156 



Thank you. 



Mr. Lennon. We also thank you for an excellent presentation. 

 I undierstand the gentleman from Arizona, the Honorable John J. 

 Rhodes, would like to give a very brief statement at this time. 



STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN J. RHODES, A REPEESENTATIVE IN 

 CONGRESS PROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA 



Mr. Rhodes. Mr. Chairman, as a cosponsor of the legislation before 

 you today I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of these 

 bills proposing a limit on the dumping of hazardous materials into 

 our coastal waters. 



I do not believe that pollution must be the end product of our 

 Nation's industry. I believe this country can conquer the menace of 

 environmental pollution as it has other problems in the past. How- 

 ever, in order to do this there will have to be legislation enacted by 

 Congress. 



Presently there are no effective standards to regulate the dumping 

 of waste products in our coastal waters. No one wishing to dump waste 

 products is required to demonstrate that the material is harmless. 



We must have effective standards now. I hope that this committee 

 will act favorably on this legislation as soon as possible. 



Mr. Lennon. Thank you very much, Mr. Rhodes. 



I note two other Members of Congress would like to give statements. 

 Would Congressman Mikva please take the witness chair ? 



STATEMENT OP HON. ABNER J. MIKVA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 

 CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 



Mr. MiKVA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 



The sea stirs the spirit of man. In many respects, it is the last unex- 

 plored and untouched region of the earth. Its vastness defies the imag- 

 ination; its savage independence frustrates our feeble attempts to 

 tame it. Yet man is slowly killing the majestic oceans by quietly and 

 relentlessly dumping his garbage into the sea. 



, It is not fair to say that the problem is only beginning. Many areas 

 of our coastal waters are already irrevocably contaminated. The New 

 York Bight is a prime example. A study conducted by the U.S. Marine 

 Laboratory at Sandy Hook, N.J., and completed last year indicates 

 that 40 years of dumping has destroyed the marine ecosystem and 

 rendered most of the area uninhabitable for any sea life. The bight 

 is appropriately referred to as "The Dead Sea." 



The prevalence of disease and contamination, which not only threat- 

 ens the Atlantic coastal fisheries, but also gravely endangers public 

 health, was indicated by studies conducted in this area. More than a 

 dozen species of fish captured in the befouled area of the bight were 

 suffering from a disease knoAvn as fin rot. Lobsters and crabs exposed 

 under laboratory conditions to the same pollutants as are pouring 

 daily into the bight developed a fouling of their bronchial chambers 

 and gills. The test animals all penshed in 3 to 4 days. A report 

 recently prepared by M. Grant Gross, Research Oceanographer at the 

 Marine Sciences Center, State L^niversity of New York at Stony 

 Brook, warns of high concentrations of a number of toxic and cancer- 



