Government
Power plants cited as big acid rain source NRC study points finger at atmospheric emissions from fossil fuels, urges tighter restrictions together with decreased use of such fuels
Former Consolidation Coal vice president William Foundstone's long-running campaign to minimize the role of power plant emissions in the formation of acid rain received a stunning setback recently. In a justreleased report, the National Research Council's Committee on the Atmosphere & the Biosphere finds "the circumstantial evidence for their role overwhelming." Although the committee cites the contribution of high-temperature smelting of metal ores and cement manufacturing to the destruction of biosphere, it notes that the burning of fossil fuels is the major source of man-made pollution of the atmosphere. And the best-documented ecological effect of such combustion is the destruction of low-alkaline freshwater ecosystems by acid rain. The burning of fossil fuel releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen into the air. At high concentration these gases directly affect human health. Further oxidized (and hydrolyzed) they fall to Earth as acid rain to corrode metals, etch buildings and monuments made of calcareous rock, acidify surface and ground waters to a point where toxic trace metals such as mercury reach concentrations that make the water unfit for human consumption or for aquatic animal habitats, and inhibit crop and forest productivity. However, the committee's report covers more than the ecological effects of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. It also touches on the less well-known but apparently broad-scale effects of toxic trace metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc, vanadium, arsenic, and selenium, and organic micropollutants. In fact, committee chairman David W. Schindler of the Canadian Freshwater Institute says that the report's most telling point is that "we shouldn't be focusing on acid rain. 14
C&EN Sept. 21, 1981
There are a multitude of pollutants entering the atmosphere from the same sources. A large number of these pollutants interact synergistically (and additively) to produce demonstrable toxic effects on organisms. We should be focusing on this mass of pollutants of unknown properties and unknown quantities." Still, acid rain is the best-documented case against the harmful effects of sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions. The committee says, "There is little probability that some factor other than emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides is responsible for acid rain." And in a very strong statement, the committee warns that continued emissions of these oxides "at current or accelerated rates, in the face of clear evidence of serious hazard to human health and to the biosphere, will be extremely risky from a long-term economic standpoint as well as from the standpoint of biosphere protection." But to reinforce his earlier point, Schindler tells C&EN of the harmful synergistic effects of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and ozone. In a study published too late to be included in the NRC report, Schindler says that Orrie Loucks of the Institute of Ecology in Cincinnati found not a single stand of trees in Ohio or Wisconsin free of oxidant damage. And the committee's report cites studies that correlate high mercury deposition in areas also receiving high acid deposition. Mercury uptake in fish is enhanced by low pH and "no satisfactory technology for controlling large-scale emissions of mercury" exists, the report states. This two-year-long NRC effort, supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture, was frustrated repeatedly by the lack of a long-term data base needed to uncover small toxicant increases, and by the poverty of methods for detecting low-level toxic effects in organisms or in ecosystems. The committee, therefore, calls for an "improved scientific effort" in long-term monitoring and forecasting, and in ecotoxicology. Present institutions are incapable of undertaking the complex, longterm studies envisioned by the com-
mittee, however. As a remedy, the committee suggests the formation of a National Center for Ecology & Environmental Science, patterned after the quasi-private National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., or the U.S. Geological Survey, a federal institution. The committee of cautious scientists warns of the slow, nearly imperceptible increases "in a multitude of extremely toxic substances." Based on the evidence it gathered and examined, the committee states that "the picture is disturbing enough to merit prompt tightening of restrictions on atmospheric emissions from fossil fuels and other large sources such as metal smelters and cement manufacture." But over the long haul, it concludes that only decreased use of fossil fuel or improved control of emissions of a multitude of pollutants will minimize "the risk that our descendants will suffer food shortages, impaired health, and a damaged environment." The NRC report was released after the latest leak of a draft of the Reagan Administration's proposals for amending the Clean Air Act. The urgency felt and expressed by the panel of respected scientists is obviously not sensed by EPA personnel now drafting legislative language to amend the
Metal smelters also are large sources of pollutants causing acid rain
air law. According to Rep. Toby Moffett (D.-Conn.) and Rep. James Florio (D.-N.J.), who released an EPA draft dated Aug. 20, the Reagan amendments would exacerbate the acid rain problem and threaten public health by stretching out deadlines for meeting nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide standards and by weakening the program to control hazardous air pollutants. Lois Ember, Washington
New York bills aim at stimulating innovation Formulating new programs and policies to stimulate innovation and productivity are perceived mainly as being within the jurisdiction of the federal government. However, there are things that state governments can do to try to accomplish the same ends within their own boundaries and at the same time create new jobs. A case in point is New York state. The New York State Assembly's 1981 legislative program for high technology/research and development contained 10 major proposals. Seven have been signed into law, one measure was vetoed, one is still in committee, and one was recalled by the legislature before Gov. Hugh T. Carey had a chance to act on it. The recalled bill, which still may be acted upon when the legislature reconvenes in October, provided for the awarding, on a competitive basis, of 40 so-called "horizon industry" certifications over the next four years. Assembly speaker Stanley Fink believes the bill "has the potential of creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs and will give New York state a competitive edge in attracting new firms which might otherwise be lured to other parts of the country." Firms receiving the certificates would have been completely exempted from all state taxation until the year 2001. To be eligible for a certificate, which would have been awarded by the state Science & Technology Board, a business would have to have been at the point of beginning production of a new product or process that had a clear possibility of achieving major market acceptance and that represented a significant technological advance. In addition, a special tax program was set up for those "horizon industries" that do not have adequate capital. Investors would have been able to deduct one half of their investments during the business start-
up period (initially up to three years but with a possible extension to 10 years) from their taxable state income, and all future earning from the investments would have been tax exempt. However, among the proposals that were signed into law was an increase from 6% to 10% in the state tax credit for R&D investments and a two-step increase in the regular investment tax credit from 4% to 6%. Another measure was an effort to strengthen the New York State Science & Technology Foundation, which was established in 1963 but became inactive between 1976 and 1978. Carey announced his intention to revitalize the foundation in January 1979 and give it more of an economic development orientation. To that end, the legislature expanded the foundation's board to include two individuals with scientific and entrepreneurial experience as officers of small, high technology firms. The foundation also was given a number of new duties, including disseminating to New York firms information on the availability of federal research grants and contracts and to assist small firms in applying for them, as well as providing information on where new, technologically oriented firms can obtain management assistance services. In a different measure, the legislature appropriated $1 million to the foundation to match a $1 million federal grant to capitalize a Corporation for Innovation Development, which will operate a revolving loan fund to help meet the capital needs of small, high-technology firms. Among the other measures signed into law were two dealing with state university patent policy. Another appropriated $34.9 million for the construction of a permanent campus for the State University of New York College of Technology, Utica/Rome. The final one gave community colleges an incentive to provide courses organized under a contract with a business, labor organization, or other group to meet specific occupational training needs, particularly in technical areas. The measure that is still in committee would require the state university to establish a policy for making its research facilities and equipment available for use by nonuniversity personnel on a time- and space-available basis, for set fees. The vetoed bill dealt with the way the government wrote its purchasing specifications for equipment and materials. D
Federal Alert— new regulations This listing covers noteworthy regulations appearing in the Federal Register from Aug. 3 to Sept. 3. Page numbers refer to those issues. PROPOSED Consumer Product Safety Commission— Seeks information from insulation manufacturers on economic impact of proposed ban of urea-formaldehyde foam; no closing date (Aug. 20, page 42285). Environmental Protection Agency—Announces availability for comment of testing guidelines for chemicals from Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development; comments by Nov. 9 (Aug. 21, page 42472). Food & Drug Administration—Announces public meeting on proposed patient package insert program to determine extent of program implementation; hearing Sept. 30, comments by Oct. 15 (Aug. 21, page 42470). Labor Department—Proposes extensive changes of labor standards under Service Contract Act, including exemption from the act for R&D contracts and certain repair contracts for computers, scientific apparatus, and business machines; comments by Oct. 13 (Aug. 14, page 41380). FINAL Environmental Protection Agency—Temporarily excludes certain hazardous waste generators from list of hazardous waste sites; effective Aug. 6 (Aug. 6, page 40154). Establishes a number of amendments to requirements for underground injection of wastes; effective Aug. 27 (Aug. 27, page 43156). Occupational Safety & Health Administration—Stays for six months access to employee exposure and medical records in flavor and fragrance industry and publishes other recent access determinations (Aug. 7, page 40490). Implements parts of agency hearing conservation regulation, provides interpretations and corrections for some sections; effective Aug. 22 (Aug. 21, page 42622). NOTICES Executive Order—Establishes procedures for federal agency response to environmental damages under superfund legislation (Aug. 20, page 42237). Department of Energy—Announces final report of interagency coal export task force that studied ways to promote exports (Aug. 26, page 43080). Geological Survey—Requests comments on how to value federal coal that may be used for in-situ gasification; comments by Oct. 9 (Aug. 10, page 40588). International Trade Administration—Study concludes Japan is dumping synthetic methionine in U.S. ITA begins charging extra duty; effective Aug. 13 (Aug, 13, page 40913).
Sept. 21, 1981 C&EN
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