Document XzXQeEjboqnqZ2mqaow46QD5y

I AP00024915 l A - ^_//V'3Pa/vV//p/T^ BOX 538 ACLENTOtVN. PA IB105 PHONE 215 398 6339 from the desk of ANTHONY J. DIGLIO 8 May 1979 C*\c ft ^ >VjvaV AP00024916 Manufacturing Chemists Association Minutes of Meeting . ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Allied Chemical Corporation Pleasantdale Farms New Jersey April 11, 1979 EMC 16-1 Mr. E. W. Callahan, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. to review the agenda of April 11 and to take up 11 agenda items and such other business as called for. The following persons attended: Name Affiliation E. W. Callahan, Chairman C. L. Sercu J. B. Browning J. F. Byrd E. M. Cover A. J. Diglio J. L. Gray L. P. Haxby E. N. Helmers L. D. Johnson E. C. Ladd R. J. Samelson J. R. Sayers J. p. Thorn C. A. Gosline, Secretary Allied Chemical Corporation Dow Chemical, U.S.A. Union Carbide Corporation Procter & Gamble Company Olin Corporation Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Chemical Products Corporation Shell Oil Company E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Rohm and Haas Company FMC Corporation PPG Industries, Inc. Monsanto Company Exxon Chemical Company, U.S.A. Manufacturing Chemists Association Absent J. D. Underwood Celanese Corporation Present Bv Invitation D. W. Carroll Manufacturing Chemists Association 1.0 Minutes of EMC-14, March 14, 1979 The minutes of the meeting of March 14, 1979 were approved. AP00024917 c 16-2 2.0 Report on Executive Committee Actions E. W. Callahan 2.1 The new committee appointments were announced by C. A. Gosline. The below listed individuals have been appointed to membership for the term June 1, 1979 - May 31, 1982. F. B. Freidman, ARCO/Chemical Company Division of Atlantic Richfield Company Wayne Jaeschke, Stauffer Chemical Company C. P. Priesing, American Cyanamid Company S. Noble Robinson# MalLinckrodt, Inc. J. B. Worthington, Diamond Shamrock Corporation Mr. Charles L. Sercu, Dow chemical U.S.A. was appointed Chairman of the Environmental Management Committee for the period June 1, 1979 - May 31, 1980. 2.2 There was a discussion of the information to be prepared; for the Executive Committee's consideration at its next meet ing, May 8, 1979. Assignments were made for the purpose of sharpening the EMC's preliminary proposals presented to the Executive Committee on March 13 regarding a comprehensive program of MCA actions relative to the management of hazard ous solid waste problems. The EMC approved the formation of five (5) new task groups. Two EMC members were named to define the scope of work, the mission, the composition of the task group members, and the program and related costs. 2.2.1 The Task Groups and the assignments made are as follows: 1) Hazardous solid Waste Technology Research I>. P. Haxby/L. D. Johnson 2) Workshops and Seminars E. M. Cover/J. R. Sayers 3) Solid Waste Siting E. N. Helmers/J. F. Byrd 4) Regional Hazardous Waste Disposal J. B. Browning/J. p. Thorn 5) Hazardous Waste Response Center/Response Team A. J. Diglio/R. J. Same Ison AP00024918 EMC -3 The EMC hopes that individuals reading these minutes, who have the time and the special knowledge to contribute to the work of the task groups, will make their wishes known to C. A. 60s line. It should be noted that an average of 10-15% of the individual's time will be required and that periodic trips to Washington, D.C. also will be necessary. 3.0 Revised Special Rules of Procedure J* R- Sayers The draft of the Special Rules of Procedure for the EMC, dated March 20, 1979 were reviewed. Various comments were pro vided to Mr. J. R. Sayers, who will incorporate them into a final draft for circulation to EMC members prior to the EMC Executive Session on May 3. It is expected that the EMC will formally act on them at that time. MCA staff comments have been solicited and have been provided to Mr. Sayers. 4.0 Pretreatment Regulations A. J. Diglio , During recent weeks, a team of MCA staff, outside counsel, and Pretreatment Task Group representatives have been meeting with : EPA to resolve 38 technical deficiencies in the regulations. Except for three matters still being contested, favorable resolution has been reached with EPA. The three remaining issues, concern: 1) Fundamental differences over the variance provisions 2) References to statutes other than section 405 of the Clean Water Act 3) Limitations on internal waste steams Should EPA and the MCA representatives be unable to reasonably . . resolve those remaining issues, MCA has reserved the right to litigate in the future. As part of the overall legal strategy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is litigating the regulations also, was invited to review the EPA-MCA agreement. At a meeting among NRDC, EPA, and MCA, the NRDC objected strenuously to the agreement. EPA did not accept their objections, but did include some changes. The "final" agreement is now being reviewed by the MCA team. Final comments are to be included by April 10 with a response expected immediately thereafter. The EMC urged the Task Group and attorneys to conclude the final agreement as quickly as possible. Any issues that are not favorably resolved, are to be reviewed for possible legal action. Present* AP00024919 EMC .6-4 plans are to file the agreement with the court on April 13, 1979. EPA then will revise the regulations according to the stipulations in the agreement. 5.0 Hazardous chemical Spills G. J. Hanks, Jr. The Task Group reported that work is still underway to clarify some of the language concerning exemptions ynder the revised Section 311 Hazardous Chemical Spills Regulation. The Task Group has proposed that a Spill Control Handbook be developed which would incorporate the "Neely" method for predicting presumptively harmful quantities of various volumes of different chemicals that might be spilled into receiving waters. The EMC did not act upon the recommendation.; further consideration of the proposal is in order. ' '......... EPA has introduced chronic hazards into the definition of a hazardous material. And, in fact, had developed a draft cancer j policy dated December 8, 1979 through a Freedom of Information Act action. The American Industrial Health Council learned that the Environmental Defense Fund has been given a copy of the December 8 draft for its review. Apparently, it was not acceptable to the EDF because EPA is currently revising it. Thie AHIC is seeking equal treatment and expects to be reviewing the draft, the results of it will be made available to the EMC. 6.0 American Industrial Health Council - emc Coordination J. R. Sayers As requested at the EMC meeting on March 14, j. R. Sayers, work ing with W. J. McCarville, developed a plan to provide continued interaction on human health-related matters. It is perceived that continuous interaction is needed regarding: a) the control and handling of carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens; b) responses to agency rulemakings which relate to policies for limiting exposure to materials covered in (a) and which require consideration of human health effects, and c) responses to proposed protocols which are related to mammalian toxicology and their relevance to humans. The objectives of the plan are to: insure a consistent industrial response to all agency initiatives in the critical areas outlined above; insure efficient use of the limited number of industrial experts in human health effects. AP00024920 ; 16-5' The following principles were set forth: 1. The EMC has the responsibility within MCA for deve-loping the chemical industry response to agency initiatives related to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, RCRA, regulations covering wet lands and the coastal zone, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and environmental regulations. 2. The AIHC has the responsibility for developing a general industry position on agency initiatives relating to chronic human health effects. 3. In support of the EMC program as well as in its own work, AIHC will seek to assemble industry expertise and, if necessary, guide in the elec tion of outside consultants when responses to agency initiatives require the considerations of human toxicology and test protocols related to chronic human health effects. > 4. AIHC will work with EMC Task Groups to review pro posed comments arid insure consistent industry posi tions to matters related to chronic human health effects. Also AIHC may decide, in the case of certain agency proposals on which the EMC is active, that separate AIHC comments should also be submitted. EMC and AIHC comments will be compatible and support ive. 5. AIHC projects significant interaction with the EMC related to air, water, and solid waste regulations. The EMC VOTED-to approve the plans, objectives, and principles. . The EMC Task Group leaders, in particular, are to make note of the resources made available to them by this action. The established contacts with AIHC are W. J. McCarville, Monsanto Company and F. J. Hoerger, Dow Chemical U.S.A. . 7.0 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System H. Schwartzman Regulations are expected in final form about May 1. A two-page summary has been prepared. Copies are available from J. S. Matey, MCA. New guidelines for preparing NDPES Permits have been made avail able by EPA. A summary of these and a sample proposal has been pre pared. Copies are available from J. S. Matey. The Task Group expects AP00024921 EMC 1 3 the new guidelines to-appear as proposed regulations in early June. With regard to its matters of concern in the forthcoming NPDES regulations, the Task Group has identified 18 issues which could be of major importance. Copies of the issue list are available from J, S. Matey or D. W. Carroll - MCA. - The EMC made special note of the high quality and large volume of work by the Task Group and made particular note of its careful efforts to coordinate with the Section 311 - Hazardous Chemical Spills and Pretreatment Task Groups. 8.0 Effluent Guidelines E. C. Ladd Mr. Ladd reported that there will be a Section 308 letter to the Organic Chemicals Syntheti-c and Plastic Industry - segment. It will request raw waste- data on toxic pollutants. .- Catalytic, Inc. has prepared a comprehensive summary of the r work done to develop Best Available Technology effluent guidelines and permit limitations. The Task Group is making an analysis to evolve a consolidated strategy and response. Information regarding the summary can be obtained from J. S. Matey. Meetings with EPA's Effluent Guidelines Division discloses that they need information regarding the treatability of toxic pollutants. Of the 129 toxic pollutants only 36 have been found commonly in receiving waters. As a result, EGO how says that it will prepare guidelines only for those 36 or perhaps fewer. They also are preparing an Effluent Guidance document, which may be more than the Effluent Limitations. The Effluent Guidance docu ment would be provided to those in the EPA Permit Branches and would allow the permit writers needed flexibility in setting effluent limitations. The Task Group will be watching this development carefully. The Task Group also will be seeking operating data on the treatability of the toxic pollutants found most commonly. These data will be sought on a confidential basis and will be aggregated for use of the EPA Guidelines Division. Note was also made of the EPA actions in disclosing information transmitted under Section 308 of the clean Water Act to its contractors working on RCRA regulations. D. W. Carroll is to alert Water Pollution contacts that this is being done. AP00024922 EMC 16-7 9.0 Water Quality Criteria and Standards R. J. Samelson EPA has issued 27 revised Water Quality Criteria and has included a Cancer Risk Assessment as part of the Criteria. The Task Group and its independent consultants have the Criteria and the Cancer Risk Assessment under review. Meetings are scheduled on April 16, April 30, and May 1 to prepare MCA critiques. Critiques are due by May 14. The Task Group is working with the AIHC to enlist their aid. Because of the different nature of the effort required to respond to Water Quality criteria development as compared to the set ting of state Water Quality Standards, Mr. Samelson recommended that the Task Group be divided. The Water Quality Criteria Task Group would continue irs scientific and independent reviews and would con-- centrate on the scientific validity of the .criteria documents. The-- Water Quality Standards Task Group would follow the efforts of the EPA and the states in establishing water quality standards. f .v It should be noted that EPA has announced that through the rule making process, it will make criteria equal to standards. This will have the effect of making end-of-pipe discharge limitations at least as stringent as the Water Quality Criteria themselves. The EMC is opposed to such a step, and it will be necessary to pay more attention to actions in key states. The EMC concurred with the recommendation and recommended realignment to be carried out as quickly as it is appropriate. 10.0 Non-Attainment/PSD E. N. Helmers D. W. Carroll reported on the recent decision, be the District court of Washington, D.C. It hftld that the effective date for PSD regula tions was March 1, 1978. It denied the environmentalists contention that the effective date was August 7, 1977 and it denied the industry's contention that the correct date was July 1, 1979. No decision was handed down on the other nine issues before the court. Oral arguments on them are scheduled for April 19-20. With regard to the litigation concerning non-attainment matters, the court has not yet sent a briefing schedule. We are providing a list of questions for review with EPA and a meeting is scheduled on April 26 to discuss those questions. AP00024923 El 16-8 11.0 RCRA Task Group L. P. Haxby The Task Group submitted a status report, the outlines of which are as followsi 11.1 Extensive comments (about 520 pages) were sub mitted to EPA on March 16 on the proposed regulations under 3001, 3002, 3003, and 3004. 11.2 The Task Group, MCA staff, and outside counsel have hopes for substantial relief on many of the key rules particularly those affecting NPDES facilities and the design features. 11.3 Work continues regarding the leachate testing program and to develop comments on an advance notice of proposed rules regarding health criteria under the Hazard Classification Section. 11.4 The combined RCRA/UIC/NPDES rules are to be pro posed by the end of April. A 90-day comment period is expected. Mr. Jaeschke has agreed to head a group to serve as a focal point for developing comments which will be tied closely to the NPDES Task Group. { Following a lengthy debate over the merits of the contents of a questionnaire to identify the number of active and inactive landfills continguous to or apart from operating units, the EMC VOTED not to undertake a landfill survey and instructed C. A. Gosline to request clarification from W. M. Stover as to the need for the data and the use to which it would be put. Meanwhile, J. B. Browning and E. N. Helmers are to redraw and redesign the questionnaire so that the data would be more useful than that which would have been produced by a previously approved format. ............ -- 12.0 Industrial Boilers Task Group J. F. Byrd A total of 89 member companies responded to the confidential questionnaire regarding boiler capacity according to primary boiler fuel. In general, the size distribution of boiler capacity within member company operations is significantly different than that reported by the PEDCo Environmental. This difference could be impor tant in the analysis of the impact of flue gas scrubbing requirements for industrial boilers using wastes. EPA still is endeavoring to differentiate between Fossil Fuel Fired Boilers and Fossil Fuel Fired Boilers Burning Waste. The Task Group will meet on April 30 to review the survey results and to decide what next steps should be taken with EPA. AP00024924 JMC 16-9 13.0 Air pollutant Effects J. P. Thorn Initial efforts to arrange a symposium of air pollution scien tists have been aborted, owing to the reluctance of the Electric Power Research Institute to organize and coordinate the efforts. The Task Group is undertaking to develop alternative approaches. Dr. Vaun Newill and C. W. Umland (Exxon Chemical) are defining alternative approaches. A progress report is expected at the EMC Meeting on May 3. 14.0 Process Emission Task Group L. D. Johnson The PER Task Group reported on their meeting with the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards in Durham on March 21. A topic of concern was the review of MCA comments on. hazardous fugitive, emissions. EPA has indicated disbelief in the MCA costs and time estimates for applying the EPA sampling procedure.1 - Arrangements have been made for MCA follow up through Messrs. Chalker of Dupont , and Powers of Mobay Chemical to provide substantive data to cover the points made by MCA. One possible reason for the difference between EPA's estimates and MCA's estimates is that the latter is for chemical plants and EPA's analysis is based on limited work in refineries, which generally have fewer fittings and simpler piping arrangements. Draft technology guideline documents have been received: a) Maleic Anhydride, b) Ethylene Oxide, c) Ethylene Dichloride, d) Acetaldehyde, e) Nitrobenzene, and f) Linear AIXylbeneene. H. J. Sauer will expedite the release of comments that the Task Group has prepared on acrylonitrile, chloromethanes, and cyclohexanone/cyclohexanol draft technology reports. Assignments were made for follow-up with Hydroscience and EPA ' " to determine the extent of EPA review and comments on MCA submissions as follows: TASK GROUP . PRODUCT ASSIGNMENT Acrylic acid/acrylic esters Chlorobenzene Ethybenzene/styrene Ethylene Storage & Handling L. D. Johnson J. Beale J. Beale S. M. Lane R. E. Farrell W. P. Blank and j, Beale will initiate contact with Hydroscience to attempt to receive preliminary drafts. Objective is to expedite MCA review and provide early input, especially in the cost area. AP00024925 FMC L6-L0 In a past meeting. Environmental Defense Fund representative Robert Rauch made a proposal to the Task Group covering emission control. There appeared to be some benefits to MCA to support the EDF proposal. Hank Sauer will issue a summary of the proposals preliminarily developed by the Task Group as a response to EDF. The Task Group will review and develop recommendations to be made to the Environmental Management Committee re future EDF liaison during the Task Group meeting scheduled for April 25 in Washington, D.C. Relative to the maleic anhydride regulation, following are some comments evolving out of discussions with Fred Porter, Chief of the Regulations Development Branch: a. EPA believes that they have the legal authority for outlawing a process for use in new plants and expansions. This authority has been subject to litigation by the smelting industry; that case has not been resolved as yet. b. Justification for 100% backup systems was questioned. This, according to Porter, is a policy decision since Section 112 pollutants are involved and EPA policy is that there should be no emissions based on the one-hit theory. Therefore, control of shut down, start-up or equipment cleaning wastes, etc. are required. i j. c. The basis for health effects calculation showing a potential death from lukemia of 200-500 people attributable to the chemical industry was not defined in the draft regulation. Comments on this subject will have to be coordinated with AIHC and should be directed to John O'Connor's group at Durham. Lynn Johnson will make contact with AIHC and-W. F. Blank of Allied Chemical will be designed as task group liaison with AIHC. d. The n-butane process has not been fully developed. The EPA position is that the EPA anticipates that process problems, if there are any, will be over by the process needs to be installed. 15.0 EMC Administrative Matters C. A. Gosline 15.1 C. A. Gosline reported that the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors had acted favorably on the proposed MCA budget for FY 1980. The budget includes $1.4 million for Environmental Management Committee programs. AP00024926 EMC 16-11 15.2 C. A. Gosline's memorandum of March 30 concerning EMC organizational matters lead to a discussion, from which the sense of the Committee was as follows: 15.2.1 The Section 311 Task Group should be dis banded at an early date. G. J. Hanks, Jr. will be asked to work with the NPDES Task Group to insure continuing input and liaison. 15.2.2 The Water Quality Criteria and Standards Task Group should be split, as previously noted. 15.2.3 The Advanced Waste Treatment Task Group should be discontinued. 15.2.4 Termination of the State Implementation Plans Task Group is anticipated by early fail and the Non-Attainment/PSD Task Group may well be phased out depending on the results of pend ing litigation. w > 15.3 Ms. Alice Mayer has been given the assignment of preparing and mailing the agenda for regularly scheduled meetings seven (7) days prior to the scheduled date. Task Group sponsors are to provide Ms. Mayer with agenda items 10 days prior to the meeting date. MCA staff also will provide agenda items to Ms. Mayer. It was the sense of the Committee that fewer items be scheduled for discus sion, but thatTask Group reports continue to t>e received. 15.4 Note was made of the desirability for additional support to John Quarles regarding promotion of his recent report "Federal Regulation of New Industrial Plants". The EMC views favorably individual member company contri butions in the amount of $2,500 each to support Mr. Quarles' efforts to deliver his message on a broader basis. Mr. Quarles will be requested to outline his plans and schedules in more detail for distribution to the EMC. C. A. Goaline Secretary Environmental Management Committee Minutes Subject To Approval pril 20, 1979 retribution: Environmental Management Committee EMC Task Groups EMC Nominees and General interest Environmental Management Contacts Water Pollution Contacts Solid Waste Contacts Air Pollution Contact AP00024927 1010) (Q Waste sites may be major liability for CPI The property at 1 Flower St. in Ches ter, Pa. lies in the shadow of the Commodore Barry Bridire which spans the Delaware River in the industrial and petrochemical sprawl near Marcus Hook. The lot, owned by Melvin R. Wade, is littered with several thousand drums of chemical wastes, many char red, ruptured, corroding and leaking. The shell of a burned out building, the victim of a spectacular fire in early 1978, is filled with a jumble of drums. From time to time, small fires, caused by spon taneous combustion, break out at the site. Five tank trucks filled with wastes are parked near the building; some are leaking. It was here that employees of Melvin Wade, who runs a rubber recycling oper ation, unloaded truckloads of hazardous Industrial waste delivered by ABM Disposal Service Co. In broad daylight, thousands of gallons of toxic wastes, drummed on flatbed trucks or in tank trucks, were delivered to the site to be stored in drums, dumped into haphazard waste ponds, or simply left to seep into the ground. Some of the wastes were mixed with trash and disposed of in landfills. ABM paid Wade $1.50 for each of the 10,000 drums that he estimates he received each year since 1976. He could also sell empty drums to scrap dealers for an additional $1.50 to $3/drum, depending on condition. Wade says he suspected ABM of cheating him. He suspected that ABM was being paid considerably higher fees than what he was receiving and he frequently tried, unsucessfully, to discover the names of ABM's clients. The Justice Dept, is also trying to find the sources of ABM's waste. On April 20, Justice filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia under Section 7003 of the Resource Conserva tion and Recovery Act. The suit, naming Wade, his company, Eastern Rubber Reclaiming, and ABM, seeks injunctive relief to remedy "an imminent and substantial endangerment to health and the environment" by removing all wastes from the site and disposing of them "in accordance with a plan approved by the Environmental Protec tion Agency." epa estimates that the cost of cleaning up the Wade site, which contains some 27 chemicals considered to be hazardous under rcra, is between $1.5 and $3.5 million. The first step in the Wade legal proceeding will he a discovery period in which Justice and KPA will attcmpt~tb determine whose wastes are at the site. And if they find out, Joseph Donovan, an epa attorney, savs the prosecution intends to amend the suit and attempt to Prove liqhilitv on the part ef th. (rapernton Going to the Source: That move will represent a major shift in hazardous waste litigation as the government launches a campaign to identify waste EPA and Justice launch an aggressive campaign to sue over dumpsites sites that present a hazard and hold waste generators responsible for clean up. Justice and epa, as well as the attorneys general in many states, have lately identified a number of legal statutes (some in the common law), which they hope to employ, particularly where owners of disposal sites have disap peared, lack the necessary capital, or, as in the case of Wade, claim to be bankrupt. According to John Seitz of EPA's .enforcement division, the agency intends to pursue known waste generators as a matter of policy, particularly if they aditl irrcs|M>nsil>ly or if il is Ilu- only avenue open for getting ;i dump elenneil up. Even if the (lump owner lias the necessary funds. irresponsible wustc generators may "have to pay for part of the cleanup," says Seitz. To date. Justice and KPA have tiled three other suits involving lummlons chemicals. The first is against the Kinfiuc landfill in Edison, N.J., and seeks $1 million in damage;! AWfl KfiKtUHil) in lines front the defendants, a groan of linked companies that includes Scientific Inc.. SCA Services. Kin-Buc Inc., and Earth line Co. (OF, Feb. H, p.i.i). The landfill, which operated from 1969 to 1977 under a license from New Jersey's Public Utili ties Commission, covers 220 acres and during the years 1973 through 197(5 accepted for disposal 71 million gal. of wastes from as far away as Massachu setts. The complaint cites numerous violations of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, Federal `Water Pollution Control Jectp Solid Waste Disposal Act RCRA and thef Common Law of Nuisance. > a',1'c The case is currently in discovery afi(l the names of companies whose wastes were disposed of at the site have already, been disclosed. Chemical firms listed include Allied Chemical, American Cya-1 namid, Ashland Chemical, Celanese. 1 Dart Industries, Drew Chemical, Dia- ' mond Shamrock, Du Pont, Exxon, FMC. GAF, Gulf, Hatco, Inmont, Koppers, Monsanto, NL industries, Olin, Pennwalt, Reichhold, Stauffer Chemical, Tenneco. Union Carbide, Uniroyal, and Witco. f.pa's Seitz savs the waste ecnpi-ators had reason to believe they were acting rpspnnsihlv Rut the Justice Dept, request for expedited discovery- recog nizes the option of bringing charges Mays. 1979/Chemleal Week IS AP00024928 against them, citing the "potential for naming a large number of additional defendents who have contributed toxic wastes for disposal at the landfill." The second suit seeks the cleanup of a warehouse in Youngsville, Pa., in which Robert J. Burns has stored polychlori nated biphenyls. (Burns has also been charged in North Carolina with dispos ing of PCBs along 200 miles of roads in that state.) The most recent case, filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland last week, charges Alvin Laskin, owner of Laskin Greenhouse and Waste Oil Co. (Jeffer son, 0.), with oiling roads with pcbcontaining waste oil and burning similar waste in boilers at his greenhouse. Those suits are inst-thp hemnning. epa Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum Says that epa dhd Justice win tnvestT- gafe YJUU WSdS/'year and prosecute 50 cases/year beginning in fiscal 1880. And in the very near future, Justice is planning to file suit against Hooker Chemicals and Plastics for damages caused by its inactive Love Canal and other waste sites in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Stepping Up Surveillance: In a memo to epa regional administrators in March, Blum pointed out that rcra will not address itself to inactive sites and the agency must move immediately to "seek control of serious hazards from either inactive and abandoned sites or mismanaged sites. An aggressive pro gram is needed now and on a scale greater than anticipated." Blum asked the administrators to appoint technical md enforcement coordinators, and asked the Justice Dept, to assign attor neys to work with each epa region. She now plans to divert 50 staff members to conduct waste investigations and do casework on waste sites. To fund the expanded effort, epa last week sent the (Mice of Msiutgeim'ir Budget a supplemental budget re. for $131 million, creating IPO new at the ErA. epa has also updated its list m' sites that could pose a public In hazard. The original list was ;in last fall under pressure from Cine, for the agency to inventory potent dangerous dumps following the en sure of conditions at Love ['anal, conducted a hasty survey of its reg' offices and told Congress it estin. that 638 dumps in industrial areas r contain hazardous wastes and tha: were known to contain wastes that, pose a health hazard (Clf. .Votv J:t. . p IS)- Representative Albert Gur. (D., Tenn.l, who was chairing Cotv. sional hearings on the Love (.' termed epa's effort "completely in. quate." The agency's updated list . tains 135 known sites but is other little changed. A report prepared for epa by Ftv Hart Associates (New York) is also <, cal of the agency's estimates. The i report was completed ih February: has yet to make it public. A . obtained bv Chemical ' Week indie that the problem is far more set : than epa's earlier estimates. According to the Hart repor reasonable estimate of the numhc active and inactive waste sites in country is 50,644, compared with t estimates of 22,454. Using epa's . mate that OO'X of the wastes genur. are disposed of improperly and that T of the waste sites are located wetlands, on floodplains, or over nti acquifiers, the report assumes : 34,452 sites could pose significant p: lems. epa estimates assumed 2I,St:!3. The Hart report also used kpa's a1 Case studies estimate waste cleanup costs To estimate the cost of cleaning up hazardous-waste disposal sites for the Environmental Protection Agency, con sultants from Fred C. Hart Associates (New York) reviewed reports and data on 232 hazardous-waste sites. Twenty four of the sites were selected for cost study as representing a cross-section of the problems potentiully posed by waste disposal. It Chamlcal Week/May i. 1878 The average cost of remedial contain ment measures is $3.6 million/site; the average cost to permanently close a site is $25.9 million. Hart consultants hased their esti mates only on preliminary study and available data. And the sites studied do not include many that environmental and law-chforcemcnt officials consider as posing far more serious problems, such as Kentucky's "Valley of the Drums" iCW, Feb. U, p. M). But the figures do indicate, at least, what it would cost to clean up dis|x>sal sites. Among the sites: Gary, Ind. Ernest DeHart's Mid-Co industrial-waste storage firm had oper ated sites on 15th Ave. ami on Industrial Highway. There were major lires at both sites in late 1976 and mid-!:' There are 40,000 drums, 28,667 of v. 1 still contain wastes, at 1.7th Ave. am! estimated 40.000 to 50,000 druneIndustrial Highway. The sites have e filled with sludge residues. Wu-' include cyanide, solvents, plating wtistand acids. Cleanup costs, depending the extent to which the sites are smin arc estimated to range from $1.8 ntiillto $22.5 million. Gordon, Ga. Gordon Service (' received Georgia's first permit to opi ate a landfill for hazardous wastes > February 1078. The site has received :: million lbs. of wet waste consisting pesticides, heavy metals, oil, sludges, ;u paint wastes from 17 sources. On Jo 17, 1978 it was ordered closed within 0 AP00024929 trary assumption that 1% were likely to be major problems, ami arrived at an estimate that 2,027 sites pose, very seri ous problems, compared with HPAs earlier estimate of 1,201. Hart also reviewed available Informa tion on 232 known hazardous waste sites. Analysis of the data indicated that 85% of the problem sites are storage facili ties, ponds, or landfills, and that the problems posed in 90'/ of those cases are surface and groundwater contamina tion. Of the sites surveyed, remedial action had been taken in 26% of the cases. Of 110 facilities with wastes that could be identified by SIC code, 38.2% were in chemicals and allied products. 7.3% in petroleum refining, 8.2% in primary metals, 8.2% in mining and quarrying, and 7.3% in metal mining. The others are in 18 SIC groups. To estimate the costs of site cleanup, Hart conducted detailed studies of 24 known sites that could [rise potential problems (xre xiili-bur, p. 111). Costs for cleaning up those sites averaged from $3.6 million for immediate corrective steps to $25.9 million for complete closure of the sites. After eliminating possible radioactive waste dumps. Hart arrived at a national cleanup bill of from $6.2 billion to $44.2 billion. Deep Pockets: Because Hart esti mates that only 50% of the sites are ``financially viable," about $22 billion might be collectible through the courts. The imminent hazard statutes in rcsu and sections of the Clean Water Act can be used to bring suit against the owners of a waste site. To extend liability to the companies and individuals that produced the waste, attorneys looking into that question cite the common law of nuisance, negligence, and strict liability. Richard Robinson, an attorney in epa's enforcement division, says there are three main legal concepts that can be used to prosecute waste generators. Companies could be held liable for straight negligence if it could be proved that they failed to exercise proper care in choosing a handler or disposer of their waste. If the wastes can be shown to be dangerous, burden rests with the gen erator to show he had reason to believe the disposer would operate properly. In a second type of negligence case the prosecutor needs less proof if he can show that the wastes are "inherently dangerous," Robinson says. The third type of case hinges on strict liability, where the prosecution need only demon strate that the wastes are extremely dangerous and injured parties need not Ishow proof of negligence. - To defend against negligence suits. Robinson says, companies would try to show that the injured party played a contributory role. In strict liability cases, the defendant would try to demon strate that the waste contractor had assumed the risk hecause he knew the substance, its dangers, and had know ingly accepted responsibility. - Companies may also be liable for waste sites they no longer own. A legal memorandum prepared by Mead Corp.'s law firm, Troy, Malin & Pottinger. during Mead's recent takeover battle with Occidental Petroleum Corp., cites statutes that might be used to sue Oxy subsidiary, Hooker Chemical, for dam ages caused by wastes from the Love Canal. In the opinion of Mead's lawyers. Hooker's sale of the property to the Niagara Falls Board of Education "does not absolve it of liability for subsequent damage." The lawyers argue that Hook er failed to adequately warn the board of the; area's inherent hazards.- They also contend that the long time between the sale of the property and the damage claims does not absolve the company. The company can also be sued for negligence over Injuries caused by seep age from the site, the memorandum says. It cites a New York court ruling that negligence depends on the erealiun of a dangerous condition and "ownership is immaterial." The lawyers see a possibility that Hooker could be sued on the basis of strict liability because hazardous waste disposal is "an abnormally dangerous activity." They also contend that the deed release signed with the Board of Education is not binding because of inadequate disclosure of hazards and that proof of injury by claimants need only rely on a "preponderance of evidence" based on factors such as the days because of permit violations, but the company obtained a court order allowing the site to remain open until the dispute was resolved. It is located above the aquifer that supplies Tuscaloo sa, Ala. Cleanup cost estimates range from $21,000 to $1.6 million. Portage County, O. Summit Nation al Liquid Sen-ices is appealing an order to dispose of 750,000 gal. of stored liquid wastes in a manner acceptable to the Ohio Dept, of Natural Resources. The site contains two 3,000-gal. containers of hexachlorocyclopcntadienc (CM) mixed with methylethyl ketone, as well as several thousand drums and a leaking 300,000-gal. concrete storage tank. Re medial measures are estimated to cost $1.7 million. Rivet-jide, Calif. An estimated 32 million gallons of waste were dumped into Stringellow Quarry in the 19 years before it was closed in 1972. Runoff and seepage contaminated the groundwater with zinc, lead, mercury, chromium, and DDT. About 300,000 gal. of contaminated liquid remains in ponds. The regional Water Quality Control Board took over the site in 1975. Last week, state Senator Robert Presley (D., Riverside) asked the state health department to study cancer, leukemia, and birth defect rates of near by residents. Cleanup estimates range from $370,000 to $3.7 million. Southington, Conn. Solvents Recov ery Services of New England has disposed of solvents, waste paints, oils and still bottoms at a 3-acre site since 1965. An incinerator is no longer in operation and wastes, which were for merly incinerated, are now stored onsite in drums or tanks. The site contains 1,000drums. Wastes were identified in a septic system. Ground and surface water have been contaminated. The state and the company are negotiating cleanup measures. Cost estimates run from $295,000 to $3.7 million. Dallas, Tex. A landfill operated by Bio-ecology and closed hy the Texas Dept, of Water Resources in February 1978 contains chromium sludge, plating wastes, cyanide, ketones, and aromatic solvents. The site contains 150 drums of chemicals. The state is spending $28,000 for a general cleanup; cost of complete site closure is estimated at $92,000. Q Mey 2. ttn/Chemlcal Week IT AP00024930 incidences of illnesses, birth defects. Action in CongrMs: Congress may deal with problems ttosyd by hazardous wastes. Last week kpa submitted to the Office of Management and Budget proposed legislation that would create a "superfund" for cleanup of oil and hazardous-waste spills and of "uncon trolled" waste sites. The bill, which will probably reach Congress in May, would require chemi cal companies to pay into the fund based on their use of organic feedstocks. Heavy metal industries' payments would be based on production. Money contributed by industry would be combined with federal appropriations. The fund would grow at the rate of $500 million/year until it reached $6 billion. The fund would provide for emergency assistance and would pay to "contain" the waste sites where treatment or removal are the most effective means of containment. States would pay for more extensive cleanup and maintenance of the sites after one year. The fund would not pay for third party claims such as property damage. The proposed bill requires epa to sue to recover money spent from the fund, although there would be a limit to liability--possibly $50 million/company for each incident. The concept is supported by Represen tatives Bob Eckhardt (D., Tex.), James Florio (D., N.J.) and John LaFalce (D., N.Y.). LaFalce also has introduced a superfund bill and another he calls the Toxic Torts Act (H.R. 1049) that would "create a federal cause of action for victims of toxic substances, permitting them to seek redress against negligent manufacturers." Staying Clean: What all this means to chemical companies, according to environmental consultant Edward W. Kleppinger, is that the "only completely safe thing for a large company to do is to handle all of its own waste." He advises companies to locate all previously disposed of waste, even if it means collecting oral history from former employees. If waste has not been properly disposed, Kleppinger says "smart companies will move very ag gressively" to get it back. "Problems like this won't go away. They just get worse, so the sooner waste problems arc located and corrected, the cheaper it will be." He also recommends that companies carefully supervise the disposition of their wastes, that they make regular checks of waste contractors and routine on-site inspections. "It should bo obvious by now, that a permit doesn't mean a thing," he says. Alan Hall IS Clnmlcal WMk/Msy 2. 197S Olin asks for a change of venue in mercury trial Olin Corp., charged with falsifying government reports on mercury dis charges from its Niagara Falls, N.Y., plant, has asked that its trial he moved from Buffalo to Rochester. The company says that it would be impossible tn get an impartial jury in Buffalo because of adverse publicity given to the I.ove Canal disaster and to other toxic dump- sites in Niagara Falls. Olin had earlier received a postponement for the same reason (CW\ Nov. i'2, 1978, p. U): At the hearing. Federal Judge John T. Elfin, who has yet to decide on Olin's request, heard government attorneys argue that an attempt should be made in Buffalo to find an impartial jury for the May 8 trial. If the attempt was unsuc cessful,- they- said, the trial - could. be moved. Olio attorney Herald .P. Fahringer cited a survey which he said showed the difficulty of getting an impartial jury' in Buffalo. Dr. Charles Winick, a sociology professor at City University of New York who conducted the survey for Olin, testified that of 300 persons surveyed in the Buffalo area, 93% knew about chem ical companies being charged with polluting the environment. TVA settlement may get tied up in court The Tennessee Valley Authority's hope for a quick and quiet resolution of the air cleanup settlement worked out with the Environmental Protection Agency and 10 citizens' groups has been jolted by legal moves by tva's power distributors. In s rare display of public disagree ment with tva's policies, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Assn, (representing 22 member systems) of the Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Assn, (com posed of 59 systems) has lined up 39 systems to back a petition filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville to challenge the settlement The petition seeks to intervene in the case on the ground that the consent decree is too costly and that TVA should not be forced to pay a $260million civil penalty. The attorneys who negotiated the decree say the co-ops are "o[x>ning an old sore" by bringing up a long-standing argument between epa and the Justice Dept, over whether utilities should be fined civil penalties. Justice claims the costs end up living paid by consumeS. David Knvnim, tv\`s chair strongly denies that tva agreed to a penalty. Freeman called the co-op .. ment "misconstrued," adding ' agreed not to fine us a penny." T.said Freeman, called for TV a to ii;- $260 million worth of scrubbers at Cumberland steam plant, in lieu fine. He said the scrubbers "would Had to be installed eventually an\ The skies around Cumberland a: garbage can that is full. No more u try could have located there unleshad agreed to the scrubbers." The consent decree itself is the s most expensive air cleanup of its ty. the U.S. to date. The controve-. decree only recently was endorsed hCarter Administration. . Midland nuefearpian: studied for changes As a result of the nuclear aecider. Three Mile Island, near {Middletown, Consumers Power says it will for special task force to investigate the for changes in the design, operating testing procedures of the two BaberWilcox reactors it is building adjaciDow Chemical's Midland, -Mich., p However, the utility has no plat; delay construction of the reactors, v. are 60% complete. The $1.67-billion Midland nu; plant, expected to be on line in 1982. produce 1,300 megawatts for the utii electric customers and 4 mil lbs./hour of process steam for ; under a 35-year contract. The new p would enable Dow to shut down coal-fired plants that have been uattack by Michigan pollution cut officials (CIF, July 5, 1978, p. 18). According to Gil Keeley, project ager at Midland, a Consumers P> task force will he appointed this wee evaluate the implications of the T! Mile Island accident. Keeley noted ' there will be two significant differ*-: between Consumers' reactors anil one at Three Mile Island (operated Metropolitan Edison). Although : have the same type of steam su;. system, the Midland reactors will h isolation valves, sensitive to high h of radiation, on the containment ves.~ (A valve of this type might H:. prevented the leak of radioactivity Three Mile Island.) Also, the condone., system valve that malfunctioned at Tb: Mile Island was air-operated; those Midland will be motor-operated. AP00024931 (z^'S.&ffo'PAedu TO BOX 538 ALLENTOWN. PA. 18105 PHONE: 215-398- 6339 from the desk of Anthony J. Diglio 12 April 1979 Environmental Management Committee: Minutes of Meeting. A -t: AP00024932