Document XRZkkRadGNqX5JKqY8k4j159g

Ehf Driniit 2'n'f DETROIT. MICH. D. 816.0M SUN. 714,631 FEB 29 19/6 ^ Progress on PCB Controls THE PROGRESS o( the PCB ratulstion Mil (ram tbt Senate Conservation Commit-, tee to tho Smut* floor It an encouraging development In tht tffort to control them toxic chemical compound! in Michigan wa ters. - . The committee, haadtd by San. Joe Mack, D-lronwood, duereel praise (or refuting to adopt augitttad changet in the MU that would have seriously diluted its impact. Af>. (acted industrial' interests wanted a 10-year minimum period for replacing PCBs after a substitute becomee available, and to allow all existing uses of PCBs to continue Indefi nitely. . . Instead, the Department of Natural Re sourcesdirector wilt dtcide when a substitute exists and. how long industries have to con vert to other products. The day that substitutes an available for PCBs may be nearer than many people think. Dow Chemical Co already has announced plane to market a new insulating fluid that could replace PCBs in high-voltage power capacitors--one of the chemicals' chief usee. The PCB bill is especially important to Michigan because of tire direct danger these ubiquitous chemicals pose to the state's fish ing industry. Lake Michigan salmon and lake trout tested in I#74 were lound to be contami nated with PCBs and unfit for human con sumption. Other Great Lakes fish also are tainted above acceptable levels. Now, according to DNR Director Howard Tanner, "public attention is being directed at the real problem, that PCBs are more than a contaminant in flah, they are finding their way through a multitude of amall sources into biological systems." A near-unanimous vote In the Michigan' House, and the unanimous vote in the genets Conservation Committee, have been the Leg islature's response so tar to this grim threat It must be hoped the full Senate now will follow suit and reject any shortsighted plead ings to delay or weaken this urgent legisla tion. ; \ MONS 033141