NEWS OF THE WEEK then is cleaved to give methane and carbon dioxide. When oxygen is present, the bacteria transform TFA into fluoroform (CHF3) and carbon dioxide. The group's work was funded by USGS and the National Aeronautics & Space Administration. "People were worrying about what's going to happen to TFA, what are the implications of this stuff accumulating," Oremland says. "We discovered, surprisingly, that bacteria can degrade TFA into innocuous products." Although Oremland and his colleagues are the first to report biodégradation of TFA, similar results have since been obtained at Michigan State University by professor of civil and environmental engineering Craig S. Criddle and professor of crop and soil science James M. Tiedje. "Our guess is that there's more than one thing going on with TFA, so there is probably more than one microbe that can degrade it," Criddle says. DuPonfs Chumley comments: 'What has become clear from Oremland's work is that soil microorganisms can destroy TFA. We see this as encouraging. It looks like TFA might not accumulate in the environment." Pamela Zurer
Mobil to cut 2,300 jobs at chemical division As part of its continuing restructuring, Mobil Corp. says it will eliminate the jobs of 2,300 employees from its chemical businesses. The Fairfax, Va.-based company blames the cut on lower earnings and excess capacity that have plagued the chemical industry. The action will reduce Mobil Chemical's staff of 11,800 employees by nearly 20% and lead to after-tax charges of $95 million, part of a $315 million charge in the second quarter of 1994. Mobil will start closing down its Mace don, N.Y., oriented-polypropylene plastic film plant in September, eliminating 150 jobs. The site is "our oldest and most costly facility/' says a corporate spokesman. The company also will downsize its Stratford, Conn., plastic film plant, removing 20 of the 250 jobs there. The remainder of the job cuts will be across-the-board, with most in the U.S. The cuts will impact "every part of our company, especially the staff functions," says a Mobil Chemical spokes8
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man. "All of our staff people are either chemists or chemical engineers." But in the people-intensive plastics business, he notes, cuts will have a greater effect on plant-level employees. Half the cuts have already been identified through a voluntary program, he adds. For instance, at the Edison, N.J., general polymer R&D facility, 30 of 185 positions are to be eliminated. Voluntary resignations have so far accounted for 19 jobs to be cut. About 6,000 of the 9,800 U.S. employees were offered an enhanced separation benefits package. The package includes two and a half weeks' base pay for each year employed up to 15 years and three
weeks' pay per year of employment beyond 15 years, with a maximum benefit equal to 78 weeks' pay. Medical and life insurance coverages continue throughout the benefit period. Outplacement counseling is also being offered. The restructuring is expected to improve company earnings significantly (C&EN, June 27, page 29). Mobil Corp. also is taking after-tax charges of $220 million for North American petroleum operations because of reassessment of hydrocarbon reserves and write-offs of nonproducing properties and marketing facilities. Mobil Chemical had 1993 earnings of $44 million on sales of $3.41 billion. Elisabeth Kirschner
Eli Lilly, Somatogen set blood substitute venture Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly has tially huge blood substitute market, formed a strategic alliance with Somato- with nearly 40 million units of red gen, a Boulder, Colo.-based startup bio- blood cells transfused worldwide each technology firm, to develop and market year. U.S. sales of plasma and transfuSomatogen's blood substitute product— sion products reached $2.8 billion last genetically engineered hemoglobin year, according to a study by Norwalk, Conn.-based Business Communication (rHbl.l). Currently undergoing Phase II clini- Co., and demand for blood substitutes cal trials for efficacy, rHbl.l is pro- is likely to grow 10% annually. "This collaboration puts in place all duced by using recombinant DNA techniques to genetically alter Escherichia coli the necessary pieces to successfully to produce human hemoglobin, the pro- commercialize rHbl.l through clinical tein in red blood cells responsible for development and [sales] to the global carrying oxygen. The product is intend- medical marketplace," says Charles ed as a substitute for blood or plasma Scoggin, Somatogen's chairman, presinormally transfused during medical dent, and chief executive officer. The agreement will allow Somatogen to foprocedures. Lilly will provide manufacturing ca- cus on R&D "while drawing on the pacity to produce enough rHbl.l for strengths of Lilly's global manufacturPhase III clinical trials for efficacy—and ing and commercial infrastructures," for commercial-scale production if it is he adds. The alliance will save some approved for marketing by the Food & $150 million to $200 million that SoDrug Administration. In return, Lilly matogen recently estimated it would will obtain exclusive rights to market have needed to expand rHbl.l producrHbl.l worldwide, except in North tion capacity on its own. America and Scandinavia. As other developers of blood reOutside North America, Lilly will as- placement products have experienced, sume development costs and pay a Somatogen has had to surmount probroyalty to Somatogen based on product lems to produce rHbl.l and to oversales. Within North America, the two come side effects found during clinical companies will split development costs trials. For example, company scientists developed a process to stabilize the and share profits. Lilly has invested $20 million in the molecule to prevent its breakdown into venture, for which it is receiving a toxic alpha-beta dimers. Other companies use different tech13.5% stake (about 2.4 million shares) in Somatogen common stock. Upon So- niques to make blood substitutes. For matogen's reaching certain "mile- instance, Baxter International, Northstones" in rHbl.l's development, Lilly field Labs, Biopure, and Enzon are dewill make further equity investments veloping techniques to isolate hemoglobin from outdated blood. Alliance totaling an additional $15 million. Lilly and Somatogen project a poten- Pharmaceutical and Alpha Therapeu-
tics are working on perfluorocarbon blood substitutes. And DNX Corp. produces human blood from genetically altered pigs. But unlike these blood substitutes, rHbl.l eliminates possible transmission of blood-borne viral and bacterial diseases, contains ample oxygen-carrying capacity, and does not require cross-matching of blood. George Peaff
First kosher seal given to plastic resins Solvay Polymers has modified its Deer Park, Tex., resin production processes to produce the first polyethylene and polypropylene product lines to win kosher certification. In the past, kosher certification has come much later in the packaging production process, usually as the resin is molded into a container. Solvay has signed an agreement with Certified Shipping Packaging Transport of Silver Spring, Md., an agency that identifies and certifies the kosher acceptability of food packaging and handling materials that comply with the standards of Jewish, Muslim, Seventh-Day Adventist, and vegetarian groups. Until recently, Solvay, along with most of the plastics industry, used nonkosher, animal-tallow-derived lubricant additives—such as calcium stéarate, zinc stéarate, and glycerol monostearate— during production of polyethylene and polypropylene resins. The plastics industry has long known that these additives migrate to the surface of plastic packaging materials and come in direct contact with packaged foods. But "Kosher-certifying agencies realized only recently that these additives migrate in a way that compromises the food's kosher acceptability," notes Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, rabbinic administrator of Star-K Kosher Certification, a nonprofit certification agency. To meet kosher criteria, Solvay modified its entire Deer Park plant to employ vegetable-derived rather than tallow-based stéarates. The company worked with Certified Shipping's chairman, Rabbi Jonah Gewirtz, and with Star-K to develop a detailed protocol for certifying its products. The move presumably gives Solvay an edge over its competitors in the market for plastics packaging for kosher
foods. Some 20,000 "kosher-certified" products generate $1.75 billion in U.S. sales annually. This market segment is only a small part of the 6.5 billion lb food-contact plastics packaging market, but it is growing rapidly. Between 1985 and 1990, annual sales of kosher food products grew an average 17%. To make kosher-certified plastics available to everyone as quickly as possible, Solvay is offering to share its conversion technology with its competitors. Other producers of polyethylene and polypropylene will need to start producing plastics containing vegetable-derived stéarates to meet market demand. Solvay's supplies of its vegetable-stearate-containing polypropylene and polyethylene are tight. Current stocks of resin and finished products may still find use, Rabbi Heinemann points out. "There is a lenien-
cy in kosher laws allowing pre-existing inventory to be used until the alternative can be fully developed within a reasonable period of time," he notes. "In the future, however, when faced with the alternative, one must opt for the certified product." Vegetable-based stéarates currently sell for about three times the tallowbased materials. "We decided not to pass on the cost of the more expensive vegetable-based stéarates because we believe this change is in the best interest of both our customers and the consumer," says James M. Killough, Solvay's marketing manager for polypropylene. However, he adds, the differential in stéarate prices probably will narrow in the next six months as the market adjusts to changes in supply and demand. Susan Ainsworth
Four members picked for U.S. chemistry olympiad team James Grimmelmann, 16, who has just completed his junior year at Horace Mann High School in Bronx, N.Y., practices titration at training camp to prepare for the 26th annual International Chemistry Olympiad—being held this week in Oslo, Norway, and focusing on analytical chemistry. Grimmelmann and three other high school students were named to the U.S. team after participating in the camp from June 12 to 26 with 18 other outstanding chemistry students. In addition to Grimmelmann, other team members are Nicholas Loehr of Midlothian (Va.) High School, Justin McCarty of Amherst (N.Y.) Central High School, and Jessen Yu of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Va. They will compete with teams from 40 other nations—the largest number of entries in chemistry olympiad history. During the camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., the students heard lectures, performed problem-solving exercises and lab experiments, and underwent repeated tests. In last year's olympiad, the U.S. won two gold and two silver medals and placed among the top three teams—its best finish ever. Ron Dagani JULY 4,1994 C&EN
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