD etnneer, and that it take steps tu eliminate this hazard as soon ms possible. The Council advised me that It was woikine with Other lYdcral ngcncic:i to determine what course of action was available to the Fed eral Government. In April 1070, 1 called upon the Mon santo Co. to take action to prevent PCD'* from escaping Into the environment. I Nked Monsanto to require special label ing for nil PCU-ctmtnlning materials. And J asked the company to release its annual production and sales statistics to researchers in the held of PCD pollution. After meetings with representatives of Xfonsanto In my oincc and exchanges of correspondence. Monsanto's Organic -Cliemlenl Division agreed that effective August 30. 1970, Monsanto would "no S1oncer sell tho chlorinated biphenyls to customers for me In general plasticizer applications where disposal of the end f product cannot be controlled. Tills In cludes all the applications referred to in $ur bulletin 0/PL-3G0." Monsanto further agreed to reformu late fire-resistant hydraulic fluids to ex clude PCD'* by the end of 1970. The company said that It would con tinue to sell PCB's for use In closed sys<- tern applications; for example, trans formers. capacitors, and heat transfer fluids. But it did scree to work with Its customers to control emissions to the en vironment and to establish i service to, collect spent fluids to be returned to Monsanto for regeneration or destruction In a specially dcslcned high-temperature Incinerator. According to a letter from Monsanto to me dated March 24, 1971, Monsanto anticipates that this incinera tor will begin operation on July 1 of this year. ' In that March 24 letter to me, Monsanto atatad that all "sales of poly chlorinated biphenyls to applications where the disposal of the end product cannot be controlled have been discern1 tinned." and that Ute "complete range of fire-resistant hydraulic fluids has been reformulated to exclude polychlorinated biphenyl." Exhibiting a eatlous Indifference to Ute public welfare, however. Monsanto has refused repeatedly to make titles and production figures available to me-- Information needed by scientists if they are to determine what quantities of PCB's have and arc escaping into the environment. However. Monsanto hat informed me that tt would make such information available to "responsible Government agencies" on a confidential basis. Monsanto has also refused to supply a complete list of uses of PCB's claiming this information "would serve no useful nonpolltlcal purpose." Xfonsanto has taken some steps, under public pressure, to restrict environment contamination by PCB's. But more needs to bo done. Present control of PCB's Is dependent upon the efforts and good faith of the Monsanto Co. and the lull cooperation of each and every one of Its customers. That is not cnounh to Insure protection of our citizens from the men ace of this deadly chemical. The Federal Government has a responsibility to make sure that the necessary steps are taken to prevent PCD contamination--end net by merely relying on the Rood Intentions of a corporation. It must set stringtiu Federal standards and make sure that Uieae slamJ&i dr. are enforced. Thus, I renewed my call lor adminis trative fiction by requesting the Admin istrator of the Environment:'.! Protection Agency to place an immediate ban on tire Importation, manufacture, nnd sale of all products containing PCD'*, with tin: possible exception of certain cinr.cd sys tem applications. 1 urged that lie require that any products containing PCD's. which were not included In such a .ban. be labeled with a warning of their detri mental environmental effects. 1 requested that he obtain from Monsanto those pro duction and sales figures necessary to determine the extent of passible PCD contamination--data which Monsanto would not provide me. And I urrrcd that the Environmental Protection Agency coordinate the efforts of all appropriate governmental agencies in dcalins -with this hazard. So far X have bed no re sponse to my request*. In short, except for tho rclion taken by the Department of Agriculture in banning PCD's In pesticides, the Federal Government has not taken any of the necessary steps wliich I have requested over the post year to rombit till* very serious environmental health hazard. I find this Federal Inaction most dis turbing, particularly In light of the re cent discovery of serious food contami nation from PCD's--contamination which could have resulted in thousands of Individuals unknowingly taking dan gerous levels of lids chemical into their bodies. MCNS 060463 in December 1970, the Campbell Soup Oo, of Camden. NJ., discovered that fat samples taken from slaughtered chick* ens contained a hi*h quantity of PCB residue. Upon being notified of this find* lag, and recognizing the notentlal dan* ger of this ooeurrence. the Mew York State Department of Agriculture and Markets immediately stopped the move ment of all poultry from the Immediate area of Sullivan County. N.Y- where the chickens had been raised. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets then began a full*sca!e Investigation into the extent of possible PCB contamination in poul try* Their laboratory confirmed the find ings of high levels of PCB's mode by Campbell Soup Co., and the U.S. Depart* moot of Agriculture established a con* restraint on the movement of all poultry for slaughter in Sullivan. Ul ster. and Orange Counties, until it was found to be safe through a special cleaning test operation. As a result of their investigations and to conjunction with USDA. the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets ordered that 146,000 PCB-con.Uunlnatad clilckens be burled under close supervision to make absolutely sure that they would not reach the marketplace. The Campbell Soup Co., the U S. De partment of Agriculture, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets all took prompt action to deal with this serious problem, and that Is reassuring. Howover. the damage, which would have resulted if this In cident had not been discovered in time, cannot be Ignored. And I must stress that this is not an isolated example. In January 1979, mmoles of milk col lected by the Htnie of Ohio I' pertinent of Acrimltim*, revolted residue of n product rluM-tv rrrrmbllng DPT ami DDO On Kebnutry 19, 1970. Ofirye Srhwarswaldrr. u dairyman in Shrove, Ohio, was IsNiicd a notire by the division of fooda, dairies, and drugs to dLsconl muc the sale of milk until such time as the residue found in ids milk was below actlPtttitdP lfv>l On February 17. an other ditirym.'.n. Franklin Humphrey of East Itoclttsicr. Ohio. received a sim ilar noilrv. Subsequent sample* from Indlvidunl cows and the bulk tank on these farms submitted tot lie agriculture laboratories and the pcatlride )nt>oratory at Ohio State Untvcir.Jiy revealed that Utc resi due found hi tin;! milk was not DDT or any utialai: of DDT but PCU's. The Ohio Slate Department of Agriculture found Lho contaminating substance to be Aroclor I2i4. manufactured by the Monsanto Co. These PCB's entered the food chain through an interesting route. Apparent ly, the dairymen's silos were lined with a produst called Cumar which included In Its content Arrrior 1264. The PCD's were then absorbed b.v the silage which to- turn was led to the dairy cattle, re sulting in PCB contaminated milk. The potential harm of this PCB con tamination cannot be overstated. Nor ean the economic damage Incurred by these dairymen by having their milk taken off the market. And although I have been assured by the Ohio State Department of Agriculture that this problem Is now under control In that State. I have been Informed that silos to Indiana. Kentucky. Pennsylvania, and West Virginia were also coated with the same product. There Is no way of know ing whether or not there la similar milk contamination in those States and else where. I am not trying to use scare tactics, t am not saying that we should no longer drink milk or eat chicken soup. The point 1 am trying to make Is that PCB's arc entering the food chain. In the abovementioned situations, fortunately, the presence of PCB's was discovered before widespread damage could occur, but 1 fear that many other incidents of PCB contamination are going unnoticed with potentially lethal results. These incidents graphically Illustrate why this problem can no longer be ig nored. Noncommittal responses from Federal agencies stating that they are concerned and will look Into the prob lem--at some later date-can no longer be tolerated. There must be a tough com prehensive Federal program to meet this menace now. Therefore, 1 am Introducing today a bill to meet the problem of PCB's by legislative action end cm renewing my call for all appropriate Federal agencies to do all that they can to combat this danger. Specifically, Z am calling for a full and exhaustive investigation to be com menced immediately into the extent of PCB contamination of our environment in ail food products. And I om calling for an immediate temporary administrative ban on the manufacture, shipment, and sale of nil PCU's nnd all products contnlnmi: PCU s pvrnllng the results of this invest ignUon. HONS 06C464 1 f ' FurUx*r. X am culling for--and this is embodied in the IcnJslatton I am Intro ducing--a permanent Federal ban on the distribution In imemlate commerce and the Importation Into Ute United States of all PCB's. Rivinrr. however, the Secretary I Health, Education, and Welfare the authority to exempt from this ban PCB's manufacture*! lor use as the dielectric fluid hi capacitors, as the coolants In transformer*, or as a Are resistant In heat transfer media, provided that he finds that such uses cannot adversely affect Uie public health and welfare. In order to Insure the safety of all of our clUsens and the environment, the Secre tary must prescribe refutations detailing procedures for the manufacture, use, transportation, and disposal of any PCB's exempted from this permanent ban. The problem of PCB's is indicative of a much larger problem--that of the al most unrestricted influx of potentially harmful chemicals into the marketplace. A UntulOf system must be established to insure the safety of s chemical before It ean be sold In the marketplace, and then only for specific uses. But In the meantime everything possible must be done to protect the public from known ehtoiieal dancers. We know the hasards Of PCB's. We know what can and most be dene to combat those hasards. And we aust undertake those actions now. MGNS 060465