Document XRjyBwQeoEr9vK9808Z4gZpa4

or,3 REPRINTED PROM THE IOS ANGELES TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBfX''1, ,,,,CnaNo, - Copyright <t) 1971 let Angtltt Time* St? P,t*g A NEW CHICKEN AND EGG RIDDLE: PCB POLLUTION Scientists Try to Detect Extent of Buildup in Sea but Lack Essential Clues BY JAMES BASSETT ' Timtt Anecltt* (dite, What do the slaughter of 77,000 chickens, the destruction of 75,000 eggs, and a worldwide buildup In the sea of a mysterious chemical called PCB have in common? Environments! dangers. The cblckcn cgg incident occurred in July and August. Hut scientific concern over oceanic pollution by PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) Is just now coining to a head. Chiefly, liquid PCB is used in industrial heat transfer systems. It is highly valued for its ability to withstand temperatures ranging as high as 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. And because of Us plasticity, it had lieen used as an additive for sealants, paints, printing ink and pesticides. Earlier Incident in Japan * If the world's ccologicai-polilical community had had a workable early warning system, what hap pened to the chickens and eggs In 10 Southeastern states this summer might not have. In 1968, about 300 Japanese contracted a strange skin disease, and several died. The deaths and illnesses were traced to an In fusion of PCB into the human system, via a con taminated rice oil. The chickens were poisoned by fish meal spoiled by PCB from a faulty pipe in the coolant machinery at the feed factory. Then, on Aug. 18, the Food and Drug Adminis tration revealed that 60,000 eggs containing toxic PCB eluded federal inspectors and reached Wash ington, D.C., grocery stores. Meanwhile, alerted to the lethal problem, a special panel of the National Academy of Science, headed by Dr. Edward D. Goldberg, chemistry professor ftLScrlPIMJnsMlUlion of. Oceanography at 14 Jolla, has urged an nll-out survey of the extent to which PCD has polluted the seas. Percentage of PCB IUscs Goldberg told The Times that preliminary studies indicate that oceanic fish and plankton (which fish eat) now contain a higher percentage of PCB More over, PCB molecules are more ``persistent'* (longerlived) than DDT. whoso oifect on fish and *uiid is relatively well known. . Twenty-five per cent of all the DDT manufactured since Its development. In the 1910s remains in the world's seas and lakes. But DDT in itself is not harmful to human beings. How much PCB has escaped Into the seas through the atmosphere, rivers, sowers and dumping l.s not known, because its production is a trade secret. Dut Goldberg suspects that it is considerable. "The more the problems arc studied," his panel said, "the more unexpected effects are Identified. In view of the findings of the past decade, our pre dictions of the potential hazards of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the marine environment may be vastly underestimated. Thus the national academy recommended: --Mounting a "massive national effort" to force an immediate, drastic cutback in the escape of per sistent toxicants into the environment, with the ultimate goal "virtual cessation" as soon as possible. --Setting up programs to determine the entry rates of pollutants into the earth's waters, ami find out where these pollutants finally end up: in sea life, marine plants, etc. "These should be followed by a program of monitoring long-term trends in order to record progress and todocument possible disaster." --Examine and probably revise laws governing the registration of chemical substances in view of "evidence of environmental deterioration caused by some of (them)." That is the crux of the matter today. Will Not Give Figures Despite effects of the PCB-tvne substances, the sole U S. HONS 032646 manufacturer of PCB substances, Monsanto Chemi cal Co., has declined to release its production figures, although scientists have long been requesting such data, according to the academy panel's report. When The Times contacted a Monsanto official in St. Ix>uis, It was learned that the firm has acknowl edged the problem to the extent of confining PCB's use to closed electrical systems under what was termed "strict controls." No longer will it be em ployed as an additive for sealants, paints and other products. Recently Monsanto allocated $2 million to its environmental control division to tackle the PCB pollution problem. U has already banned "uncon trollable" PCB items in Groat Britain, where Mon santo also is the sole manufacturer. "Two years ago," said one European company official, "the sea gull problem was a joke in this building. Gradually, we slopped laughing." Can Only Guess But, asks Goldberg, how much has already been produced by Monsanto during the past four decades? Unless such institutions like Scripps obtain this in formation, they can only guess. From these foggy figures they can then try to determine the amount now contained in the oceans and what the future fallout may be. There is some optimism, though, that a better notion of PCB's prevalence may soon be gained by a six-member federal task force, including re presentatives from such bodies as the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protec tion Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare earlier this month made a quiet announcement of the project, which specifically centers on the PCB Issue. Monsanto has said It will cooperate. But Goldberg, while allowing that this is a move in the right direction, calls it "only a microstep." Some recognised, non-governmental scientific group should have the information, so that extensive and impartial tests can go forward, he said. 1 While his academy panel recognised the economic reason for trade secrecy, and a firm's proprietary interest in an exclusive product, it added: "We also feel that there are limes when it Is not In the public interest for government to maintain as privileged data- that arc necessary for research Into the state of our environment and for an assess ment of its condition." ' Single Laboratory The academy therefore asked that the law be amended so that noninvolved scientists can over come this "obstacle to effective environmental man agement." Especially, said the panel, as regards polychlorinated hydrocarbons (like PCB). "By utilising a single laboratory to manage the program," Goldberg and his colleagues noted, "dif ficulties in standardisation and In sample prepara tion and handling can be minimised." A group of Nobel scientists has joined in that plea with a message to the United Nations Confer ence on the Human Environment, to be held next spring: "Some pollutants, especially (substances like DDT and PCB), and also lead are distributed globally via the atmosphere. Their concentrations may reach levels sufficient to damage ecosystems (a community of ecological and physical components taken as a unit) irreversibly on a worldwide scale before the damage is recognized." f f I \ ] : Should Bo Curtailed The Nobel group, like Goldberg and the academy, want a thorough study of "their origins and ultimate sinks as well as their routes through the food web* and effects on the ecosystem, including man," Their entry into the seas should be "curtailed to every practical extent, even if this requires re strictions on production and use," the Nobel group said. Since PCB is also manufactured in Japan, Russia and several European countries, it would appear that the 1972 U.N. conference offers the best po.<siblc chance of attacking a difficult global problem globally. Goldberg said that Japan turns out approximately 10,000 tons of PCB annually. Based on each coun try's gross national product, he added, that would mean that Monsanto could be making 50,000 tons a year. That, however, is only an educated guess, Goldberg admits. The company neither confirms nor denies that figure. In Science magazine, official publication of the American Assn, for the Advancement of Science, University of California research ecologist Robert Risebrough, an authority on PCB, declared this month that contaminants In PCB arc "among the most poisonous compounds known." . ,, 1 : . ' ] Half of Shrimp Died Half of the shrimp exposed to one part per mil lion of the chemical died during a recent Florida environmental agency test. The same article reports that Monsanto technicians found "no adverse effects" when rats were given doses of PCB as high as 100 ppm. Risebrough said that In "our throwaway society" PCBs will ultimately become wastes that drift into the environment--and eventually the food chain itself. According to Science, the FDA has set an "Interim guideline" of 5 ppm of PCB "as safe for human consumption of poultry." But scientific nonbelievers rate the federal guide line as "unfounded and arbitrary." Says Risebrough: "Five parts per million is just a number. I'm sure FDA pulled it out of the air." In rebuttal, an FDA spokesman insisted the stan dard was determined from the "best scientific In formation possible." Whereas the data for "short term exposure" is not complete, he concluded, the FDA must go on what information It posscsso*. "We can't be held* accountable for every damn chemical," he told Science. So the schism exists--and grows---among the scientific community, government and private in dustry. That is what spooks men like Goldberg and Rise brough. The Scripps marine chemist calls the poten tial PCB danger "frightening." He says detective \vork"r'htflfTObe ridfie/'WOTWM Uiu clues aren't yet available. HONS 032647