Educators for Social Responsibility*

Educators for Social Responsibil- ity (ESR) is a US nationwide organi- zation of educators and parents, founded in May 1981 to educate teachers, administrators and parents about the issues related to nuclear war and the arms race. ESR is com- mitted to helping adults respond pos- itively through education to children's concerns about nuclear war. ESR be- lieves it is important for students to hear different sides of the issues, and is developing age-appropriate curri- culum materials that stress the values of critical thinking and citizens' in- volvement in decision-making.

ESR activities include workshops, conferences, forums, resource mate- rials, a national newsletter, and other

projects that educate both adults and children about the nuclear arms race. ESR has published a Day of Dialogue Planning Manual with organizing de- tails, suggested classroom activities for all grade levels, and resources. It is available for US $12. ESR Mem- bership is $20. (A National Day of Dialogue was conducted in October 1982 to help schools begin to address the nuclear issue.) For more informa- tion contact Shelley Berman, Day of Dialogue Coordinator, ESR, 639 Mas- sachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

*Courtesy Wayland Massachusetts Nu- clear Freeze Group, Wayland, MA, USA.

Wildlife Protection: Ensuring Observance*

The illegal introduction of the American rabbit, Sylvilagus florida- nus, to Europe for hunting purposes threatens to destroy the delicate bal- ance of wildlife on our continent, according to Ambassador Alfred Wacker, Chairman of the new Stand- ing Committee of the Wildlife Con- vention and Permanent Representa- tive of Switzerland to the Council of Europe. The Committee, set up under the Wildlife Convention to monitor its application, to ensure its adapta- tion to ecological evolution and in- tervene with member States in the event of the Convention being con- travened, held its first meeting at the end of September 1982 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Other topical problems raised by the Committee were the precarious situa-

tion of migratory birds in periods of sudden cold (observed in particular during last winter), the introduction of hunting in certain protected areas and the setting-up of tourist facilities in areas of great ecological value.

The Convention on the Conserva- tion of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, has been signed by 20 Coun- cil of Europe countries and the EEC and entered into force on 1 June 1982. It aims at the protection of wildlife in Europe as a whole and threatened species in particular. It is clear that the Convention can be in- strumental in protecting wildlife if its application is assured by an indepen- dent authority. This is the purpose of the new Committee.

*Courtesy Council of Europe.

Chemical Destruction of PCBs

Sunohio's PCBX process for the chemical destruction of PCBs (poly- chlorinated biphenyls) in electrical insulating fluid has won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) approval for use nationwide. It is the first process to be given na- tional approval.

EPA Region III, headquartered in Philadelphia, granted the approval

exactly one year and a day after the initial approval was granted by EPA Region IV.

Peter N. Bibko, EPA Region III administrator, said the approval marked "a major milestone in our fight to solve a long-standing national environmental problem--the safe destruction of polychlorinated bi- phenyls".

The PCBX process is performed in a totally enclosed system at the site of the contamination, eliminating the transportation of toxic substances over the road.

"Sunohio's objective at the outset was to decontaminate the oil, leaving it completely reuseable in its original application, and to ensure that no hazardous emissions were given off during processing"., said Norman E. Jackson, chairman of the board of Sunohio. "These objectives were fully met."

Nationwide approval is particularly significant in that it precedes approval of any other method, even those which destroy the oil.

"We have already successfully completed commercial processing of well over half a million gallons of PCB-contaminated oil for such com- panies as Boston Edison, Georgia Power, the Tennessee Valley Author- ity as well as Union Carbide at the Oak Ridge Atomic Energy Facility", Jackson said.

"Most important", he added, "is the fact that independent sources have found the PCBX processed oil totally reuseable in transformers."

The PCBX process was designed to be completely mobile. There are also no incinerations or burials in- volved in Sunohio's PCB destruction process, keeping it both practical and economical.

Sunohio's PCBX process is present- ly performed on mineral oils used in the electrical industry. However, with an estimated 10 million pounds of PCB entering the environment each year, its application in other areas also may be practical.

Sunohio is a partnership jointly owned by subsidiaries of Ohio Trans- former Corporation, Louisville, Ohio, and Sun Company, Inc., Radnor, Pennsylvania. The company serves industry and utilities by performing specialized maintenance and repairs on electrical substations.

64 The Environmentalist