Section 5. LAWS AND REGULATIONS
PROBLEMS OR NONPROBLEMS? THAT IS THE PROBLEM!
James I. Reilly, Director of Environmental Affairs
E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Company
Wilmington, Delaware   19898
INTRODUCTION
This joint session of Purdue's Industrial Waste Water and Air Quality Conferences is
recognition of the interrelationship between environmental quality approaches. From our
own experiences, this is not only evident in the tangible sense where pollutants removed
from waste water are incinerated; transferring, so to speak, the potential from water to
air, but also in consideration of such other elements as classification of toxics, threshold
levels, analytical approaches, cost-effectiveness, risk assessment, etc.   In one sense, this
situation is similar to the ones we confront every day in our jobs. In my case, as Director
of Environmental Affairs for Du Pont, I deal with air quality water and solid waste
programs, all competing for attention and funding-more on that later. Although these
are not always conflicting demands, they do present challenges in establishing priorities.
Also, there is the need to sort out what the facts are. It reminds me of two public
opinion polls that EPA released a month or so ago. One said that 68% of the people are
willing to pay higher prices to protect the environment. The other said that 69% would
put leaded gas in their "unleaded" cars if the price spread exceeded 8c1 per gallon. The
conclusion is inescapable: 68% of the population will pay higher prices, 69% won't, and
137% of the population voted.
My job in Du Pont sometimes seems like a 137% assignment. In a large, diversified
chemical company with over 80 large plants in the U.S., issues such as TSCA, air, water,
solid waste and OSHA are of major importance.
Du Pont's commitment is a major one, as is the case for the organizations you represent. Capital committed to Du Pont's pollution abatement facilities in the U.S. totaled
$659 million at the end of 1978; the equivalent of almost 2800 full-time employees was
engaged in environmental control activities in 1978; and finally the costs of operating
and maintaining pollution control facilities and of conducting environmental research
and development activities came to $236 million last year.
The quality of the environment has improved considerably this decade through the
combined efforts of the federal, state and local government, environmental groups and
industry. Although contributions from natural or dispersed sources still remain and represent over 50% of the total load, conventional pollutants resulting from industrial
sources (i.e., particulates, S02, pH, BOD, suspended solids and common trash) are in
the main under control. According to the Council on Environmental Quality's 1978
report, environmental concern now is shifting to the control of hazardous pollutants,
especially those which are chronically toxic. We feel this will be the issue of the 1980s.
We cannot become complacent. Much remains to be done in the environmental area
and it will not be easy. Other valid concerns such as energy and the economy will complicate matters.
There is a growing recognition in regulatory agencies, in Congress and in industry that
we as a nation can do a better job, not only in managing our environment, but also in
managing our environmental regulatory process. Formation of the Regulatory Council,
Regulatory Analysis Review Group, etc., reflect this. We are beginning to see that not
everything proposed in the name of environmental improvement is necessarily an improvement; that not every clean-up job should be pushed to the limit of technological
capability. I feel that to be effective our future environmental efforts must reflect
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