n e w s of t h e w e e k Isomers indicate oil migration distances
(/ Benzo[c]carbazole
"We have taken samples from systems where the migration pathways and distances are relatively well known,'' says Latter. "One of the isomers appears to be selectively removed in preference to the other from the oil by the clay and solid organic matter in the carrier beds. It is a kind of geochromatography," he points out. The team's findings could be of "considerable help in identifying viable new fields for exploitation" suggests Gary H. Isaksen, research specialist at Exxon Production Research Co., Houston, in a commentary in the same issue of Nature.
The work could help people carrying out exploration for oil determine how far a petroleum system extends, Isaksen tells C&EN. Nonalkylated benzocarbazoles are relatively stable compared with alkylated organic tracers that have been tested in the past, according to Larter. "We chose nonalkylated aromatic nitrogen compounds because we know that the distribution of the isomers in expelled oils does not depend on the maturity of the oils," he explains. The team found that the ratio of benzole] carbazole concentration to the total concentration of the two isomers decreased as migration distance increased. The absolute concentrations of both isomers also decreased with increasing distance. The researchers point out that knowledge is sparse about regional and local migration pathways in many major oil provinces of the world. Information about the route and distance traveled by oils cannot be explicitly provided by seismic or other remote-sensing surveys, they note. "The use of molecular indicators in exploration technology will therefore add to, but not replace, other methods," says Larter. This is the first empirical step toward true source-reservoir distance indicators, according to the researchers. They say further field studies are now needed to confirm the results. Michael Freemantle
German chemical union assails sick-leave cut German chemical workers and employers are heading toward confrontation over a federal law that authorizes employers to cut sick-leave pay. The law took effect Oct. 1. Under the "Program for Growth and Jobs," chemical firms and other employers can lower sick-leave pay to 80% of regular wages instead of 100% (C&EN, Oct. 7, page 16). Workers can keep sickleave pay at 100% if they give up one vacation day for every five sick days they take. The law affords German employers an additional option for reducing their costs. According to Hans-Jurgen Mohr, the Bayer management board member responsible for human resources, the sick-leave changes are "intended to encourage growth and employment, and they are aimed at further reducing labor costs and strengthening international competitiveness." 12 OCTOBER 21, 1996 C&EN
Among Germany's largest chemical companies, BASF tentatively plans to implement the new law on Nov. 1. Bayer plans to put the new rules into effect, but it will not do so before January 1997. And Hoechst will probably implement them, but has not decided when. However, a spokesman for I. G. Chemie, the chemical workers' union, says German workers' unions question the law's legality because it undercuts collective bargaining guarantees in the German constitution. They have not yet taken legal action. Workers' unions have called for negotiations with employer groups. One such meeting will take place Oct. 25 between I. G. Chemie and Bundesarbeitgeber Verband Chemie, the chemical employers' association. But, says one corporate insider, "don't expect much from the meeting. It's just a start." Between 10,000 and 13,000 BASF
workers demonstrated against the sickpay plan at a lunchtime meeting on Oct. 9 at local union offices outside BASF's complex in Ludwigshafen. The workers did not interrupt production. But, union officials suggest that if BASF does not halt unilateral enforcement of the sick-pay law and negotiate an agreement with the union, more protests will follow—the next already scheduled for Oct. 25—and a union ban on planned overtime could occur. Some German employers have already pulled back from immediate implementation of the sick-pay change—among them, automaker Daimler Benz. But BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst suggest the new sick-pay rules will eventually stick. Marc Reisch
Chemical scientists elected to Institute of Medicine Three professors of chemistry, a chemistry Nobel Laureate, and other scientists working in chemically related fields are among 55 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine. IOM—a sister organization of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering—now has 545 active members and 40 foreign associates who have made important contributions to health, medicine, or related fields, such as social and behavioral sciences, law, administration, and economics. New members in chemically related areas include: Bettie Sue Masters, Robert A. Welch Professor in Chemistry, department of biochemistry, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Mario J. Molina, Lee & Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Sciences, department of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences and department of chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Edward M. Scolnick, executive vice president of science and technology, Merck & Co. Inc., and president, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, Pa. Steven R. Tannenbaum, professor of toxicology and chemistry, division of toxicology, MIT. Susan S. Taylor, professor, department of chemistry and biochemistry, University of California, San Diego. Arvid E. Carlsson, professor of pharmacology emeritus, department of pharmacology, University of Goteborg, Sweden (as a foreign associate).
