The Michigan Daily Vol. LXXXVI, No. 18-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, May 28, 1976 Ten Cents Twelve Pages .... ON-SITE BOMB INSPECTION INCLUDED U.S., Soviets reach accord WASHINGTON (P)-President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev will sign an unprecedent- ed agreement today to permit American inspec- tion of some Russian nuclear testing sites. The twin ceremonies here and in Moscow close out 18 months of complex negotiations to limit peaceful underground testing and clear the way for Senate ratification of a parallel treaty re- stricting weapons tests. NEITHER POWER will be permitted to con- duct underground nuclear explosions exceeding 150 kilotons - the equivalent of 150,000 tons of TNT. Also, for the first time, American and Rus- sian observers will be on hand to check for vio- lations. Until now, the Russians have been steadfast in barring any inspection on Soviet soil. Under the agreement to be signed here by Ford and in Moscow by Brezhnev, the observers will be al- lowed to check only on tests designed for peace- ful purposes. Still, the accord, projected two years ago at the Moscow summit, is of major significance since it both establishes the precedent of foreign inspection and comes at a time of strain in U.S.- Soviet relations. NEGOTIATIONS are lagging in Geneva on an agreement to impose ceilings on the two super- powers' nuclear weapons arsenals and the two sides have exchanged sharp rhetoric over Africa and over compliance with arms and security accords. While establishing the principle of on-site in- spection, the treaty appears to have little prac- tical meaning for the United States. Years ago American scientists gave up the idea of experimenting with underground nuclear explosions as a means for changing the course of rivers or for mineral excavations. BUT THE Soviets remained interested in such projects. Terms of the treaty permit that work to go forward, provided no blast exceeds 150 kilotons. A series of explosions may total up to 1,500 kilo- tons - provided they are spaced no more than 5 seconds apart. Ford oreznnev Fighting pollution at EPA ByIICIHAEL BLUMFIELD arom the look of its unpretentious facade, use would never guess that the low, brown- hrick building on Plymouth Rd. was one of the E'ironmental Protection Agency's most ilortant testing facilities. With oVer 275 scurrying employes, the EPA's \totor Vehicle Emissions Laboratory is charged with testing the emissions of every kind of kind-vehicle in the U.S. Created by the federal "Clean Air Act" of 1970, the laboratory con- centrates on automobile pollutants, but tests truck engines as well. Motorcycle tests are scheduled to begin soon. UPON MOVING into their offices in October, 1971, the EPA engineers were faced with the tough task of marking out guidelines and pro- edir s for strict, yet fair, emissions tests wnd standards-a job that would explore a new frontier in federal controls. "We had to choose between different ways tf measuring pollution itself," said director IDavid Alexander. "Should we go by grams of carbon monoxide per mile or per cubic foot? Should we test the car at idle only or over a course' The sole guiding doctrine was the Clean Air iaw itself, which had only broad requirements for reduction of pollution levels-a certain percentage reduction by one year, a further reduction the next, etc. By law, the cars had to remain below the pollution levels for 50,000 miles. For practical reasons, the auto manu- facturers were to perform part of the testing themselves. SOME TESTS are made on the road but most are made with special laboratory equip- represented speed trends and used the speeds in conjunction with the "dynamometer," a set of large metal rollers beneath the rear wheels of a test vehicle. A technician drives the sta- tionary car at the exact speed called for on the simulation chart. "The driver has to keep the needle that shows how fast he is going right on the line that the chart calls for," explained Chief En- gineer Paul Jones. "If he gets off by two miles an hour for two seconds, we have to throw the whole test out and start all over again." A SPECIAL filter collects the fumes from the exhaust pipe and channels them into plas- tic bags for examination. By separating the exhaust according to the different phases of engine operation (i.e. cold start, normal driving, hot start), the engineers are able to perform a more detailed analysis. The separated gases are analyzed by equip- ment connected to a University computer, which determines the exact quantities of car- bon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydro- carbons. Though a great deal of the testing is carried out by the manufacturers themselves, the gov- ernment people don't worry much about the auto makers falsifying their tests. If they lie about the results, it will usually be discovered when the EPA does its own testing. And it can be quite expensive if the manufacturer gets caught. THE EPA FOUND that one trick was to do more maintenance than prescribed in the ve- hicle's warranty-a violation of the testing law. sr ! / 1 r { i /+: { r . ment. Doily Photo by STEVE KAGAN - EPA engineers thought that the best meth "Ford has been doing some over-extensive Engineer Dan Stokes inspects a motorcycle being tested on a of testing the cars, which are prototypes of the maintenance on one of their models in 1972 dynamometer at the Environmental Protection Agency's Emis- models scheduled for re pts f the reported Alexander They had been doig so sion Laboratory. In the background are meters that tell the year, was to simulate everyday driving speeds much reworking on the model that it was rider how fast to run the machine during the tests. The hose in the laboratory. They devised a chart which See FIGHT, Page S in the foregroundleads away to pollutant analyzers.