Du Pont to halt MOCA ci ative manufacture Du Pont will stop making methylenebis-o-chloroaniline (MOCA) urethane elastomer curing agent by the end of 1978. The move will leave Anderson Development Co., Adrian, Mich., as sole U.S. manufacturer. Du Pont cites as reasons the unprofitability of serving a small, com petitive market coupled with added research costs that would be needed to ensure safe manufacture and use on a permanent basis. The firm also will stop making LD-813 liquid curing agent, a proprietary product that is possibly a combination of MOCA and methylenedianiline. Du Pont estimates worldwide ca pacity for such curatives at 12.5 mil lion lb per year and U.S. capacity at 8 million lb. The company's own ca pacity is 2.5 million lb. Worldwide demand may be 8 million to 9 million lb per year, with U.S. consumption 4.5 million to 6 million lb. The U.S. market has been served by Du Pont, Anderson Development, and British and Japanese imports. Du Pont may announce a new elastomer technology in the next few months that does not require MOCA. The new system may use a substitute extender or changes in polyol and isocyanate prepolymers used to make urethane elastomers. Although the firm hopes for wide applicability of the new system, spokesman say they
are unsure it will have the almost universal applicability of MOCAcured systems. In 1967, Du Pont notified employ ees and customers that MOCA was possibly carcinogenic, based on ani mal tests. Du Pont spokesmen say the company has no evidence of carcino genicity in humans. The Occupa tional Safety & Health Administra tion issued a standard for worker ex posure to MOCA in 1974. The standard was vacated by federal courts on procedural grounds and never reissued. Spokesmen for Du Pont and Anderson Development say both firms have continued use of fa cilities designed to minimize worker exposure, however. Of 140 million lb per year of ure thane elastomers made in the U.S., 30 million to 40 million lb are cured with MOCA. A small amount of urethane coatings, adhesives, and sealants also require the curative. Anderson spokesmen say MOCA imparts a unique combination of high tensile strength, resiliency, tear re sistance, compression set, and reten tion of physical properties at high temperatures to urethane elastomers based on toluene diisocyanate (TD1). Use of MOCA thus allows use of TD1, whose price is only little more than half that of the alternative methylenediphenyl isocyanate (MDI). D
Senate panel supports DNA research rules
M. Kennedy, chairman of the Human Resources Committee's health sub committee, and Sen. Adlai E. Ste venson, chairman of Commerce's science subcommittee, urged that HEW invoke sections of the Public Health Service Act to control recom binant DNA hazards. Califano, how ever, has asked for specific legislation to regulate DNA experiments. In either case, the subcommittee report recommends that the stan dards for conduct of recombinant DNA research should "be similar if not identical to those required by the [NIH] guidelines." The NIH guide lines, first promulgated in 1976 for its grantees, prohibit certain theoreti cally dangerous types of experiments and establish hierarchical contain ment procedures for experiments tied to the degree of risk. They also call for use of only certain types of debilitated host organisms. For commercial applications of recombinant DNA technology, such as in the pharmaceutical industry, the subcommittee believes that existing legal authority—for example, the Toxic Substances Control Act— would enable the Environmental I
A Senate subcommittee that last year probed the safety of recombinant DNA research has concluded lately that although the sometimes contro versial technology offers potentially great public benefit, stringent guidelines laid down by the National Institutes of Health "should be ap plied to all recombinant DNA re search regardless of its locale or sources of financial support." In November 1977, the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcom mittee on Science, Technology & Space heard from a score of witnesses on the subject of recombinant DNA hazards. But the subcommittee re port and recommendations released late last month read much like a June 1978 letter from key Senators to Health, Education & Welfare Secre tary Joseph L. Califano indicating that the Senate's ardor for regulating the technology has cooled to the point where legislation to that end has vir tually no chance. Instead, the Senate group, which included Sen. Edward
NIH's DNA research lab at Fort Detrick was first to meet agency's guidelines
Protection Agency to regulate many industrial applications of DNA technology. Likewise, the Occupa tional Safety & Health Administra tion could look after lab worker safety under its legal authority. Meanwhile, on July 28, NIH issued its proposed new guidelines for recombinant DNA research. Basi cally, the proposed rules reflect the experience and optimism of DNA research workers that many of the original fears about biohazards were largely unfounded. For example, the revised NIH guidelines would for most purposes do away with the need for the highest levels of physical containment in experiments using the so-called Κ 12 strain of the E. coli bacterium as a host. D
Solar energy gets down to nuts and bolts There were architects, designers, and builders jamming into engineering sessions for details of how to get solar hardware built and running. There were building contractors, sensitive to surging homeowner interest in solar heat, checking price and performance of the wares on the exhibition floor. There were community solar activists, dressed more often in suits and ties than in blue jeans and back packs, listening to the nitty-gritty of zoning laws, building codes, and solar tax incentives. The occasion was Solar Diversifi cation, one of the largest solar energy conferences of the year, held in Den ver last week. Sponsored by the American Section of the International Solar Energy Society, it drew almost 1400 people and 80 exhibitors. Judg ing from the responses, solar techSept. 4, 1978 C&EN
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exhibitors. Now, however, homebuilders apparently are finding that energy conservation via solar heating is a very saleable commodity. Despite a recent surge of consumer interest, however, many potential buyers are waiting for Congress to pass the long-promised solar investment tax credit. After that goes through, says one exhibitor, the industry will have more business than it can handle. Of interest to the chemical industry is the fact that a few solar manufacturers now are marketing collectors designed to produce process heat up to about 275° F. Also, there is a potential market for plastic collector covers that are transparent and lightweight but resistant to degradation by ultraviolet radiation. Energy conservation via solar heating is The most successful efforts at becoming a very saleable commodity commercializing solar heating systems are going forward at the town nology—at least the technology of and the county level, spearheaded by water and space heating—seems not volunteers from the local communito be a pipe dream anymore but an ties. Many of the barriers to solar energy are local issues in any case: economic and social fact. Prominent among the engineering overly restrictive zoning laws, for exsessions were those on passive solar ample, or building codes that don't heating and cooling, the principal of allow structures on roof tops. maintaining stable temperatures in a But a certain disillusionment with building through the use of well- the federal government—in particuplaced windows, spontaneous air lar the perceived slow pace of the conduction, and the thermal mass of Department of Energy's solar comthe walls. Ten well-attended sessions, mercialization effort—seemed evispread over four days, were devoted dent at the conference. More than one entirely to research on the subject. speaker used words like "we can't On the exhibit floor, solar collectors wait around for the government to do were the thing. Two years ago there it"—to an audience response of D was not much interest according to smiles, nods, and applause.
Tightening of medical research ethics urged The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical & Behavioral Research sent Congress one of its last reports late last week. It is recommending a number of changes in federal procedures for regulating and accrediting Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). IRBs, of which there are more than 500 across the country, are charged with reviewing research projects going on at their institutions that involve human subjects and making sure that the subjects' rights are protected. IRBs have been in existence for many years. But it was not until 1974 that they were required by federal law to review all research projects involving human subjects that received their funding from the Department of Health Education & Welfare under the Public Health Services Act, the Food & Drug Administration, and from most other federal agencies. Although most federal agencies follow the guidelines for IRBs established by HEW, there are, according to the commission, many variations arising 8
C&EN Sept. 4, 1978
out of differences in wording, imposition of additional requirements, or introductions of minor changes in the regulations. These differences have led to unnecessary duplications of effort and imposed a heavy burden on IRBs in interpreting and applying the different regulations. The commission's first recommendation is that HEW be made the single agency for regulating IRBs. This would subject all IRBs under federal jurisdiction to a single set of regulations and assure a minimum level of protection to human subjects of research, no matter which agency is supporting the project. In addition, the commission says that HEW should be the sole agency for accrediting IRBs and ensuring compliance with the regulations. To be accredited, IRBs would have to submit information on the names and qualifications of members; process for selecting members; resources, such as meeting rooms, staff, and office facilities that will be devoted to the review function; general operating
procedures; and the number and type of proposals that are expected to be reviewed. To check compliance, the commission suggests that HEW routinely conduct site visits and audits of IRBs records to assure continuing performance quality control. The four-year-old commission, which is operating under HEW auspices, is scheduled to complete its work in October. It likely will be replaced by a similar, independent Presidential Commission. D
Hatco Chemical sold to former employee W. R. Grace last week announced that it has sold its Hatco Chemical unit to a newly formed corporation—Hatco Chemical Corp.— headed by Alex Kaufman, a former head of Grace's Hatco Group. Purchase price was not disclosed. Hatco Chemical produces plasticizers and synthetic lubricants. This latest sale is almost the end of the Hatco Group for W. R. Grace. Earlier this year, Grace sold two units from its Hatco plastics division—Elm Coated Fabrics of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Ellay Rubber of Los Angeles, Calif.—to B.I.M. Equities and its subsidiary, Kalex Chemical, which also are headed by Kaufman (C&EN, May 8, page 7). The next week it sold its Hatco Polyester division to U.S. Steel (C&EN, May 15, page 7). The only remaining parts of the Hatco Group are a plant in Corinth, Miss., making vinyl and urethane products, and Grace's 50% interest in Oxochem (a joint venture with the financially troubled Commonwealth Oil Refining), which was administered through the Hatco Group. Hatco Chemical, which Grace acquired in 1959, was the start of the Hatco Group. The company later added Marco Chemical, which became the polyester division, as well as Elm, Ellay, and Southbridge Plastic. Southbridge contributed the Corinth plant, which is being retained for the time being. In 1971, the group's joint venture plant with Corco came on stream The Hatco Group had sales in 1977 of about $230 million. Sales for the Hatco Chemical division are not available from Grace, but Charles H. Kline Associates, the New Jerseybased marketing consultant, estimates the division's sales at $90 million in 1976. Under terms of the purchase agreement, Grace has agreed to a five-year contract to supply Hatco Chemical with oxo-alcohol from Oxochem. D
