May its final figures on fall 1976 graduate enrollment. NSF says the biggest percentage increases in graduate science and engineering enrollment in fall 1976 occurred in the environmental and health sciences, both up about 8%. NSF also points out that the increased number of part-time graduate students (about 5800 more in fall 1976 than in fall 1975) was responsible for the slight overall increase in graduate science and engineering enrollment. The latest NSF report states, "Parttime study, which accounts for about 29% of total graduate enrollment in the sciences and engineering, allows graduate students to work at a fulltime job to meet the rising costs of graduate tuition during a period when federal fellowships and traineeships have been drastically curtailed." D
industry analyst, because so far they have not been able to capture a significant share of the soft drink market. Monsanto disputes this, however. Coca Cola sells some of its soft drink in Monsanto plastic bottles in 11 states in the Northeast and Midwest. FDA's decision is based on results from two animal toxicology studies using one of the monomers—acrylonitrile—conducted by Dow Chemical toxicologists for the Manufacturing Chemists Association. These studies, though, were not originally intended to demonstrate the safety of plastic soft drink bottles, but rather to provide acrylonitrile toxicology data to MCA member companies. FDA apparently decided to act after receiving an interim report on the second of the two studies, a two-year rat feeding study, on Jan. 12, That study showed that after 12 months, rats given the highest doses of the monomer (100 and 300 ppm) in their drinking water ate less food and had lower body weights (normally a sign of toxicity). The study also found a higher incidence of subcutaneous masses in the mammary regions of females at all dose levels, and "proliferative lesions" of the brain in males and females at the highest dose. FDA also had on hand results from an earlier teratology study performed by Dow for MCA that showed toxic effects in pregnant rats when force-fed 65 mg per kg of body weight per day of the monomer. Last week Monsanto representaFDA may ban plastic tives met with FDA officials in soft drink bottle Washington, D.C., to present additional data that the firm hopes will The simmering debate over the safety cause the agency to reverse itself on of plastic soft drink bottles came to a the plastic bottle decision. A company boil on Feb. 11 when the Food & Drug spokesman in St. Louis says that the Administration disclosed that it in- data "will continue to demonstrate tends to withdraw approval of an ac- the safety of the container," and will rylonitrile/styrene copolymer version show that there is "no migration of of the bottle. FDA cited industry- the polymer components into the supplied data as the reason. The bottles' contents as measured by acbottle maker denies any safety prob- ceptable test methods." lems. Another plastic soft drink bottle The agency action comes as a set- made from a Du Pont polyester resin back for Monsanto, which developed is currently being marketed by the acrylonitrile/styrene copolymer, Pepsi-Cola, but FDA says that it Huge casks such as this currently are usedcalled Lopac, for the bottle in the first doesn't plan any action against botto transport spent nuclear fuel assembliesplace. But the bottles may have been tles made from "nonacrylonitrile in trouble anyway, according to an plastics." D to storage facilities tion for the project is pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Actual conveyance of the property will not take place until NRC issues a construction permit. However, a company spokesman says NRC approval is likely enough for planning to go forward. First phase of the project involves construction of a $300 million usedfuel storage facility that could hold fuel from 25 nuclear power plants for 10 years. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 1979. At present, used fuel is stored under water at power plants; however, such on-site storage capacity is limited. Exxon Nuclear eventually hopes to build a fuel reprocessing center at Oak Ridge that could reprocess up to 2100 metric tons per year of used nuclear fuel—enough to meet the annual fuel needs of 40 large nuclear power plants, according to the company. Reprocessing involves the reExxon Nuclear plans covery of unused uranium, plutonium, and useful fission products from fuel reprocessing unit the spent fuel, and also the separation Exxon Nuclear Co. is going ahead and preparation of radioactive wastes with plans for a $1 billion complex for for long-term storage. storing and reprocessing used nuclear The nuclear industry is generally in fuel, despite a current government favor of using the recovered plutonimoratorium on commercial repro- um as reactor fuel to conserve valucessing activities. Last week the able uranium resources. But plutocompany and the Energy Research & nium also can be used to make nuDevelopment Administration re- clear weapons. This gives rise to convealed that ERDA would sell Exxon cern that the reprocessing operations Nuclear about 185 acres of property could lead to plutonium "bootlegnear Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the pro- ging" and to proliferation of nuclear posed facility. The company will pay weapons. Because of this, current $221,250 for the plant site and an U.S. policy is to delay commercialiadditional $88,000 annually for a zation of nuclear fuel reprocessing 2300-acre "buffer area" surrounding until the uncertainties are resolved. the property. Exxon Nuclear, headquartered in Exxon Nuclear's license applica- Bellevue, Wash., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Corp. and makes and markets reload fuels for nuclear power plants. A sister subsidiary, Exxon Co. U.S.A., is involved in uranium exploration and mining. G
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C&ENFeb. 21, 1977
