RECEIVED OCT 1 EIN MEMBERS of Notional Petroleum Refiners panel on air pollution listen os + Senator Muskie promises... Lead's role in pollution will be probed Senate subcommittee to hold hearings on lead emissions from cars. Public Health symposium will look at lead, plus sulfur and nitrogen pollutants. THE ROLE of leaded gasoline in air pollution will be investigated shortly by a Senate subcommittee and the Public Health Service. ‘The two-pronged probe was dis- closed last week by Sen, Edmund S. Muskie (D.-Me.) and Vernon G. MacKenzie, chief of the division of ait pollution in the Public Health Service MacKenzie also called for eorrec- tive measures on sulfur-dioxide pol- lution from fossil fuels and emis sions from automobiles. Planning, for still further control down the road is needed also, he added, along curbs on nitrogen oxides, Muskie and MacKenzie appeared on an ait-pollution panel at a di- rectors meeting of the National Pe- troleum Refiners Association in Washington. The industry member of the panel was J. T. Higgins, vice president of manufacturing, enj neering, and research for Standard Oil Co. of California, Higgins urged a factual approach to pollution control. He questioned Whether available information justi- fies the alarm expressed by the two officials over the lead content in the air and the bloodstreamot Americans. 58 Lead scrutiny. Senator Muskie said the question of lead poisoning is a matter of "grave concern.” Hearings will be held before his subcommittee around the first of the year, he told the Journal. He ap- ealed for industry cooperation to get the facts, Muskic regards the lead study as a follow up to his legislation, soon fo become Jaw, curbing emissions from auto exhausts. Controls will be effective with 2 model year to be set by the federal Government ‘The hearings, he said, will “de- termine what additional steps need to be taken in research and control of lead emissions from automotive exhausts.” Referring to a study indicating that average lead concentration in Americans is about half the toxic level, Muskie added: “We cannot tolerate delay in acting on matters affecting the health of our citizens— especially when they relate to the adverse effects of long-term dosages of toxic mater “Stet to right: 3. T. Wi dent, Standard Oil Ca” of California: Ver pon 'G."MacKeraie, head of the Division of Air Pollution, Public Health Service, and P. NN. Gammelgaed, Pure. division of Union ‘Oi! Cor of Califenis, moderator sng, vce pre MacKenzie said the Public Health Service will sponsor a symposium on lead contamination this fall. No date has been set. He said the mar- gin of safety against lead contam- ination is relatively narrow, and that if present trends continue it will disappear. He urged industry to participate jin the symposium (0 pinpoint the relative advantages of using vs. not using lead in gasoline, the cost of dropping it, and the benefit to the public. One refiner suggested. the cost would be about 2 cents/gal of gasoline, Sulfur, nitrogen pollution, Mac- Kenzie told refiners there is @ need today to reduce sulfur-dioxide pol- lution from coal and heavy fuel oil. Emissions of this type, he added, in many urban areas “exceed the concentration judged to be injuri- ous to human health, and in addi- tion, cause economic damages of great magnitude.” He estimated pol- lution damage from various sources at billions of dollars per year. He pointed t0 use of low-sulfur fuels, increased desulfurization of fuels, and removal of oxides from stack gases as ways of reducing the THE OIL AND GAS JOURNAL + SEPTEMBER 27, 1965threat. He conceded the cost “may rot be attractive to all parties con- cerned.” MacKenzie recently was stymied by the White House when he tried to ban the burning of most coal and heavy fue! oil from federal installa tions, A compromise proposal has not yet been Worked out MacKenzie has been considering a plan by the American Petroleum Institute to control serious air-pol- lution episodes that arise during certain weather conditions. But in ‘answer to a question by the Journa he dismissed this approach as ap- plying to disasters only—not to con- tinuing problems. Automotive pollution. MacKenzie ig not satisfied that exhaust con trols planned for new autos will solve the pollution problem, The solution, in MacKenzie’s view, may lie in development of radically different automotive power plants ‘Muskie said fuel composition may also have to be changed to reduce fumes from existing engines. Industry comments, Higgins cautioned the federal Government against making the enforcement mis- takes nationwide which he said were made in Los Angeles County. He said refiners there were re quired to spend large sums of money when in some cases there was not even “an infinitesimal benefit” in reducing pollution. Sulfur- dioxide ‘emissions were cut sharply with only 2 marginal gain, he said. Removing the sulfur from heavy fuel oil isn’t the answer nationai he indicated. Hydrogenation wouldn't yield a sulfur-free fuel oil, he said, but would only convert it 10 gasoline. He also urged a factual approach to controlling auto fumes. The aim, he said, should be to take out the reactive hydrocarbons while main~ taining vapor pressure. “We should be careful of hang: 1g gadgets on cars,” he said, re- fercing to crankcase ventilation valves as “nothing but trouble.” ‘They ruined some engines, he added Control efforts, ne said, shoutd be confined to new cars On the issue of lead contamina tion, Higgins questioned whether data revealed a problem as severe «as Muskie and MacKenzie reported. WATCHING WASHINGTON New imports administrator has strong political ae: With Gene T. Kinney SEN, WILLIAM D, PROXMIRE (D-Wis.) would like to add an- other oilman-appointec’s scalp to his belt He denounced the appointment of Elmer L. Hochn as head of the Ol Import Administration (see p. 51) as a betrayal of the consumer. But in taking on Hochn, former executive of an Indiana-Illinois-Ken- lucky group, the perennial oi eritic has overmatched himself. He was no doubt encouraged by his victory last year against Joe Y. Dickerson, named by Interior Sec. Stewart L. Udall as director of the Office of Oil and Gas, He built such a warm political fire under Udall that he was obliged to dump the retired Shell executive. Proxmire, who would rather be senator than right, charged last week “a man who had been hired 0 represent oil, interests in fighting quotas will now sit in the driver’s seat to determine how big those ‘quotas will be.” The administrator of course has no such power. ‘At Hoehn’s swearing in, Udall was unruffled, even cheerful in facing the alleged issue of conflict of interest, Hoehn, too, could feel quite comfortable. To begin with, he had the sponsorship of former Indiana Gov. Matthew Welsh. Also, on hand for ‘a ceremonial show of political support were the Capitol Hill figures. who count most with the Interior Secretary. “There was Rep. Winfield K. Denton (D.-Ind), Hoehn’s own con gressman who heads the Appropriations subcommittee that controls the purse strings for Udall’s department. Rep. Wayne Aspinall (D-Colo.), head of the Interior Committee, and other important con- igressmen (ured out in a strong show of favor for the appointment, Brushing aside the attack on Hocha as ill founded, Udall declared: “This department and the couniry is bad off if we can’t have someone in the job of oil imports administrator who knows the industry and has the confidence of the industry. Coal oil seen as refinery feedstock in 15 years IN HIS TALK to directors of the National Petroleum Refiners Association last week, Udall gave oilmen something to think about, He expects that “before 1980, we shall see the commercial develop- ment of some of the richer deposits” of oil shale. There is also a chance, he feels, that refiners will be charging some synthetic crude made from coal by 1980. The cabinet official believes coal oil “may become a signilicant refinery feedstock in the future.” Offshore bill no threat fo private development + A BILL APPROVED in slightly different forms by the House and Senate has been viewed as a vehicle for putting the federal Government directly into the offshore oil business. If federal officials respect legislative history, this won't happen. ‘The industry tied to exclude oil and gas from the measure authorizing fa federal program to step up the knowledge and development of our marine resources, It failed But a House committee did quiet this fear in its report. Tt said the legislation “is in no way intended to place the government in the position of duplicating exploration work conducted by the oil and gas industry or to disseminate information which would be prejudicial to any vested private enterprise activities.” THE OWL AND GAS JOURNAL » SEPTEMBER 27, 1965 59 | | | |