Originally designed to mandate cleanup of America's most heavily polluted industrial sites, the federal Superfund program has so far produced mostly legal fees and not much cleanup. According to the Associated Press, "Work on only a handful of the 1,200 worst cases has been completed, although the government has spent more than $9 billion and private industry billions more. Much of the money has gone into legal fees in disputes over responsibility."
The impact of the kind of pollution Superfund is supposed to end is now being felt by 126 families in Pensacola, Florida. Their neighborhood, sandwiched between two Superfund sites, has been found to be heavily contaminated. The toxins present include dioxin, arsenic, lead and other poisons leaching from the Superfund sites. As a result all 126 families may be forced to relocate.
Ironically, the announcement of this pending action came virtually simultaneously with the announcement that a final settlement in the Love Canal case has been reached. Love Canal was a community near Niagara Falls, New York that was built on an abandoned dumpsite. During the 1940s and 1950s over 22,000 pounds of chemicals were dumped on what was to become part of the town of Love Canal. The chemicals included dioxins and other toxins from industrial plants. In the 1970s Love Canal residents were successful in pressing their claims for compensation after years of complaints of chemicals leaking into their homes and yards. Hundreds of families were evacuated, and the community was declared a health disaster area.
The final settlement will require Occidental Chemical Corp. to pay $129 million to complete the cleanup of Love Canal.
The good news is that rivers rarely catch on fire anymore. The bad news is that better than one in three US waterways still have serious pollution problems. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency's latest nationwide review of water quality 37 percent of America's waterways had pollution levels that made them unsuitable for fishing, swimming or other aquatic activities during some part of 1992 and 1993, the last period for which data are available.
The EPA report cited sewage, disease-causing bacteria, fertilizer, toxic metals, oil and grease among the most common pollutants. Primary sources include agricultural and industrial runoff, treated and in some cases untreated sewage, and pollution from urban streets and development.
High levels of nutrients, including phosphates and nitrates used in agricultural chemicals, were the most likely to be found in lakes and estuaries. High levels of these nutrients are known to lead to excessive algae and weed growths. This in turn causes excessive mortality among fish and foul odors from the affected waterways.
EPA last surveyed national water quality three years ago. This latest report shows a continuing trend in controlling water pollution. According to EPA Administrator Carol Browner, "We are holding our own in controlling water pollution, but we need to make progress.
A veteran environmental group is leading the effort to turn an environmental problem in California into an opportunity. The group is Earth Island Institute and the problem is rice straw.
California's rice farmers have, for decades, burned the residue of their harvest. Each year some 1.5 million tons of rice straw had gone up in smoke. And, according to California environmentalists, regulators and citizens, into the lungs of Californians. Now these farmers are facing the phasing out of burning in agricultural operations. Convinced that plowing under the rice straw would produce negative impacts on the health of their soil, farmers have been searching for environmentally and economically viable options.
One of these options, according to Earth Island Institute, is replacing wood fibers with rice fibers in pulp and paper manufacturing. Earth Island researchers report that rice straw and other agricultural by-products are economical alternatives to wood, in part because they are more economical to bleach.
This idea is reportedly finding favor in the pulp industry. Mill owners and operators are faced with a worldwide wood fiber shortage, and rising prices, as forests in all areas of the globe are felled.
Interestingly, a move toward fibers from agricultural operations would represent a classic "back to the future" solution. Agricultural fibers were formerly the main fiber source in paper making. According to an Earth Island representative, "One hundred years ago, people would have thought it was crazy to make paper out of trees because they were so used to making it out of agriculture products."
Earth Island also reported that in China rice and wheat straw currently account for 90% of that country's paper production. Another plant, kenaf, has also been the focus of interest and research. Earth Island recently published its newsletter on 100% kenaf paper.
Air pollution in Mexico City is widely reported to be the worst in any city on the planet. Home to 20 million people, the Mexican metropolis is situated in a valley which traps a "cocktail of contaminants" that make the city's air deadly. According to public health officials a single smog alert day can cause up to 100,000 respiratory infections.
To make matters even worse, Greenpeace recently reported that the actual pollution levels may be much higher than thought. Greenpeace reported that monitors placed 4 feet above the ground on city streets detected 3 1/2 times the concentration of carbon dioxide than the government monitoring stations. These instruments, Greenpeace reported, are generally 10 to 20 feet above the ground. The implications for human health, particularly for more susceptible children, are significant.
However, even using the more conservative official figures Mexico City authorities have announced increased curbs on driving in the city. The new regulations would declare an emergency when ozone levels reach 250 on a scale used to monitor smog levels. A reading of 200 is considered dangerous and a reading of 300 is considered very dangerous. At that point somewhere around 20 percent of all Mexico City drivers would be prohibited from using their vehicles for two days. The current plan provides for only one-day "layoffs." The restrictions, which could also be imposed on weekends, could reduce daily automobile traffic by about 20 percent.
Pollution, congestion and road accidents cost the European Union nations over 5% of their gross domestic product every year. These unwanted effects of automobile driven transportation systems add up to a bill of over $318 billion yearly, paid by all taxpayers in the European Union nations. These were among the findings in a European Commission policy paper addressing proposals to make heavy users of transportation systems pay for the environmental and public health costs involved.
Soon to be up for consideration are a variety of tools to alter transportation pricing to reflect the real cost of utilization. The paper contains proposals which would have wide- ranging impacts on all transportation users. The proposals include: adjusting road charges for heavy goods vehicles; a system of electronic charging per kilometer, with charges pro-rated based on how much infrastructure damage a vehicle inflicts; toll roads with fees going to relieve congestion or protect sensitive areas; graduated taxes based on vehicle noise and environmental impact; and, requiring better safety performance data for different vehicles and transportation systems.
According to the paper benefits would include time savings for business; a decrease in accident rates, and health bills; cleaner air from reduced emissions.
The policies outlined in the paper would be aimed at charging more costs directly to the user. According to the paper, "decisions made by individuals with respect to their choice of mode, their location and investments are to a large extent based on prices. So prices have to be right in order to get transport right."
RETURN TO OUR ENVIRONMENT -- ONLINE CONTENTS PAGE