Document ym6wBBmoLd6x0Dwyak12NL5G6

Cvi-Mt PAGE Ban Urged On PCBs In State Contaminate* FUh In Lake Michigan LANSING, Mich- (AP) - The Na tural Resources Commission urged "tBeTegisiaiure hnaap 10 B4fi use MU orfiTuctlon oTTfocmicai which Is contaminating fisn In lake Ml* fj^fan r "' The chemical, polychlorinated bi phenyl (PCB), Is used In a variety of household products, mt commlsson, on a >o vote, called lor its ban on a national level as well as in Michigan. "We hope this slate will lead the nation in banning PCB," the com* mission said. Chairman Carl Johnon said he sees no alternative to an outright ban. Fish in Lake Michigan have PCB levels above the limits allowed by the U.S. Food and Prug Administra tion. the FDA has soiled some ship , ments oi chubs caught In Lake Mi chigan because PCB levels were found to be up to 20 parts per million. The FDA legal level is live parts per million. Human health could be en dangered at a level o( 500 parts per million, the FDA said. . PCBs appear in a wide range of products, from paper lo hand soap and also are used in Industry. The sole U.S. manufacturer Is nto Chemical Co., of St. Louis. company agreed in the early lo stop selling PCB lor some arial uses. But the chemical has been sold in other Industrial, erciai and household products. "A ban is a drastic step to take, but this It a drastic problem," said Wil liam Turney, director of water man* agement for the Department of Na tural Resources. There wss no immediate response to the proposal from legislative leaders. Chemical levels ot DDT and most other chemical contamlnanu have declined In Michigan since 1970, tests show. But Turney said levels of PCB In Lake Michigan have stayed the same or Increased in different lists sampled. When PCB was first found In Saginaw Bay In 1969, levels of the chemical in catfish were up to 200 parts per million. "We`rc not unique. Other states. If they take a look at it, will discover ' that they have similar levels to eontend with," said Howard Tanner, director <t( the DNR. "1 would like to uee Michigan '-id the wr/ (in fc^nr.inr, u:.u rtr,.,) twonusn I ihmk i< rould be much more dctrimcnt-il .adKi/KJ ih-jn wo hod rcaloed, ' sold Johnson. ^