LETTERS
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Natural carcinogenic products Dear Sir: T h e question to be asked about the uproar over 2,4,5-T in Oregon ( E S &T , June 1979, p 640) goes far beyond the extent of exposure to hazardous plant substances. although that may be quite important. The most important point is that careful assessment of the data used by EPA shows no evidence o f an increased rate of miscarriage. T h e study has been carefully evaluated by about I O groups and individuals, including governmental agencies of several countries, and all have concluded that the “study” shows neither a relationship nor lack of relationship between herbicide use and miscarriages. The flaws in sampling and data acquisition are incredible, and statisticians have found major and inexcusable deficiencies in method. This center will publish shortly a highly detailed analysis of all aspects of the report. To return to the original question, we have a great deal of Senecio j a c o bea (Tansy ragwort) in the Oregon area. It contains several pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a large family of which some members are carcinogenic, and v, hich we suspect may cause other damage. There are possibly other plants locally that contain similar alkaloids. O u r concern is with deliberate ingestion of “teas” that will be quite hepatotoxic, and with. ingestion of goat‘s milk. Goats will eat tansy more readily than most species, and transmittal of either the alkaloid or metabolite pyrroles in milk has been shown in other species. Goat‘s milk tends to pass through a narrow distribution channel: a single animal will feed the same few people over a long period. There is research presently in progress a t Oregon State University that may shed more light on that possibility. This is. however, an unlikely cause of injury in the cases reported by EPA. T h e bulk of known miscarriages were suffered by residents of the four coastal cities of the region where such exposure is not likely. Because of prevailing offshore winds and distance of spray applications. the probability of any herbicide exposure is also vanishingly small. It must be borne i n mind that 128
Environmental Science & Technology
the “normal” incidence of miscarriage is about 209”. I share your concern about irresponsible reporting of the sort that presently entertains both print and electronic media. I d o not find it amusing that we have frequent major exposures to some truly dangerous agents such as the chlorophenol wood preservatives, but neither citizen groups nor the press seem concerned. For what it is worth, I a m unable to find any significant environmental hazard associated with any of the phenoxy herbicides, although I a m not a t all satisfied with worker discipline in handling 2,4-D. I should mention that there are other factors that may significantly alter human health in the coastal mountains o f Oregon. There are two populations in the area, one of which consists of pretty solid people who are earning a living i n the economy of the area or who are supporting themselves on their land. The latter can be a struggle. There is a considerable counterculture population as well. and I have real questions about nutritional standards, and i n some cases sanitary standards. When people get irritable enough, they may also incriminate marijuana as a causative agent for all manner o f alleged ailments that have been blamed on herbicides. That may or may not be true. but it is a cash crop of enormous value, and it is profoundly toxic i n many wavs Frank h’.Dos;, D.C.11. Professor. Agricultural Chemistry Oregon State Lniversit) Corvallis. Ore. 9733 I ’79 Index, omissions Dear Sir: I was pleased with the treatment of my feature on toxic substances in the Great Lakes. The layout and displays were well done, the text accurate, and the article looked quite good overall ( E S & T. December 1979. p 1462). I noted only one omission in the December issue related to my feature and it was not i n the feature article itself. I briefly scanned the Volume I3 index a t the end of the issue and could not find an) refcrcnce to the article
under Great Lakes, toxic substances, PCBs or any other appropriate key word. Also, my name was missing from the author index. T h e only problem with the above omission is that someone in the future who might be reviewing the literature on Great Lakes or on toxic substances and who might depend solely on the annual indices of E S & T , w!ill likely miss the article. That would be unfortunate but the world will still turn despite such a n oversight. Joseph J . Delfino State Laboratory of Hygiene Madison, Wis. 53706
PCBs Dear Sir: I a m writing to you concerning a correction in the authorship of work that appeared in “The Invisible Snowfall“ ( E S & T . Yovember 1979. p 1337). Credit should have been given to Dr. Gregory J . Hollod for the tables on PCBs in Air Over Lake Superior and the figures of the Air S a m pling Ship Tracks. This material was presented a t the 178th National American Chemical Society Meeting in N~ashington,D.C.. i n a paper by S. J . Eisenreich and G . J . Hollod. T h e work was from Greg Hollod’s Ph.D. thesis. “Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Lake Superior Ecosystem: Atmospheric Deposition and Accumulation in the Bottom Sediments.“ Greg J. Hollod E. I . duPont de h e n i o u r s & Cotnpan) Aiken. S.C. 29801
Organics in air emissions Dear Sir: ES&T coverage of our a u e nc h tow e r emission character i 7a t’ion Lvork a t the Lorain plant of U.S. Steel ( E S & T , hovember 1979. pp 1340- 1342) \vas gratefully apprecia t ed . U n fort u n a t e I j,. spec i a I a cknowledgment to Julie Rudolph and Carl E. Rechsteiner of Arthur D. Little. Inc.. Cambridge. Mass., for performing the G C / V S analbticnl work was omitted. Their assistance was i n tegral to the overall success of the p rog r a m . Anthon! J . Buonicore G c n c r ii I M a n a ger Y (1r k Research Cor uo r a t io n Stamford. Conn 06906
