state SO2 emissions 25-30%, Boston Edison decided to convert only one plant to coal and install a scrubber on this plant. The high rate of leukemia in Woburn, Mass., is related to the drinking water from two contaminated wells, according to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health. The three scientists who coordinated the study found positive associations between the amount of water consumed from the two wells and the incidence of childhood leukemia, fetal and newborn deaths, and various birth defects and illnesses. The two wells contained trichloroethylene and other toxic wastes and were shut down in 1979. They were two of four wells that supplied the town's drinking water. New York State has announced new restrictions on the land burial of hazardous wastes that can be disposed of with some form of higher technology currently available. The regulations will apply not only to major commercial hazardous waste facilities but also to industries that dispose of their own wastes. Current higher technologies for waste disposal include liquid injection incineration, rotary kilns, molten salt thermal treatment, plasma arc reactors, and thermal treatment using supercritical water. Additionally, after March 1985, restrictions will be applied to waste streams containing halogenated, nitrogenated, and aromatic organic chemicals and certain other organic chemicals subject to federal toxic waste regulations. The University of Alabama has formed a new research institute to study environmental issues related to hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal. The institute consists of professors at major universities who are experts in geology, toxicology, chemistry, socioeconomics, and engineering. They will study the technical, social, and economic issues related to safe waste management and make the findings available to Congress, state legislatures, government agencies, and the public. They expect to develop a strategy for the management of spent solvents and solventcontaminated wastes by January 1985. The group is supported by the university and a $390,000 grant from Waste Management, Inc. of Oak Brook, 111. 106A
Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 18, No. 4, 1984
AWARDS
Benedek: AIChE award winner The Larry K. Cecil Environmental Division Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has been awarded to Andrew Benedek of Zenon Environmental Inc. (Burlington, Ontario, Canada). The award, which recognizes engineering contributions toward preservation or improvement of the natural environment, was given to Benedek for "contributions in developing improved analytical methods and novel water and wastewater treatment processes."
SCIENCE Can fates of poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) be predicted by mechanistic simulation models based on easily measured properties of homologous compounds? Several fates have been examined. Photolytic degradation seems to be the most important pathway, both experimentally and in simulations. On the other hand, the octanol-water partition coefficient is not "a good predictor of the behavior of PAHs in aquatic organisms," say John Giesy and his associates at Michigan State University. Their research was carried out for EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory (Athens, Ga.). They also note that PAH laboratory toxicity studies must be conducted under uniform lighting conditions if study results are to be realistic representations of field conditions. Changes in how the toxicity of complex chemical mixtures is assessed may be in order, suggests Chris Reilly of Argonne National Laboratory ( A N L , Argonne, 111.). Reilly described experiments at A N L in which mice painted with a tar byproduct of coal gasification developed fewer cancers than mice painted with individual components of the tar. The separated chemicals were applied in concentrations identical to those in which they oc-
cur in the tar. "Apparently, the chemicals interacted so that the mixture was less toxic than the components," Reilly said. He noted that conventionally mixture toxicities are estimated by adding individual toxicities of the component chemicals. Science-related issues concerning groundwater, geared to general public understanding, are set forth in "The Ground Water Information Pamphlet." The pamphlet was written under the auspices of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Environmental Improvement. It presents fundamental concepts concerning the chemistry of groundwater and helps the citizen begin to evaluate information about groundwater problems and to gauge implications of plans of action. Single copies are available from Jean Parr, Dept. of Public Affairs, American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-8728725. The ongoing debate about relationships between structure activity and toxicity of organic chemicals will continue at a conference on "Structure-Activity Relationships (SAR) and Toxicity Assessment," to be held at the National Bureau of Standards (Gaithersburg, Md.), June 6-8. The latest science, technology, and policy aspects will be discussed by leading U.S. and European authorities, who will consider SAR capabilities, limitations, benefits, and problems. For more information, contact T. L. Nally, Federal Regulatory Programs, ACS Dept. of Public Affairs, 1155 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-872-8724. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) destruction up to 99.9999% is made possible by the advanced electric reactor (AER) according to its developer, J. M. Huber Corporation (Borger, Tex.). A destruction and removal efficiency of 99.999998% is claimed, along with no observation of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons, dioxins, or furans at the stack, and "trace amounts" of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen. The AER, which operates at temperatures of 4000-5000 ° F , has a very low gas phase flow rate (about 500 scfm in a 150-t/d commercialscale plant), with an absence of
