Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SWK 455
The first policy written in the United States to address environmental issues was the
National Environmental Policy created by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 and the subsequent creation of the Environmental; Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.
The act states in section 101 that Congress recognizes the impact of man’s activity
the importance of restoring and maintaining the environment. In section 102 it states that
Congress authorizes that policies, regulations and public laws should use an interdisciplinary
approach to identify and develop ways of ensuring that major actions that could significantly
affect the quality of the environment should first detail the impact of the action, list any
adverse affects, list alternatives, state the relationship between short term use and long term
After World War II with the establishment of the nuclear and chemical age, the
environment and people began to be exposed to new and deadly substances. The United
States Government began dumping nuclear waste into the oceans in 1946. (Leopold, 2000).
Oil companies that previously produced lubricants, gas and oil diversified into
petrochemicals including chemical fertilizer. The American people became very aware of
environmental issues. Because of the boom in home building in the suburbs, the expansion in
the ownership of automobiles for transportation and the need to build superhighways to
accommodate the cars, pollution became more visible and harder to ignore. (Dukakis, 1999).
In addition to air and water pollution from smog and waste, Americans were made aware of
public as well as opposition from the chemical industry. Carson did not call for the
immediate banning of all pesticides. She pointed out the need for science to explore natural
ways of controlling pests and increasing food production. (Graham, 1978) The chemical
industry attacked Carson, which generated more publicity for her book, but although more
people became aware of environmental issues and DDT was banned in the United States,
pesticide production has increased from 124 million pounds in 1947 to 638 million pounds in
1960 to 1.4 billion pounds in 1985. Along with this, cancer rates are also increasing. (Epstein
& Briggs, 1987) These facts are at the heart of the lack of effectiveness of the EPA. There is
a constant struggle between those who profit from exploiting the environment and those who
want to develop it sustainably. The chemical industry uses various tactics to hide the effects
of chemicals on humans and the environment. They have hidden reports from the EPA,
harassed, criticized and tried to discredit ecologists, epidemiologists and researchers who do
not agree with them and they along with other industries that oppose government regulation
have suppressed reports that expose practices that are harmful to the environment.
D. What are the benefits, eligibility criteria and the beneficiaries of the policy/program?
Everyone who lives and breathes in the world is experiencing the problem. Cancer rates
are going up not just because people are getting older. Chemicals are in our food, air and
water. The effect on our bodies and the environment even when they are documented and
studied are often hidden from the public. The people who experience a problem may not even
be aware of the origin of the problem Efforts to prove that one particular chemical causes a
particular illness or disease have not been successful in the US. On the other hand many
grassroots groups and organizations are aware of the issues and work very hard to inform the
general public about unsafe environmental practices. NEPA is a federal act and the will to
Diana Frank 4
SWK 455
enforce it should come from the federal level. There is no way to stop what happens in one
state from affecting the air and water supply of another state. I believe the precautionary
principal adopted by some European countries is a good one. It would force chemical
companies to do testing at their expense. This would force them to find the safest solution,
not the short term cheapest solution for them which has the end result of being a very
expensive solution for the public for health reasons as well as for environmental clean up. All
The EPA and the PA DEP are funded and administered by the Federal and State
Government with taxpayer dollars. This year’s federal budget proposes a cut of $1.49 billion
from last year. (Restuccia, 2011) The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
has had its budget cut over the past five years to 59% of what it was in 2000-2001. (Bauers,
2011)
Implementation is an issue for a number of reasons. The main reason is that the interests
of industry usually come before the interests of the environment of the public. The chemical
industry of which oil and gas is a part, experienced great growth after World War II mostly
because of the development of synthetic organic petroleum based compounds like DDT and
vinyl chloride based plastics like PVC and CPVC piping. (Herman, 2007) The side effects of
these chemical-based products on people and the environment were not obvious at first.
Because they were effective as pest control and relatively cheap they were widely sold and
used. By the time scientists discovered the side effects a large network of interrelated
industries was in place. Industries that required the chemicals, farmers now dependent on
pesticides, scientists employed by the industry, and the agriculture departments of both state
Diana Frank 5
SWK 455
and the federal government allowed the grandfathering of the use of some products so
business as usual could continue. In addition to this the burden of proof to link any chemical
to any illness is on the public. In the early years after the passage of NEPA under the
different departments to the EPA. Before reorganization, the registration of pesticides was
regulated by the Department of Agriculture; the pesticide label review was regulated by the
Department of the Interior; Air, Solid Waste, Radiological Health, Water Hygiene, and
Pesticide Tolerance were regulated by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Transferring these responsibilities to the EPA enabled the agency to enact the Federal
Environmental Pesticides Control Act (1972); Safety Standards for Farmworkers (1974);
regulation of land use (1972); and significantly revise water pollution legislation (1972).
Regarding the regulation of water pollution, the EPA changed the focus from the quality of
water to restricting effluent discharge with the goal of reaching zero discharge. Thousands of
rules and regulations were modified or enacted during this period. (Wismer, 1985)
During the oil crisis in 1973, the EPA and Congress modified the Clean Air Act to allow
for more use of coal and eased automobile emissions standards to allow for greater fuel
economy. Under the administration of Douglas M. Costle from 1977 to 1981, the major
problem was chemical dumping at sites like Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. The
Hooker Chemical Company owned and operated a municipal and industrial chemical
dumpsite that was covered over with dirt and sold to the city for one dollar in 1953. Homes
were built on the site, but in the late 1970’s after a hard rain drums of chemical began to
surface and the chemical soup leached into yards, homes, playgrounds and the school. The
entire community was evacuated. (Beck, 1979) In response to this in December 1980 the
pay into a fund to clean up toxic waste sites. It expired in 1995. Pennsylvania has more than
100 Superfund sites, the second highest in the nation. There are also 1000 hazardous waste
The Reagan Administration in an effort to relieve the burden that these regulations
imposed on the business community appointed a task force headed by George H.W. Bush to
review existing regulations and streamline the bureaucracy. Of 176 regulations, the task force
revised or eliminated 76. They also added a new regulation. Executive Order 12291, issued
February 17, 1981, states that any government agency proposing new regulations had to
consider the cost benefit. Reagan also cut the EPA’s staff by 11% and its budget by 12%. By
1984, the EPA staff cuts totaled 29% and the budget was cut 44% from what it was in 1980.
(Sandhu, 1988). H.R. 564 the Superfund reinvestment Act of 2009 has been introduced by
Representative Earl Blumenauer D-OR but has not been passed. That bill would reinstate the
Hazardous Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax until 2018.
There are two related bills, the Superfund Polluter Pays Act introduced by Senator Bill
Nelson D-FL and the Polluter Pays Restoration Act introduced by Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ.
(Open Congress, n.d.). When laws are enforced, rather than protecting the environment,
companies pay fines related to the violation if the violation is caught. In the case of hydraulic
fracturing in the Marcellus Shale for example the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association
reports 1614 violations by gas drillers in Pennsylvania alone since 2008. (Pennsylvania Land
Trust Association, 2011) From 2005 through February 1, 2011 the total dollar amount of the
fines imposed by the PA DEP was at least $2,106,318. The average fine however was
$23,666 which is low enough for a company to pay without hurting their bottom line.
(Hamill, 2011)
Diana Frank 7
SWK 455
G. Is the program successful? Who says so?
The policy can be effective or not effective depending on the political climate and
whether it favors business or the people. Currently the program is not successful. The public
Carson, the public, the press and the President were all sympathetic to her message. Her book
was published soon after the thalidomide scare when pregnant women who took the drug for
morning sickness produced children with severe birth defects of the limbs. (National
Toxicology Project, 2010) People were concerned with the effects of chemicals on humans
and the environment. The New Yorker Magazine published an excerpt of the book and CBS
aired a documentary on Carson and the book even though some of the sponsors dropped out
of the show. Ten to fifteen million people watched the interview. In spite of this fact
pesticide use on farms, for lawn care and in households has consistently grown. (Herman,
Part of the problem is that we use chemicals everyday in many ways. In addition to
gasoline for our cars, we use soap, shampoo, cleaning products, weed killers, plant food,
plastic food containers, diet foods, non-stick coatings, medicines and many other products.
It’s difficult for us to believe that they are harmful if we buy them in supermarkets and bring
them home. It’s almost impossible to imagine what life would be like without antibacterial
soap or toothpaste. The chemical industry counts on this normalized acceptance of chemicals.
Scientists who criticize a product or a policy do not always project the same physical
appearance as corporate sponsors or newscasters. They may have a less polished appearance
than an industry spokesperson. They may look like you or me. The information they impart
may not fit into a sound bite between commercials. In addition to this, the chemical industry
deliberately creates doubt and confusion about scientific findings when they do not align
Diana Frank 8
SWK 455
with industry policy. The term “junk science” is applied by the industry to environmentalists,
researchers, critics of the industry and lawyers who sue on behalf of clients. According to
Consumers Union the publisher of Consumer Reports, “the phrase "junk science" has been
coined by those practicing public relations and lobbying activities on behalf of some
pesticide industries. While its coiners may have legitimate grounds for debate on some
issues, the phrase has been used far too often to discredit honest public interest organizations
and legitimate scientists who express concerns about consumer safety and environmental
risks.” (Wagner, 1999). When the industry funds scientific research and experts, the media
accepts them without criticism. Often there is little separation between what is still called
independent media and chemical companies. The Washington Post has an executive of
Johnson and Johnson on its board of directors as well as a few investment bankers. The
Chicago Tribune has a CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, two insurance company
executives, and one from an electric utility. All of these industries oppose government
regulation. The same corporate culture and class consciousness applies to the advertising
industry. According to Herman (2007), of the 100 largest national advertisers 31 are
chemical companies. Auto companies use chemicals like oil and gas and are concerned with
regulation of those goods. If you add the food industry and their relationship to chemicals,
the print industry that produces toxic waste in paper production, you may not have a
conspiracy, but you do have a business plan that does not include the health of people or the
health of the planet. (Herman, 2007) These companies also depend on a short public
other countries, there is a campaign endorsed by the World Health Organization to bring it
Where is the EPA in this picture? Severely under funded and subject to the agenda of
several decades of Republican industry friendly rule, the EPA is portrayed as a part of big
government thwarting the progress of industry. Unfortunately they have not been able to
even regulate the majority of chemical substances they were tasked with in 1976. Seventy to
seventy five percent of toxic chemicals in use have not been tested. In the case of Monsanto
and Santogard, an anti-scorching chemical used in the rubber industry, the EPA found a
report on the negative effects of the product that Monsanto did not give to them as the law
required. Monsanto was fined $196,000 (by law the fine should have been 19.7 million) and
asked if they had any more hidden reports. 164 were found. The company was fined
$648,000 for those. Knowing that other chemical companies must have done the same thing,
the EPA granted an amnesty to the industry with nominal fines for the next three years. The
industry produced over 11,000 documents. (Herman, 2007) No business was thwarted by the
EPA.
After the chemical accident in Bophal India in 1986, Congress passed the Emergency
Planning and Community Right to Know Act which directed chemical companies to inform
the public of releases of 654 known chemicals into the environment. The disclosure showed
that several billion pounds of toxic chemicals were spewed into the air each year. There was
virtually no media coverage of the Toxic Release Inventory. Since then, twenty four states
have passed “audit privilege laws” allowing companies to conduct their own audits and
correct their own issues. (Herman, 2007) Knowing the history of the industry this does not
Albatross chicks die every year from eating tiny pieces of plastic that they mistake for
food. While consumers are responsible for some of the plastics in the ocean, the small pellets
Diana Frank 10
SWK 455
from which plastics are made come from industrial waste. Fishing nets which once were
made of plant fiber are now made of plastic adding to the problem. (Azzarello, M. & Van
Fleet, E. 1987)
Proposed Solutions
In order to effect any real enforcement of this policy which proposes to protect the
environment from the influences of human activity and restore and maintain it so man and
nature can coexist in healthy and pleasing surroundings maximizing the use of the
environment without harm while preserving it, maintaining diversity, expanding renewable
resources and recycling depleted ones there will have to be some changes in the awareness
According to the Mt Sinai Medical Center “Over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are
released by industry into the nation's environment each year, including 72 million pounds of
recognized carcinogens” and “of the top 20 chemicals discharged to the environment, nearly
75% are known or suspected to be toxic to the developing human brain.” The hospital has
Social Works Speaks Environmental Policy quotes part of an op-ed article. The article
begins by asking the question, “If everyone were mentally ill, how would we know whom to
treat?” (1995, Berger). He calls our participation in harming the environment, “habitat
destruction syndrome” and compares it to a mass mental illness. Berger states that although
the past 50 years, as a society we do little about it. Because the changes are gradual and
because we are not as conscious of nature due to our lack of contact with it, we don’t see this
Diana Frank 11
SWK 455
issue as a crisis. Because we are inundated with crisis messages through email and social
networking sites from a myriad of organizations, we feel overwhelmed and unable to choose
educate ourselves on environmental issues, to support enforcement of the EPA, to support the
use of non-toxic products in schools and the general society and to support the regulation of
chemicals through the EPA and other agencies. Social Work Speaks calls the environmental
crisis a “major public policy issue that will influence all future human development.” It also
goes on to say that there is a solution to the crisis if we act in a timely manner. The concerns
of social workers go beyond concerns for the environment to include the health issues that
people face including increased rates of cancer, respiratory issues and illnesses linked to the
chemical plants and toxic waste dumps nationally and internationally. We may face
opposition perhaps even in the form of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation
(SLAPP) suits that are filed against regular people who participate in public dialogue with
The current economic crisis can also be a time of opportunity. For some of us, being laid
off or underemployed can give us the chance to follow in the footsteps of our grandparents
who had victory gardens and grow our own food. We can use more glass containers than
plastic. We can walk more than drive. We can read more about the crisis and think more
about what we can do about it. We can write to and call our legislators and the companies
groups. We can make our own cleaners from simple materials at home. We can use power
Diana Frank 12
SWK 455
strips and turn our appliances off when not in use. We can put tap water in the refrigerator
instead of buying bottled water. We can use cloth bags when we shop. How many chemicals
are essential to your daily life? How do you profit from their production and their use? Is
your financial future tied to the debasement of the environment through stock ownership or a
401K? If so divest of these interests. These sound like small steps but any act, no matter how
small helps to change us as individuals and our relationship with the larger world around us.
It’s the first step to becoming politically active outside of the voting booth. Engagement is
Beck. E. (1979, January). The Love canal tragedy. EPA Journal. Retrieved from:
http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/lovecanal/01.htm
Berger, R. (1995, July) Habitat Destruction System. Social Work 40, 4, 441-443
Epstein, S. & Briggs, S. (2007, June). If Rachel Carson Were Writing Today: Silent
Spring in Retrospect. Environmental Law Reporter Vol. 17.
Hamill, S. (2011, April 17). What fines reveal about drilling in state. Pittsburgh Post
Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11107/1139961-503-
0.stm?cmpid=marcellusshale.xml
Herman, E. (2009, January 5). Corporate Sovereignty and (Junk) Science and Media.
Z Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/11316515/Edward-S-
Herman-Corporate-Sovereignty-and-Junk-Science-and-Media-3-Articles
Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (2011) Marcellus Shale drillers in PA amass 1614
violations since 2008. Retrieved from http://conserveland.org/violationsrpt
Restuccia, A. (2011, April 12.) Spending bill cuts EPA funding, delists wolves, limits
funding for Interior 'wild lands' policy. The Hill. Retrieved from
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/155425-spending-agreement-cuts-
energy-and-water-programs-by-five-percent-from-fy2010-levels
Sandhu, J. (1988). The Environmental Protection Agency in the 1980s. Retrieved from
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/fenlewis/epa.htm
Schaffer, K. (December 2006) What’s behind the DDT comeback? Pesticides News
No.74, page 4