News of the Week
CHINA PACT CLEARS WAY FOR TRADE GROWTH The recent trade agreement between the U.S. and China provides patent, trademark, and copyright protection for U.S. companies doing business in China, sets up procedures for resolving commercial disputes, and generally aids establishment of business facilities in each country by firms from the other. The pact was initialed by Commerce Secretary Juanita M. Kreps in Canton and China's Minister of Foreign Trade Li Chiang in Peking. It will last for three years but is renewable for additional three-year periods. As she initialed the agreement, Kreps noted that "for 30 years the people of the U.S. have had little or no commercial, or other contact with nearly one quarter of the population of the world. Today we take a major step together in resuming the unimpaired exchange of goods and services—and therefore the exchange of ideas, experiences, and good will." The Commerce Secretary also noted that "the consequences of a trade agreement are many and are essential to normal relations between our countries." Among other things, the agreement will provide reciprocal most favored nation status, thereby reducing tariffs and facilitating trade; eliminate a principal precondition to the granting of official credits; greatly increase business contacts—through trade exhibits, individual firms' offices, etc.; and provide normal protection to companies doing business. The trade agreement signed during Kreps' visit to China was the seventh in a series of agreements. Four of the other agreements involve exchanges of information or scientists in oceanography, measurements and standards, meteorology, and management of science and technology. The other agreements are a trade exhibition pact and the resolution of outstanding financial claims between both countries. The new trade and other agreements came quickly, in just a few days on a single diplomatic visit, possibly for good reason. The agreements may be important in eventually clearing the biggest stumbling block—finance—to heavy industrial development in China. Since the great thaw in China's 4
C&ENMay21, 1979
which is prime contractor for four ethylene plants to be built in China with technology from C-E Lummus in the U.S., has been called to Peking for discussions. Other chemical companies involved in Chinese development detect no slowdown to date. For example, Pullman Kellogg is moving ahead on new contracts for a urea plant and an aromatics derivatives plant. Pullman Kellogg has had extensive experience already in building Chinese fertilizer chemical complexes. Three of these, for ammonia and urea, have been completed. The stake in Chinese chemicals for other western chemical companies has been considerable. For example, other technology for Pullman Kellogg's aromatics plant comes on license from Hercules and UOP. In separate fertilizer contracts, technology for ammonia from coal is on order from Lurgi in West Germany and for ammonia from oil from Texaco in the U.S. In polyolefins, China has signed up Commerce Secretary Kreps initialing new for technology for high-density polyethylene from Union Carbide three-year agreement with China and for polyvinyl chloride from development began late last fall Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan. In (C&KN, Jan. 1, page 6), the Chinese basic aromatics, a chain of plants have signed billions of dollars worth leading to polyester fiber is on order of plant contracts in chemicals alone from Lurgi and Zimmer of West and billions more in steel, aluminum, Germany involving training of Chicopper, and other industries. But this nese engineers at Allied Chemical in D spring, the Chinese began telling the U.S. some contract partners, particularly in Japan, that these projects may be delayed. The reason is that the Chi- Harvard restructures nese may have become overextended by signing so many contracts so way science is taught quickly. The new agreements, by laying the Harvard University will phase in a groundwork for trade terms and new "core" curriculum for undersettling old debts, may help open the graduate students this fall, and the way for international assistance to the program could have a wide-ranging Chinese in paying for their huge or- influence on the academic commuders. Already, the Chinese have nity. The recently revealed program signed credit agreements with foreign substantially restructures the way banks. But much more will be science will be taught to nonscience majors, but brings lesser changes to needed. These money arrangements di- programs for science majors. Though science courses for nonrectly concern chemical development in China. Although chemical con- majors will continue to be taught by tracts have not been mentioned as individual departments, students will prominently as hotels and trade cen- pick courses from somewhat nontraters in Chinese go-slow announce- ditional categories. Thus, underments to date, some readjustments graduates must complete one year of may occur for chemical projects. For science, divided between "analytical example, Toyo Engineering of Japan, and deductive" sciences and sciences
that are "descriptive of complex systems/' "It's not a straight division between the physical and biological sciences," a Harvard faculty member explains. "That just didn't work." Instead, courses in chemistry, molecular biology, and physics fall into the first category, and all undergraduates with nonscience majors must take a halfyear course from among them. The second category includes courses in evolutionary biology, cosmology, geology, and ecology. Math requirements are fulfilled separately and students must pass a competency exam. To help them do so, a series of short courses will be offered, including some on computer programing, a skill that's becoming mandatory for undergraduates. Science courses taught to nonscience majors will be different from those designed for students majoring in, for example, chemistry or biochemistry. Eventually, several dozen special courses may be phased in, but only the first few will be offered next falL David Dressier of the biochemistry
department, along with Konrad E. Bloch of the chemistry department, has been teaching a biochemistrymolecular biology course for science students at the university. Now Dressier is designing a half-year course for nonscience students that's "self-contained for students without practice" in studying science. "Ideally, the course will require a year, with students spending the first third going from atoms and molecules to chemical reactions," he says. Students come into biochemistry with a smattering of knowledge picked up from high school and from newspapers, he notes. "But we want to teach them the point of view of going from experiments to getting answers—the process of science." Many of the science departments have not tried to structure courses for liberal arts students before, and thus the program is something of an experiment. "The success of it," Dressier contends, "will depend on good teachers working out the problems." The students ought to be able to master the material if it is made interesting and accessible, he adds. D
Cleanup goes slowly in chemical warehouse The solution to the latest horror story on chemical waste storage is being worked out tortuously at the edge of a New Jersey city. A massive job of cleanup and disposal of large quantities of hazardous materials found in a chemical waste disposal company's warehouse in Elizabeth, N.J., is progressing—but very slowly (C&EN, May 14, page 9). State officials have said that complete cleanup may take as long as a year. The cleanup of the warehouse owned by Chemical Control Corp. is also fraught with peril. For example, last week nitric acid spilled from one rusted metal drum as it was being repacked. This is the third such incident since cleanup started a few weeks ago. State officials say there probably will be more. The Environmental Protection Agency moved one of its mobile laboratories to the site to help identify certain chemicals that are in unmarked drums. Chemical Control is a waste disposal company given temporary registration by the state of New Jersey in 1974. This registration was never made permanent, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection. However, Chemical Control was supposed to dispose of the chemicals, mainly by incineration. Instead, the company merely stockpiled them, state officials say. The danger became apparent ear-
lier this month when state officials entered the warehouse and found a second story loft crammed with metal drums. The drums contained various acids, bases, explosives, and toxic chemicals. Some of the drums were rusted through and leaking. According to state officials, none of the more dangerous chemicals in the drums, including explosives such as nitroglycerine, nitrocellulose, azides, perchlorates, and crystallized picric acid, was shown on the company's inventory. Chemical companies whose names appear on labeled drums have been asked to retrieve their chemicals and dispose of them. All of the companies, which New Jersey officials decline to identify, are complying. The main problem is not with the labeled drums—these can be readily disposed of by established procedures. For instance, the nitroglycerine is being taken to the Earle U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot 30 miles south of Elizabeth by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms to be destroyed. The real problem is the large number of containers of unlabeled chemicals. These are being sampled and tested, but disposal is possible only after identification is made. The cost of identifying and inventorying the chemicals at the warehouse has been placed at $4 million. Disposal of the chemicals will cost an
additional $10 million. Cleanup work thus far is being funded by Coastal Services Corp. of Perth Amboy, N.J., under contract to the state's environmental protection department. The department currently is using funds from the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund for the cleanup. According to New Jersey officials, there are no federal funds or programs currently in existence that can apply to the situation. D
Production of aerosols begins to rise again The aerosol industry finally has turned around. According to the latest annual ''pressurized products survey" made by the Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association, 1978 aerosol production increased 3.8% from 1977 levels. In all, 2.23 billion units were filled in 1978 compared to 2.15 billion in 1977. That's a rather modest increase. But after four lean years, it looks pretty good to the industry. Aerosol production peaked at 2.90 billion units in 1973. That was the year the "ozone scare" began. By 1977, production had dropped 26% from 1973 levels. Meanwhile, aerosol producers have undertaken a frantic and generally successful search for propellants to replace the suspect chlorofluorocarbons. They've also mounted a massive public relations effort—even enlisting Joyce Brothers—to convince consumers that they shouldn't feel guilty about buying aerosols. Apparently it's working. However, the largest category— personal products—still lags. A total of 728.5 million units of shaving lather, hair spray, and the like were
Production of aerosols turned back up last year Billions of units 3.0
2.5
2.0
OL 1969 70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
Source: Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association
May 21, 1979 C&EN
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