Document bBoVwDp7xeB3qv99DzEp2jGmZ

fPi^cSix J f, c fij'lditycy* < W <U'<*^ IV\ UK v*rf<y,.> f*#M , Student f.ifc BipUmyh Jem } \ C.'VHJS /? -V. /,/,, P. 0 List o ID) o ri.f'd//'''.' i by JOHN HAMER ^ CoUfjc Ptss< Smict Come the Silvnl Spring, when life on earth is dying and helpless man asks why, the names of those chemicals, pesticides and synthetics He h*> poured into his environment for the ssr!:e of "progress" will come back to hc*T* h:n\. Along with DDT, mercury, 2,4,5-T, diddrin, parj0:.cn and other deadly1 sabHanctt, the a:ito*\;y of earth reveal another compound whose recently-detected effects are widespread, chronic, and insidious. This latest chemical infiltrator is PCB, which stands for polychlorinated biphenyls, a special class of compounds with a great variety of household and industrial uses. Available commercially since 1029, the prevalence of PCB in the environment was not discovered until 1966, when Swedish scientists found it in concentrations as high as DDT. Like DDT, the PCB cotnpounds contain chlorine, hydrogen and carbon. Also like DDT. they ire not soluble in water, are resistant to oxidation, they accumulate in fatty tissues and are extremely persistent in the environment. PCD Spread Accidentally The major difference betweer. the two is that DDT, ha' been distributed deliberately as .a pesticide; the spread of TCP has been accidental and ne one knrv.j exactly howit happens, where leaks occur nor howmuch escapes. Bui in the pax four years, scientists have detecteJ PCBs in fish, birds, water, trees, sediment anJ-ineviiably-in human fat and mothers* mil);. Samples ' containing PCBs have been taken in England, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Ncthvriands, Antarctica, Central America and in many parts of the United Slates, making them truly ubiquitous pollutants. In the U.S., PCBs are manufactured solely by the Monsanto Company and sold under the trade name "Arcelor." They arc also made by chemical companies in Europe and Japan, and have been used f extensively since World War If. PCBs cun be purchased In container; ranging from 50-pound cans to 600-potiml drums, or arc available b) the railroad car tankload. Friday, December 4, 1970 f'^phly2/i>:-f.r/ .rrr*)poi* cL//'i-tj The unique qualifies of PCBs make them useful as flame retardants, insulating fluids, plasticisers and coating compounds. Consequently, they may apper.i in a bewildering variety of consumer products, such as flooi tile, flourescent lights, printer's ink, brake linings, swimming pools, automobile-body sealants, avrha't, adhesives, molded plastics, polyester film, paraffin, paints, carbonless copy piper, window- envelope', imitation gold leaf, varnishes, wax es.ee ramie pipmerts, synthetic rubber and watcr-rcpeUan? canvas for camping equipment. Industrial applications of PCBs include coolant fluids in transformers, capacitors and askarel-typc transformers, hydraulic fluids, specialized lubricants, gasket sealers, electrical w iring, heat transfer agents and machine tool cutting oils. In addition, the Monsanto technical sales bulletin recommends mixing PCBs with chlorinated insecticides to act as a vapor suppressant end sticking agent, so the insecticide may maintain its "kill-life" on hard surfaces for'as long as three months. The bulletin also suggests blending insecticides into tacky PCB-coatings "to make insect traps or barriers on tree trunks for foliage or fruit protection." With all of these uses, it is little .vender that PCBs ar* released into the environment in persistent forms, which can be distributed widely over the ejrtlr 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, HI., and Anniston, Ala.) where Arcelor is manufactured, from the stacks of plants - which manufacture products containing Aroclor, and from European and Japanese PCB plants. --From other forms of rntfustrr.W waste. *uch as leakage of hydraulic fluid* from supposedly "dosed systems," which are seldom leak-proof, --Gradual wear and weathering of products (such as 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 wh.,h we thrown out as trash and eventually end up being burned in city dumps or incinerators, releasing TCBs in $hc form of highly toxic fumes. (Carbonless cop> MQNS 033694 ,paper, points and many I plastics, for example, arc commonly burned.) --And finally, through PCB-containing pocticUlot. , The acute effects on human beings of Mgh dosages of PCUs aiv evident from a cries of poisonings in Japan in 1968, in which more than 10,000 ( people were affected. The l*C U source was traced to conking oil extracted from rice hulls, which weie treated in pnddy fidJs by herbicide. -The outbreaks involved a number of miscarriages 'and stillbirths mong pregnant women and abnonnally dark skin pigmentation in infants. Poisoning victims suflcrcri from cMoracne, a condition of severe pimples and pustules common with PC'IJ exposure, and several ease* showed symptoms of jaundice and Uwi damage. Levels of cxposuie for workers in Arovlor plants have been set by the American Confetencc of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, but members of Hie Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union have consistently had trouble getting industries to enforce occupational standards. Monsanto refused to answer a written request from Environment magazine to describe its control measures for PCD levels in the plant atmosphere, and wai evasive about its emission- monitoring efforts. Inhalation of PCBs in sufficient quantity produces nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, shortness of Heath, lowered red blood cell count, loss of libido, and Inhibition of carbohydrate metabolism. Jaundice and other sever liver damage may result in coma, atrophy, and death. But like so many other environmental hazards, the dangers of acute toxicity of PCBs are probably less than the threat of Chronic, long-term, tow-level exposure, whkh cannot be measured or, so far, controlled. There have been no experiment* as yet to learn chronic PCB affects 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 PCBs 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 i museum, Dr. Jensen found PCB traces as early as 1944. In the U.S., PCBs were first detected by .Monte Kirven of the San Diego Natural History Museum, who found DPT compounds In abandoned peregrine falcon eggs. Also In the unhitched egg shells w ere Other compounds which Kirven could not Identify until the Swedish research came to hit attention, when they were recognized at PCBs. *. Prof. PI McCune, of the University of Missouri, discovered by accident that PCBs have a toxic effect on chickens. When chickens began dying after a feeding house was fleshly painted, careful research showed that the toxic factor was Aroclor 1242,,a binding ingredient in the epoxy paint. 1.980 Parts Per Million Perhaps the most extensive research on PCBs has been done by Robrrt Rwebrewgh of the Institute of Marine Resources, University of California at Berkeley. Risebtough has taken samples from peregrine falcons, seagulls, brown pelicans, cormorants, herons, petrels and terns in San Francisco Bay, San Diego Bay. the Farallon and Anaenpa Islands off the California coast and in Baja California. Ail of his samples have shown traces of PCBs, and sonic 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 much deleterious effect on the laboratory pigeons as did DDT and its compounds, even 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 PC8s containing more than 50 percent chlorine, the enzyme induction potency was as great ii that of DDT. Among other effects this brought about more rapid metabolism of I drugs, insecticides, and other foie* compounds in the rats' bodies. Street al believes that l'Ciis can cause sirre degradation, which may lead to alter endocrine relationships. Very little data is available about TC in people. Both Swedish and Bril* scientists have repelled finding them samples of human fat. They were fit documented in human mill; by tv scientists at Colorado College in Colors Springs. Then Dr. Riscbiough meaun PCB in a series of mothers' milk samp! from Berkeley and l os Angeles. I.vi*1 sample contained both Dl)l ar.J PCB, b it was impossible to tell how rv-j.li of * PCB in huniani derived from focJ and I.* much was absoibovl by the Um^v from t. air. Nonetheless, thi> convincing svid.j. of PCB ubiquity wa? inontro* ,sih!c \.r ominous. Until rccetrily, informj'.ion id j PCB could bo found only in teclttv: journals, scientific literature. inJusU: publications and a few informed nv/.r/'': such as Enrirontitcr.i and A'c,;ii\ T! commercial media largely Ignored :) ptoblem, even though an increasing voli.* of information was b e i n accumulated. Stricter Controls Requested Finally, last April, the dangers of PC were called to public attention by Re William F. Ryan, Democratic Congrey.r-.rj from New York, who asked tor actio from various department; in the Ni, administration and called upon Mon*;!".: to establish stricter controls on PCB use. Ryan asked the Department c Agriculture to ban the use o PCB-containing pesticides, called for th Food and Drug Administration to tequir proper labeling of PCB proJu.ts ar.u : Study a possible complete PCB ban, ar, requested that the Department of Interior take steps to protect fish ar. wildlife from the hazards of PCBs. Ryan's initiatives met with mine results. The Agriculture Departnu-r replied that PCB pesticides would b discontinued and agreed to carter registrations for such pesticides. Howe*. it soon became apparent the ''discomin.;' and "cancel,*' in federal-regulator/ jargon don't automatically result in the dt.ia and conclusive actions which the wo.-d connote. If Agriculture had chosen to "suspend*1 the pesticide registrations, the suspens.or would have taken force immediately an* federal law would have stopped shipmentof the products in interstate commerce Department inspectors could also sm* stocks of the products In retail store? (although they seldom do because there ar. only 32 inspectors lor all the thousand* . retail stores in the U.S.) HONS 033693 When the Agriculliiic |>cpt. merely "ctiltt'h" icgiitratiort, nowever, the manufacturing companies nuve 30 days before they most slop shipping the products in interstate commerce. If they appeal the order, even this mild restriction b lifted, and the company can continue to produce, ship, and sell tjie cancelled products during Die lengthy process of appeal. L' lurtherniorc, liorncovvnLrs, gitideners, farmers or others who buy t|io products are true to use them in ary| way, even i! contamination of large are,r. is the result. F1M Responds With Study The F.D./V, in response to Kyan's request for labeling, merely promised to study Die amounts and toxicity of I'CDs in food. Iiven if cautionary labels arc implemented,the labels on containers luvc HO binding force on the pmcluser, and Ihere is no guarantee Dial the products will not continue to be ued in harmful ways. While Still Secretary of the Interior, Wallet HUkel told Ityan (hat "when sufficient facts are established as to the sources and nature of the pollutant*, we wilt be in a position to take appropriate concctWe measures." The Monsanto Company, in response to Ryan's inquiries, first responded with ambiguities and refusals to provide details, Such ss a list of PCB uses, production and sales figures. The company claimed, for sample, that a complete list of PCB-cotttaJning products "would serve no useful non-political purpose." But Ryon persisted, and in June, Monsanto finally agreed to restrict the use Of PCBs to "closed-system applications," such at transformers, capacitors and heat tsaitsfur fluids. As of Aug. 30. Monsanto .would no longer sell PCBs to customers for tie in gonerol plasticizer operations where disposal of end-products cannot be controlled. The company also said that it mould no longer sell PCO-contalping hydraulic fluid ("Pydrual" is Monsanto's tilde name) after Dee. 31, 1970. And finally, Monsamo said it would offer a vseovary service for spent fluids used as ooolsnts in_ transformers and other doted*iyttenu~ and begin research to Btvdop modified, biodcgradcablc PCBs. . These actions were encouraging to Ryan, who said in Congress: "I am Mtromely gratified that my exposure of PCBs as a major environmental hazard was ImtnimrnMl in having them excluded from uses that allow widespread escape into the oswlionment." "However," he continued, "I am not ftbfied that PCBs are no longer an UvBonmental threat," citing high PCB tevtli found tills summer in England. Ryan (Continued on next page) M. JP-OVT) r/v . r Jr 6.0 jl il'i Qtl'i Page Seven (Continued from preceding pugr) urged the United Nations Con ference on the Humnn Hrviiottment, which is to be held in Sweden in 1.971, to study the danger of PCBs to animat and human life ticoughout the world, and to ban any use of 1'Ctis that would allow further escape into the environment. There will be some lug period before these slops show any re sults. After that, if Monsanto's former customers look for PCB substitutes, rather than buying PCHs from Japan or Europe, the projected decrease in quantity of PCB in the environment could become a reality. The only ques tion then will be, wjs it too late? t \ MONS 033696