posed to Bayer was to filibuster a vote. Legislators opposed to the project "rushed to the front of the room. They occupied the Speaker's podium. They didn't allow anyone to get near [it]. They were kicking and screaming," he says. In the afternoon, "at 3 PM, the Speaker walked right in with about 40 to 50 policemen," Habecker says. A vote was called immediately. As it proceeded, some legislators were causing disturbances such as making noise with a megaphone. But Bayer won a renewable 50year lease. Taichung's county chief, Liao Yunglai, said afterward that he would not issue construction permits for Bayer until after a plebiscite takes place on June 13 in the four towns and townships closest to the proposed Bayer site. There are no laws in Taiwan governing local plebiscites. Liao said a committee would be formed to ensure that the referendum is fair. However, members of this committee will mostly be opposed to Bayer's project, Habecker notes. Liao himself was the leader of an anti-Bayer league before he assumed his present position following an upset election win. Taiwan's central government eagerly supports Bayer's project, but it's not clear whether it can or will override the county chief and directly issue the needed permits. Liao has warned Taipei not to do so, Habecker notes. Still, he thinks that a majority of residents in Taichung County as a whole support Bayer. It's common for TDI plants to be opposed by local residents, says Tadahisa Sasano, Tokyo-based director of SRI Consuiting's chemical business research division in Asia, because TDI's key raw material—phosgene—is highly poisonous and toxic. But, he adds, "Bayer is well known as a successful producer and user of phosgene." Bayer is expected to announce soon whether it will continue to wait out the process. Jean-François Tremblay
House committee looks at high-tech gender gap "What is keeping women out of science, engineering, and technology at this critical time and what can we do about it?" asked Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) at last week's House Science Committee's joint subcommittee hearing on H.R. 3007—the Commission on the Advance-
Morella: roadblocks for women
Moman-Saunders: increase Pickering: Include both halves of the workforce everybody's awareness
ment of Women in Science, Engineering & Technology Development Act. Morella, and all of the witnesses called to testify, believes that the bill would be a good first step in "countering the roadblocks for women in our rapidly evolving hightech society." According to 1993 data collected by the National Science Foundation, women make up only 22% of the science and engineering workforce. According to the same study, about 13% of doctoral chemists in the workforce are women. And there was plenty of anecdotal evidence presented at the hearing that women, from the earliest stages of their educations, are being dissuadedfrompursing their interests in science and engineering. Representing the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Monica MomanSaunders testified that the bill, if it becomes law, will "lay the groundwork for change. I believe the bill can increase everybody's awareness," she said. "The only way our nation can continue to be a competitor in the global economy is if . . . both halves of the workforce are included," noted Rep. Charles W. (Chip) Pickering (R-Miss.). However, Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.) cautioned against setting quotas for any kind of representation in science. H.R. 3007 does not set quotas; it seeks information. The bill would set up a high-level commission, headed by the director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, to study the factors that have contributed to the relative lack of women in science, engineering, and technology. Panel members would include the director of NSF, the administrator of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the secretary of energy, the undersecretary of commerce for technology, the director of the National Institutes of Health, and the administrator of the National Institute of Standards & Technol-
ogy, as well as private citizens appointed for their expertise. The bill directs the commission to identify and examine the number of women in these fields and the specific occupations in which they are least well represented. The commission also would examine the practices and policies of employers relating to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women scientists and engineers. "The commission then would determine if these practices and policies are comparable to their male counterparts, and issue recommendations . . . based on successful programs," said Morella. H.R. 3007 also directs NSF to study the educational opportunities available to women who want to enter fields in science, engineering, and technology and to recommend how to improve these opportunities. Moman-Saunders believes that this study could make a difference in the future. "I may not be the beneficiary of this bill. It may be the girl coming along behind me," she said. Linda Raber
Interim nuclear waste storage bill derailed A significant obstacle has been lodged in the path of legislation to create an interim storage facility for spent high-level nuclear fuel generated by electric utilities. Last year, both the Senate and House passed nuclear-industry-supported legislation requiring the Department of Energy to start receiving spent fuel for temporary storage at its long-delayed permanent repository under construction at Yucca Mountain, Nev. (C&EN, Nov. 10, 1997, page 14). Now, because of procedural irregularities pointed out by bill opponent Rep. MARCH 16, 1998 C&EN 11
