Document rxyOEKJQMLbzDXNzdw7K60RoV

H 7136 rx/N- '"V'Vl.j 'V CONGRESSIONAL RECORD --HOUSE July 26 1071 pic gathered At Andrew# Air Force Base that-- imp <uitr*uce In political philosophy rnmioi permanently divide the peoples of the world What I# most Important for the United States is that those t'.iflorcnees in politlcat phllosopiiy should not be used tike a vice to crush the independent, national istic course which the Humanism* have chosen (or themselves. This will not oc cur so long as America recognizes that independence and actively encourages it. president Nixon has recognized that independence and now has urged the Congress to act to foster it. As with the ping-pong tournament in China, the ball is now in our court, tf we In Congress Are to fulfill our responsibility in the determination of national policy, then hearings should be held on our Eastern European tradepolicy atan early date. Tho two bills I am introducing today could provide tho focus for those hear ings. The general bill X today introduced would permit tho President to extend mpn to any country with which tile United Stales has diplomatic relations and which is a member of GATT--Gen eral Agreement on Tariffs And Trade-- If the President determines such to be In the national Interest. PCB'S--EVIRONMENTAL POISON The SPEAKER.. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ryan) Is recognised for 10 minutes. Mr. RYAN, Mr. Speaker, on Friday, July '<13, the U.S. Department of Agricul ture revealed Hint a significant propor tion of chickens raised in 13 Stales havo been contaminated with an extremely dangerous chemical--polychlorinated bi phenyl--PCB. This occurrence tragically Illustrates the failure of the Federal Government to take preventive action against the un controlled use of this dondly chemical. During the past 2 years I have attempted to get the appropriate Federal Agencies to take tiro necessary protective actions that would have forestalled such an oc currence and would have guaranteed the hcallh and safety of tho public. Rut in an Almost unprecedented display of dis regard for the public health and welfare, that administrative action has not been forthcoming. Therefore, I am today Introducing leg islation to totally ban tho distribution of PCB's in interstate commerce, thus Insuring that our health and environ ment are safeguarded from the hazards of this chomlcal. Manufactured InthcUnited States solely by tho Monsanto Co.,'polychlo rinated biphenyls ait a scvlouh threat to our health and to our environment. Llko DDT--their chemical cousin-- PCB's and their rcsiduo ore extremely toxlo to animal life, cause birds to lay eggs with shells too thin to protect tho embryos they enclose, and have a deleterious circct on the reproductive capacity of Animals. But by fAr the most frightening hazard Is tho effect of PCB's on human beings. Polychlorinated biphenyls may be taken Into the body by direct action upon the skin or a# a vapor tltrough tho respira tory tract. The effect on the skin Is chloracne: the early symptoms of which are pimples and dark pigmentation; later, more serious eruptions. Person# who have been continuously exposed to PCB's may suffer nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, endcma and abdominal pain, increased respiration, lowered blood cell couut. and Inhibition of the carbohydrate motaboUam. More serious clTects are those on the kidneys. The principle ef fect. however. Is on the liver--possibly leading to atrophy, followed by death. PCB's are very persistent in the en ban of tlie importation, manufacture \ and sale of all product* containing PCB% t with tho possible exception of certain t closed system application# l urged that i he require that any product containing \ PCB's not included In such a bon be : labeled with a warning as to their detrl- \ mental environmental effects. I requested ( that tie obtain from Monsanto then pro- l duction and sain figures necessary to 1 determine the extent of possible PBC contamination--data which Monsanto 1 has refused to provide me. And I urged that the Environmental Protection \ Agency coordinate all Appropriate govemmentel agencies in dealing with till* hazard. vironment thus making them a long In replying to me. EPA Ignored #1! four term threat. They are not soluble in of my requests and in no way responded water and resist biological breakdown. to them. In the past. PCB's have been sold by In short, except for the action of the the Monsanto Co. for use In plasticizer Department of Agriculture in banning applications; in closed system applica PCB's in pesticides, the Federal Govern tions. such coolants in transformers; as ment has not taken any of the necessarv hydraulic fluids; and as an extender in pesticides. steps which X have requested over tho past 2 years to combat 11:1s very scilOUg When l first brought the potential environmental and health hazard. dangers of PCB's to the attention of the appropriate Federal agencies in April 1910,1 requested that cortaln specific ac tions be taken to protect our health and environment from the hazards of PCB's. X urged the Secretary of Agriculture to ban the use of polychlorinated biphenyls Tho results of this Government Inac tion are now tragically apparent, L,ir*e amounts of pouRry and hogs in a 12 State area may now be contaminated with this toxic chemical. For nearly 3 months PCB's have been in pesticides. The Department of Agri leaking Into fish meal processed at tho culture agreed to discontinue the use of East Coast Terminal, Ino., plant in Wil PCB's in pesticides and to cancel regis mington, N.C. Hie meal has been sold to trations for pesticides containing PCB's. 64 poultry producers In Virginia, Dela- X urged the Food And Drug Adminis tration to set food tolerance levels for PCB's, to require the labeling of all prod ucts containing PCB's. and to determino . ware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oeorgla, Alabama, Florida. Indiana, Tennessee. Kentucky. Arkansas, and Mississippi. whether this chemical should be banned According to the Department of Agri completely. In replying to me, the FDA culture, 16,000 tons offish meal had been advised mo that It was undertaking a produced at the Wilmington plant be survey to determine the extent of food tween April 30 and July 10--when tho contamination from PCB's--the results plant was closed down. of which 1 still have not received. FDA Tills contamination would yet be un refused to set food tolerance levels and noticed if it were not for the fact that a to require labeling. commercial poultry processor became I urged the Secretary of the Interior to alarmed at the low rate of hatching of act to protect fish and wildlife from this eggs in his broiler breeding chickens. hazard. He replied that Investigations I can see no way that all the poultry were being carried out by various agen and hogs subjected to this chemical can cies of the Federal Government and the now bo traced. The potential results results of these studies would be tunneled could be dlsasteroia. to (he staff of the Council on Environ mental Quality. And this is not the solo instance of widespread PCB contamination in the 1 urged the Commission Product Safety food chain. to determine the nature and extent of Iu December 1910, the Campbell Soup the threat to our environment. Hie Com Co. discovered that fat samples taken mission replied that it was not possible from slaughtered chickens contained a for them to conduct on lndcpth investi high quantity of PCB residue. Upon be gation of the hazards of PCB's at that ing notified of this finding and recogniz time. ing the potential danger of this occur And X urged the Council on Environ rence, the New York State Department of mental Quality to coordinate the efforts Agriculture and Markets Immediately of all appropriate Government agencies, stopped the movement of ail poultry so that the public might know the from the area in Sullivan County. N.Y,, sources and the seriousness of the PCB where tho chickens had beon raised. danger, and that it take steps to elimi The New York State Department Of nate this hazard as soon as possible. The Agriculture and Markets then began a Council advised me that it was working full-scale investigation into the extent with other Federal agencios to determino of possible PCB contamination In poul what course of action was available to try. Their laboratory confirmed the find the Federal Government. ings made by Campbell Soup Co. of high Earlier this year X renewed by call for levels of PCB's, and Uio U.S. Department administrative action by requesting tho of Agriculture established a continuing Administrator of the Environmental restraint on the movement of all poul Protection Agency to place an immediate try for slaughter In Sullivan. Ulster, and MONS 030765 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD--HOUSE If 7137 Onw;c Counties, N.Y., until It was found \.i U' hrtfc citrous)) a special screening li> i ojH iutlon. a>i n result of their investigations and tnimijimUon ttitli USDA, the New York I am calling for congressional hearings Into this matter. Further, I am reiterating my call for tho Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the En pounds, has been long and widely used In the U.S. as a solvent in the production of paint, pesticides plastics and resins and such Items as "carbonless" carbon paper, as well m In heating And cooling machinery. Monsanto now recommends its use be limited to heat J>rj)Artmcnt of Agriculture and vironmental Protection Agency to com exchange systems, an FDA spokesman said. Markets ordered that 146,000 PCB-cotlt.iiitlnnlcd chickens bo burled under close MUK-rvlsIo/J to make absolutely sure that (ln'V would not reach tiro marketplace. The Campbell Soup Co., USDA, and the New York Stale Department of Agriculture and Markets all took prompt mence immediately a full and exhaus tive investigation in to the extent of PCB contamination. And I am calling for an immediate administrative ban on the manufacture, shipment, and sale of all PCB's. The problem of PCB's is indicative of PCB contamination of the tissue* o' poul try produced in New York State last year re sulted in the seizure and destruction of more thnu 100.000 birds. The source of contami nation in that cose has not been pinpointed. Although PCD has been in use worldwide sine* before World War II. It was not until 1909 that its presence In soil, watnr and M-Unu to deal with this serious problem, and that Is reassuring. However, the poIcniliil damage wide)) could have re sulted If this Incident had not been dis covered lti time cannot be ignored. And I must stress that this Is not an isolated cmi tuple. In January 1070, samples of milk col let led by the Bute of Ohio Department of Ai(culture revealed residue of a prod uct cfosrly resembling DDT and DDD. in l'rhnnrv ID, ft dairyman, Ocorgo i was issued a notice by r p (ini'nm of food, dairies, and drugs t.t discontinue the sale of milk until such as Die residue found In his milk was below the actionable level. On Feb ruary 27, another dairyman, Franklin Humphrey, recotved a similar notice. Subsequent samples from individual rows and the bulk tank on these farms a much larger problem--that of the al most unrestricted influx of harmful chemicals Into the marketplace. A sys tem must be established to Insure the safety of a chemical before it can be sold and then only for specific uses. But in tho meantime, everything pos sible must be done to protect the pub lic from known chomlcnl dancers. We know the hazards of PCB's. We know what con and must be done to combat those hazards. And we must undertake those actions now. At this point I include lit the Record two articles by Hank Burclmrd which appeared In tho Wnshin^ton Post on July 24 and July 25 respectively, and a July 24 New York Times stoiy by Wil liam Blair. The articles follow: (Prom the Washington Tost, July 31, 1971] animal tissue* became known, "Environment" Magarlne, which first brought the PCB problem to nations) atten tion, reported that concentration# of PCB were overlooked in chemical analyses because it is so similar to DDT. Kevin Shea, the tnagoefne's eolcntlAe di rector, yesterday disputed the government's assurances that toxio birds are not on the market. "I suspect PCB contamination may be quite widespread," he said in a telephone interview from St. Louis, Mo. "We were told to check birds from the South more than two months ago, but haven't yet been able to track It down," he 8ftld. Dr. Joseph Stein of USDA said the agency had "been checking chickens In the South during this psrlod end hav# found nothing to lead us to suspect contamination of mar keted birds." Scientific opinion on the dangers presented by PCB Is divided. VADA mrnrehm, a spokesman said, regard the outcry over PCB submitted to agriculture laboratories Chcmicai. Found in Chickens--Contamx- (and DDT) as exaggerated. and tho pesticide laboratory at Ohio - match Fowl, Found in is-Statf. Area An FDA spokesman said the ageney forbids State University revealed that the resi (By Hank Burclmrd) use of PCD In food or in the production of due was not DDT but PCB's. The Ohio A "significant proportion" of the chickens food containers. "Its effeoti sre not known StAto Department of Agriculture found the contaminating substance to be ARO- CI.OK 1254, manufactured by tho Mon santo Co. Apparently, the dairymen's Mlos were lined with a product CAllcd Ctwinr which included AHOCLOR In its content. Tito I'CH's were then absorbed raised )n 13 states have been contaminated with'a DDT-Hke compound, the Department of Agriculture announced yesterday. USDA said it has "no evidence" that any of the birds have reached consumers and ha* taken steps to hmke sure none do. The contaminant is poly-chlorlnatcd bl- pyhenyls, known u i>C&. For nearly three in detail." he said, "but to us It's an adulter ant and Impermissible.'' Dr. Robert Rlseborough, of the University of California at Berkeley,'discovered while doing research on the brown 'pelican that PCB was endangering the species. Since then he has reported finding PCB residues widespread. by the silage whirl) in turn was fed to the milk cows, resulting in FCB-contaml- nntcdmllk. AH hough 1 have been assured by tho Ohio Stnto Department of Agriculture that this probiom is now under control, the harm that might havo resulted is obvious. In view of the lack of administrative months it had been leaking Into Anh meal processed at the East Coast Terminal, Inc., plant in Wilmington, N.O. The meal has been sold to M poultry producers in Vir ginia, Delaware, North Carolina, South Caro lina, Qoorgia, Alabama. Florida. Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. PCB, like DDT, Is a persistent compound that accumulates in fatty tissues and is e&td (From the Washington Post, July 39. 107i] Law Sought To Bah DDT-LtKi Ciirmscal (By Hank Burchard) A New York congressman said yesterday he will introduce a bill to ban all use of a DDTlike compound that has contaminated hu man and wildlife food chains in the U.8. and around the world. The announcement by Rep. William Fitts action even Alter these Incidents were tb oause low fertility and birth delects in Ryan (D. N Y.) earn# after It was revealed brought to the ntlcntlon of Federal agen- animals. Its effect* on humans are uncertain, Friday that high levels of polychlorinated and lu ll<;ht of the obvious threat laved by 1'CIWoninmlnation In milk and poultry, on May ID, I introduced legislation (H.Jl. 6576) to ban the dis but U8DA has set the maximum acceptable level of PCB in marketed flesh at 5 parts per ' million, the same as for DDT. Teste of poultry lu markets in the South and East during the past week have found tribution of polychlorinated biphenyl in none that have as much as ft p.p.m. of PCB, Intmlnic oommorco. However, this according to Dr. Fred J. Fullerton of USDAs biphenyls (PCB) has been found In Ash meal fed to poultry In 12 states, including Virginia and Delaware, over the past three months. A Department of Agriculture spokesman said yeyterday that Ash meal from the same Wilmington, N.C., plant had also been fed to an unknown numbor of hogs. The depart legislation gnvo (ho Secretary of Health, consumer and marketing service. ment sold It does not believs any of the Education, and Welfare, the authority "In my opinion, there would be no broilers' poultry or pork Involved has reached con to exempt from this ban PCB's for use In cninin closed-system applications; namely, as the dielectric fluid In capaci tor*. the coolwnt In transformers, or as a fire resistant in heat transfer media, provided that he found such uses would In stores above the tolerance," Fullerton said. The agency docs not regularly test for PCB. In poultry not yet slaughtered, USDA found PCB concentrations as high as 23 p.p.m., and one poultry producer reported levels as high as 40 p.p.m. The contamination of fleh meat in the sumer markets and is moving to prevent them from being sold. Fish meal produced by East Coast Termi nal, Inc., of Wilmington, wm contaminated from about April until the plant was ordered closed Friday. The PCB. being used ae the lient transfer medium in cierlliemg vste. not adversely affect the public health and Wilmington plant was caused by leakage leaked unnoticed Into the meal. welfare. . of PCS being used ae the heat exchange The contamination was not discovered by It 1* now apparent, however, that PCB's mechanism lu a stemming machine. any government agency. It earns to light are a serious threat even in those closed system application*, as evidenced by the current incident of poultry feed con tamination. Therefore, I am today In troducing log!station to totally ban tho The accidental leakage, which may have begun around April 30. was brought to the attention of the Food and Drug Administra tion last week by the Monsanto Corp., cole U.8. producer of PCB compounds. FDA In turn alerted U8DA on July 10. when a customer of the Monsanto Corp., the sola U S. producer of PCB, complained that his chickens were being sickened and their eggs were of low fertility. Monsanto uaced the problem to the chicken feed and the feed to the Wilmington Interstate dlslrlbutiton of PCB's. And PCB, which stands for a dozen related com- plant, then notified the U8. Food and Drug MOWS 030766