The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, May 27, 1981-Page 3
System to
eliminate
PC-B threat
approved
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government announ-
ced yesterday its initial approval of a new
detoxification process whose developer says it can
essentially rid the nation of the health and environ-
mental threats posed by common insulating
chemicals called PCBs.
Edwin Clark, acting assistant administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, called it "a
significant step forward" toward resolving "poten-
tially one of the most serious public health issues we
face."
CLARK SAID that as many as 765 million pounds of
PCBs remain in use in transformers or are in storage
awaiting disposal. He also said low-level concen-
trations of PCs are estimated to exist in the fatty
tissues of 91 percent of the American people.
The process, involving chemical gear which can be
moved about on a special tractor-trailer truck, was
said to offer on-site PCB detoxification.
PCBs are man-made liquids used since the 1920s as
part of the insulation to cool transformers. Their
manufacture was banned in 1977 after it became
known they could cause birth defects, problems of the
skin and liver and possibly cancer.
UNTIL NOW,' Clark said, substances containing
PCBs could be destroyed only by being transported to
elaborate incinerators or approved landfills - posing
some risk of accidental release.
He said at a news conference that the new chemical
process - named PCBX - could not rid the nation of
all the contaminant, however.
Norman Jackson of Sunohio, the company that
developed the system, maintained that in five to 10
years the process could "essentially get rid of the
problem" of PCB contamination.
A SUNOHIO CHEMIST, Oscar Norman, who
worked on development of PCBX, said the residue
left over after the detoxification process was a com-
mon substance found safe in past tests. He said
Sunohio had tested the residue to make sure it could
not get into ground water from dumps, adding, "We
found no parts per million dissolved in water."
Jackson also said the insulating fluid used in tran-
sformers is not destroyed, as it is when the fluid is
burned to destroy PCBs. After the chemical process,
the fluid can be returned for use in the transformers,
he said.
The Sunohio process would cost about $3 per gallon
to strip PCBs from insulating fluids, compared to
about $5.50 for incineration, Jackson said. He said in-
cineration may be more cost-effective for fluids
made entirely of PCBs.
Booking troubles
pkigue Major
Events Office
DANIEL GOODWIN, WHO climbed Chicago's Sears Tower Monday, spoke
with reporters after his release from jail yesterday. The "Spider-Man" and
his "accomplice" James Hackett, right were both charged with disorderly
conduct.
'Spider-Man' released
firo-m jail on $035 bond
CHICAGO-Daniel Goodwin, the
Spider-Man who conquered the
world's tallest building, emerged
from jail yesterday, waving a small
American flag and still wearing the
bright blue-and-red suit of the
comic-book hero. "There will be
more stunts to come," he promised.
Goodwin, 25, a native of Ken-
nebunkport, Maine, was released on
$35 bond after he was booked on a
misdemeanor charge of disorderly
conduct. A June 8 hearing was set in
Circuit Court.
GOODWIN SAID he scaled the
1,454-foot Sears tower on Monday
because of the challenge.
The professional acrobat and
gymnast, who most recently lived in
Las Vegas, Nev., climbed the metal-
and-glass tower using metal hooks
which he wedged into slots used to
hold window-washing scaffolds.
He also attached suction cups on
the building's windows to support his
weight when he moved sideways to
avoid a scaffold that authbrities
lowered to try to block his path.
POLICE WHO arrested Goodwin
as he crested the building said, "the
fellow knew what he was doing. He
was well-rehearsed."
Sears spokesman Ernest Arms
said the building did sustain some
damage but didn't say how much
and added that the company would
not seek restitution. He added that
security would not be increased as a
result of the climb.
While Arms said Sears has no in-
tention of capitalizing on the
publicity generated by the holiday
climb, the professional stuntman
already has received offers to ap-
pear on NBC-TV's "Today Show"
and "Tonight Show" and for an all-
expense-paid vacation to New York
City to climb the World Trade Cen-
ter.
"We had no inclination he would
do something like this," said Dale
Goodwin, the climber's 49-year-old
father. The Kennebunkport painter
and paperhanger said he climbs
"ladders and that's about it."
By FRED SCHILL
There is an inaccurate syllogism
about concert promotion that most of us
unconsciously make sooner or later. It
goes something like this:
Elvis Costello is touring; the
University has its own promoters
and facilities; therefore, we could
see Elvis Costello if those sluggards
at the Major Events Office would
just get their asses in gear.
IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE. Karen
Young, MEO's director, says there are
many problems involved with booking
that Costello concert, or anything else,
into University venues.
The greatest of these difficulties is
the most fundamental: finding a place
to play. Hill Auditorium, for instance, is
already booked solid for the next two
years, Young says, which means MEO
has already reserved all of its dates
that far in advance. This makes
scheduling concerts doubly difficult. It
is not only a matter of getting the
desired acts to schedule Ann Arbor in
their tours (Costello got no closer than
Cleveland); it's also a matter of getting
them to come when you want them to.
Nor does it get much simpler if the
stage happens to be in Crisler Arena.
The building is administered by the
Athletic Department, and it has been
clear all along that they have priority
over its use, Young says. Therefore
shows cannot be scheduled when
wrestling, gymnastics, basketball, or
other events are going on in Crisler
unless, for instance, a coach is willing
to move or call off a practice. Young
says Basketball Coaches Bill Frieder
and Gloria Soluk have been very
cooperative with MEO, but many times
they obviously cannot afford to cancel a
practice.
EVEN IF MEO can get the artist it
wants in an available venue on an
available date, that does not mean the
concert will ever take place. At one
time or another;last year, go less than
three concerts were booked for Novem-
ber 4. None of them came through.
Young says there are three general
types of reasons for cancellation of
shows. The first involves the personal
difficulties of the performers. These
range from common problems such as
illness and injury to other private con-
cerns. Often these problems are not
made public; Bob Marley cancelled his
entire tour last year because of the
illness that eventually claimed his life.
Then, of course, there is money.
Young says no matter how committed
artists are to their fans or to their
music, you have to remember that they
do this for a living. She says promoters
everywhere have reported that atten-
dance is off by more than half. In ad-
dition, record sales have dropped,
which means a reduction in money
available for promotion.
IF BOTH ATTENDANCE and record
sales are off, Young says it simply is
not financially feasible for an artist to
tour. She says most people do not
realize how much of the artists'
paychecks go to production costs; the
bulk of their earnings come from
record sales, not from concerts.
Sometimes entire tours are cancelled
because they simply aren't selling
enough tickets.
Other reasons for concert can-
cellations can be loosely described as
problems of logistics. These might in-
clude the decision to cancel part of a
tour to allow an artist to get back to the
studio, or the decision to cover fewer
cities, etc.
There are enough problems involved
in trying to book shows in Ann Arbor to
begin with, without stopping to worry
about cancellations. Ann Arbor is what
is known as a "B market," because the
population is only about 120,000. Being
45 miles down the road from Detroit
doesn't help.
AS YOUNG EXPLAINS, two percent
of a market may be interested in buying
,.See MEO, Page5,