document is the agencies' first attempt toward developing a uniform cancer policy. IRLG was aided in preparing the report by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Among the document's major conclusions: Laboratory studies using mice, rats, and other mammals are valid tests of carcinogenicity for chemicals. Extrapolation of data from excessively high-dose animal experiments is a valid method of assessing carcinogenic risks in humans. The results of short-term in vitro experiments such as the well-known Ames test do not firmly establish that a chemical is or is not a carcinogen but they must be weighed as "suggestive evidence." And there is still no way to predict an acceptable threshold below which human exposure to a carcinogen has no effect. The interagency report notes that 26 substances are known human carcinogens based on epidemiological studies, and 15 occupations have "excess cancer incidences," although the causal agents have not been firmly established. Substances identified as known carcinogens include benzidine, benzene, and the anticancer drug cyclophosphamide. Carcinogenic occupations named include chemists, coals miners, and newspaper pressmen. Dr. Perry Gehring, a toxicologist for Dow Chemical, says that the IRLG report is "nothing terribly new." He notes, for example, that the no-acceptable-threshold concept enunciated by IRLG could be used to ban any chemical that reacts with DNA—a potentially large group of compounds. Gehring says that such a olicy is "tantamount to a license to an anything willy-nilly on a political basis, not on a scientific basis." •
E
Chlorine, caustic soda fortunes turn upward Coproducts chlorine and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), both among the 10 chemicals produced in the largest volume in the U.S., generally have missed out on the U.S. economic expansion in the past four years. The problem has been one of too much production capacity when certain markets, notably chlorofluorocarbons, performed far below earlier growth predictions. Still, the chemical industry's unexpected surge in sales in the past half year is giving the chlor-alkalies a considerable boost. The pickup is not yet enough to give producers the profits they would like, but important
enough to push up chlorine's relatively low capacity use rate. The institute says that producers used about 83% of capacity in December, up from Millions of tons 77% a year earlier. For 1979, chlorine production likely will rise at much the same 3 to 4% rate as in 1978, to perhaps 11.4 million tons. Capacity use, however, may not increase much, because the industry still has a hefty line of plant expansions due on stream, in the next year or two. These expansions will amount to 1.1 million tons a year, or 8% of total U.S. capacity. Chlorine is performing better than forecast a year ago largely on the continued strength of its big market in the vinyl plastics business. In the U.S., polyvinyl chloride production continues strong as plastic pipe markets in particular enjoy robust sales. Sources: Chlorine Institute, Department of Commerce Even so, chlorine is not yet in strong enough position for producers to bring all discounted prices back to fundamentals in this business have official list prices, typically $135 per ton on the Gulf Coast. made definite improvements. Caustic soda is paralleling chloFor example, production reached new monthly highs in the fourth rine's improving fortunes at present, quarter of 1978, and the year as a although it probably is not in quite so whole set a new production record for strong a position. Plenty of dischlorine at 11 million tons, according counting still remains for caustic to the Chlorine Institute. Chlorine below the typical list price of $140 a output last year was 3.4% ahead of ton. Producers hope for some gains 1977 and 1.3% ahead of the previous this year as the supply of competing record year, 1974. soda ash in some markets grows tight D The production increase was with attending price hikes.
1978 chlorine production breaks 1974 record
National Distillers sells E iropean plants In a major divestment taking it out of European chemical production, National Distillers & Chemical plans to sell its low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and other polymer businesses in Europe to Exxon Chemicals, a division of Exxon Corp. National Distillers apparently is quitting while it is still ahead in the face of much larger, better-integrated competition. In so doing, National Distillers joins a growing list of U.S. chemical producers forsaking European operations. Other major divestments have involved Union Carbide and Monsanto (C&EN, June 26, 1978, page 6). The present agreement calls for Exxon Chemicals to pay National Distillers about $44 million in cash for facilities owned by U.S.I. Europe, National Distillers' wholly owned subsidiary headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. The parent company says that the deal will produce an after-tax profit of about $17 million, or 65 cents a share. Raw cash proceeds after tax are estimated at about $39 million. U.S.I. Europe, organized in 1966,
has two plants at Zwijndrect, a suburb of Antwerp. An LDPE plant there has an annual capacity of about 560 million lb. The other plant produces a wide range of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers. This is not the first LDPE venture for Essochem, Exxon Chemicals' European arm. It operates a plant at Meerhout—about 40 miles from Antwerp—with an annual capacity of about 528 million lb. The plant was started up in 1977 and operated at 77% of capacity last year. Ethylene feedstock for the plant comes from Essochem's cracker at Cologne, West Germany, which has an annual ethylene capacity of about 990 million lb. Sales of U.S.I. Europe in 1978 were $142 million, just a bit less than the chemical sales brought in by Emery Industries, which National Distillers acquired last year (C&EN, May 29, 1978, page 7). Thus, combined chemical sales as a per cent of total corporate sales will remain about the same for National Distillers as they were before the Emery acquisition. At that time, chemicals provided about 35% of its total sales. Feb. 12, 1979 C&EN
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