What’s Ahead for the Forest Products Industry in Pollution Legislation

This timely FPRS panel discussion centers on the scope of the national air and water pollution problem and what is being done about the problem under existing legislation. The Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966 provides grants to aid in finding improved ways to treat industrial wastes, research and demonstration funds to develop more efficient and economic technology, and management techniques and comprehensive planning grants to state and interstate agencies. A number of specific problems that the forest products industries should be attempting to solve are: barking wastes; trimmings, culls, and other solid wastes; glue spreader washings, and cleaning wastes; process wastes from wood product mills; pollution resulting from the water transport and storage of logs; logging debris; and toxic preservatives used to treat posts and timbers. In the Air Quality Act of 1967, annual ambient air levels of 0.15 parts per million of sulphur are provided. This is because the air in New York City held 10 times more sulphur than HEW deemed safe for health and consequently the present act was formulated. The air resource cannot be allowed to get as bad as the water resource, since air cannot be purified before it is breathed. HEW has recently published “Air Quality Criteria” that indicate at what level and during what time period a given pollutant does damage to property, health, or welfare in any way. The present criteria deal only with sulphur levels. All segments of industry should assume active leadership in managing the environment and implementing sound quality standards for air and water.

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