Chemical & Engineering News 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 Editor: Albert F. Plant Managing Editor: Michael Heylin Assistant Managing Editors: David M. Kiefer, James H. Krieger, Donald J. Soisson, Fred H. Zerkel Senior Editor: Earl V. Anderson (New York) Senior Associate Editor: Howard J. Sanders Associate Editor: Ernest L. Carpenter Assistant Editors: P. Christopher Murray, Richard J. Seltzer, Karen Joy Skinner Editorial Assistant: Theresa L. Rome Editing Services: Joyce A. Richards (Head) Editorial Reference: Barbara A. Gallagher (Head). Elizabeth Pohlhaus (Indexer) Graphics and Production: Bacil Guiley (Head). Leroy Corcoran (Manager). Norman W. Favin (Art Director). John V. Sinnett (Designer) NEWS BUREAUS: New York: William F. Fallwell (Head). Chicago: Ward Worthy (Head), Joseph Haggin (Staff Writer). Houston: Bruce F. Greek (Head). Washington: Fred H. Zerkel (Head), Ling-yee C. Gibney, Janice R. Long, Rebecca L. Rawls (Assistant Editors) FOREIGN BUREAUS: London: Dermot A. O'Sullivan (Head). Tokyo: Michael K. McAbee (Head) ADVISORY BOARD: Alfred E. Brown, Mary Carter, Theodore L. Cairns, Marcia Coleman, Arthur W. Galston, Derek P. Gregory, James D. Idol Jr., Gerald D. Laubach, Richard D. Mullineaux, Paul F. Oreffice, Rustum Roy, Edward R. Thornton, Herbert L. Torr, M. Kent Wilson Published by AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY (202)-872-4600 Robert W. Cairns, Executive Director Division of Public, Professional, and International Communication Richard L. Kenyon, Director Arthur Poulos, Editorial Promotion Marion Gurfein, Circulation Development EDITORIAL BOARD: Mary L. Good (Chairman), Herman S. Bloch, Bryce Crawford Jr., Robert W. Parry, Glenn T. Seaborg, B. R. Stanerson; President-Elect: Henry A. Hill; Representative Council Publications Committee: Ernest L. Eliel; Past-President: William J. Bailey © Copyright 1976, American Chemical Society Subscription Service: Send all new and renewal subscriptions with payment to: Office of the Controller, ACS, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. All correspondence and telephone calls regarding changes of address, claims for missing issues, subscription service, status of records and accounts should be directed to: Manager, Membership and Subscription Services, ACS, P.O. Box 3337, Columbus, Ohio 43210; telephone 614-421-7230. On changes of address, include both old and new addresses with ZIP code numbers, accompanied by mailing label from a recent issue. Allow four weeks for change to become effective. Claims for missing numbers will not be allowed if loss was due to failure of notice of change of address to be received in the time specified; if claim is dated (a) North America: more than 90 days beyond issue date, (b) all other foreign: more than one year beyond issue date; or if the reason given is "missing from files." Subscription Rates 1976: nonmembers, U.S. 1 yr. $15, 3 yr. $32; Pan American Union $22.50, $54.50; Canada and other nations $23, $56. Air freight rates available on request. Single copies: Current $1.00. Rates for back issues and volumes are available from Special Issues Sales Dept., ACS, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. An annual index is available for $25. Standing orders are accepted. Back and current issues are available on microfilm. For further information, contact Special Issues Sales. Published by ACS from 20th and Northampton Sts., Easton, Pa., weekly except for an extra issue in April and except the last week in December. Second class postage paid at Washington, D.C, and at additional mailing offices. ACS assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to its publications. Views expressed in the editorials are those of the editors and do not necessarily represent the official position of ACS. Advertising Management CENTCOM, LTD. (For list of offices see page 43)
2
C&EN March 8, 1976
Guest Comment
The invisible data bank Interested citizens must marvel at the way our collective environmental consciousness is raised by outcries over newly discovered pollutants. In recent years these pollutants have included DDT, PCB's, phthalates, haloforms, asbestos, mercury, cadmium, nitrates, and others. Each discovery, and the resultant publicity, inevitably has led to requests from the scientific community for money to perform more studies to generate more data. This is a logical approach today since it often takes an imminent pollution alert or health hazard to pry research money out of federal coffers for genuinely worthwhile pursuits. The cries for more studies and more data are usually well intentioned, but also frequently are based on an assumed lack of information. It is true that if a pollutant has been discovered only recently, the odds are good that few people will have studied it before. But it is also likely that some scientist, somewhere, has generated similar relevant data that either through lack of sustained interest or because of proprietary restraints have not been promulgated. In essence, there is an invisible data bank in this country which, to date, has not been and cannot be used to the fullest extent possible. How has this invisible data bank been developed? Almost every reader of this publication by now is aware of the National Environmental Policy Act and the 1972 amendments to the Water Pollution Control Act. These two laws and corollary ones at the state level have stimulated the generation of extensive and almost excessive amounts of data, particularly chemical and biological water quality monitoring data. In theory, some of the chemical data goes into the government's STORET system. Unfortunately, the rest of the data lies fallow and gathers dust on the shelves of state and federal regulatory agencies and consulting firms or else is buried in corporate filing cabinets. The problem has gotten so critical in the area of biological monitoring data that the Council on Environmental Quality in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory is in the process of trying to identify biological monitoring studies that have been or are currently being performed. Hopefully, some sense of order will evolve from that effort. A similar effort is needed in the area of chemical water quality. Every impact assessment, every facilities plan and regional water quality study, and other programs stimulated by the new laws usually start with the premise that some data, but not much, are available. The fewer data that are available (or at least easily accessible) means more money has to be spent on gathering information. The result is that thousands and ultimately millions of dollars are spent annually, and in many cases needlessly, to gather data that likely already exist but are simply inaccessible. STORET could be the answer, but it can only provide data that have been put into its system, and the retrieval of even that data can sometimes be difficult. Corporate and municipal self-monitoring data, impact assessments, sponsored research, etc., generate thousands of pieces of data that never reach STORET. The result is that many studies will be repeated unnecessarily. In summary, there is an invisible bank of chemical water quality monitoring data in this country. It has been developed at great expense (public as well as private) but is not always accessible to scientists when needed. Perhaps the time is near for an organized effort within existing institutional structures (not a new bureaucracy) such as the national taboratories, regional EPA offices, state water resources centers, etc., to assemble, validate, and summarize these data. If judged to be scientifically valid, the data should be promulgated widely to avoid constant and expensive duplication. Joseph J. Delfino Laboratory of Hygiene, University of Wisconsin, Madison
C&EN editorials represent only the views of the author and aim at initiating intelligent discussion.
