LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: EPA CORRECT IN CALLING FOR CLEAN-UP

To the Editor:

When commentators and politicians use science to bolster an argument, they deserve scrutiny. In explaining Senate Bill 809, introduced to control Missouri's Department of Natural Resources, State Senator Peter Kinder attacked its national counterpart, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. When cleaning up hazardous waste and toxic dumps that individuals or companies have produced, the EPA attempts to make polluters, rather than the taxpayers, pay. Senator Kinder argues, however, that in seeking responsible polluters, the EPA is out of control and is "hounding" harmless and helpless businesses.

In defending the owner of the Missouri Electric Works site, a Cape Girardeau toxic waste location, Kinder argues that there is no scientific proof that anyone has ever been killed or even made sick by PCBs (Southeast Missourian, March 4, 1994). This statement demands a response.

My point here is not to debate Kinder's Senate Bill, or who should pay for clean-up of local toxic sites, but to take issue with the gross scientific distortion that Kinder presents as the basis for his argument. We should debate political issues on their political merits, not resort to deceptive and distorted evidence to support a position.

It is not clear what Kinder means by "proof". Since science doesn't deal in proof, but with informed and reasoned inference from the weight of evidence, I conclude that kinder is using proof in a legal sense. By this I means: would a jury of competent Americans conclude from the available evidence that PCBs pose a sufficiently serious health and environmental threat that they demand special attention? Of this there can be no doubt.

PCBs, short for polychlorinated biphenyls, are a group of 209 similar compounds that commonly occur as contaminants of industrial sites where electrical insulation, capacitors and transformers are produced. When PCBs are produced commercially, they are composed of a wide array of these 209 compounds, some of which are much more toxic than others. They are also accompanied by other highly toxic contaminants. It is difficult to separate the compounds out in their manufacture. It is also difficult to separate them in studies of effects. But since they occur together, the implications of research are still relevant.

What research has told us is that these compounds are toxic. In studies on an array of animals, some including humans, they have been shown to cause; body weight loss, reduction in thymus gland development, skin disorders, liver damage, malformed embryos, reduced fertility, cancer, and reduced immune system effectiveness. Not all of these effects have been seen in humans, but many have. Seemingly, Senator Kinder would demand controlled experiments on humans before he would accept that dangers are sufficient to warrant action. Fortunately, those responsible for medical and health policy are wiser. The entire basis for undertaking medical studies on laboratory animals is that results are generalizable to humans with sufficient frequency that we don't wait for the human catastrophe before we act.

One study (conducted by General Electric), revealed no significant effects to workers exposed to PCBs in terms of skin disorders, liver and lung damage, hypertension and cancer. Other studies, however, have revealed skin disorders and abnormal liver function among workers exposed to PCBs. Meanwhile, firefighters exposed to PCBs have exhibited nervous, mental and behavioral disorders, a response similar to that seen in monkeys. Furthermore, whether through the action of the contaminants or more highly toxic PCBs themselves, many Japanese and Taiwanese suffering exposure have experienced skin problems, nausea, blindness, stomach cramps and vomiting.

Significantly, however, most human studies focus on short term effects, or effects easily measured. But much research indicates PCBs are responsible for reduced fertility in females, reduced sperm activity in males, and impaired learning and behavior among infants. Unfortunately, these are not aspect that have been studied in humans because they are difficult to address with the limited numbers of humans who have been exposed.

PCBs are a particular environmental problem because they are highly stable; they don't break down for many years. They thus are available to be transported in groundwater far away from toxic sites. Currently, as a result solely of human production and release into the environment, PCBs are found throughout the world, on land and in oceans, from the tropics to the poles.

When consumed, PCBs build up in an organism's fat deposits, and are thus passed on and concentrated through the food chain. Ecologically, the consequences are severe for predators (whether birds or mammals), especially for marine mammals where the highest concentrations are found in seals, dolphins and whales. The potential threat to reproductive success and thus the survival of the species is severe.

When we fail to treat industrial sites contaminated with PCBs, we are directly threatening both our own health and the health of the environment. The Missouri Electric Works is not the only source of PCBs in the United States, but each source adds to the hazard Americans deals with the weight of evidence; in this case there is no doubt. The EPA is correct in judging that this site should be cleansed. Fortunately, the EPA is not staffed by uninformed or misinformed politicians who deny scientific evidence when it fails to agree with their political bias. The EPA is staffed by scientists who are familiar with the research, and can draw reasonable inferences from it. Most of us are grateful.

ALAN P. JOURNET

Professor of Biology

Southeast Missouri State University