PRESENT STATUS OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. Director, and members of their staff was

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1 AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS I N A REGENT REPORT1 on water resources, it is estimated that at the present rate of increasing population growth and industrial use by the end of this century it will be necessary to withdraw from streams and ground sources one billion acre-feet or approximately 75% of stream flow. This represents a threefold increase over the proportion now used, and reflects population increase, greater urbanization with associated increases in water consumption, and increased industrial usage proportional to present trends. That this presents serious problems for the future is readily appreciated when one considers the enormous load of waste, both human and industrial, that these streams are presently carrying. Of the over 500,000 organic chemicals known and described, many are finding their way into streams and thus into our water supplies. Only a small fraction of those presently in water would be acceptable to the Food and Drug Administration as proper additives for food and beverages for human consumption. Although waterborne outbreaks of acute communicable disease traced to established municipal water supplies are rare at the present time, the possibly harmful effects of various chemical additives are much more difficult to determine and trace. This problem is likely to become considerably more severe, since it seems likely that the present rate of industrial development will contmue and our water usage is expected to reach one thousand billion gallons of water per day within this century. This Committee was provided an opportunity recently to review the present status of water pollution in this country with the staff of the Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center. The courtesy of Mr. Kranier, Director, and Dr. Kabler, Acting Deputy Director, and members of their staff was greatly appreciated. The specific sources of various water pollutants are extremely varied and often difficult to identify and define. The more important problems may be listed somewhat as follows: 1. Organic waste from domestic sewage and industrial sources. 2. Chemical waste from industry. The development of new products, and therefore new and different waste materials has proceeded much faster than our capacity to identify, evaluate, and control the possible risk associated with these agents. 3. Land drainage pollutants including silt from soil erosion, highway and new building construction, and urban land drainage. 4. Return of irrrigation water to streams and rivers. This represents a problem in some areas in the southwest particularly. 5. Pesticides and fertilizers, particularly those for widespread agricultural use. 6. Recreational water use, and waters used for navigation. Uses such as these often add oil and other material to the lake or river. 7. Sea water intrusion causing pollution of ground water. 8. Septic tanks, particularly in suburban areas where sewage construction has not matched population growth. 9. Heat pollution from returns of industrial and power plants. 10. Radioactivity from mining, reactors, and fallout. Recent legislation such as the Water Pollution Control Act of 1961 has done much to meet this challenge, and further control measures (Science, 142:566, 1963) seem likely. Within the framework of the present responsibilities of the Public Health Service, the Taft Center operates within the PEDIATRICS, September 1964 PRESENT STATUS OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL 431

2 432 WATER POLLUTION Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control of the Environmental Health Branch of the Bureau of Sanitary Services. In addition to its extensive applied research program, over 100 co-operating agencies (many merely water sampling stations) assist in providing information regarding the type and extent of various pollutants presently found in our streams and water supplies. The various responsibilities and areas of concern of some of the sections of this center may be outlined briefly as follows: A. Chemistry and Physics The primary concern of this section appears to be the identification, quantitation, and significance of various organics in water supplies. Although there is no evidence that the concentrations of by-products in industry discharged into rivers, or the run-off of certain chemicals such as DDT have as yet reached levels proven to be harmful to man, there is ample evidence that levels intolerable to certain animals and fish have akeady been reached in several areas. The organics represent an increasing potential risk, since they are not removed from water with the usual processing techniques, and the concentration is steadily increasing with greater re-use of water at the present time. One of the problems of this Center appears to lie in the fact that it is difficult for them to anticipate problems from new waste products reaching streams, since the products from new processes are not submitted to this Center prior to adoption by industry. B. Microbiology This section is concerned with the occurrence, significance, and interpretation of bacteria and viruses in water supplies. Considerable data are available concerning the pollution of streams in their sampling area, and methods of identifying human and animal contamination have been devised. One of the major concerns of this section lies in the fact that viruses remain viable in raw sewage for considerably longer periods of time than pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the agent of hepatitis, at times associated with water-borne outbreaks of disease, is not susceptible to identification by presently available techniques. It is of some interest to note that during the mass polio immunization program in Cincinnati no polio viruses were found more than 1,000 feet below the sewage disposal plant discharging into the Ohio River. C. Engineering This section is responsible for developing methods for the removal of various pollutants in water used for domestic purposes. One of the recent problems has been the enormous quantities of alkyl benzine sulfonate (ABS) detergents (relatively stable compounds) which have been used in this country in recent years. These compounds will produce foaming in quantities as low as 0.5 per million, and have presented problems in the operation of sewage plants as well as in drinking water in various parts of this country. This compound is of more aesthetic than toxic importance, since no adverse effects on biological life have yet been noted at levels of 0.8 to 1.0 parts per million. Industry promises that less stable detergent compounds will soon become available which will be broken down rapidly in either sewage plants or streams prior to entering water supplies further downstream. D. Advance Waste Treatment Research This section has been engaged in pilot investigations on methods of renovating water which may be necessary within the next few years. It is of considerable interest that this section has relied considerably on co-operative research programs with various organizations, particularly industrial laboratories with specialized knowledge of certain problem areas. It is presently possible, although expensive, by use of evaporation methods, to purify water from waste sources so that it is actually purer than the usual water in this country. Consideration is presently being given to the possibility of using heat sources such as nuclear re-

3 AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS 433 actors to provide steam for water renovalion by the complex evaporation and condensation systems presently under study. E. Aquatic Biology Problems concerning fish kills and other potential and actual disturbances of ecology are presently under study by this section. While these do not bear directly on problems concerning humans, many of the species under study are somewhat more sensitive to various chemicals in the water, and consequently have served as indicators of trouble. In addition, the preservation of the normal ecological balance is fundamental to our survival. The Committee feels that the present effort of this Center appears to be in the proper direction, but its resources do not appear sufficient to insure safe water for succeeding generations. To accomplish this end a stronger research program is needed with methods to identify and assure the safety of various new chemical additives to our streams. In addition, considerable longrange study of water resources appear to be necessary. Since members of the Academy have been traditionally those physicians most interested in preventive medicine and health hazards, and since infants and children represent the age group most likely to be affected adversely by substances found in water, this Committee urges that members keep informed and concerned regarding problems in their own geographic areas as well as on the national scene. An excellent review of the present status of water resources research and the problems confronting us in the future may be found in the reference noted below. REFERENCE 1. Revelle, R. : Water-Resources Research in the Federal Government. Science, 142: , COMMiTTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS Lee E. Fan, M.D., Chairman Charles Bradley, M.D. Stewart H. Clifford, M.D. Edward F. Lis, M.D. Frederic N. Silverman, M.D. Paul F. Wehrle, M.D. George M. Wheatley, M.D. James M. Yamazaki, M.D.

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5 COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS: PRESENT STATUS OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL Pediatrics 1964;34;431 The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the World Wide Web at: Pediatrics is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A monthly publication, it has been published continuously since Pediatrics is owned, published, and trademarked by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Copyright 1964 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: