229 
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN J. MOAKLEY, STATE SENATOR FROM 
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS 
Senator Moaxtey. Thank you very ntuch, Mr. Chairman and mem- 
bers of the committee. 
It is a privilege for me to be here today to testify in behalf of 
H.R. 18454, introduced to your committee by Hon. Michael J. Har- 
rington of Massachusetts. 
I can tell you that from my own experience in the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts as Chairman of the Special Legislative Commission 
on Marine Boundaries and Resources, that this legislation is critically 
long overdue, and in some cases may even be too late. 
Mr. Chairman, the absurd reality is that the public believes that 
somewhere, somehow, someone is protecting them and their environ- 
ment. It is undoubtedly the incurable optimism on the part of most 
Americans and the unfailing faith they place in their elected officials 
which may explain this phenomenon. 
I do not, however, share their optimism nor their faith in us, as 
elected officials, at this juncture and in this area. 
I am very deeply depressed over the absolute disregard of envi- 
ronmental and health consequences which our own Federal agencies 
practice. 
The two most flagrantly derelict agencies who deserve public criti- 
cism in this area are the Army Corps of Engineers and the Atomic 
Energy Commission. For years, both have acted to the detriment of 
America’s resources and health. 
Let me just briefly tell you how I first met the Corps of Engineers. 
‘he meeting took place some 6 months ago when my commission began 
investigating the water pollution problem in my State of Massachu- 
setts. We discovered that the Corps of Engineers granted a permit for 
the past 6 years to a private contractor to dump chemicals off Boston 
Harbor. 
Allow me to read a list of what the corps permitted them to dump a 
few miles off our coast—just this year before public outrage put a stop 
to it: 
Beryllium,750 pounds. 
Mercury, 35 pounds. 
Sodium, 2,500 pounds. 
Lithium aluminum hydride, 250 pounds. 
Methy] ethyl] ketone, 50,000 gallons. 
Ether, 55 gallons. 
Sodium hydroxide, 200 gallons. 
Phenal, 50 gallons. 
Methy] isopropy] ketone, 250 gallons. 
Toluene, 250 gallons. 
Acetone, 200 gallons. 
Methanol, 500 gallons. 
Xylene, 250 gallons. 
Freon, 250 gallons. 
Nitric acid, 1,000 gallons. 
Hydrochloric acid, 500 gallons. 
Sulfuric acid, 1,000 gallons. 
Hydrofluric acid, 250 gallons. 
It reads like a recipe for disaster. 
