Three replacement chemicals for the fire suppressant halon 1301 have been recommended by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers for use in military aircraft. Halon 1301, a brominated hydrocarbon, is now being phased out of all but critical uses under the Montreal Protocol and its amendments. The recommended chemicals, HCFC124, HFC-125, and FC-218, might replace halon in unoccupied spaces such as aircraft nacelles (engine enclosures). Halon 1301 remains the chemical of choice for occupied compartments. U.S. Air Force researchers will conduct the final tests to choose the replacement chemical. Finding suitable replacements for halons in some military applications has proven difficult. For example, carbon dioxide cannot be used in military aircraft because the associated technology is too heavy. In addition to weight limitations, the Air Force looks at the space needed and reaction time; it requires chemicals to suppress fires milliseconds after detection.
BUSINESS The Food and Drug Administration has approved a recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic produced by a novel technology for use in food containers. Labeled Supercycle, the material is produced by Johnson Controls (Milwaukee, WI) through a proprietary process that combines high-intensity washing, temperatures of 500 °F, and "other cleaning procedures." Johnson Controls claims that their technology is less capital intensive to put into place than recycling via depolymerization or multilayering (which sandwiches recycled plastic between layers of virgin plastic). Although Supercycle can be made from 100% postconsumer PET, Johnson Controls expects to market a version blended with virgin PET. An immediate market will be states such as California, Florida, Oregon, and Wisconsin with packaging laws that require plastic containers with as much as 25% postconsumer recycled content. A national survey finds that 73% of all U.S. households recycle regularly. The survey, conducted by a subsidiary of Reynolds Metals Company, found that alu-
minum was the most commonly recycled material (63% of households), followed by newspapers (52%), plastics (46%), other paper goods (25%), and steel and tin (25%). Most of the home recyclers cited concern for the environment as the motivation for recycling. An Arizona lab run by one of the nation's largest environmental testing companies has been suspended from being awarded new federally funded contract work, the EPA announced in early September. The Phoenix, AZ, facility of Analytical Technologies Laboratory, Inc., has been blocked from doing work for the federal government because it allegedly violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by using faulty testing equipment and procedures as well as reporting false test results, EPA said. The analysis was done for a municipal drinking-water system in Glendale, AZ, EPA said, noting that the facility had also tested water for the cities of Tempe and Mesa, AZ. The Agency stressed that the lab has not been found guilty of any offenses at this time and has the right to respond to the charges and request a hearing before the Agency. The company acknowledged "problems" at the facility and said a corrective action plan is now in place, according to Donald F. Weber, manager of the Phoenix facility and corporate vice president for marketing. He added that the company was working with state and federal agencies to resolve what the company views as an isolated problem. EPA officials noted that the Agency is also investigating other analysis done by the company; if the charges prove true, the lab could be disbarred for three or more years depending on the seriousness of the misconduct.
Biotechnology-produced microorganisms would be subject to a new system of risk screening before being allowed to go into testing or production under two regulatory decisions announced by EPA in late August. In the first case, a regulation was proposed that would change the biotechnology approval process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); the other announcement finalized a proposed rule for the testing approval process for biotechnology-produced pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In announcing the changes, Agency officials said their intention was to streamline the approval process for these products and encourage their research and development while protecting the environment and public health. The new proposal would require companies that develop products regulated under the TSCA to obtain EPA approval before using or testing biotechnology-produced microorganisms. The approval process, EPA noted, would provide abbreviated reporting requirements for microbial products EPA believes to be of low risk. The finalized FIFRA regulation governs small-scale field testing of biotechnology-produced pesticides and generally eases testing regulations for these pesticides, EPA said. It requires producers to notify EPA of planned small-scale tests and requires the Agency to review these notifications within 90 days. But the rule exempts the notification requirement when EPA believes the risk is minor. According to EPA, the change is driven, in part, by the recognition that microbial pesticides are less hazardous than traditional chemical methods of pest control.
Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 28, No. 12, 1994
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