Document xRVZaG855LdGpzoEnw1e0wGQ

Tl.'t tli'Irnil Jfrrr prfM DEI ROIT. MICH. ' 0 C'' " ;u. ,'TM,708 OCT 1 9 1970 ( Toxic Materials New Law to Add Safeguards The Roman Empire declined and finally fell, according to authoritative speculation, not because of the barbarian hordes, overex* tended colonization or moral decadence, but mainly as a result of lead poisoning. Eating and drinking frdm vessels contain* ing lead and dabbing themselves with lead* laden cosmetics, the upper-class Romans unwittingly poisoned themselves, sapping tbeir \i:alHy and the vitality of the society the)' headed. (The poor people used cheap earthenware utensils and didn't fool with cosmetics.) A study of ancient, tombstone inscriptions Indicate* a life expectancy of 1'2 to 25 year* among upper-class Romans. Their birthrate was une-lourtb that needed to replace them* selves. WHAT A80UT us? Could the decline and fall of our civilization be brought about by our unquestioning acceptance of the marvels of modem chemistry? Each day's news seems to bring another account of the health effects of some chemi* cal contaminant: Kepone, arsenic, PCBs, vinyl chloride, asbestos, mercury, lead. While new chemical compounds developed and released into our environment in recent years have benefited us greatly, only a small proportion of these substances were idrquiuelv tetied for potentially harmful effects. The primary testing has been on the American public.-Long after a chemical sub* stance has been marketed and widely dis persed into the environment, we have discovered that it can cause cancer, attack the liver, lungs, kidneys, central nervous system, result in Infant mortality or genetic- damage. -' ' ` ' Bui on Sept. 2ft--after almost six years o! battling and only days before it adjourned-- Congress finally reached Sgreemeal on the provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act--a measure that will give us a chance to Control the use of untested chemicals. Pres!* dent Ford has Just signed the bill. Under the legislation: ,. Manufacturers and processor! must test chemicals, both those in use and thoae com* Ing onto the market. Manufacturers must give 90 days notice to the Environmental Protection Agency before they begin commercial production of new substances, or the processing of exist ing substances for certain uses. This notifi cation provision is the "heart" of the act, says Sen. Warren Magnusen, D.-Wash. It "will no longer allow the public or the envi ronment to be used as a testing ground for the safety of these products." Production of PCB must be ended within two years and its use must be severely re stricted in the meantime. PCBs are used in insulators and fire retardants in electrical transformers, are released into and carried by air and water, are long-lived and toxic. Even low exposure can cause metabolic dis turbances, embryo abnormalities, and mis carriages. PCBs have contaminated our waterways throughout the U.S., particularly in the Great Lakes area and the Northeast. The latest bad news is that the Susquehanna River, longest in the eastern U.S.. flowing through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland on the way to the Chesapeake Bay, may be contaminated. < Congress singled out the PCB hazard and gave lt special priority--and industry appar ently agrees. Monsanto Chemical already has announced it win cease production oi PCBs at the end of October 1977 and end all sales when inventories are depleted. IN JTS final form, the law has wide-rang ing support--and now the Manufacturing Chemists Association and some other ele ments of the chemical industry indicate they can accept the final version. But a law at its beginning is just a piece of paper. Its ultimate success or failure rests on how it is carried out--and right now, that means EPA administrator Russell Train. Train says be Is appointing an advisory committee to include representatives of in dustry. health experts, environmentalists, other public interest groups--and that he will consult closely with this group in devel oping policy, wiM insist on an effective ad ministration with a minimum of red tape. . But he has leas than sufficient funds and manpower to handle this large, complex job. The cooperation of the chemical manufac turers in complying with the testing, notifi cation and reporting provisions is essential. i-- HONS 050650