The Polluters This page intentionally left blank The Polluters benjamin ross The Making of Our Chemically steven amter Altered Environment 1 2010 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ross, Benjamin. The polluters: the making of our chemically altered environment / Benjamin Ross, Steven Amter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-973995-0 1. Chemical industry—Environmental aspects—United States. 2. Chemicals—Environmental aspects—United States. 3. Pollutants. I. Amter, Steven. II. Title. TD195.C45R672010 363.7380973—dc22 2009045748 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T his book is the fruit of ten years of research into the history of pollution, and it has come into existence only because so many people generously shared their time and knowledge along the way. When we fi rst began our research into the history of pollution, Peter Skinner and Craig Colten very generously allowed us to search and freely copy the document collection they assembled when they wrote their pio- neering book The Road to Love Canal. Their advice and encouragement has continued without fail. Many other people have assisted our research over the years. Three who went out of their way to help us deserve special mention. Leon Billings allowed us to use his extraordinary collection of printed congressional hearing records. Travis Wagner shared his deep knowledge of hazardous waste regulation and its his- tory. Anthony Travis unhesitatingly and unfailingly offered us his encourage- ment, shared his knowledge, and, most important, gave wise advice. Other historians generously took time to discuss issues with us, including Alan Derickson, Alan P. Loeb, David Michaels, John Parascandola, Frederick Quivik, and Lynn Snyder. Charlotte Sellers of the Jackson County, Indiana, public library went far out of her way to help our research into the Say- ers family. We also gained valuable insight and information from relatives and friends of people who fi gure in the book. We thank Molly Gosline and Anne Barnes, nieces of Carl Gosline; Jacqueline Tarr Dempsey and Douglas J anney, daughter-in-law and grandson of Omar Tarr; C. Kenneth Banks, Jr.; and Joyce Zimmerman and Margaret Budd, friends of George Best. Thomas Burke helped us with his own recollections about looking for solvents in ground water in the 1970s. The idea of writing this book grew out of research we undertook for attor- neys engaged in litigation over the responsibility for environmental damage and the costs of cleanup. As we repeatedly encountered the same people, the same organizations, and the same behavior in different contexts, we concluded that there was a story that had never been brought together. This study would never have been written were it not for the confi dence these attorneys placed in us. Particular thanks go to Jack Atkins, Stuart Calwell, Elizabeth Crook, Kevin Hannon, Anthony Jenkins, Kevin Madonna, Steve Medina, Ken Newa, Mike Papantonio, Gary Praglin, Tod Robins, Victor Sher, Ron Simon, John Skaggs, Donald Stewart, Mary Jane Thies, and Duane Westrup. Numerous archivists assisted our research, in person or at a distance. They include Dennis Bilger and Randy Sowell of the Truman Presidential Library, Judy Grosberg of the National Cancer Institute Director’s Offi ce, Nancy Miller of the University of Pennsylvania Archives, Patrick Shea of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Brian Shovers of the Montana Historical Society, and Paul Theerman of the National Library of Medicine. Archivists who helped us locate and identify photographs include Barbara Harkins of the NIH History Offi ce, Cindy Lachin of the FDA History Offi ce, Delores Morrow of the Montana Historical Society, Christie Peterson of the Muskie Archives at Bates College, Daniel Whittemore of Sheppard Powell Associ- ates, and Leila Wiles of the Izaak Walton League. We also thank Kate Barry for her help as a research assistant. Finally, the writing of this book would have been utterly impossible were it not for the many historical researchers in this fi eld who came before us. A history of this scope cannot possibly be written entirely from primary sources. Only after years of painstaking investigations of individual episodes is there any hope of bringing together a synthesis. We have relied on numer- ous published monographs, and we are especially indebted to three authors of unpublished dissertations, Marvin Brienes, Lynn Snyder, and Adelyne W hitaker. Even where we disagree with their interpretations, we owe them an immense debt of gratitude. vi | acknowledgments CONTENTS chapter 1 The Sorcerer’s Apprentices 1 part i Summoning the Spirits chapter 2 Pollution Goes to Washington 9 chapter 3 The Rise of the Chemical Industry 17 chapter 4 Royd Sayers’ Service Bureau 28 part ii Fetching a Flood chapter 5 The Miracle Bug-Killer 45 chapter 6 Wilhelm Hueper and Environmental Cancer 59 chapter 7 Bad Air in Los Angeles 73 chapter 8 Donora’s Strangler Smog 86 chapter 9 A New Deal for Clean Water 98 chapter 10 Deregulating California’s Water 107 chapter 11 The Stealth Pollutants 118 part iii Holding Back the Deluge chapter 12 DuPont Tries to Clean Up 129 chapter 13 The Industry Responds 141 chapter 14 From Donora to Love Canal 151 chapter 15 Epilogue: Convenient Hopes and Inconvenient Truths 167 Key to Archival Citations 173 List of Abbreviations 175 Notes 177 Index 215 viii | contents The Polluters