Word: epa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...EPA rejects a plea by three states to curb acid rain...
...bureaucrats," declared Richard Thornburgh, the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania, in 1980. Thornburgh was referring to his demand that the federal Environmental Protection Agency stop other states from befouling Pennsylvania's air in violation of the 1970 Clean Air Act. New York and Maine joined Pennsylvania in petitioning the EPA to order seven states, mostly in the Midwest, to reduce sulfur-dioxide emissions that are carried eastward by prevailing winds and fall in the form of acid rain...
...agency based its proposal on growing concern about the danger of lead, which can be fatal in large doses and can damage the liver and kidneys and cause mental retardation in smaller ones. Said EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus: "The evidence is overwhelming that lead is a threat to human health. This action will greatly reduce the threat, especially for pregnant women and young children." He added, moreover, that "recent evidence shows that adverse health effects from lead exposure may occur at much lower levels than heretofore considered safe." Ruckelshaus estimated that the ruling would lower by nearly 50% the number...
...EPA predicted that the benefits of getting the lead out will be far greater than the cost. The agency said the move would create overall savings of $1.8 billion in the form of lower medical bills and increased fuel economy. By contrast, staff members estimated that refiners will need to spend only about $575 million to retool their facilities, or less than 1% of the current total cost of making gasoline. That could push the price of leaded fuel, which still accounts for some 45% of gasoline sales, close to the level of the unleaded variety...
Among the companies likely to be hurt most by the EPA action are those like Virginia-based Ethyl Corp. that produce lead additive for refiners. The firm, which supplies about 40% of the lead in U.S. gasoline, has vowed to fight the proposal...