NEWSCOM
NEWS OF THE WEEK
ENVIRONMENT: Authorities to shut
independent aromatics producer
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UNICIPAL AUTHORITIES in Dalian, a city in
northeast China, have ordered the closure of a recently built p-xylene plant after protests by local residents. The protests erupted a few days after waves from a tropical storm nearly swept through the facility, raising fears of an environmental disaster. In an Aug. 17 statement, the municipal government of Dalian said work to permanently close the p-xylene plant has already begun. The statement quotes the city’s mayor as saying that the safety of local citizens is paramount. The $1.5 billion plant belongs to Dalian-based Fujia Group. The company says the facility can produce up to 700,000 metric tons per year of p-xylene, a key raw material in polyester production. The plant, located about 20 miles from Dalian’s center, started operating in June 2009. Earlier this month, about 1,000 firefighters and
ACS WINS $1 MILLION NSF GRANT PUBLIC OUTREACH: Funds will be used to communicate chemistry’s excitement and value to society HE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION has
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awarded the American Chemical Society a $1 million grant to communicate with the public about chemistry and its contributions to society. With the help of its members and other organizations, ACS plans to engage U.S. audiences through programs at science festivals and at elementary and middle schools during the International Year of Chemistry 2011 and beyond. The grant “enables ACS efforts to sustain the momentum of IYC 2011,” says ACS Executive Director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs. “Our members, committees, local sections, technical divisions, and our external IYC Partners—and their networks—will be vital to help the project be a success.” ACS’s partnerships with the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Society for Advancement of Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and the American Indian Science & Engi-
Chinese army troops frantically worked to rebuild a dike around the plant after waves from tropical storm Muifa breached the barrier, Chinese state media reported. This close call with an environmental mishap prompted thousands of Dalian residents to take to the streets and demand the immediate closure of the plant. Authorities in China are keen to prevent civil disturbances, says David S. Jiang, president of Sinodata Consulting, a Beijing-based chemical market research firm. Jiang, who has no firsthand knowledge of the Fujia case, says he expects intense negotiations over financial compensation will now take place between Fujia and the Dalian government. “Dalian [officials] authorized this plant,” he says. Chinese newspapers have reported that the Fujia plant will be relocated, although Jiang says such an operation would be extremely costly. The Dalian protests are not without precedent in China. In 2007, middle-class protesters in the southern city of Xiamen prevented the construction of a p-xylene plant near the city center.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY
neering Society (AISES) will help extend the program to nontraditional audiences, notes Bradley D. Miller, director of ACS’s Office of International Activities, who wrote the grant proposal with Terri M. Taylor, assistant director for K–12 education. ACS is also reaching out to other groups including 4-H, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and community service organizations. For the school-based program, ACS is designing hands-on science kits that will be distributed for free to teachers in the fall. And ACS is working with the Science Festival Alliance to develop chemistry-related programming, including demonstrations and Science Cafés. Wherever members of the public interact with chemists, Taylor says, “we want them to walk away with an increased awareness and understanding of the contributions of chemistry to their well-being.” The new program builds on the International Chemistry Celebration, which ACS launched in 1999 under the leadership of former ACS president Helen M. Free, Miller points out. Experience gained from that effort contributed to the society’s work on IYC 2011, which weaves into the new program. “This is not a one-off,” Miller says. “It has been building over the last 12 years.”—SOPHIE ROVNER
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Citizens gather to demand the relocation of a chemical plant after a pollution scare in Dalian, China.
STEVE RITTER/C&EN
PROTESTS FORCE CHEMICAL PLANT CLOSURE IN CHINA
NSF’s grant will support events at science festivals.
