Document qdJ86JO1B4aw3mq7kVxednyVG

ffiljr BrlvuU Ie DETROIT. MICH. D. 616.096 SUN. 714.631 MAR 141976 ^Michigan Leads Way on PCBs Michigan icon *ui b# one of the na tional leaders in responding to the threat of PCB-poisoned waters. Both the Senate and House now have unanimously passed Rep. David Bonior's PCB regulation bill* and it is beaded for the governors desk. Passage of the Bonior bill not only directly benefits the water-surrounded peninsulas of Michigan, but seta an important precedent for other states and the national government. It could spur the adoption of Sen. Gaylord Nelson's proposed amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Bill that would specifi cally restrict and ultimately ban PCB use. State and federal action cannot come too soon if there it to be any hope of containing the PCB peril. A joint Michigan-U.S. study released this month revealed that Lake Supe rior lake trout contained toxic materials ex ceeding minimum federal safety standards. Short residents and tourist fishermtn were warned not to eat lake trout more than once weekly, because of their PCB. DDT and mer cury content. , The danger is becoming so acute that the federal Food and Drug Administration i considering lowering the permissible level of PCBs in fish to be eaten. Temporary FDA rules allow a PCB content of five parts per million, which many toxicologists find un realistically high. Canada last year set allowable level* at two parts per million, and the International Joint Commission that has watchdog responsibili ties for the Great Lakes proposes a PCB ob jective of one-tenth part per million. PCBs, when they were developed in the late 1920s, held the promise of providing a safe means for transferring heat in electrical equipment The chemical compounds have sihee become a common ingredient in a pleth ora of household products. Their early promise now has turned into a potential plague, however, and the nation must either respond or succumb to it Fortun ately. the Michigan Legislature has chosen the former course. mqns 031