NEWS OF THE
WEEK
Arizona enacts state law defying CFC ban Calling the scientific evidence linking chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to ozone depletion "hokey," Arizona Gov. Fife Symington has signed a bill passed by the state legislature that permits manufacture and use of CFCs in the state. The law defies the international treaty and federal law banning production after Dec. 31 of the ozonedepleting compounds. But the new law—which Symington labels "symbolic"—will have no practical effect. Federal law supersedes state statutes, note Environmental Protection Agency officials. And no CFC manufacturing plants are located in Arizona, anyhow. Moreover, sale and use of stockpiled and recycled CFCs will still be legal after Jan. 1 in the U.S. The Arizona action highlights
Health's budget would be frozen at current levels for at least five years. The foundation also calls for an end to "corporate welfare" programs. This means terminating the export credit guarantee program, all export subsidy programs, and DOE conservation and efficiency research. It means closing down the Small Business Administration, the Bureau of Export Administration, the International Trade Administration, and the Interstate Commerce Commission. If fully implemented, Heritage says, the plan would balance the federal budget by 2000, while providing $152 billion in tax relief to families with children, businesses, and the elderly. Another group, Citizens Against Government Waste, is pushing its own proposal. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group says its "Prime Cuts Catalog" is certain to be considered in upcoming congressional budget battles. Its plan isn't as radical as Heritage's, but targets many of the same programs. It would eliminate NIST's Advanced Technology Program, cut back funding for the Export Administration, and reduce NIH funding. The two plans closely resemble a package of "illustrative Republican spending cuts" circulated by House Budget Committee Chairman John R. Kasich (R-Ohio) to show how Congress could both cut taxes and reduce the deficit. His committee will present concrete budget-cutting proposals in early May. Janice Long 8
APRIL 24, 1995 C&EN
growing resistance to CFC phaseout. "It's becoming an economic issue," says Catherine Andriadis, a spokeswoman for DuPont, which is continuing to shut down and convert its CFC plants. "This is where the rubber meets the road. People are realizing it hits them in their pocketbooks." State representative Robert N. Blendu, a bill cosponsor, says he and his fellow legislators are not convinced CFCs are hurting the ozone layer. "Before we ask people to spend millions and millions of dollars in Arizona to replace the Freon in their equipment, we need proof [CFCs] are harmful," he tells C&EN. "We heard testimony on both sides of the issue, and it's only a matter of opinion CFCs are bad." Pamela Zurer
EPA told not to ban Ethyl's fuel additive A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot ban use of a controversial octane-enhancing fuel additive made by Ethyl Corp. because of health concerns about manganese emissions. But that does not mean the additive will be on the market anytime soon. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia says EPA "violated" a section of the Clean Air Act that only gives the agency the authority to consider the emission effects of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) and not its public health effects. Despite automakers' assertions that MMT use harms automotive catalytic converters and sensor systems, EPA documents show MMT causes "no statistically significant increase in emissions" such as nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, the court finds. It therefore orders EPA to grant Ethyl the waiver the firm has sought for 17 years for MMT use in fuel. Bruce C. Gottwald, chairman and chief executive officer of the Richmond, Va.-based firm, hails the decision as a "vindication of our long-held position that MMT does not harm automobile emission control systems." Industry observers set the potential U.S. MMT market at $80 million a year.
EPA is "disappointed" but does not say whether it will appeal the decision. However, it plans to use another legal path to keep the manganese-based additive off the market. The agency says MMT "must be tested and its health effects studied before it can be registered for use" under a section of the Clean Air Act that licenses additives for use in a particular type of fuel. Indeed, Ethyl and EPA are locked in a battle—also in the D.C. Court of Appeals—to determine if MMT should receive such registration for use in unleaded gasoline without first going through new human health effects testing. Ironically, just as Ethyl moves a step closer to marketing MMT in the U.S., the Canadian government is moving to ban it after 18 years of use (C&EN, April 10, page 13). A spokesman for Environment Canada, the government's environmental watchdog, notes that Canada's experience as a living laboratory for MMT use in fuel shows "no risk to health from current use." But the Canadian government is concerned with automakers' contention that MMT reduces the effectiveness of the latest automotive emission control systems. In seeking the ban, it hopes to ensure not only fuel supply uniformity with the lower-48 U.S. states, but also the same benefits in reliable emission reductions from the most advanced emission control systems on cars, says the spokesman. Marc Reisch
Jacobs to succeed Heylin as C&EN editor Madeleine Jacobs has been appointed editor of Chemical & Engineering News, effective July 1. She will replace Michael Heylin, who steps down June 30 after more than 32 years at C&EN, 18 of them as editor. Jacobs, 48, has been managing editor since August 1993. Succeeding Jacobs as managing editor is Rudy M. Baum, currently assistant managing editor for the science/ technology/education department. Senior editor Pamela S. Zurer replaces Baum as assistant managing editor. Robert H. Marks, director of ACS's Publications Division, says Jacobs was the unanimous choice of a search committee appointed by Executive Director
