and elsewhere have achieved comparable static pressures with devices in which two natural diamonds are forced together by a screw. However, such "squeezers" can accommodate samples only 0.2 to 0.3 mm in diameter and a few hundredths of a millimeter thick. The diamond-tipped pistons can take samples two to three times larger in diameter and more than 10 times as thick. D
ACS states positions on NSF budget, energy Two letters expressing American Chemical Society positions on cuts to the National Science Foundation's fiscal 1977 budget and on national energy policy have been sent by ACS president Glenn T. Seaborg to several government officials and party platform committees. Dr. Seaborg's letter on the NSF budget was delivered to members of the House Committee on Appropriations (a similar letter was sent to the Senate Committee on Appropriations) several days before the House committee took final action on the NSF fiscal 1977 appropriations bill. Among other things, Seaborg writes that ACS "believes it is vitally important that the U.S. maintain its capacity for increasing our knowledge of chemistry and those other sciences which, in applied form, provide the basis of our industrial economy." Therefore, ACS "supports without any disproportionate reduction" the Administration's fiscal 1977 recommended budget for NSF. He notes that the Administration's budget proposal provided a significant increase in funding for research, which yields the new knowledge on which advances in applied science and technology depend. And this, he indicates, is a step in the right direction. Seaborg's second letter strongly urging "development of a coherent and realistic national energy policy and its implementation as a matter of high national priority" was sent to, among others, President Ford; Sen. Mike Mansfield (D.-Mont.), majority leader of the Senate; Rep. Carl Albert (D.-Tex.), speaker of the House; and chairmen of the Democratic and Republican party platform committees. In each of the letters, Seaborg says that ACS "pledges its scientific and technical resources to assist in the development and in the implementation" of a national energy policy. "The foundation for such an energy policy should be (a) the definition of our national energy requirements, and (b) the establishment of definite programs, including research and
Seaborg: step in right direction
development, with appropriate timetables for meeting those requirements," he says. "Inherent in such a policy should be an equitable balance of energy conservation with the development of adequate energy sources through a judicious application of science and technology." D
Industry wary about genetic guidelines Drug and chemical companies generally support the guidelines for research involving the transfer of genetic material from one species to another that are being developed by the National Institutes of Health. But the guidelines have been tailored to the conditions of research in universities and government laboratories and in some aspects may not be reasonable as guidelines for industry. Such was the message representatives of about 20 drug and chemical companies presented in an open meeting with NIH director Donald S. Fredrickson last week. A modified version of the guidelines more useful to industry seems a good idea, both Dr. Fredrickson and industry representatives agree. And Dr. John G. Adams of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association suggests that his organization sponsor a meeting of interested drug companies to draw up such guidelines. The NIH guidelines, which Fredrickson says likely will be released in final form about June 21, characterize different types of recombinant DNA research—so called because it involves breaking natural units of the genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and recombining it in units containing portions of DNA from another species. The guidelines call for different levels of contain-
ment for these experiments, depending on the perceived danger of the newly formed DNA combination to humans and other living things. Such research holds promise for developing new drugs, more efficient manufacture of compounds such as hormones, new and useful plants for agriculture, and, perhaps, improving bioconversion of waste materials to food or fuel. At least seven companies already are doing recombinant DNA research, including Abbott Laboratories, W. R. Grace & Co., Eli Lilly Co., Merck, and Upjohn. Industry concern about the NIH guidelines focuses on three points: • Although called guidelines, there is a feeling that they in fact may quickly assume the authority of regulations with enforcement provisions that might be very hard on industry. • The guidelines call for a national voluntary registry of recombinant DNA research. "We would literally be forced out of business if we had to do this" because of competition to develop new products, one company representative explains. • Certain parts of the guidelines would cause perhaps unintended hardships on industrial researchers. For example, there are severe restrictions on large-volume experiments necessary to establish commercial feasibility of processes. D
Court delays use of plutonium in reactors The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York has ruled unanimously that plutonium cannot be used as a commercial nuclear reactor fuel on an interim basis until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed a study of the safety and health aspects of wide-scale plutonium use. The decision was in favor of several environmental action groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council. It was against a number of companies that had entered the suit in support of NRC, although none of the companies to date has applied for an interim license. At press time, neither NRC nor any of the companies—Allied General Nuclear Services and others—had any comments on the decision. Because uranium is getting scarce and expensive, the nuclear industry has wanted to use a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides to fuel reactors. (The plutonium can be extracted from the spent fuel of uranium-fueled reactors.) According to Consumers Power Co., a delay of plutonium licensing until, say 1978, June 7, 1976 C&EN
7
