INTERNATIONAL Representatives of the European Eeooomie Community and 81 other cmntxies have agreed to phase nut all chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) use by the year 2000, if p s i hle. At a meeting held in Helsinki, Finland, in May, they also agreed to phase out halons, carbn tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform. These chemicals are blamed for depletion of the stratmpheric ozone layer. The Helsinki agreement is in keeping with the Montreal hotocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted in Montreal in Sept. 1987 and in effect since Jan. 1, 1989. A formal decision to amend the Montreal protocol and to phase &t CFCs by the year 2000 is sheduled for June 1990;
Hungary has backed out of a project to hnild a large hydroelectric dam on the Hungarian side of the Danube River. About 12 years ago, Hungary and Czechoslovakia had agreed to build the dam on the two countries’ border, just downstream from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Proponents of the dam said that it would generate enough electricity to reduce Czechoslovakia’s use of highsulfur brown coal by 1 million tons/ year and that it would improve flood control. Opponents warned that the dam would contaminate drinkingwater supplies for one-third of Hungary; destroy fisheries, wetlands, and wildlife habitat; and lower the water table of farmlands. The contamination warning was confirmed by a study hy the World Wildlife Fund. The Nature Conservancy will assist the government of Guatemala in implementing a Protected Areas Law that could protect as much as 30%of the country’s wild areas. The law, signed by President Vinicio Cera0 in February, establishes boundaries for six existing reserves and designates 44 new special protection areas whose boundaries have’not yet been defined. That task will be carried out by the new National
Council of Protected Areas. The council will present to the Guatemalan Congress technical studies that set forth the sites’ significance, the basis for their boundaries, and a realistic approach to resolving conEicts over their natural resources. The Nature Conservancy will prepare studies for 14 of the areas in the &tdn region of northern Guatemala, which contains most of the counuv’s lowland tropical forest and hiologkal diversity.
FEDERAL President k r g e Bush has prod maior revisions of the Clean kir Act. &e provision of the hill he wants Congress to pass would eliminate excessive levels of tropospheric ozone in all U.S. cities by the year 2010. In addition, emissions of precursors of acid deposition would have IO be reducd by at least 50% by the year 2000. and deaths caused b i airbbrne toxics reduced 75% by 1995. Moreover, automotive tailpipe emissions of hydrocarbons would be reducedby 40%, and oxides of nitrcgen by 30%by 1993, and sharply increased use of “clean” automotive fuels such as ethanol, methanol, and natural gas would be required. The proposed clean air provisions could cost as much as $19 billion a year by the next century, and could raise utility rates by as much as 10%.
Bush: Clean air initiative
1.5010 0 1089 American Chemical Socie
An EPA survey has found that more than 200 U.S. industrial plants in 37 states pose cancer risk ranpinp from 1 in to 1 in 10-1. According to the agency, the maximum acceDrable risk is le6. Risk evaluation’is based on regular expo sure to a substance for 70 years. One plant posing the highest risk, according to EPA’s data, is a butadiene plant near Port Neches, TX. The data were released by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). EPA officials strei that much of the data is out of date (data compilation began in 1984), ahd is not refined well enough to assess public health risks. They add that they were in the process of refir ing the data when Waxman requeste and released them. Waxman, however, says that refinement of the dat; will shdw that the cancer risks are greater than currently stated.
EPA announced tinel rules t
ana turbidity. W i d i i y is included a a standard because it is a measure 01 tiltration. Moreover, surface water supply systems must be run by qualified operators. The estimated costs for the.nation are $3 billion in capit; costs and $% million €I in annual operating costs if filtration is used, and $2.3 billion and $337 million, respectively, if filtration is not used. &d waiter costs per family could increase behueen $10 and $400 a year, depending on types and costs c modifications to water supply systems. EPA officials estimate that the number of cases of waterborne illness from microbial contanunation would be reduced by 90,000.Some environmental advocacy groups have criticized the new rules because they do not include drinkmg water from groundwater supplies.
The Deuartment of E n e m has approvh the upgrading il a major “clean coal” project to full opera-
tion. One process to be run is the Cwlside process in which lime is injected into coal combustion gases at the tail end of the duchvork leading fromthe boiier. Flue gas is sprayed with moisture. The process, which is to be run at 105 MW, is expected to remove as much as 80% of the sulfur. In the Limestone Injection Multistage Burner process, limestone is injected into the coal-fired boier just above the burners. In both processes, the burners are designed to have flamesthat reduce NO, emissions by 50-60%.Theprocesseswillbem by Babcock & Wilcox at Ohio Edison’s plant in Lorain, OH.
STATES Tbe storage and destruction of hazardous wastes at Love Canal (Niagara Falls, NY) will be taken over by Occidental Chemical Co., under the terms of a consent decree occidental signed with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and EPA June 1. DEC commissioner Thomas Jorling estimates that Occidental‘s assump tion of cleanup respnsibdities and costs could save taxpayers as much as $20 million. Hooker chemical, now an Occidental subsidiary, had been charged with dumping chemical wastes in Love Canal during the 1940s. The dump was covered during the 19% and homes were built on the site during the 19609. Chemicals into the homes during the 1970s and residents were evacuated. Occidental plans to store the wastes at a company site and eventually incinerate them. EPA has approved New Jersey’s proposaltorequireareddvolatility of gasoline sold in the state from May 1 to Sept. 15, the height of the smog season (in 1989, the dates are June 30 to Sept. 15). During that portion of the year, the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) may not exceed 9.0 lbli.2 (465 torr). EPA initially had mandated an RVP not exceeding 10.5 1Win.2(543 torr) for the state of New Jersey as of June 1. In previous years, the requirement had been 11.5 lhlm.2 (595 torr). The state Department of Environmental Protection estimates that the tightened requirements will result in the reducsions of organic ozone. tons each smog sesson.
I
In&emtorashmay e d n in two areas of V i ’ s portion of the Chfsapeake Bay. Sludge incinerator ash will make up
as much as 30%of “Seabees,” a type of six-sided block developed in Australia, that is used to build seawalls. Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (Herndon, VA) is supporting the project, whose goals inclnde determining whether a solid waste can be recycled in an environm e n a y safe manner. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will carry out tests to see if any trace metals are. leachmg from the seabees. The pnncipal goal is to test the effectiveness of Seabees in c o n m l l i i shorehe erosion. If the waste utiliition part of the test is successful,it is estimated that the.Hampton Roads Sanitation District could save $400,000/ year in 1andm fees.
The Instituteof WiIdlife and Environmental lbxkmbgy is now located at Clemson University (SC). Ron Kendall will be its director. The institute brings with it more than $4 milliw in grant support. Its program focuses on the exposure of wildlife to toxic substances. The program also empha$im snding etfective ways to manage toxic sub stances such as hazatdous wastes and pesticides so they have a reduced impaa on wilaife and on the environment in general. The institute was founded in 1984 and OnginaUy was located at Western Washington University (Be.lliigham, WA). Even though the institute. is moving to Clemson, it will retpin a field station at Wstern Washingtm to cantinue to work on the majnagement of hazardous wastes and oil refinery wastes.
Kendon: Direct3 imtihrte
Iowa’snew B i i t e C h n O l o g y consortium is hoking for ways to convert bidechnologywastesintouse.ful products. Most of these wastes are generated by fermentation processes. Possible produds are ethanol and methane that would be produced anaerobidy and could be used as fuel or chemical feedstocks. A part of the projea will consist of using
chromatography to identify recovery by-products; other tasks will include determining the feasibility of water reuse. The consortium was organired by Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the city of Cedar Rapids. Its first year’s activities have been funded with $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of AgriculNre under legislation sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (DIA).
’Ibe L a u i s i i Deparhnent of Environmental Quality (DEQ)has revoked all existing permits for Marine Shale Rocesson (MSR Amelia, LA) for handling hazardous wastes. DEQ also fined MSP nearly 5958,000 for importing hazardous waste from a foreign country (Canada). MSP has teen the nation’s largest burner of hazardous waste. The firm was the subject of much controversy because the company claimed that it was exempt from national incineration standards because.its incineration product or “aggregate” is a commodity nobody buys. DEQ officials say that sampling and analysis show that toxic metals leach from the aggregate in violation of federal and state standurd% DEQ ordered MSP to stop removing aggregate from its premises until the aggregate meets all standards, and to stop importing hazardous wastes. MSP officials say that the revocation is illegal and that the company will sue to have it reVersed.
Oregon Graduate Center (Beaverton, OR)is the site of what is reputedly the world’s lprgest artificial aquifer. The aquifeq known as LEAP II (Large Experimental Aquifer Pro gram) consistF of about 1.36 million kg of sand and more than 473,000 L of W.~niwy LEAP , n will be used to ascertain how gasoliie from leaking undewund storage tanks travels through the ground. similar studies eventually will be carried out foT other cmtamhnts, such as tri= chloroethylene. Completed in midMay, LEAF’II is 21.34 m long by 9.15 m wide hy 4.57 m deep. It is conshucted of concrete with a steel barrier inside. Sensors track contaminant flow. LEAP Il supplements a smaller artificial aquifB, LEAP I, c o ~ c t e in d March 1988.
SCIENCE The world d d be warming up, as suggested by a sea kvel rLse of 2.4 mmlyr in the last centmy, say W. Peltier and A. ‘bhiingham of the University of Toronto (Canada).
They suggest that about onefourth of the rise is ascribable to the expansion of water as it warms, but that most of the rise can be blamed on the melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice caps that is caused by the greenhouse effect. Or is the earth getting cooler at the same time? A team of scientists from Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories is studying the exchange of sulfur and nitrogen compounds between the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere. They posit that these compounds, from natural and human sources, may create and alter cloud patterns in ways that could cool the Earth’s surface and offset the greenhouse effect, at least partially.
Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency ( A b MD). The eq gauge seismic pun that shoots a slug about 4 in. into the ground. This sound source produces waves that travel through the ground at different speeds, depending on the objects they encounter. The gun is Bred at specific points along a straight line. The wave signals that mrnare processed in a computer to show the shape of the objects, such as hazardous-waste drums, that are encountered. The technique is undergoing extensive testing at Fort Rucker, AL.
water heater insulation, and nonfmd containers. coordinator of Goodyear’s recycling efforts.says that his company breaks down PET under extreme reactor conditions with numerous sophisticated steps. He adds that these procedures remove contaminants whose presence would render recycled PET unusable for holding food. American Tire Reclamation (Am, Detroit, Iw) haspntentedascrap tirerocy*pmeessthatbnaks tires down to carbon black, oil, and
ModeLF for predictii global climate change could be flawed becaw they omit human interactions with the environment, says Roberta Balstad Mffler, head of social and economic science at the National Science Foundation. She acknowledges that scientists recognize the. importance of assessing human effects on natural systems, but notes that they do not consider indirect environmental effects of social behavior and policies that change over time. Miller adds that the social sciences do not yet have the knowledge base or methodology to develop models of social impacts on the gecsphere and biosphere.
The environmental impact of the first mqior Antaretic oil spa ap pears to have been minimal, says Langdon Quentin of the University of California-Santa Barbara. “Damage to marine life is surprisingly slight,” he wmments. Nevertheless, this finding does not reduce the wncern that the pristine marine ecosystem in the Antarctic may be unusually susceptible to man-made pollution. Concerns heightened when an Argentine supply ship ran aground and spilled nearly 644 m3 of arctic diesel and aviation fuel. Although these fuels are toxic to marine life, they evaporate rapidly despite the low temperatures of the region. Moreover, much of the fuel apparently was dissipated by offshore winds and stormy weather.
TECHNOLOGY The underground detection of containera of hszardons waste is made easier by geophysical diffraction tomography (GDT). GDT uses sound waves to probe undeqround and record signals that produce an image on a computer screen, says Janet Mahannah of the U S . Army
are sunk 34.6 m tuba then are acti
pared with $lOcr$lSO a peting methods.
Currently PET is used in no SCI.Teohml.. Vol 23,N
