Chemical execs oppose rise in defense spending A strongly worded appeal to President Reagan and Congress for a reevaluation of the large increases in defense spending slated for the next three years has gained the support of a host of senior chemical industry executives, including Paul F. Oreffice, president of Dow Chemical; Edward G. Jefferson, chairman of Du Pont; and Warren M. Anderson, chairman of Union Carbide. The appeal appeared as a twopage advertisement in the April 6 issue of the New York Times. It was developed by a prestigious group calling itself the Bipartisan Budget Appeal. Founding members of the group include secretaries of the Treasury for t h e p r e v i o u s five Administrations. The group's first appeal, calling for a $25 billion cut in defense spending as part of a plan to reduce the 1985 budget deficit by $175 billion, was published in January. This provoked a response from William P. Clark, assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, stating that any reduction in the defense budget would jeopardize national security. The new advertisement is a summary of the group's response to Clark. It states, among other things, "We believe, quite simply, that military strength is not possible without enduring economic strength and that neither can be maintained if the federal budget runs structural deficits in the range of 5 to 6% or more of gross national product." The appeal bluntly states that the Administration has failed to persuade Congress and the public that U.S. military and security goals require the proposed 30% constantdollar increase in defense spending between 1983 and 1986. In addition to Oreffice, Jefferson, and Anderson, chemical industry chief executive officers listed as supporters of the appeal include those of American Cyanamid, Air Products, Hercules, Monsanto, Allied, Celanese, Stauffer Chemical, and Pennwalt. Most other branches of industry also are well represented in the ad.
In addition, educators are represented, including Norman Hackerman, president of Rice University and chairman of ACS's Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs. Absent from the list is J. Peter Grace, chairman of W. R. Grace & Co. and chairman of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, a panel of businessmen formed to advise on improving management within government. In presenting some initial findings last week, Grace said the panel had found ways of saving the government $48 billion over the next three years—most of it through cutting federal employee benefits. D
ACS journals to be available on-line A major new step in making chemical information available by computer is about to begin. Starting June 1, the full texts of essentially all the primary journals of the American Chemical Society, including the Journal of the American Chemical Society, will be available on-line. The service is being provided by Bibliographic Retrieval Services Inc., which will make the full texts of 18 ACS research journals available for searching, displaying, and printing. BRS now offers full-text service for
Soda ash controls nitric acid spill in Denver Denver firefighters use an airport snowblower to blow soda ash onto 20,000 gal of nitric acid that spilled from a tank car in a rail yard about 2 miles from downtown Denver early Sunday morning, April 3. The spill, which caused the evacuation of a 500-block area, displacing about 5000 residents, was brought under control within a few hours. Early reports suggest that it was caused by the coupling from another rail car rupturing the end plate of the nitric acidcontaining tanker. About three dozen people, including three firefighters, were treated in area hospitals for minor burns or eye and throat irritations, but no serious injuries were caused by the incident.
April 11, 1983 C&EN
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