News of the Week
Soviets depend more on trade than expected
be two to three times higher than calculated by previous researchers— overturning the long-held belief that Soviet trade is unusually small for The Soviet Union is far more de- an industrialized nation. The key to pendent on imports and considera- their new calculations of Soviet forbly less economically self-sufficient eign trade is their use of the real than Western analysts have thought, value of the Soviet ruble in the doaccording to a study by the Depart- mestic economy, rather than the exment of Commerce's Census Bureau. ternal trade value ("foreign trade The results suggest "greater So- ruble") used in previous studies. viet vulnerability to economic sancThey find, for example, that imtions," and a country "more open to ports rose from 9% of national inthe influences of international mar- come in 1970 to 20% in 1980. Exports ket forces than many people have (excluding gold) increased from believed," says Census Bureau direc- about 6.5% in the 1970s to 7%. tor Bruce Chapman. Several U.S. The Soviet chemical industry is specialists in Soviet economic affairs highly dependent on imports. In dispute this interpretation. But the 1980, it imported 59% of the mastudy's findings may well strengthen chinery and equipment put into use, forces in the Reagan Administration up from 49% in 1975. Imported that have pushed for economic sanc- equipment totaled 638 million rubles tions in response to the crackdown in 1975 and 1.24 biUion in 1980 ($850 in Poland and other Soviet actions. million and $1.89 billion, respectiveAnd U.S. producers of chemicals and ly, at the official exchange rate). chemical equipment at some point Noncommunist countries supplied an again may be asked to stop ship- increasing proportion, rising from ments to the U.S.S.R.—as in the 58% in 1975 to 69% in 1980. embargo on U.S. superphosphoric In 1973, the latest year for which acid shipments from February 1980 data are available, imported equipto June 1981 in response to the So- ment produced 52% of Soviet nitrogviet invasion of Afghanistan. enous fertilizer output, 74% of comThe 200-page report, prepared by plex fertilizers, 84% of high-pressure Barry L. Kostinsky of the Census polyethylene, 49% of phthalic anhyBureau and Vladimir G. Treml of dride, and 45% of soda ash. Soviet Duke University, finds Soviet world chemical imports totaled 5% of total D trade relative to national income to imports in 1981.
EPA issues final rules for land dump sites The final major piece of the U.S. J hazardous waste control system fell into place last week as the Environmental Protection Agency issued final standards for both new and existing hazardous waste land disposal facilities. "Prevention is the watchword in these regulations," explains EPA Administrator Anne M. Gorsuch. "All waste must be contained in the disposal site to keep pollution out of all groundwater. We have made it clear—all facilities must prevent groundwater contamination." The more than 600 pages of regulations, which EPA has been working on for six years, set the standards under which all hazardous waste landfills, surface impoundments such as waste treatment lagoons, land treatment units, and hazardous waste piles that store waste on land will be granted permits to begin or to continue operations. The standards, which go into effect in six months, are expected to affect more than 2000 existing land I 8
C&EN July 19, 1982
disposal facilities. Compliance could cost industry more than $500,000 per year. Facilities have been operating under interim standards that required groundwater monitoring, record keeping, and security and emergency contingency requirements. The new standards address the previously missing elements of adequate design and construction and remedial action in case of groundwater contamination. Under the rules, new landfills, waste piles, and surface impoundments must have a liner that is designed and installed to prevent any migration of leached liquid out of the facility during its active life. According to EPA assistant administrator Rita M. Lavelle, "for liners to meet this standard, they will have to be constructed of an essentially impermeable material ... such as synthetic membranes." In addition, to minimize the amount of leached liquid, landfills and piles will have to have leachate collection and removal systems as
Gorsuch: prevention is watchword
well as take measures to prevent storm waters from entering the facility. Wastes contained by surface impoundments must be either removed or solidified at closure. In addition, to minimize leachate generation over the long term, EPA will require that any facility at which hazardous constituents are not removed entirely at closure must have a cover placed on top to minimize rainfall infiltration. The cover must be maintained for 30 years. Facilities already in operation are not required to install liners or leachate collection systems retroactively. However, they must comply with the other requirements of the regulation, including installation of a cover at closure and groundwater monitoring. Installation of a groundwater monitoring system includes both upgradient and downgradient wells at the boundary of the waste management area. The groundwater in the uppermost aquifer must be monitored for signs that a leachate plume had reached the waste boundary. If a plume is detected, a compliance program must be undertaken to monitor the concentration of specific hazardous constituents that are reasonably expected to be in waste disposed at the facility. If increased concentration of these constitutents over prescribed limits are found, the owner/operator is required to take immediate corrective action. That means that the contamination must be removed by pumping or other physical means or by in-situ treatment of the hazardous constitutents until groundwater quality is restored to acceptable levels. •
