providing the government with an independent spokesperson having the assurance that his or her comments would be heard at the highest levels of government. • Make a commitment to maintaining NIH's RAC until the regulatory process is functioning smoothly, with RAC's principles and methodology providing the template for future developments. "We in industry," Jefferson says, "must be prepared to take an early and clear position in favor of working closely with government on these matters." Industry, government, and the universities, he says, "have a responsibility to the public to get it right the first time in biotechnology." G
InterNorth to acquire Texaco's Chemplex InterNorth Inc., an oil, gas, and petrochemicals producer, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of Texaco's Chemplex unit. Chemplex produces and markets highland low-density polyethylene and adhesives. The move could increase significantly petrochemical sales by InterNorth's Northern Petrochemical Co. subsidiary. Chemplex has annual revenues of about $300 million. In 1983 Northern Petrochemical's sales were about $374 million, about 8% of InterNorth's total sales. Chemplex became a part of Texaco when the oil company acquired Getty Oil earlier this year. At Clinton, Iowa, Chemplex has capacity to make about 290 million lb annually of high-density polyethylene and 415 million lb of low-density polyethylene. Northern Petrochemical's current annual capacity is about 560 million lb of low-density polyethylene at Morris, 111. Besides low-density polyethylene, which accounted for 49% of Northern Petrochemical's sales in 1983, the subsidiary also produced ethylene glycol for automotive antifreeze, polypropylene, plastics additives, and biaxially oriented polypropylene. Since acquiring Getty, Texaco has been divesting itself of those Getty operations not in line with Texaco's
basic oil and gas business. Earlier this year it had tried to sell Chemplex to Mapco Inc., a Tulsa-based diversified energy firm. Those negotiations fell through earlier this month. InterNorth says the current deal with Texaco is still subject to negotiations and to the drawing up of a definitive agreement between the two companies. D
Acrylonitrile/styrene bottle okayed by FDA The Food & Drug Administration at long last has approved Monsanto's acrylonitrile/styrene copolymer bottle for uses other than for alcoholic beverages. Tradenamed Cycle-Safe, the bottle was introduced in 1975. Interest in an acrylonitrile copolymer soft drink bottle is high because it provides an excellent barrier to permeation by carbon dioxide out of the bottle. However, Monsanto says that it does not plan to produce this resin or the bottle made from it. The original bottle ran into trouble because some residual acrylonitrile monomer leached into the bottle's contents. The 1958 food additives amendments covered this use of acrylonitrile copolymers, but at the time the Monsanto bottle was introduced little was known about the toxicity of acrylonitrile. Subsequent testing moved FDA in 1977
Monsanto bottle promotion in 1975
to stop the use of the plastic in soft-drink bottles, a decision eventually upheld in court. Basically, the court said that acrylonitrile copolymers used for beverage containers were food additives, and would have to be shown to be safe before they could be used. Monsanto, which had to close three bottle-producing plants and a resin-manufacturing unit because of the conflict, eventually submitted a petition seeking approval of the copolymer's use as a food additive. It is this petition that FDA agreed to last week. Contributing to FDA's approval is that Monsanto's newer generation of bottles has largely reduced the migration of acrylonitrile into the beverage. FDA reports the company reduced the amount of residual monomer more than 100-fold in its newer bottle. Earle H. Harbison Jr., Monsanto executive vice president, says the company is continuing to evaluate the resin's use in several fields where its high-barrier and toughness qualities are important. D
European academy of scientists proposed A European academy of scientists may be in the offing. The idea was endorsed unanimously in Paris last week at a gathering of science ministers from member countries of the Council of Europe, which comprises all 21 countries of Western Europe. Peter Brooke of the U.K. Department of Education & Science put forward the proposal. He also suggests that it be named after Leonardo da Vinci, "reflecting the lead which, historically, Europe has given to science, and implying the distinctive nature of the body." Brooke foresees the new academy as being on a par with such prestigious organizations as the London-based Royal Society or the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. It would fulfill the function of a national academy of individual scientists but on a West European basis, sponsoring scientific exchange, holding high-level meetings, and providing a forum for deliberation of science-related topics. Its memSeptember 24, 1984 C&EN 7
