The Chemical World This Week
CHEMICAL WARFARE ISSUES RAISED AT ACS MEETING A warning: the possibility of ethnic weapons development. A proposal: verification of chemical weapons production bans. A debate: the need for new binary chemical weapons systems. Thus do the issues of chemical warfare leap ahead even as the U.S. Senate considers the 1925 Geneva Protocol on CW agents. Such issues were put under examination in Los Angeles last week at the 167th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The Geneva Protocol, which prohibits use of all chemical and biological weapons in warfare, never has been ratified by the U.S. Resubmitted to the Senate by President Nixon in 1970, the treaty has remained in committee since then, mainly because of disagreements over Mr. Nixon's exclusion of herbicides and riot control agents from U.S. understanding of the protocol. ACS is among organizations supporting ratification of the treaty without those exclusions. But the issues don't stand still, as indicated by the red light flashed at the Los Angeles meeting by Dr. Richard Hammerschlag of the City of Hope National Medical Center's division of neurosciences. In theory, he warns, it might be possible to design what has become known as "ethnic weapons"—chemical and biological warfare agents designed to exploit naturally existing differences in gene frequencies among specific population groups. Thus, such weapons would theoretically be capable of incapacitating or killing a selected enemy population to a significantly greater extent than a preselected population of friendly forces. Roberts: verify treaty bans
The concept, Dr. Hammerschlag explains, is based on polymorphisms, the existence of many proteins in several different genetically controlled forms in human populations. Among the best known examples are the blood group substances A, B, and O, and Rh. Dr. Hammerschlag doesn't suggest that such weapons are actually being developed. But he cites an article in the November 1970 issue of Military Review written by Carl. A. Larson, head of the department of human genetics at the University of Lund, Sweden, and titled "Ethnic Weapons" as evidence that the idea has been conceived at least. Hence, his warning. A more immediate issue has been raised by the U.S. Army's announced intention to begin production of binary chemical weapon systems—those in which nontoxic components mix and react to form a nerve gas only after a projectile has been fired. The rationale, explained at the Los Angeles meeting by Col. William E. Dismore, Jr., chief of the Army's chemical branch, is to modernize the chemical weapon stockpile, to maintain credibility of the U.S.'s deterrent capability, and to provide for flexibility of retaliation. Arguing that a CW retaliationin-kind capability doesn't meet a pragmatic national security test as well as arms control, Robert E. Roberts, principal social scientist at Midwest Research Institute, explained an MRI-developed approach to verification of treaty bans on chemical weapons production. The system is based on accounting and reporting—less intrusive than on-site inspection—by désigna mmerschlag: ethnic weapons
nating elemental phosphorus and all compounds produced from it as "controlled items." Thus, the system aims not at detecting actual production of nerve agent but at denying to nerve agent production an essential element, phosphorus. The MRI system has been designed, tested, and assessed over a period of about 10 years. A requirement of the system is that all production of phosphorus be accounted for by legitimate nonagent consumption. Thus, any imbalance in verification accounts of a nation must be justified by that nation or a treaty violation will have been deemed to have occurred.
New ACS division, committee okayed A new committee. A new division. A woman candidate for President Elect. And further progress on a big new program for interaction between chemists and federal legislators. These are some of the items that are in store for the American Chemical Society in coming months as a result of actions taken in Los Angeles last week at the Society's 167th national meeting. The meeting also brought some indications of the recent modest improvement in the outlook for the chemical profession. For instance, attendance was quite high, close to 6000 by midweek. And the ratio between employers and job applicants at the Employment Clearing House maintained the improvement it had shown in the two previous national meetings. By midweek, 68 employers and 20 applicants had registered. The new committee, which was approved during the Council meeting in Los Angeles, is a Committee on Committees. Its primary function will be to act for the Council in assisting the ACS President in selecting and appointing the chairman and members of each standing and "other" committee of the Council. Among its other duties, it will make recommendations to the Council on the responsibilities of all committees. The Council backed away from giving this new committee the power to disapprove—or veto— committee appointments by the President. The sentiment was that
Senate patent bill set to be finalized
Photos by C & E N s Fred H. Zerkel
this would have been too severe a restriction on t h e President. The new committee will consist of the President-Elect and 15 voting councilors elected by the Council. It will begin operating next year if it is ratified by a mail ballot of t h e membership this fall. The new division, which was approved unanimously by t h e Council in Los Angeles, is the Division of Computers and Chemistry (Probationary). More t h a n 600 Society members already have indicated an intention to join. The aim of the new division will be to act as a cohesive force to bring together the efforts of the growing n u m b e r of chemists engaged in computer activities. The woman candidate for this fall's election for ACS PresidentElect is Dr. Anna J . Harrison. She was nominated, along with Dr. Glenn T . Seaborg, from a slate of four presented to the Council by t h e Committee on Nominations a n d Elections. The other two candidates were Dr. Henry A. Hill, president of Riverside Research Laboratory a n d an ACS director, and Dr. George W. W a t t , professor of chemistry at t h e University of Texas and a former ACS director. Dr. Harrison has been professor of chemistry at M o u n t Holyoke College since 1950. Nobel Laureate Seaborg was chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1961 to 1971. He is currently professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. The new program for interaction between chemists and legislators is a major project of ACS PresidentElect William J. Bailey. The aim is to have an ACS member assigned as a counselor to each Senator and Representative in Congress. The key concept behind the program is t h a t each counselor also will be a constituent of his or her particular legislature. This should greatly improve access to the Congressman and give the counselor a better chance to offer advice and expertise on legislation involving either chemistry or the chemist.
Du Pont drops its antifreeze business After more t h a n 40 years, Du Pont announced last week t h a t it is getting out of the antifreeze business by the end of this year, citing "poor prospects for profitability" and a shortage of ethylene glycol as the reasons. Gone will be the company's familiar Zerex brand (which accounts for about half of its antifreeze business) along with its bulk sales and private label products. Du Pont doesn't make ethylene glycol b u t buys its needs from other companies, primarily Union Carbide, P P G Industries, Dow Chemical, and Northern Petrochemical. Says consumer products division director Robert S. Prengle, " T h e a m o u n t of ethylene glycol available to Du Pont for 1974 and the immediate future did not meet projected d e m a n d for all uses." Ethylene glycol production this year is apparently lagging. The U.S. Tariff Commission reports ethylene glycol production in J a n u ary was 235 million pounds, down from 263 million pounds in J a n u a r y 1973. And ethylene glycol production was off last year, too, largely because of feedstock restrictions and problems at two large plants in Puerto Rico operated by Carbide a n d P P G (C&EN, July 9, 1973, page 2). Together the two plants, according to estimates, account for 23% of the 4.9 billion pound domestic capacity. Although comparative figures for ethylene glycol production in 1972 are not available, Tariff Commission figures for 1973 show production of ethylene glycol precursor ethylene oxide down by about 200 million pounds from the 4.1 billion pounds m a d e in 1972. Du P o n t says its move out of the antifreeze business will have "little impact on consumers" since its total share of the market is less t h a n 10%. And the effect on the company's earnings "is expected to be slight because of the size of Du Pont's antifreeze sales in relation to the company's total sales."
Behind closed doors this week the five Senators on the Senate P a t e n t Subcommittee are due to agree on final language for legislation, largely dictated by antitrusters at t h e outset, to revise the U . S . p a t e n t laws. Reworked some since by the Senators' staffers mostly unfamiliar with the intricacies of patents, the current bill is still prompting a goodly n u m b e r of letters of complaint from industry and the p a t e n t bar. B u t the subcommittee hasn't heard, nor is it likely to before the April 9 and 10 sessions, from the ex-Du Pont executive now running t h e U.S. P a t e n t Office, C. Marshall Dann. Not reticent when, as president of the American P a t e n t Law Association, he testified last fall against some of the then-proposed revisions, Mr. D a n n has been m u m since joining the Nixon t e a m . But President Nixon's authorization for Mr. D a n n to speak out has been urged by Sen. John L. McClellan (D.-Ark.), who chairs the subcommittee, a n d Senate minority leader Hugh Scott (R.-Pa.), also on the subcommittee. Earlier, this same plea to the Oval Office was m a d e by E d w a r d J. Brenner, former P a t e n t Office chief. Charging t h a t it appears Mr. Dann's views "are being suppressed," Mr. Brenner adds, "This situation certainly will add fuel to the fire of those advocating t h a t t h e P a t e n t Office be established as an independent agency." British and Italian government officials, meanwhile, are said to have told the U.S. State Departm e n t t h a t the bill's disclosure rules are discriminatory in light of the Senate-ratified P a t e n t Cooperation Treaty. So m u c h "cost, effort, and t i m e " of Dow Chemical U.S.A. scientists would be tied up on disclosure t h a t the firm would "hesitate to file on anything b u t pioneer inventions," M. E. Pruitt, vice president and R&D director, has written the Senate subcommittee. Dow (and other firms) sees more innovations held as trade secrets, "even though we would greatly prefer to rely on patents to recoup our investment," Mr. P r u i t t says. Manufacturing Chemists Association language for opposition proceedings before and after patents issue was t u r n e d down by a 3-to-2 vote by the Senators' staff, and it appears the Senators will affirm t h a t decision. April 8, 1974 C&EN
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