THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
Decreased photoionization during the eclipse's relative darkness facilitated studies of ion recombination to neutral molecules and estimation of the major reaction rates. Other investigators used NASA rockets to make investigations in meteorology, solar physics, and ionspheric physics.
EUTROPHICATION:
Restoring the Lakes Citing Lake Erie as one of the most flagrant examples of lake pollution in the U.S., Carl L. Klein, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water Quality and Research, again attacked phosphorus as the major contributor to lake eutrophication. Emphasizing that "We are not out to throttle the detergent industry," Mr. Klein noted that phosphorus in detergents makes up some 50 to 60% of phosphorus in municipal sewage, much of which is dumped into lakes. Mr. Klein made these remarks before more than 125 representatives from industry, government, and citizens' groups last week at Interior's lake restoration meeting in Washington, D.C. "The detergent industry," he said, "should begin eliminating phosphorus from detergents as soon as possible." He acknowledged, however, that the roadblock is that a substitute material which performs the
Three "Atomic Pioneers" Honored by President Nixon President Nixon paid tribute to three men who played a major role in World War II development of nuclear weapons in a special White House ceremony 10 days ago. The three "Atomic Pioneers" shown here with the President are (center to right) Dr. Vannevar Bush, Dr. James B. Conant, and Gen. Leslie R. Groves. At extreme left is AEC Chairman Glenn Seaborg. Dr. Bush had responsibility for organizing the nation's scientists during World War II to work on nuclear energy. Dr. Conant worked to develop nuclear energy for military uses. Gen. Groves headed the Manhattan Project, cover name for the A-bomb development program.
same function as phosphorus has not yet been adequately tested, although federal spending to develop such a substitute has increased
Interior's Klein Lakes can be saved
(C&EN, Jan.
26, page 3 1 ) . Phosphorus is a major contributor to eutrophication of lakes ( overf ertilization caused by nutrient abundance) because it stimulates algal growth. As little as 0.01 mg. per liter of phosphorus at the beginning of the growing season in some lakes or an annual inflow of 0.3 to 0.5 gram per square meter of lake surface in others is all that is necessary to initiate algal growth, noted Secretary Klein. And unlike nitrogen, which also contributes to eutrophication, phosphorus doesn't enter into biochemical reactions that permit it to escape from water as a gas, nor is it easily removed from water by organisms or sediments. Despite the magnitude of the lake problem in the U.S., Mr. Klein maintains that "Lake Erie and others threatened by man-made eutrophication can be saved." To assess the possibilities for restoring lakes to quality for maximum public benefit, some 20 scientists and engineers—experts in limnology from the U.S., Sweden, and Canada—gathered in a two-day workshop sponsored by the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration.
Workshop participants generally agreed with Secretary Klein that the most satisfactory way to prevent eutrophication is to limit phosphorus, and other nutrient, input from all sources. However, Dr. A. F. Bartsch, director of FWPCA'S Pacific Northwest Water Laboratory, Corvallis, Ore., said that the outlook for limiting nitrogen input is much less favorable than limiting phosphorus. Dr. Bartsch stressed that in some cases improving food chains to provide a harvestable crop may be a suitable method, either alone or in combination with other methods, to prevent eutrophication. Two methods—stimulating aquatic plant disease and parasites and killing off plants by toxic agents—were not highly touted by any of the participants. There are viruses that are host specific for certain green algae, says Dr. Bartsch, but research on using this property is still in a pilot stage. Echoing the scientists' consensus, he explained that using herbicides, algicides, and other toxic chemicals to kill overgrowth is the least acceptable method since chemicals are foreign to lakes (in contrast to some indigenous viruses and parasites), are not specific for particular plants, and tend to accelerate recycling of nutrients. MARCH 9, 1970 C&EN 15
