involved in the case at about $3 million. According to the FBI, Mr. Fore (using the name R. W. Piper) approached Chemstrand by letter dated March 5, 1966, through the company's Pensacola Fla., plant. The letter allegedly contained production plans for the T-29 and the promise that complete prints, specifications, and instructions for the machine were available from Piper (via general delivery, Wilmington, Del.) if Chemstrand was interested. Du Pont says that Chemstrand immediately notified it of the offer. Du Pont, determining that the plans were stolen from its Martinsville plant, then called in the FBI. According to the FBI, Mr. Fore, in a signed statement, has admitted making the offer and has turned over 21 documents he obtained from the Martinsville plant, and which he admitted transporting from Virginia to Glen Burnie, Md. Information contained in these documents, the FBI claims, "would be sufficient to design and equip a textile fiber plant which could be run efficiently by competent engineers." Four days before Mr. Fore's employment was terminated by Du Pont, according to the FBI, he signed (on May 27, 1965) a statement certifying he had returned all drawings, blueprints, manuals, letters, notes, and the like, as well as "all other material of a secret or confidential nature" relating to Du Pont. At press time, Mr. Fore could not be reached for comment on the charges.
Use the environment—MCA The Manufacturing Chemists' Association failed to impress Congress with its philosophy of air pollution control: Nature has provided a giant receptacle in the environment; this great natural resource should be used to the greatest extent possible short of endangering the public health. "This may not be currently a wholly popular concept," MCA spokesman John O. Logan, executive v.p. of Olin Mathieson, told the House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development. He was right. Charging that the chemical industry is one of the major polluters in the nation, Rep. J. E. Roush (D.-Ind.) said: "This attitude in the approach to a problem which industry has imposed on the public doesn't really go down too well with me." According to Mr. Logan, the mere nresence of any particular chemical in the environment should not automatically be regarded as undesirable. Water containing fluoride from natural sources, for example, led to discovery of the role of fluoridation in preventing tooth decay. However, there must be
MCA spokesman Logan Not a wholly popular concept
a definition of what amount of a chemical is beneficial or, if there is no benefit, how much can be tolerated without adverse effect. This leads to a simplified concept of pollution as being a condition where "too much" is present. "It is greatly to be hoped that in our extensive programs of pollution abatement and control, the objective will always be to eliminate that increment which results in there being 'too much' as contrasted with working toward the irreducible minimum," Mr. Logan said. It would be technically unsound and economically wasteful, in his opinion, not to make proper use of the capability of the atmosphere to absorb waste below the "too much" level. "It is my firm belief, and that of the industry I represent, that society cannot afford the cost of control for control's sake," he said. There should be no compromise with health protection; but Mr. Logan says that many of the most objectionable environmental conditions are not health matters. In these cases the remedial needs differ widely from place to place. Although it might be convenient for administrators to have uniform requirements on discharges of similar character, this would be economically wasteful if established as a general policy, he says. This approach aroused Rep. James Fulton (R.-Pa.) who, as a Representative from Pittsburgh, is sensitive to air pollution problems. Maybe the chemical industry can't afford to clean up the air, he said, but society or the Government can afford it and should solve the problem. Although much of the contamination in the air may not be a health problem, Rep. Fulton be-
lieves that this contamination may be depriving him of something that he originally had, found to be very pleasant, and wants to keep. "I don't favor the idea that because it is harmless we should let every industry put all the waste into the atmosphere, lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans that they will hold," he said. The purpose of the committee hearings is to determine whether technology is available to combat air pollution and what research is needed. MCA believes that more research on air pollution problems is needed. Prime areas for federal research efforts are: determining environmental standards and improving operation of municipal sewage treatment plants—areas which do not readily lend themselves to commercial interests. MCA believes that an expanded program of industry research under government contract "would not generally be a substantial stimulus to progress." Instead, industry activity would be stimulated in areas where, protected by patents, the outcome of the research work could be capitalized on by marketing the control technology to others.
U.K. seeks cut in detergent ads The Rt. Hon. Douglas Jay, fresh from achieving a price rollback by Kodak on color film in the U.K. (C&EN, Aug. 15, page 2 2 ) , is loading up for bigger game. As president of Britain's Board of Trade, he will soon begin talks with Procter and Gamble, Ltd., and Lever Bros, aimed at substantial cuts in detergent promotion and prices. The board's action follows a three-year Monopolies Commission investigation of the household detergents market, carried out at Board of Trade request. Its report (C&EN, Aug. 15, page 25), recommends a 40 % slash in detergent advertising and promotion and substantial percentage cuts in wholesale prices. The changes in Kodak's pricing policy followed another Monopolies Commission report to the board, issued in April. The commission attacked different aspects of selling practice in the photo film and the detergent markets, but its arguments had several points in common that touch on basic business practice and that might provide a clue to its future recommendations. Among the markets under investigation currently are rayon and other cellulosic fibers, aluminum semimanufactures (fabricators), and flat glass. Kodak, Lever, and P&G each have monopolies in some of their markets under British law, which defines monopoly as the supply of at least one third of all goods of the kind in question. The commission hasn't frowned AUG. 22, 1966 C&EN
11
