NEWS OF THE W EEK
ENERGY STALEMATE PRODUCTION: Chemical industry urges
Congress to break impasse and allow more offshore drilling
C
ONGRESS HAS ADJOURNED for its tradition-
al five-week August break without passing legislation to increase domestic energy production. The chemical industry, however, is hopeful that two new proposals could provide the basis for a compromise agreement when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill after Labor Day. Members of the two political parties have been at loggerheads in recent months over how to address sky-high prices for oil and natural gas. But recent actions in both the House and the Senate are encouraging signs that a solution to the nation’s energy crisis may be in sight, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), an industry group that represents major U.S. chemical manufacturers. In a bid to break the impasse, a bipartisan group of 10 senators introduced a bill on ISTOCKPHOTO
Proposed legislation would allow for more offshore drilling.
ARSENOLIPIDS IN FISH OIL BIOCHEMISTRY: Potentially hazardous
arsenic-containing compounds are characterized
This alkene, found in capelin, a North Atlantic fish, is one of the first identified arseniccontaining lipids.
A
RSENIC, A HAZARDOUS heavy metal, associ-
ates with lipids in fish, researchers have found (Chem. Commun., DOI: 10.1039/b808049f ). The discovery of arsenic in oil from capelin (Mallotus villosus), a North Atlantic fish in the smelt family, and the prospect that it could also be present in other fatty fish, could have important implications for human health and the ocean environment.
O H3C
As CH3
A dimethylarsinoyl alkene
Arsenic is a lethal poison and thus a major environmental and health hazard. Most human exposure to the metal occurs through water, and the majority of research on arsenic toxicity has focused on this. Scientists had WWW.C E N- ONLI NE .ORG
10
Aug. 1 that would increase offshore drilling, encourage conservation, and make major investments in renewable energy and alternative fuels. The drilling portion of the New Energy Reform Act of 2008 would open up areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and federal waters off the coasts of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia, if the states allow it. No drilling would be permitted within 50 miles of the states’ coastlines. “Any change in production would send a powerful signal to markets” and help ease oil and natural gas prices, says Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), a cosponsor of the bill and a member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. ACC President Jack N. Gerard says the bill is “a welcome sign that the Senate is recognizing the importance of greater access to drilling in the outer continental shelf as part of a comprehensive U.S. energy policy.” A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Reps. John E. Peterson (R-Pa.) and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) introduced similar legislation in the House on the same day. “This multifaceted bill includes the building blocks of sound energy policy—efficiency, conservation, diversity, and expanded access to domestic energy supplies,” Gerard says. “We strongly encourage House members to review it carefully and discuss it with their constituents during the August recess.”—GLENN HESS
previously believed that any arsenic found in fish would be water-soluble; they were surprised to find it in lipids. This discovery of arsenic in fish oil adds to health concerns, especially because many dietitians encourage people to increase their fish consumption. A group led by Kevin A. Francesconi, professor of chemistry at the University of Graz, in Austria, has now isolated arsenic-containing oil from capelin. By analyzing the purified fractions with mass spectrometry, they identified three different arsenic-containing compounds: two dimethylarsinoyl alkanes and a dimethylarsinoyl alkene. The study provides potentially important new information about the molecular form arsenic adopts in capelin and perhaps other fish. Francesconi says that arsenolipids had never been investigated as a potential source of arsenic contamination. The dimethylarsinoyl alkene identified by the researchers is an arsenic-containing analog of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a common omega-3 fatty acid (see page 39). The researchers hypothesize that the alkene results from a biosynthetic error during which arsenic is substituted for a carbon atom in DHA. Jörg Feldmann, professor of chemistry at the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, comments that the newly identified arsenic-containing compounds are “not only of academic interest. It might be that we actually consume a lot of arsenic in this form.” The potential toxicity of arsenolipids depends on how people metabolize them, which Francesconi and coworkers hope to investigate in the near future.—CARRIE ARNOLD
AUGUST 1 1 , 20 0 8
