News
proval to fund the currently structured program with fees for services, according to Blake-Coleman. However, elections that year brought Congressional control to Republicans intent on shrinking the size of the federal government. "It hasn't seemed like the political time to do it," says Blake-Coleman. Nevertheless, all the options being considered would also lead to fees being charged to the private and public laboratories that use PE samples. EPA officials were still gathering data on costs and could not estimate fees for the various options. That, however, would be one consideration in choosingfromthe options, according to the agency. Moreover, EPA expects that meeting demands will require several suppliers of PE study kits, and that raises questions about the quality of those samples. Thus, EPA has proposed requirements for national consistency among PE study providers and has suggested that the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (see previous story) set standards and handle PE supplier accreditation. However, don't look for immediate changes in the PE program. According to Blake-Coleman, full implementation will probably take at least two years, no matter which option is chosen.
New NIST SRMs An improved version of human serum SRM 909b now contains certified values for triglycerides and "elevated" concentrations of compounds found in the old SRM. Certified values are provided in the SRM for 13 organic and inorganic blood constituents; noncertified values are also provided for seven other constituents. The SRM contains sik bottles of freeze-dried serum, three with normal levels and three with the elevated levels, and six bottles of high-purity water. NIST, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is also offering a standard reference for fatty acids and cholesterol measurements in food. The SRM consists of four 15-g bottles of frozen, blended foods and also provides data for proximates, including protein, moisture, total fat, ash, carbohydrate, and calories. For more information, contact the NIST Standard Reference Materials Program, 204 Engineering Mechanics Bldg., Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 (301-9756776; e-mail
[email protected]). 530 A
BUSINESS
Varian acquires Dynatech Precision Sampling Varian Associates has announced that it has acquired the assets of Dynatech Precision Sampling, a subsidiary of Dynatech Corporation that manufactures autosampling products for gas and liquid chromatographic applications. The new group will be integrated into Varian's chromatography systems business in Walnut Creek, CA The purchase price was not disclosed.
PerSeptive appoints president PerSeptive Biosystems has appointed John F. Smith to the position of president. Smith has served on the board of directors for PerSeptive for two years and will continue as a director. Prior to that, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer at Digital Equipment Corporation until his retirement in 1993. Noubar Afeyan will continue to serve as chairman and CEO.
PE buys Zoogen Perkin Elmer Applied Biosystems has entered the genetic testing services market with the acquisition of Zoogen, Inc., a California-based company that performs parentage and avian sex testing, genetic screening, and breeding consultation to owners and breeders of domestic, exotic, and farm animals. The company will be called PE Zoogen and will be operated as a business unit within PE Applied Biosystems. Joy Halverson, Zoogen's founder and head of research and development, will continue in that role and Mike Miille chief executive, will continue to run dayto-day operations.
Wiley acquires VCH
Web sightings Bel-Art—http://www.bel-art.com; features product profiles, an electronic product index, a monthly word game, and links to distributors' Internet sites. Bioanalytical Systems—http:// www.bioanalytical.com; features product information and ordering instructions, a company profile, employment opportunities, and links to other chemistry-related Internet sites. ChemFinder—http://chemfinder. camsoft.com; searches chemical information by name, formula, molecular weight, CAS registry number, and molecular structure and provides basic physical property information along with links to other Internet sites that have more information about each particular compound. Richardson Grating Laboratory—http://gratinglab.com; includes a description of the properties and uses of diffraction gratings, a catalog of products and services, and a list of technical publications. Supelco—http://www.supelco.sial. com/supelco.html; contains product and technical information. Whatman—http://www.whatman. com; includes a company history and contact information; details on new products and promotions; access to references archives and newsletters; and links to product guides, distributors, sales representatives, and the laboratory sales site.
PEOPLE
Brown to receive chemometrics award
John Wiley & Sons (New York) anSteven D. Brown, associate professor of nounced in June that it has purchased a chemistry at the 90% interest in the VCH Publlshing Group University of Dela(Weinheim, Germany), a publisher of sciware, will receive entific and technical material, from the thefirstEAS Award Pallas Investment Group and the Society for Achievements in of German Chemists (GDCh). The GDCh Chemometrics, will continue to oversee the content of the which recognizes VCH chemistry publishing program, individuals who which includes Angewandtt Chemie, Che- have made significant contributions to the mische Berichte, and Liebigs Annalen. development or application of chemometrics.
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, September 1, 1996
