LETTERS Thermal processing Dear Sir: In general, I feel that my opinions as conveyed in the article "Hard road ahead for city incinerators" (ES&T, November 1972, p 992) are not really accurate. For example, I do believe that pyrolysis has considerable potential in the future as a newly applied processing technique in the solid waste management field. However, I do not feel that the technique has been adequately demonstrated from technical and economic standpoints at this time. I also don't believe that "thermal processing is the wave of the future," as you have stated. The fact is that I firmly believe that there just isn't a panacea available or on the horizon which is going to make solid waste disappear or magically become a valuable asset to communities. As a nation, we certainly need to strive for improved technological developments and conservation of our resources. However, we also need to adopt a sense of realism directed to the solution of today's problems with available technology in parallel with efforts for the future, such as resource recovery and improved technology. So I'm really for a balanced approach to the problem which does not eliminate viable options such as conventional incinerators-which I believe can be designed and operated in an environmentally acceptable manner. I was impressed with the article entitled, "Incineration: Environmental Whipping Boy?" by William Harrington, which appeared in the February 1972 issue of the A P W A Reporter and which I feel concisely presented some of the misunderstandings and unrealistic demands being made on incinerator facilities. John T. Talty, Director
Processing and Disposal Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cincinnati, Ohio 45268 Computer models Dear Sir: In our opinion, excessive claims may well have been made about the usefulness and validation of the current EXPLOR model for stimulating air pollution described in the December 1972 issue (page 1071). The California freeway air pollution measurements referred to were derived from a project being conducted
by the California Division of Highways with sponsorship of the Federal Highway Administration and collaboration of the Los Angeles County Air Pollution County District, the California Air Resource Board, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Sampling for air quality on this project has been very limited. The fragmentary results which come from only a few time periods and locations are only a small fraction of the data the investigators and the contracting organization consider desirable for adequate model validation. Measurements involving more and varied highway sites and a much larger sampling of meteorological and traffic conditions will be available in the future on this and other projects; then validation of all the various highway air pollution analytical models should be more feasible. Howard A. Jongedyk
Federal Highway Administration Washington, D.C. 20591 EPA technical views
Dear Sir: I want to assure you that at EPA we feel the public has a right to be informed about the Agency's activities on a timely basis. Publications such as yours play a valuable role in providing information about our efforts to deal with environmental problems. I t is our responsibility to see that you get the information you need. Regarding your charge (October 1972 editorial) that technical expertise at EPA is "buried under stifling layers of nontechnical bureaucrats and political appointees," I think the best answer lies in the type of person administering EPA technical programs. Dr. Stanley M. Greenfield, Assistant Administrator for Research and Monitoring, received his doctorate in meteorology from UCLA, is the author of 35 technical papers in his field, serves on a committee & the National Academy of Sciences, and received an award for his research from the American Meteorological Society. Dr. Robert L. Sansom, Assistant Administrator for Air and Water Programs, was both a Fulbright Fellow and Rhodes Scholar and holds a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford. Sheldon Meyers, Director of the Office of Federal Activities, holds degrees in marine engineering, mechanical engineering, and business administration, and has extensive experience administering reCircle No. 13 on Readers' Service Card
Volume 7, Number 2, February 1973
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search and technical programs. None of these men fits your description of "nontechnical bureaucrats and political appointees." Incidentally, I was interested to find in the same issue of your magazine containing the critical editorial, two articles by EPA technical personnel describing the technical basis for decisions in air standards. I hope this will help reassure your readers that EPA scientists and engineers are an extremely important part of the Agency's decision-making process. William D. Ruckelshaus
Administrator Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. Hard road for incinerators
Dear Sir: The thrust of the article in the November 1972 issue (page 992) appears to judge the performance of obsolete incinerators built since 1920, many of which have little or no air pollution control devices, lack resource recovery features and modern combustion systems, plus an assumption that acceptable landfill sites are available to all communities. We submit that one cannot judge the performance of modern incinerators by citing the number of obsolete incinerators which have been closed down or are operating inefficiently, any more than one can judge the performance of modern industry by referencing obsolete plants or systems. The author failed to recognize that modern incinerators can be good neighbors as experienced in the major cities of Europe where environmentally acceptable incinerators are operating in residential areas and reclaiming a substantial amount of energy from the incineration process. Contrary to the statement that the City of Chicago is ". . . having trouble finding a market for steam. . .," please be advised that the City has been selling steam produced by burning refuse at the Southwest Incinerator for the last eight years and has had no difficulty in finding customers for the steam at the new Northwest Incinerator. Many industries look with favor toward purchasing a guaranteed supply of steam from a source which meets current air quality standards, rather than attempting to solve the equipment and personnel costs associated with manufacturing steam. The City of Chicago has never held to the position that incineration is the only solution to the solid waste disposal problem and in the past has actively sought new and improved alternatives, and will continue to do so in the future.
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Environmental Science & Technology
Milton Pikarsky Department of Public Works Chicago, Ill. 60602
