• J i M l ' M - l l U E S >k commercial facilities by the treaty organization. But such inspections are not likely until next winter or early spring at the earliest, a State Department official says. Because U.S. chemical companies have not been inspected while their foreign counterparts have been, the treaty organization expects the bulk of its inspections in the next few years to take place at U.S. facilities. "As the last major chemical industry among CWC parties that has not made declarations or been inspected, we can expect, for a short period of time, that we will be the focus of attention by the international inspectorate," says Michael Walls, senior counsel for the Chemical Manufacturers Association. The treaty organization initially wants to inspect 60 U.S. facilities, but Commerce will only be prepared "for a maximum of 30 to 40 inspections a year," Majak says. Walls expects the number of annual inspections to be fewer than 30. Whatever the number, "CMA is going to be prepared to quickly review the proposed regulations, make appropriate comments on them, and then prepare for full implementation of the commercial provisions of CWC," Walls says. Lois Ember
Panel finds no link between breast implants and disease Silicone breast implants are not linked to cancer, immunological diseases, neurological problems, or other systemic diseases, says a report released last week by the Institute of Medicine. But implants commonly cause local complications that could lead to pain and discomfort and might require surgery to correct, the report concludes. IOM's Committee on the Safety of Silicone Breast Implants bases these conclusions on a comprehensive evaluation of the data in the peer-reviewed, published scientific literature, as well as on information gathered from breast implant patients, manufacturers, and other interested parties. The study was done at the request of Congress. The data indicate that women with breast implants are no more likely than other women to develop systemic illnesses, according to Stuart Bondurant, chairman of the committee and professor of medicine and dean emeritus in the School of Medicine at the University of North 10 JUNE 28,1999 C&EN
Carolina, Chapel Hill. Bondurant spoke at a press briefing at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The study finds no link between silicone breast implants and specific diseases, increased risk of breast cancer, or a number of novel disease syndromes that have been blamed on breast implants. It also finds no evidence that mothers with implants pass silicone on to infants when breastfeeding. The IOM findings are in tune with those reached by earlier studies, including several done for the U.K. Department of Health and one by the National Science Panel, appointed in 1996 by Judge Sam C. Pointer Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Pointer is overseeing the consolidated implant cases filed in federal courts against breast implant manufacturers (C&EN, Dec. 7,1998, page 13). It is not conceivable that a different panel of experts looking at the same body of evidence reviewed by the IOM committee would have reached a different conclusion, say Bondurant and two colleagues on the committee: Virginia L. Ernster, committee vice chairman and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, and Margit L. Bleecker, director of the Center for Occupational & Environmental Neurology, Baltimore. The IOM study "provides additional solid evidence that breast implants do not cause disease," comments Barbara Carmichael, vice president and chief information officer of Dow Corning. The company is in bankruptcy reorganization to resolve claims against silicone gel breast implants and other medical devices (see page 24). 'We at Dow Corning are very
Ifey
Bleecker (left), Bondurant, and Ernster say evidence permits only one conclusion.
sympathetic with women with breast implants who are ill. We hope that resources can now be properly directed to find the true cause of those illnesses." On the other hand, the study finds relatively high frequencies of local complications associated with silicone breast implants. The most common are contraction of the fibrous tissue surrounding the implant, which can distort the appearance of the breast and cause considerable pain, and rupture and deflation of the implant. The committee also notes that implants interfere with mammography. 'While none of these problems is life threatening, they may result in medical interventions or further surgery, which carries its own set of risks," Bondurant says. The committee also finds it disturbing that many women believed they did not get enough information about potential complications before they consented to the implants. The prepublication version of the committee's report is available at http:// books.nap.edu/catalog/9602.html or from the National Academy Press, (202) 334-3313 or (800) 624-6242. Maureen Rouhi
Photocatalysts split watt r in high yield The prospect of using solar energy to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen has received a boost with the discovery of a new class of semiconducting photocatalysts that are highly efficient at splitting water under ultraviolet irradiation. The new photocatalysts were prepared from materials known as layered perovskites by chemical engineering professor Jae S. Lee and coworkers at Pohang University of Science & Technology, South Korea [Chem. Commun., 1999,1077]. The group showed that by impregnating the layered perovskite powders
with nickel, quantum yields of up to 23% can be achieved. The quantum yield is the percentage of photons used to generate products in a photochemical reaction. The previous best quantum yield for UV-photocatalytic water splitting, 5%, was achieved by chemistry professor Kazunari Domen and his group at Tokyo Institute of Technology using other types of layered perovskites. "Our work has achieved not only unprecedented high quantum yields but also demonstrates a strong relationship between structure and performance of the semiconductor photocatalysts," Lee tells C&EN.
The perovskite materials prepared by the Korean group have the generic composition ATDBm03m+2, where A is Ca, Sr, or La; B is Nb or Ti; and m is 4 or 5. The group showed that the highest rates of water splitting occur when the materials are loaded with 1.0% by weight of nickel. 'The discovery that this class of compounds makes good UV-photocatalysts is important," comments Thomas E. Mallouk, chemistiy professor at Pennsylvania State University, University Park. 'To go from 5% to 23% quantum efficiency for overall water splitting is a big step. However, the process requires UV light. To be useful, a catalyst would need to work with visible light." In general, photocatalytic water splitting over a semiconductor occurs when the catalyst is illuminated with light of sufficient energy to generate excited electron-hole pairs that can be separated. It is not yet clear, Mallouk points out, how these new materials work or what their microstructures are. "If we can understand the mechanism of photochemical charge separation in this new class of compounds, then it may help us to improve on existing materials
which operate, albeit inefficiently, with visible light," Mallouk says. Lee's group is already looking at ways to modify these materials for use with visible light. "We are working on new preparation methods to increase their surface areas," he says. "With high surface areas, such materials might find applications not only in photocatalytic water splitting but also in the photodestruction of toxic materials and in the reduction of carbon dioxide." Michael Freemantle
Rohm and Haas sets specific post-merger targets It's official: Rohm and Haas has completed its $4.9 billion purchase of Morton International and in so doing has become the world's second largest producer of specialty chemicals. The transaction, which closed on the day of Rohm and Haas's annual shareholders meeting last week, creates a company that would have had $6.4 billion
U.S. chemistry olympiad team named Four high-school seniors last week earned spots on the U.S. team that will compete in the 31st International Chemistry Olympiad to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, July 4-11. There they will compete against about 50 other teams from all over the world. U.S. team members are Wei Ho (front row, from left), from New Berlin West High School, New Berlin, Wis.; Lisa Carlivati, from Thomas Jefferson High School of Science & Technology, Alexandria, Va.; Alexander Ho, from Niles West High School, Skokie, 111.; and Timothy Jones (back row, center), from North Carolina School for Science & Math, Durham. Wei Ho was a bronze winner last year at the olympiad held in Melbourne, Australia. At the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad study camp held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., the four emerged as the best of the nation's top 20 high-school chemistry students— 16 boys and 4 girls chosenfroman original pool of about 10,000 high-school students. They will be accompanied in Bangkok by mentors Jesse D. Bernstein (back row, left), a chemistry teacher at Hawken High School, Gates Mills, Ohio, and Larry D. Strawser, deputy director for the Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. The U.S. team is sponsored by the American Chemical Society. Maureen Rouhi
in sales last year, second only to Switzerland's Clariant in the specialties field. At that same meeting, top executives revealed a number of new targets and strategies for the merged company. J. Michael Fitzpatrick, Rohm and Haas's president and the person who will be leading the business integration effort, said the new company should grow faster than either of its parts would have grown on their own. "As separate companies, Rohm and Haas and Morton had the capability to increase sales revenues at above [gross domestic product] rates—in the 4 to 5% range," he said. "As a combined company, you can expect us to report sales growth in the 6 to 8% range, beginning in 2001." Fitzpatrick also committed the company to a $300 million reduction in annual operating costs by the end of next year, a figure that encompasses the integration of Morton and electronic chemicals maker LeaRonal, and an independent costcutting effort at Rohm and Haas. Vice Chairman Rajiv L. Gupta laid out for shareholders a strategy of focusing on "franchise" businesses—those with annual sales of $500 million or more, a number one or two market position, a full range of products and services, an emphasis on technology, and a strong reputation. Five businesses, Gupta said, currently meet these criteria, including, interestingly, the $800 million Morton salt business, which some analysts have suggested the company will sell. The others are the $1.5 billion coatings segment, the $650 million adhesives and sealants segment, the $1 billion electronic materials unit, and the $500 million plastics additives unit. Most of the businesses without "franchise" status, including agricultural chemicals, ion-exchange resins, and biocides, are lumped into a chemical specialties segment. John Roberts, chemical analyst with Merrill Lynch, New York City, predicts some reorganization or more extensive restructuring of this "unwieldy" group, which will be headed by Nance K. Dicciani. The shareholders meeting was the last for J. Lawrence Wilson, Rohm and Haas's chairman and chief executive officer for the past 10 years. Wilson set a retirement date of Sept. 30, paving the way for Gupta to become CEO. "By that time," Wilson said, "the new management team will have been in place for about a year. Mike Fitzpatrick and Raj Gupta have already proven themselves as outstanding leaders of this group." Michael McCoy JUNE 28,1999 C&EN
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