Document oD43k6oYrymE5aDBB4zKboy1o

Ti1bNEW_ YORK th_ 1916 ACHEM1GALPACT Charged With Not Curbing Use of Toxic Substance* Affecting Fpods By CI.YDF. H,' FARNSWORTH i Itperiil To< Wf Tfl*l 7>nH PARIS, Jan. 18--7he United 'SiMet hit been charged with not living up to lit obligitloni under whs! It In effect an international treaty to retlricl use of a group df toxic cJitfnH cals and prevent them from enlennc the environment and contaminating the human food chain, . -- This was reported yesterday by officials of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development who noted that the United States and other nations In the organization had signed a Commitment nearly three years ago to control the rhcmlcals, known aa PCB's, for polychlorinated biphenyls. By poisoning fish, the sub stance enters the human food l chain It has caused liver.can cer and reproductive failure? : in tome laboratory animals. . Other nation* who are major ' offender*, according to data collected by the environment aecrnarlat of the Weilern coor dinating Institution, are West Germany. July and Spain, Among the countries that nave best met the obligation* of the undertaking are Japan and the nations of Scandinavia, . 1 Had the United Stalespasaed the legislation envisaged under the organization comifiltment, the Ganoral Electric Company would be birred from dlnhargIng PCB contaminants from two capacitor plants Into the Hudson River. ' | in New York, s spokes man for General Electric said ' that the company, voder a permit granted s year',ago , by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Vaa djacharging about three pounds' of PCB chemical* a day from the two planlt, at Hudson Fall* and Fort Edward, Into the upper Hudson north of Albany, ` . (The permit, the epokea-- man said, allows the com pany to discharge up to 30 pounds of the chemicals a , ' d*y-1 jiA- .. ^11* W organization member[ untrjei from Western Europe, j >nh America and developed t :ie signed a council decision on Feb ' 13. 1873 to control the use of the chlorine-laded PCB'i and are nov,- exchanging information about what pro gress they have made. An organization lawver ex plained that a council decision, under the organization's rule* df organization, "has the bind ing effects of a treaty", ' Organization officials here were aurprlsed by the terminol ogy of Russell E. Train, heed lof the Environmental Protec tion Agency, In referring to the council decision In one re cent statement si u `trecom- mrndatlon.". -i The council also adopts in-1 commendations, bill these 4re not binding on the members "I don't understand," -aaid one organization apecialiat Who asked not to be cited by nami, `how the United States could olemnjy make on agreement ahd at the dame time not be in the position to carry it out A toxic substances control act has been bottled up In the Congress for five1 yeara, having run Into Intense Indus try opposition, `But officials of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cannot fathom why the Admi nistration doea not propose leg islation to deaf specifically vrilh PCB control, especially aince there la only-one major American manufacturer of the ubatanoe, the Monsanto Che mical Company of St, Louie, Without controls jobber* can distribute the substance freely and imports can come In from Manufacturers abroad. PCB'i are relatively easy to make, and because of their inertness, fire resistance and -hbllity to hold an electrical charge, they tre, widely Hied In the manufac ture of capacitors and genera tor* in the electrical Industry. They are also used In lubri cants, paper coatings.'hydraulic fluids, plasticizers, inks, paints and adhesjvea.' High bfficialt front the org* itiration's member countries are to meet in Paris March IS to discuss application 'of the council decision Christian Herter Jt., Deputy Assistant I Secretary of State for EnvlronlJ mental and Population Affalta, it to lead the American delega tion, , The councfl ' decided that PCB't shall be used oply for specifically defined Industrial and `edmmericti purposes where the substance la main tained M a dosed gyatem. -The accord also tald that member countries "*ha11- con trol the'manufacture, Import and export of bulk PCB'*, Insti tute adequate arrangements for Jthe recovery, regeneration, ade- Suite incineration or other safe Itposal of sulcus and waste ' materials; institutue a special i uniform labeling -system for I both bulk PCB'a and PCB-contalnlng manufactured products, * and established safety specifi cation! for containers, and transport, Th* United Sates Is by far the largest producer of PCBs According to organization data for 1971 --more recent autistic* are unavailable--the United Bates produced 18,000 tons; West Germany, 8,000; France, 7,000. Britain 5,000, Japan, S.800; Italy, i;500 and EpMn ,M0. t. The Soviet Union Is also be tieved to be an tmporunt pro- flucer, but figure* on Its output are not available. In Eastern! Cuhope, Bast Germany Is prob ably the biggest manufacturer, organization officials believe. At the coming March meeting In pans, the United State? Is expected to run Into criticism from the countries that have met thtir PCB control oblige lion*. . . Since the council decision, Japan has flopped all manu facture of *he product and banned'Import*.'except for e UpeelficMIy defined apcdial case. El Jung 1988 about 1,000 Japa- hete were poisbnpd as the result of leakage of a heat-tranefer fluid containing KB In a rice oil pasteurization plant West Germany, like the Unit ed States, hat no KB legisla tion and la believed to be In creasing production. France passed a law In July, last year controlling the produc tion, manufacture and use Britain enforce* control pro cedures throogh what I* known as a gentlemen's agree ment among users and khe single manufacturer, a Mon santo subsidiary. AH the Scandinavian coun tries and the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland are believed to have effective con trols. . July and Spain- have not (Carried out the council de cision luty la said to provide Ifigurt* on tu production, but Spain to far bts rtfusw to oo thtl. HONS 206940