Du Pont draws fire on Gulf dumping Dumping of unwanted hazardous materials in the Gulf of Mexico has come under fire again. Last week the five Gulf states joined together to protest action by the Environmental Protection Agency in granting Du Pont a permit to dump unwanted chemicals in an area about 230 miles south of Pensacola, Fla. The materials, which Du Pont has dumped in the Gulf since 1969 and until April 15 this year, are transported from the company's plant near Belle, W.Va. The chemicals, as aqueous solutions or suspensions, include such substances as ethylene glycol, antimony compounds, some 11 organic compounds left from making Du Pont's Benlate benoyl fungicide, sodium styrene sulfonate, sodium terephthalate, sodium and ammonium chlorides, various other simple organic compounds such as methanol, and small quantities of metals. The antimony, which because of its toxicity came in for much attention at a hearing held last week in Pensacola on proposals to revoke the Du Pont dumping permit, comes from the spent glycol recovery unit at Belle. This unit recovers some 90% of the glycol left from making polyesters, in which antimony is used as a catalyst. In preparing the materials for dumping into the Gulf, Du Pont blends waste streams to get a composition that meets specifications of the current EPA permit, according to George A. Cato, manager of the Belle plant. The material is barged to Weswego, La., where it is transferred to ocean-going barges for dumping in the Gulf. Even if dumping is allowed to continue, Du Pont expects to handle all the Belle waste itself by mid-1977. If dumping is not permitted, the cost of storage and subsequent handling will exceed $10 million, possibly to as much as $13 million, Mr. Cato says. A decision on continuing the EPA permit may take as much as 60 days.
MCA endorses waste disposal provisions "Constructive" legislation dealing with the safe disposal of solid wastes has received endorsement by the Manufacturing Chemists Association. Although such a bill doesn't exist yet, MCA president William J. Driver has written Sen.
Jennings Randolph (D.-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Panel on Materials Policy, spelling out MCA's views on key provisions of bills from which an omnibus solid waste disposal bill likely will be drafted. Next to toxic substances control legislation, legislative proposals for extending the solid waste act, and under it requirements for strict management of hazardous solid wastes, probably rank highest on the chemical industry's list of environmental legislative concerns. Mr. Driver's comments were directed at five key bills pending before the Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution: S. 3560, the Solid Waste Utilization Act of 1974; S. 3549, the Energy Recovery and Resource Conservation Act of 1974; S. 3277, the Energy and Resources Recovery Act of 1974; S. 3723, the Resource Conservation and Energy Act of 1974; and S. 1086, the Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1973. S. 1086, for instance, would require the Environmental Protection Agency to identify hazardous wastes and establish standards for treatment and disposal of the wastes. Disposal would be regulated under a federalstate permit system. In short, Mr. Driver writes that MCA "recognizes the need for controls over the management of solid and hazardous wastes." Such controls, he says, "should be vested to the maximum extent feasible in local administration based on federal guidelines." On other issues, Mr. Driver says that the legislated definition of hazardous wastes should serve only as a guideline for EPA to identify materials for regulation; that EPA should be directed to prepare criteria for classifying wastes as hazardous, subject to formal rule-making procedures; that provision should be made for an advisory committee to assist EPA; and that permits should be required only of the disposer of hazardous wastes on or in the land. Mr. Driver adds that MCA is very concerned with the concept of "defining acceptable product compositions based upon wastes produced in their manufacture or upon their potential for resource recovery." Whether the subcommittee will act soon on new solid wastes legislation hinges in large, measure on the future of impeachment proceedings. A subcommittee staffer tells C&EN that no further hearings are scheduled nor are any sessions planned for drawing up an omnibus bill.
Chemistry marks 200th anniversary Chemistry is 200 years old. Or at least it is according to the sponsors of a big celebration planned for Northumberland, Pa., this week. Northumberland is the site of the house that Joseph Priestley built when he came to this country after being hounded out of England for his religious and political views. And it was exactly 200 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1774, that the great theologian and pioneer scientist discovered oxygen—the discovery that marked the end of alchemy and the beginning of modern chemistry. This week the highlight of the
Barton: centennial chemistry award
Third Biennial Conference on Chemical Education of the ACS Division of Chemical Education being held at nearby Pennsylvania State University will be the Second "Centennial of Chemistry." This will mark both Priestley's great achievement and the first "Centennial of Chemistry," which was held at the Priestley house in 1874. This week the gathering at the Priestley house will be marked by, among other events, the unveiling of a plaque by ACS President Bernard S. Friedman commemorating the Society's origins at the Priestley house. Also, the Pennsylvania State University department of chemistry and the ACS division will present the second "Centennial of Chemistry" award to Sir Derek Barton, 1969 Nobel Laureate in chemistry for research that "created a revolution in science education." The first such award will be made in the name of Joseph Priestley and installed in the museum now on the Priestley house grounds. July 29, 1974 C&EN
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