science advice.] And Stone questioned how Stever can "consider that he is representing the scientific community .while failing to urge upon the President the solution that has been so constantly urged upon the President from virtually all responsible scientific quarters." Finally, the FAS press statement warns Ford that if he "accepts the scientific community's desire" for a council he "will go forward to have the best relations with the scientists of any Republican President since President Eisenhower. If, instead, he accepts a public relations solution of some other kind—giving more visibility'to the NSF director, or putting forward an advisory council to OMB or something else of this kind—his decision will be widely denounced by scientific groups of all kinds and his standing with scientists will never recover." Whether Ford worries very much about the possibility of losing a scientific constituency—which he may or may not now have anyway— is far from certain. Still, Ford has made a significant effort—first as a House member, later as Vice President, and now as President—to meet with the science community and listen attentively to its concerns. For the time being, however, the fate of science advice is in the hands of the new Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller. Almost immediately after Rockefeller was confirmed last month Ford assigned him the chore of studying the best way to get science advice at the White House. FAS and other boosters of the council concept are no doubt hoping that Rockefeller will see things their way. D
American Hoechst buys Foster Grant American Hoechst is becoming a major U.S. polystyrene producer. Last week the West German-owned company purchased a 69% interest in Foster Grant from United Brands and agreed to purchase most of the remaining 31% from other owners. According to the terms of the sale, American Hoechst purchased all 1.5 million shares of Foster Grant class A common stock from United Brands for $69.9 million, or $46.20 per share. In addition, the company has agreed to purchase an additional 564,000 shares of preferred stock from the Goodman family and its affiliate, Delamere Co., at the same price per share. The two purchases, totaling about $95.9 million, will 6
C&EN Jan. 6, 1975
give American Hoechst 95% owner- I ship of Foster Grant. The remaining 5% of Foster Grant's stock is publicly owned, and American Hoechst has agreed to make an offer to purchase these shares at $46.20 per share, also. Foster Grant is a major producer of polystyrene with annual capacity of about 540 million pounds or about 10% of total U.S. capacity. In addition, the company makes acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and nylon 6 in its chemical and polymer divisions, which had combined sales in 1973 of $92.4 million, or 70% of the company's total sales. Fabricated products, principally sunglasses, account for the remaining 30% of sales. American Hoechst's 1973 chemical sales totaled $339 million. Foster Grant should fit in well as part of American Hoechst. In Europe, Hoechst A.G., is an important producer of polystyrene and other plastics, and American Hoechst, though not an important resin producer, is involved in both film and fiber production. United Brands, on the other hand, is principally a producer and marketer of foodstuffs. D
Court sets aside rules on lead in gas Lead in gasoline has received at least a temporary reprieve from the courts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has voted two to one to set aside Environmental Protection Agency regulations requiring refiners to reduce the lead content in gasoline from the current 2.2 grams per gal to 1.7 grams per gal by Jan. 1, 1975. The EPA regulations also call for a continued phasing out of the use of lead additives in gasoline so that by Jan. 1, 1979, the permissible level of lead would be 0.05 gram per gal. The court's decision does not affect another EPA regulation that requires most service stations to sell EPA rules call for reducing lead in line to 0.05 gram per gal by 1979
at least one grade of unleaded gasoline to accommodate the catalytic pollution control devices on 1975model cars. Lead reduces the effectiveness of these devices. The decision appears to be a victory for the plaintiffs—tetraethyllead suppliers Ethyl Corp., PPG Industries, Du Pont, and Nalco Chemical, and the National Petroleum Refiners Association. However, the companies tell C&EN that they are "cautious" with their optimism until the court issues a written opinion. A spokesman for EPA also says that the agency will not take any action concerning an appeal until the court's written opinion is available. The court is expected to release its written text this week. According to EPA, lead can cause brain damage, especially in children, if present at high levels in blood. As much as 200,000 tons of lead can be emitted to the air annually from cars, EPA estimates. The agency says about 120,000 tons could be eliminated by 1979 with the lead reduction plan. Tetraethyllead suppliers contend that there has been no direct link between lead emissions and excessive lead levels in blood. So far, they say, only lead in paint has been proved a health hazard. D
ACS urges step by step patent reform
In one of his last official acts, 1974 ACS president Bernard S. Friedman has written to chairmen and members of House and Senate subcommittees on patents suggesting that Congress ought to consider taking a gradual step-by-step approach to reforming U.S. patent laws. ACS would welcome a soundly constructed omnibus reform accomplished by one measure, he says, but this does not appear feasible, considering the recent history of patent reform measures. Comprehensive proposals for regaso- forming patents have been rattling around Congress for at least eight years. And Friedman's letter, which was authorized by the ACS Board of Directors, points out that such "stagnation" of patent reform is of "genuine concern" to ACS. As a first step, ACS suggests "consideration of introducing into the patent statutes an 'opposition' procedure whereby third parties would have standing to inform the Patent Office of grounds upon which a given patent application should be DI rejected or modified." D
