Document YGqpzEadKeBQO3E4ZBJa9yayN

New Wfc Pr^t D. 5!7.??? yx ireejj 0CT1 9 1976 &*- Sylvia Porter tmmmmm PROTECTION FROM POISONS The Roman Empire declined and final* ly ML aoccrding to authoritative speculation, not because of the bar* berian hordes, overextended mhntn tkn or moral decadence, but mainly as a resuR of md Eating and drinking from vessels eon* tabling lead and dabbtag tbenualvoi with lead-laden cosmetics, the upper* class Romans unwittingly poisonsd themselves, sapping their vttaHty and the vitality of the society they headed. (The poor people used cheap earthen ware utensils and Ain't fool with cosmetics.) - A study of ancient tombstone tsserip* lions Indicates a 8fe expectancy of 22 to 25 years among upper-class Romans. Their birthrate was one-fourth that needed to replace themselves. o o What abswt OsT (Ml the deAm and fall of our rivtHzatlon be brought about by our unquestioning acceptance of the marvels of modere chemistry? Each day's news seems to bring another account of the health effects of some chemical contaminant: Kepone, arsenic PCBs, vtoyl chloride, asbestos, mercury, lead, etc. While new chemical compounds developed and relsaead Into our environ ment in recent pears have benefited m greatly, only a amal proporttan of these eMnneea were adequately tested for potentially harmful effects. The primary the environment, we have discovered that R can causa cancer, attach the Brer, lungs, kidneys, central nervous system, result in infant mortality or genetic damage. But on Sept. SI--after aloiiist six years of bettBng and only'days before It adjourned Congress finally ranched agreement on the provlilime of the Tax* la Substances Control Act--a measure that wH give us a chance to the use of untested fbewdmte. President POrd has Just signed the MIL Under the legtriaikm: --Maaufactvxers and processors must test cbndcab, both those In one and those coating onto the market --Manufacttws must glvo Id days notice to the Tnilnu--arif nl Protection Agepcy before they begin commercial production of new substances, or toe processing of ostating substances for certain uses. This notification provision Is the *110011" of the act, says Ben. Msgnuaon (D-Wash.). It "will no longer allow the pubftc or the environment to bo used ea a testing ground far the safety of them products." --Production of PCS must be ended within two yean and Its use must bo severely restricted ta the meantime. PCBs are used In insulators and fire retardants In eteetrteal transformers, are released .Into and juried by afir and water, are loag-ttved and taste. Seen low exposure con muss metabolic Long after a chemical substance has PCBe have ceotamtnnted our waterbeen marketed and widely dispersed Into ways througbeut the UA, partieriariy la tile Greet Lakes area and' At Northeast. The latest had sens Ia that the Susquehanna River, longest tojhe eastern flowing through New Ittk, Pennsylvania, and Maryland on the way to the Chesapeake Bay, may he ccnta~ mlnated. Congress singled out the PCB basaid and gave It special priority1--and in dustry apparently agrees. Monsanto Chemical already has announced it will eeam production of PCBs at the end of October 1977 and end all sales when In ventories are depleted. .. In Us final Jonn, the law baa wide- ranging support--and now the Eanlto ttrriag Chemiste Assn, and team other elements of the chemical Industry in dicate they can accept the final versten. But a law at Its beginning is Jot a piece of paper. Its ufthnote raoceee or failure rests on bow it is canted out--and right now, that means XPA's administrator, Ramil Train. * Tntee says he Is eppatoritog no ad visory committee to tnetedo represen tatives of industry, health experts, en vtronmentaHsta, ether paUte interest groepe--and that he w(0 eonsuft cteeety wtth this group ta developteg poBcy, wBl Insist on aa effective edmfatetrstioa with a minimum of red tape. But he has less than soffteleut funds and manpower to handle this large, com plex Job. Essential wffl be the easpteu ttao of the chemical manufacturers to complying with the testing; notification and reporting provlsloan of the tew. W!1 they help Insure theta- prodnets aro sate for us and future generations? Or win they throw up roadblocks ta tire Interest of short-term profits? Wo effl all bo watching. Our lives end cfvUtaation as we know it may writ de pend on the outcome. MOMS 050**9