Japan gets new source of aluminum
num producers—Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Mitsui Aluminium, Nippon Light Metal (50% owned by Alcan Aluminium Ltd.), Showa In Tokyo last week, Japan's alumi- Denko, and Sumitomo Chemical num industry provided itself with a —and seven of the top 10 trading major new source of competitively firms: Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & priced primary aluminum in Indo- Co., Marubeni Corp., C. Itoh & nesia. The five Japanese producers Co., Nissho-Iwai, Sumitomo Shoji, signed a master agreement with the and Nichimen. All of the Asahan Indonesian government to proceed facilities must be transferred to with the Asahan hydroelectric and Indonesian ownership 30 years after aluminum project, a plan to build a startup. 426-Mw power station and a Long-term credits at preferential 225,000 metric-ton-a-year alumi- rates were assured for the bulk of num smelter on the Indonesian the project's financing needs when island of Sumatra. the Japanese Cabinet earlier this Power from the hydroelectric sta- month approved loans by the Extion, situated on the upper reaches port-Import Bank of Japan (for the of the Asahan River, will supply a smelter), the Overseas Economic smelter at Kuala Tandjung on the Cooperation Fund (for the hydro coast. Besides the smelter, which is plant), and the Japan International scheduled for construction in three Cooperation Agency (for the $92 stages, each of 75,000 metric-ton- million cost of port, roads, housing, a-year capacity, the Kuala hospital, and other ancillary conTandjung end of the project in- struction required). Three days volves development of a port and after the Cabinet's action, the 13 other industrial infrastructure facil- principals signed their contract. ities. Startup is expected by the Dependent on oil-fired stations end of 1981, with full operation by for the bulk of their power supplies, 1983. Japan's domestic aluminum smeltThe same parties initialed the ers have not been competitive in master contract last December, world markets. Imported ingot, in after two years of negotiations. fact, supplies a substantial part of (Alcoa and Kaiser Aluminum also the home market. The quadrupling joined in the negotiations, but both of Middle East oil prices, says a dropped out during 1974.) Two de- Showa Denko analyst, has almost tails held up final agreement to go doubled the domestic production ahead—getting Japanese govern- cost of aluminum. "Sumitomo will ment backing for the $593 million build no more aluminum smelters in loans required, and lining up in Japan," says Sumitomo Chemimore firms to help shoulder the cal's president Norishige Hasegawa, $230 million equity (90% of total whose firm holds roughly one quarshares) to be put up by the Japa- ter of the domestic market for alunese side. minum and its alloys. "All the JapThe consortium that has emerged anese producers are trying to build includes Japan's primary alumi- abroad." Sumitomo represented the Japanese side in the Asahan negotiations. I M o r t h e r n Sumatra site of Showa Denko and Sumitomo are n e w aluminum project already partners (25% each) with Australia's Comalco Ltd. in a 114,000 metric-ton-a-year aluminum smelter venture in New Zealand. In operation since 1971, this hydroelectric-powered smelter is scheduled to put another 38,000 metric tons of capacity into use next year. •
Chemical stocks idle after steep gain Early summer doldrums seem to have settled on Wall Street. But the calm of the past few weeks has come after one of the strongest performances in stock market history. Since the lows of last December the rise for chemical stocks has been 61% through the first week of July
as measured by C&EN's stock price index for the Big Seven U.S. chemical companies—Allied Chemical, American Cyanamid, Celanese, Dow Chemical, Du Pont, Monsanto, and Union Carbide. This increase is greater than the 51% gain by the Dow Jones Industrials stock price average over the same period. All of the Big Seven have shared in the stock market rise. Three of these companies are way ahead of the rest at the moment. At the top is Dow with a 79% increase. Then comes Monsanto with 77% and Union Carbide with 64%. Lower down are Du Pont with 46%, Celanese with 44%, American Cyanamid with 35%, and Allied with 26%. The price-earnings ratio for chemical stocks also has risen notably since December. Two factors have been at work here—the rising stock market and, in some cases, falling earnings. This rise has been from six to seven at Allied, seven to eight at American Cyanamid, four to eight at Celanese, nine to 13 at Dow, eight to 20 at Du Pont, four to eight at Monsanto, and three to seven at Carbide. For the Dow Jones Industrials this ratio has risen from 5.8 to 9.3 since December. Hence, five of the Big Seven chemical makers are below this overall average. Part of the explanation for the relative slippage is that chemical earnings have not fallen nearly as much as the average throughout other large U.S. industries. •
Enzyme lack tied to sudden infant deaths The sudden infant death syndrome —a mysterious affliction in which apparently unharmed and healthy babies are found dead in their cribs —may be related to an enzyme deficiency. Dr. Henry Lardy, a biochemist at the University of Wisconsin Enzyme Institute in Madison, says that he and his coworkers found abnormally low concentrations of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy kinase (PEPCK) in liver samples taken from 87 crib death victims. This enzyme, Lardy explains, is part of the gluconeogenic system, which converts amino acids to glucose to maintain blood sugar levels between meals. The crib death samples showed, on average, only about one sixth the PEPCK activity of samples taken from infants who died from other causes. Levels of three other gluconeogenic enzymes were normal. The 87 victims included 26 inJuly 14, 1975C&EN
7
fants with no signs of other complications. All these were deficient in PEPCK. The other 61 also had mild respiratory infections—somewhat typical of the syndrome. Of these, four had normal PEPCK activity, whereas 57 were below normal. Lardy hypothesizes that the stress of even a mild infection, superimposed upon a marginal effective gluconeogenic system, could be enough to cause death. Controls included nine babies who died of accidents and 26 who died of other diseases. PEPCK levels were normal in all 35. Most of the tests were "blind," Lardy notes; the cause of death, as determined by coroners or pathologists, was not known to the enzyme workers until after the assays had been made. It would be desirable to know whether the crib death victims were in fact hypoglycemic. But, Lardy tells C&EN, there is no way to get an accurate blood glucose determination unless it can be done as soon as death occurs—and this is almost never the case. Lardy emphasizes that the findings so far show only a strong correlation between low PEPCK activity and crib death, not that the enzyme deficiency is the actual cause of death. But he points out that several aspects of crib death suggest failure of the body to maintain.normal blood sugar levels. For example, most deaths occur at night. Also, the incidence seems to be higher in babies who missed a meal, or who vomited before bedtime. In any event, Lardy adds, the task now is to develop testing methods to identify infants who might be predisposed to crib death. •
Rodenticide blamed for Korean deaths Previously believed to be "relatively safe" for nonrodent animals and for humans, Rohm & Haas Co.'s new one-dose rodenticide Vacor apparently has been responsible for seven accidental deaths overseas. The Philadelphia-headquartered chemical maker says the deaths are the result of misuse of the rodenticide. All seven fatalities occurred in South Korea, and several were the unexpected result of the government's experimental rat control program there. In one incident, three children died and another became ill after eating Vacor-treated rice bait. In another, two men in a Korean restaurant became seriously ill and eventually died after each 8
C&EN July 14, 1975
House probes auto sulfate emissions
Gregory: stands by earlier prediction
intentionally ate two tablespoons of the treated rice. Details of the Korean fatalities have been reported to the Environmental Protection Agency, which keeps track of such incidents. Two weeks ago Rohm & Haas announced that it told EPA it now will market the rat killer as a toxic substance with appropriate labeling, largely as a result of the news from South Korea. Rohm & Haas says the exact cause of the deaths is still not known. According to company president Vincent L. Gregory Jr., "We are aware now that toxic materials of natural origin were present in the rice that was used as part of the bait formulated in South Korea. However, we have not yet been able to establish whether these toxins were present in sufficient quantities to have been a factor in the deaths that occurred." In a related incident, however, a Korean chemist employed by a local formulator became ill and was hospitalized after eating a small amount of the active ingredient of Vacor, iV-S-pyridylmethyl-Af'-p-nitrophenyl urea, in an attempt to demonstrate that it wras harmless. He has recovered. On the other hand, Rohm & Haas says that toxicological studies in primates show that Vacor has a large safety factor—rhesus monkeys, for instance, survive 200 times the dose needed to kill rats. Nevertheless, says the firm, from now on Vacor will carry the label: "Keep out of the reach of children. May be fatal or harmful if swallowed." How the Korean incidents will affect sales of the product—forecast by Gregory to add $1.00 per share to company earnings within five years—is uncertain. It certainly will take some of the punch out of the firm's safety claims for the product. However, Gregory says, "We are continuing our commercial program with Vacor as a highly effective poisonous rodenticide," and he still stands by his earlier earnings prediction. •
Hard on the heels of President Ford's recommendation that current auto emission standards be extended through the 1981 model year —partly because of sulfuric acid emissions from catalytic converterequipped cars—the House Subcommittee on Environment & Atmosphere has opened hearings into the sulfuric acid emission problem. First-day witnesses from the big three auto makers in Detroit and from academia said flatly that there are insufficient data at this point to get a real handle on the problem. Sulfuric acid and sulfate mists are emitted from catalytic converters, which are used in 85% of this year's models to control hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. These mists can be hazardous to the respiratory system, according to some scientists. Current auto emission standards can be met without the converters. However, auto makers have chosen the converter route and said at the hearings that they intend to continue using this approach despite the President's proposal. So in anticipation of the continued reliance on converters as emission control devices, the Environmental Protection Agency says it is going to promulgate a sulfate emission standard for cars. What is known about the sulfate emissions from cars is that they contribute less than 1% to the sulfate pollutants present in ambient air. The remaining 99% comes from stationary sources. This is among the findings of a study, "Sulfates in the Atmosphere," by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. The study was commissioned by Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D.-Calif.), chairman of the subcommittee, and results were released at the hearings. The study also finds that currently there isn't sufficient information on sulfates available to permit a complete understanding of the problem. It says that setting a sulfate standard "would be purely guesswork." But Eric Stork, EPA's deputy administrator for mobile source air pollution control, is confident that a standard can be set by November and that the standard would go into effect with the 1979 models. The agency, Stork adds, is going full steam ahead in the development of the standard, involving its office of air and waste management and office of research and development and the auto makers. •
