Document Rad634Jk0pMGN2ZOwxp5V64JB

Page Six 11/ IV'v ."fy , i t , Student J ile p. e. tUyf,. /' List of IDevMj ` . . . ' ' by JOHN HAMER ' College Prew Service I Come the Silent Spring, when life on I earth It dying and helpless men esks why, , the names of those chemicals, pesticides . and synthetics he has poured into his environment for the sake of `progress'* will come back to haunt him. Along with DDT, mercury, 2,4,5-T, dieidrin, psrathion end other deadly' substances, the autopsy of earth will reveal _ another compound whose ' - recently-delected effects are widespread, chronic, and insidious. . This latest chemical infiltrator is PCB, . which stands for polychlorinated biphenyls, a special das* of compounds with a great variety of household and industrial uses. Available commercially .. , ' tinea 1929. the prevalence of PCB in the environment was not discovered until 196b, when Swedish scientists found it in concentrations as high as DDT. . Like DDT, the PCB compounds contain chlorine, hydrogen and carbon. Also Uke PDT, they are not soluble in water, are / resistant to oxidation, they accumulate in . fatty tissues and are extremely persistent In . the environment ' PCB Spread Accidentally The major difference between the two is that DDT has been distributed deliberately at .a pestitide; the spread of PCB has been accidental and no one knowj exactly how it happens, where letkt occur nor how much escapes. But in the past four years. scientists have detected PCBs in fish, birds, water, trees, sediment end-lnevitably-ln . human fat and mothets' milk. Samples ; - `containing PCBs have been taken in * England, Scotland, Scandinavia, the . Netherlands, Antarctica, Central America and in many parts of the United States, making them truly ubiquitous pollutants. In the U.S., PCBs are manufactured solely by the Monsanto Company and sold under the trade name "Aroclor." They are ' also made by chemical companies in Europe and Japan, and have been used f ejftensivety since World War II; PCBs can be purchased (n containers ranging from 50-pound cans to 600-pouml drums, or ere available by the railroad car tankload. . (mutants ' The unique qualities of PCBs make them useful as flame retardants, insulating fluids, plasticizers and coating compounds. Consequently, they may appear in a bewildering variety of consumer products, such as floor tile, flourescent lights, printer's ink, brake lining*, swimming pools, automobile-body sealants, asphalt, adhesives, molded plastics, polyester film, paraffin, paints, carbonless copy paper, window envelopes, imitation gold leaf, varnishes, waxes,ceramic pigments, synthetic rubber and watcr-repellant canvas for camping equipment. Industrial applications of PCBs include coolant fluids in transformers, capacitors and askarel-type transformers, hydraulic fluids, specialized lubricants, gasket sealers, electrical wiring, heat transfer agents and machine tool cutting oQi. in addition, the Monsanto technical sales bulletin recommends mixing PCBs with chlorinated insecticides to set as a vapor suppressant and sticking agent, so the insecticide may maintain Us "kill-life*' on hard surfaces for u long is three months. The bulletin also suggests blending Insecticides into tacky PCB-eoatings "to make insect traps or barriers on tree trunks for foliage or fruit protection." With all of these uses, it is tittle wonder that PCBs are released into the environment in persistent forms, which. can ba distributed widely over the earth In water and air currents. Scientists have cited S chief ways in which PCBs get into the environment: --From the smokestacks of the Monsanto plants (in Sauget, tit., and Anniston, Ala.) where Aroclor is manufactured, from the stacks of plants which manufacture products containing Aroclor, end from European and Japanese PCB plants. --From other forms of Industrial waste, such as leakage of hydraulic fluids from supposedly "closed systems," which are seldom leak-proof. --Gradual wear and weathering of products (such aa asphalt) containing Aroclor which may cause PCBs to be slowly released in the form of vapor or particles Into the atmosphere. --From products containing PCB which age thrown out as trash end eventually end up being burned in city dumps or incinerators, releasing PCBs in Jhe form of highly toxic fumes. (Carbonless copy MONS 032341 pilntu >nd m/nyl jdoiticj.,, for _ -Wimple, .t commonly bur^d.) ----------------- : -And dually, through fCB-conUIniuf iMtllddet. . .. Tlif Mult effect* on human beings of . Wgh |on|tt of PCBi vc evident from a Berks of poisonings In Jepan In 1968, in which moro than 10,000 (people were effected. The PCB source was traced to ooklng fl extracted from rice hulls, which were treated In pkddy fields by , herbicide. -The outbreaks involved a number of miacarriagcs land stillbirths, mong pregnant women Ind abnormally dark akin plgnientsUcjn In infants. Poisoning victims suffered from chloracne, a oondition of severe pimples end pustules oommon with PCB exposure, and several ' omcs showed symptoms of jaundice and Bver damage. Levels of exposure for worker* In Aroelor plants have been aet by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, but member* of the OB, Chemical and Atomic Worker* union have consistently had trouble getting Industries to enforce occupational tandarde, Monsanto refused to answer a written request from Environment magsilne to describe Its control measures for PCB levels In the plint atmosphere, and was evasive about Its emission' monitoring nffoitt. Inhalation of PCBi in sufficient quantity produces nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, shortness of breath, lowered red blood cell count. Ion of Ubido, and Inhibition of carbohydrate metabolism. Jaundice and other sever liver damage may result In coma, atrophy, and death. But Hkt so msny other environments! hazards, the dangers of acute toxicity of PCBa ate probably less than the threat of chronic, long-term, low-level exposure, whteh cannot be measured or, so far, . controlled. There have been na anperiments as yet to learn chronic PCB offsets on humans, but several studies have produced disturbing evidence of `their affects on animals. The initial discovery of PCBs in the environment, in 1966,' was made by Swedish scientist Soren Jensen, who Identified PCBt in the bodies of 200 pike taken from different areas of Sweden, In Other fish, and in the body of an eagle. Examining eagle feathers preserved in a museum, Dr. Jensen found PCB traces as early as 1944. U the U.S., PCBi were first detected by Monte Klrven of the San Diego Natural Niatary Museum, who found DDT aompounds In abandoned peregrine falcon gp. Alto In the unhatched egg shells were other compounds which Klrven could not Identify until the Swedish retrarch came to Ms' attention, when they were recognized aaPCBs. Prof. El McCunc, of the University or Missouri, discovered by accident that PCBs have a toxic effect on chickens. When chickens began dying after a feeding house was freshly painted, ' careful research showed that the toxic factor was Arodor 1242,.a binding ingredient in the epoxy paint. 1,980 Parts Per Million Perhaps the most extensive research on PCBs has been done by Robert Risebrough of the Institute of Marine Resources, University of California at Berkeley. Risebrough has taken samples from peregrine falcons, seagulls, brown pelicans, cormorants, herons, petrels and terns in San Francisco Bay, San Diego Bay, the Ferallon and Anacapa Islands off the California coast and in Baja California. Ail of his samples have shown traces of PCBs, and some amounts have been as large as 1,980 parts PCB per million parts of body fat in the birds sampled. What are the effects of PCBs on wildfowl? The close similarity between DDT and PCB suggested that they might have similar physiological effects, and some research has confirmed this. Dr. David Peakall of Cornell University found that PCB stimulated production in pigeons of enzymes which broke down sex hormones and Interfered with reproductive cycles. The PCB actually had almost twice as mueh deleterious effect on the laboratory pigeons as did DDT and Its compounds, aven though lesser amounts of PCB were, used. .. At Utah State University, Prof. Joseph C. Street led a project to Investigate the effect of PCBs on rats. With PCBs containing more than SO percent chlorine, the enzyme induction potency was as great is that of DDT. Among other effects this brought about more rapid metabolism of t drugs, Insecticides, and other fan compounds in the rats' bodies. Street believes that PCBs can cause iter * degradation, which niay lead to aUt endocrine relationships. Very little data is avaOable about t" in people. Both Swedish and Bri scientists have reported finding them samples of human fat. They were f documented In human mUk by t scientists at Colorado College in Color. Springs. Then Dr. Risebrough mcasu PCB in a series of mothers' mflk samr from Berkeley and Los Angeles. Ev. sample contained both DE)T and PCB, it was impossible to tell how much of ' PCB In humans derived from food ami li much was absorbed by the lungs from : air. Nonetheless, this convincing evidcof PCB ubiquity was incontrovertible ; ominous. Until recently, information a* PCB could be found only in techn: journals, scientific literature, in.tust publications and a few informed nga/.' such as Environment and Nature. 1 commercial media largely ignored problem, even though an increasing volti of Information was bcl accumulated. Stricter Controls Requested Finally, last April, the danger* of P were called to public attention by R William F. Ryan, Democratic Congress:;, from New York, who asked for actfrom various departments in the Ni administration and called upon Mons* to establish stricter control* on PCB use. Ryan asked the Department Agriculture to ban the use PCB-contalning pesticides, called for t Food and Drug Administration to requ proper labeling of PCB products and * study a possible complete PCB ban, 2 requested that the Department of : Interior take steps to protect fish 3 wildlife from the hazards of PCBs. Ryan's initiatives met with mix results. The Agriculture Departnu replied that PCB pesticides would discontinued and agreed to can registrations for such pesticides. Howe, it soon became apparent the "disconttau and "cancel,", in federai*rejulatory jarge don't automatically result in the draj and conclusive actions which the wo:; connote. If Agriculture had chosen to "suspert.' the pesticide registrations, the suspend would have taken force immediately a: federal law would have stopped shipmvr1 of the products in interstate commerc Department inspectors could also se. stocks of the products in retail tto: (although they seldom do because there c only 32 inspectors for all the thousands retail stores in the U.S.) HONS 032342 - When (he Agriculture Dept, merely "cinoclT a registration, however, (he manufacturing companies have 30 days before Ihcy must Hop shipping the products In interstate commerce. If they pptsl (he order, even this mild restriction is lifted, and the company can continue to produee, ship, and set! the cancelled producti during the lengthy process of appeal. Furthermore, homeowners, gardeners, formers or others who buwthc products arc fooe to use them in shy way, even If oontaminatlon of large areas is the result. PDA Responds With Study The F.D.A., in response to Ryan's request for Libeling, merely promised to study the amounts and tpxicity of PCBs in food. Even if cautionary labels avp Implemented,the labels on containers have no binding force on the purchaser, and there Is no guarantee that the products will not continue to be used in harmful ways. While still Secretary of the Inteiior, Walter Hickel told Ryan that "when sufficient facts are established as to the sources end nature of the pollutants, we will be in position to take appropriate corrective measures." . The Moniunto Company, in response to Ryan's Inquiries, first responded with ambiguities end refusals to provide details, such at s lilt of PCB uses, production and sales figures. The company cliimed, for example, that a complete list of PCB-containing products "would serve no useful non-political purpose." ' Rut. Ryan persisted, and in June, Monsanto finally agreed to restrict the use T PCBs to "closed-system applications, such as transformers, capacitors and heat Innifer fluids. As of Aug. 30, Monsanto .would np longer scD PCBs to customers for nee in general plasticizer operations where disposal of end-products cannot be oontrolled. The company also said that it would no longer sell PCB-contalping hydraulic fluid ("Pydruat" it Monsanto's trade name) after Dec. . 31, 1970. And finally, Monsanto said it would offer a recovery sendee for spent fluids Used as coolants in_ transformers and other closed-systems' and begin research to davalop modified, biodegradeable PCBs. . These setions were encouraging to Ityan, who laid in Congress: "I am extremely gratified shut my exposure of Ptti as a major environmental hazard was Instrumental in having them excluded from wet that allow widespread escape into the environment." * . "However," he continued, "I am not wtbfied that PCBs are no longer an nvironmental threat," citing high PCB fovels found this summer in England. Ryan (Continued on next page) PCB Threat. Page Seven (Continuedfrom preceding page) urged the United Nations Con ference on the Human Knyironment, which b to be held in Sweden in 1971, to study the danger of PCBs to animal and human life throughout the world, and to ban any use of PCBs that would allow further escape into the environment. There will be aoAte lag period before these steps show any re sults. After that, if Monsanto's former customers look for PCB substitutes, rather than buying PCBs from Japan or Europe, the projected decrease in quantity of PCB In the environment could become a reality. The only ques tion then will bo, was it too late? * MONS 032343