Document rxm70G3vJ0XoN5jBEO53vrZJJ

Meanwhile, alerted to the lelhal I/'f ANCEfSS TIKES p!tbl**nv . pe* i.il it.'t'cl of tin- Witt NM Give l-ifitirc* Su.nl.iy, Scr-tcrcbcr 19, 1971 tior.-l \cadiiii\ of Si ieucc, headed Pcwitc hdK.,'>i\'v % t<-H< by )v. Eduard I), (b/itlltcrg. chemis that show the deleterious .f . / 9'/?'"?/ try professor at Scripn* ln*tuiui<vt Or Oeoanotfraphy ;<t Lit JoIIm, ho* urged an all-out survey of the extent to which PCI5 h,i p')ll"ted the veas. Percentage of Ptit Kbe* effects of the J'CBtipf substances, tlic sole tf.S. manufacturer of PCD sub stances, Monsanto Chemi cal Co- has declined to re 5 Gold ixtrg mill The Tin;e- that proliininan sttulies indicate that ocean ;$ VOL. XC t TWENTY-FC ic fi-h end plankton (which fish ed1 now contain a higher percentage of k JTB. Moreover, PCB molecules ate more ''persistent" Honccr I i v e dl 1A New Chicken than BUT. whose effect on fish and birds ft relatively well known. Twinty-fivf per cent of all the PUT manufactured since its dcvcl- , and Egg Riddle: opnunt in the PMU* remain* in the world's seas and lakes. But J)l>T in itself is- not, harmful to human V- fns*. PCB Pollution How much PCB has escaped Into the so;!* through the atmosphere, river.*, sowci* and dumping is not known, became it* production is a lease its production fig ures. although seientlr-ts have long been requesting such data, according to thn academy panel's report. When The Tln.es con tacted a Monsanto oflickd In St. Louis, it was learned that the firm h:** acknowl edged the problem t* ihe extent of confining ITU's use to closed elrctricsl systems under what \v;,x termed "strict control;-.'' No lodger will it be em ! ployed as an additive (m sealant*, paint* and other products. Scientists Try to Detect Extent of Buildup in Sea but Lack Essential Clues trade hmti. Hut Goldberg suspects that M ft con-'idcvfiblc. ''The mote the problems are stu died.' bis panel said, "the more un expected effects are idcninieri. In view of the findings of the past de Heecntly Monsanto !le. fated S2 million ;o Its en! viromnental eonlrol divi sion lo tackle tin: Pt B jio'.lution problem. U has clrea<ly Wanned "uncnniml- BY .UMES BASSETT Ttmo AiHtiett Mil* lude, our predictions of the potential Phase Turn it> Page 19, Col. 1 bude" 1TB Hems In Grr.-. Britain, whero Mon>-anb> Iso is the sole manufactu What do tin* .<linihior nf 77.1HK) rer. "Two years ago," said chickens, the destruction of 7*>um one European company of eftf*-. Mid a worldwide buildup h< the k"ii o( h mysterious chrmi ;<1 ivllrd ITB bate in common? Continued fromFirst Page - huzards of eholorinatcd ficial, "the seagull pvul>lem w*3 a joke in this building. Gradually, we stopped laughing." Knvlronmcnlid dungc tv, The chicken-egg incident occurred in .`lily and August. !lui M-ltniiiii concern over oceanic puHvu.u by 1TB t polychlorinated hhihcnyl) b in.** now coming to a 4y (,hii*flvJ.limi)d irB ft u-cd.ln_in- hydrocarbons, in the ma rine environment may be | vastly underestimated. . | Thus the national acadj emy recommended: | --Mounting a "massive national effort* to force Can Only Guess But, asks Goldberg, how much has -alrcadv been produced by Monsanto during the past four de cades? Unless such institu tions like Scripp* obteii; this information, they con ^liisTTTalJtr.d iiansfcT sy>icni>, Ji is an immediate, drastic cut- . only guess. From thc.<c flTjJU.v vidlied for Its ability to with- Hli'iuijU'miK'titUu'Cc ranging as hyJt J* fl.tk'Hl Fahvcnlu.ii. And be- rant o'of its plit-ilcity, it had been lack in the escape of per sistent toxicants into the environment, with the ul foggy figures*' they can then try to determine the amount now combined in the ocean* and whut the ifted n additive for ,-eHlants, paints, timate goal "virtual cessa future lailout may be. printing ink and pesticides. tion" as soon as possible. There Is some optimism, Earlier Incident in Japan U the world'* ccolou-<d-p<.<Ulic*l community had had a workable ear* ly ' rrning system, what happened to (hr chicken* and eggs in 10 South eastern xtulcs this summer might not lutve. In 1WH, about 300 Jpa)>c-c voiUiacicil a trii-angi* Akin di>- eu.*r. and several died. ? ft ) The detuhr and illii'jr.'C were 1ra< ed to im Infusion of PCB into Dm human system, via a contaminated rice oil. ' .. The chicken.* were poftomd by lt*h meid spoiled In l\`U Hutu * faulty pipe m the coolant machinery at the Iced loctor>. Then, on Aug. I*, the ImkmI ami Him Adnwii-iridion iv. .\il.,d lino ; <*.. i'g< roMiainmg nixie I'Ot el,:d-d federal i n spec i ora and >*\;hcd Washington, P C., grot cry --Setting up programs to determine the entry rates ot pollutants Into the earth's waters, and find out where these pollutants . finally end up: in sea life, ! marine plants, etc. "Theee } ahould oc followed by a urogram of monitoring long-term trends in order to record progress and to document possible disas- : ter." . --Examine and probably ' revise laws governing thn * registration of chemical substances In view of "evidence of environmen tal deterioration caused by voroc of tthemy" That Is the crux of the .matter today. . . though, that a better ro llon of ITB's prevalence may soon be gained bv a six-member federal tu.sk force, including represen tatives from such bodies as the Council on Environ mental Quality, the Kn; v 1 r o nmental Protection i Agency, the Food. and I Drug Administration and the Agriculture Depart ment. The Department of Health. Education and j Welfare earlier this month l made a quiet ntsnourcr* ment of the project, which < HONS ....... ..... by t cm.-i - i i' ITJ' mo. <jiVd has `did . wil' criipeinir. Bid Cohiijci", i,l..ip n lowi.'y that ihu; i- i tnn, In the .ij;M din, i;..u. mi; it "o n I y niicruslep. S t rn e recognb.nl, nor governmental smcnlifi p:- i.p slmiitd h.ni- ijio |r i'l' iii.itlrn, so tli.it extet`iu- ii-id lni|-.-ul.i> te;:| c.u; go forward, he siid. M'liilc bis aradem pant re ''gr.i/pd thr nonooi* r- a. mi for trade :n.xrff\ an.I n firm's: propiietar iu: re t in an cxrhisiv Jjiu luct, it adt'id: 'V,c abc fee' th,.t (her r-c br.CR when il is r.nt i: thv pubhr in,.crei,r fo gv> riumepl to mai'il'iii as piivil^cil ibnt -.t :i* > -.'-:ary for ( ?ari i:.i die stale of our en vi:-,t ;.r,d an n oni of i:< cindi.um. .'i irle f.Jry 'ire Deader.'.' (bei'cnrJi-koj that the |.!w In iruu'"(l so tlvi nonin vch t*(i rcicnti iis can m cr (<!.)' Ill'*: "olvv.t W in rf fertile rmnoiimmia mi!i.av.ciii',nt." 1 >pc: -ity said the panel, as ir^nul polychlorinated hydrncar bun.-: .like PUB?. "By utilizing a sinfic la boriinry to manage thi prnyuir.i," Gnldhci ,tnr hi- cullv'agues noted. Vl! Jiei.ltjf.s m statidardua- lion and in prrpu ratior. and handling can lx miniint/.cd.* A (.''up of Nobel sc'ep. tlu has joiner! In that plea \ti:b a message to the L'nito-J Nations Confer* cnee oo the Ilun-.an Kn yiromeem, to 6c held next spnu!;: "Some pollutant*, eape ciallv isuJ.'sianrc:' like DD't' and KT.r and 4i.-u lead air distributed gl<^ brl'y via tl:p atino.-plK:e. Their conrentraticHs may tcweh l- v-fls suftuieut to d.oage ecos\>tc'.n* (a roi'iimii.ii v of r.-c-clogle il and ply sira* oo,nj*omr.'..t tak<*n ae a unit) ii tov'vxpK ly on a worlrlwidc scale be fore the damage i.i recu, nixed.' 031815 Hey/ Chicken-and-Egg Riddle: PCB Pollution Should Bp Curtailed The NoheJ group, like Goldberg and ihe acarie-* niv. want a thorough stu* dy of "their origin? and ul timate sinks as well as their routes through the food webs and effects on the ecosystem, including man." Their entry into the seas should be "curtailed to ev- cry practical extent, even if this requires restrictions on production and use," the Xobc! group said. Since PC*n is also manu factured in Japan, Russia arid several European countries, it would appear that the 1072 U N. confer ence offers (he best possi ble chance of attacking a difficult global problem globally. Goldberg said that Japan turns out approximately 10.000 tons of..P...CB annuali ly. Based on each coun try'! gross national pro duct, he added, that would mean that Monsanto could be making 50.000 tons a year. That. "Towever, *Ts only an educated guess, Goldberg admits. The company neither conflrma nor denies that figure. In Srience magazine, of ficial publication of tho American Assn, for the Advancement of Science, University of California research ecologist Robert lliscbrnugh, an authority on PCB, declared this month that contaminants UlJ!b are "among "The most poJsQri.oi\s .com pounds known.* .* ' Half of Shrimp Died Half of the shrimp ex- ftosed to one part per mil- ion of the chemical died during a recent Florida en vironmental agency test. The same article reports that Monsanto technicians* found "no adverse effects" when rats were given doses of 1*08 as high as 100 ppm. RUebrough said that in our throwaway society" PCBs will ultimately be come wastes that drift into the environment -- and eventually the food chain itself. According to Science, the FDA has set an "inter im guideline" of o ppin of PCB "as safe for human consumption of poultry." But scientific nonbe lievers rale the federal guideline as "unfounded and arbitrary." Says Jtisebrough: "Five, parts per million is just a number. I'm sure FDA pulled it out of the air." In rebuttal, an FDA spokesman insisted the standard was determined from the "best scientific Information possible." Whereas the data for "short-term exposure" is not complete, he conclud ed. the FDA must go on what information it possesses. "We can't be held ac countable for every damn chemical," he told Science. So the schism exist?-- and grows -- among the scientific community, government and private industry. That is what spooks men like Goldberg and Risebrough. The Scripps ma rine chemist calls the potential PCB danger frightening." He says "massive detective work* has to l>e done, soon, and the real dues aren't yet available. HONS 031616