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WIDELY USED CHEMICALS NOW UNDER SUSPICION 
A widely used group of chemicals, known as polychlorinated phenols, is being unsuspected of posing an as yet unknown 
threat to the environment. Among the many products which are derived from these compounds are the widely used 
herbicides 2, 4—d and 2,4,5—T. Another group of products derived from polychlorinated phenol are the wood fungicides 
used to preserve timber, and the familiar antibacterial ingredient in many soaps and laundry preparation, hexachlorophene. 
A polychlorinated bipheny!, known as PCB which is marketed by Monsanto Chemicals under the name of Arochlor, is 
known to be a highly toxic, persistent environmental contaminant which accumulates in the systems of animals, much as 
DDT. North American peregrine falcons have been found to contain as much as 1,980 parts per million of PCB in their body 
fat: and a Swedish white-tailed eagle contained 17,000 ppm. There are other reports of PCB being found in the bodies of fish 
and ocean birds; and it now appears that PCBs may be as widely dispersed in the oceans as the chlorinated hydrocarbons 
found in the “hard” pesticides. 
Dr. David Peakall of Cornell University, has found that, like DDT, PCB fed to pigeons, stimulates enzyme production in 
the liver which breaks down the sex hormones. Among the effects of this breakdown are: a thinning of the eggshell, delayed 
egg laying, and an increase in chick mortality. 
At present, there is no federally enforced tolerance for PCB residues in food. The chemical came into use during World 
War Il; and is now employed in the manufacture of plasticsers, flame retardants, rubber, electrical products, printer’s ink, 
floor tile, paper and fabric coatings, brake-linings, paint, varnish, wax, asphalt, etc. 
SIERRA CLUB WILL APPEAL COURT DECISION — Last July a Federal District Court judge granted the Sierra Club 
an injunction blocking the leasing of federal land to Walt Disney Enterprises for the Mineral King Resort in the Sierra 
National Forest. On September 17 the appellate court reversed this decision, saying that the club did not have the 
standing to sue. The club’s board has decided to appeal. 

MERCURY KILLS EAGLES — THREATENS HUMANS 
Mercury has now been added to the environmental hazards, which along with DDT and dieldrin, are reducing our 
dwindling population of eagles. In addition, high levels of the poison in rivers and streams have caused several states to issue 
warnings against eating fish taken in waters with high mercury levels. 
A report in Environment magazine states that exceedingly high levels of mercury were found in two eagles in Minnesota 
and “‘one of the birds tumbled to earth in downtown Saint Cloud and was found to have 126 parts per million of mercury in 
its tissue. Fifty ppm are considered lethal to birds.”’ 
Secretary of the Interior, Walter Hickel, recently brought suit against ten plants for polluting the water with mercury; 
however the Department admits that it is now negotiating with the companies to permit continued, small discharges. The 
accused firms are: Allied Chemical, Olin—Mathieson, Diamond Shamrock, Weyerhauser Lumber, International Mining and 
Chemical, Pennwalt Chemcial, Oxford Paper, and Georgia Pacific. 
The latter firm was accused of dumping over 41 pounds of mercury into Puget Sound each day; however, a spokesman for 
the company, which is the redwood lumber business, says that a new re-cycling system was put into operation a few days 
before the pollution charge made national headlines. William Hunt, G—P President, said: “The incident involving 
Georgia-Pacific is a clear indication of the danger in allowing hysteria to damage those who are making real efforts to protect 
the environment.” 
Because of the severity of the mercury pollution problem, Sen. Charles Percy has introduced a bill which would place a 
penalty of up to $10,000 per day on firms which pollute the water. The Refuse Act of 1899, under which offenders are now 
being prosecuted, provides a maximum penalty of $2,500 per day upon conviction. 
Mercury is used by industry to control slime in the manufacture of wood pulp, in the electrolitic process of chlorine 
manufacture, in paint, and for mildew control on wallpaper. It was formerly widely used in agriculture as a fungicide in the 
treatment of seed. 
This use was recently suspended following an incident in the southwest when several members of a family suffered brain 
damage as a result of eating pork which had been fed on grain sweepings which contained mercury-treated seed. Mercury 
causes irreversible brain damage, and its use in hat making gave rise to the expression ‘’mad as a hatter.” 
Mercury-treated grain was also responsible for the cancellation of the pheasant season in the Canadian province of Alberta 
in 1969. The birds had been feeding on treated wheat and contained unsafe levels of the poison in their flesh. 
