Document npdrvJEkn430mpXRDVvYe9edX

FILE NAME: New York State & NY Times (NY) DATE: 1971 Dec 4 DOC#: NY035 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NYT Article - Industrial Emission Standards For 3 Air Pollutants Proposed Industrial Emission Standards For 3 Air Pollutants Proposed By E W KEN WORTHY Special to The New York Tmwi< New York Times (1857-Currentfile); Dec 4,1971, ProQucst Historical Newspapers The New YorkTtmes(185l - 2002) re 34 Industrial Emission Standards For 3 A ir Pollutants Proposed By E. W . KENWORTHY Kiwviiil to T h e New York Times WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 William D. Ruckelshaus, ad ministrator of the Environmen tal Protection Agency, an nounced today proposed emis sion standards for industry on three hazardous air pollutants -- asbestos, berryllium and mercury. Asbestos fibers, which are used in floor tile, .brake linings, asbestos paper, textiles, insula ting materials and fireproofing, can, when inhaled over long periods, cause lung cancer. Beryllium, a highly toxic heavy metal that can cause pneumonia among those oc cupationally exposed, is used in machine shops, propellant plants, extraction plants and foundries. However, the haz ards of beryllium exposure are rigidly controlled by industrial health regulations in force for most operations in which the metal is used. Chronic exposure to airborne mercury can have a profound effect on the central nervous system, the symptoms of which are tremor, psychological dis turbance, insomnia, loss of weight and appetite. The stan dards announced today are directed mostly at mercury mines and chlor-alkali plants th a t make chlorine and alkali caustic. Must Give Warning Under amendments to the Clean Air Act signed by Presi dent Nixon on Dec. 31, 1970, the administrator of the envi- ronmentai agency is required to publish within 90 days a list of air pollutants that, in his judgment, might increase either mortality, serious irreversible illness or incapacitating illness, and to update this list periodi cally. Within 180 days of publish ing the list, th e administrator is required to publish proposed emissions standards for these pollutants. Within 30 days of publishing these, he must set a time and place for public hearings on them, and then within 180 days issue final standards. Last March 31, Mr. Ruckeis-: haus issued an initial list of pollutants that included asbes tos, berryllium and mercury. The proposed standards were due to be published on Sept. 27. Mr. Ruckelshaus, in a news conference today, said the de lay had been caused, first, by the "complexity" of the prob lem. which was not resolved within the E.P.A. until Sept. 26, and. second, by the need there after to get the views of other agencies. Control Practices By way of illustrating the complexity, Mr. Ruckelshaus said there were no "standard ized methods" for measuring emission levels of asbestos. Therefore, he said, it has been decided to set the standards "not in terms of numerical emission values" but in "control practices that will limit emis sions to an acceptable level." Consequently, the regulations that will be published in the Federal Register next Tuesday will require the use of fitters to trap asbestos fibers in gases from mining, milling, manufac turing and fabrication of asbesto-containing materials. Further, there will be an ab solute prohibition on the spray ing of asbestos fireproofing and insulation, except where such spraying is done indoors and the asbestos-laden air cleaned before its release into the sur rounding atmosphere. Spraying in the open air has been an issue in many large cities, par ticularly in New York. Most emissions of asbestos come from mining and mill ing, Mr. Ruckelshaus said. The estimated average cost of com plying with the standards, he said, would be nine-tenths of 1 per cent of the 1969 selling price. For beryllium, the emission standard for most plants will be an average of one-hundredth of a microgram per cubic meter of air over a 30-day period, or a short-term exposure of 25 micrograms per cubic meter for a maximum of 30 minutes. For mercury, the standards are designed to insure that at mospheric concentrations do not exceed one microgram per cubic meter of air averaged over 30 days. For mercury mines, the cost of meeting the standards will be 2.5 to 3.5 per cent of pro duct worth, and for chlor-al kali plants .5 to .9 per cent of product worth. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission