ENVIRONMENTAL
CURRENTS Air Quality Advisory Board Three year t e r m Samuel L. Andelman Health Commissioner City of Chicago Robert S. Kerr, Jr. Lawyer-Oklahoma George F. Kirby Ethyl Corp. Mack Shanholtz Health Officer State of Virginia John W. Tukey Princeton University Two year t e r m Alex J. Barket Kansas City, Mo. John Lawrence Dresser Industries (Tex.) F. Pierce Linaweaver, Jr. Johns Hopkins University M r s . Norman Stoll Portland, Ore. George H. R. Taylor AFL-CIO (Washington, D.C.) One year t e r m Lee A. DuBridge California Institute of Technology Michael Ference Ford Motor Co. John M. Seabrook International Utilities Corp. Hulett C. Smith Governor-West Virginia Carl B. Stokes MayorXleveland
Action on Air Quality Is Imminent A 15-member Air Quality Advisory Board has been appointed by the President. Established under the provision of the Air Quality Act of 1967, this board will advise and consult with the Secretary of HEW on policy matters relating to implementation of the act. It will also make recomnendations to the President. It comprises representatives of state and local governments, and public and private groups. A control techniques advisory committee to the National Air Pollution Control Administration has also been named. As its first order of business, the 12-man committee will review the control technology documents €or sulfur dioxide and particulates. These documents will be published simultaneously with companion documents on air quality criteria for each of these two air pollutants sometime in late summer or early fall. Also, the designation of the proposed 32 air quality regions will begin very soon. Boundaries for the first region, the proposed National Capital Interstate Region, were discussed at a recent public meeting (August 2 2 ) . Further details of status of progress under the Air Quality Act of 1967 is contained in Health, Education, and Welfare’s first progress report on the subject, entitled “Progress in the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution.” A second report entitled “Air Quality Criteria,” a staff report by Richard D. Grundy for the Senate Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, contains the rationale for establishing such criteria and getting on with the job of controlling air pollution. A third report, NAPCA’s “Workbook of Atmospheric Dispersion Estimates,” is useful in estimating concentrations of air pollutants. It explains computational techniques currently used to solve atmospheric dispersion problems. Regional Solid Waste Studies Receive New Impetus
Control Techniques Advisory Committee t o NAPCA Louis D. Alpert American Smelting and Refining Co. James H. Black University of Alabama Robert L. Chass Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District W. Donham Crawford Consolidated Edison Company of New York Herbert J. Dunsmore U. S. Steel Corp. John L. Gilliland Ideal Cement Co. James L. Parsons E. I. d u Pont de Nemours & Co. August T. Rossano University of Washington Jack A. Simon Illinois State Geological Survey Victor H. Sussman Pennsylvania Department of Health Earl L. Wilson, Jr. Koppers Harry J. White Portland State College +Circle
A solid waste management system to accommodate the waste disposal needs of Westchester County (N.Y.) through I980 is the goal of a planning study contract recently let by the New York State Pure Waters Authority. Under a $75,000 contract to Metcalf and Eddy (N.Y.). the consulting engineering firm will do the following: Identify current solid waste by source, quantity, and type. Evaluate existing techniques and capabilities in the U. S. Review and update actual and predicted quantities of solid waste. As a first item, Metcalf and Eddy will examine the feasibility of railhaul transportation of the waste to potential landfill sites. An interim report is expected in three months; the contract lasts for six. In the midwest, the development of a similar solid waste management system for the Kansas City Metropolitan Region is the subject of study by the Environmental Systems Division of Aerojet-General Corp. in cooperation with the consulting engineering firm of Black and Veatch (Kansas City, Mo.). Under a $176,000, two-year contract these groups will develop an optimized computer program for the disposal of solid waste. A new graduate program in solid waste management leading to the M. S . degree has been announced by Prof. R. T. Milner at the University of Illinois (Urbana). The program is supported by a grant from the National Center for Urban and Industrial Health of the U. S . Public Health Service.
NO. 32 on Readers’ Service Card
Volume 2, Number 9, September 1968 653
ENVIRONMENTAL
CURRENTS AEC-NAS Committee on Radioactive Waste Management Clark Goodman (Chairman). University of Houston Robley D Evans
M.I.T. John C. Frye Illinois State Geological Survey Jack E. McKee California Institute of Technology Herbert M. Parker Battelle Memorial Institute Louis H. Roddis, Jr. General Public Utilities Corp. .John H. Rust University of Chicago
Hood Worthington Consulting Nuclear Engineer (Dei.)
AEC-NAS Sets Committee for Radioactive Waste A newly-established AEC-NAS committee will assess waste management problems associated with present and projected nuclear technology. The aim of the committee is to satisfy the following needs: Long-range health. Safety. Additional environmental requirement. Identification of needs for new research and development. Membership includes technical experts in the areas of health physics, environmental engineering, geology, hydrology, industrial hygiene, oceanography, geophysics, and nuclear engineering. But the committee does not advise on specific licensing operations. Mixing Sewage with Acid Mine Water Solves Two Problems Mixing acid mine drainage waters with sewage effluent has significant advantages in treating both types of waste streams, according to Prof. Daniel McLean of Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Resources. According to a recently completed Penn State study of the technique supported by Interior’s Office of Water Resources Research, bringing the two types of waste streams together produces these results: Acidity of the mine drainage water is brought down to acceptable levels. Iron salts which contribute to the acidity and discoloration of the water are reduced by as much as 98%. The phosphate content of the sewage effluent is significantly reduced. The method could be incorporated into conventional sewage treatment plants with no major new investments, says Prof. McLean. A typical sewage treatment plant could handle the quantities of acid mine drainage-about one part per six parts of sewage effluent-at feasible flow rates with no loss in treatment capacity. In fact, the study shows, the flocculating properties of the ferrous precipitates produced may increase the efficiency of certain treatment steps, to the extent that actual increases in capacity could result. New Instrumentation Yields New Ocean Bottom Data Instrumentation for directly measuring the physical properties of one-mile-deep ocean bottoms has been successfully tested by a team of scientists headed by Dr. George H. Keller of the Environmental Science Services Administration and Prof. Adrian F. Richards of the University of Illinois. Working from the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ship whiting in Exuma Sound in the Bahamas, the scientists lowered a 14-foot aluminum tower 5520 feet to the ocean floor. From the tower, two probes were pushed 10 feet into the bottom. One of the probes, a rod with four rotating vanes, measured the strength of bottom materials at one-foot intervals. The other probe consisted of twin rods carrying a gamma ray source and a ray counter, and continuously recorded gammra absorption as a function of density changes as the probe penetrated the ocean floor. Measurements of the physical properties of the ocean bottom are a prerequisite to the development of deep sea habitations and engineering activities, and previously such data were obtained only by laboratory analysis of samples taken from the ocean floor. The bottom probes underwent preliminary testing in the Gulf of Maine last year at depths of 885 feet; Prof. Keller says that the Exuma Sound tests “clear the way for far-ranging research of this nature in the deep ocean.” Volume 2, Nlrmber 9, September 1968 655
Plans for Reverse Osmosis Systems Grow Du Pont gave its reverse osmosis water purification process a big boost last month with the announcement of plans for a $5 million plant at Glasgow, Del., for the manufacture of its Permasep water permeators. The plant is not scheduled for completion until third-quarter of next year. But commercial-size permeators, which Du Pont now produces in its Chambers Works pilot plant at Deepwater, N.J.,will be in use this fall in a 100,000 gallon per day desalting plant under construction at Plains, Tex. Brackish water desalination, as in the Plains plant, had been the main thrust of the company’s market development work to date. However, the company says it can now custom-design the nylon used in the hollow fibers of the permeator for a variety of chemical separation, pollutant removal, and water reuse applications. Furthermore, the company says that fibers from new polymers, now available and undergoing commercial development, will allow the desa!lination of sea water in multimillion galilon per day plants at costs of about 40 cents per 1000 gallons. Elsewhere, other membrane desalination processes are slated for field testing under a $21 1,600 contract awarded by the Office of Saline Water to Kaiser Engineers, a subsidiary of Kaiser Industries, Inc., of Oakland, Calif. Under the contract, Kaiser will design and build mobile desalination pilot plants based on four processes that had been undergoing preliminary testing under OSW sponsorship at the Bureau of Reclaimation laboratories in Denver, Col. Three of the processes are based on reverse osmosis, using cellulose acetate membranes but differing significantly in configuration; the fourth process is based on electrodialysis. Agriculture’s Contracts Aim at Environmental Problems Two U. S. Department of Agriculture contracts aim to solve environmental pollution problems. (See ES&T, July, page 498, for a full discussion of waste problems in forestry and agriculture.) Under a $32,000, three and one half year grant, Texas Technological College (Lubbock) will develop technology for returning millions of tons of feedlot beef cattle waste to the land. Under a $49,816, four and one half year grant, Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg) will seek ways to regulate the movement and persistence of herbicides in the soil primarily through use of modifying agents such as surfactants, oils, and other additives. Disadvantaged Young People Train as Oceanographic Aides Last month, a group of 120 unemployed disadvantaged young people in the nation’s capital begain training for jobs in oceanography. Under the Manpower Development and Training Act, the training is sponsored by the U. S . Office of Education and established by Ogden Technology Laboratories (Long Island, N. Y . ) . Upon completion of the 15-month, 40 hours-per-week program, which is being conducted aboard a vessel in Washington, D. C . , these young people will have acquired skills equivalent to the job title of oceanographic aide. As such they will be qualified for jobs with either the Federal Government or private industry.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CURRENTS IRDES
Institute for the Development of Riverine and Estuarine Systems (IRDES) Outlines First Projects
Sponsors
National Scie!i ce f o ti :? d a t ion Pennsylvania Science and E n p i , i e e i i n F o u n d a ti o ‘1 Participating institutions
Lehigii Univetsity Philadelphia Acadeii7y of Natutni Sciences Temple Univeisit, Fra n kl i t i I n st i t u t e Director
M. B
Z i s f e i n , A s s o c D I I . of Ftanltliii Instrtute Keseprcli L.iboratorres
A Riverine-Estuarine Information Center has been established by the Franklin Institute’s Science Information Service. The center will function as a clearing house for information on such aspects of river estuary resources and utilization as biology, chemistry, hydrology and limnology, conservation, systems science, law, and public planning. Its activities will be coordinated with those of the Water Resources Scientific Information Center of the Office of Water Resource Research and similar organizations. A Delaware Valley Industrial Wasteline study will evaluate the potential of region-wide transportation of industrial waste by pipeline for deep-sea disposal beyond the edge of the continental shelf-about 80 miles offshore and at depths of more than 600 feet. The investigators, under the direction of Dr. Robert A. Erb of the Franklin Institute, will consider pipeline disposal for those wastes that can be dissolved, suspended, or dispersed in water. Some of the tasks to be undertaken include analysis of the types and amounts of solid wastes that can be disposed of by pipeline, the study of pipeline construction materials, and an investigation of the basic concept of deep sea disposal, including the mixing behavior of materials of different density, the nature of currents in the proposed disposal areas, the use of diffuser type outlets, and the interaction of the wastes with marine life. More Funds for U.S. IBP Funds for the central management of the analysis of ecosystems program, the central core of the U.S. IBP (ES&T, June, page 415), were awarded by the National Science Foundation. The NSF grant amounts to $224,300 for two years. A supplemental fund of $50,000 for grasslands biome research (ES&T, July, page 490) was supplied by the Atomic Energy Commission. Adverse Health Effects Research Receives NIH Support Research on the adverse health effects upon man by environmental factors will be emphasized at the Institute of Environmental Medicine of New York University. Under a National Institutes of Health renewal grant totaling $4.5million for a six-year period, the center will investigate the nalture and extent of such effects. Directed by Dr. Norton Nelson at NYU, the research is divided into six categories: Environmental pollution and ecology. Pulmonary disease and aerosol physiology. Environmental cancer. Biostatistics and biomathematics. Epidemiology. Toxicology.
US. and U.S.S.R. to Exchange Air-Water Delegations The exchange of U.S. and U.S.S.R.delegations for air and water pollution is a new addition to the Scientific, Technical, Educational, Cultural Exchange Program between the two countries. According to the recently-signed agreement (July 15 ) , each delegation will comprise five or six technical specialists. The visits will last for three to four weeks. Implementation of the agreement will probably not occur, however, before 1969. Volume 2, Number 9, September 1968 657
ENVIRONMENTAL
CURRENTS
Wolman Receives First Dollinger Pure Environment Award Abel Wolman is recipient of the first Lewis L. Dollinger Pure Environment Award. Reflecting significant achievement in the recognition, detection, abatement, or control of environmental pollution, the award is made to Dr. Wolman “In recognition of his outstanding leadership in and significant contributions to the field of sanitary engineering.” Outstanding among his many achievements was his role in the development of control procedures in the chlorination of water and sewage-techniques now used throughout the world (For more on Dr. Wolman’s views on environment of matters see ES&T, April, page 2 5 0 ) . The award (illustrated on the inside front cover of the issue) and a cash honorarium of $2500 will be presented to Dr. Wolman on October 16, at the annual Medal Day ceremonies of the Franklin Institute, according to its president, Dr. Athlestan Spilhaus.
Awl Wolman
Lewis and Clark Route Retraced Successfully All eight original members of ithe Charles County Community College group that set out on a 3400-mile canoe trip to retrace the original Lewis and Clark Trail, landed in good health and spirits at Chinook, Wash., where the Columbia River reaches the Pacific. (See detatils in ES&T, February, page 99.) Greeted by dignitaries that included Washington’s GOY.Dan Evans, Mrs. Belva Jensen and her crew noted that the rivers along the way were often unfit to drink or to swim i q and that they were muddy and polluted. National Governors’ Conference Eyes Nondegradation A national water resources policy was adopted by resolution at a recent 60th Annual Meeting of the National Governors’ Conference (Cincinnati). The resolution calls for the states to stand together to achieve the followin?: An overall national water policy allowing consideration of the Mering needs and goals of the regions of the nation. State and regional participation in developing national water management legislation. The resolution’s whereas clauzes include the complaint that the present federal course is causing delays and confusion in water management programs and that the fedrral course is causing a serious deterioration in federal-state relations. Comparison of California and Federal Standards for Motor Vehicles Hydrocarbons
CO
NO,
(grams per mile) Federal
1970
2.2
23
Not iDeclfied
Motor Vehicle Emission Standards Spelled Out In California, emission standards for automobiles and lizhts trucks are the strictest in the nation and extend to 1974 model vehicles, according to the state’s recently enacted Pure Air Act of 1968. These standards are designed to control by 1974 more than 90% of the hydrocarbons, 80% c?the oxides of nitrogen, and 70% of the carbon monoxide emissions from motcr vehicles. Under the new law, every motor vehicle must meet these standarJs. Also, the testing of emissions at automobile assembly plants brccmes mdridatory. The fuel evaporative loss requirement of less than 6 g r a m of h>:lrocarbonh per test is required of 1970 model vehicles in California. But the fedvzl requirement was postponed until 1971 models. Volume 2, Number 9, 5eptemb“r E468 6.59
