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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

VOLUME I

July 20, 1966:

Hon. John A. Blatnik, chairman, Subcommittee on Rivers and Har-
bors, Committee on Public Works----

Page

3

Hon. Robert E. Jones, Jr., chairman, Subcommittee on Natural Re-
sources and Power, Committee on Government Operations....
Hon. Charles A. Vanik, Committee on Ways and Means.....

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Mr. Wilbur J. Cohen, Under Secretary, Department of Health, Edu-
cation, and Welfare...

31

Mr. Arthur C. Stern, Assistant Chief, Division of Air Pollution, De-
partment of Health, Education, and Welfare_.

50

Mr. Wesley E. Gilbertson, Chief, Office of Solid Wastes, Public Health
Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare...

July 26, 1966:

Dr. John W. Tukey, professor of mathematics, Princeton University--
Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus, Institute of Technology, University of Min-
nesota...
July 27, 1966:

Dr. Leon W. Weinberger, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Research
and Development, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration,
U.S. Department of the Interior...

84

101

113

133

Col. Alvin F. Meyer, Jr., USAF, BSC Chairman, Environmental Pol-
lution Control Committee, Department of Defense....-

154

July 28, 1966:

Mr. Bertram C. Raynes, vice president, Applied Research, Rand De-
velopment Corp---

189

August 3, 1966:

August 4, 1966:

Dr. Walter R. Hibbard, Jr., Director, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Depart-
ment of the Interior; accompanied by Mr. Harry Perry, Acting
Director of Minerals Research and Director, Coal Research, and
Mr. Richard H. Mote, Chief, Office of Program Coordination___
Dr. Thomas F. Malone, vice president and director of research, the
Travelers Insurance Cos..

Mr. David C. Knowlton, president, Knowlton Bros., Inc., accompanied
by Dr. Harry W. Gehm, technical director.......

207

Mr. William E. Warne, director, Department of Water Resources,
State of California, accompanied by Mr. Tim Dillon_.

225

257

284

August 9, 1966:

Mr. P. N. Gammelgard, director, Committee for Air and Water Conservation, American Petroleum Institute___

297

Dr. Robert E. Eckardt, American Petroleum Institute..

311

Dr. Arthur M. Bueche, vice president, Research and Development
Center, General Electric Co...

325

Dr. Charles A. Bishop, director, Chemical Engineering Development,
Applied Research, United States Steel Corp----.

334

August 10, 1966:

Dr. Colin M. MacLeod, Deputy Director, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President_.

347

Dr. John L. Buckley, Office of Ecological Research Coordinator, the
Science Adviser, U.S. Department of the Interior____
Mr. Henry W. Riecken, Social Science Research Council..

365

381

August 11, 1966:

Mr. John O. Logan, Manufacturing Chemists Association; accompanied by, Mr. James H. Rook, Mr. Jerome Wilkenfeld, and Dr. John A. Zapp--

Page

391

Mr. A. J. Wagner, Chairman, Tennessee Valley Authority; accompanied by Dr. F. E. Gartrell, Assistant Director, Division of Health and Safety, TVA..

413

Dr. F. E. Gartrell, Assistant Director, Division of Health and Safety,
TVA.
August 17, 1966:

415

Dr. Abel Wolman, professor emeritus, the Johns Hopkins University.. September 19, 1966:

441

Dr. Arie J. Haagen-Smit, California Institute of Technology-
Mr. Louis J. Fuller, air pollution control officer, Los Angeles County
Air Pollution Control District.

515

522

Mr. Eric Grant, executive officer, California State Motor Vehicle
Pollution Control Board.............

550

Mr. W. L. Rogers, vice president and general manager, Von Karman
Center, Aerojet-General Corp..

590

Dr. William D. Clark, technical director, Dyna-Therm Corp-
Mrs. Sherman Slade, Stamp Out Smog Committee...

594

595

Mr. George Fisher, Southern California Taxpayers Council.

596

THE ADEQUACY OF TECHNOLOGY FOR POLLUTION

ABATEMENT

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1966

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met, at 10:10 a.m., pursuant to notice in room 2325, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. DADDARIO. The meeting will come to order.

The testimony which the subcommittee will hear during the next 4 weeks will concern the adequacy of technology for the abatement of environmental pollution. The problem of pollution represents the other side of the bright coin of American civilization. On one side we see the benefits of the application of science and technology in our standard of living, our national security, our economic growth, and our prestige, among nations. But, on the reverse of the coin we must recognize the unexpected and unwanted consequences of a technical society-such as urban problems, transportation complexities and most importantly, the threat to the quality of the environment.

I believe at the outset that the question is not one of either curtailing industrial and economic progress or suffering the decline of air, water, and land quality. It seems clear that we should not, and need not, settle for anything less than wise usage of all our resources for the optimum benefit of the economy and all our citizens. This means that the restoration and preservation of air and water are a logical adjunct to the building of cities, the providing of electric power and personal transportation, and the development of agricultural and manufacturing businesses.

Sober consideration of the waste-products problem is a responsibility of us all, but it is not an issue which should be treated in an atmosphere of crisis where blame is placed or ill-considered remedies hastily enforced. These hearings are designed to make clear to the Congress the technological problems of pollution abatement and research needs. It must be realized that any definition of pollution is relative to the specific use among various contending needs of society, to which a particular stream or area is dedicated. Quality criteria and standards permit meaningful goals and timetables to be established and new technology to be developed for pollution abatement. These hearings are designed to anticipate the problems of the future. One thing that is clear is that we will have to emphasize greater reuse of our resources in the future.

Much significant legislation for control of environmental pollution has been passed. I am pleased that we will hear this morning from the leaders who have drafted these pace-setting laws. What remains to be seen is how political, economic, and technical institutions can. organize themselves for an efficient and equitable response to this public purpose. I am convinced that the community of scientists and engineers which has brought about the high level of our industrybased society will also be able to solve the problems of waste management. These solutions must be solidly based on fact or our goals and the timetables for meeting them will not be achieved.

In many cases the technology is now available to abate pollutionand should be used to do so. In other cases, the devices and techniques are inadequate or far too costly and more research must be done. The subcommittee has had valuable counsel from the Research Management Advisory Panel which has studied this problem for some time. The panel has indicated that abatement of pollution is a crucial area for study by this subcommittee. Such consideration is consistent with the statement by Chairman George P. Miller 3 years ago that one of the primary objectives of this subcommittee is "The achievement of the most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States in the effort to accomplish national goals which affect the lives of all Americans."

Such national goals as pollution abatement are properly comparable with goals in military security or space exploration. Science and technology are not, however, parceled out among these goals on an arbitrary basis. Rather, the goals are assigned an importance and a corresponding priority within the entire Federal program. Then, those goals which require a high degree of support by research and development are provided funds accordingly. The priority of the pollution abatement effort is rising as knowledge increases and apathy is replaced by a call for action. These hearings will indicate whether there is an adequate Federal effort, as well as privately financed research and development, now going into pollution abatement to assure the attainment of appropriate and desirable national goals.

Significant to this point are the results of a survey of 1,000 participants by the magazine Industrial Research in its July 1966 issue. To the question "Is the Federal Government spending too much on R. & D. for space?", 46 percent responded "Yes" and 47 percent responded "No." To the question "Is the Federal Government spending too little on R. & D. for pollution?", 67 percent responded "Yes."

A direct example of the need for new technology is found in the recent announcement by President Johnson on the control of air pollution originating from Federal installations. The President said that the most difficult problem encountered in writing the order directing Government agencies to lead the way toward clean air, was the lack of an economically feasible technology for controlling the emissions of sulfur.

Thus, there is evidence that the technology to achieve our objectives of environmental quality and waste management is not yet adequate. In these hearings we will hear from scientists and engineers who are engaged on a day-to-day basis with this problem.

I might say that environmental pollution is no stranger to us in Connecticut. For example, our most valuable cash crop, tobacco, can

be severely damaged by ozone originating in automobile exhausts. Several ozone-resistant strains of tobacco have been developed. However, even these varieties are not immune, and will be damaged if the concentration of ozone in the air becomes too high.

What technology is available to protect this crop, or to reduce the exhaust emissions, and with what cost effectiveness? Can further research bring some new imaginative solutions to this conflict of agriculture and transportation values? These are typical of the questions these hearings will explore.

Further, I believe that pollution is just one example of the need which we have for greater insight into the undesirable side effects of manmade changes in our world. Dr. Jerome Wiesner, a member of the Advisory Panel has used the phrase "early warning system." As the growing population of the world brings human society to every geographical area and as the world becomes more industrialized, the potential of mankind to create worldwide problems such as radioactive fallout, spread of persistent pesticides, and a carbon dioxide imbalance in the atmosphere, also increases. Our ability to study and to predict the effects of these vast ecological manipulations before they threaten our well-being has become crucial. This is indeed a challenge worthy of the best of our scientists and as exciting as the conquest of space.

We must replace emotional response, which comes all too quickly in environmental pollution issues, with facts. We must replace an atmosphere of crisis, which is a poor one for decisionmaking, with confidence in cause and affect relationships. We must do our utmost in developing new waste management methods and in removing barriers to their application. We must also help define the problems through the formulation of realistic standards by which we can judge our current situation, our progress, and our needs. It will then be possible for continued economic growth to be accompanied by a high level of quality in the air, water, and soil.

I'm pleased that to begin our hearings our first witness will be Congressman John A. Blatnik, of Minnesota, who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Rivers and Harbors, Committee on Public Works. Mr. Blatnik is an old friend of mine. I have watched very carefully and supported the work he has done in this whole area of pollution. Over the course of many years he has been the instigator of a tremendous amount of activity which has been helpful to many of our States.

Mr. Blatnik, we are happy to have you here and we are anxious to have you be our leadoff witness.

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN A. BLATNIK, CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON RIVERS AND HARBORS, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS

Mr. BLATNIK. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

I'm very privileged indeed to appear before the committee on the subject area of particular special interest and concern to me for some years. I am certainly honored to be the leadoff witness. Exactly

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