Document oD79zgOB5ay7KjNj8zgNkap48

Environ mbnt publishes Information about the effects of technology on the environment end bout the peaceful and military uses of nuclear energy. H in published by Uic Com m irons roa Environmental Information, a not-for-profit St Louis corporation. The policy of cei, established by Its Board of Directors (sec inside bach cover), Is to provide scientific information relevant to political and social iseites, without bias or prejudgment, in the belief that the dissemination of such information (a necessary for a democratic society in a technological age. The Scientific Division of cei provides much of the substance of Environment and with Uic Science Advisory Board is responsible for the accuracy of its Information. Since the formation of cei in 19M, similar groups have been organised in other cities with the aim of providing unbiased scientific information relevant to a variety of public issues. The Scientists' Institute for Public Information, 30 K. 68th Street, New York City, which provides leadership for these groups, has `adopted Knvironmknt as an official publication. Cover; Films!rl|M showing a malfunctioning deep diapoml well. Rr* pair? K. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD Owen Chamberlain, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley; Nobel Laureate. Lamont C. Cole, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology end Systematica, Division of Biological Science, Cornell University. James F. Crow, Ph.D., Professor end Chairman of the Department of Genet ics, University of Wisconsin. Rbnb Jules Dubos, Ph.D., Professor, The Rockefeller University. Joiin T. Edsall, M.D., Professor of Biological Chemistry, Harvard Univer sity. John M. Fowler, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, University of Maryland; Di rector, Commission on College Physics. Russell H. Morgan, M.D., Rndiologistin-Chif, The Johns Hopkinn iospitsl; Professor and Chairman of the Depart ment of Radiology, The Johns Hopkjns University School of Medicine; and Pro fessor end Chairman, Radiological Sci ences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Kric Reiss, M.D., Chairman of the De partment of Medicine, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center. Roger Rbvei.LK, Ph.D., Richard Saltonstal) Professor of Population Policy and Director of Harvard University Center for Population Studies. Frrdbricx C. Robbins, M.D., Dean of School of Medicino, Caso Western Re serve University; Nobel Laureate. Athhlrtan Spilhaus, D.Sc., President of The Franklin InsUtutc, Philadelphia. Edward L. Tatum, Ph.D., Professor, The Rockefeller University; Nobel Laureate. Scientific Division COMMITTEE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (Unlctt Shfrvle noted, affiliation It with Washington University. Saint Loult, Missouri) Erl? 8. Athene. H.Will., Research Aaaoriate. Center for Iho Biology of Natural SriUmi. Kflf RirMuat, Ph.ll.. Visiting Ft!low. Ctntrr for tht Biology of Natural System*. Waller C. Baarr, M.D.. AaaorJat* Profeaaor of Pathology, School of MMIrlnt. Stanley C. Berber. M.D., Instructor In Ophthal mology. School of Medicine; ophthalmologist In private prartlne. Herman T. Blumenthal, M.t>., Ph.D.. Research Profeaeor of Gerontology, Department of Psy chology. Robert Bogaaiaw, Ph.D.. Profeeaor and Chair man nf the Department of Sociology. Dan I. Bolef. Ph.D.. Profoaaor of Phyaiea. Estelle Brodman, Ph.D.. Librarian and Profee aor of Medical Hiatory. School of Medicine. WUliam Cate. M.A.. Junior Fellow, Center for the Biology of Natural Byitem*. Adolph I. Cohen, Ph.D., Aeeoelate Profeeaor of Ophthalmology and Anatomy, School of Modletne. Barry Commoner, Ph.D., Profeeaor of Plant Phyaiotogy; Dimeter of Cantor for the Biology of Natural Syalema. Robert B. Dahlsren, D.V.M.. Manager. BloRoeearch Laboratory, Voterinary Department. Ralston Purina Company. St. Loula: Inetruetor. Vlaltlng BUff In Pathology. School of Medicine. Csatave L. Davie. M.D.. Aealetant Pathologist. Jewlah lloepltal of St. Louie; Inatruetar la Pm thology. Srhvol of Madteln*. eor of Environmental Engineering, Assistant Dran. RehooJ of Kngineerlng and Applied Srleoee. M. Taghl Parrer. Reaeareh Assistant, Center for the Biology of Natural Byotoma. Rirhard B. Perguooa, Ph D.. Amlatant Profeaanr of Physics. University of California, Lo Angelrt, Michael W. Prledlaader, Ph.D., Profemoe of Phyeiee. Joelln N. Proel. Ph.D.. Amlatant Profeaanr of Biological Science*. Southern llllnoi* Univeroitr Edwardavllle. ' Peter P. Caspar. PhD.. Amoelate Profraw of Chcmiotry. Nv'tlle Grant, M.D., Assist*,,! Pmfesaor of Clinical Medicine. School of Medicine; Interniol in private practice. Jack Harltieia, M.D.. Inatrurtor In Ophlhnl. mology. School of Medicine: ophthalmologist in private practice. Christoph lloheaetnoer, Ph.D., Assistant IWeator of PHytlct. Brandrts University. Sort H. Hohenemaer, Dr-Dig.. Prufesaor of Aerospace Engineering. Robert Ktrth. M.D.. Aaalalnnt Profeaanr In In- ternnl Medicine, School of Medicine: Internist in private practice, l-ocy Jane Kiog, MU, Assistant Prufemor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine. Joteph Klarmann, Ph.D.. Ataoeinte Profoaaor of Phytlct. Daniel H. Kohl. Ph D.. Aaoorlnie Profemor Of llotany. Rabcel B. Kahn, Ph.D., Aaalatnn! Prafraanr of Kconomica. Southern llllnoi* University, Mwnrdaville. Kaalmiers loMriynshi, Ph.D., Amseiale Prof**mr of Phyaiea. Donald Mandril. M.A,. A muriate Profoaaor of liiolngy. Wt-hairr (Allege Jean Mars, Ph.D.. Assistant Prafraanr of Rio)ogy. Fonlhonne College. Albert i, Paltmann, Ph.D.. Aaunclatc Profemor of G*o|>hy*lr and Cenphyairnl Engineering. School of Engineering and Karth Science. St. Loula Univeralty. Daid W. Penn, A.M.. National Defrnm Rduratlon Act PYllow, Department of Ernnomlea, Matralm I.. Peteraan. M.D., Ph.D.. Dtreetnr of Health Service*. Reaeareh and Development Center of Health Car* Program*. AaaoetMo Profemor of Medicine. The John* Hopbine Uni. veraity. Geer* N. Philipp*. M.l>.. Aaeiatant Profeaanr of Blnrhemlitry, St. loots Univrraity Sehool of Modirin*. John A. Pierce. M.D.. Amnrlat# Profeaanr of Medicine; Director of Divltinii of Pulmonary UigHO'i, lh-imrtmcnt of Internal Medicine. School of Medicine. Seymour V. Pallarh, M.Ch.E., Aaaoelat* Prafraaar of Computer Srleoee. J. B- Reynolds. Ph.D., Aeaorlat* Profeaaor of Phytict. Raymond tl, Slavin, M.l> . Aealetant Prafraanr of Internal Medicine. St. Loul* Univeralty Bahmd of Medlrina. _ WlUlam W, Steal#?, Ph.D.. Chairman, Depart- manl of Phyaiology, Univeralty of llllmde. llrlmna. Joel Snew, Ph.D.s Ataoelale Program I>1rector for Theoretical Phytic*. Natl*n*l Science Foun dation. Steven I.. Tehelbaom, M.D.. Amlatant Pathnl- giat, Jewiah lloepltal of Si. Loula: Instructor in rat hology, Sehool of Mrdktnr. Betnard Trampowtr, Gradual* Fellow In Rln chemistry. St. Loul* Unlvortlty. P. D. Wharton, Jr., M S.. 81. Loul* Davtlnpmowl Manager, Life Science* In th* New Bnterpriar Dlvlaion. Monsanto Gumpany. Alvin W. Wolfe, Ph.D., Profeaaor of Anthropol ogy, Univrraity of Wiaronain, Milwauhev. Dorothy Woolom, Honorary Woodrow Witton Fallow In Phyale*. Rmat Zfnner. M.A.. Univrraity Fellow In Phytiet. HONS 029408 EiMRonmEmFree Sample Copies of Send us the name and address of a friend who might like to become acquainted with ENVIRONMENT and we will send him a sample copy with no obligation. Address i. . .. Clly.-------------------------------------------- _---------------------- State......---------------------------------------------------------- Zip. Name ..... ......... ..... ... Address- ... . -- City__ ___ _________________________________________ State . - Zip. .. City_______ ______________________________________ State--__ . - , ...Zip. HONS 029409 EifiRonmEnTSubscription Rates for 1 wish to subscribe to ENVIRONMENT . 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Meyer rinrm.ATioN manacru (ail Block Higglin' AMT IHMRCTOH Robert Charles Smith MMMHANOI AASOCIATKK Allwrl Bradford John William Kolalad RTAKK 'AlUTKK MarKHrel K. Duffy l.IIIKAKIAN (ail JVIIett ART ASSISTANT I.imla Ii. Obermocller Knvmonmknt is published ten times a year with combined January/February and July/August iaauea by the Committee for Knvironmenlal Information, 438 N. 8kinker Boulevard, St. land*, Missouri G3130. An official publication of Scientiala' Institute for Public Information Kuhaeriplion rates are aa follow*: 1 year 2 year* $14.00, 3 years $20.00, student $0.00, foreign solHtrriplioiis $1.00 per year additional. Additional Information regarding bulk rates and overseas and air mail rates may be obtained from the Circulation Manager. Contributions art1 tax deductible. Checks may be made payable to Knvikonmknt or Committee for Knvironmenta) Information. KoliorltillMi nil rhMinf.MMrtM Information ttoulit In- sAdreiMwri to Cireulstten Dnsitmnl, KntlrMimsnt. 4SH North Sklttker Boulevard. l. Unit*. MImoiiH OHIO. Alim* |wo months for rhsnsm of sddrM. Itttirknl In Hrslrri' Guide to Perindlen) )4ter*ture heslmiln* January. IMS. BulIlM arlentlst mi Cltlsrn prrvlnw to the January.February, INI Itsur. Mlrmfllm r>le avallahlr from Xerox Unlversltr Mlrrofllma, MO North ect> Nnnd. Ann Arbor. Michigan 4SI0I. ('<n*rils>il 1MI Oommlltee for Environmental Information. No portion of this mognslnr may l<0 ret'lwturnl In sue form without Uu* espns itermltslon of the publishers. OoHTttiidri'f and manuarrlnl* altoolil It addraad to The UH<. RnTltwmtni. 4IS N. Rhlnher Mvd.. 8l. Louis. Missouri tllM. " fUVlr^0 Contents UNDER THE RUG 3 By David M. Evans and Albert Bradford Poisonous wastes from industry that cannot be discharged into air or water are going way down below the ground. How safe and how permanent are deep injection wells? PENICILLIN BY THE POUND -- Pari I of a Series 14 By Margaret E. Duffy Over half the annual antibiotics production in the U.S. goes into animat feeds, with questionable utility and some hazards. TEMPEST OVER A TEAPOT 23 By Terri Aaronson Air pollution has sparked a new look at the steam car by Congressional Committees, and a favorable report on this alternative to the present automobile. There is much that is new since the Stanley Steamer. DEPARTMENTS SPECTRUM By John William Folstad and Albert Bradford Center Insert REVIEWS 28 The Perils of the Peaceful Atom, Richard Curtis and Klizal>eth Hogan; Garden in the West, George S. Wells; Public Health Aspects of the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Explosives, Symposium Sponsored by South western Radiological Health Laboratory, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. INPUT 32 Mercury and. Grain, Hans Palmstierna; Dorm to the Sea, I*. J. White; Apples without Pesticides, Herbert R. Isenburger; Faith in Question, John Wisner; People in a Hurry, Stephen Shafroth. HONS 02941X T)ii IM-foot water sjk>u(. erupted in Jute JPG8 near Marshall, Michigan and Plow steadily for 24 days. The eruption occurred one-half hour after an oil-drilling rig hit an unexpected high-pressure zone underground and was quickly shut-in (temporarily sealed) at the surface. 2 Knvimonmknt Voi.. 11, N>. R SONS 029412 By David M. Evans and Albert Bradford Under the Rug lUvili M. Evans, llirwtnr of the Potential Gan Agency of the Colorado School of Mine* Mineral Resources Institute, In an exploration geologist. He wax the first to call public attention to the relulionahip between earthquake fre quency In the Denver, Colorado area and deep well injec tion of wanton at the Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Oitohkr, 1M0 he irony of recent pollution laws is that they T stop at our feet. The Water Quality Act of 1965 and the Water Pollution Control Act of I9GG, two of the most important, are devoted almost ex clusively to protection of surface water -- lakes, rivers, and streams -- and other legislation is aimed primarily at controlling air pollution and preventing the disfiguring of the countryside. Few states regulate in any specific way what sul>stunces go underground. Rapidly increasing num bers of industries and government agencies are tak ing advantage of this gap in control laws and are now' dumping their toxic wastes below the ground through deep injection wells. Such wells are usually cheap to build and operate compared with the cost of cleaning up wastes or storing them. Put although the deep-w'ell method saves money for industry, it offers only temporary safety from the many per manently toxic w-astes being injected. The changeover to deep wells is occurring more and more rapidly. Hefore I960 there were no more than 30 known deep injection wells for industrial wastes; in 1965 there were alnnit 60 wells, today there are 150 or more. One water pollution control official explained this activity by saying, "the closer we come to tough antipollution enforcement . . . the more w'ells will be built." lie predicted that the num ber w'ould double by 1971. The industrial wastes which are already going down deep wells are extremely diverse, ranging from steroids and photographic chemicals to ura nium tailings. Many wastes are highly toxic, such as organic phosphates, chlorinated hydrocarljonx, steel pickling liquors, cyanides, and radioactive wastes. Several types of chemicals are often injected together into a single well, in numerous combina tions. Many wells dispose of wastes which must first be filtered and otherwise treated to prevent clogging of the well or the permeable rock formation around it; these treatment systems are a major part of the cost of such webs. A properly equipped well 3,000 feet deep may cost over $200,000, the surface equip ment making up at least 60 percent of the total. Although even those experts who favor deep-well disposal say that it should be used only for concen trated wastes and then only when they are for all practical purposes unbeatable by other means, many materials obviously not in either category are being injected. Fickle liquor, for example, an acid solution used in steel manufacturing, is a favorite material for deep-well disposal, but many adequate processes exist for surface treatment. U.S. Steel re cently installed a deep well for pickle liquor in Gary, Indiana. The well is so cheap to operate that wastes from U.S. Steel's Chicago Works are being barged 50 miles on I,ake Michigan, unloaded at Gary, and pumped down the well. Radioactive wastes are still rare in deep wells. HONS 029413 3 Waste Treatment Area but there is at least one company using: this method. The Anaconda Company in Grants, New Mexico, processes uranium sandstone ore. Since 1960 the company has been pumping: approximately 400 gal lons of waste per minute into an 1,830-foot well. This is low-level radioactive waste but would still have to be diluted hundreds or thousands of times before uranium, thorium, and radium concentrations were below Atomic Energy Commission limits for discharge to surface water. The volume of water this would require in an arid area makes well dis posal far more attractive. Z. E. Arlin of the Ana conda Company states that "the cost of handling such large volumes of waste by surface methods waR exorbitant compared to the cost of & disposal well." The well was designed to last at least ten years, although corrosion of well equipment has occurred and may shorten the life of the well. There is observation equipment within the well itself to pinpoint sources of malfunctions. Monitoring of freshwater zones consists of an observation well in the freshwater reservoirs adjacent to the disposal system and also a program of periodic sampling of wells, springs, and ponds representing all known freshwater underground reservoirs over an area of more than 20 square miles. Another well for dumping radioactive fluid is a distinct possibility in the state of Washington. At the Atomic Energy Commission's Hanford complex, liquid wastes containing radioactive fission products arc now stored on the project in huge underground tanks. At present a 7,500 foot exploratory hole is being drilled on the 600-square mile complex in hopes that geological conditions considered suitable for deep-well disposal of low-level radioactive wastes will be found. Drilling began April 27 and was ex pected to take six months. The Atomic Energy Commission (arc) has been conducting studies for several years, using exjterimental deep wells in two areas, Idaho and Ten nessee. At the National Reactor Testing Center in Idaho, intensive investigations have been made on what happens to various radioactive substances in jected into a well about 600 feet deep. Over 30 observation wells have been drilled to determine the distribution and migration of these materials in the underground water reservoir at the base of the well. The main radioactive waste is tritium, which has been detected in trace quantities as far away as five miles from the injection well; none of the other secondary wastes have been observed beyond 1,400 feet from where they were injected. At the Oak Ridge National l^alxiratory in Ten nessee, the aEC has been studying the disposal of intermediate level radioactive wastes in layers of shale or other suitable rock which have first been fractured by injecting fluid under pressure (hy draulic fracturing). According to an .arc spokes man, "the feasibility and reliability of the technique have been evidenced by the satisfactory injection of about 460,000 gallons of waste during the past two years into uniform, nearly horizontal fractures in shale at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, well below the zone of circulating groundwater." One uncommon safety feature of this disjKwal system is that the wastes are first mixed with ce ment, local fly ash, and other materials to form a grout which is then injected into the artificially produced cracks in the shale formation, where it hardens. According to present evidence, the inherent HONS 029414 Knvikonmbnt Vni.. 11. No. 8 into the disposal formation, and cement is forced in between the casing and the outside of the shaft as a sealant. Inner casings, also sealed with the cement or stuffed with fibrous materials, continue to the bottom of the well, passing through the confining layers of impermeable rock. Waste is then injected into the disposal zone, usually under pressure, since it must often displace other liquids or gases already trapped there. Engineers say that a disposal zone 50 feet thick, a square mile in area, and with an effective porosity of twenty percent could contain al>out 2.1 billion gallons of waste. Approximately 410 million gallons could be contained within a quarter of a mile of such a well, and 590,000 gallons within 50 feet. In some existing welts, up to 550,000 gallons may be injected in one day. Life of a well would depend mainly on the capacity of the reservoir and the smooth func tioning of the w'ell itself; these factors vary enough so that the period of usefulness of most wells is unpredictable. impermeability of the shale combined with the ex change capacity properties of the mix and the im mobility of the waste produces an apparently safe dia)K>*al method in the geological environment at Oak Hidge. However, The Commission on the Geo logical Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal of the National Academy of Sciences, which has served for some time in an advisory role in this disposal experiment, cautioned the Atomic Energy Commis sion not to use the apparently successful results at Oak Ridge for other locations in the country, since each geological formation must be separately inves tigated and evaluated. At present, the arc and the United States Geological Survey are studying ways to show the applicability of the hydraulic fracturing method of waste disposal in other geological set tings, and have stated that the main purpose is to Advance industrial acceptance of this technique. The Deep-Well Concept In theory, a deep well sounds safe. A typical well is drilled Mow freshwater zones until a layer of sand stone, limestone, dolomite, or other reasonably por ous, permeable rock is found. (Permeability refers to the ability of the rock to transmit fluids; porosity is a measure of the amount of space between the grains of rock which could be filled by fluids.) Such nhsorlmnt layers must be confined above and below and, if )x>ssihlc, on the sides by sufficiently thick im)>crmeable rock layers, commonly such material as unfracturcd shale or clay. The impenetrable lay ers must he without cracks and extend for some dis tance so that wastes cannot creep through them or around them. Steel casing is extended downward Octohkm, IMP Problems oi Deep Wells The basic problem of this concept is that the ideal geological and engineering conditions required are almost nonexistent. Wastes injected under pressure into even "safe" geological formations often won't stay put, and the w'ell mechanism itself is subject to many sorts of failure. Within weeks, or years or generations, wastes can migrate from their reser voir into other underground regions, to subsurface w'ater, or even to the surface. Those toxic wastes which do remain in the general area where they were placed poison it and make it permanently use less. For example, even "impermeable'' layers of rock often have undetected flaws and fissures, and when pressure is applied new* cracks may appear and old ones enlarge. Fluid can find its way out through such openings and may emerge miles from the well. Wastes can also come to the surface through aban doned, uncapped (and often unmarked) gas, oil, and water w'ells nearby, simply going down a new hole and returning through an old one. In some cases the diffusion of waste fluids by osmosis may raise pres sure in the injection formation high enough to frac ture it. The highly i>ermeable rocks which receive the wastes in the first place may transfer them in time to areas not as well insulated as the original reservoir. In ft nutshell, w'hen the natural equilibrium pres sure of a subsurface area is upset by the increased injection pressure, the results are often unpredict able. Frank R. Conselman, past President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, says, "Water injected underground, whether for flooding (to increase oil recovery in oil fields) or disposal, is HONS 029415 a prime source of trouble. It is difficult to control, and may be diverted by any paths of least resist ance, known or unknown, natural or artificial. These escape routes multiply with nearness to the surface of the ground." Escape routes also multiply as pres sures are raised. Who would have imagined that brine wastes in jected into the earth in Canada would spout forth in Michigan? Deep brine injection wells in Texas have erupted like geysers. The brine waste from a well near Abilene burst through the overlying limestone o formation, broke a sewer line, and created literally quite a stink. Formerly dry creek beds have spouted salt springs in several areas, and sweet wells have , vV- Income unfit to drink as the salt water reached - them. Deep injection wells for brine disposal Havc been used in large numbers for several decades to get rid of the brine found in oil and gas deposits; when toxic industrial wastes have had an equal his $ tory, it may be poisons like cyanide compounds or organic phosphates that make such unexpected ap pearances. Even without disruption of the reservoir from high pressures, underground water and injected wastes may mingle. Testifying before the Daddario Subcommittee Hearings on Environmental Quality in ]9f>8, Dr. William T. Pecora, Director of the U.S. ecological Survey, pointed out: ft intermediate Casing There is a constant interaction of the water locked up in the porous and permeable rocks of the earth, a constant interaction of this water supply with the streams. ... no one is properly prepared to recharge water or liquid wastes into complex underground systems with certainty of the results that such Ail operation may yield. Hopefully, the time is approaching when large quantities of pol luted material cannot be dumped into the ground without considerable thought being given to the consequences. Even when geological problems are few, prob lems of well-technology are likely to help wastes out of their dumping place. In the most common cases, the casing breaks or corrodes, and underground pressure forces wastes and other nearby fluids to the surface. One reason why steel casing corrodes in the ground is illustrated by the following instance. Re cently in Texas, the casing of an industrial disposal well had corroded within a few years. The old well was plugged and a new well drilled at great ex pense. This time, to prevent corrosion, stainless steel casing was welded to the regular casing through the troublesome salt water zone. The combination of two metals and a weld in a salt water solution made such a good battery that the casing corroded out in three months. Cement ' Staging Cotter Annulus (apace between injection tubing end casing) tilled with nofrcmngive fluid Long casing 0 HONS The Disposal Well and Its Problems Saltwalei zone ... Oolonlle Ifipeivions Porous zone Shale Beds , s Impervious Limestone t Anhydrites Porous zone Shale beds ; <D I Porous linntonh , .'* j or sandstone.: ; 1 -S? OlspodsIZdneVf*,'. . 1. Improper pressure monitoring:, resulting in failure of injection equipment or fracturing; of disposal formation. 2. Mining, excavations, or additional wells might lower subsurface pressures. This could trigger escape of the waste fluids from disposal zone (intoother formations, water reservoirs, or the surface). 3. Wastes under pressure can escape through abandoned and improperly plugged oil, gas, or water wells nearby. 4. Corrosion of well with age, allowing fluids under pressure to escape. 5. Natural or induced fractures in rock formations, through which wastes may escape. 6. Corroded or broken casing, through which wastes can escape. 7. Corrosion break in injection tubing, allowing wastes to enter space between tubing and casing (annulus). 8. Poor cement job ... wastes under pressure can break out between outer casing and the surrounding geological formation if outer casing not adequately cemented to formation. 9. Leaking or faulty packer, allowing wastes to enter annulus. 10. Several wastes injected together can react and form new compounds. Wastes can also react with the injection formation, or with other wastes injected into nearby wells which share the same disposal area. Such reactions could in some cases create toxic fluids or poisonous gases. 11. Fluid could invade injection zone by means of osmosis with resulting rise in pressure and fracturing of zone. 12. Clogging of injection tubing or disposal formation. This can cause pressures to rise abruptly with consequent possibility of rupturing of tubing or fracturing of formation and consequent escape of wastes. 13. Wastes under pressure reducing friction between rocks under stress, triggering earthquakes. ' (Well krtfh from "Rul-murfucv IHoixianl of InrttiMrinI Wnih" Inleratatr Oil Comimtf CmnitiiMion. I(*K. I HONS 029417 7 Malfunctioning drop well -- waftlrs gushing from a Hnmmcnnill Paper Company deep disposal well at Erie, Pennsylvania, shortly after it failed on K**tcr Sunday, 1W8. The film dip on the right shows an overall view of the well, and on the left is the tip of the injection tubing, which wim forced more titan 30 fort into the air past surface equipment by the pressure of upwelling wastes. Approximately gallons of spent sulfite liquor spewed from this tubing every day into hake Erie for a three-week period before the well wus successfully capped. At last report, Hsmmermill is drilling two new wells in the same area. A second way in which casing can be damaged is from the inside by the highly corrosive liquids -- hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, chromic acid, and carl.K>lic acid, to name a few' -- that are injected. The pipes carrying these acids are plastic-lined to avoid direct contact with the wastes. But will the plastic lining last forever? I^ast year at one of the two deep injection w'ells of the Hammermill Paper Company at Krie, Pennsylvania, the injection tubing, made of steel coated w ith a plastic, corroded at one of the joints, permitting w*astes to get into the void space between the injection tubing and the w'ell cas ing. This allowed the wastes in the formation to flow' upward and escape at the underground pressure, and in the process the surface fittings wrere dis lodged and the tubing was forced 30 feet into the air. Approximately 150,000 gallons per day of evil smelling spent sulfite liquor containing various fibers and materials from pulp manufacture spewed into Lake Erie for a three-week period, spreading a concentrated brown scum over the waters nearby. The w'ell wras finally capped, and Hammermill at last report w as drilling two new deep wells in the same area. Well failure and consequent runaway under ground pressures were also the undoing of the off shore well near Santa Barbara, which recently leaked 20,000 gallons of oil a day and is still sending oil into the sea despite all efforts to plug the leak. What caused this problem? Normal pressure from a deep oil and gas zone escaped up the hole being drilled and out into a shallow cracked sandstone formation. Although the pressure was normal for the deep zone, it was much above normal for the shallow one. Result: rupture along a geologic fault to the surface. Once pressure opened the crack, oil in the shallow' zone escaped. Pollution is only the most common result of in jected wastes which migrate. There is at least one spectacular instance of a deep well directly setting off earthquakes. At the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver, w'&stes from the manufacture of poison gas had been dumped into alx>ve-ground holding ponds since 1943. These wastes eventually polluted six and one-half square miles of subsurface water, and the army had the choice of cleaning up future wastes before release into the environment or injecting them into a deep well. A deep well was drilled with out making prior feasibility studies, and wastes were released into cracked granite basement rocks 12,040 feet below' the surface. Between 19G2 and 19f>5 more than 150 million gallons of nerve-gas waste and insecticide waste were injected. A month after injection began, Denver had its first earthquake in 80 years, and in Noveml>er 1965, David Evans (one of the authors) pointed out that the 710 Denver earthquakes recorded by that time correlated with the volumes of fluid punijied into the Arsenal well. Periods of high pumping rates re sulted in many quakes, low rates resulted in fewer. When injection pressures were doubled, the numlter of earthquakes doubled. The points of origin of all the earthquakes were near the well. A likely explanation of what happened is that the fluid pressure of the injected wastes forced open cracks in the rocks far enough to reduce friction and relieve strain. Result: the rocks slip|)cd past each other and the "sliding vibrations" were recorded above as earthquakes. Monitoring Wells There are many proposals for monitoring wells put forward by those who feel that some wells would be safe if properly supervised. Some sjMjkesnien advo cate observation w'ells drilled into geological forma- 8 8HONS 029418 Environment Voi.. 11. No. tioiiM Home distance from the disposal well so that if the supposedly impenetrable barrier around the well contain** sonic permeable or fractured forma tions, migrating wastes would be identified before they reach underground water or the surface. Howover, complete monitoring would seldom be assured even if numerous observation wells were built cir cling the disposal well, as wastes could sometimes escape through rock between observation areas. On the other hand, if the rock around the dis)x>sa) well were only slightly permenble, the waste might seep very slowly outward, possibly not reaching the ob servation area until the disposal well was no longer receiving waste. Care would have to be taken to keep the observation wells functioning for many years. Other experts favor drilling monitoring wells di rectly into underground freshwater zones to check on any contamination that might occur. Presumably if it occurs, everyone leaves town; experts do not say what to do next. Once loose, the wastes cannot be retrieved. Sometimes it is hard to know what to look out for when monitoring a well, since a close check on the lyirt* of wastes that go into particular geological formations is at present difficult: many companies don't want the full nature of their wastes revealed, as tins might disclose information to their competi tion about their manufacturing processes. At pres ent, most state agencies cooperate with these pro prietary interests, but many are hesitant about con tinuing this practice. Pressure monitoring has been advocated. Wells would have automatic cutoffs, so that pumping could be stopped promptly after any sudden rise or decrease in pressure. Some government experts sug gest that any underground storage system lake into account long periods of planned or accidental shut down, and that in such cases auxiliary wells be built to take the wastes while the main well is not in operation. Most of the precautions and supervisory mea sures which might be useful are also expensive. And how long would proper monitoring continue if a company went out of business? What if the land be came a community park, a schoolyard, or even just a parking lot? What if some mineral in the vicinity of the well became greatly valued in the future? Would a company risk poisonous blowouts by drill ing in search of minerals in such an area? Much of the monitoring that is currently Iteing done is to check the safety of freshwater reservoirs underground. Disposal engineers are careful to point out that poisonous wastes will only be injected into disposal zones containing salt water and that fresh- Relationships between Waste Injection and Frequency ol Earthquakes I II III (Adot'lMt from Tin- Mmtnlaltt Gmlwrirt.) OtTMIKK, 19GD a -Maximum Injection Pressure 550 lbs/*- *-No Waste Injected*' Injected by Gravity Flo* Maximum Injection PiMSute 1050 lbs. I0 9 La/> ai J e9 a X c 2 c9 o i 9 5rt 196? 1963 1964 1965 Average number ol Gallons of Waste injected per Month in Arsenal Disposal Weil HONS 029419 t water resources will be carefully avoided. However, geologist William C. Finch of Houston, Texas, who is an authority on desalting, explains the folly of this course of action. "To begin with," he says, "there are four kinds of water -- freshwater that hAB less than 1,000 parts per million of dissolved salts; brackish water that contains less salt than seawater and more than freshwater; salt or sea water; and brine, which contains more salt than sea water (or over 35,000 pArts per million dissolved salts.)" The so-called salt water in most potential dis]Hisa) wells is in reality brackish water. There is hundreds of times more brackish water underground than freshwater. Brackish water can be desalted at about one-fourth of the cost of desalting seawater and is likely to be our next big source of freshwater as human and industrial demands rise. It is an irreplacable natural resource, and Finch contends it would be the wildest kind of folly to contaminate it with industrial waste. "We can desalt brackish water with 2,500 parts per million salts for 25 cents a thousand gallons, against' 98 cents a thousand gallons for seawater," Finch says. "Brackish water is located where it will soon be needed -- beneath the deserts of Arizona and Nevada and the plains of west Texas and east ern Colorado, for example." Are Safe Wells Technically Possible? There are those who explain the failures which have already occurred with injection wells as results of poor engineering or choice of site, and feel that future wells will be free of such problems ns proper precautions and advanced technology are used. Neilson Kudd, President of Geo-Engineering Lab., Inc., An engineering geologist who is concerned about deep well hazards, has suggested that deep wells can be a safe way of dumping wastes if the geological areas are carefully selected, the pressures used for pumping nre within a safe range for the particular formation being used and are carefully controlled, dumping is properly limited, and wells are built utilizing the sophisticated technology presently used in geohydrology, oil and gas production, and under ground gas storage. For example, underground fluids that could be easily treated for surface disjk>ra1 could be pumped out and more difficult-totrest wastes injected in their place, bringing the underground pressures back to normal. Immiscible liquids (those liquids which are incapable of mixing with other liquids) could be injected into a new res ervoir to create artificial permeability barriers, and other techniques now known could be utilized to keep wastes in place. In theory, many of the problems of deep-well disixisal could be overcome by such methods under the right conditions and by extremely careful supervi- Unstable underground pressures caused tons of saltwater to erupt on and around the lawn of the James ]<owc family in Wichita, Kansas last July, creating sinkholes, killing vegetation, and damaging the Lowe's house. No investigations were made of causes of the problem, and it is not known whether the upheaval was eaused by pressures building up in nearby abandoned oil and gas wells or by subsurface gas pressures of natural origin. aion over the years. Hut in most cases the cost of such carefully-made wells would make them less at tractive to operators than cheaper methods of treat ing the wastes on the surface. And the expense of long-term strict regulation and supervision which the states and the national government would have to assume would mean costs passed on to the tax payer. Also, there remains the prohlerp of retriev ing the poisonous wastes if something goes wrong. Once poisons get loose underground, it is imjwssiblc to clean up the mess. We do not have such sophisticated choices at present, however. The experts who promote the widespread large-volume dumping that is becoming so popular cannot assume that well engineering or geological conditions are going to become much safer. The geological factors which make the dif ference between safe conditions and hazardous ones are often impossible to predict. And as for the well engineering, one has only to look at the thousands 10 Knvjronmk.nt Vnt.. 11. No. 8 MONS 029420 of almwloiied oil and water wells in the country to day to be aware that the long-term care that even an otherwise well-behaved well would need would be hard to muster, technologically or politically. Even if such care were forthcoming and even if wells were tightly plugged after they were used, some danger of leakage would remain. The danger would increase with time and would be even greater if the wells' locations were forgotten and mines or new wells were dug in the same area. The Next Fifty Years? What spokesmen for the deep well concept do not seem to remember is that even a small percentage of well failures will be extremely dangerous when the munhers of wells reach into the tens or hundreds of thousands. The percentage of truly dangerous wastes being injected will remain high since these arc precisely the ones which are uneconomical to treat; just a few slips could endanger the water sup plies of millions of people. The Interstate Oil Compact Commission, an or ganisation of state-level oil and gas regulatory agencies in 33 states, has compiled a report, "Sub surface Disposal of Industrial Waates," on the dis]m)khI wells known in 19G8. Disposal operations had not started on ten of these wells, but of 114 deep wells listed, fourteen percent were shut down for one reason or another. Six wells had casing failures, three after less than four years of operation. Five wells were "shut, down" or "abandoned" because the wastes plugged the injection zone or were incom patible with it. In addition, three wells were never put into oi>eration because injection formations were discovered to be relatively impermeable and would not receive significant amounts of fluid waste. One well was shut down after it was discovered that it had triggered hundreds of earthquakes in Denver, Colorado. (This was the Kocky Mountain Arsenal well previously mentioned.) If 100,000 wells are constructed in the next fifty years, and just ten percent of these fail, and if only one )>ercenl of the total involve dangerous release of toxic wastes to water or to the surface, then we have 1,000 or so wells which are directly dangerous to population centers nearby. In addition, the even tual malfunction and resulting harmful effects of "safe" wells as the years pass is a disturbing prospect. We may be getting closer to such massive waste injection than official figures would indicate. While the number of known legal deep injection wells is still rather small, there are many additional wells being used for dumping at the present. If we include all the early water wells converted to disposal, wells drilled for disposal purposes prior to any recognition of their effect and before regulatory efforts were OrroiiKK, 1JKW imposed, and the continuing number of clandestine disposal operations drilled in full knowledge of their effect and illegality, the total number is probably already in the thousands. For example, the Courier Express of Buffalo, New' York reported last year that "the Erie County and State Health Department and numerous other state agencies contacted by the Courier Express have no record of any existing deep injection wells in New York. They maintain the tbvee recently issued drilling permits are the only ones." However, the article continues, a former State Health Depart ment official indicated there were "22 underground waste disposal sites in the Buffalo area . . . operat ing either legally or illegally." These include steel and chemical plants and a large chrome plating firm. State Regulations Many known wells have been drilled with little state regulation. The 19G8 survey by the Interstate Oil Compact Commission indicates that the growth in number and type of deep disposal wells has been so rapid that most stales still have no specific regula tions to deal w ith Subsurface dis|>osal, although this situation may have changed recently to some extent as many states are revising their pollution laws There are no federal regulations, although it is sig nificant that the Task Force on Environmental Health omitted any mention of deep injection wells as an acceptable method of waste disposal in their recommendations to the Secretary of Health, Educa tion, and Welfare. Only Texas has legislation dealing exclusively with industrial deep wells; Ohio, Penn sylvania, and Kansas have added regulations involv ing tliis type of disposal to existing laws. Georgia holds that subsurface disposal of industrial wastes is generally not an accepted method and that any such storage should be approached w ith great caution. Those states w'hich do attempt some control over deep wells usually have several already-existing agencies advise upon and, in some cases, regulate deep-well construction. The fact that detailed regulations exist does not necessarily mean that a state disapproves of deepwell disposal; rather, some proof of the well's safety is required. Permits are being approved and new wells being drilled in several areas such as Ohio, where there are reasonably comprehensive regula tions. Even strict regulations or suggested safe standards often have a final clause that says some thing like "a company is not permitted to build a deep w'ell unless other waste disposal methods are not economically feasible," which sidesteps the really important geological and engineering problems in favor of the cheapest means of dumping. Michael Sheldrick, then Chicago Regional Editor of Chemical Eupineerinp, pointed out in a recent HONS 029421 Article UiAt many industries welcome comprehensive Approval procedure* which involve several state agencies, in this way, when pollution or other prob lems occur with an approved well, the state would take the blame for the bad situation, since it per mitted the well to be built under regulations per mitting only "safe" wells. An additional benefit which might appeal to some industries is that the passage of a permit by so many separate agencies assures a greater degree of protection from future state legislation. With or without regulations, many industries are careful to construct deep wells only in geological areas where long-term confinement of wastes seems most likely. Their waste pre-treatment and injection systems arc designed for the unique geological and chemical conditions they are likely to encounter. The safely even of such carefully planned wells is still not assured, as it it not easy to predict what sudden jumps of pressure, inflows of chemicals, increased temperatures, and other factors might do over a period of time to formations that are never com pletely known. And the well itself may develop prob lems as the years go by. Michael Sheldrick reports that one company, aware that considerable faulting was suspected in the Area in which they proposed to drill a deep well, consulted the United States Geological Survey on suggestions for an adequate survey of the geological conditions at the proposed well site. Implementing the geologists recommendations would have made the cost of the well much higher than other method* of disposal, and the company decided not to drill * deep well. However, many wells are drilled without adequate concern for careful surveying and construction. The Interstate Oil Compact Commission rej>ots that . . often a party will indicate that a formation will take a fluid with the implication that . . . other [complex geological] factors have l>con satisfied." Space-Age City The dimensions which such indifference can reach is indicated by a recent battle between the Colorado Water Pollution Control Commission and The Atomic Storage Corporation of Denver. The com pany, headed by Dr. William A. Colburn, a petro leum engineer and former physics professor, sought authority to dispose of wastes 3,000 to 5,000 feet below the surface in a geological formation it claimed was rare low-pressure sandstone ideally suited for holding industrial wastes. According to the Denver Post, l)r. Colburn commented that "all waste that is placed in these low-pressure zones will remain isolated perpetually from man's environment because the higher pressure of the water which sur rounds the waste w ill prevent any leakage out of the storage zone. The existence of faults, fractures, or other leakage paths will result only in the further dilution of the [highly toxic] wastes by water from the outside." The Atomic Storage Cor|M>ratioii "de- 12 MONS 029422 Knvikonmknt Voi- 11, No. ftcrilxsri the potential of a city of at least 30,000 per sons, supported by a complex of advanced space-age industries springing up on the prairie/' as all these industries would be attracted by the vast capacities of the reported underground waste storage "vault'' for cheap disposal of their toxic wastes. This project "had the ardent support of former Colorado Gover nor Dan Thorton/' After four months of hearings, during which Evans and other geologists challenged the existence of the low pressure area and warned of eventual water pollution problems, the Pollution Control Commission denied permission to the Corporation for deep-well disposal at the intended site. The Com mission's findings stated, in part, "that the waters of the state . . . would be polluted by the injection of toxic wastes" into the sandstone formation; that. Colburn, despite extensive testimony and exhibits, "didn't, furnish specific wastes to be injected, the specific method of monitoring the disposal opera tion, nor the quantity of toxic wastes to be injected." The Commission also commented that while the evidence established that some of the wastes to be injected could remain toxic indefinitely, no related plan was submitted for the public health and safety, either presently or in the future. The Commission noted that, "the respondent submitted no satisfactory alternative or standby disposal facility which would In? available or assurances that the wastes could l>e retrieved should the deep-well disposal system fail or cease to operate/' Nor was there any evidence given "in regard to the specific procedures and prac tices to be followed in the disposal of the wastes." Legal Problems The Interstate Oil Compact Commission comments that it is often difficult to prove that water or min eral ]x>llution came from a particular well, and that usually only the industries themselves have the fi nancial and scientific resources to conduct proper investigations of pollution sources. The State of California experienced a similar problem when it tried to bring suit against the Union Oil Company over the leaking Santa Barbara oil well. The Los Angeles Times reported that oil experts, whether associated with academic or indus trial circles, have !>ccn extremely reluctant to speak for the record about the blowout, although many of them are familiar with the details. Doth industrial engineers and state officials are seeking the cause of a scries of catastrophes in southern Michigan. Circumstantial evidence impli cates oil industry drilling activities, but there is no conclusive proof. In late 19C8, a drilling rig near the town of Mar shall in southern Michigan hit a high-pressure zone at. 4,r>r>0 feet. When gas blew' out of the well, the Deep Injection Wells, 1968 Slat* Total No. Woils Alabama California Colorado Florida Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Michigan New Mexico Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas West Virginia l 4 I 4 3 9 1 7 1 2$ 2) 1 2 2 S 1 34 2 Total 124 From "Subsurface Disposal of Industrial Wastes " Compact Commission, I960. Out ol Operation 1 I 1 ] 2 1 7 2 1 i 20 well was shut-in (temporarily sealed) at the sur face. Within half an hour an abandoned water well half a mile to the west turned into a 130-foot water spout. Nearby farm wells began to spout and blow highly explosive natural gas. Next, two drilling rigs in a nearby oil field hit high pressures at shallow depths. Rigs were toppled and gas blew to the sur face around steel cAsings. Thanksgiving Day a tremendous explosion, fol lowed by violent gas and water spouts and caving sink holes, shook the outskirts of the town. Christ mas Eve a water well at a roadside park three miles north of Marshall suddenly erupted. The toll thus far: two drilling rigs collapsed into craters, a park closed, several families tem|K>rarily evacuated from Uieir homes, and eruptions of gas, oil, and water over a twelve-mile area. Such destruc tion resulted from an accidental disturbance of un derground pressures by oil drilling. However, most deep disposal wells also alter underground pressures as a normal part of their operation and thereby run the risk of pressures getting out of hand. At least one major oil company decided that it was cheaper to treat poisonous wastes for surface disposal than to inject the wastes underground and run the risks of costly suits in the future. Two years ago, David Evans visited company officials who were then using twelve disposal wells for under ground dumping to avoid polluting the rivers ami (continued on page 31) Orvtmwt, JM9 HONS 029423 Vi Antibiotics, hormones and many other medi cines used to treat human sickness have iound their way into agriculture. The drugs are used to treat animal diseases, to promote growth, to preserve tood and to protect plants. Far more antibiotics are used on farms than in hospitals, and the growing reliance on those and other medicines in agriculture raises a host of problems. The most serious of these may be the appearance of resistance in microbes to antibiotic treatment. It has recently been discovered that innocuous bac teria which have developed such a resistance may transfer their ability to resist antibiotic treatment to disease-causing bacteria. The following is the first in a series of three articles on the farm use of drugs. ARMERS CAN BUY antibiotics by the ikiuiiH froni F their local feed store, although they need a doctor's prescription to buy one penicillin tablet for their personal use. People need a prescription for the antibiotics they buy for their own use because like all other drugs, antibiotics can be dangerous if they are not used properly. They car* cause allergic and toxic reactions and the proliferation of micro* organisms which are resistant to antibiotics. The Food and Drug Administration (fda), whose jolt it is to protect the consumer from poor or misbranded drugs, requires a doctor's prescr iption for the pur chase of an antibiotic drug if that drug is to be used in the treatment of human disease. Yet, in the United States, over half the annual antibiotics pro duction--more than a thousand tons--is purchased and used in animal feeds without a prescription. In 19Gb, the total value of antibiotics used in feed was $42 million. Most of the antibiotics used in agriculture are Penicillin by the Pound By Margaret E. Duffy HONS 029424 Added lr> the feed of cattle, pigs, chickens and lambs in order to promote growth. Although there is some question about how, or even whether, antibiotics promote growth, they have been added to animal feed* since the 1 940's, and the practice is now al most universal. Penicillin, bacitracin, chlortecracyclino, oxytetracycline, streptomycin and tylosin are used in amounts ranging up to 50 parts per million parts of feed. Do antibiotics promote growth in farm animals? At a symposium held in 19G7 by the National Aca demy of Sciences in Washington, D C., several scien tists questioned whether antibiotics do what is claimed for litem. In his introductory address to the conference, .lames Goddard, then head of the Food and Drug Administration, remarked that the use of drugs in feed is "based more on hope and less on hard data." Much of the experimental data on the growth- promoting effects of antibiotics cornea from studies of poultry. Some scientists have noted that adding small amounts of antibiotics to feed increases growth rate and results In more efficient use of nutrients in young chickens and turkeys. KesulU in a number of experiments, however, have raised doubts about the efficacy of antibiotics in feeds. Antibiotics have had a greater effect on chickens and pigs raised in a previously occupied and there fore unsanitary environment, than on those raised in sanitized or new quarters. Prolonged feeding with antibiotics has more than once been reported to result in a decreased growth response In chicks. Penicillin, bacitracin, erythromycin, and tylosin fed to chicks over a three-year period produced an in- If a few cattle in a large herd gel Rick and there 1r danger that the disease will spread to the whole group, it in common practice for the farmer to feed all the animaln in the group prophylactic levels of antibiotics. These preventive feedings are sometimes carried out when no disease is even suspected in the herd. HONS 029425 crease in growth rate when they were initially fed, or if they were not fed continually. One experiment with chicks showed no change in growth after pro longed use of antibiotics. The data on growth promo tion in other animals--calves, beef cattle, and sheep --is even less clear. In cattle, the greatest increase in growth and feed efficiency was noted in cattle fed low-gaining diets. At best, the effects of antibiotics on animal growth have been variable. Dr. H. Wil liams Smith of the Animal Health Trust in Essex, England has said; '"Die degree of growth stimula tion obtained by feeding antibiotics is not large; it requires careful measurement to appreciate that it is in fact occurring and in some cases does not oc cur at all." 'Die large amount of data on the growth promot ing effects of antibiotics used at low levels in animal feed is so confusing that it seems impossible to draw firm conclusions from it. Dr. David Smith of Har vard Medical School has said that early experiments on antibiotic-induced growth promotion were not adequately controlled and were carried out before modern breeding and sanitation procedures became a part of animal production. Projionents of antibiotic use also disagree among themselves as to how the drugs work their beneficial effects. Several theories have been proposed, but the one most generally accepted is the "disease control" theory. According to this view, antibiotics simply reduce the incidence of low-level infection in young animals, thus making it easier for the animal to grow. Animals undergoing stress because of lessUuin-idcul sanitation or nutrition have responded better to antibiotics than animals kepi under ideal conditions. These findings lend credence to the "dis ease control" effect. Horace W. Norton of Univer sity of Illinois' Department of Animal Science has said that although "the lieneficial effects have been dearly demonstrated repeatedly, and a net economic return is certainly commonplace" after using anti biotics in animal feeds, the term "growth promo tion" should not )>c used if the "disease control" effect is the mode of action. S. G. Bradley of the Medical College of Virginia's Department of Micro biology has said there is no such thing as growth promotion because antibiotics do not promote growth in germ-free animAls. The lack of firm knowledge about growth promo tion has contributed to the confusion about the proper levels of antibiotics to use in feeds. In the early 1%0's low levels of two to five or five to fif teen parts antibiotic per million pArls of feed were used to promote growth and increase feed efficiency in Animals. 1-evels as low as one part per million were reported to increase growth in those early days. By IftMl scientists were arguing about the amount of antibiotic which constitutes the low or nutritional level needed to promote growth. The data on the growth promoting effects of antibiotics was apparently so contradictory that in 1PM) 0ne re. viewer suggested making an "arbitrary eompromise," proposing that levels of 0.1 to 25 parts j*r million be considered low levels. In spite of the con troversy over what constituted the effective growth promoting levels of antibiotics used in animal feeds, the Food and Drug Administration permitted levels of up to 50 parts per million in feed for growth pro motion in the 19.r)0's. Thus levels used for this pur- ' pose have been increasing since the early 1%0's although there is no scientific data to show that the 50 parts per million is a more effective growth pro moting level than two to fifteen parts per million. There are several possible reasons for the in crease. The price of antibiotics has gone down, so the farmer can buy them in greater quantity at a lower price. There is also the possibility that micro organisms are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, thus making higher amounts necessary to produce the growth response that smaller amounts once produced. A third reason may l>c that 1 agriculturalists now believe that maximum weight ' gain is reached at levels of 40 ppm, while maximum feed efficiency is realized at levels of 80 ppm. Dr. ` Virgil W. Hays, of Iowa State University has put -\ all these reasons together: ". . . the level selected 1 in practice is usually a compromise based on the I cost-benefit ratio." Farmers also use antibiotics to prevent and treat disease in their animals. If a few animals in a herd or flock gel sick and there is danger that the disease will spread throughout the whole group it is com mon practice for the farmer to feed the whole group antibiotics in "prophylactic" levels ranging from 100 to 400 parts per million. Higher "thvraiieutic'* levels of up to 2,000 parts per million are used to treat existing disease. There is evidence to show that these prophylactic and theraiwnilir levels are fed w hen there is no disease present or even suspected in animals. Also, there is apparently some confusion about whAt levels constitute prevention and what levels constitute treatment. The use of antibiotics to prevent disease is of questionable value. Using less than a therai>eutic dose of antibiotics for the specific purpose of curing disease is not an accepted practice in human medicine. According to Dr. Hans Ericsson, of the Bacteriological Depart ment of Karotinska Sjukhuset in Stockholm; From the bacteriologic aspect suh-thernpeutic doses of antibiotics are always to be condemned, since they favor the emergence of resistant laicterial strains. Therapy should always be instituted in full dosage and should as a rule )>c interrupted when the clinical objective has been achieved. (rvnthturff on 171 1C KnVIKONMKNT VilL II, N`- A HONS 029^26 Spectrum THE UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION of a nuclear device at Amchltka Island was carried out as scheduled this month, over strenuous opposition and threats of legal action* Resolutions asking for a postponement of the military test had been introduced in both the House and Senate, and state legislators from Alaska and Hawaii protested that the explosion might trigger earthquakes and tidal waves (see Environment, July-August 1969). The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) conceded, in an appearance before the Alaskan Legislative " Council, that there was some risk that the test would trigger a major earthquake, but argued that the chance was slight. The 1.2-megaton test was only the firstend smallest--in a series of explosions planned by the AEC for the Aleutian Island. 1,400 miles from Anchorage. Future tests, presumably for antlballistlc missile development, will range upwards to several megatons; one drill-hole already completed could accommodate a S.S-megaton explosion. Environment has learned that the October test was opposed by geologists performing selsmologlcal research for the AEC on Amchitka. A group of scientists at the Colorado School of Mines, headed by Dr. Morris W. Major, has set up two monitoring stations on Amchltka and one on nearby Adak. At each station strainmeters will record changes in the tensions building up in the region of major faults. The group hopes to be able to identify periods during which earthquakes are most likely to be triggered by nuclear explosions, end to identify changes produced by tests themselves. A geologist has informed us that the group will require at least a year to produce preliminary results, stnoe earlier research in Colorado had shown seasonal variations in strain in the earth's crust which obscured long-term trends. Some members of the group opposed conducting the test until at least these preliminary data had been established. QUESTIONS HAVE SEEN RAISED about an Insecticide used In plastic strips and dog collars. DDVP (2,2-dlchlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate), marketed In this country by Shell Oil Company under the trade name Vapona, Is used to impregnate the strips end collars, from which It then slowly vaporizes, acting against fleas or othar Insects in the room where the strip Is hung, or on the dog wearing the collar. Vapona strips have become widely popular, and mechanical dispensers have also been used to disseminate DDVP In the air of warehouses, aircraft, and restaurants. Studies made on human volunteers were used by industry as evidence of the safety of the Insecticide when registration was applied for. The manufacturers Interpreted these studies as showing no difference between exposed end unexposed Individuals. Now reexamination of the same data by Dr. Goran Lofroth of the University of Stockholm indicates that there wee a significant difference in the blood cholinesterase of the subjects, with those exposed showing some depression of cholinesterase (an enzyme Important in tha # proper functioning of the nervous system). DDVP is rather quickly broken down by the liver when taken orally. However* when exposure is by inhalation or through the skin, this process takes much longer. Dr. Lofroth reported his reeveluatlon of early DDVP studies to the Panel on Mutagenicity of the Secretary's Commission on Pesticides, United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare on September 3. He also told the Pane): "The Ocrosn, IMS HONS 02942? ) S-l is ?Sv:r3' Spectrum preliminary studies reported here show that DDVP Is an alkylating agent and that the compound may oause disturbance In the hereditary structure of dividing cells. * (Most alkylating agents are known to cause either . mutations or cancer or both.) A copy of the full report may be obtained from Dr. Lofroth at the University of Stockholm, Box 6409, Odengatan 63, 5-113 62 Stockholm, Sweden. (For a previous discussion of the danger of mutagenic chemicals see "Chemical Risk to Future Generations,M by James F. Crow, Environment. June-July, 1966.) HIGH MERCURY LEVELS may stop pheasant and partridge hunting In Canada's Alberta Province. In a press conference in Edmonton, Dr. J. Donavon Rosa, Alberta Lands and Forests Minister, announced that mercury found in the flesh of the game birds was from two to five times the tolerance level set by the World Health Organisation (0.1 parts per million). The mercury Is thought to have come from whoat seeds treated with mercury fungicides which are taken by the birds from freshly-sown fields. The death of many birds from this causa had bean observed in Sweden, which subsequently banned the mercury fungicides, Ross called for cancellation of this year's hunting season for partridge and pheasant, but the situation Is likely to be repeated next year unless the U.S. and Canada follow Sweden's lead in banning the mercury seed-treatments. "ANTICIPATING THE BEST.. .marked by an eager hopefulneae...confidently optimistic.. Those are the dictionary's definitions of . "Sanguine." It will take a large amount of confidant optimism as well as from one-and-a- half to five billion dollare to complete the Navy's Project Sanguine without undesirable side effects. Sanguine is a communications station designed to send messages around the world, mainly to Polaris submarines. It will require 240 transmitter sites in 26 counties in northern Wisconsin and about six thousand miles of antennae running In lengths of about 2S miles along the ground. Sanguine will operate at extremely low frequencies and will result in very powerful electromagnetic waves in the area. According to some of the research conducted by private agencies for the Nevy, this electromagnetic radiation could cause mutations and even kill living organisms near the antennae. Some evidence indicates that life cycles, fertility, and possibly other biological activities of plants and animals may be affected. Lowell L. Klesslg of the University of Wisconsin's College of Agriculture end Life Sciences is one of the scientists expressing fear of the effects on wildlife. One such possibility. In addition to immediate effects on wildlife nearby. Is that Sanguine might cause changes tn the flight ' patterns of birds migrating through the eree. This Is most serious tn the case of waterfowl which flock to Horlcon Marsh, about 1$0 miles to the south. Horlcon is one of the major . stopover points along the central flywey which * extends down the Mississippi Rlvsr. Senator Gaylord Nalson (D., Wls.) Is concerned about the safety of the project as well as Its environmental aspects. One of tha major safety questions is raised by the "induced magnetic fields" that may result from this super radio. Such fields may electrify wire fences, railroad tracks, and even chain saws. A thousand-foot stretch of pasture fence a hundred feet from one of the antennae would carry 52 volts. To avoid this, fences end railroad tracks could be cut In lengths to be determined by e computer and separated by smell insulators. Normal radio and telephone communications nearby would also be affected, and the Pentagon has spent SO million dollars In the search for a solution to this problem. "REMEMBER THE TORREY CANYON" Id the phrase running through the minds of some Canadians after a warning of possible disaster involving the super tankers planned to haul oil through tha Northwest Passage from Alaska, according to the Venoouver Sun. Gordon Gibson of the Canadian Northwest Territories Council gave the warning and charged that the dangers of ) Arctic oil pollution were partly due to the "apple box design" of the ships. He expressed * 8-t Knviiotnmknt Vou U.NO't HONS 029428 doubt that the $20 million tanker Manhattan would make many voyages without serious Incident. And what effect would the oil from a 100,000 ton tanker have on Arctic ecology? AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUPER TANKERS In the Arctic Is an oil pipeline, but it, too, has serious "hang-ups." Besides the danger of pipeline breakage and the initial damage to the tundra through construction of the line, there is the problem of melting the permafrost in the area. The pipeline would be heated to keep oil flowing easily despite sub-zero temperatures. Melting could range from 24 feet in depth in one year to 40 or SO feet in twenty years. The effects of the melting might be huge mudslides moving downslope along the path of the pipe, and the eventual uncovering of the pipe. TOUR SMALL NATURAL EARTHQUAKES occurred in the hour immediately following the underground nuclear blast of Project Rullson on September 11, according to Ruth Simon at the Selsmological Observatory of the Colorado School of Mines. The Rullson blast Itself registered as a mlddle-sisad earthquake of magnitude $.S, and the four natural earthquakes which followed measured between magnitudes 1 and 2. Preliminary investigations indicate that all four of these earthquakes were in the Immediate area of the Rullson blast. Previous underground testing in Nevada had triggered swarms of similar small natural earthquakes, and the great majority of these were within ten kilometers or less of the original shot. Although the four earthquakes were small, they strongly indicate the presence of fractures In the geological formations in the area of Project Rullson. This is because natural earthquakes are vibrations resulting from movement of blocks of rock along a fracture or fault. Promoters of Project Rullson have claimed that no underground fractures are present in the test area, end that therefore underground liquids contaminated by the blast would be sealed away and could not escape. If fractures ere Indeed present, underground fluids can move along them, which raises the possibility that radioactivity can migrate along the fractures end get into subsurface and surface water supplies. MANY MORE NUCLEAR explosions may be set off In Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico and the Dakotas. A report published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines calls these areas "amenable to stimulation (for extracting petroleum and natural gas) using nuclear explosives." David Evans of the Colorado School of Minas (see "Under the Rug," p. 2) predicts that this could mean as many as ten thousand underground nuclear explosions. DEFOLIATION of the United States-Canada border is continuing, with helicopters spraying Tordon (piclorem--see "Plcloram in Vietnam," Environment, October, 1966). The program is being conducted by the International Joint Commission of the U.S. and Canada, which informs Environment that the entire 3,000-mlle border--except for cities and waterways--is included. The swath of trees and brush being sprayed is from 50 to more than 100 feet wide. Tordon is e persistent herbicide, not licensed for use on crops. Repeated spraying of the border to keep It barren will result In e deed strip of eroded, impoverished eoll. Drift of the herbicide will damage plants on either side of the atrip. Long-range ecological affects of this break of unprecedented length in the natural continuity of plant and animal life are difficult to predict. No statement from either government on the reason for the defoliation has been made as far as we have been able to discover. THE OYSTER HAS BEEN KING In Chesapeake Bay, but a new development may threaten more than his throne. The University of Maryland's Natural Resources Institute has developed a synthetic oyster bad in the hope that this will supplement the natural beds. Water pollution has caused the loss of about $2 million worth of shellfish In Maryland, and the artificial beds, as well as pollution clean-up efforts, have been marshalled to save the commercially and traditionally Important oyster. Now the tables Octoms, IMS HONS 029429 i vi/:*; Spectrum have bean turned and tha synthetic oyatar bada art being used as an excuse for letting down the barriers to pollution. Elgin Dunnington of the Institute which developed the synthetic beds points out the dangers In this course. Although tha synthetic beds may supplement the natural ones, ha says, It Is not dear that they oan replace them. Furthermore, he calls the natural oyster beds a "keystone in the ecological arch" of Chesapeake Bay. If production of oysters in synthetic beds is used as an excuse to strip tha natural beds and allow pollution levels to rise, the consequences to other shellfish, to commercial fish, and to the whole interrelated environment of the bay could be extremely serious. A MILLION TON8 of dangerous material pass some points on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers In a single month, according to a recent Coast Guard survey. The Department of Transportation has also reported huge amounts of dangerous materials constantly on the move over highways and railroads, and the number of railroad accidents is rising at an alarming rate. Industrial chemicals, explosives, poison gas and petroleum products make up much of the cargo of American railroads, according to the records of the American Association of Railroads and the Department of Transportation. As sn example, William C Jennings of the Department's Office of Hasardous Material*, citaa the fact that phosgene is regularly shipped by commercial manufacturers. Phosgene is a lung irritant, manufactured for use In World War II. It can cause serious lung damage, and at high doses it oan kill. On September 12, an accident in Mississippi involved the explosion of a railroad oar of vinyl chloride used in tha manufacture of plastics. Ten thousand people were evacuated because vinyl chloride produces phosgene when burned. Uniroyal, Inc., of Geismar, La., the company shipping the material, stated that "it is Impossible to liberate phosgene, other then Inconsequential trees amounts, when vinyl chloride le freely burned in the sir." A representative of the company also stated that vinyl chloride la not lethal. Hazardous Chemicals Data. 1969, a publication of the National Fire Protection Association in describing the "life hazards" of vinyl chloride says, "(it) acts as a general anesthetic end may be fatal in high concentrations.. .fires involving this materiel result in production of highly toxic combustion products such as hydrogen chloride, phosgene and carbon monoxide." Dangerous Properties of Industrial Chemicals, by Irwin Sax, the standard reference work in this field similarly describes the dangerous properties of this chemical. Who Is kidding whom? *,. * : j 1 :M A SCIENTIFIC TEAM from the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science has gone to Ulster for an on-the-spot investigation of the physiological effects of CS, the riot-control gas used In Londonderry. On the team ara Dr. Norman MacDonald, chest physician; Dr. M.F. Khan, Professor of Madiclna, University of Paris, a specialist on riot control agents; Dr. J. Mongar, Department of Pharmacology, University College, London; and Mrs. Hilary Rose, London School of Economics, specialist in social medicine. JET AIRPORT plans for the Everglades have been abandoned, although the already constructed Jet practice field remains. John Volpe. Secretary of Transportation, and Walter Hickel, Secretary of the Interior, expressed concern for the environment of the area in announcing the decision to halt tha project. The airport has been vigorously opposed by conservationists. ' --John William Folstad and Albert Bradford 9 1i j t 8-4 No. HONS 029430 (rtnifiviird from piii/c 10) The reasoning behind this point of view goes something like this: A sub-therapeutic dose of an antibiotic would not kill all the target disease-caus ing microorganisms. The more resistant individuals would not be destroyed and could therefore multiply in the presence of the antibiotic. If the antibiotic were bacteriostatic, that is if it only hindered bac terial multiplication, then the sensitive microorgan isms would not Ik; able to multiply as fast as the resistant individuals and would gradually be sup planted by them. A few generations of such selection would work in favor of an increase in the popula tion of resistant strains of disease-causing individ uals. The net result would then be to make treatment of a disease far more difficult, than it would have boon without the "preventive" treatment. There was a sharp disagreement on the use of antibiotics in animal feeds at the 1967 Symposium. Dr. C. K. Whitelmir from Michigan State Univer sity, and Dr. B. S. Domcroy from the University of Minnesota, said: "There has been no noticeable de crease in the incidence of disease of livestock and poultry that can be associated with the increased use of antibiotics in rations." Dr. Thomas Jukes, Professor of Medical Physics at the University of California, took issue with this jvoint of view: There are no stat istics on the incidence of most of these diseases. Antibiotics in the feed are known to )* effective against many diseases of livestock. Moat significant of all . . . the number of livestock have increased enormously in the past 15 years, and animals today arc kept under intensive and crowded conditions that greatly magnify problems of infection and necessitate the use of antibiotics. Whether or not routine feeding of antibiotics has Iwneficial effects, there is no question about the existence of harmful side-effects. Some of these are: allergic and toxic effects of drugs, alterations in microbial flora which can cause disease, and the development of resistant strains of microorganisms. At the 1967 Sympoaium, Dr. William Buck of the l i COMPUTERIZED MAILING | In ordor to improve service to our readers, -we are , converting to a computerized mailing system. Should you experience difficulty or delay in re ceipt ol copies, ploaso let us know. But we ask lor your patience during the interim period. Thank you. OCWWKX, ltKUt Iowa State University of Science and Technology presented documented cases of untoward effects resulting from the use of antibiotics and other drugs in animal feeds and water supplies. Among the ill effects which Buck discussed is disease arising from alterations of microbial populations. To understand this effect, it is helpful to know something about relationships which exist among microorganisms. In the small world of the animal intestine where nutri ents not completely digested in the stomach are further broken down and absorbed into the blood stream, bacteria, fungi, and, protozoa live together in a delicate balance. Their world reflects an order parallel to the order we observe in the world around us. Any alteration of this environment affects the organisms which live in it. The relationships among the various organisms which live in the intestine are not completely understood. It is a complex place where the same species of bacteria act differently in different parts of the intestine, act differently ac cording to the number present, and respond differ ently to chemicals introduced from the outside, de pending upon their condition. Some bacteria aid in the process of digestion. Other bacteria which can cause disease inhabit the intestine but do not cause overt symptoms of disease unless something hap|>eiis to upset the ecological balance. In addition to bac teria, there are fungi which live in the intestine and are kept in check if bacteria are allowed to grow freely. The introduction of antibiotics into animal feed may upset the balance which exists among the flora in the gut of animals and cause disease. If a disease results from such an upset in the microbial flora, it is called endogenous disease, in contrast to exogen ous disease which results from introduced diseasecausing microorganisms. In the United States and other countries with highly dcvcloj>ed technologies where much exogenous disease has been brought un der control by sanitation and drugs, endogenous dis ease is becoming widespread. Digestive problems in ruminant animals with multiple stomachs may arise from alterations in the microbial flora. Dr. Buck pointed out that sufficient doses of antibiotics (25 milligrams of chlortetracycJine or aureomycin per kilogram of body weight) administered to dairy cows can reduce the bacterial count in their stomachs, hinder milk production, and cause loss of appetite and weight. Twenty-five milli grams per kilogram of body weight is alx>ul ten times the amount recommended for use in feed for purposes of grow th promotion. Buck said, however, that it would be very easy for the farmer to add ten times the recommended amount to feed. Fecdlot cattle can also have digestive problems as a result of continued feeding with antibiotics. Other less serious problems can result from al terations in the flora of ruminants through the use HONS 029*31 I' of antibiotics. A farmer reported to his doctor friend that thousands of gallons of milk which he had taken from his cows would not make cheese. He had treated mastitis in the cows with injected penicillin which destroyed the lactobacilli, the bacteria resiKmsible for making cheese from milk. This inci dent resulted from the injection of therapeutic amounts of antibiotics, rather than oral dosage, but it demonstrates well that the use of antibiotics can bring about unexpected results. Another problem associated with the use of drugs in animal feeds is sensitivity reactions. There have been documented cases of these reactions in human medicine and in veterinary medicine. A survey of 40 Canadian veterinarians in 1963 revealed that 22 of them had noted problems with sensitivity to anti biotic drugs in the animals they had treated. There were reactions in 1,200 animals, twenty of which died. Antibiotics may indirectly cause hemorrhages in chickens by slowing down the synthesis of vitamin K, which enhances blood clotting. Scientists have re tried that levels of 10, 100, and 200 parts per mil lion (ppm) of some Antibiotics caused an increase in hemorrhaging in chickens, especially in those chick ens which consumed larger amounts of food. The incidence of hemorrhaging appears to depend on the amount of antibiotic, consumed and the grade of the antibiotic, the crude)- grades producing more hemorrhages. Buck also reported reactions to combinations of drugs used in animal feeds and water supplies. One farmer lost 50 of 2,000 young turkeys which showed symptoms of anemia before they died. He had been feeding them large amounts of oxytetracycline and 4-nitro-phcnylarsonic acid in the feed and large amounts of sulfa drugs in water. Buck mentioned four incidents of reactions involving the use of anti biotics in combination with sulfa and other drugs. Buck's report on untoward reactions resulting from the use of drugs in animal feed did not seem to cause much stir in the discussion afterwards. In his discussion of Buck's paper, Or. Harold Peck of Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research said, "I)r. Buck indicated the possibility that drugs may alter the intestinal flora, with consequent increased or de creased growth of specific bacteria or fungi. Gen erally speaking, safety tests in the appropriate spe cies of animals may alert the investigator to the fact that the drug is altering the intestinal flora." In relation to using combinations of drugs in feeds, Dr. Peck said that combinations can be, and are, tested for safety and efficacy. "The real problem arises when the manufacturer of a specific drug or drug combination, or the veterinarian or the farmer treat ing the animals, is not aware of the other drugs or natural food and water constituents the animal is or is not receiving." Scientists do not know what effects drugs used in animal feeds have on human health. They have shown concern about possible residues reaching the consumer in food products. Federal regulations pro hibit residues of most antibiotics in meat and dairy products, but such residues nevertheless appear oc casionally. About three percent of all milk on the market is contaminated with penicillin, according to one estimate. Despite repeated requests for in formation from the United States Department of Agriculture, Environment has not been able to ob tain estimates of the amount of meat on sale which may contain antibiotic residues, nor would the De partment provide figures on the proportion of inspected meat which is condemned as exceeding fpa tolerances. When a farmer injects penicillin directly into the cow's udder for the treatment of mastitis infection, the cow's milk contains high residues of penicillin for some time. After such treatment a waiting pe riod is required before the milk is put on the market. If this period is not observed, people drinking the milk may have allergic reactions. There have been reports of reactions ranging from skin irritation to total collapse. There is a good deal of ex]>erimenUl evidence to show that animAls may accumulate antibiotics in blood and muscle tissue when give)) Antibiotics in their feed. Hence antibiotics may find their way into meat products if animals are slaughtered (>efore antibiotic residues have dilapidated. When animals were fed chlortetracycline at levels of 50 ppm over an extended ))eriod of time, there were residues in the serum. At higher feeding levels, residues were still higher. The investigators recov ered antibiotics from tissues at a level of 1 part per 1,000 parts of tissue after feeding at levels of 1,000 parts per million. In assessing the effects of antibiotic residues on the consumer, it is imjwrtant to rememljer that dif ferent antibiotics act differently in respect to tissue concentration And rate of disappearance from tissue. At the 1967 Symposium, Dr.. Sven Ul!l>erg, of the Koyal Veterinary College of Sweden, reixuted on tissue concentrations of antibiotics after injection into mice. By freezing the mice soon after injection, and by making thin cross-sections and subjecting these to analysis, Ullberg was able to make some interesting comparisons of the fate of i>eicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, and the tetracycline antibiot ics in tissue. Penicillin is rapidly excreted. The con centrations of this antibiotic are always lower in tissue, with the exception of the excretory organs, than in the blood. Concentrations of ienicillin in the kidney are five times higher than in the blood. Di hydrostreptomycin showed the lowest tissue concen tration of the three Antibiotics tested, although it did not disappear as rapidly from tissue as did jeni- 18 KNVIMONJWrNT Vf>l,, II, Nt*. 8 MONS 029432 AtiU)>ioiicf* rp routinely fed to poultry to stimulate growth. They have had h greater effect on the growth of poultry mined in u previously occupied and therefore utHUHiitnry environment, than on those raised in Miitixed or new quarters. ciDin. The tetracycline antibiotics are especially likely to concentrate in bones and teeth. They can remain in lames for months At a time. Other organs of accumulation for the tetracyclines are the kidney, liver, and intestine. Tetracyclines tend to concen trate at higher levels in tissue than in blood in com parison to penicillin and dihydrostreptomycin. UllIxM'g pointed out that antibiotic residues disappear faster from small animals than large animals. Higher levels of antibiotics in animal feeds would be required to cause noticeable residues which might affect the consumer. Farmers are supposed to ob OrroiiKu, u* serve withdrawal periods after feeding high levels of antibiotics, to allow antibiotics to disap)>ear from organs in which they tend to concentrate. As noted above, the United States Department of Agricul ture, despite repeated requests, has failed to provide any information on the extent to which these regu lations are followed. Other Agricultural Usee ol Antibiotics Before September 7, 1967, the tetracycline antibiot ics were used on raw fish and poultry to prevent the growth of microorganisms which cause spoilage. On that date, the Fi>A revoked tolerances for the tet racyclines for those purposes because they felt that the benefits derived from the preservative powers of these drugs were outweighed by the danger that MQNS 029433 )! microorganisms resistant to antibiotics would de velop and find their way into human food, it is now illegal to use antibiotics as preservatives on raw agricultural commodities in the United States. Previous to this regulation, one method for pre serving fish and poultry was by dipping in antibiotic solution or in antibiotic-treated ice. This could be done in the factory in large tanks, or with fish in the hold of a ship soon after catch. Some fish factories had problems because resistant organisms collected on the walls of the dip tanks creating a sanitation problem. The factory workers had to clean the tanks frequently to maintain the effectiveness of the anti biotics. Another factor which may have contributed to the KPA's decision to ban the use of antibiotics in food preservation is this: Such treatment leaves some residue on food products. In poultry, residues were from one to four ppm. In fish they ranged from one to five ppm. These residues were appar ently of minor concern to officials as compared to concern over the development of resistant micro organisms. 'I'lio present ban on the use of antibiotics as food preservatives docs not mean that an antibiotic will never lie approved for that pui*i>ose. The FDA stated: "At the present time such approval would be likely only to solve a particularly serious problem." Farmers also use antibiotics to protect their crops from bacterial and fungal diseases. The United States Department of Agriculture has approved three antibiotics for use on crops: streptomycin; polyamidohygrostreplin (a derivative of Streptomy cin hyffrosropirufi) and cycloheximide, an antibiotic which is too toxic for use in animal and human medicine. About ten tons of streptomycin are used annually on various crops in concentrations ranging from 2f> to 2,000 parts streptomycin per million parts of solution: on celery transplants, potato seed pieces, hops before vine training, tobacco, a variety of ornamentals, and on apples and pears to control fireblight. Although cycloheximide is not used on food crops, ai>out ten tons of it are used annually on ornamentals, lawns, golf course fairways, hawthornc, cedar and white pine trees to control fungal disease in concentrations ranging from 2 to 150 parts cycloheximide per million parts of solution. Another antibiotic-like substance, Hlasticidin S, produced by Streptomycin griseochromoffcnea, has proved effective in controlling rice blast disease in Japan where over 10,000 tons of it are used an nually on rice fields. In addition to their positive effects against plant disease, antibiotics have also had effects on plant growth. Depending upon the kind and amount of antibiotic used, both growth stimulation and depres sion have been noted. Antibiotics are not now com mercially used to alter the growth rate of plants. The Controversy Despite their drawbacks, antibiotics in feeds have strong supporters. Some experts feel that antibiot ics have effectively promoted growth, improved feed efficiency, and decreased the level of infectious dis ease in animals. They sec the )>ossihle dangers of allergic or toxic reactions and the development of resistance as minor problems when weighed against the benefits derived from using antibiotics. At the 1067 Symposium, Thomas Jukes said, ". . . the maintenance of the supply of food at the present level is not possible without using the full resources of scientific technology, including the use of antibiotics in animal production." Dr. M. U. Clarkson of the American Veterinary Association said, "Speaker after speaker has shown the value of these additives, attesting to the genius of American science in their development, ami of the American industry in their integration into the production and marketing system." Others feel that antibiotics have not always pro moted growth and have not reduced the level of infectious disease. They are concerned that the prac tice of feeding antibiotics routinely to animals will lead to the development of resistant disease germs which might transfer their resistance to human pathogens, thus putting the control of infectious dis ease back before the time when antibiotics were discovered. The latter point will be discussed at greater length in another article in this series. [ i NOTK8 p. 14. "Farmer* ran buy . , Kiuic, Nclfaon U., letter, Mureh S. \WP. . . more than a thousand ton* . . Smith. Itavid H.. " A nt ihiot ira In AviifiiHurf nod the llrnlth of Man.'' FIIA Paper*, >>. 10. Sf|il<-ml>rr, It***. **. . . the total value of autihiotir used in feed . . linker. Norman K. "titaruaaimi." The l1** el llrut* hi Animal Freda, Natlnnul Arademy of Srienrra. WnohintMon. I' C . |> la. IC0. p. 15. ``Penicillin, bacitracin, . .. SO parts. . . ." King. NfWw U.. him) V.h.I 3. *.,. "AmiW.i...< It,.I,- Their Uf for Nnn-Mrdiral I'iihhmwn'' AirWulteral Srlmer Beview, Vol. 4, N<*. 4, |,|i. |-|i. Fourth Uuurt, >. ". . . Jamet (ioddo rd ..." Goddard, JnrncK. "Thr Qnrxt foi Imin,'' The I'ar nf lleng* hi Animal Freda, op. fit., ih> ft-*. ".. . studies of poultry," . Hfrd. 11. It., "llli'liifirnl Hneix for thr Uw of Anlihiolir* m Poultry Freda," The Oar el Drag* in Animat Freda, ep. fit.. P1>. St.41 . . chickens and jiiyn rained in a firerioosly occu pied and therefore unsanitary environ mint, , , Kin*' nnd Splitter, lee. rlt. 11 >,y. V, W. and V. C Nrwrr, ' Kffrrt of Spiramycin on Growth nod Feed DlilicMinn of Ymmy Pi**," Journal af Animal 8elenre. iwfli*. "Prolonged feeding with antibiotics . . ." King "d Splitter ler. ril. "Pruieillin, bacitracin, erythromycin . . . increase in prowth rate . . Nelaon. I\ K I,. S. Jenaeii and J MrCioni*. Stioln- on the Stimulation of Growth tty liirtary A<Hootir 1. Chnntrra in Growth ItcHi-onar nf Chirk* to Antit.mlir* over n Three Y> > Period." Poultry Sriener. 42, Itofi.fMiv. )(('! HONS 029434 Knvinosmunt Vih. 11, No-1* u, )fl. "(Mir cx^rrimcMt with c/n'r/.s >vrf . . ' n^tfi, n. A. and H, K. Bird, "Growth Nei|>onM of Chick* to Antibiotic* tram 1*60 lo 1961," poultry Science 41:766. 1*62. "The ditto on growth promotion in other animats .. King and Splitter. lor. (II. '7n cattle the greutcst increase .. Ilumnishs, W,, C. W. Rummrra, W. Woods, and W. Zmniek. "Feed Additives In IJcvf Cattle Ballon*." Mimen ltepelnt AmfrN rati HueMy of Animal Science. and Animal Science Leaflet H86, Iowa Male University, Ann, lown. 1*6*. *7>r. //. IViMwiwmi Smith .. Smith. II. William*. Jelter, June 21. 1*6*. `7Jr. David Smith of Harvard . . Ktniiii, David II., M.D.. "Antibiotic* In Agriculture and the Jlenilb of Man," PDA Papers, p. 12, Sept.. I9CK. "Several theories have been proponed, . . Hays, Virgil W., "Hlftlnglcnl Huai* for (lie Use of Antibiotics In l.lvrsloek pHalurllnn." The lisa of Drat* In Animal Feeds, op. rll., i>|i. 11-80. "Harare IV. Norton .. Norton. Horace W., "Assessment of the Kfficnry and Safety of Drug* as Used In Anlnml Feeds," Thr Use ( Oran In Animal Kssda, a|. rll., |i|i. 1*6-17*. ",,. .S', (!. Headley . , . has said ..." I'lnino conversation wlili 8. (1. Bradley. *7)i ffcr early mho's ... hr considered low levels Antlblstlrs -- Thrlr Chemistry and Non-Mrdiral Uaes, ed. IlerItrrl K, GoliMier*, I). Van No*l mini Company. I nr., Nrw York. p. INI. Nrw York, ]*(.*. "The price of antibiotics has gone down . .." Bird. II. K.. lor rll. "There is oho the possibility . .." Hays, op. (it., p. 20. *7Jr. Virgil W. Hays . , IMd.. p. 21. "A'lirmfr* also use antibiotics to prevent and treat... no disease present or rt'rn suspected in aninuil* . . King and KpliHer, lor. fit. ", . . some confusion ohonf what levels constitute . . Compare the following: a) IMd. b) Whltehair. C. K. and H. 8. Pomeroy, "Veterinary Medical Hnais for thr Use of Antibiotics In Feeds," Thr Uar of Dnitr* In Animal Prods, op. rlt. pp. 63-44. "A rrurding to Hr. Hans Kricsson . . ." Krirsatut. Hans, "Hntlonni Use of Antlbiotir* In Hospitals.'' Thr Scandinavian Jonmsl of Oinlrol A laboratory Investigation 12: a*. i*o. I*. 17. "C. K. Whitehair . . . and H. S. Pomeroy . . ." Whllrhalr. C, K. and II. 8. Pomeroy, "Vrtrrinary Medical Basts for the Uar of AntlMotirs In Kerris." Thr llsr of Drugs In Ani mal Feeds, p. rll....... 61. "Hr. J'homas Jukes , .. took issue with this . . ." Jokes, Thomas. "Disruaslon," Thr llsr of Drays In Animal Prtds. op. rit., PP. IN-II. "Buck... jitmriifrrf documented cases ..." Hock. William 8.. "Untoward Hractlona Encountered with Medtcried Keeds," Thr Use of Drags In Animal Feeds, ap. rll.. pp. IH-217. ". . . if ta helpful to Amow wtiiffhnrfli ohof rc/aMotiships which exist among microorganisms Kmi mir Information elanil microbial ecology ace the following MHirers: Bradley, 8. Gaylen. "The Genetic and Physiologic Basra for Mifrohinl Variation." Thr Uar of Dras In Animal Prsds, ap. rll., PP. **7-2*0. Moorr. W. V C.. "Current Research on Die Anarnddr Ptora of the Gastrointestinal Tract." Thr Uar of Drags In Animal Prrds. op. rit., pp. 107-118. Vsn llouweling. C. I).. I). V. M,. "Drups In Animsl Keed: A Question Without an Anowrr," PDA Papers, fAiod and Drug Administration, pp. li lt,. Kepi., 1*67. ", . . endogenous tftarnAr in contrast to exogenous disease . . Dulaw, Bend, Mm Adapting, Yalr University Press. New* Haven A London, 1*86. OCTOHKII, 19C9 p. 18. "A farmer reported to his doctor friend . . Thr Lanrrt, Nov, 7, 1*63. ". . . 46 Canadian i'<'f<,rr)Mri)i# in ] ff6S , . Buck. op. rlt., p. 1*8. hove reported that levels of JO, 100, and *00 parts per ..." Dempsey. It. S. and P. K. Snnford. "Effect of Kerdtrip Varlo.i* Antll'lullc* on the Hemirn IihkIi- Conditions in Chickens." Poul try Science t:6l-8*6, 1*60. ". . . J)r. Harold Peck of Merck Institute , . . said .. ." Peek. Harold. "Discussion," Thr Uar of Drags in Animal Prrds. op. ell., p. 221. ", .. I>r, Peek said , . . `the real problem'. . IMd. "Scientists do not know . . King and Splitter, lor. rit. "About, three percent of all milk . , Winter. Ruth. Poisons in Your Pood. Crown PulOlsiirrs. ini . New York. 1969. p. 46. "When a farmer injects penicillin . . Marth. E. H . and II. E. KHirkaon. Antibiotic Residue* In Milk and Milk Product* -- A Kevlrw. Rew-nrch and Develiinmrni Di vision, NntionHl Dairy Products Corporation. Glenview. Illinois . . from skin reaction to total collapse Sieffai. Bernard, "Hidden Contort* with Penicillin," Bulletin of thr World Health Organisation, 21:704-707. "When animals were fed . . . after feeding at levels of 1,000 parts per tnt7Ziw." Broqulit. H. P. and A. 11. Kohler. "Studies of thr Anlihiotie Potcney in the Men! of Animals Fed Chlortrtraryrllim." Anti, biotic* Ann,, N.Y., Medlcni Enrytloi*cdln, hit.. Jtl.4, |., 40*. . . /Jr, iS'vfn VUherg . . . reported . . UlllwrK, Sven. "Distrihutinn and Kate of Drugs Used in Kmsts." The Use of Drugs in Animal Prrds, ap. ell., pp. 226-24.7. p. 19. "Higher levels of antibiotics ... wonid be required..." Xing and Splitter, lor. rit. "Before September 7, J9C7 . . Federal Register, Vol, 32. No. 172, Wednesday. SeMttnhei 8. 1*67. p. 20. - - one method for preserving fish and poultry . . Tat-r, H. L. A.. "Microbial Inhibitors." Chemical and Molagiral Hazards In Pood, rd. J. C Ayres. A. A. Kraft. H. K. Sny.lc. H W. Walker. Iowa State University Pros*. Ames. lows. 1*67. "Some fish factories had problems . , "UsItiK AullhiiHlca to Prrscrvi- Kish." Nrw Scientist, Aug M, m3. "Such treatment leaves some residue on food .. Xing and Splitter, lor. til. "The FDA stated: .. Wright, William W., Acting Director National Center for AntiblMica and Insulin Analysis. PDA letter, A mil la, 1*6*. "77 United States Department of Agriculture . . "Annotated Index of Registered Fungicides A Nrmalocid*-*" (unpublished! UKDA (for sli datn on three antibiotlrs used and crops and doses). "About ten tons of streptomycin . . . 10,000 tons of it are used annually on rice ..." Goodmnn, Rolirrl N., "Uses of Antllnotlr* In Plant Pathology and Product Ion." Antimicrohial Agents and Chrmatheragy, Amen can Society tor Microbiology, 1966, pp. 747-766. "In addition to their positive effects against plant disease ..." Bradley, 8. G.. "Biologist Warns on Possible Harm Cruised by Introduction of Antibiotics into Nature," Drug Trade News. Seirtemlirr 19. 1*66 and Goldberg, ap. rit., p. 322. The author and ENVIRONMENT are Indebted to Dr. NrM>n It. King. Assistant llean. School of Veterinary Medicine. Auburn University, who first brought the agricultural use of antibiotics to our attention, and was helpful In the preparation of this article. Re*|H<n*ihility fni tire rnntrnt of the article and any errors therein remains with the author and the Scientific Division of thr Committee for Environmental Information. HONS 029435 21 HONS 029436 Dempest Over a Teapot By Terri Aaronson HE automobile is the single largest source of T air pollution. It is accountable for 60 percent of this nation's total air pollution ills and for more than 85 percent of the air pollution in some cities. Because of these discouraging figures, Congress has become keenly aware of the need to redesign the automobile if air pollution is to be curtailed. The Senate Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution of the Committee on Public Works held steam vehicle hearings in May, 1968 to determine the feasibility of one type of lowemission vehicle. The report which grew out of these hearings, "The Search for a Ix>w-Ermssiou Vehicle," was published early this spring by the Commerce Committee. The source of automobiles' pollutants is, of course, the internal combustion engine (ice). The ice does an incomplete job of burning its fuel and emits the unburned portions into the atmosphere. The un burned fuel contains carbon monoxide, hydrocar bons, and lead. By-products of the combustion pro- HONS 029437 2.T ccss And tile subsequent photochemical process in the atmosphere are nitrogen oxides, ozone, and other oxidants. Each of these substances is known to have deleterious effects on humans, and some are harmful to plants as well. Obviously, if we are to attempt to cleanse the air we breathe the ice must either be re fined, controlled, or replaced. The Commerce Committee identified the following considerations which led them to look for power sources other than the ICE. tinder present auto emis sion controls it is projected that air pollution will double in the next 30 years due to an increased num ber of vehicles and greater use of each vehicle. And under present standards nitrogen oxides would actu ally be greater than if there were no controls at all. California is the only state which has adopted emis sion standards for nitrogen oxides. However, the report notes that there is no guarantee that Detroit will produce vehicles capable of attaining Califor nia's standards. Finally, and most important of the considerations, is that the technology to control emissions in the 1CK is sorely lacking. This is espe cially true of nitrogen oxides, which are produced from atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen at high tem perature and pressure. And it must be noted that even if control devices are developed, there is no assurance of their continued effectiveness. A further point is that if cost is kept reasonable, these devices will be such that they can be tampered with by auto mobile owners disappointed with the decreased ef ficiency of the car engine when the controls are properly engaged. The report concludes that present controls are preferable to none at all, "but the pres ent approach will not solve the air pollution epi demic. A new approach is needed." The Commerce Committee, under the direction of Chairman Warren Magnuson, has been interested for some time in alternative power systems to the Tkkki Aahonson in on the nUff of the St. Louis Research Council and is editor of its newsletter. 24 HONS Santa Clara County, California residents recently considered initiating low-emission bus tran*|>ortlioit system which would use this steam-driven roach. ICE. In 1967 the Committee held hearings on electric vehicles but determined that research and develop ment on them had not reached the point at which electric vehicles could be competitive with the ICE in general-purpose automobiles. In May, 1968, how ever, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a staff report, "The Automobile and Air Pollution: A Program for Progress (Part II)," which commented favorably on steam-powered vehicles. The Senate Commerce Committee then began hearings on the merits of such power Bystems. The findings of the Committee overwhelmingly support the use of steam-powered vehicles as a feasible and reasonable substitute for ice vehicles and as "a dramatically superior alternative in terms of emissions." The Rankine Engine The steam engine considered by the Commerce Com mittee is a Rankine or vapor-cycle propulsion sys tem. Although there are other types of engines in various stages of development, the Committee hear ings dealt primarily with the Rankine engine, which, at the time and in view of such considerations as cost, size, and efficiency, seemed to be the best alter native to the ice. The Kankine engine is an external combustion engine like its predecessor, the old Stan ley Steamer; but the comparison just alwut ends there. The Rankine engine basically consists of a closed tube containing a working fluid which is heated externally by a burner using low-grade gaso line or kerosene as a fuel. The working fluid, trans formed to a vapor, drives either pistons or a turbine. The vapor is then passed through a condenser and recycled. This process allows the fuel to Ik; burned more completely than in the ICE, in which the fuel is exploded rather than burned evenly. Thus, emissions ere greatly decreased: 02943d Environment Voi., II, No, S 8-Year Old Williamn Steam Car Uncontrolled Internal Combustion Engine Hydrocarbon* Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxide* lead SO ppm 0.05% 40 ppm None 0000 ppm S.5% 1500 ppm Depending on type of gaaoline uaed One of the most important features of the Rankine engine emission figures is that emission control is an integral part of the engine. As long as the engine runs it will operate Ml roughly the original emission level. This is particularly noteworthy in comparison to the lCli which must have pollution controls added whirl) are subject to deterioration apart from the engine. Clearly, the Knnkine engine is a power source U|>crior to the jcr in terms of pollution control. But docs it meet other requirements as a general-use automotive power source? Although the affirmative answer has been questioned by some of the Detroit vehicle manufacturing companies, the Commerce Committee secs no disadvantages to the Rankine engine. The Rankine, or external combustion engine (KCK), delivers full power immediately ("high torque at low seeds'') and therefore does not need a transmission to accelerate from a dead stop or at low sjweds. A simple transmission may be needed, however, to gear down the ])ower train to avoid wheel spin* and too-rapid acceleration. The ecepowered automobile can use cither the reverse torque of the engine for braking or conventional braking methods. That the Rankine engine can be used in normal automobile bodies has been proven by the installation by ]<car Motors Corporation of a steam power sys tem into a Dodge Polnra for the California Highway Patrol. The Senate report suggests that the burner, generator, and condenser fit into the existing space under the front hood, and that the engine itself be placed further back in the current transmission cas ing or near the differential. The May 1908 hearings included some discrepancies as to size and weight of the ECE. Genera] Motors, in particular, was quite concerned that Die ECE would weigh three times as much aa current ice's. Most other witnesses dis agreed with this conclusion. The Commerce Commit tee concluded that size and weight of the ECE were no real problem, particularly since the complicated transmission is unnecessary. A further benefit of the Rankine system is that it permits a small Rankine engine to operate even when the main engine is shut off. The small engine can run accessories such as heating and air condi tioning without the possibility of overheating when the car is not in motion. Wide use of the Rankine engine would also reduce noise pollution. The report claims that a great deal of noise pollution stems from trucks and buses gear ing up and down. With the Rankine system this noise would be reduced to "a tolerable whirring sound." Probably the most vital consumer consideration concerning steam vehicles is whether they will be cost-competitive with ick automobiles. From current evidence they will be, although it is impossible to determine the exact cost of an ece vehicle in ad vance. Nevertheless, the report quotes a Ratclle Memorial Institute research report which states that "the best available evidence indicates that the s|*cific cost [of the ECK-powered vehicle] will be less than that of a comparable diesel engine and about equal to that of an equivalent V-8 engine with auto matic transmission. The additional cost of a trans mission will be eliminated with steam power." The auto manufacturers have challenged these as sertions. Since the publication of the Commerce Committee report, General Motors has revealed for Steam-powered engines may be used in contemporary automobile tmdien. Such a jwwcr ayatem haa been inatalled into aomi* Hodge Polnra* for uac by Die California Highway Patrol in 1070. Shown below i the I960 Potara. OrroiiKM, 1900 HONS 029439 2ft the first time some of its own research into steam engines. In a press briefing reported in the July issue of Industrial Jiescarch, CM showed two opera tional Bteam cars with which it had been experi menting. The more advanced of these was a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix fitted with a four-cylinder pis ton steam engine, gm engineers were quoted as say ing that the 1 GO-horsepower motor weighed 204 kilo grams more than the engine it replaced and pro duced less than hAlf the power. Drawings published in the magazine showed an engine far different and more complex than that considered by the Commerce Committee, and included an automatic transmission and air-conditioning. One attractive feature of the Itankine system considered by the Commerce Committee is that it runs on low-grade white kerosene or, if need be dur ing a transition period, on any service station gaso line. The steam engine does not need additives such as lead, further reducing its pollution potential. Other consumer concerns, however, should be re garded. These concerns take the form primarily of doubt about reliability and ease of maintenance of steam-powered vehicles. One fear of consumers-- left from the Stanley Steamer days--is that a long period of time may be required for warming up the engine. Actually, it takes only twenty seconds for the Knnkinc engine to achieve full power when it has been started cold. If the engine is started after a short period of disuse--up to three hours--start up is instantaneous. Another fear attributable to the Stanley is that of "freeze-up" during cold weather. Tins problem is being overcome by steam-engine manufacturers through the use of new working fluids such as freon, the use of new anti-freeze agents, special design of the water tank, or by use of a small pilot light within the burner. William 1/ear, principal entrepreneur and exponent of steam cars, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal July 2ft as saying that his new anti-freeze ("Learium") will stand Urn intense heat of a steam engine, yet prevent freezing down to 60 degrees below zero. As for safety features, the Itankine engine ap pears to Ik* at least as safe as the ice. There is vir tually no chance of explosion, even upon impact. Very little vajwr is in the engine at any time. If the monotubc in which the vapor is contained is rup tured, there is a release of va|>or but no explosion-- a minor risk compared to the possibility of explosion of twenty gallons or so of high octane fuel. The question of durability and ease of mainten ance of the steam-powered vehicle remains unset tled according to the evidence contained in the re port. Ford Motor Company claims that the bck is more complicated than an ICR and hence more difficult to maintain. Other evidence presented to the Commerce Committee stresses the fact that an 1CK with the emission controls necessary to achieve desirable pollution standards will be a very compii- cated piece of hardware. The Committee concluded that the Kankine engine will be at least equal to and probably better than the ICE in terms of main tenance. Obstacles and Recommendations The Commerce Committee report concludes that "the Kankine cycle propulsion system is a satisfac tory alternative to the present internal combustion engine in terms of performance and a far suj>erior engine in terms of emissions." This strong avowal in reinforced by the Committee's noting that "oppon ents of change" may disagree with the reiwt's con clusion, but that old criticisms which arose at the Committee hearings, particularly from the Big Three (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) motor companies, are simply no longer valid. And new criticisms will probably be outdated within a short time. A very pertinent point made in the re|>ort is that comparatively little money has gone into re search and development of steam-powered vehicles. This leaves the potential for the ece wide open, whereas the great amount of time and money which have gone into the ice have failed to achieve an acceptable low-emission vehicle. While advocating a change to steam-propelled ve hicles, the Commerce Committee noted three ob stacles to their wide acceptance. First is the inertia of the automobile industry. Representatives of Ford remarked at the hearings that the automobile indus try is not adverse to chftnge but rather that it sees no consumer demand at the current time for lowemission vehicles. Wryly, the reiwrt notes that American Motors, which does not have a large stake in the present market, does see such a demand and is pursuing an active research program on steampowered vehicles. The report states that the federal government is not doing very much to foster demand for KCEdriven vehicles. In fiscal year 1967 the Department of Health, Education & Welfare s|>ent $9.2 million for research on emission controls for the ICE, and only $115,000 on research for low-emission alterna tives to the ICE. With the automobile industry and the federal government doing little to direct atten tion to the Rck, the public is largely unaware of its possibilities. The rej>ort suggests that jwrhaps some consumer demand for the ECE can l>e fostered by publicizing it -- through such glamorous means as a steam-powered racing car. The second obstacle for steam engines to over come is in the petroleum industry. If the Kankine propulsion system is w idely accepted, it w ill require a drastic overhauling of the petroleum industry. Re fineries for high-octane fuels will have to be re vamped to produce low-grade kerosene. The report 20 Knvihonmknt Vot.. 11. No. 9 HONS 029440 certain that the Detroit automobile manufacturers would then enter the market and overwhelm the initial, independent promoter. There is, therefore, little incentive for an independent manufacturer to assume the initial risks. In spite of these dire predictions of difficulties the Commerce Committee offers a series of recom mendations for encouraging steam vehicle develop ment. These recommendations are: In ilH nl-t4>m|it to develop a low emission automobile engine, I/rnr Motors hns developed this championship clnsR steam racing car which has been on display in the New York Coliseum. acknowledges that steam-powered vehicles will seri ously disrupt the petroleum industry. At this jKrint, the report says, it seems unlikely that the Detroit manufacturers will develop an alter native to the ]CN -- they simply have too much in verted in it. An independent manufacturer might l* expected to lend the way with steam automobiles, hut this raises the third difficulty: the costs of en tering the automobile market are almost prohibitive. To produce enough vehicles to achieve economies of scale would require an enormous initial investment. Other problems would include the difficulties of establishing dealerships and servicing facilities. The Commerce Committee report suggests that one way of overcoming the cost of entry is for a ltimkinc propulsion-system producer to contract with an established automobile producer to put the ateam system into some of the producer's vehicles. Then, dealerships and servicing would be trans ferred to steam vehicles in the simplest manner. Or, the report continues, the Kankine-propulsion vehicle manufacturer might sell exclusively to spe cialised markets during the initial marketing period. This would consist mainly of selling fleets of taxies, buses, or trucks. Servicing of fleets is usually per formed at a central place and thus once a center was constructed servicing would l>e of little difficulty. Dealerships, also, would not create problems as they would be unnecessary. Costs would be high for non propulsion parts since there would not be large-scale production; but. this method might be a practical way to enter the market. Even this method, however, is not very likely to succeed. If such a method were attempted and suc ceeded in creating a viable market, it is practically Ot ltiMKIt, I IMW Congress should pass legislation requiring govern ment procurement of low-emission vehicles. State and local governments should adopt lowemission vehicle procurement policies. The Department of Transportation should finance demonstration projects which would test various transportation applications of low-emission pro pulsion systems. The Department of Health, Education, and Wel fare should devote a greater portion of its re search. funds to inherently low-polluting propul sion systems. State licensing and taxing authorities should con sider creating economic incentives for private ownership of low-emission vehicles. These recommendations are aimed at creating a demand for low-emission vehicles. The demand which could be created by the federal government alone is sizable and might induce the automobile industry to hasten its development of low-emission vehicles. The Post Office Department has expressed an interest in steam-powered vehicles and indicates that "research and engineering appropriation in available for the purchase of experimental units." Financial investments by the Department of Trans portation and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare would also give impetus to development and publicity of steam-powered vehicles. The picture drawn by the Commerce Committee report is one in which technical issues1 despite the space they are given, are much overshadowed by political and economic factors. Jjow-pollulion alter natives to the internal combustion engine are avail able or can be developed. The Committee performs a service in pointing this out and an even greater- service in asking how, and whether, we are going to avail ourselves of these choices. [i notes p. 23. "It * accouvtablr for 00 prreent . . . 85 permit. . . TN Sfirrli far i Uw-KirIiiIm Vehlrl*, a atafl rtimrt prepared for the Committee on Commerce. United Slate* Senate, U.S. Government Printinir Offlre. p. 2. 1*69. "The. report . . Ibid. HONS 02944X 27 Reviews Attack on Atomic Power Tin: I'kkiia ok tub Pbacbbui. Atom Jtichard Curtis and Elizabeth Hogan Douldedny and Co., J9C9 $b.9fi, 244 pages. This IxHik might bo considered an anti dote to the eonstsnt, litany on the bene fits of nuclear power coming from the nuclear industry ami the Atomic En ergy Commission (arc). The book's language is not meant to be soothing; it tend* to be shrill and somewhat repe titious. It is calculated to prod and twist and irritate those nuclear indus try nerve-ends which the Noviek book ("The Careless Atom," Houghton Mif flin Company, 1909) has already ex posed. Unfortunately, some, technical inac curacies have been included, for ex ample, in explaining the source of radioactive hasards from nuclear power plants. This is understandable in view of the enormous complexity of the socalled nuclear art, but it seriously dam ages the authors' credibility. The burden of the book is that the peaceful atom for electric power pro duction is not as safe, clean, reliable or economical as its public relations advocates would have u* believe. The authors slate at the outset that "in the CSM* of atomically generated electric power, human ingenuity has created technological hasards far beyond mor tal eom|M'tenee to control." They sup port their contention with page after page of examples which, in spite of the protestations and contradictions which are Issuing from the Industry, still raise serious questions. The point is mode that, notwithstanding care in de sign and review, the probabilities for errors, mistakes, poor workmanship and the like can override the effective ness of "fail-safe" mechanisms and "reduwianey" in safety measures. Curtis and Hogan point to the poten tial disasters which could result from human failure or aalrotagc. They ques tion whether communities near nuclear plants have plans of any kind for the evacuation of the population in (he event of a serious accident. They wonder alwut the adequacy of medical services versed in the handling of radiological exposure. They raise the important query of whether operating nuclear power plnut personnel, although ex amined physically, are screened for mental fitness. How would they func tion during emergencies and moments of sirens? In this regard, one thinks of the careful screening and long training of astronauts; can we. learn some les sons from this national experience? Excellent discussion is included in the book regarding the farce of insur ance coverage for nuclear accidents. (The August 4, 1969 issue of McGraw- Hill's Electrical World, in its "Man agement Newsletter" parallels many of the Curlis-Hogan questions.) As the authors point out, an early arc report estimated a "maximum" accident might cause deaths in the several thousands, injury to tens of thousands, and dam age of (7 billion. The nuciesr power industry insurance pool so far provides coverage up to $82 million; the U.S. Government through the Price-Andcrson indemnity Act makes available up W $478 million. One may wonder, as do Curtis and Hogan, who picks up the tab on the other $6,440,000,006 if an accident reaches these projections. The book deals at length with the na ture of the public relations effort by the industry to make a nuclear power plant acceptable to a community in which such a plant is proposed. H stresses the attempts by the industry to lull public fears at all stages, and to avoid confrontation with some of the less palatable facts. Dispersed through the book are ref erences to the monolithic character of the atomic energy establishment: the arc and its supposed watchdog, the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy of the U.S. Congress. It questions whether both regulatory and development func tions should be vested in the arc. The authors express the view that the AMmandatory public hearings are "win dow-dressing" and that "actual deci sions are made behind closed doom be yond public scrutiny." These are sen* out* charges and deserve a serious reply from the AFC. The concluding views of the authors concerning national power needs are both extreme ("continued effort t de velop a safe atomic power program is not worth the risk to humanity") and technically faulty. They are naively optimistic about developments very much in the research and development stage, if that far. It would have been better, in this reviewer'* opinion, if the authors had pointed out the urgent need to accelerate research ami develop ment in such areas as magneto-hydro dynamics (Mini) and fuel cells with the type of financial and industrial vigor which unfortunately has been concentrated on nurleur energy. The value of this l*ook is that it raises questions which should be raised. Some may lie answerable by the nurlesr power industry; in other cases there may be no answers, or they may W imperfect ones. The general public, to whom the hook is addressed, should use it with caution because of its technical weaknesses. Ivan Hi/ku Industrial Consultant Portland, Oregon Faith Gariikn in tub Wbst George S. Wells Dodd, Mead A Company, 1969 $5.00, 270 pages. ' California is by far the biggest garden in the West. lioth its yield* per acre and its total production of many major agricultural products arr the highest in the world. This is possible, says George Wells, because scientific re search has provided "a miracle a day" to increase and improve whnt the land yields and at the same time In outwit Nature's constant threats to produc tion-. plant diseases, pest*, bad weather, lack of water, and low soil fertility. This book is a folksy, enthusiastic, and non-tcrhnicl account of some of these 28 Envmminmknt Vni,. It, No. 8 HONS 029442 dramatic production "miracles" from Uip curly when! boom to the develop ment of commercial lypea of penra and tomatoes. The introduction and the laat chapter frame them- aucccas atoriea with ho|H*a that the rent of the world will follow the principles of aophisticated acientiflc f(Ki production that have no dramatically proven themaelvea In California. Alrrndy many count rics are scri- oualy trying to tranaform traditional farming into Callfornia-atyie caahcrop, vital -acreage mechanised agricullure. Slaleamen and farmera every where have looked with amazement at the apertnrular yield* of Weatern gardona. Since many of them, like Wells, have looked no further, they have evolved a faith in mirarlea aimilar to hia and proceeded home to tranaform their land*. Thia faith, which 5a reiter ated In every chapter of Well*'* book, ia hnaed on two aaanmptiona: Nature ia to Ik1 fought, controlled and exploited by man, and acicncc will make thia poaaiWo by coming tlirough in time with Ute anawera to moat aignificant prob lem* of food production. There ia a great deal of evidence, aomc of it actually in Gamphn in the Wkkt, that miracle* muat be paid for dearly and that in fact it ia Nature, not man, who finally calla the ahota. The author diaeuaaea how heavy uae of pcatlcidra haa often encouraged great Increase* in the number of insect* peata harmful to certain crops, after a pre liminnry grace period of wonderful ef fectiveness in pest control. The pesti cides kill off all natural enemies of the harmful insect, which itself develops resistance to the pesticide and then ex pand* in numbers. Control of the peats ha* come only with greatly reduced ami more aolective spraying and a reIntrodm-tiun of natural enemies of the peat. Yet Wells apparently interprets such natural control measures aa an example of man outwitting the insect 1**1*. He does not acem to consider it significant that the conditions making the peat* a problem were created by man, and the condition* removing the pealn required man to understand and submit to natural control. Modern Irrigation systems are ac claimed by Wells as another triumph of man over the environment. Such ayutema, often including huge dam*, have usually been built to obtain specific goal* of food, power production, and sometime* flood control. But in aome ease* the results have been unexpected. In Pakistan, extensive impoundment of waters and irrigation caused a rise in the subsurface water level. This water was sufficiently laden with dissolved minerals and salts to ruin millions of acres of good land. In California seri ous proposals are being made to drain away the high water table caused by abundant irrigation water so that dis solved minerals will not continue to seep up into the topsoil and take it out of production. (Sec "Desalting Cali fornia" by Frank Stead, J?tn*iromcnf, June, 1969.) Who will care how many battles with Nature man wins if Nature wins the war? Who will be around to count the money? As long as we concentrate on the miracles and the short-term eco nomic gains and ignore the pervasive and often enormous hidden costs to the natural world we may continue to "con trol" Nature until it is to late. For it is the natural world, not our own wit, that supports us and on which wc de pend for the miracle of our continued existence. In a Radioactive Hole Symposium on Puiiuc Heai.tii As pects ok Peaceem. User oe Npu.eak KXI'I-OSIVES Sponsored by the Southwestern Radio logical Health Laboratory, U.S. De partment of Health, Education, and Welfare. Las Vegs*. Nevada, April 7 11, 1969. Government agencies were out in full battle dress to impress all with the meticulous and extensive safeguard* for public welfare that were built into the Plowshare Program for the peace ful uses of nuclear explosives. The conclusion was to lie inescapable: Plow share wan no threat to health or to safety within the confines of the ap propriate controls that had lieen de vised. Thirty-nine papers were presented to illustrate how prohlemn were tackled in the fields of airblant, groundshock, radioactive contamination, ecology, ge ology, hydrology and engineering. Craig Hosmer, the ranking minority memlier of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy, was present to as sure the UMM'inhiage that Plowshare was thoroughly researched and nenring the stage of productive implementa tion. He termed the uninformed dis senter* a "paranoiac clique." Finally, tours were available to the Nevada Test Site and to the Southwestern Ra diological Health Laboratory where ex tensive safety facilities and hardware were displayed for those who needed to ace and to touch -- not merely to listen -- in order to be convinced. Four hundred sciential*, engineer* and business representative* ranging from members of Howard Hughes'* or ganization to foreign observer*, at tended, but there vere very few medical or public health people to scrutinize the radiological health data presented. Twenty-three Plowshare events have taken place since 19GL The radiation released by these detonations was the crucial data needed for inde)endenl evaluation of the government safe guard program; it was not presented. Serious doubts and misgivings grow in an atmosphere where blind faith, nurtured by an unhrcarhahle wall of "security," is offered as a substitute for factual proof. This observer left with the uneasy feeling that more trou ble is brewed by withholding informa tion than by presenting information, OtTOtiMt, 1969 SONS 029443 29 Reviews nltluiogh government spokesmen ohvimiMly frit that tho opposite was true. If J'lowsharc is to dig munis and harbors, create underground reservoirs, mid mine lorkcri-up stores of gas, oil and copper, then it is not enough to know Unit it is technically feasible. Wo most know, and in convincing detail, (lint it is "bioenvironmrntally feasible," In use n Lawrence Radiation labora tory phrase. A wealth of governmentaponsoretl research was presented along this important avenue, but without the aforementioned hard radiation data. Many claltoratc studios shared u common research approach. The worst possible case of radiation exposure was always profawly assumed for the math ematical models ami hyimthetical epila tions. All the many pathways of inter nal and external exposure were fed into the computations, when that was possible. Unfortunately, it was not not always possible, as the investiga tors readily pointed out. Most studies were confined to sys tems that were "closed" to one or more im|Kirlant variables. This means, for example, that, the studies concerned with the terrestrial effects of radiation neglected the contributions marie by airlsirne or waterborne contamination, ami vice verso. Certain radionuclides were measured and followed through the environment with admirable tenac ity, while the shared exposure from other radioactivities was ignored. No study could handle all the pathways and vuriations in exposure. No study took into account the changes in iso tom* distribution induced in an ecosys tem by the very radiation licing studied. All this was honestly admitted by the researchers as a measure of the work still to he done liefore bioenvironmental feasibility is an necepled fact. Several papers will serve to illus trate the serioua inherent problems in safeguarding the Plowshare Program. The off-site safely program around the Nevada Test Site was explained to show Ihr kind of precautions that would serve as protection in larger, in dustrially significant projects. Monitor ing equipment of advanced design as sayed radiation contamination before and after all shots. Measurements were made in air, water, milk, vegetation, animals, employees and adult residents of Uie areas at risk on appropriate schedule*. When J. R. McBride, Deputy Director of Southwestern Radiological Health Laltoralory, was asked if chil dren, those unique concentrators of iodine Dll. were regularly monitored the answer was "no." The difficult mechanics of monitoring school children (and the effect on the community?) were not worth the effort. Project Cashuggy came in for much comment. This 2<>-kilolon Plowshare event was detonated on December 10, IDflT, 4200 feet below the San Joan basin of New .Mexico to explore the mining of gas by nuclear explosives. The authorities concerned stressed that the gas was produced for exhaustive study and not for marketing. The gas contained A plethora of radionuclides, the most troublesome lwing iodine DU, xenon l.'l.'t, krypton ftf and tritium. Analyses revealed that while the com mercially valuable methane portion of the gas initially formed over 8(> percent of the total, it drop|>ed in seven months to :t7 to 44 percent, while the inert cnrlnm dioxide rose from less than 1 percent to .'! percent. .Studies are un derway on how to remove the impuri ties. including the radioactivity. Gnsbuggy highlights the difficulties in the commercial marketing of prod ucts mined by nuclear methods. As the researchers realise, for each product to be safely distributed, we must know its varied radionuclenr contaminants ami their concentrations, the quantity of product to Ik* used in a given opera tion, and the radiation doses to differ ent populations to he exposed (both the full-body doses and the doses to par ticular organs that concentrate a par ticular radionuclide). Only then are we ready to sit down and calculate the probable dangers of such exposure. Un til such technical requirements are satisfied, Gasbuggy must lanquish in its radioactive hole. Only now are some detailed studies from Sedan, an early Plowshare shot (June 7, 19f*2) being completed and reported, tawrcnce Radiation Labora tory scientists traced the path of tri tium from Sedan in ecosystems from water to plants to the pregnant female kangaroo rat to the placental (after birth) transfer to its embryo to the liver of the newborn rat all the way down to a basic tritium-induced altera tion in the I>na (the very stuff of life) in the liver. The multitude of other radionuclides await such elaborate sleuthing, as well as genetic studies of transference of sueh basic alterations. Public relations problems in winning acceptance of the Plowshare Program were not overlooked. T. M. Gerusky of the Pennsylvania Department of Health pointed out that Project Ketch, the Ullir, proposal In build a gas reservoir in his state, hud to he cancelled be cause of public alarm. I Vnnsvlvuminui had been educated i accept thirteen nuclear power plants, but not one radinar live explosion, tienisky stressed the necessity for indc)iohdctit review of such projects as Ketch in order to win public confidence. This naturally opened up the ran dom's ls>x of the propriety of baling t be promoter of a new- technology (government or private promoters > serve in the dual ride of regulators of that same technology. Or should de velopment and regulation he scrupu lously separate phases' The philosophy to tie applied to de velopment, regulations and safeguards was nlmost universally accepted to Isthe "theory of opt imizat hoi." r "Immicfil-risk theory." This holds that it should be possible to weigh all the fils in one pan and all the risks in an other in order to decide if new technol ogy should be further implemented. In practice, according to several s|s-akers, the precise definition of hcncfitH and risks often proved impossible in suit able nod r'luivnlrnt units, not to men tion the difficulty in finding an appro priate scale for the weighing-in. As a result, many wished to turn to an alternate pragmatic concept of "acceptaide risk." In Howahure jargon, ac ceptable risk means that when the radiation exposure is "negligible" the risk is acceptable. The mind, however, boggles at the definition of ncet-ptahh* radiation. On this imprecise philosophical note, the symposium adjourned. Several par ticipants rusher! off to Vienna where meetings were starting with the Rus sians to trade "secrets" About the |M*acful uses of nuclear explosives, and to devise means for sharing with other nations the benefits (and the risks?). Meanwhile, the words of (J. D. C. Thompson, the Utah State Director of Health, who had already suffered his baptism by fire in the iodine DM fall out episode of 1902 and last year's Dugway shoepkill, sounded like a toc sin: . . The decision as to whether or not to continue promoting the poasible benefits of a program to society revolves around questions of how ade quate are our predictions and measure ments of contamination and what are some long-term effects of pursuing a certain course of action." Romcmt Karan, m.d. SO HONS 029444 Knvikonmknt Vot.. 11, No. 8 Under the Rug (continued from )><)<' 13) tho ocean in the urea. Hut during a more recent visit the same officials said they have plugged all hut four of their disposal wells and are getting rid of the remaining four as fast as they can. They ex plained that in the long run it will he cheaper and less troublesome to dean up pollution at the plants, disposal wells, they stated, are unpredictable and expensive. The risk of costly lawsuits resulting from pollution breaking out at unknown times and places is too great. "We finally decided that we were turning snakes loose in the grass that might come back and bile us," remarked one official. Tlu* company now has a new $4 million plant that deans every drop of water from the company's oil refining and petrochemical complex on the Houston Ship Channel. After lasing cleaned, the water is dis charged into an artificial lake full of healthy fish. The plant superintendent said that the fish are in spected every day and "if one of them gets sick, there's hell to pay in the plant until we find out what's bugging him. Then we dean up the water." Most of the many deep-well problems discussed here can be avoided. Wastes can he purified and recycled back into the environment or stored for future use when material in the wastes might be valuable. In the case of brine taken from gas and oil wells, the brine can be pumped back into formations from which fluid had l>cc extracted, thereby bring ing the formation back to equilibrium pressure. In jecting radiouetive and poisonous industrial wastes into virgin formations, upsetting the subsurface balance of pressures, promises nothing but trouble. NOTKH |i. .'I. ".. . few states rvffiilntr in any tficeifie way ., ." Sheldrick. M .churl 0.. Writ Itlmmonl: Arc Knrcinmrrin FIc. Imp luHorol Chemlrol Kmlnerrlne, Vol. 76. No. 7. AtirU 7. H'flll. |i. 74. . . today there arc around ISO or wore." WnriiiTi turn 1... "iVerp Welle for ImttiHiriiil Wiml IHoimoiii In llic (loltol Ktiiir*, Hoiiinn.ry of Dnlii," U.K. I>ept. of the In terim. Kiilrml WiH.v t'olh.tlon Control A<lmfia(rHtloii. Clni-limntl, Ohio, November. TUB", i>|<. S-4. ". .. he predicted that the number would double. . Uiiotml In nit ndilrcoa by Dnvlil Kviino nt the American Aoanrlnlinn for Ole Advutireineut of Science inevtinic Meccmlicr 2tt, IMH, P. I. . . such treatment ayntems are a major part . . ." IhninUaun, K. I'.. "Kuhourfoee l)lo|mft) of Itiduatrinl WhoIco in the United KtHtcN." U.S. It> reno of Mli>c lofoi nintioii Clrrulnr #N01x, IM4. i'. . "Although even those experts who favor . . XlifMrlrk, op. rlt., p, TIi. OcroNNK. lafifi p. 4. "The Anaconda Company in Crautn . . Arlin, Z. K., "Deep Well Dlxpnxnl of Ur"litm Ti.lllnw Wntcr." In Proceed* of 2nd t oof. on (iivtn.d Ihaixixal of ){fldmnrti\r Wnateo, ChMilt Hiver, (iiiimlo. Sept. 26-21*. 1961; US. ......... Knotty t'.nmmioxinn. TIP 7624. Hook '2, p .161. "Another well for damping radioactive fluid . . I.intKTK. Jl. II.. "Drillin'! ll Scurfhe* for HutM Kntk 1 AMiint.e Richfield Hmtfnrd Co. Venture," Atliinlie Richfield Hmiford l ., . New* tprrsK roli-nxel, April 4. Iftfitt. p. I. "The Atomic }',eryy (onnnisston has hnu randact ing . . . arrcptiihUitit of this tvrhmqnr . . ." ilcltcr. WhII-'I' C.. "(iionixl IliKpottn) nf R.idinin live Wnxtc m mi K.spnndinu Nurlcnr V'ovi i Jndnxl ry," |>i><-r | <<!rl m Hi., m,. tund mectim; of the Amcncnt. InMitnti- of Minini'. Mt-tollm-pirui. "nil Petroleum Knnioecrx. Wnxh.inilnn. |>(\. I'Vl.nnry, 1'iii'i |>. 5. "Kngiucers say that , . ." Winner, Hon I... "I ,(> Well |lixpj| ..f In.ln-l ilnl Wii-l.-.," Chemlrol Kneinrrrip*. Vol No 1 Jm..mrr t, mr,. ,. *i "The basic pruhlrm nf this concept is . . Shejdflrk, op. CII.. TTp. Kviiiih. ftnviil. ' I In t'crilo of I'ollnliov the IteucntU," KmpWe Mttekxln*. iipi>lement i>r the Itrnrr CoM. Mny *... |!Hi!i, p. Id. . . and the well mechanmin tfa7/ t , . ." i>. n. "For example, even 'impermeable' louers . . Khelilrifk, p. r(t., |.. 7f.. "Water injected underf/ronnd, whether far . . Coneelmnn, Vinnh It., tleolouir Aoihtu of the Heine l'i>M<itH I'rolilvln." pnlier iireiioix-il f..r thr 42il niiniml l'..11 mo-iiiit of Hie Society of I'etroleimi Kriwmern* of the Ain.-nn.n InHtitute of Milling, Mctolloruirol. nml I'etrolenm roirioeers. 1!MC, p. (>. "In the most rases, . . Win nee, |>cpt. of Inlerior pohllriition op. rit.. |i|> C. p. 8. "At one of the two deep . Ilnlloriiii, (h>orpe. ' fieep Well I'rolilemn Seen." TiHMler Kiprron. Itnffnlo, N.V.. Jnie f*. IflfiK. Sheldrirk, op. ril., 74, p. 9. "Some spokesmen advocate . . Slielilrlrk. op. ril.. p 76. "Other experts favor . . Ibid. ". . . many companies don't want . . Slieldiiek. Mlehnel. "!>ecp Solution For I'l.llntioii.' Chrmiral Knpineerine, Jnn. I.r>. IHOx. p. 10. "There are those . . Shclilrick. Apiil 7. 106H, op. ril,, |> 76. "Neilnon lludd, President of . . Ifuilil. Neilnon. "Krcdlnick" (Inner to the Klitori Industrial ttrenreh M**inr. Vol. M. No. .7. Mny UMp, p 17 p. 1). "Of III, wells listed in . . ." interatMte OH Comimrl Cnmmiaalou. "Snlimirforc piaimanl of Induatrinl Wiiates." June IMH. pp. 124.7, "The 1968 survey by the Interstate . . ." InterMulc OH Conipnet CommiNKion. op. ril., p. 12. "h'ven strict regulations or . . Ibid., pp. 12-57. "Michael Sheldrick, then . . ." Hhcldrirk, Jnn. 17. I66H. op. rli. "Michael Sheldrick reporfu (fml . . Sholdrich. A|.ril 7. 1960, op. ril., |>. 70. "The Interstate Oil Compact . . Iiitemtnce OU Compart Cnmmixinn, op. rit.. o 7. "The comjmny, headed by . . . in the disposal of the wattes." Vnncnn nrticlea in the llmvir road April 21. 19flu. Mop 16, I9tn. Krlirtinrjr C, 19C9. "The Interstate Oil Compact . . Interrliito Oil Comport (ommiawioo, op. tit,, p. It. "7Vtc I^o* Angeles Times rejiorl* . . Henkin. Ilormon. 'Spectrum," Kfl*lronm*nt Vol. II. No J. April, I960, p|>. S-fl, S-7. HONS 029445 31 Input Mercury and Grain 1 wish to congratulate you on your recent issue of Environment covering many aspect* of the mercury problem. There are however a few things in your article that are not quite correct. The question of mercury poisoning in nnt ure ia not one of poisoning via grain etc. as ia suggested on page 14 of your May Issue. It ia slightly more complicated. Methyl mercury ia a compound that ia transported to man via many food chains. lot me give an example: Krom the pulp factories, methyl mercury ia discharged into the lakes, where it ia taken up by plankton, which in its turn is eaten by fish at different levels of the food web. In this way it ia concentrated In the bodies of some fish which are eaten by man. There Is as yet no indication that grain takes up mercury from the seeds or the soil, in our rountry chickens got most of the methyl mercury when farmers gave the rhickens and the hens seed dressed with mercury fungicides, primarily methyl mercury, and from fish routaining mercury. There are thus two problems, one ia the seed dressing nnd its routes towards man via the chickens and the eggs. The second route is via the waters, where it is taken up in fish and in its turn very often taken up in the predatory blrda, where the symptoms are aggravated by chlorinated hydrocarbons, like dpt, dieldrin and the newly discovered, hut old substance, yen, tmlychlorinated biphenyl*. I think an attack on your articles from those wishing to retain these compounds on the market will be directed against the assumption that mercury is taken up in dangerous amounts in grain. This seems not to be the rase as far aa our preliminary investigations here in Sweden show. Hank Tai.mktikkna Secrriary, Swedish Government Committer on Environmental Problem* Down lo the Sea --1969 Conic glide with, we tw my outhouseboat Pool the MessysippVs shores-- Past babbling sewers with muck afloat. Adding their noxious stores; Bring along your best bathing-suits (Worn only on deck or land): Pollution and Fastbuek are in cahoots; They go, dirty hand in hand. l'o vulture-lovers, it's carrion They relish,--plus filth and slime. 0r Stynz is the river to tarry on For an offolly restful time. P. J. Whitr St. Loufs, Missouri Apples without Pesticides In answer to William Remington, who wrote (Environment, June, 1909) that if he doesn't spray, he doesn't gel apples. We have a small home orchard which we have planted and maintained organically. No chemical fertiliser and no poisonous sprays have been used in its 23-year existence..! don't claim perfect fruit but good-tasting and keeping apples, mostly Golden Delicious. . HKRRRKT R. iSKNBt'HORK St. John X`Ray Laboratory Cali/on, New Jersey Faith in Question I am very glad to see that there are responsible people who undertake to defend us from the unfortunate side effects of ill considered technology. I am particularly interested in your article "Poisoning the Wells" from which it appears that the very fertilisers which feed the enormous and increasing population eventually poison the soil from which they are nourished. 1 wonder if this means that in time the population will have to decline for lack of clean soil to feed it? 1 wonder if 1 could put forward a suggestion? What you are trying to do In effect is to set up some kind of control of technological operations in order to safeguard the population from unexpectedly bad consequence* which seem to be increasing in number. This gives you a certain negative aspect. That in itself is not very appealing, but there is a more serious consideration. Technology has had soch astounding successes in three centuries that in si) that time it has never ben seriously rritieijed. On the contrary, it has increasingly been accepted on faith as the best means of solving man's problems, particularly as religious faith has declined. I believe that the increasing evil effects of technology which you describe so forcefully trouble the people and for the first lime open their minds for a discussion an fond of the meaning and value of technology. But I do not think that the mere description and catalogue of its evil* are sufficient. I do not think you ought to hold yourselves responsible to find a cur* for each evil you describe. But I do think that an occasional article of philosophical criticism or more broadly cultural commentary would do a lot to foster the view that there are more aspects to the problems of man than merely technological ones; that in these aspects there may be elements which can be used to complete, complement, limit and strengthen technological solutions; and that therefore you are not merely a magazine of lamentation amt fear. If you can do that I believe that your readers wilt take your criticism more seriously because they will think it more meaningful. In any case you have my best wishes. My compliments and best wishes to Mr. Novick whose excellent book, ``The Careless Atom," I have recently read. John Wirnbk tVoahiuptov, IKC. People in a Hurry Congratulations on your new format! I particularly like the drawings and illustrations. I would suggest possibly having short newspaiH-r-story tyi>e summaries of some longer article* so people in a hurry could get an idea of the problem without going into details. Stkphkn Siiafkoth Department of Physies The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 32 Knvironmknt Voi- II, No. I HONS 029*46 FIRST CLASS Permit No. 4894 St. Louis. Mo. BUSINESS REPLY MAIL No Postage Stamp Necessary if Mailed in the United States Postage will be paid by ' HONS 0 2 9 4 4 7 EriviRonmEiiT 438 North Skinker Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63130 Pi.cse insen your erne, and paym.ms ,, envelope. seal, and mail. HONS 0 2 9 4 4 8 The Committkk W)K Knviim>nmkntai. 1nvummatu>n, publisher of Knvihanmknt, if supported by grants frtm the United Staten Public Health Service, pi ivNic foundations, and imlivhiunl jrlft*. The editorial policy of Ihc rongnaine in determined by on'a Hoard of Hireelora. Memiieraltip informal.ion may be obtained from the Secretary. Contributions are tax deibiclible. Officer* and members of the Hoard at present are: i*ai:KM>KNT Hubert Karsh, M.I>. VU'K I'HUBIMKNTK Heinr. Gellea Helen Crnliam. rh.I>. Mr*. Marlin Quigley Mr*. Virginia 1J. Sheplcy Stephen W. Skruiuku aKTHICTAKY Mr*. Walter Hamngurten, Jr. TMKARt'ltlW J'eter llwhsrhihi MnMIlKKH Walter C. Hauer, M.H. Mra. Herimnl liecker Harry Commoner, T*h.l>. Max Heiilcli, M.l>. Hev. Hotter! Kppa Holterl H. Felix, M l). Michael W. Kriedliimler, Ph.)>. Mr*. Holiert 0. lletlage Mm. I/Cunard Holden Henry J. Knllenthalcr Hev. William A. Kerr Paul S. Kuellhao Mm. Warren H. Lammrrt Calvin C. lee, H.U.S. Kagone J. Maekey, 111 Mm. Paul Painter II. Sam Priest Marlin Rcliweig, Jr. Armnnd Slalnaker Park 4. White, M.D. For Mvorol days in lots August, millions of Americans in ths midwestem and southern aloisi participated involuntarily in a smog-in. Just previous to this episode. on* of the Los Angolas Air Pollution Control District's sta tions had recorded ths highsst osons rsading in nearly two years, qualify ing August for designation as National Air Pollution Month. On Saturday. August 23. adverse meteorological conditions were first noted in an area extending from Green Bay. Wisconsin in the northwest to GreensbOTO. North Carolina in tho southeast. "Sluggish dispersion of air pollutants" could be expected throughout this area, according to a report by G. C. Holzworth of the Division of Meteorology. National Air Pollution Control Administration, distributed by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Short-Lived Phenomena. The midwestem problem didn't come home to most people until the following Monday, since the volume of pollution spewed into the air over cities is much less on weekends. By Monday, the sluggish air pattern had moved somewhat south, and a dirty hose was discernible over St. Louis. Chicago and some smaller cities. Sulphur diox ide, nitrous oxides, particulates, hydrocarbons and other pollutants dis charged every day from stacks and automobile exhausts, but usually moved more or less rapidly by the winds, hung in the air. Smog alerts were announced in both St. Louis and Chicago, but neither has an emergency plan ready to cut down on the production of pollution when levels rise. Pollution continued high until winds brought relief on Thurs day, August 29. However, stagnant air was characteristic of the same general area over the Labor Day weekend. A quick return to previous high pollution levels might have been the result had it not been for the holiday. A more detailed description of the midwestem episode and an evaluation of its significance will appear in a future issue oi ENVIRONMENT. VJ. .Tallahassee HONS 029449