veso and many times higher than information and that final decisions most environmental data on TCDD. about what to do at Seveso must come In the Missouri incident, cats, dogs, from the Italian authorities. He says birds, and other small animals died the data indicate that it may be feawithin three weeks of spraying the sible to remove a layer of dirt from the arena, as they did in Seveso following most contaminated area at Seveso the release. Larger animals such as and be confident that the TCDD horses also became ill. Following the contamination is removed with it. As Missouri spraying, 10 people (adults for the houses and other contamiand children) also reported symptoms nated structures in the area, Comranging from headaches and skin moner says he does not know whether rashes to internal bleeding. The ef- these can be decontaminated. D fects were most severe in children who played in the contaminated dirt. Six months after the initial Two federal agencies spraying, about 6 to 8 inches of the soil from one of the horse arenas was rule on fluorocarbons removed and replaced with fresh soil. Horses and people working in the As it promised earlier, the Food & arena continued to become sick even Drug Administration last week anafter the soil replacement. There was nounced that it will require warning also a strong chemical odor whenever labels on most aerosol products that the soil was wet. To test for continu- contain chlorofluorocarbon propeling toxicity, a healthy cat was released lants. In making the announcement, into the arena area. It died four days FDA commissioner Alexander M. later. Six more inches of soil then Schmidt said: "Our goal is to reduce were removed from the arena. Al- the use of chlorofluorocarbors in though the chemical odor still re- aerosols by voluntary action until mained when the soil was wet, no they are phased out by mandatory regulation." more animals died. The second U.S. study that ComSchmidt affirms that FDA's decimoner and Scott collected is an eval- sion came from a careful evaluation of uation of the stability of TCDD in the the National Academy of Sciences' environment conducted by the Air report on the effects of chlorofluoroForce. Since 1967 the Air Force has carbons on the stratospheric ozone been studying the ecological effects of layer that shields the planet's surface test spraying of herbicides contami- from harmful levels of ultraviolet ranated with TCDD on a test plot at diation. Issued in September, the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Ad- NAS report concluded that chloditional studies were begun in 1970 in rofluorocarbons, used primarily as propellants in spray cans, are cataUtah and western Kansas. The studies find that TCDD is a lytically depleting stratospheric ozone very stable compound that decom- when they are photolyzed into eleposes very slowly in ordinary envi- mental chlorine by intense UV light. ronments. Also, probably because of Although the academy's scientific its very low solubility in water, it has panel concluded that there was a clear a tendency not to migrate from its danger to human health and the original position in the soil. In a Utah earth's environment, the panel also test where TCDD originally was de- recommended that the danger was posited 6 inches below the soil sur- sufficiently small to permit up to two face, only about 0.6% of the TCDD more years of study before taking was found below 12 inches in the soil regulatory action. after 270 days. In Florida tests, Subject to the grindings of the buTCDD deposited 6 inches below the reaucratic machinery, warning labels soil surface remained entirely within probably will not appear on spray the top 30 cm (9.2 inches) after 414 cans for about five months. They will days. then have to be displayed conThe Air Force studies find that, spicuously and say: "Warning: Conunlike some other chlorinated organic tains a chlorofluorocarbon that may compounds, TCDD slowly decom- harm the public health and environposes in the soil, presumably by ment by reducing ozone in the upper metabolic action of soil microorga- atmosphere." FDA estimates that nisms. This rate of decomposition is about 1 billion of the approximately faster in Florida's wetter, hotter cli- 2.4 billion spray cans sold in the U.S. mate than it is in Utah. The half-life annually will be affected by the label of TCDD in the Florida test was requirement, largely those that conabout 190 days. In Utah, it was about tain deodorants, hair sprays, and 330 days. Data from the Kansas test fragrances. Aerosol prescription drugs are less complete but seem to give a will be exempt. Meanwhile, in a related action the half-life of 240 days. Commoner says that the U.S. data Consumer Product Safety Commishave been compiled only to provide sion last week voted to ban chlo-
Schmidt: warning labels on aerosols
rofluorocarbon propellants from the products it regulates, primarily household cleaners and related products. Just when the CPSC ban will become effective is uncertain, but it will not have that great an effect anyway since FDA already regulates about 80% of all aerosol products on the U.S. market. Industry, predictably, is not happy with either the FDA or CPSC actions, although the FDA move was hardly a surprise. The Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrances Association, an industry group, calls the FDA action "unwarranted and premature." Du Pont, the major U.S. producer of chlorofluorocarbons, said in a prepared statement that "large areas of uncertainty still remain in the ozone depletion theory." Questioning the alacrity that government regulators are using, the firm says, "Apparently some federal agencies have decided to disregard the findings of the distinguished scientists of the National Academy of Sciences." •
Federal controls are challenge to industry Last week's semiannual meeting of the Manufacturing Chemists Association in New York City focused on two of the chemical industry's most important pragmatic challenges: the impact of escalating federal demands for environmental and workplace controls on chemicals, and how the chemical industry can credibly and effectively get its views across to federal legislators and regulators. Alexander B. Trowbridge, vice chairman of the board of Allied Chemical, opened the session on "escalating demands for protection," by noting that chemical industry management is spending an everincreasing number of hours trying to Nov. 29, 1976C&EN
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